Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's 65th birthday and you would never guess he was that old by looking at him! Here is a picture he took when he was 19 before his mission. Wasn't he handsome?

My dad was on the BYU gymnastics team. Pretty cool, huh? I think so. He has always been in incredible shape and even now, in his 60's, other guys are jealous of his physique when he takes his shirt off at the beach. I love this picture of him!

Here's my dad in the middle of his brother and sister. Was he not the cutest little boy?! It's no wonder he has 36 adorable grandchildren! (yes, my five included)

I was a lucky girl to get to grow up as one of his seven daughters. My dad was a busy man with eleven children, a thriving orthodontic business, and demanding callings in the church, but somehow he still had time for me. I remember countless hours playing basketball and football with my dad and siblings. I have many fond memories of boogie boarding at the beach alongside my dad. And I was blessed with the opportunity to work as his orthodontic assistant for years and years. Those are cherished memories because I got to see my dad in action as what I like to call, "the world's best orthodontist" and it gave me lots of one on one time with him.
I will always be grateful for a father who lead us in family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening. I believe our family is incredibly close and strong today because my parents were diligent in those three things. My dad was always so good at coming up with an FHE lesson on the spot, complete with interesting stories and then making it applicable to us. (I'm sure there were plenty that weren't "on the spot", too!) He is a worthy Priesthood holder and has pronounced many blessings upon my head that I will always cherish.
We don't get to see him as often as we like living so far away, but when we do my children just love to be around him. Here is just a "snapshot" of my dad surrounded by some of his children and grandchildren. What a posterity he has created! (Make sure to double click to see it better)

Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope you know how much I love you and appreciate you and miss you. Have a wonderful day and know that this little family of seven wishes we could be there to smother you with hugs and kisses on your birthday! (photo taken in 2005)

11 Years Old!

Happy Birthday to our Gilli Bean! One year away from Young Women's and getting her ears pierced. She cannot wait! But I can. Why do they grow up so fast?


Grasshopper pie. Mmmmm.


We are so glad Gillian is part of our family. She is so responsible and such a great caretaker. She is my right arm! We love you, Gilli!

Six Flags Over Texas

The Elementary school was offering tickets to Six Flags for kids who read for 6 hours over the course of a month....a breeze for my little readers. Se we spent the day as a family on probably one of the hottest days of the entire summer. It was 102degrees that day. It was HOT and HUMID! Ick! But, we still had a fantastic day. We went on plenty of water rides to stay wet and cool and we went on just about everything since it wasn't busy at all. I mean, who in their right mind would spend a day outside in that kind of weather? ;)



Favorite ride of the day? Superman. It was awesome and we went on it over and over again. Best part of the day? When Don was next in line to get on a roller coaster and the car pulled up with a kid throwing up all over his seat. Ahhh, memories.

One Year

It's hard to believe it's been one year already, but at the same time I feel like it's been forever. I really miss my sister.

