Christmas wish lists

The kids keep announcing new things that they'd like this year for Christmas.

I have to remind them that the lists were made last month for a reason.  Santa is done shopping.  Santa has even finished wrapping.

On the top of their wish lists this year...

Tyler--a hammock, a watch, bike pedals, Indiana Jones movies, The Lost Hero series, a new pocket knife, an electric scooter , Star Wars legos, Wii games.

Jared--Harry Potter Legos, Wii or DS video games, a bike with shocks, a new scooter, Knex roller coaster, a trampoline, an ugly doll and a guitar.

Evan--super sonic race set, a remote control plane, a DS, a watch, hot wheels tracks, anything angry birds, legos, Imaginex super heroes.

Anna--dollhouse furniture, a Lalaloopsy doll, a pillow pet, a piggy bank, Hello Kitty watch, a pink clock, a pink scooter, Rapunzel doll...

AND...get this...If you were to ask Anna what she wants most for Christmas, she will say a...

Camelbak!

She is such a Kunz!

2011...A Great Year

This year, I managed to get it together.  Christmas cards are addressed and stamped and ready to go.  I opted to not write the traditional family letter, but instead sent our friends and family to the blog for our 2011 update.  Here on the blog, I feel a bit more comfortable bragging on my kids and telling the truth on how things are really going down!

Kunz Kidz Highlightz from 2011

Anna (4 1/2)

• Plane flight to Michigan with Mom and road trip all over the state meeting grandparents, great grandparents and aunts and uncles, and cousins!!
• Turning 4 and her very first trip to Build a Bear!  Being 4 also means attending preschool every single day.  This gal is a social bug and loves spending time with her friends!
• Music and Movement class where she was able to dress up in her leotard and skirt and wear tights all day long.
• Helping Mom plant and harvest a garden.  She could be found during the summer eating basil straight from the garden!
• Getting to know her Utah girl cousins!  Anna was able to see every single one of her 27 cousins in 2011!--that was until baby Kaitlyn was born in October.  She can't wait to meet her, too!
• Riding her very first roller coaster, The Ghoster Coaster (aka The Scooby Doo) and sitting in the front with her hands up the entire time.  She was so proud!

Evan (6 1/2)

• Playing t-ball for the Orioles and sliding into home base.  He came home covered in dirt after each game!
• Hiking, hiking and more hiking!  His two little legs took him to Delicate Arch, all over Goblin Valley, to the top of the "Y" on Y Mountain and through the hot Valley of Fire.  
• Mastering the art of playing games on our phones and finding every moment possible to sneak away and play video games.  We did manage to pull him away long enough for him to begrudgingly learn how to ride his bike--now if he could only get on it by himself!
• Growing an amazing 3 inches during his 6th year!  His large growth spurt was able to qualify him to make it on some of the smaller Kings Dominion roller coasters!  He was a happy boy!
• Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in UT.  We were able to spend 2 1/2 weeks in UT visiting family this summer.

Jared (9)

• With poofy unbrushed hair and while wearing sneakers, he reached the coveted 54 inches!  He has become a roller coaster junkie!
• Spending his birthday at Arches National Park and walking underneath Delicate Arch, although Landscape Arch was his favorite.
• Going to Kings Dominion 10 times during the summer!  His favorite thing was being 305 feet in the air while on the Intimidator.
• Having his Dad coach his baseball team.  He loves baseball and is a fearless natural at it.  Catcher is his favorite position to play.
• Feeding Atlantic sharpnose sharks while at Myrtle Beach.
• Memorizing facts and details about every roller coaster at Cedar Point.  Dreaming that he will one day be able to experience the thrill of it.

Tyler (11 1/2)

• Attending boy scout camp with his Dad and friends.  He was busy while there and earned 12 merit badges!
• "Graduating" from elementary school.  He earned the Citizenship Award (bragging here--only 8 kids in his grade earn this), all A honor roll and the President's Education award.  He works hard and it pays off.
• Goblin Valley was the highlight of his UT trip.  He loved exploring this large natural playground (we all enjoyed it).
• Starting middle school.  His calendar is now busier than mine!  Between French and pre-algebra studies, he's also filling his time with the robotics club, playing the cello and participating in the school play.  
• Thanksgiving break, Myrtle Beach, baseball season, mountain biking and trips to Kings Dominion were other highlights for Tyler in 2011.

