Kennyroohoo

Kennyroohoo

I know exactly what I was doing on this day 14 years ago (now 16 years ago).  It was the day before I would deliver my sweet Kendra Star Layton.  After going through fertility treatments, I was able to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.  The pregnancy was hellish.  I could not wait to get that baby out of me. My biggest fear was that I would still feel sick after delivering Kendra.  I could not remember how it felt to feel good.  Because I had been in preterm labor for a few months, I was dilated to a seven when I went into the hospital to deliver Kendra.  She was delivered in 45 minutes!  I do not think my body could have done more then that because of lack of muscle and nutrition.  It took me a long time after my delivery to have any strength.  I would do it all over again to have Kendra in my life.  She has been the easiest child to raise.  Here are ten things about Kendra's life or things I love about Kendra:

1.  We called Kendra "Young Buck" or "Buckaroo" when she was a little girl.  The nickname has morphed into "Kennyroo" now that she is older.  From the time she was crawling she loved horses, the farm, bugs, cows, and anything outdoors.  Her dad would play horse with her almost every night before bed.  She was the cowgirl and the owner of the horse.  The horse was always doing something naughty which would make Kendra get the giggles.  Kendra started running like a horse by the time she was three.  She could trot, run, gallop, and canter.  When friends or cousins wanted to play make believe or anything for that matter, Kendra was always the horse.  Kendra played with a doll one time right after Kessa was born.  She saw how I would feed Kessa a bottle and change her diaper, so she wanted to do it with a doll.  That was the extent of Kendra playing with anything girly.  She was never interested in barbies, fairies, princesses or dress-up unless it was to dress-up like a cowgirl.   She liked watching Monster's Inc., Toy Story, Robin Hood, Fox and the Hound over any Disney Princess movie.  She also loooooved Elmo.  I would find Kendra outside in cowgirl boots and her panties playing in the dirt.  I swear she was a cowgirl in the preexistence.  Kendra went through a LOOOOONG phase of watching the horse movie "Spirit."  She was obsessed with Spirit.  She memorized everything Spirit would do and she would copy him.  If I wanted to get something done with no interruptions I would turn on Spirit.  I figured she was getting exercise also by running around like a horse the entire show!  Kendra still has her stuffed animal horse from when she was a little girl.  The horse's name is Spirit, of course.  We would never have gotten horses so early in life if it had not been for Kendra.  Her daddy and horses were her first loves.  We got a pony and a horse when she was in Kindergarten.  We have had about 7-8 horses since then.  Kendra's love of horses has not wavered.  She may not run around like a horse anymore or set up her toy horses and stables all over the family room, but she is just as much in love with horses now as she was when she was a little girl.  She is feminine, but she is definitely not girly.  She prefers mucking up stalls over going to a salon or shopping.  She does not run around like a horse anymore, but she still knows how!  If you really want to embarrass her, then ask her to run like a horse.

   *Putting on her "pretties"

*It may look like Kendra is torturing our cat, but Shosko and all of our animals have adored Kendra.  Shosko followed Kendra around all day.  They did everything together.  Kendra would get in the rabbits cage to check things out.   Often times I would find pictures in Floppy's cage that Kendra had colored for him. 

*Animals love Kendra.  This was our bunny Floppy.  He did not run away from Kendra.  He would come to Kendra and put his paws up on  her legs (like a dog) so that she would pick him up.  He would follow Kendra around everywhere just like our cat Shosko.  Floppy did not try to get out of Kendra's arms.  He loved her carrying him around.   She has a way with animals.  I think it is her sweet, sensitive spirit.

 *This was Kendra's normal attire.  Most of the time it was just cowgirl boots and panties.

*Kendra would find creatures wherever we would go.  She found this snail in California and called him Goober.  He didn't last long.  

 *A baby frog she found at the Ranch

*I think this was a lizard.  Kendra was always catching lizards and wanting to keep them for pets.

 *Kendra and Kessa with our very first Angus cow that Kendra named Angie.  Brian was given strict instructions to never slaughter Angie.

 *Kendra is of course a horse while Kessa is the owner of the horse.

