May update

Flower children in Sedona, AZ
Con-grads (corny, I know)
hunting instincts of a really good hunting animal
perfect weather for a walk
Happy Easter!
Happy Beach?!

This month we went to Sedona, AZ for a few days. It was a nice little trip for spring break. We didn't do anything spectacular. We just swam, hiked, rode 4wheelers, did a Jeep tour, watched a movie and had an Easter Egg hunt. It was fun to just hang around and not worry about work or school. I guess that would be what you call a vacation. Sydney did pretty good at the egg hunt. She liked throwing the plastic eggs on the ground and watching all the treats inside explode onto the sidewalk.
The room we stayed in had a huge spa bathtub. We put Sydney in it and turned on the jets. She wasn't too sure about that, but she did like the deep water. She walked around and splashed in the shoulder-deep water. Then she made a weird face, and a little log floated to the surface. We had to rush to turn the jets off before it got sucked in and incorporated into the system. That ended bath time prematurely.
KGW is doing well in her pregnancy. She is into the 2nd trimester now so she is feeling great. She just has to find a way to cope with the inescapable heat that will be here before we know it. We will be setting up the pool in the backyard to help with that. If anyone wants to come spend the night here, we run the swamp cooler and you will wake up to a chilly 64 degrees in the morning.
MK is so excited he is sleeping less and less each night. He is counting down the days to the graduation. We have been considering what hobbies he can take up to fill all the spare time we will have, and have decided mostly to take on all the projects around the house, like shelving, putting together a little shed, yard work, etc. It will definitely be a pleasant change to have a husband again!
Sydney scared us with her dental progression. She has 2 teeth in the bottom center, one of the front teeth on top, then a space, then the next tooth. So her smile sometimes looks as bad as her dad's. But now the gap is bulgy and we think the tooth that belongs there is on its way down.
Also here is a fun website I made for a final in a class this semester: Delamar
Looking forward to seeing everyone in August!
Love, Mk kgw srw

April update

3 generations of Banshee lovin Whitney women!
Logandale's "little mesa" or Jumpback
Sure do like my new Banshee! (2003 limited edition)
as long as Mom doesn't fall asleep too...

Sydney is surprising us with all the funny things she does. She is learning lots of "words"(thank you sounds like "deed-doo"). Her new funnest game for Dad is chasing her around the house, and she runs away excited/frightened that I will catch her. She can hardly stand it when she hears me getting near her and yells out with excitement.
Keresa's pregnancy is coming along without any problems. She is feeling as healthy and energetic as always.
Our anniversary happened in March, so Keresa planned a surprise date. We went to a restaurant referred by Keresa's family called Hash House-a-Go-Go. It's kind of creepy, like some ride at Disney land with all the themes and decorations, and there is weird farmish music. The relative recommending the place told us it was "farm food, but twisted," whatever that means. When we got there, their sign said Hash House-a-Go-Go-Twisted Farm Food. Original review eh? There were only 8 or 10 items on the menu. They were things like steak, ribs, fish, chicken, pot pie, etc. The food came out on these giant plates that were way oversized. The entree had a huge pile of mashed potatoes to the side and weird non-edible plants thrown over it- like shredded up corn husks, a stick off a sage brush, other weird things. So we ate. Probably we won't go there anymore.
The next item on the anniversary agenda was also a surprise. Keresa had me put my seat all the way back and close my eyes while she drove us to the place of our next destination. We drove around and she made many turns to confuse my senses so I wouldn't know where we were. Finally she admitted the turns were to confuse me, but she was a little lost and would need my help to find the surprise. We finally landed at the Venetian hotel, whose show right now happens to be Blue Man Group! We thoroughly enjoyed that.
We also found time this month to visit Logandale and ride around with Chris and Summer and their kids. Grandma and Grandpa hosted us and provided a nice spread as usual: more hamburgers than a wedding party could eat and 4 or 5 choices of crackers or chips, and of course orange juice.
We are looking forward to the reunion. We'll be seeing you all.
Love, Mk kgw srw

March update

Sooooo hungry for a yellow Banshee!!!

