MONSTERS . . .

The following is a conversation between Kale and Kristopher:

Kristopher - I don't want to go upstairs by myself - I'm scared - What if the MONSTERS get me?

Kale - Monsters don't live at our house.

Kristopher - But what if they do?

Kale - They don't.

Kristopher - But what if they do?

Kale - They don't.

Kristopher - How do you know?

Kale - They don't live here because mom scares them away when she yells.

I could look at this two ways

1.  Maybe I shouldn't yell as much

2.  My yelling just solved a problem that I didn't have to yell to solve!

I'll Be Missing You. . .

Wow - Did Kristopher miss his brother today!

He didn't know what to do with himself.

So he made Kale a sign. . .

(I want to hug whoever came up with the foam letters - 

It is the only crafty thing my boys will do.)

Final Project

Kris even hung it on the garage door so Kale would see it when he got home.

(how did he know a magnet would work?)

And then he sat on the front porch and ate at least 3 otter pops waiting until Kale got home.

And then the wrestling/fighting/annoying each other 

started again . . .

sorry no pictures of that

SCHOOL STARTED!!!

After WEEKS of watching everyone else start school. . .

IT WAS OUR TURN!

Kale is starting 3rd grade at Vencil Brown Elementary.

I'm sure you can see the nervous look on his face . . .

He wouldn't let on but all week I could tell he was nervous

HECK I was nervous - it's a new school!

Teachers I know nothing about, new school policies to learn, school starts and ends at a different time (I hope I remember to pick him up at the right time) . . .

But Kale said it perfectly as we walked to school this morning,

"I don't even know where the bathrooms are."

I didn't cry when he went to Kindergarten.

First Grade was a little harder for me, but still no tears.

Second Grade was a piece of cake.

But Third Grade brought tears to my eyes as I watched him so nervously (but trying to be so brave) walk into that classroom and find his desk!!!!

I'M DYING TO GO PICK HIM UP - IS IT 3:00 YET?

Kris started Pre-School

at PRE-FUN PRESCHOOL

with Ms. Danai.

He loved it!

So last night we had our annual

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT DINNER.

Up until this year Kale has gotten to choose anything he wanted me to make for dinner because he was the only one going back to school - 

This year proved to be a little more difficult because they both got to choose - 

which meant they both had to agree.

Somehow I got off easy - 

No slaving in the kitchen for me - 

They wanted HAMBURGERS!

After dinner Kyle

gave each of the boys a "father's blessing"

for Family Night.

THE STATE FAIR

"If you ever want to feel better about your own family

go to a state fair.

Because like after 10 minutes at the state fair

you're like 'you know what - we're all right.

We're dang near royalty!'"

Jeff Foxworthy

This year the CALIFORNIA STATE FAIR went HOLLYWOOD!

So where to begin. . . .

Of course they had GREASY FOOD!

TONS OF ANIMALS

The boys walked Llamas

Kristopher and Grandma milked a Goat

(Kale said "Maybe next year")

This is as close as we could Kara to the baby cows

And this is as close as I could get Kristopher to go near any cow

We missed seeing the baby pigs born earlier that morning - 

but still got to see them and hold them later.

There were lots of mama cows ready to have their babies - 

When we walked over the livestock nursery we were greeted by

a veterinarian with her entire arm up to her shoulder inside the cows *******

checking to see if she was ready for delivery - 

I will never complain about a few fingers again.

OF COURSE THERE WERE GREAT SHOWS

Here are Kale and Grandma in their FAIR debut

Kale got up on stage by being the first one to hit his mother

I'M SO PROUD!

Grandma got up on state because she looked

COMPETENT AND CAPABLE. . .

It started like this. . .

then to this. . .

And finally to this. . .

The Chinese Acrobats were amazing!

There were 7 yes 7 of them on one bike!

And then this - 

He used the chairs as a ladder adding a chair each time 

until he was balancing on 7 chairs - 

but look what the chairs are on - 

4 GLASS WINE BOTTLES!!!!

This was the boys favorite show -

They were mesmerized . . .