 *Kendra's first pony, Boots, and first horse, Choppo.  Choppo was very old when we got him.  He lived for about 10 years after we got him, but we couldn't ride him because he was so old.

 *I don't know what it is with Kendra and animals.  We were at Disneyland and went to the petting zoo.  All of the goats and sheep started congregating around Kendra.  There was a bunch of other people there, but they wanted Kendra.  Kendra could do whatever she wanted with them and they didn't care.  Kessa tried to pet the animals but the animals wanted nothing to do with Kessa.  In fact, she was minding her own business and a big goat from across the way ran straight towards her and rammed her down to the ground!  It was so sad, but so funny.  Our girls are complete opposites!  

*Kendra loved her pet mouse, Panda.  I would hear Kendra talking to Panda underneath her covers at night.  She taught Panda some cool tricks.  When Panda died Kendra started crying.  She cried, "Who am I going to talk to when I am upset now?"  She truly connects with animals.

 *Another lizard

 Fishing with dad

*Dragonfly

*Kendra's first riding horse, Cody.  Her baptism announcement said, "Cody Neigh Layton would like to invite you to his owner's baptism."  

*Kendra reading her sister a book.  It's of course a horse book.

*Running down the stairs at the cabin like a horse.  Kendra would leap and jump just like a horse.  

*We had to bottle feed one of the baby cows because his mommy died giving him birth.  Kendra was obviously heading out to gymnastics.

*Brian has a jar full of rattles he has cut off of rattle snakes.  Brian and Kendra love scaring me.  They got home with this rattler head and put it on my shoulder.  Brian is holding the head and Kendra is holding the rattle.

*I LOVE this picture because it is so Kendra!  Kendra has learned that she has to wear clothes outside, but she is barefoot unless she is at school, church, or out and about.  Even when we go out and about she often times chooses to go barefoot.

*Kendra got home early from gymnastics and her activity of choice:  Hang out with the dogs.

I miss that long hair!

2.  Kendra has been extremely athletic from the time she could walk.  She climbed on everything!  She started walking and running at 9 months.  That was not good since she tried too many things all at once and would get hurt.  This caused many goose eggs and cuts on her face and body.  I felt like getting up at the pulpit on Fast Sunday to reassure everyone that Kendra was not being abused!  I taught tumbling in my garage when Kendra was 2 years old.  She was not part of the classes, but she would come and go as she pleased.  She picked up on everything super fast and could do things that my students could not do.  She did a back bend the first time she tried it.  Every person I have ever taught I have had to show them how to put their hands and how to push up.  Kendra did it on her own.  She started kicking over in her back bend soon after she learned the back bend.  I had never thought of signing Kendra up for gymnastics, but because she could do a cartwheel, back bend kick over, and handstands before she turned three, I decided to sign her up so that she could get stronger and coordinated.  I never thought she would still be in gymnastics for this long!  It was just something for fun to help her to be more athletic.  I really wanted her to play softball.  I loved softball when I was younger, but I never did Little League or organized sports.  I always wished I had played softball in my childhood, and so I guess that was my wish for Kendra.  We signed Kendra up for Little League as soon as she was old enough to play.  On one of her first games she was playing in the outfield.  A ball was hit and went to the outfield close to where she was standing.  Instead of running towards the

ball, she galloped like a horse.  She didn't even realize she did it!  It was just natural for her.  Made us
laugh.  As the years went on she actually became really good at softball, at least for that age.  She has always been coordinated and strong at everything she tries.  I LOVED watching her play softball. Brian loved gymnastics.  It was very flip-flopped since one would think it was the opposite.  Brian was not familiar with the sport of gymnastics until Kendra started taking gymnastics.  He now says there is no sport even close to the training gymnasts go through,.  So, he loved it for that reason.  He loves it still because he feels there are no athletes like gymnasts.  Which is true, but I was hoping she would pick team/school sports over gymnastics.  It got to a point where she was going to have to choose.  She chose gymnastics.  Gymnastics is right up there with her love for horses.  From a very young age she has had the goal to get an athletic scholarship to college. Gymnastics scholarships are very hard to receive.  It is practically impossible for an athlete to become an Elite Gymnast.  To become an Elite Gymnast is harder than making the NBA.  Odds are not good.  She is so driven.  We are not the ones that push her, she does that on her own.  We are the ones telling her to chill and slow down!  (We all know that since I wrote this that Kendra has stopped doing gymnastics and is cheering at Highland High School.  We talked to her about our concerns.  She placed 3rd at nationals and we knew that she could continue and get a college scholarship.  Our main concern was our daughter's overall happiness.  She came to the decision on her own, after thoughtful prayer, that she would stop gymnastics.  It has been very hard for her since she still loves gymnastics.  We never thought Kendra would be a cheerleader and she never thought she would be a cheerleader.  She misses being so in shape and the grueling gymnastics workouts, but she loves having more time and being able to have a more balanced life.)

