The McKinney's

Mande

2011-10-19T10:14:00.010-06:00

For Joe and Leah

2011-07-15T11:40:00.002-06:00

Ok you might think that I am a little crazy, but I don't know how to get ahold of you and I noticed that you made a comment on my last post so you probably look at this. We miss you guys a lot. I have tried to email you, but I don't think that I have the right email adress. If you see this, give us a call. We would love to catch us.

Mande's house again

2011-07-15T11:12:00.007-06:00

the back of the house

Small room on front side of house

closet of small room on back of house

small room on back of house

Nanny's porch, in front of small room

upstairs room on non driveway side. The door is the closet.

The same room as above

Loft area from one bedroom to the other. I would guess 30 x 15

Upstairs bedroom over master bedroom

The closet in the room above the master. Probably 5 or 6 by 15 or 20. The other closet in the other room is the same with wood floor and a rod running the entire length.

Other side of the closet. Small rod or something.

Another view of the upstairs bedroom over master

Downstairs front small bedroom

Middle bathroom you can see the linen closet to the right of the bathtub

Back small bedroom

View of the living room, standing in the dining area beside the kitchen.

Backyard from the back porch. View of the shed.

Other side of the backyard. The property line is the line of weeds. Really there are big landscaping rocks forming a line there.

View of the kitchen. The hangover on the island is on two sides.

Master bath. One the right is a jacuzzi tub. Beside the toilet is a shower and across from it is a sink.

Master closet

Me in the master bedroom

Another view of the master bedroom

View as you go in the front door. The loft is up the stairs above the kitchen

Welcome Home

Again

And again

We are still here!

2011-07-03T15:09:00.007-06:00

I know, it has been forever since I have put anything on here. But don't worry, we are still here! It has been an eventful year or so. In October we finished our family with the birth of our seventh and final child, Lillian Alexis McKinney. We have been working really hard on our home since after Christmas. Someday I will feel like it is all finished. I guess there is always a project to do. Katie will be going into the seventh grade next year, Russell will be in the fourth grade, Joey will be in the second grade, and Ryan will be in the first grade. We are really enjoying Virginia. The mountains and trees are beautiful. I took some pictures the other day and decided that it was time that I shared some.

These boys are inseperable!

These are my McKinney monkeys

Thanksgiving Fun

2009-11-29T15:13:00.003-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Our friends from Idaho (now from Indiana), Jeff and Brielle, came to visit us. I believe that we had a lot of fun together. While here we played games, had Pie Fest, and did tile. There is nothing like making your visitors work:) I have attached a couple of pictures of the masterpieces. They tiled two of our entryways.

This one used to be green linoleum, so I would say that this is a great improvement.

We had a wonderful dinner. I will quote Brielle who said "this was the best Thanksgiving Dinner I've had" She might have been lying just to be a good guest, but I will just take credit for being an excellent cook(because it was ALL me of course)!

There was one funny thing that happened over the holiday. Everyone at our ward knows that Rick is hunting this year. We actually want the meat, he's not just going for sport. By Thanksgiving he had only gotten one deer. One of the members of the church called us the day after Thankgiving and told us that her son had gotten a deer and wanted to know if we wanted the meat. Of course we said yes. Rick also butchers the animals himself. So that evening Rick and my Dad were in the garage cutting the animal up. They had the garage open and were throwing any scraps to the dog outside. They had cut out the tenderloin (or sweat meat as they call it) and put it to the side to take upstairs. They then continued to cut up some other parts. While they were talking the dog snuck into the garage and took both tenderloins without them even noticing! They turned around and were astonished when the best cuts of the entire animal were now gone. We all had a good laugh. Cookie definately got a little bit fatter this Thanksgiving!

On Saturday it was the last day of rifle hunting so Rick decided to take Russell and Joey over to our friends house for one more chance at a deer. It was very funny. Russell and Joey both had to bring their own "guns" (BB guns). I had a picture, but I had forgot to put my card in the camera. Sorry. I figured that Rick didn't have a prayer at getting a deer because the boys would definately get a few shots off before Rick could. When they first got there they were getting out of the truck and there were some deer right there! How lucky can you get! The boys had off about eight shots before Rick could even get ready. Luckily they were far away enough that it did not frighten the deer away. Rick was succesful! The best part is that as he was going up to get the deer there was another one that they hadn't seen off to the side. Joey spotted it first and got a shot off. They were close enough that he actually hit it! It scared it off pretty fast. Joey was so proud! He made Rick and Russell come with him to track it and try to find it. Unfortunately they did not find it. But we are now up to our necks in venison and loving it!

We are settled and here are some pics of the family!

2009-11-17T08:31:00.018-07:00

We are finally settled in our new house and loving it! To prepare for the Christmas season I took some pictures of the family with hopes that I will use one of them and actually send out a Christmas card. We'll see how that goes. Until then, enjoy!

This one is my personal favorite!

New House

2009-10-15T08:37:00.002-06:00

OK everyone, so we have officially moved. Unfortunately we will be out of the loop with internet for a while. We have moved to the boonies, but we love it! Hopefully I will be up and going before Thanksgiving and then I will put up pictures of the new house. Our email address will stay the same and Rick checks it at work so drop us a line sometime. If you email us we can send you our new address and phone number as well. We miss and love everyone!