Andrea

• Finally ridding myself of the awful cough.  I had sinus surgery over the summer and wow!  What a difference it made!
• Being able to see so many loved ones over the year.  I was able to see all of my nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents and even some dear friends.  Spending a whole week with my sister almost made me wish I lived in UT again.  Almost.   
• Family bike rides.  Pulling Anna along was tough, but I love that we have this activity to do together.  Biking to see the DC monuments was my favorite ride of the year.
• Baking cupcakes for a few weddings (and just for fun).  I still love doing this but have cut back because the sugar issue is reeking havoc on my children's teeth (and my waistline).
• Starting a new job.  I haven't "worked" in over 10 years!  I'm now teaching music at Anna's preschool. It's only a few hours a week, so it's a great fit for me and I love spending time with the children.
• Being released as our ward's Primary president (over the childrens organization at church) and being called as the Stake primary president (over the 10 congregations in our area).  Still not too sure how I'm feeling about this one!

Rob

• Spending the last few weeks of the year in Japan.  It's been over a year since he's been able to go back and he's missed it.  Hopefully, he's eating lots of good curry, ramen and sushi for us!
• Kayaking!  He spent the summer working on flipping his kayak in a friends pool and he enjoyed a few kayak adventures with friends.
• Boy Scout high adventure with the Varsity Scouts.  They canoed (Rob kayaked), rock climbed, went shooting and came home with tons of stories to share.  He's enjoyed working with this group of boys as their scout leader.
• Taking the kids rock climbing, mountain biking with the boys, teaching the family how to kayak, coaching the kids in baseball--being an all out adventurous, on the go father and husband.  Saturdays are always fun-filled around here!
• Working on his newest toy--a pop up trailer that we inherited from our generous neighbors when they moved away.  He has lots of traveling and camping dreams for us next summer (and as long as they don't involve sleeping in a tent, I'm on board)!
• Continuing to work at Lockheed Martin.  Travel this year has been a lot less, but the work load has kept him very busy.  Rob's job has been very good to him and we feel blessed because of all his hard work.

2011 has been an exciting year for us.  We will be ending the year with a winter adventure to New York City!  We are sad to see it go, but we are gearing up for an extraordinary 2012!  On the 2012 schedule so far...Tyler turning 12 (with family coming to visit), a family visit to Buffalo, a trip to Myrtle Beach, cub scout camp, Goshen boy scout camp, another high adventure for Rob, an outer banks beach vacation, Anna starting Kindergarten, many more trip to Kings Dominion, Jared's 3 day dream adventure to Cedar Point (!!!), my sister coming to visit, Tyler playing John in Peter Pan, etc...Hoping to rest up for 2012 during Christmas break!!!

Merry Christmas and Love from the Kunz Family to yours!

Extreme Sports

Have you ever heard of a PlasmaCar?  (aka Wiggle Car)

We have 3 of them.

These little cars can hold up to 220 lbs and have a 6 month warranty.  But we're here to tell you that they have withstood the test of time and have endured much abuse over the past few years that we have had them.

Meant to be a child's toy, these cars have taken on the label of "extreme".  When our children (or the neighbors) ride on them, helmets are required.  And sometimes we insist on knee and elbow pads--only because several months ago, Tyler took a nice slide down the street after his speed machine tipped over.  He knows the definition of road rash!

Basically what you do is start at the top of the hill, speed down as fast as you can and either fly off the bike jump or whip into the driveway at the sharpest angle possible.

Today, the boys took advantage of all their Dad's hard work from raking up the leaves...

Happy Halloween

This year, Halloween is going mellow at our home.  

Our costumes this year were easy, peasy.  A hat (each one cost anywhere from FREE to $3, templates found here), foam (already had), a beak or pig nose (PartyCo for $1.99), coordinating shirt (had on hand or less then $5).  Done.

This may sadly be our last year doing the whole family themed costume :(.  The pre-teen is losing interest.  We'll see what next year will hold...

2010 (Superheros)

2009 (Harry Potter)

2008 (Star Wars)

2007 (Ninja Turtles)

2006 (Ghost and skeleton, road and construction worker, Evan was a lone octopus)

2005 (Dinosaurs)

2004 (Pirates)

2003and 2002 (pumpkin and dragontail?  Sadly, I can't remember these years...), 2001(cowboy), 2000 (cat family)

Worry Wart

Headed out on a field trip with my 6th grader today.  6th graders and a rainy day...I didn't think would be a good combination, but it was kind of sort of fun.  However, I did not come home with any pictures.  So sad.