100 things I love about my sister, Ginger

1. always took an interest in my day to day life
2. gave the best hugs
3. never spoke ill of others
4. always gave others the benefit of the doubt
5. called frequently just to chat
6. had amazing handwriting that we all coveted
7. inspired me to run a 5K
8. french braided my hair super tight so it would be frizzy the next morning
9. was willing to dress up as twins with me just for fun
10. threw a Happy Friendship party with me for our dolls
11. hung out with me at school and church functions
12. was good at doing side ponytails in my hair
13. got up at 5am to feed the horses with me
14. visited me several times a year after I moved far away from family
15. had an adorable winking habit
16. laughed and cried with me about anything and everything
17. great teacher
18. very creative and talented
19. made me feel like a great homemaker because she’d call for advice on cooking or decorating
20. had an air of confidence when she was in front of a group that I always envied
21. introduced me to my husband and insisted I had to marry him
22. was my scrapbooking partner
23. so much fun to shop with
24. knew how to relax and have fun
25. was part of our newly established tradition of vacation getaways with our spouses
26. lived next door to me at BYU when I was first married
27. babysat my little Ginger Dee quite often in the beginning
28. always came over bearing gifts just for fun
29. double dated Don and Ryan with me
30. worked endless hours alongside me at Dad’s office
31. goofed off for hours with me at Dad’s office when we were supposed to be working
32. gave birth to my adorable nieces and nephew
33. married a great man whom I will always claim as my brother-in-law
34. hung out with my husband when I was too tired to
35. taught seminary and Gospel Doctrine class
36. bore the name of my firstborn daughter
37. cried when she found out she had a namesake
38. shared a messy room with me for years
39. had a powerful testimony of the gospel which shined brightly
40. was always a fun, caring Aunt to my children
41. roller skated around the backyard with me
42. played hopscotch with me everyday after school for a year straight
43. always extremely generous
44. got perms from Mom with me so we’d have stinky, curly hair together
45. didn’t sweat the small stuff, but enjoyed life to the fullest
46. cherished her babies and young children
47. great sense of humor, quick-witted
48. called me ‘Hoddz’
49. got addicted to the Twilight series with me
50. so willingly chauffered us to and from the airport on many occasions
51. opened her home to our family of seven….countless times
52. named her doll “Blue-in” when I named mine “Pink-in”
53. played Chinese jump rope and hopscotch when we’d get on our kicks of playing everyday
54. cared for my children on many occasions
55. watched American Idol with me over the phone when we were hundreds of miles away
56. froze in the Toyota Cressida with me every morning on our way to seminary
57. snuck dry jell-0 packets in the barn with me and Trevor
58. chased Trevor and I when we would try to make her chase us
59. slept in the freezing cold trailer with me under our electric blankets
60. gave me the best chocolate cookie recipe ever (in her handwriting!)
61. accompanied me to Stake dances for years and was my little security blanket
62. was super flexible and an amazing gymnast
63. got me hooked on “Wicked” music
64. hosted Girl’s Weekend many times
65. had plenty of money, but still couldn’t pay more than $15 for a shirt
66. forced me to start a blog
67. used to read on the floor in the splits eating sunflower seeds
68. slept on the trampoline many a night with me
69. took piano lessons with me and practiced less than I did
70. brought me a ‘pretzel’ instead of a ‘pencil’ after I had surgery
71. made me laugh when I couldn’t after surgery
72. shared my Birthday week with me
73. always willing to drop whatever she was doing to go do something fun
74. messed up on her piano recital songs as much as I did
75. not only a great sister, but a true friend
76. sent packages in the mail just to brighten my day
77. served faithfully in her callings
78. shared our cousin, Katie, with me even though they were closer in age
79. was a picture-taking fanatic like most of us Zierenberg women
80. was a Z girl with me
81. faithfully lived the gospel of Jesus Christ
82. had the coolest birthmarks
83. played piano duets with me at Christmas gatherings
84. introduced me to her favorite concoction of Pinkberry frozen yogurt with Fruity Pebbles
85. often shared her powerful testimony of the gospel
86. bought me earrings at the last minute on my wedding day
87. shared many an adventure at Girl’s Camp
88. treated me to massages in Hawaii and Mexico
89. didn’t stress about hair and make-up 24/7, but always looked beautiful anyway
90. was a woman of integrity and virtue
91. happily shared her best friends with me
92. stole the show as Alice in the elementary school play ‘Alice in Wonderland’
93. willingly played sports with me even though she would have rather been dancing
94. made the cutest Christmas decoration for me even though she really wanted to keep it
95. accompanied me to Mutual night for several years
96. played Young Women’s sports (basketball, volleyball, and softball) with me
97. always set the example for me, her older sister
98. she was my listening ear… always there, always willing to talk
99. loved me for me
100. is and always will be…. my sister

It's Independence Day!

Unlike the years past, I was not anxious for the 4th of July this year. It would be my first since my sister passed away and after spending a very memorable 4th with her last year, I was worried it was going to just be a difficult day. The days leading up to it were emotional as I reminisced about being with her for the fireworks last year and spending the entire day with her, but when July 4th finally rolled around, it was actually ok. I spent the day with my little family and we swam and barbecued and watched a really great fireworks show. How blessed we are to live in this great land of freedom. I love our country.