Family Pics

2009-07-20T11:41:00.012-06:00

OK, so I haven't been that good about blogging. But here are some family pictures that I took the other day. Keep in mind that there is never a moment where all six of my children are sitting still, but they are still cute!

Where's Tommy

2009-07-20T11:27:00.001-06:00

The other day I realized that Tommy was missing. I couldn't find him anywhere in the house or in the backyard (the only place they are allowed to play without us with them). So I decided to check in the front yard. Where do you think I found him? In Daddy's car. That boy is attracted to that car like a magnet! But he is just so darn cute!

Easter Fun

2009-04-15T11:21:00.003-06:00

In our house, Easter belongs to me. There is no Easter Bunny. We spend a few days every Easter season learning about Christ. I know, it sounds mean, but hallmark gets part of Christmas and all the other holidays. I am not a total Grinch about Easter, they do get a little bit of candy. They just know who it comes from. This year we had them put some candy in their bowls (the baskets have not been found since the move), then cover them up (like the rock in front of the tomb) and post a guard (curious George). When they woke up Easter morning everything was gone. This was a very emotional event, they had just gotten the candy the day before at a primary activity and hadn't even eaten any of it. Everyone was very upset. We sent them off to get ready for church. As they were getting ready for church Russell stopped and asked me "Mom, when will my candy be resurrected?" Hurray! The object lesson was working! After church, when we returned home the candy was back, and some had been added(the perfected form).

We spent Easter afternoon with Rick's sister. It was a lot of fun for the cousins to get together. Rick's Mom has a scooter and that was a big hit with my children. Here a few pictures of Tommy "riding" the scooter.

Master Green Face

2009-04-06T09:14:00.002-06:00

My children say some of the darndest things! I decided that I should share. The other morning I was getting the four youngest dressed. Joey, the oldest of the four youngest, was particularly against it. I lobbed a pair of jeans toward him and said "Put these pants on". He looked at me and said "I do not take orders from you anymore, I only take orders from Master.........Green Face!" I replied "Who is Master Green Face?" He then asked "What is the name of the little guy with the green face that is Anikan Skywalkers master?" I could not help buy smile "Do you mean Yoda?" I asked. He replied "Yes, I only take orders from Master Yoda!" At this he walked out of the room still in his pajamas. I walked over to the bed and took off a green blanket (Luckily I had one handy), put it over my head and called for Joey to come back. When he walked into the room I said "I am Master Green Face, now put on your pants". He just smiled, shook his head, and put his pants on!

Where it all began

2009-03-27T12:39:00.003-06:00

So I was reading one of my friends blogs and noticed that on her anniversary she had decided to write down the story of their engagement. With tomorrow being my ten year anniversary, I thought that this might be fun. Here goes.
Ten years ago I was in the Utah National Guard and Rick was in the Ohio National Guard. I had gone to a normal weekend drill in January. While there it was annonced that one of the other member in the communications section had broken his leg so badly that he was unable to go to an electronics repair school that he had been scheduled to attend. Because the unit had already paid for the school and it was very hard to get into at that particular time they had to send someone. They looked around the room and stopped at me. I was to leave in one week for three months, pack my bags. Back in Ohio a few months earlier, Rick had his bags packed and had deffered a semester and quit his job so that he could attend an electronics repair school. At the last minute they called him and said that the class had been overbooked and he would have to wait until February.
On February first both of us spent our first day at Army Reserve Electronics School in Sacramento California. As is custom of most military schools, when you get there you have to weigh in. I found this to be a horrible ordeal. It was not that I was ever found to be overweight, I just didn't like it. I always felt self conscious. There was one other female in the class and we were standing together in line. I became very aware that the most handsome soldier in the class was standing right behind me in line. This made me even more nervous than before. I spent most of the time trying not to make eye contact. These are my first memories of Rick. Rick will tell you that he noticed me the night before. Guess I wasn't that observant. Later that day we were in class and it came to the time of introducing ourselves. I was plesantly surprised to find out that the handsome soldier in line was from my home state of Ohio. During break I approached him and started up a conversation. We were inseperable from this time on.
After we had known each other for two whole weeks we went to a romantic dinner in the city. Afterwards, we were standing outside for the train to come. I really loved Sacramento. They had a train for public transportation that was very conveinient, and downtown where it stopped there were cobblestone sidewalks with overhead lighting and quaint benches. They even had music playing. This evening there were very few people out and we were listening to the music as we waited for the train. Very romantic! Rick leans over and says "I love you!" Now before I tell you what my response was I must defend myself saying that we were in a military school and I had met many disreputable people in the military who will say anything to get what they want. My response was "Thank you!" At least I was polite. I am pleased to report though, that within a week I was sure that he meant what he had said and I returned the sentiment.
After seven weeks of knowing each other I needed to go back to Utah for the weekend to do some business at my Unit. I didn't want to drive back by myself so Rick volunteered to come with me. Our conversations as of late had drifted toward marriage so I knew that we were thinking about it. On our way back to Sacramento from Utah we were driving across I-80. If you have ever been that way you will know that it is quite barren. I was really tired so Rick volunteered to drive. While I was sleeping he decided that he wanted to see how fast the truck would go. Very soon after that we were stranded on the side of the road, my truck dead. He had thrown a rod. I can't blame him for everything, I had neglected some things in the previous months that led to this catastrophe. Luckily we had just enough battery and signal on the cell phone to call for help. Upon returning to Salt Lake we had to get a flight back to Sacramento. We spent the next four hours in the airport waiting for our flight.
While riding the moving walkways through the airport Rick suddenly turned and got on one knee and asked me to marry him. For some reason this surprised me, but I readily accepted. I guess he had to do something to make up for breaking my truck:) Although it was an expensive weekend, it turned out pretty good.
We spent the next week at school as usual. On Friday we found out that they had overbooked the last section of the class and that half of us would be returning to our units. I was one of those people. Rick would be lucky enough to finish out the course. That evening we were discussing what would happen when I left on Monday. It had already been decided that I would move back to Ohio. As we were discussing details it came out that we could just get married. We were only two hours from Reno! We decided to flip a coin. Heads we were getting married, tails we would wait till some later date in Ohio. The coin came up heads! We began to make plans and on Sunday, March 28th, we went to Reno and got married. We were engaged for a total of one week and had know each other for all of eight weeks. I wish I could say here that we had Elvis marry us in the drive through or something fun like that, but the truth is that we just went to the Justice of the Peace. We did purchase our wedding bands in pawn shops for less than $30 dollars total (neither of which do we still have), and Rick used the quarter that we flipped in a slot machine after lunch and won the money that paid for the wedding. I will say here that I do not condone gambling. The best part was that as we were standing in line to get married, Rick realized that he had to use the bathroom. There were none that he could use there so he had to quickly run across the street. As he bolted out the door and across the street, everyone in the room got a worried look on their faces and asked me "Is he coming back?" My response was "I hope so!" He did return and we were married. Twelve hours later I left him to return to Utah. Four weeks after that we met up again in Ohio. Ten years and six children later we are still going stong and as much in love!