*These were Kendra's first pair of roller skates.  She lived in her skates.

 *I love the picture of Kiana and Kendra below and to the right.  Kiana and Kendra started gymnastics together at Carter's Gymnastics Academy.  They are still teammates and they absolutely love each other.  This was taken on their first little competition called Mini Olympics.  They were part of a special class called Divos.  The parents came to see them "compete."   The judge (the head coach Jack) would hold up his score which consisted of papers that said, "Wow" or "Awesome" and other positive words.  It was soooo adorable!!!  It is obvious that Kendra and Kiana were so nervous in this picture.  

*Brian was always one of the coaches on Kendra's teams.

 *Kendra loved her skates.  She would skate around all day long.  My sisters would say that Kendra reminds them of me when I was that age skating around.  I lived in my skates also.  Now Kendra loves to skateboard.  I love that she has her High School Musical pajamas on.  Her first boy crush was Zac Efron.  Kendra did not believe me when I tried to explain to her that he is an actor and his actual name is Zac, not Troy.  She did not like that the movie wasn't real.  As she got older Brian told her that basketball players do not break out in dance and song.  LOL.  She watched High School Musical almost every day for many, MAAAANNY months.

 *Audrey and Kendra.  Audrey is still one of Kendra's teammates.  They have so much fun together.  Audrey makes Kendra laugh.

*Kendra loves to have a physical challenge.  She didn't know how to double dutch, so we took some jump ropes to the cabin and she learned practically the first time she tried it. 

*Kendra whooped everyone on recess in tether-ball, speed, and 4 square.   I was like that when it came to tether-ball and 4 square and I told her she better not disappoint me!  No, I never said that.  She picked it up herself.

 *Kendra is super competitive.  She had never done limbo before, but she was not about to lose.  And she didn't.  She beat the whole grade.  Don't mess with Kendra when she gets in her competitive mode.

It was very odd for Kendra to get anything other than 1st or 2nd place at all of her meets throughout her gymnastics career.  

One of the things I miss the most about Kendra being in gymnastics is the traveling for meets.  I loved the time I got to spend with our family.  I don't miss how much gymnastics costs though!

Kendra and Kiana

Kendra was doing a flip in the air above the beam and landed on the side of her leg on the beam.  The bruising went down to the tissue and muscle.  It finally healed.  Then she did the same exact thing in the same exact spot.  She now has permanent tissue damage and is going to get her leg operated on at the end of her junior year of high school.

Kendra only sustained one broken bone during her gymnastics career and it was a broken finger.  The doctor gave her a little brace thingy for her fingers so that her finger would not bend in the wrong direction.  Come to find out she never wore the finger brace at gymnastics and never told her coaches she had a broken finger.  A broken finger is nothing to a gymnast.  She also had a bad ankle sprain, but she learned from her coaches that resting a sprain doesn't help it heal any faster.  The ankle was huge, but she trained on it anyway.  Sure enough, the ankle healed over time. Most of her teammates had multiple broken bones, sprains, and operations due to injuries.  Kendra mainly endured scrapes and bruises, thank goodness!

Animals even follow Kendra to her gymnastics training.  haha.

Kendra was selected as a team member of the USA Region 1 team (Arizona,  California, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado) at the Westerns Nationals.  They take all the top-scoring gymnasts to compete against other regions top-scoring gymnasts.  Region 1 took first place against all the other regions.  Kendra was in first place the entire meet until her last event (beam).  She wobbled but did not fall.  Once a gymnast gets to that level the gymnast has to be perfect, or the gymnast will be knocked down immediately.  Kendra got 3rd overall.  She was the national bar champ.  She was an amazing gymnast. 

