Pictures from McKenzies Birthday!!

McKenzie chose to go to the China Light Cafe for her Birthday dinner.
It is a favorite restaurant of our family, but it is such a "Dive".
But the kids love it!! And it is cheap!!
For her cake she wanted this Chocolate/Lemon Pudding stuff that I make
which she loves, and it is easy........
The whole family was there
as well as Grandpa Stoneberg and Leah who are visiting from Oregon.
Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.
I think McKenzie had a great 18th Birthday!

McKenzie and Chase

Bobby even brought a date! Her name is Megan! Everyone seemed to like her,
which is quite an accomplishment in our family!
Apparently the girls in our family, including mom,
tend to judge Bobby's dates to harshley.
I can't imagine why he thinks that! :)
Summer actually said she thinks she is the one.....
Just a feeling she got.
She has never had that feeling with any other girl he has dated!
I guess we shall see............

Noah with Grandpa and Grandma Leah!
He has been loving having Grandpa here!

Hunter loves Autumn!

The Boys!!! What a good looking bunch!!

Dakota just liked hanging out with the presents.
He was o.k. that none were for him.
He just really likes presents!!

Noah got a big piggy bank for McKenzie so she can save her money to pay for
her little car accident with the gate last week!

This was an Ah Ha moment when McKenzie opened her new cell phone!
It explained why her old phone had not been working all day!
I had changed the service over to her new phone, but she didn't know she was getting
a new phone, so she just thought her stupid phone
just wasn't working, AGAIN.................

Before McKenzies dinner the whole family went to cheer Daniel on at his basketball game.
Which of course they lost! Shocker!!!

This is how Dakota and the boys watch basketball games!!!

The big surprise for the day was all of the snow we got!
It dumped at least 10 inches!
This is Grandpas van snowed in......
Funny thing is that if you drive 5 minutes down the road
there is no snow! None! You can see the grass in the yards and everything!
You gotta love where we live!

View from our porch!
The blue sky showing through the clouds is a welcome sight!
It has been a fun day with the family!

Happy 18th Birthday McKenzie

18 years ago today at 2:18 p.m.
McKenzie Spring Patterson
was born at American Fork Hospital.
She was born exactly 2 weeks early and
weighed a whopping 9lbs. and was 21" long!
It was a very good thing she was 2 weeks early.
The thing I remember most about her birth is that the Doctor
could not remember what we were having (we knew it was a girl)
but he didn't have it written down so he did not want us to tell him.
He said he was really good at just looking at their face
when only the head is out and being able to tell if it was a boy or girl.
He explained that girls had an angelic look about them,
and boys well, they just looked like boys.
So with only her head out he announced that it was a BOY!
My thought was "oh my gosh! We have an ugly girl"
When she was born I absolutely thought she was beautiful.
But James informed me that she was not!
Her whole life James has told her the story of the
Ugly Duckling that turned into the beautiful swan!!!!
What kind of dad says that about his child!
To this day I still think she was a beautiful baby!
And she has grown more beautiful through the years!
About her name....... James wanted to name her Spring.
So then we would have Summer, Autumn and Spring.
Normally, I just let James have his way, but with this I put my foot down.
Reading through the obituaries one day, (yes I am one of those people who read the obit's everyday) anyway there was a little girl who had died with the name McKenzie!
I had never heard of it before, and it reminded me of where I had grown up in Oregon.
They have a lot of things with the name McKenzie.
So I talked James into it.
As she got older and started school it became apparent that,
that was a popular name in 1992!!!!
I think she probably wishes her name was Spring!
I can't believe that she is turning 18, will be graduating this year and moving away to college!
It nearly breaks my heart!!!!
Some things about McKenzie.............
She is very tenderhearted and compassionate,
she is quick to say she is sorry...
yet she has a strong will and not a lot of patience!
(especially when it comes to her little brothers and her dad)
She is kind of a perfectionist
She expects a lot from herself, which is good and bad!
She is a very good student. Her GPA is a 3.9 something......
She has always wanted to go into medicine,
that is until this year when she did an internship at the hospital and
realized the sight of blood makes her feel faint.
Not even the sight of blood, just looking for a vein............
Instead she has decided to go into nutrition and exercise science.
McKenzie has danced since she was 3 years old.
Basically Dance is her life! When she isn't dancing,
she is thinking about dancing!
Even though she is graceful and all in the dance world,
in the real world she can be a klutz!
I can't tell you how many times she has fallen down the stairs!
McKenzie is really blond. Most people who did not know her when she was younger,
don't know that. I can't even remember when she started going dark.
Around 9th grade I think. I love her with dark hair!
It would be weird if she went back to blond.
McKenzie loves to talk!
I never have to worry about what is going on in her life.
I get a daily report about her, her friends, her friends friends,
and anything else she can think of to tell me...
Whether I want to hear it or not.......but actually, I love it!
And I love McKenzie and just can't imagine our home or our lives without her!!!