Davis becomes a BEAR

Turning 9, meant Davis advanced to the next level in Scouts... from a WOLF to a BEAR! He had worked hard his first year and completed his first level in Scouting. Nice work, Davis!

Family Night at Ranger Stadium

Some friends of ours invited us to a Rangers game in their Corporate Suite! We felt pretty spoiled in such nice seats, complete with our own private bathroom, kitchen, and living room with a TV for bored kids. Ridiculous! It was pretty cool and we had a great time with our friends.


Since the game was free, Don indulged the kids with way too much cotton candy. A treat they definitely don't get very often. (Speaking from an orthodontist's daughter)




Success! We tired them out and bedtime was a breeze......

The Birthday Boy!

How can my little boy possibly be nine years old? Where does the time go?


Birthday requests? Crepes with strawberries and whip cream for breakfast and apple pie for the birthday cake.




Happy Birthday, Davis Boy! We are so glad you are part of our family. We love you!

Cypress Springs Lake

Our good friends, Jeff and Abby, invited us to spend the day with their family at their family's lake house in Cypress Springs. We had the best day! It was a beautiful day and the water was so warm. Some skiied, some tubed, some just went joy riding in the boat.



Abby and I went on the tube and were laughing so hard we were practically crying! Then Abby drove the boat while our husbands were on the tube and she gave them the ride of their life. They were hanging on for dear life, but eventually got thrown off at the end when Abby let the rope slack and then floored it! Ouch!




It was the perfect way to kick-off our summer vacation!

"I'm ready!"

I sent all of my children to their bedrooms to "get ready" for a Ward BBQ we were attending. A few minutes later, Ethan came downstairs and said in all sincerity, "Can I wear this to the BBQ, Mom?" looking like this.......


We probably would have let him if it wasn't over 100 degress outside that day. Maybe.

Field Day

During the last week of school, the kids had a day filled with sports and games and activities. They had a great time and it was fun for me and Ethan to walk around and watch all four kids compete and play. It would be my last time to have all my children in ONE school together!

My Little Pianists

Gillian's first piano recital! She did fantastic!


Ginger is an old pro with recitals now since she's performed in at least four or five of them. (Doesn't mean she still doesn't get nervous, though!) Her songs were beautiful.


We finally found a piano teacher after moving to Texas and my girls love her! They are really doing well and I hope they go a lot farther in piano than I did!

Dr. Grampa

This is what happens when you have an orthodontist for a father and grandfather! My girls were thrilled to have Grampa work on their teeth and get new retainers to come home with...that is, until it made their teeth sore and became very hard to eat!


With 36 grandchildren for my dad, he is going to be "treating" kids clear into his 90's! You're the BEST, Dad!

Los Angeles Temple with Wendy

Part of our trip to CA for the beach house included getting to see my youngest sister, Wendy go through the temple for the first time! It was a wonderful thing to be gathered in this special place with so many of my family members. And we knew our sister, Ginger, didn't miss it.




Cute pix of my Dad and Wendy.

Annual "Z" Family Beach House Reunion

As my sister, Ginger told each one of us..."We are all part of something amazing." I look at this picture and think it really is an amazing sight. This is a picture of my parents, brothers and sisters, their spouses and children. (Summer and her family were missing and of course, Ginger.) Each year we all gather and stay at one huge beach house and have the most amazing time together. We all took hundreds of pictures, but I only posted a few of my favorites.


We always get to enjoy plenty of "Girl Time". Although I have to admit, there was a huge void this year.

Wendy and sweet little Holly (Ginger's youngest)

Don and Gillian

We all gathered together for our traditional Family Home Evening Talent Show which is always a complete riot!

Just a "few" of the kids ready to jump in the ocean. What a dream to have this many cousins your age! They love it!

My girls

And just a few more of my favorites....