Kendra's head coach, Jack Carter.  Kendra loves Jack.  He could get Kendra to do anything.

3.   *I initially wrote this when Kendra barely turned 14 and most of her friends were only 13, but it still applies*  

Kendra wants to live the standards of our church.  In the Strength for Youth pamphlet it says that
girls and boys should not date until 16 years old.  Most of Kendra's friends have boyfriends or have had boyfriends and they are only in eighth grade.  Ya, I'm sure those relationships are going to stand the test of time.  LOL.  I don't know if Kendra is just known for refusing to date before she is sixteen, but no boy has asked her out since the first time she was asked out.  She liked this boy for a long time.  Well, I guess he liked her also because he ended up asking her to be his girlfriend.  I was so impressed by her reply to him.  She told him that she likes him also, but she is too young to date.  She told him that they could be friends though.  Girls are soooo boy crazy in junior high, well, and probably in high school also.  But junior high is so silly.  The other girls are very out-going and flirty.  Kendra is the type where you have to approach her and she is probably not talkative one-on-one at first.  She tries very hard though to put herself out there and to be friendly to everyone.  She is just not the type that walks into a room and is like, "HERE I AM EVERYONE!!"  A few months ago we were driving in the car and she says, "Mom, I wish a boy would ask me out and at the same time I don't want a boy to ask me out."  I was a little confused because I figured she was talking about when she turns sixteen.  So I asked, "Why wouldn't you want a boy to ask you out?"  She said, "Because then I will have to say no."  I just sat there confused and then a light bulb went off in my head and I realized she was talking about right now, not when she turns sixteen.  I realized that she wants a boy to ask her out because many of the girls around her "go steady" with the boys they all hang out with.  But no boys ask Kendra out so she is feeling like she isn't as cute or that the boys aren't into her as much as the girls she hangs out with.  The girls Kendra hangs out with are very cute, but so is Kendra.  The other girls are much more out there than Kendra though.  Another light bulb went off in my head.  I told Kendra, "Kendra I understand.  It would be very nice to have a cute boy show interest in you, but you aren't other girls.  You are a gem.  Are pearls and diamonds easily obtained? No, they aren't.  They are rare.  You are rare.  Some girls are easily obtained.  You are not.   To get you is not easy and boys know it.  It is much easier for them to go out with girls that are easy to get and where it doesn't take much effort."  (And sorry to say but there are girls that wear clothes that barely cover their lady bits and those girls definitely use that to their advantage when it comes to these young boys.)  Brian also told me that boys hormones are crazy in junior high.  He told me that he was mainly interested in kissing girls.  It wasn't until later in high school that he was turned off by a cute girl if she was too easy to get or she didn't have a strong character.  I am grateful that I had a light bulb moment.  I know it helped Kendra feel good.  She had a smile on her face after we talked.  I hope that someday, not today, but someday when it is the right time that boys will realize who the actual strong girls are, and I'm not talking about muscles, because Kendra's got plenty of those!

*This is a picture of a few of Kendra's cousins and her Layton grandparents after baptisms for the dead in the Gilbert, Arizona temple.  At one point she had three of her 4 grandparents that worked in the temple.  On this occasion she was able to see all three that day in the temple.

(I am now writing this on Kendra's 16th birthday.  Kendra has continued to choose the right and to be a blessing in our lives.  The gospel just makes sense to her.  She is not a stick in the mud at all though.  She likes to be with people that are just themselves and don't worry about every little thing.  She is a lot like me when it comes to having fun. She doesn't care when people talk about sex or make jokes.  She isn't judgmental.  She just wants to have fun.  She tends to want to hangout with people that are good, but not uptight and constantly trying to show their "worthiness".  She has friends of all different religions and races. She has had crushes on boys that are Mormon and boys that are not Mormon.  People that don't know her think that she is all proper and stuff, but nope!  Not at all!!  Kendra is genuinely kind.  She is a good example to me of loving others as the Savior loved.  She knows who she is.)