Saturday I ran the sprinklers. Sydney thought it was pretty cool to stand on the edge of the patio and put her hand over the edge to let the sprinklers spray it. Then she put both hands out. Using both hands, she had no hand on the ground to balance her in the leaned over position that she was using, and she fell forward into the mud. Luckily she caught herself with both hands, so she didn't get full frontally mudded. However, in this elephant-walk position, her head was now right in the stream of water shooting from the sprinklers where her hands once were. She kind of gasped and shook her head back and forth as the sprinklers sprayed her head for a minute. I picked her up and set her back safely on the patio. Then she walked toward the sprinklers again...
We went to the store to get groceries. There was an amazing sale on the deli cookies that said 10/$1.00. So we got 10 boxes of cookies. At the cash register, the lady said ok guys, what's with the cookies. We told her and she told us that it was ten cookies for a dollar, 20 cookies per box, $2.00 per box of cookies. We said forget it.
Getting ready for church, we proceeded in the usual way: Keresa gets showered and dressed while I feed Sydney, then I get showered and dressed while Keresa dresses Sydney. Then Sydney roams around the house looking for something to do while Keresa does her hair and I finish tying my tie in the bathroom. Only 5 minutes until it was time to leave. I suddenly heard a splash and Sydney coughing/choking. I immediately pictured the large throw up that must have proceeded out of her mouth, but then thought how impossible for her to have that much liquid in her stomach. I peeked out into the bedroom to find that she had tried to get a drink out of mom's quart sized cup that was on the nightstand, and tipped it forward a little too far to dump water down her throat, dress, socks, shoes, everything. Keresa quickly put her in a new outfit so we could still leave on time.
Love, Mk kgw srw

February update

Nice Shiner!
cousins Sydney and Stellie
Mom and Syd at snowy Mt. Charleston, NV
Happy Birthday Sydney!
and it tastes good too!
muchos toys

I have one online class for counseling. It's about drugs and addictions. I had to order the book online which was called Substance Abuse. It came in the mail and I put the receipt out for Keresa to enter into her checkbook. Then I left.
Keresa got up a little later and encountered the hand-written receipt with my name and address on the top, the words "Substance Abuse" in the middle, and $76.00 printed on the bottom. At first glance she thought it was a citation I had the day before and was presenting it to her in this manner. Surely her blood chilled and she had the increased heart rate feeling for a moment. Then she remembered me telling her I was ordering a book online for my drug class. Poor thing. Needless to say, school is underway, and life is crazy again.
Sydney had a birthday party for the big number 1. About the party, it was fun. We got a nice card from Grandma and Grandpa Whit. Sydney ate the yummy caterpillar-cake with out much mess.
Sydney just loves the phone. She loves to talk, pretend to say hello, etc. She pulled it just a little too forcefully and the entire body of her Grandpa Gifford's multi-line, multi-functional office phone (aka the cinder block) came crashing down sending Sydney for a tumble. So sad.
Love, Mk kgw srw

February update

nice shiner
cousins Sydney and Stellie
Mom and Syd at snowy Mt. Charleston, NV
Happy Birthday Sydney!
Tastes good too!
Muchos Toys!

I have one online class for counseling. It's about drugs and addictions. I had to order the book online which was called Substance Abuse. It came in the mail and I put the receipt out for Keresa to enter into her checkbook. Then I left.
Keresa got up a little later and encountered the hand-written receipt with my name and address on the top, the words "Substance Abuse" in the middle, and $76.00 printed on the bottom. At first glance she thought it was a citation I had the day before and was presenting it to her in this manner. Surely her blood chilled and she had the increased heart rate feeling for a moment. Then she remembered me telling her I was ordering a book online for my drug class. Poor thing. Needless to say, school is underway, and life is crazy again.
Sydney had a birthday party for the big number 1. About the party, it was fun. We got a nice card from Grandma and Grandpa Whit. Sydney ate the yummy caterpillar-cake with out much mess.
Sydney just loves the phone. She loves to talk, pretend to say hello, etc. She pulled it just a little too forcefully and the entire body of her Grandpa Gifford's multi-line, multi-functional office phone (aka the cinder block) came crashing down sending Sydney for a tumble. So sad.
Love, Mk kgw srw