I did come home with lots of thoughts, though.  Maybe more like anxieties.

I hated my high school experience, middle school wasn't as bad.  I was the quiet one.  Some would say shy, I prefer quiet.  I'd talk to people, converse in class, but outside of school I was not really close with too many school friends.  I remember all of the anxieties that I felt.  At that age, friends and relationships are important.  Don't get me wrong, I did have friends.  Just not at my school.  So it kind of sucked.

Tyler is our quiet one.  So I curiously watched his interactions with his peers while on the field trip.

And I really probably have no reason to worry.  But I do.  Because I don't want him to go through what I did.  And with his closest friends in his grade moving or going to a different school, I can tell that he is bummed.  He interacted and laughed with and talked to the other kids, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn't happy (or as happy as he could be).  He was more happy about what they were doing on the field trip (science related) rather then the social aspects of it.

And that's ok, right?  I need to just top worrying about it, right?

He is well liked.  He is active in school--taking French, cello, robotics club, school play, etc...He likes the challenges that school offers.  I'm sure his quiet personality will settle into a happy school routine.

So what's the problem...

me.

Stop worrying!

I'm All Alone

Anna went back to school today.

I kind of missed her.  I kept turning around in the car wondering why it was so quiet.  One time, I even opened the door to get her out.

But I do look forward to going to the grocery store tomorrow...by myself!

A few hours of peace everyday.  Weird.

And our afternoons of shoe shopping and lunch dates...awesome!

I will never forget.

As the days inch closer to the 10th anniversary of 9/11, my mind has been going back to that day...

I drove Rob to work that morning around 8 am.  I gathered up Tyler, 19 months at the time, and put him in the car for the drive across town.  As we walked out of the apartment (just a few blocks from where we lived now), I remarked about how beautiful it was outside while noticing the blue cloudless sky as an airplane flew over head, heading to Dulles airport.

Once we were home, I turned on the tv (which at that time in my life was out of the ordinary--not so much now, though) to Good Morning America just as the first airplane hit the World Trade Center tower.  I watched in shock.  Did that really just happen?  I immediately called Rob.  "An airplane hit the World Trade Center."  He didn't seem too shocked.  Having lived in Manhattan for 2 years as an LDS missionary, he thought I meant a small airplane came close to a skyscraper.  But watching it live, you just knew that something awful had happened.  When the airplane hit the Pentagon, I felt like I couldn't breath.  This was all happening a little too close to home.  It wasn't too long after that that I was not able to even call my husband because all of the phone lines went down.  And I sat there on the couch, glued to the tv, holding my son as tight as I could for what seemed like days.  Crying.

I wondered what the effect of this would have on me and my family.  I wondered what this would feel like 10 years later.  I wondered if my children would ever really understand this incredible event.

I was watching a news report this morning with interviews of random people and how their lives are different since 9/11.
I don't know if the events of 9/11 have necessarily changed the outcome of where my life is now, ten years later.  I still would have had 3 more children.  We still would have moved to the homes that we did.  We still would have stayed active in our church.  I still would be a stay at home mom.  Rob would still work for the same company. 9/11 or not.

But obviously it has changed me in many ways.

I'm more grateful to the loved ones that I have in my life.  I appreciate more that they are with me.

I'm more sensitive to saying things like "I'm so blessed that we are all ok" or "it's a miracle that he lived"  because so many people were not "so blessed" or did not receive that miracle.  I think it jaded me a little bit and tested my faith.

I came out with a better understanding that God does not control us or the choices of others.  That man is responsible for his own actions.  And sometimes (often times), we suffer the consequences of others choices.  Innocent people, even children suffer at no fault of their own.  God can help us with that, though.  He can help us to not be bitter or hateful or to feel hopeless or alone.

I'm more patient to those around me that I don't know.  Every person has a story.  Every person is loved by someone.  Who am I to judge them by a quick glimpse into their life at the check out counter or behind the steering wheel.

