Randall Family Happenings

O.k.  so I have all of these grand ideas for blog posts, but since blogger has made changes to how you add photos I have had no luck getting photos to upload.  The last post about Kevin's birthday was a lucky bonus I guess, because that was the last time I got it to work.  *Insert deep sobs here!*

I thought that I would do a little post to let you in on some of the happenings of our family.

Kenzie:  Kenzie is entering a difficult phase.  We have lucked out so far and have not needed outlet covers, or doorknob "locks" etc., but I think we have our work cut out for us with Kenzie.  If someone leaves a door open she is so quick to get in, or out and do some damage.  Just the other night I was trying to get everyone to the table for dinner.  The older kids left the big garage doors open and the inside door open, (thanks guys) and while I was busy putting dinner on, she snuck out and we found her down the street--yikes!  Thankfully a kind neighbor was there with her.  She loves to get into my bathtub, fully clothed, turn the water on to a trickle and play with my toothbrush in the water.  Don't even get me started on her getting into Kelly and Kevin's room--double yikes!  Other than that she is talking a lot more.  One of her cutest saying is, "No thanks!"  She is probably the girliest of all of our girls.  She loves all things pink and can easily pick out anything that color.  She loves dresses and barbies.  I have noticed that she really loves babies and of course anyone her size or smaller is a baby to her.  She will go up to them and want to hug them and just look at them and talk to them.  One day at the park she just wanted to sit and talk to a baby in a stroller instead of playing on the playground.  She also really likes animals and it's not just a puppy or kitty to her, it's a "cute puppy" and "cute kitty".

Kate: Kate is getting ready to turn 5 this week.  I can't believe it has been 5 years already.  She is a lot of fun to have around.  She got an early bday present--pink converse all stars.  We are working on learning how to tie her new shoes.  She loves to help me in the kitchen with cooking and doing dishes.  I hope it stays that way, but I'm pretty sure she'll figure out sooner than later that doing dishes is not all that it's cracked up to be.  We recently got Kate a new bike helmet and have been riding bikes to Kevin's school in the afternoon to pick him up.  This may not seem like a big thing, but Kate has been terrified, like frozen with terror to ride down anything that looks remotely like a hill.  It took a while to convince her that it would be o.k.  After about 5-8 minutes of intense negotiations with just a few cries, etc.  She let me help her.  Once she figured out that she really could use her breaks if she didn't panic, she did great!  Now I have to run to keep up with her.  We are so proud of her for not giving up.  She is working on growing out her hair and loves to have it in "a long pony tail".

Kevin:  Kevin is doing great.  He just turned 9 and it shows.  He loves to get up and make his own breakfast--scrambled eggs all by himself.  I just have to sort of hold my breath and not get too involved while he does it.  For his birthday I made my first Boston Creme Pie.  It tasted fabulous, but I did something wrong with the cake, because it didn't turn out as spongy as it was supposed to.  For his party we invited friends from church and school and ended up with 8 boys altogether.  He wanted a science party--not a "Mad Science" party, just science.  If we accidently let that slip it would really bug him.  It was a great party, totally easy and a lot of fun.  I got a bunch of Mens Large White T-shirts and cut them down the middle to make lab coats.   I also ordered safety goggles online and everyone got some to take home.  We were going to spike up everyone's hair like Albert Einstein, but again, Kevin decided it would make people think about "Mad Science," so the night before he decided we shouldn't do it. :(  For the party we just did several science experiments  that I found here.  Our favorite was the "pop-a-rocket" one where we used film canisters, baking powder and water to make rockets.  They were a huge hit, and made a mess, but it was just water and baking powder and we have a plastic table-so no big deal.  Then I had made cupcakes and white frosting and gave the boys food coloring and let them create their own frosting color.  Yes, we learned that you can put in too much coloring and it will make even the tastiest frosting gross.  For the most part though they liked them.  It was a great party and everyone had fun.   Recently Kevin was admitted into the gifted and talented program at his school.  He loves it!  I am so happy that he has this opportunity and is learning so much.  He just really needed this kind of outlet.  He actually gets to ride the bus to a different school one day a week, which is very cool for him.

Kelly:  Kelly is growing up so fast!  I can't believe that she will be 12 this summer.  We have enjoyed having a babysitter too for when we need to run a quick errand.  She has decided that she likes getting paid with gum, so it's kind of a win-win!  She also auditioned and was accepted into Advanced Drama for next year!  We are so proud of her!  There were so many kids auditioning that they had to extend the auditions from 2 days to 4 days, so it's kind of a bid deal that she made it!  She also found some Chuck Taylor's on sale--bright yellow high tops!  At times she's a little too cool to listen and follow directions--teenage years here we come.  Why do I have the same feeling that I get when I'm waiting in line at Space Mountain?

Thats about all of the time I have right now.  I will fill you in on the rest of our happenings later.  Hopefully I'll figure something out so that I can continue to post pictures.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We thoroughly enojoyed listening to General Conference.  It was truly uplifting and inspiring.  (However, I truly think that we will just go to the church to watch it.  Perhaps our kids will understand about being reverent then, and will get more out of it).