Quick Update

I can't believe it's been almost 10 days since my last post.  I've been sitting here racking my brain trying to remember what's been "happening." Well here's the best that I've got:

Kenzie:  Loves laughing! Her laugh is contagious and makes me focus on what's most important in this life, family, love, strengthening relationships.  It's turning warmer and all of the trees are beginning to bloom.  Kenzie loves to point out all the "popcorn trees," while we drive around running errands.  She talks about how she wishes she could "eat that popcorn off the trees."

Kate: My girlie-girl has decided that she doesn't like anything pink. She shares her older sisters affinity for skinny jeans and converse all stars--gray with purple laces thank you very much. She likes to read, but isn't motivated to do it which is tricky for me.  I still can't take her shopping with me because I will always end up spending more money than I need to.

Kevin: Just completed his science fair project--totally easy. He tested different paper airplanes made with different weights of paper to see which combination would fly the best.  Thankfully we have a key to the church building because we just went over on a Saturday morning to use the gym--that way no wind.  He recorded his results and Justin helped him put it into a spreadsheet--done!  I hope that it will satisfy the requirements. His teacher was out on maternity leave when they were chosen so her sub okay'd it. He recently earned his Webelos badge and is getting ready to earn his Arrow of Light and pass over into Boy Scouts. For some reason I can't help but feel a little giddy at the thought of leaving Cub Scouts behind.

Kelly:  Is finally taller than me, the reality of which makes her very happy. She takes every opportunity to stand up next to me and "measure" with her hand while she smiles and giggles and tells everyone how happy she is that she is taller than me.  It's funny because it doesn't upset me in the least, so I'm not sure why she behaves this way.  She is getting ready for an upcoming One Act Drama competition, and an additional one act performance that she is in charge of all the sound.  She's kind of gotten over the fact that her drama teacher keeps type-casting her because she is taller than everyone else and her hair is shorter than everyone else's--(but I'm not.  I can't wait for this year to be over and for her to have other opportunities with other teachers). She's getting ready for an upcoming Pioneer trek this spring break.  Despite all the walking she will do I think she is looking forward to it.

Justin: Is busy with work. He is traveling quite a bit. He says he doesn't like being away from family, but he loves being productive and making things happen on-sight.  That's about all I can comment on that. Since my schedule has changed it has gotten much easier when he is gone, but it's still not my favorite.  He gets a lot of use out of his new workout tower that he built when he is home.  I have to say that I love our little workout gym in the garage.  Call me crazy but I love having all of that stuff and using it when I can.

Me: I'm thoroughly loving being a personal trainer with Texas Fit Chicks.  We will be releasing a new website soon I hope with updated pictures and little video clips of our workouts, so be on the lookout.  Even though I get up pretty early to do it, I have such a great time and get to work with a fantastic group of women.  I feel very grateful to be able to do what I do and then stay home with Kenzie during the day.  Like everyone else, I still need to find balance and make sure that I'm spending time with her and not just staying on the computer or sewing--but all in all, I feel very blessed.  Yes I have been sewing more lately.  I'm sad that I don't have any pictures.  Mostly I've been making reversible headbands for me and my girls; adorable corduroy caps for friends having babies; I've made one baby blanket and decided that I will never make them again.  I'd much rather stick to clothes. I'm making skirts for Kelly to wear on her upcoming pioneer trek and have stacks of material for cute reversible wrap dresses for my girls and a few other projects.  Sometimes I dream about going away for a weekend just so I can sew!  Yes, I am totally crazy, I know.

O.k. so this wasn't as quick as I thought it would be. Sorry. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!

Tried to make it short

(Sorry for the poor quality of this picture. I was hurrying to take it.)  We finally got some much needed rain!  It has been so hot and dry.  Everyday our high is somewhere in the low to mid 80's and we are tired of having to use our air conditioning!  One night Kevin opened the back door to find this little Rat Snake slithering across our patio.  The kids were fascinated!  Kenzie even stepped right up to it. Personally it gives me the creeps to know that something like that lives near my home.  Thank goodness they are not poisonous! And double thank goodness it was slithering away from our house, not towards it.  Do you remember when we found one in our attic? Serious heebie jeebies!


I think my parents are the only ones who check my blog regularly--thanks Mom and Dad!  Sorry that I haven't posted in a while.  Every day has been so jam packed lately.  I usually crawl into bed between 11pm and midnight only to wake up at 5:15 am to do it all over again.  I just haven't made time for blogging lately--once again, sorry.


So, for the few of you that actually read this blog, here is a quick update:


Kenzie:  Busy loving life!  Her vocabulary surprises me everyday.  Many people comment that she talks well for her age and I can't help but think that it is because she has to keep up with all of her siblings who have the gift of gab.  Lately the phrase that she's been saying a lot is, "I don't appreciate that!"