I'm more concentious to what my children need to know and what they should know.  I want them to feel safe, but I don't want them to be naive.  I'm cautious as to what they see on tv or hear in the news.  I remember how watching those events on tv made me feel.  I don't think children need to or should feel that way.  So we rarely watch the news in our home.

This past weekend, we took visited the Pentagon Memorial with our children.  Obviously, they will not remember the events from 10 years ago, they were not born yet (or too young know what was happening). But we want them to understand.  I think they do.

No tears.

I didn't even shed one tear this year.

Not even when Tyler left for his first day of middle school. 

I think all of the bickering from the past week made it a little easier on me.

But I will anxiously await for their return home so I can hear all about their first day, hoping all day that they are doing well.

I'm going to have to keep myself busy today or it's going to be a long day.

Is it 3 o'clock yet?

Summertime

We had such a great summer!

We played our days away at the pools, ran around Kings Dominion, pushed ourselves on bike rides, hiked around national and state parks, visited lots of family, explored all over Utah, experienced out first earthquake, ate one too many cupcakes, kayaked together,...

We barely took time out to practice our handwriting or piano.  I think we might have pulled up the multiplication table app--once! We did manage to read a few books, but never made it to the library.  Yard work and gardens fell by the wayside.  The carpets are stained with dirt from running in and out of the house and the house needs a good scrub down from lack of cleaning. 

We just played, played and played some more.
It was an exhausting summer, but so so much fun.

That was all up to two weeks ago.

Today, I'm ready.  Ready for a nap.

Tomorrow, Tyler starts middle school.  And he is so excited about it.  A little nervous, but mostly excited.
Jared will begin 4th grade with a much smaller class size and lots of opportunities for the attention that he needs and deserves.
Evan wants nothing to do with 1st grade or school in general.  I'm hoping that he'll be able to hold it together and at least be nice to his teacher.
Anna starts preschool next week and she is so excited about seeing all of her friends at her school.

My plans for the day Anna starts school (September 12th)?--NOTHING!  I'm giving myself one day to just be lazy, to stay in my pjs and take a break.  And maybe even take an afternoon nap!  Just one day. 

After one day, I'm sure I'll be bored and wishing I had my children around to go on some more adventures!

Back to school is so bitter sweet.

54"

Jared came downstairs on Wednesday morning wearing about 7 pair of socks.
I was in no mood for games.  He was supposed to be upstairs brushing his teeth and hair.
And he still hadn't even touched the piano keys for his practice or picked up the broom to finish up his kitchen work.
Instead he was trying on socks.
This is a normal scenario in our home.
Something is always distracting him.
Today it was socks.
Or trying to make himself taller.

I'm disappointed in myself, though that I didn't stop to see the humor in the moment.
I would love to have a photo of  his feet about right now.  They were so huge and fat, covered in all those socks...different sizes and various colors.
Instead, I sent him upstairs to put on only ONE pair of socks and to hurry up because we were going to Kings Dominion and needed to leave.

I'm happy to report that Jared did not need all of those socks.
He just needed to forget to brush his hair (again, he was distracted!).
For the first (and probably only) time this season, he received the coveted orange 54" bracelet.
Which is pretty much the golden ticket to ride EVERYTHING at Kings Dominion.
Including...

The Volcano

 The Dominator

The Crypt

And the ever so frightening Intimidator 305!

Jared thinks that his life is now complete...
except that he still has not been to Cedar Point!

We've been gone

We just got back from a 2 1/2 week repos in UT.  Some time was spent in the Salt Lake area.  We had a few adventures in Southern UT and we relaxed in Utah County.

I can't believe all of the adventures and fun that we squeezed into this short amount of time.  We visited one National Park (Arches), 2 State Parks (Goblin Valley and Valley of Fire), hiked one mountain, visited 2 temple visitor centers, hit a waterpark, swam 5 times, tasted cupcakes from 4 shops, made our own cupcakes, ate delicious food, picnicked in the mountains, splurged at 2 farmer's markets, shopped and shopped, toured BYU and went bowling, went tubing, dug for trilobites...and spent loads of time with cousins, family and friends!!

I think it's going to take just as long to recover!

His latest obsession...

After a long 2 days spent at a nearby amusement park (King's Dominion), my almost 9 year old son came stumbling into my room last night, all sleepy eyed.

"Mom, I'm so tired! I can't sleep!"

"What's up, Jared?" (My kind way of saying "This better be good because you just woke me up!")