Until next year......

From my Ryan Jane

"Mom's are the best."
"Mom's rock."
"Mom's are awesome."
A sweet little note from my little 6 year old. These are the joys of motherhood.

Ginger's 1st Trip to the Temple

What a special treat it was for me to get to tag along with Ginger and all the other youth in our ward to attend the temple and perform Baptisms for the Dead. We believe that being baptized by the proper authority is an essential ordinance for every individual. So, these youth get to go to the temple and be baptized for people who have died without having the opportunity to be baptized while they were on the earth. I still can't believe that I have a daughter that is old enough to go! There was a very sweet spirit there and I know it was a wonderful experience for Ginger.

Easter: Hope of the Resurrection

I have to admit, the Easter season took on a whole new meaning for me this year. I always love Easter time with the changing of winter to spring, the blossoms all around, the pastel colors, the egg coloring, the Easter Egg Hunts, the candy, and most importantly...the reminder that Jesus Christ was Resurrected, making it possible for all of us to be resurrected. But, this year, it became so much more real for me. To lose someone you love is the hardest thing in the world, but knowing that we will both be resurrected one day and be able to be with each other forever and ever makes it so much more bearable. How grateful I am for the atonement of Jesus Christ and His death and miraculous Resurrection.

Ethan was invited to an Easter Egg Hunt with a special guest appearance from the Easter Bunny! Too bad he was terrified of her! He refused to talk to her, or even take a picture with her.


Finding eggs all over the house on Easter morning. Thank goodness church didn't start 'til 11:00.



It was a wonderful day to spend together as a family. It made us miss getting together with all of our extended family like we do every year. But, thankfully our good friends invited us for dinner and we had a delicious ham dinner with all the fixings!

The Great Race continued....

It had been 8 months since I had been "home" to CA, and 8 months since I had been around my sister, Ginger's precious little family. The last time I was there was for her funeral. Don and I were able to leave our kids with our good friends and make a weekend trip to be there for the "Great Race". I was caught off guard with emotion when I walked into her home, being attacked by four sweet children wanting hugs and attention, and just being there....without her. I did the best I could to greet each one of my nieces and nephew, but eventually had to escape to a corner and allow the tears to flow. It was hard to embrace the fact that I was there for a visit, as I had done so many times before, but that this time, Ginger wouldn't be with us. Reality. Somehow, I pulled myself together and did my best to be strong for her children. It was wonderful to see them and be with them. They are amazingly strong and full of faith with an assurance that their Mom is in a good place and they will see her again. I loved that they talked about her all the time and still have very vivid memories as though they just saw her yesterday. Don and I stayed at their house and one morning, I poured myself a bowl of cold cereal in one of their huge mugs, instead of a regular bowl. Almost immediately, little 4 year old Brady said with a huge smile, "My mom always eats cold cereal in those mugs, too!" I could have burst into tears, but instead had to smile. She is still so close to them.

I love this picture with Ginger's girls, but I wish Brady would have been willing to be in the picture!



The Agoura Great Race was definitely a day of healing and tears, but also "happiness". In the weeks and months leading up to this run, I spent a lot of time running and trying to get back in shape after hurting my knee last year. During those runs, I found myself laughing and crying as I thought of my sister, her life, and our memories together. Sometimes I ran with my ipod and it seemed that every song would relate to her somehow. I shed many tears on those runs, but I felt that she was often right there running alongside of me. On the day of the run, it seemed all of that emotion came to a head and I bawled through most of the race. When I reached the finish line, I saw my brothers who had finished long before me. I couldn't help but think about my own finish line for this race we call "earth" and how happy I will be to be greeted by so many loved ones, including my little sister, Ginger! I embraced my brothers and Trevor immediately said to me, "What's wrong? Did you fall?" That made me laugh. Especially since he was really clueless as to why I was crying.


Don ran the 10K, Jason ran the half marathon, and the rest of us ran the 5k. What a blessing it was to be surrounded by my wonderful family.