Kate:  Loving, loving, loving school.  To me it's such a magical moment when the light bulb comes on and your children really start reading.  Last year she new how to read and could do it, but it seemed like I was trying to pull her teeth out when I would ask her to read something.  This year, it's like she can't read enough.  Hallelujah!  She loves her school teacher and comes home everyday excited about something new that she learned that day.  I feel grateful to have happy children.


Kevin: Ran for school treasurer and sadly did not get elected.  We all knew it's just a big popularity contest and he kept saying that it would be a miracle if he won.  Thankfully, he's mature enough to understand and he was o.k. with not winning.  We were so proud of him for persevering and for giving a speech in front of the whole school!
  He's also getting ready for a big 3 day, 2 night science and nature camp trip with his whole grade.  Usually this trip happens in the spring, but for some reason this year they've decided to go in November.  I feel caught off guard and wish I had more time to prepare myself.  I know that he will be just fine away from home, but I still feel nervous about it. He's totally excited and I think overall it will be a great experience for him.


Kelly: A light bulb has gone off for her this year too.  She has transformed into such a responsible young woman.  We worried about her last year and wondered if she would ever figure it out.  Don't get me wrong, she is still a teenager and has her moments, but she is definitely more mature than last year.  Again--Hallelujah!
  She is as tall I as am, which throws me off a little.  I predict by the end of this school year she will be taller than me.  She is confident and just loving life.  She is busy preparing for the school musical and I am trying to decide if I should make her costume or just buy it.  She has to wear a very formal dress--think prom or bridesmaid.  Ugh.  I don't want to spend the money to buy one, but I'm not sure if I'm up for making one either.  I will post some pictures once we have her costume completed.


Justin:  Has not been traveling as much which has been wonderful!!  The company he works for has recently purchased a new building and will be moving in the near future.  The place where they are moving to used to be a corporate YMCA building and was left with all kinds of free weights and rubber flooring, etc.  So tapping into his J. Mark Randall  thriftiness, he came home the other day with several hundred pounds of weights and a couple dozen rubber floor tiles.  It inspired him to clean out the garage--Hurray!!  That's what I call a win-win.


Janet:  Busy trying to keep up with everyone else.  I'm doing my best to make it through this school year.  Actually, there has been a lot of changes where I work and it's made Justin and I re-evaluate a lot of things.  We're trying to make a plan so that I can give my notice and be done working full time at the end of this semester.  Hurray again! I'm looking into renewing some of my fitness certifications and seeing what I can do to get back into that field.  No matter how desirable a teacher's schedule is, i.e. summer's off.  I could not convince myself that that is what I really wanted to do.  Thankfully Justin is so supportive and together I feel like we will make a plan that is much better for our family.


So much for my quick update!  That's about all.  Thanks for reading this post.

Meet the Oil Change Crew

A couple of months ago we had a great opportunity to purchase a truck for Justin.  It has low miles and an even bigger bonus--Air Conditioning!  He's been such a trooper drivin' around his "Man Van", a 1991 Toyota Previa, without air conditioning all through the intense Texas heat.  Although he was a little sad to see his van drive away, we are all pretty excited to have this new truck.

Justin is great at including Kevin when there is work to be done on our vehicles.  This time they were changing the oil.  Kate and Kenzie got in on the action too.

When you're a kid there's just something exciting about driving around the neighborhood in the back of the truck.  Good Times!

We have this funny tradition of naming all of our vehicles.  This time around the kids and Justin decided on the name "Zeke."  I have no idea where that came from.  Over the years I've pretty much given up on suggesting these names.  It's a great truck.  It's really fun to drive and we think that in a few years it will be the perfect truck for Kelly.  Yes--we are only a few years away from having a 16 year old!  That thought is humbling.  But the fact that we're starting to prepare now brings me a little peace.

Bubble Man

It's 9:08pm and the house is silent.  (Well, except for the guinea pigs, but even at their loudest it's not too bad. My kids are all tucked away for the night. Lunches are made, school clothes are picked out. 

It's a good feeling.

Work has been more than a little crazy the last couple of weeks.  We are adjusting to a lot of changes in our department and it has been a bumpy ride.  Tomorrow is jeans day so that is a huge plus!  I love when I don't have to iron any work clothes.  I am spoiled because Justin loves to iron.  However, if he's away on business, ironing is just one more thing that I have to do to get ready for the next day.  I know, I know, I should just pick a time and iron everything for the week.  I have been wanting to do that, but I haven't figured out how to carve out the time to just get it done.