"I keep thinking about Cedar Point.  I want to go so bad!"
(Cedar Point is an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio.  They're known for their extreme roller coasters and thrill rides.)

I couldn't be mad because I could understand.  It's that excited feeling you get before leaving on a vacation or you just had the best day ever and  you can't stop replaying the events in your mind.

The problem...he's never been to Cedar Point and we have no plans to go, at least until next year, and that's even a maybe...
He's been scouring their website.  He knows all of their height requirements.  He's watched extreme videos.  His ride route has been planned out.

We have an adrenaline junkie on our hands!
Good think my husband is his father.
I like myself a good roller coaster, but I have no desire to ride the swings 301 ft. in the air or drop from 272 feet in the air at 72 mph or almost blackout while going down a 85 degree angled slope! 
I don't even like to watch my kids do these things.

Jared used to be my little blue eyed baby.

All cute and cuddled up on me while I rocked him to sleep.

How did he turn into a 9 year old boy who prefers to go about life hanging upside down?

I sure hope an adventurous birthday at Arches National Park is going to be enough to thrill this child!

An early Happy Birthday to my wild child!!

Giving myself some time

Funny how sinus surgery recovery makes you feel like you have the worst sinus infection in the world!

I'm grateful, though.  Really.

I didn't have to have my nose packed.
My nose didn't even bleed.
So no gauze mustache for me!
I just have the worlds worst headache.
But that should be expected, right?
Someone was just all up messing around near my brain.

I've managed one excursion a day since surgery on Monday. 
Tuesday I went to a breakfast with friends from church.  This was kind of pointless as I barely remember a thing and I believe I fell asleep a few times.
Wednesday was the grand opening of Cafe Rio in Manassas.  I've been so excited about this day that I didn't want to miss it.  My head throbbed and the place was noisy, but it was worth it!
And today I ran to the grocery store to buy ingredients to make Butterbeer Cupcakes in honor of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Making cupcakes will be Fridays adventure and seeing the movie will be Saturdays.

And hopefully by the weekend I'll be feeling much better!
We've got vacation to get ready for!!!!

Family, Food, Friends and Fireworks

We hope that you are all enjoying your 4th.
We finished up a 9 mile bike ride with our family and some friends this afternoon.  Made a little stop for some ice cream while riding.
Now off for a hot dog feast and and some fireworks with friends.
We're bringing these...

Thanks Annie's Eats for the awesome recipe!  S'mores Cupcakes.  Yum.

I don't think the day could be any better.

Don't Be A Chicken

 This year, Evan played his second year of t-ball.  He's so cute to watch as he taps the base and his shoes before he bats and then runs as fast as he can to first base.  And he can never forget his awesome slide onto the home plate! The child came home so dirty after every game.  I ended up throwing his pants and socks away after the last game.  Just not worth the hassle of de-staining.

Evan was by far the smallest child on his team, but because of the size of his head he had to wear the largest helmets.  Whenever he'd squeeze that thing on, he'd remind me of Chicken Little from the Disney movie. Chicken Little loved to play baseball and his helmet would almost swallow him whole!

This week while waiting at the orthodontist, I picked up an easy reader book for Evan to read while we waited.

  Life can never be simple for Chicken Little—trouble always seems to fall on him. But he’ll never give up, even when challenged by bullies and aliens. This simple Step 1 reader shows that if you believe in yourself, you can overcome anything—even if you’re the smallest chicken in town!

 
Cutest book ever.  I really don't worry about Evan "giving up" right now.  The child has so much spunk and excitement for life that it doesn't even phase him that he's a little smaller and slower then the rest of the kids.  I do silently worry, though, about bullies (and aliens).  His size difference will start to show more and more the older he gets.  I sure hope his classmates and the kids he associates with will be kind.  And I hope Evan continues to have that never give up attitude even if he is the smallest chicken in town.

Music and Movement

Anna LOVED her Music and Movement class this year with the fabulous Ms. Emily.  She eagerly waited for each and every Thursday to come so she could go to her dance class.  Sadly, Anna will have to find something different to do next year on her Thursdays as Ms. Emily is moving out of state.  I don't know if we'll be able to find another class to top it...

The end of the year performance did not disappoint and was filled with all kinds of cuteness.

Like this...

(and check out that goose egg!  purty.)