January update

" Forget presents, I want more toys!"
Syd and Santa (taken with a Treo 600)

Christmas came and went; so did Grandma and Grandpa. They went to the airport near the first of December, and returned around the end of December, so we have had their extra car at our house. It came in handy for about a week when mk's car was out of commission (sold). We were so excited to get a new car we went ahead and sold one before we had bought the new one. The Beast (as grandpa affectionately calls it) served us well for that short time when we would have been a one-car family. Keresa surprised mk with a beautiful truck for Christmas. Nice replacement for the ghetto Saturn ride. The new one is a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer, same as a ford explorer, just more luxurious. It has seating for 7, so we will be able to fit all the scouts for outings now!
Keresa enjoys having lots of quality time with mk during the break. We have been out a lot together and it is so nice to have regular 8-5 schedules for this short break.
We went to red rock to ride four wheelers with Chris and Summer on Christmas Eve. It was so hot we all had to take off our jackets and couldn't stop to rest unless we were in the shade.
We are enjoying many blessings and hope that everyone else is too. We anxiously await an announcement from Summer!
Love, Mk kgw srw

December update

making fudge at Gma Whit's
Merry Christmas!
This is Fun!
You can lick the bowl if you want.

Thanksgiving was great.
We took some family pictures at LV Redrock, which we will share when the proofs are available, and had lots of food. Our main focus during the long break was putting the back yard plans together. We got a bobcat from a neighbor and went to work changing the shape of our dirt, then drew diagrams for the sprinklers, then got a trencher from Home Depot and cut all our trenches, then laid pipe, etc. It was not completed, but will be soon. I have about an hour and a half before work every morning that I can go out and put to it. The goal is to have a beautiful lush back yard with garden and swimming pool for my graduation party, sometime in mid-may.
Keresa made some delicious pecan pies for Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I overdid it on eating them.
A few weeks ago we visited Grandma and Grandpa in Logandale to paint Grandpa Bert's house. It was fun. We had a delicious dinner of liver and onions.
A few nights ago we played with Sydney for a half hour before she went to bed, trying to get her to walk. She walks with us holding her hands, but is not trying it on her own yet. As we played with her I couldn't help but think that she is nearly a year old! Where did the time go? That means that we are almost married for two years?! Amazing. It just helps me to see that there is not a moment to lose in setting high goals, then setting a course to complete them because before you know it, it will be too late!
Love, the MK Whitneys

November update

Sydney Mouse
unprecedented awesomeness!
OMG!
just clownin around for Halloween this year
let's pump you up

We have had a fun October. Around the first part we got to have a good time during conference. We went to Keresa's family and made French toast. It was good. We also took a break during conference half-time and drew out a picture of the back yard on graph paper (my idea) so we could plan what we want to do back there. Some foreshadowing includes a much larger garden, getting rid of the palm tree, and some ground tiles or maybe even cement?...
Then we went to Spanish Fork to have a good old time with Atwoods. MK got some tooth opinions, and now we wait for Andy to learn some more about bones in December. On the way home, we got to ride with Uncle Vern (or did he ride with us?) as he counseled us in his regular way.
Then we had our big ward bash for Halloween. Mk got to dress up as a muscleman and Keresa and Sydney dressed up as clowns. We had a fun night of eating and passing out candy, and we got to judge the desserts.
Then Elder L Tom Perry came over to set apart Keresa's dad in the stake presidency, so we had a pretty spiritual weekend.
Finally we went to Disneyland, and ran into Chris and Summer numerous times, as well as most of the town of Logandale... Someone commented they must have rented a few buses and piled the entire town onto them for a Disneyland trip. Highlights of Disneyland included a show called Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. He did a mousetrap thing, then commented how his boss, Mickey, didn't like that act. We saw a historical movie about 50 years of Disneyland too.
I also got a postcard from Elder Winnie a few weeks ago. He has such nice handwriting you know. And I got a text message from him on my phone.
See everyone later.
Mk Kgw Srw
Editor's note: this family's email address has changed. mckay@tingeylawfirm.com

October update

fam in Toronto, at Uncle Eddie's and Aunt Nazha's
Nazha and Syd
Is she teething?