There were so many people running in memory of Ginger, wearing the red "Happiness" T-shirts that represented her final blog entry (www.jasondgingerd.blogspot.com). It was really neat to see so many.
This is a picture of those in our family who were able to make it that day.



It was quite a treat to have so many adult siblings in town...without all the children! (Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my children and nieces and nephews, but it's nice every once in a while to have no interruptions!) It gave us many opportunites to go out together and just hang out and have that adult time. I love my family so much.

The Great Race....

Last year, my sister, Ginger, ran her first 5k in The Agoura Great Race and inspired coutless others to get in shape and start running, too. After she passed away last July, a group of her friends decided they would honor her by running this year and even created T-shirts in her memory. I don't think they realized how many would want to participate, but it has turned into a huge event. Don and I will be leaving for CA tomorrow to run with so many of our family and friends. I am anxious to be surrounded by so many loved ones, and know it will be an emotionally exhausting weekend, but healing at the same time. I don't know if I'll run or walk, but I do know that Ginger will be there with me, cheering me on!

My brother posted this comment on Ginger's blog a couple of months after she passed away. It made me cry. It was so inspired and it's interesting to think about how her run in the Great Race was similar to her time on earth. She was 30 years old when she past away, and ran the 5k in 30 minutes. He said, "Ginge, you ran a great race and you finished at 30 (at least this leg of the race). You didn't let anyone hold you back, but you definitely helped countless others along your way. You broke the tape first in our family and we look forward to seeing you when we cross the line and giving you a huge Ginger-style victory hug on the other side of the finish line. Until then, we know you will be watching us, cheering us on." She definitely is.

More visitors!

Who would have thought that even though our closest relatives are 11 hours away, that we'd have so many visitors when we moved to Texas?! Don's brother, Ryan, and his wife, Keri, came with their four children and stayed for almost a week! We hadn't seen them in 2 years, so it was wonderful to have that time to spend with them. The weather was perfect for them, and coming from COLD Nebraska, they loved being able to spend their days outside.



Don and I went out with Ryan and Keri while Ginger and Gillian watched all the kids....just what they do best. The kids enjoyed every minute with their long lost cousins and the adults had fun with some intense fusbol and Wii tournaments!

Keri and I ventured out to Dallas one day to take the kids to the Observation Deck at the airport to watch the planes come and go. It was definitely a hit with the boys!

Mother/Daughter Luau

I got to go to my first Mother/Daughter Luau with Ginger, now that she is a young woman! We had so much fun. We had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner, Ginger took 2nd place in the Limbo, and we played games that tested our knowledge about each other....and we did really well!

Boys and Girls

One of the Young Men in our ward that Don works with, had a swim meet in Austin (3 hours away) and he thought it would be fun to take our boys on a road trip to see it. They went out to eat, stayed in a hotel, went to the swim meet and did "boy stuff". The boys LOVED every minute of it. (It was all they could talk and think about in the weeks prior.)
And since the boys were having a special weekend, we planned our own special weekend for the girls at home!


We went out to dinner and to see the movie "Tale of Desperaux". We painted nails and had a sleepover in the family room watching another movie, eating junk, and staying up way too late. In the morning we did what girls do best.....we shopped 'til we dropped! It was a great time for all of us.

We LOVE visitors!

My sister, Summer, traveled 16 hours with her husband, Clint, and three children to come and stay with us for a week! Clint is in Medical School in VA right now and had a break , so they figured, why not take a road trip and visit family? We're so glad they did! We went out as couples to dinner and the temple while Ginger and Gillian watched all the kids. The weather was perfect and the kids loved having time to spend with their cousins outside all day.


They were here on Valentine's Day, so we spent the day making and decorating Valentine's cookies.


I even got adventurous and highlighted Summer's hair! In our family (my sisters) we are always doing each other's hair to save a dime, and have never had any real training. But, I have some seriously talented sisters when it comes to doing hair. We all cut our husband's and boy's hair and are always experimenting with highlighting. I didn't ever want to try highlighting, but Summer was confident I could do it, and obviously was willing to take the risk if I completely destroyed her hair! But, since I've seen it done a million times, and Summer was willing, I tried it out. I was so amazed how it turned out!