 

After the song and dance numbers, we went to the backyard to preview the gallery of art created by the girls.  They learned about Van Gogh, Pollock, and Seurat (to name a few) and created art projects for each artist!  If I could only be as organized as Emily, I'd love to do something like this (minus the music and movement part--not really my strong point!).

Next year it will be all preschool and Mommy time for Anna.  I need to cherish this last year of my last child being home with me.  Sniff.  Sniff.

3rd Graders are odd...

but that's ok.  They're also a lot of fun!
I had a great time with Jared and his classmates on their field trip to Luray Caverns (way back at the end of April).

Spending time with Jared in his school environment really got me thinking, though, about how much I need to be fighting for his best interests.  I should expect that his teacher notice he is there and be able to pronounce his last name by the end of the school year (right?).  He's had two years now of sub-par teachers and it has been disappointing for me as a parent, but also for Jared. 
4th grade will be different.  I'm not going to just hope that he has a good teacher.  I'm going to expect that his teacher will give him the attention he needs and deserves.

My screen door is ugly

Just the other day, I was telling Rob that I thought our screen door was practical, but rather ugly.  I'd prefer not to have it, but with all of the kids running in and out of the house so often, it just makes sense to have one.  I guess I'd rather spend our money on other things, so I dropped the non-essential issue.

Until today that is!

After some friends left this evening (Hi, Brian and Jen--thanks for visiting!!),  Rob set out to finish some lawn work, edging the driveway.  Tyler, Anna and I were hanging out on the porch enjoying the nice weather when all of a sudden we heard a shot (or what sounded like one) and turned to see a hole in the screen door window, but the screen itself looked untouched...

I guess Jared heard the noise too and came running upstairs from his video game coma.
Unfortunately, he didn't even notice there was a hole in the glass and ran out the door to see what had happened.
The poor kid.
Once he opened the door, the entire glass panel shattered into thousands of little pieces all over him.
He's ok.

In fact, all he has to show for it is one teeny tiny cut on his arm.  Barely even phased him.
Here's the itty-bitty hole that was made--we're guessing it was made from a pebble that flew while Rob was edging...

Here's the damage...

We're kind of feeling lucky right now that one of us wasn't standing in the pebble's path!
And...I'll be getting myself a new screen door!

NKA

After the crazy allergy incident at our home this week and reading my friend Libby's blog, I was reminded of a funny/sad story from Tyler's kindergarten days...

 

Tyler on his first day of school (September 2005)

I guess we did a poor job of educating our new kindergartner on what allergies were.  For whatever reason, the topic never really came up in our daily conversations with our 5 year old.  We filled out all of the school forms reporting that Tyler had NKA (No Known Allergies) and left it at that...

On one of his first days of school, the new computer lab teacher brought in cookies for the new students.  She asked if there was anyone in the class who was allergic to cookies.

Tyler thought that was a funny question to ask and not knowing what allergies meant, he assumed that she wanted to know who liked cookies, so he raised his hand up high.  "Me, Me!"

He was the only child in the class who did not get a cookie that day.  Instead, he got some stickers and shed lots of tears.

This was one of Tyler's first lessons on speaking up!  And one of the new teacher's first lesson on why the parents fill out the school forms, not the kindergarten children!

Birthday Girl

"I'm going to be 4...and then I'll be 5"

Why do they have to be so eager to grow up?

My best buddy turns 4 today!

She's my lunch date ("Where are we eating lunch today?"),
my personal shopper ("Is this on sale?  Can we get it?"--repeat 100x),
my cleaning helper ("Why don't the boys ever put this stuff away right?")
my officer worker ("I want a purple stapler and pink tape dispenser for my birthday!"),
my little fashionista ("I can't decide if I want short hair like Betty or Rapunzel hair like Amy's mom..."),
my own Pandora station ("When do you think All the Single Ladies will play again?")...

I don't know what I'm going to do when she does turn 5.  That's only months away from going to kindergarten.  Gulp.

Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Super Man

Are you ready for some cheese?
It's Rob's 35th birthday today.

And I couldn't go today without letting him and the whole world know that he is my Super Hero!

 (Because how many husbands would dress up like this and walk around Disney all day with red hair dye dripping down his face because of the sweltering heat.  All just to make his family happy.  He hated every moment of it.  Yet he played along.  I love him.)