4.  Kendra is not perfect.  I do not want it to sound like she is perfect.  Kendra knows her weaknesses.  Kendra is majorly stubborn.  Thank goodness the things she is stubborn over have nothing to do with choosing the right.  If Kendra gets something in her head she will be determined about it.  So, the determination she has in being a great athlete and a great student and making sure all her chores are done and practicing her piano and going to mutual...well, that determination can come out with other things as well.  So, if she gets it in her head that we are going to go horse back riding the following day because her dad said, "Maybe," she will not give up on going even if we say it isn't going to work out.  She will try to figure out a way to make it work and she will argue every reason why we should be able to go.  Drives me NUTS!!!  She is also stubborn if I want her to do something she doesn't want to do.  One time I asked her if she would run like a horse for this little girl that was trying to walk like a horse.  The little girl wanted her to do it so badly and I looked at Kendra like, "You are doing it!"  Nope!  She refused because she was embarrassed to do it.  If Kendra thinks in any way she will be embarrassed she will be soooo stubborn about it.  I guess I am just as stubborn.  Those are the times we butt heads.  I am the type that could care less about making a fool of myself and Kendra is the type that would rather just observe and not be the center of attention.  Kendra does not want attention and she definitely does not need others to determine who she is. 

Kendra does NOT like change.  It is so easy to get her riled up over certain things.  We will tell her that we are moving to California or Idaho so that Brian can work on our farms there.  She will say, "Well, I am staying here!  I will move in with the Rothlisbergers.  I am NOT moving!"  Then we will say, "But we will miss you way too much to let you stay.  We want you to be with us."  Without skipping a beat, "Well, you can visit me whenever you want, but I am staying!"  Every so often we like to spring these things on her just to see how she will react.  It's entertaining!  She didn't even like when we got a new car.  We switched from a mini van to a brand new Nissan Armada.  She told us that the Armada looked like a spaceship and she didn't get why we needed a new car.  UHHH...maybe because the mini van kept braking down twice a month and we had to keep getting it fixed.

She also thinks that she is set in the fashion department if she has some converse, a pair of church shoes, white and black sandles, a few jean shorts, and a few shirts.  When we go shopping I will look at some cute outfits and ask her what she thinks.  She will think the outfit is cute, but then she will say she has enough clothes.  REALLY?!  What teenage girl says that?   She is fine and comfortable with whatever she has.  I wish my mom had taken me shopping for cool clothes when I was her age.  I got hand-me-downs from my sisters and cousins.  Most of the clothes were too big for me, but that is what I had.  If I wanted anything "cool" I had to buy it myself, which was very hard to do since I was too busy to ever have a job.  I love that Kendra doesn't care about all of that crud, and at the same time I would love if she would actually want to try some other fashion besides jean shorts and t-shirts.  She is feminine but not girly. She doesn't see the point in having a bunch of clothes or shoes, etc. I have always bought Kendra's clothes.  Our rule is that we both have to agree on it.  When she was in third, fourth, and fifth grade she loved to wear our family reunion shirts to school.  She would wear one almost every day of the week.  We finally came up with a rule that she could only wear one a week.  She loved the shirts because she loves her family and all the memories she would make at the family reunions.   She also had a girl cousin the same age and they would wear the shirts together.  LOL.  She laughs now about how she used to wear her family reunion shirts to school almost every day.  She likes her little comfort zone and doesn't want to go out of it.  We challenge her all the time and she will usually agree to our challenges.  She definitely likes a challenge.  She could probably get an academic scholarship to most colleges, but she says she wants to stay in Arizona.  We at least want her to have her mind open to other possibilities, so we are working on it.  She was in shock when we told her that she will not be living with us when she goes to college.  We let her know that ASAP so that she has it in her head and can prepare herself.