Anyways, I digress.  I'm confident that things will smooth out at work and we will all settle into a comfortable routine soon.  I am very fortunate to work with some amazing people.  Without them I truly couldn't do it every day.

I did something today that I'm not proud of.  In fact I feel a little ashamed/embarrassed.  Let me explain by first introducing you to what we at work call "Bubble Man".  He's a stick figure with a red thought bubble on one side of his head, a green thought bubble on the other side of his head, and a green speaking bubble by his mouth.  He's an illustration of the simple fact that not every thought we have should come out of our mouths.  Hence, red thoughts need to stay in our head, and green thoughts are the one's that are ok, or socially acceptable to say.  (If you didn't catch it before I work with high school students with Autism/Aspergers--some days are pretty interesting)!

I don't know what came over me, but before I knew it, a red thought slipped out of my mouth today at lunch.  It wasn't a huge deal, and nothing like swearing or anything like that.  It just wasn't very nice and when I think about the person that I'd like to be, I feel really bad that I said it.  Again, I work with amazing people and they didn't take anything offensively--but I still feel bad! 

You may be wondering what my red thought was....let's just say you had to be there.

Well.  That's it.  I'm not perfect.  Thank goodness that tomorrow is another day and I will try harder to keep my red thoughts in my head--like Bubble Man.

One Long Post

It's been a while....Here's a quick update.

First day of school.  I've always tried to take a picture the morning of the first day of school.  These were done with the help of a tripod and timer because Justin was out of town.  It was a busy morning!

Mom: Smile Kelly.  Kelly:  I am smiling!

Mom: Smile Kate.  Kate:  I am smiling!  (Seriously?!)

Finally!  And yes--we got a new couch, hurray!

A highlight during these past two weeks was the celebration of Kelly's birthday!  I think the last few birthdays we've always taken her picture and given her gifts in the morning.  She's a good sport to put up with having her picture taken first thing after crawling out of bed.

Kelly decided that she wanted to have ice cream sundaes instead of birthday cake.  (Hallelujah!!)  All I had to do was whip the cream and make some homemade hot fudge--so delicious.  One of these days I will post the recipe.  I think we had enough ice cream and toppings for about 20 people.  We didn't mind enjoying the left overs for the rest of the week.  (And yes, we got a new table too--double hurray!)

Once again, she felt like she was smiling in this picture.  *Sigh* Teenagers!  I just had to post this picture because I love this dress!  We found it the day before at a resale shop.  When she saw it on the hanger she was not interested, but she humored me by trying it on and immediately loved it.  Yeah!  I still know a few things!  We enjoyed a mother daughter shopping day to celebrate her special day.  We had a great time and I loved spoiling her for her birthday.  She really has taken on a lot of responsibility as the oldest in the family.  We truly appreciate all that she does to help keep things running smoothly and are so grateful that she is part of our family.  We love you Kelly!

The week before school started I was already at work and one day Justin had to go into the office.  Kate and Kenzie went to a friend's house so Kelly and Kevin had the house to themselves for the day.  To pass the time they decided to have a guinea pig photo shoot.  Pretty imaginative if you ask me!

Once again it's time to work on the brakes.  I know it seems like we just did this.  Oh well.  Justin and Kevin have found out that they really like working together on these projects.  Here Kevin is changing the rotors and the brake pads.  I'm so grateful to Justin for giving him this opportunity and being patient with him as they worked together. 

That's about it.  I hope the start of your school year goes well!

This and That

What's up?  I have been consumed with studying for a Special Education Certification exam that I completed today--whew!  I'm so glad that's over!  It only took me 3 hours.  Yes, my mind is pretty much mush now.  I really have no idea how it went.  I came up with an answer for every question and can only hope that I passed so that I don't have to take it again.

Let's see....I also interviewed for a full teaching position at the same high school where I work.  It's for a class called Active Learning with students who have the cognitive ability/range from birth to about 18  months old--completely wheel chair bound.  I was really excited about the opportunity, however the position went to someone else with more experience in that particular program.  Oh well.  All in all I think it's good because I do need some time to get more experience and finish my certification.  This way the pressure's off a little.  I am completely confident that the right opportunity will come along when I am completely prepared.  For now I will continue in my position as a teacher's aide in a program for students with high functioning Autism/Asperger's etc.

We are getting ready for school and even though it means I go back to work, I find myself still excited for my kids and the great opportunities that await them this year.  Kelly will be finishing her last year of middle school and Kevin will be finishing his last year of elementary school.  We are turning a page in the book of our family as our kids grow up.  On a less nostalgic note I can not believe how much school supplies cost when you're buying for 3 kids!!  It is crazy.  Even if you watch the sales and ads, it's still a lot and it adds up quick!  I feel like I need to start saving now for when Kenzie will be in school too!