BEHOLD your little ones

I've been in bed sick and resting for the past two days. Which means no church for me today :( but time to catch up on General Conference that I missed while in Michigan.

I've had many reasons to be thinking about the family over the past few weeks.  More so on the impact that we as parents have on our children and the blessings that children provide in our life. Some of my favorite quotes and thoughts from the conference...

Richard J. Maynes shared my favorite poem, The Echo by C.C. Miller, during his conference address along with this thought...

"Parents are responsible to teach their children in love and righteousness. Parents will be held accountable before the Lord in how they perform their sacred responsibilities. Parents teach their children with words and through example."

’Twas a sheep not a lamb

That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong,

It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when the sheep are lost

What a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay.

Our role as parents is SO important.   We need to be mindful of the choices that we make.  Our little ones are watching and following.

And then Sister Jean A. Stevens shared some words to a song that the children in our ward learned a few years ago and has become a favorite bedtime song of Anna's...

God gave us families

To help us become what He wants us to be—

This is how He shares His love,

For the fam’ly is of God.

(You can listen to the song here.) 

"Have some of life’s experiences taken from you the believing heart and childlike faith you once had? If so, look around at the children in your life. And then look again. They may be children in your family, across the street, or in the Primary in your ward. If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth."

"It was Jesus Christ Himself who taught us to look to children as an example. The New Testament records His answer when His Apostles disputed who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus answered their question with a small yet powerful object lesson. He called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them and said:

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4)."

We have SO much that we can learn from the young ones in our life. To quote from Elder Ballard's thoughts on Christ's love for the children...

“And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

“And when he had done this he wept. …

“And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:21–23).

“Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” (“Behold Your Little Ones,” Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; emphasis added; “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 59).

I love General Conference and the gentle reminder that I've been given to love, cherish and learn from the children that I have been entrusted with. 

Birthday Boy

I just returned from my whirlwind trip across Michigan.
And just in time!
It was no accident that we made it back by today...
I hate missing birthdays!

And today is Evan's 6th!
I can't get enough of this kid.
He never fails to put a smile on my face (even when he shouldn't be).

Happy Birthday, Evan.

Some of my favorite photos of Evan from the past year...

Anna, Anna silly banana,

how does your garden grow?

We've got lots of work to go, but I have the best helper one could ask for!



Seedlings are growing (not as well as I'd like however).  Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, oregano, jalepenos and sweet peppers.  I can't wait!
Raspberries are planted (thanks Delilas).
Soil will be prepped this weekend.
Green onions, carrots, watermelon, peas, cilantro!!
Looking forward to the harvest!!

Hello Cello

Learning the cello has been so much fun for Tyler.  He's signed up to continue with it next year which means forking out the big bucks for a rental (rather then the beat up elementary school cello which has a one time small fee).   He hates that he has the ugly cello, but we wanted to make sure that he was really invested.  And he is.  His few years of piano lessons have helped him pick up the beginning cello lessons quite easily.

A few weeks ago they had a mini concert tagged on to a PTO meeting (in hopes that we would all stay...we didn't.)  Because they really have not learned that much, the concert lasted all of 5 minutes.  A few children were chosen to play a song with their bows and Tyler was one of them.  We're so glad he's had this experience.

Are you getting sick of all these catch up posts yet?  

I am.

But I'm happy to have them documented.

Why I Love Spring

(Minus the whole lack of grass thing.)

The Great Ice Race

Water, lemonade, soda or juice?  Which freezes the fastest?

Evan can not just sit back and watch everyone participate in science fair projects.  He's been dying to do his own for years.  Now that he is in kindergarten, he could officially participate in the school science fair!  Once Evan realized that making his science fair board was more then just completing an experiment, he wasn't as excited about it but he finished it none the less.  He made a graph, wrote out his hypothesis (I think water will frez first becuz thur is no junk in it.) and results (I was rit!).

And now he is so proud.

(And you can call us crazy for adding unnecessary stress to our already busy schedules, but we like science experiments over here and if the kids want to participate they have to initiate everything and earn the privilege to participate--except for Tyler this year, it is required in 5th grade.)

FYI...plain water freezes the fastest.