      

5.  I LOVE to hang out with Kendra.  Yes, I am her mom and I will pull out the Mom card if I ever feel taken advantage.  But Kendra is a fun person to be around.  She is a goof when she is with me and those that she is most comfortable around.  This is the times when she reminds me of me!  She will do crazy dances in stores or pretend like she walks funny or talks funny.  When we hang out we always get the giggles.  Sometimes I don't even think something is that funny, but Kendra's laugh makes me laugh.  She wants to talk to me about everything going on at gymnastics and school.  She tells me who she has crushes on.  She talks to me about everything social with friends.  She wants me to listen to every new song she likes.  I think it is a challenge for her to find a song that both of us like, because I usually don't like the songs she likes.  We are very blunt and honest to each other about what we think.  I know that she is not going to hold something back to just tell me what I want to hear.  I am the same way to her.  She is the person I go to for advice on how something looks on me, like clothes or makeup.  Kendra rarely ever cries.  The few times she has cried, she comes to me. She has been that way since she was little.  She is not an overly emotional girl.  Kendra is kind, but she is also sarcastic and likes to joke around.  She loves to tease or play pranks on her little sister and friends.  AND ME!  We love to share things.  For example, when we go to the movie theater and are thinking something is funny or scary or whatever, we always look at each other with the same expression on our faces.  We are always thinking the same things.  I have so much fun with Kendra!  I am blessed that she is my daughter!

*Kendra listened to One Direction from Arizona to Maryland and back to Arizona.  Kendra's headphones broke, so Kessa let her borrow her Hello Kitty headphones so that we could be spared from listening.  It didn't last long.  Kendra sang along to all the songs and so we got to hear it anyway!  We always debate what is real talent.

6.  Kendra is a loyal friend.  She attracts all different kinds of people.  People know that she is accepting.   Kendra does NOT gossip!  If a friend tells her something in confidence she will NOT budge when people beg her to tell them.  Usually friend's secrets have to do with some boy.  Her friends know that she will never tell anyone anything they have discussed.  She will also not talk about others rudely.  Don't get me wrong, she has joked around with me about girls that are airheads or basically wear bikinis to school, but it is something she laughs about.  The only times I have seen Kendra competitive is when she is in a competition.  If you are competing with Kendra you better watch out.  She is BIG TIME competitive!!  But when it comes to anything outside of a competition, she is the least competitive girl I know.  She has never competed socially.  I have never known Kendra to be part of any girl drama.  She just wants everyone to be happy and get along.

*I'm only posting this one picture of friends since if I started posting pictures of all the great friends in my daughter's life, this post would never end.  There are many wonderful friends that are not in this picture.

(This was taken and written when Kendra was in 8th grade.  She is the same with everyone still.)

15 years old 

7. Kendra is a daddy's girl.  Before Kendra could crawl her eyes would follow her daddy around.  He could get Kendra to smile more than anyone.  When Kendra started to crawl she would play with her daddy.  They had their own little games they would play together.  When Brian would walk in the room from work she would crawl as fast as she could to him.  He would get down on all fours and crawl as fast as he could to her.  Because her head was down while crawling, she would end up crawling underneath Brian and bump into his legs.  Then they would play chase around the room with both of them crawling everywhere.  Kendra had the cutest darn giggle ever!  As Kendra got older she would do everything with her daddy.  She started going to the farm with him at one years old.  She would "drive" the tractor with her daddy.  By the time she was three she could tell what was being planted in every farm field we would drive by.  She loved playing in the ditches with just her panties on.  Around the time she turned three they would play "baby cow" together.  Basically Brian had to be the mommy cow (LOL) and Kendra was the baby cow.  Kendra had seen tons of cows be born, so she would pretend that she was being born out of the mommy cows stomach.  It was pretty hilarious for me to watch.  Then the mommy cow would pretend-lick the baby cow after the baby cow was born.  The cow would try to stand up on it's wobbly legs and then it would start playing and running with the mommy cow.  She also had insight into how the baby was made since she was on the farm all the time.  When she was three she also started playing horse with her daddy.  She would sometimes ride the horse and be the cowgirl or they were both horses.  Her favorite was when Brian would start bucking and she would fall off.  Kendra did everything with her daddy when she would go to the farm or when he was at home.  If Brian was fixing something around the house, she would get her play tools out and fix it with him.  When Brian would mow the lawn she would get her plastic mower out and mow the lawn with him or run along side him the entire time he was mowing.  When Kendra was with me she would want to paint her nails, play with stuffed animals, or dance.  But obviously she loved everything about her daddy more than anything else!  They even had a night routine they would do together.  I was the one that usually sang songs.  Brian had his own fun ritual where they would race down the hall to her bed and some other crazy things.