So this month we had issues in the bank account. When we got back from Canada we found that there was an automatic withdrawal set up on our account for some prepaid debit card. Upon interrogating Keresa, I was frustrated that she could have spent $150 on a prepaid debit card and not even remember it. Well, she assured me it must be fraud. Turns out it was. We assumed someone must have taken one of our checks from the mailbox, or someone who enters the checks at the power company or water company just copied our account info off of a check, including routing number etc. Then at the end of the week there was another automatic withdrawal set up for another prepaid debit card with a different company, this time for $170! Luckily our credit union is really good about helping us fight these and they have refunded these speedily. Our account has an 01 for savings, then 02 for checking. The manager at our branch advised us to open an 03 checking and move all our stuff into there to keep the fraud user from taking more. Sadly, we received this counsel just after we paid the monthly bills, so we have to wait for all those checks to clear before we can move the funds. Since then only one more auto transaction has been set up. We found that our mail also contained a bill from our cell phone provider advising us we had better pay last month's bill or our phones would be shut off. AHA! The missing check! So either someone stole our mail on the day we paid that bill, or a mailman did, or the person who enters the payments at Cingular did. I suppose I would advise everyone to either drop your checks in a locked mail box, drop box, or other secure mailing box. Or pay your bills online or over the phone. I asked my boss what he does to protect himself and he said he just pays every bill with his credit card, then if there is a fraud on his credit card, he is not out the money until the bank can refund his money, the credit card company is. Just be careful everyone!

September update

We have had a blast in August, with the reunion of course, also we got 2 weeks of break time from school. This led to a lot of time with renting movies from the library, swimming in the backyard, and doing fun things like rollerblading in the park, walking around in the mall, and cooking delicious treats. We were preparing for the fall semester in which mk is gone from early morning to midnight, well, almost. School will be taking its toll on quality time this semester, so we have asked the other counselors in YM to be in charge of mutual activities for a while.
Last weekend we went to Spanish Fork for a surprise visit to Andy and Mel. We were the ones who received the surprise, they were out of town! So we drove around Provo, met up with some of Keresa's cousins, went to the mall, etc. We had a blast looking at the million square foot homes priced right around $80k. We figured we might as well sell our shack here in Las Vegas and with the winnings, move to Spanish fork and live like royalty! Ok maybe its not that different of prices. The Atwoods finally got home Saturday afternoon and watched a movie with the Whitneys. Then mk and Andy took a trip down to the dental office to check things out in mk's wacky mouth. Melanie treated us to delicious crepes Sunday morning before the departure, then it was goodbye and down the road. We called mom and dad and of course, on Sunday, you have to leave a message with their answering service ;). So we told them we would be passing by on our way home around 4:00 or 4:30 and if we didn't hear from them we would just drive along by. As soon as we climbed the hill out of Moapa, guess who called? Mom! We missed by moments being able to get another free meal out of our trip (of course we could have turned around, but Keresa was asleep and Sydney was getting tired of being in the car, so mk decided to carry on).
Sydney is growing fast and learning new tricks, like crawling backwards (will she ever crawl forward?). Keresa is keeping busy with work at home, and making instant meals for her 2 babies: mashed carrots, green beans, apples, or sweet potatoes for Sydney, and frozen spaghetti, mashed potatoes, or stir fry for mk. With our busy schedule, it seems like she spends all weekend cooking and storing food so Sydney and mk can spend all week eating meals on the go-- Thanks Supermom!
Love, mk, kgw, srw