Mr. America

I love the music programs that our elementary school puts on.  Each grade has it's own program that they really try and make special for the children.  This year, Jared's theme was America.  The 3rd graders sang several songs, wore their patriotic gear and waved their flags proudly.  It's fun to look across all of the 3rd graders and recognize so many of them from over the past 4 years.  We really do have a great school!

 Jared isn't a fan of singing, but I did see him open his mouth (but just barely)!

I survived a 5th grade field trip

I guess once kids hit 5th grade, parents don't care so much about going on field trips with their kids because there was no lottery necessary and I was able to go on Tyler's trip to DC.  We spent the entire day in DC and were able to go to the top of the Washington Monument, walk across the mall and see the WWII and Vietnam Memorials and visit the Lincoln Memorial.  After a quick lunch break, we spent a few hours at the American History and Natural History Museums.  The trip was maybe an hour or two too long for the kids to handle and by the end of the day we were all dragging. 

Hanging out with 5th graders all day was eye opening.  They are enthusiastic.  Their minds are constantly running (along with their mouths--talk, talk, talk all day!). They are good, good kids.  And they are still young. Unfortunately, maybe some of them don't have the best influences in their life.  Or I am just getting old and old-fashioned.  Am I wrong to think that 10 years old (and 8 year olds according to one mother) is too young to be watching Grey's Anatomy and Glee or having Facebook accounts?   Blah...I don't think I'm ready for middle school!
Can't Tyler stay in 5th grade forever?

Not sure the point of this post...

I love this picture.  I hate this picture.  We both have sad, crying, puffy eyes.  This wasn't the way I would have preferred to see my long lost forever friend, but it was...

 Care (Catalina) and Dre (Andreas)

Care and her family lost their dear sister to breast cancer in March.  I wish I had known Liz better.  She was older then us, so she was always the older, wiser, off to college, on a mission sister that Care looked up to and talked about often. Liz was much too young to go.  She left here a husband, three children (2 with autism--don't forget to light it up blue), 3 sisters, parents and many, many friends.  I've never seen a  funeral so well attended.  It was evident...Liz loved many and was loved by many.

I haven't seen Care in YEARS--maybe since Tyler was a baby??  But some things just never change and it was like we were in high school again.  I wish we could have had more time to visit, but obviously she was needed elsewhere and we were heading off to a wedding in WV.  I left knowing that I missed her and looking forward to seeing her again this summer--hopefully under much happier circumstances.

"Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death...We were born to die, and we die to live. (See 2 Cor. 6:9.) As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven." Elder Russell M. Nelson

I went to Japan (Socks post)

Remember last year when I went to Japan...
That was awesome.

I wish I could go back.

When the earthquake and tsunami destroyed parts of Japan last month, I was reminded about so many things from our trip.

Namely...their "socks style".  Weird, huh?

 Isn't that the best name for a store!

 

Uh-oh!  Where is my sensor button??!!  ; )

Because my feet had swelled up so badly on the plane ride and they were rather uncomfortable our entire trip. Foot comfort was on my mind A LOT!

I brought home tons of socks from Japan!  It turned out to be my favorite souvenir.  In Japan, they even have accessories for their socks--little pompoms and bows, etc...!  You know how we wear nude colored slip on socks with our flats...I think that is a fashion no-no in Japan.  If you're wearing socks then they need to be great and they're meant to be seen!  We here in America have so much to learn from the Japanese (and really this extends far past sock style, but that could be an entire post of its own)!

After the tsunami, I heard from a friend about an organization that was collecting socks for the people in Japan.  It immediately tugged on my heart strings.  Socks for Japan...I couldn't think of a more perfect way to help in a way that was personally meaningful to me (and my family)! 

So, I gathered up the kidlings and we went sock shopping!  The only rule was that the socks could not be boring.  The kids had tons of fun picking out cool socks and we finished off the afternoon with lunch at PeiWei,  using chopsticks and all.  The next day, Anna and I created a note (and found someone to translate it for us in Japanese) that we wrapped around each pair of socks and delivered them to a friend to be shipped to Japan.  Word is that our socks have arrived and soon will be on the feet of 45 Japenese friends.  I'm so happy.

You can follow along (and donate socks) on the Socks for Japan website about their experiences as they deliver socks to the shelters in Japan.  It is inspiring, motivating, heart breaking and uplifting to read that the socks are so greatly appreciated.  Help if you can.

Enjoy your life!  Enjoy your socks style!