Kale asked if they were going to win the gold medal like all the Chinese at the Olympics and I had to look in Kristopher's eyes and tell him we DO NOT try this at home.

We also saw the FLYING DOG SHOW - which was cool - but not as cool as if the dogs were really flying - they just jumped high and caught frisbees. But we did get the share Merlino's Freezes during the show so how can you complain?

THE BOYS GOT TO COMPETE IN THE TRACTOR PULL

Here they are gearing up for competition

Here is Kristopher with 50 pounds

and Kale with 220 pounds 

Kale made it into the finals and was the only one to make it with 300 pounds!

And here's the BLUE RIBBONS to prove it!

We enjoyed ice cream samples. . .

Great exhibits

laughs with Grandma

And what could be better at the end of the day than a ride

on the giant ferris wheel?

(Pleeeeease no one throw up on us!!!!)

WHAT A DAY - Can school start finally?

SMILE

I thought we could all use a little SMILE!

Hopefully it made YOU smile too!

11 YEARS

Here's 11 great photos for 11 great years!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY  - I LOVE YOU!

Dear Karalyn,

I have had an amazing time watching  you these past few weeks. I have loved seeing how excited you get when I lay you in your crib because you can roll and move as much as you want. I love when you smile now and I can see your two bottom teeth just poking through. I love listening to you belly laugh as your brothers jump from the couch onto massive pillows on the floor as they are pretending to be in the olympics. I love that you join us now at the dinner table as you sit in your high chair. I laugh at the looks you give me as I feed you new foods and you try to decide if you like them or not. I love that you get excited when I enter the room (and not so excited when I leave the room).  I even love that we put your baby bathtub away and pulled out the bath seat so you now you can splash in those bubbles all you want. I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though these milestones have been amazing and I have had so much fun watching you grow and discover new things- I miss my baby so it's been fun but if you don't mind I would like my baby back?

Out of their MOUTHS. . .

SCENE ONE:

We are busy packing the car for our Donner Lake Camping Trip.

Kelly has come over to get one of our camp boxes - I ask her to take the cheese that I have and put in the coolers that they are packing at Grandma and Grandpas - so I ask Kale - 

MOM:

"Kale, come here I need you to do something for me."

(Kale running around the front yard with a star wars gun shooting at pretend who knows what)

"Kale, look at me so I don't have to ask you twice. In the fridge, on the door, is a packet of yellow cheese. . . Kale you're not looking at me - you are going to come back and ask me what I said so listen please . . . In the fridge, on the door, is a a packet of yellow cheese - please go bring it to me."

KALE:

"So is it in the fridge?"

SCENE TWO:

I am cutting up zucchini to make for dinner. Kristopher says he wants to help. As much as I want to say no because I just want to get it done - I tell him to pull the stool up and get a knife. As he is cutting up the zucchini I tell him he is doing a great job. . .

MOM:

"Kris who knew you were so good at this?"

KRIS:

"Heavenly Father."

SIX MONTHS OLD

When Karalyn was about 2 weeks old we as a family

NICKNAMED her "KAR-BEAR"

because she grunts louder than her brothers

when going about her business. . .

A few days later we were in Target (shocker)

and Kale saw the CareBears and announced that

Kara needed one. . .

So I bought one and then decided that each month

on her birthday we would take a picture of her

with her CareBear

so we could see how much she grew each month. . .

HERE ARE THE RESULTS!

March 7, 2008

April 7, 2008

May 7, 2008

June 7, 2008

July 7, 2008

August 7, 2008

But the really important thing about today is. . .

WE ARE GRADUATING FROM THIS

TO THIS

TONIGHT!!!!!

I finally finished her room. . .

and I guess I'm brave enough that if she wakes up in the night I can walk across the entire house and climb a flight of stairs instead of just standing up and getting her out of her cradle - 

WE'LL SEE!

Here's the rest of her room . . . (I kinda like it)