To this day, Brian is Kendra's safety.  She feels secure and safe with Brian.  When Brian would go out of town when Kendra was young she would bawl, even though it was an overnight trip.  At that stage she thought prayer would make everything come true.  So, as soon as he left she went into her room and was praying that her daddy would come back.  Right after she finished her prayer, guess who walks back into the house?   Brian had forgotten some documents and had to come back to the house.  Kendra was so happy and thought her prayer was answered.  It was so sad to have to explain to her that prayers are not wishes that are granted by some genie.  I told her that her prayer will be answered, but not right now.  She made cards and colored pictures for her daddy the entire time he was gone.  We got his favorite treat for him so that when he came home we could surprise him.  It was like he had gone to war or something.  When Kendra was in Kindergarten or first grade she was starting to understand age.  She asked Brian, "How old are you daddy?"  I think he was maybe 27 at the time.  He told her, "27."  Then she asked, "How old are you going to be when you have a birthday?"  He answered, "28."  She burst into tears.  We were like, what the heck is going on?  So, we kept asking her why she was crying.  She bursts out, "I don't want you to die daddy!"  We could not help but laugh.  To her 28 was like how we think of the age 97.  We assured her that 28 is young and that daddy will live for a long, long time.  I said a prayer then that what we were telling her would be true because her life would be over at that stage if something happened to her daddy.  Kendra is still very, very attached to Brian.  They have different routines they do together now.  They have a very strong bond.  Brian is still Kendra's safety and security.

 *This is a picture of the little game they would play everyday when Brian would get home from work.

 *Helping her daddy put in the sprinkler system.

Helping her daddy vacuum the family room

 *Kendra loved racing her dad.  This is what she used her baby doll and stroller for.  They would also race each other when Brian was mowing the lawn.

*Always a smile on her face when daddy is around.

 

*There were many variations of how they played horse together.  This is just one of them.  When Kessa was born they would incorporate her into playing with them when they were almost finished playing.  So cute!

*Always by her daddy's side.  Always.

8.  Kendra has helped me be a better person.  Enough said.  I think every mother understands.

*I had the honor of being one of Kendra's Activity Day leaders for a short time.  I was sick most days, but it was a joy being with her.  

9. I doted over Kendra as a little girl.  I did not know if I would be able to have more children and my days were spent being a mother to Kendra.  I am so grateful that she got a little sister when she was young so that she did not start thinking that the world revolved around her.  Kendra has always had an aura about her that is sweet.  She was a sweet little girl and is still sweet most of the time.  I did discipline Kendra, but she was so obedient that it would only take one time of sitting her in uh-oh time and she would never do whatever it was she did wrong again.  She still can't handle if we are disappointed at something she has done.  We always reassure her that she will make mistakes and that no matter what our love does not change.  There is something in her that desires to do what is right.  I pray that her desires will not change.  Kendra desires to live the standards of our church and to be clean and pure.  She definitely lets her parents know what she thinks though.  I am just happy that she doesn't argue with us over things that have to do with obeying the standards.  I pray that her testimony will grow and that she will hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ even when life may be hard.

Family scripture study in the morning.  Shosko the cat loved Kendra.  He followed Kendra everywhere.  They even took naps together in the afternoon, and Shosko would lay above Kendra every morning during scripture study.

*This makes me laugh because of the story behind it.  Kendra had gymnastics and when we got home she of course wanted to go play outside.  It was freezing cold that day and it was also wet.  I told her to make sure she put on shoes and a coat before she went to play outside.  She would usually run outside barefoot and without a coat and often times just in her panties.  She also would find the place where there was mud or dirt, not grass.  I always had to check up on Kendra because she could play for hours outside and she was so quiet.  So, I went to check on her and this is how I found her.  I don't know why I assumed she would put clothes on.  She did obey me though, as always.  Makes me laugh.