I don't know what James was talking about! She was the cutest baby ever!
(it is surprising how much this picture and especially the top picture look like Aspen)

McKenzie with Grandpa the Fireman!
That is what they all use to call him.
It was easier to say and easier to remember than Grandpa "Stoneberg"

This is my all time favorite Halloween Costume!
I still have it. Now all I need is a granddaughter to wear it!

I love this picture of McKenzie even though she wasn't smiling.
There is just something thoughtful and soft about it.
I think she looks a little like Noah in it.
It is her 1st grade School Picture.

"THEN"
Some things never change!!!!!
"NOW"

She did Cheerleading in 6th and 7th grade.
She stopped because she just really wanted to Dance!!!!

The other day McKenzie said that we had no pictures of her and I together!
Well, SURPRISE! I found one!! I am not sure she will like this one though!

This was taken at Summers wedding!

McKenzie with Steven Welch at Sadie Hawkins.
They have been friends since they were 5.
For some reason they thought it would be funny to dress up like pioneers.
They even carried around a doll like it was their baby!
This is their first "Welch" family photo!!!

McKenzie and Bridger! She loves being Aunt McKenzie!

Prom last year with Chase!

They dressed like Zombies for the Drill Teams Thriller dance.
(My personal favorite dance that they do!)

These are some of the pictures that we had taken last week!
I love how they turned out. Especially the ballet ones.
Can't wait to see the rest!

McKenzie has been accepted to Utah State University!
Go Aggies!!!!!!!

Happy 18th Birthday
McKenzie!!!!!!!

McKenzies Bad Luck With Cars......

McKenzie has the worst luck with cars!
Especially this one!
This morning when she went to leave for Drill
there was a little bit of snow on the driveway.
Not anything big. Usually I panic over snow on the driveway.
I went out and walked on it and it was not slick.
I told her it was fine to just drive slow, which she did.
I was watching her the whole time.
She did just fine, and then on the last turn
she hit an icey patch and BAM
right into the gate.
I saw it,
I heard it,
but the worst was when she got out of the car
and started screaming when she saw the damage to the car.
My heart broke for her because I knew what she was thinking
was, "Dad is going to kill me!"
Which was also my exact thought!
Poor kid! She has the worst luck when it comes to cars.
I think every car we own has some mark on it to remind us of McKenzie.
This particular car was involved in a hit and run just last week.
Someone hit the side of her car when she was at her CNA class and left
a big dent in the driver door. (not her fault)
Last Summer one of her friends moms backed into the front
of it while she was at their house. (not her fault)
She also managed to dent the suburban, hitting a pole at the bank. (Her fault)
Backed into a car with the Suburban. (her fault)
Was driving James new white truck and got t-boned
because she thought a 2 way stop was a 4 way stop and pulled out
in front of another car! (Her fault again!)
Well, she has never gotten a speeding ticket!
I do feel bad about today though. She was being careful!
Stupid Driveway!
Funny thing is that in September we got her a brand new Pontiac Vibe!
We told her she could have it for graduation because she has always gotten such good grades!
She earned it! The thing was that she would not get it until after graduation in May!
So that brand new little car has sat in our garage since September!
She has not complained one bit about not being able to drive it.
(we have not insured it, so she could not drive it if she wanted to)
With the luck she has with cars I am sure she is glad it is sitting there!
In fact, she may never want to drive it!

The whole bumper came off along with the lights on the right side!

All the bits and pieces............

Too bad we cant just stick it back on! Not quite that easy!


On another note, the little flu bug is just making its way through the family!
Yesterday Hunter and Daniel. McKenzie will not be happy if she gets it.
Daniel is convinced he lost 10lbs just in one trip to the bathroom!!!!!!
It doesn't seem to last long other than I still can't eat without feeling sick to my stomach.
That probably isn't such a bad thing though.

Daniel lost his basketball game. Again! If it weren't for that one win,
they would have a perfect losing record!!!

One last thing, Mitch Flygare is getting worse with his Kidneys now shutting down.
They are transferring him today to the Mayo Clinic back East I believe.
All my thoughts and prayers are with their family right now!
There is nothing more frustrating and more worrisome than having your child so sick!
It is a helpless feeling! So if you remember to, say a prayer for them.
Especially for their Doctors so they can figure out the source of his problems!