Ten Years!

2009-03-26T12:29:00.005-06:00

This past weekend Rick and I spent our first weekend together, with just the two of us, in five years. Our pattern seems to be once every five years. This marks our tenth wedding anniversary. Can you believe it! Ten years! I am definately not that old. For the occasion we visited our nations capital. I had gone when I was a child, but Rick had never been there. It was absolutely wonderful. I wish that it had been a little warmer though. I guess in five years I will just have to choose a tropical place. Thank you to my dad and Janet who braved the weekend with all six kids. I think he gained a whole new appreciation for my job. Hats off to all mothers everywhere! Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

Sunday in the park!

2009-03-14T08:47:00.004-06:00

It might still snow here, but there are definately some beautiful days here. Last sunday it was 80 degrees outside and we decided to go to the park.

Harlan got a new toy!

2009-03-14T08:18:00.002-06:00

Recently we got Harlan a new toy. He absolutely loves it! Isn't he cute!

It really does snow in Virginia

2009-03-14T07:00:00.012-06:00

We moved to Idaho in hopes of escaping the cold winters of Idaho (It helped that Rick had a job here as well). The weather is consederably warmer, but there is the occasional snow. Here are some pictures from the last snow.

One of their favorite pastimes is to ride things down the hill in the backyard. Ryan decided to ride a big wheels down the hill. This is sometimes questionable for safety. Luckily no one has broken any bones yet!

First he must get up the hill.

Get ready, get set, go!

And this is the end result!

2009-01-29T19:22:00.010-07:00

So everyone has asked to see the new pad and here it is.

This is a view of the backyard

As you go into the house and turn to the right you go into the master bedroom.

How do you like the new bed? We love it!

If you would have turned left coming into the front door then you would have gone into the livingroom.

Here we have the dining room

The kitchen. Small but functional

Please excuse the dishes, it was the next thing on the todo list

beside the kitchen is a room that used to be the garage. We keep many things in this room. It has our other fridgerator, Ricks toys and also the nusery.

Upstairs we have Katies room. I am not responsible for the cleanliness of this room!

This is the boys room.

This is called the lego closet. They can go into it and build in peace. All of the closets are this big (except the Master). Isn't it wonderful!

That is the end of the tour. There is also a full basement that is full of unpacked boxes, camping gear and food storage. The house is not huge, but it is wonderful and cozy until we find our dream home. We are liking it here and it is a whole lot warmer than Idaho. Keep checking for new posts. Enjoy!

2008-10-28T11:11:00.007-06:00

2008-10-28T10:50:00.003-06:00

2008-09-15T07:53:00.014-06:00

A fun day in the gardens

2008-09-09T20:08:00.004-06:00

The true picture of the McKinney kids!

2008-09-09T19:13:00.001-06:00

2008-09-06T16:42:00.001-06:00

Welcome Harlan (Harley) Porter McKinney to the world. He was born at 10:15 pm on 5 September 2008. Weighing in at 8lbs 12oz and measuring 21 inches long. There will be more pictures to come soon.