Doesn't her hair look amazing?! It was a wonderful thing to have a sister around for an entire week. We talked and laughed and cried and reminisced about our beloved sister, Ginger. How blessed I am to have five sisters that I can do that with, who know exactly what I am going through. I love my sisters!

Happy 12th, Ginger Dee!

Yes, I have a twelve year old daughter, and yes, that makes me feel very old. I cannot believe my little Ginger Dee is a young woman! Her two requests (besides the ear piercing, of course) were homemade potato soup in bread bowls....


.....and, a Bitty Baby. It's the baby doll from American Girl. Can I just say that it makes me very happy that my twelve year old still wanted a doll, a baby doll, for her birthday? No cell phone, no laptop, no Nintendo DS, just a doll. I love it. I love that she loves to babysit and practice her motherly role.
I love my Ginger Dee.

A trip to Claire's for Ginger's Birthday

In our family, you have to be 12 years old to get your ears pierced. I actually had mine pierced when I was 12, and also again about 10 years later, but both times they got infected and were so sensitive that I had to let them close up. As Ginger's birthday was getting closer, I considered trying again, but almost chickened out. Ginger basically forced me into it and I'm glad she did! It was a bonding experience for us. We had so much fun and I'm happy to report that three times a charm!

Our 1st Visitors the Day After Moving In!

The movers came and unloaded our truck on New Year's Eve and my sister, Brandi and her husband, Alan, arrived from Kentucky on New Year's Day. (Yes, they drove 16 hours each way to be with us for just a couple days!) Some people would think that would be hard to have company when everything is in disarray, but they're family and we were thrilled to have them here to celebrate with! We tried not to put them to work too much, except for making Brandi do all of our hair, and we enjoyed just hanging out and visiting. It was so nice to have my sister to laugh and cry with and I enjoyed getting to take Brandi to Babies 'R' Us to register for the birth of her first baby!

Home Sweet Home for New Year's Eve

The week between Christmas and New Year's was probably the longest week of our life. I am not even going to go into detail about all the issues we were facing with the new house we were trying to buy, but we finally did it! We closed (after so many prayers we lost count) on New Year's Eve and got to move into our home with the moving truck coming the next morning to unload. We were so excited to finally be in a home, even if all we had was a few outfits and a couple of sleeping bags!

Christmas Day...In the Hotel

Christmas in a one and a half bedroom hotel room was a bit tricky, especially since Santa Claus would be making a visit. So, Don and I had all the kids sleep in the beds in the bedroom and we slept in the front room in the really comfortable couch bed, just in case Santa made too much noise. Thankfully, he didn't even wake us up!

It was amazing to realize that it doesn't really matter where you are, just as long as you are together with the ones you love, it's perfect.


Grandma and Grandpa gave us the Wii for Christmas and boy was that the perfect gift to receive being stuck in a hotel room for 2 weeks! We loved it!


We spent the entire day playing together as a family with all of our new toys and even got to spend some time swimming in our private pool and hot tub, since the hotel was empty! We also went down for Christmas dinner in the lobby. A cook, and a maid. I could get used to this.....

Christmas Eve...in the Hotel

We liked to pretend that this was our Christmas tree! It was a huge tree in the lobby of the hotel and nobody was ever around, so it was kind of like our very own tree, right?



Thankfully, we knew of ONE family in the entire state of Texas and they just happened to be 10 minutes away from us. They were our friends that were in our ward in Moorpark over eight years ago and when they heard of our woes, invited us for Christmas Eve in their home. (They also brought dinner to us on another night) Can I tell you how wonderful it was to be in a real home, with a real meal for Christmas Eve? We had a delicious ham dinner with all the extras. We sang carols with the piano and the kids dressed in costume as the story was read from Luke 2. It was the first time it actually felt like Christmas that year. I don't think our friends realize how nice it was for us to be there and share that night with them.