10.  Kendra is a brainer.  I am not saying she is a genius or has a photographic memory.  If she doesn't have a photographic memory, then she is pretty darn close!  Every day when Kendra was very, very little - I'm talking before she could even crawl - I would read books to her and sing songs like the ABC's.  I was home alone with her all day, so what else was I going to do besides clean the house?  So, my day revolved around Kendra.  By the time she was 18 months she could recognize every letter of the alphabet and numbers 0-9.  She knew all the sounds of the letters also.  She understood what numbers meant also.  If I said, "Eat three cheerios..." she knew what I meant and would eat only three cheerios.  She also had all of the Articles of Faith memorized by the time she went to Kindergarten (except 10-13) which she memorized soon after.  I got sick and stopped going over everything with her.  Kendra finished all the Kindergarten SAM books in her Kindergarten class first.  She knew how to read.  She would pick up on anything and everything she was taught.  I have never had to make sure that she finishes her homework.  I think much of her being responsible for herself happened when I got sick.  She had to take care of herself.  She went from having her hair styled perfect for school everyday to going to school with a rats nest.  She started doing her own hair in first grade.  She taught herself how to style her hair.  She taught herself to write in cursive.  She taught herself all the multiplication times tables. When she taught herself how to do those things, she wasn't being taught those subjects in school.  She just decided to teach herself.  She pretty much has done everything on her own.  I like to think that because I taught her the basics of everything while she was young that she has done so well.  : )  I do think it ended up being a great blessing because I could not be there for her once she started first grade.  It may have seemed like I doted on her when she was young, but she was completely on her own once she hit first grade because of my illness.  There was absolutely NO doting on her then.  My goal every day was to say, "Good Morning, I love you Kendra."  And, "Good night, I love you Kendra."  That was how much I mothered her once she hit first grade.  One may realize what kind of mother I was before I got sick.  So, think about how I must have felt not being able to do anything for Kendra or Kessa!  Kendra is still a brainer.  She is a smart cookie.  She is more understanding to those that do not understand certain subjects because of her mother.  I was not like her when it came to school.  So, she understands that everyone's brains are smart in different ways.

 *These pictures were taken when I was very ill.  Kendra went from having her hair done perfect to having a rat's nest every day.  She could do her own hair by the time she was in second grade and people would think I did her hair.  The above picture and the two below remind me of the most awful time in my life.  Kendra went to school  at a school called Eduprize in 1st and 2nd grade.  I LOVE Eduprize.  Once I got very ill we moved to Gilbert and I was unable to drive Kendra to Eduprize.  We switched schools.  At Eduprize the kids learn everything hands on, in groups, and by themselves (paper work).  They focus a ton on Science, but they are really good at every subject.  Each quarter the kids would focus on one aspect of science.  At the end of the quarter the parents would come see everything their children had been working on that quarter.   It was called a cottage fair.  It was amazing everything the kids learned.  Kendra knew more about Science than I did all through school!  The top picture was taken by Brian at a cottage fair.  The below picture was of Kendra working on something about baking for something at school. 

*I tried to find pictures of all of Kendra's teachers from years past, but I couldn't find a few teachers and it was taking too long, so this is what I found.  Kendra has been an Honor student every year.  Her fourth grade teacher only picked one girl and one boy from her class to get academic awards and Kendra was the girl selected.  The first picture above is of her and her 4th grade teacher, the second picture is of her 4th and 5th grade teachers (and I love that she is basically wearing the same thing she did the year before) and then the last picture is of her 6th grade teacher, her ALP teacher, and her principal.

 *I had to add a picture of Kendra playing the drums and piano.  She started piano when she was 5.  She has taken lessons for the most part from my two oldest sisters, Carrie and Amy.  She loves the piano.  She has very little time to practice anymore, but she tries to practice every morning before school for 10-15 minutes.  Kendra took drum lessons from my dad for a few years.  She played percussion in her school band up until this year.  Things just got too crazy last year and we had to drop something.

*I am positive I have about a bazillion picture of Kendra at school, but this is the first one I came across.  I love this picture because the three boys are in our ward, and all the girls are some of Kendra's best friends.

I can't even express how much I love Kendra.  It is impossible!  My children are my joy and my life!! Even when I have been at my worst health wise, my children are what have given me a reason to keep fighting and to keep living.  Kendra is a light in my life.  Nothing is complete until she is home each evening from gymnastics.  She is a joy to have as a daughter.  Kendra, I love you forever, no matter what!