Oh!  I almost forgot!  We finally got a small settlement and some closure with our car accident mess.  We were rearended back in April.  It's such a relief to be done with that business!  With the money we received we were able to pay off our van!  Hurray!  It's amazing to make some financial progress.  Now we will try our best to keep our van running for at least another year or two.

I think that's it.  I hope this post finds you doing well and wish everyone good luck with school!

Saving $$ in the Summertime

Why didn't we do this sooner?

Our Week

For those of you that actually read this blog regularly, no we have not been on vacation, we've just had a spotty internet connection all week!  One of the "benefits" of Texas thunderstorms.  Anyway, here's a quick re-cap of our week:

This is one of the pictures that Kelly took for my birthday power point.  Thankfully, Kate is not back in a cast!  Yes, Kenzie is in underpants and dress  shoes.  What can I say?  It's summer and she's potty training.  Actually she has done very well this week.  For the first time in almost 13 years we won't be buying diapers!  It's almost like Christmas!

Kevin started summer baseball this week.  Since they didn't have enough coaches there's about 15 boys on his team.  His first game is next week and I'm curious to see how they work things out.  There are about half a dozen boys who've played regularly for a while and the rest are more beginners (including Kevin).  His coaches are truly patient and positive, which is a relief.  Now if we can just try to get Kevin to ease up on himself he might actually have a lot of fun. 

Kenzie is finishing up a summer dance class this next week.  She has had so much fun! I'll try to get a picture of her in her little pink leotard and dance shoes.  She is so cute! 

Kelly had a great time at girls camp and is doing her best to enjoy every minute of her summer.  Thankfully she has some great friends from school and she's usually hanging out with them several times a week.  She also had her first official babysitting job this week and absolutely loved it!  She did a great job and is definitely looking forward to bringing in the babysitting cash.

Kate has loved going to the pool as much as possible.  She has also gotten pretty adept at playing the drums on Lego Rock Band.  She gets into it so much.  The other night she said, "Mom!  I just realized that Lego Rock Band is teaching me how to play the drums!" :)

Justin met with a friend of ours, who also happens to be a lawyer, to get some help in the matter of our car.  It has been so ridiculous!  We were stopped at a traffic light and rear-ended in April!   They took forever to fix our car and when we finally got it back it still wasn't right and the service place messed something up so that our doors would not lock and our cd player wouldn't work.  Not only that the money that they spent to fix it was more than 75% of the worth of the car in the first place!  The insurance company (not ours the people who hit us) admitted that they should have just totalled the car but they didn't.  So here we are with a car that's not right that we wouldn't ever really be able to sell or get anything for on a trade-in, and no real compensation for it!  Thank you Justin for taking care of all this.  I don't know if I'd be able to handle it.

I made it through day 19 of my 30 day program this morning.  I'm still enjoying it, but I'm not going to lie--every morning I lay in bed and try to think of why I can just stay there and not get up to workout.  As silly as it sounds I can just picture Jillian Michaels yelling at me to get up.  I can't let her down!  On the days that I'm not working out I try to run for about 30 minutes around town.  I think I am quite possibly the slowest person out there.  I'm pretty sure there are dog walkers faster than me, but I have to try.  Actually, it's kind of funny because the first half of my run I feel fantastic!  Like I could just run and run and run.  Then on my way back my mantra is "I'm not going to walk.  I'm not going to walk;" because that's all I really want to do!  When I think about how bad I feel and that I just want to give up and stay doing what's easy and comfortable I just think about something that I heard last week on "Extreme Makeover--personal trainer edition."  I can't even remember the trainer's name, but he was saying that when you feel that way, that's your body throwing a tantrum and if you keep listening to it you'll just stay the same you've always been.  That's good enough for me to ignore the tantrum and keep pushing on.

I hope you've had a great week and did at least one thing that makes you happy!

Alpha Film Academy Awards

Two days a week Kevin gets to participate in a program called Alpha.  He absolutely loved it! Some of the projects they worked on this year invloved making movies.  Some of the movies were silent films displaying a science theory and others were films of their own writing/planning/directing, etc.  They worked on them in their Alpha classes, editing and all.  Then at the end of the year they had an awards ceremony fashioned after the Academy Awards.  It was a fun night where everyone dressed up and there was a red carpet and everything.  Here are some pictures from that night.

Kevin posing on the red carpet.  He's trying his best not to squint in the sunlight.  Doesn't he look handsome?

I can't even remember what Kate was sad about during the pictures.  But try as hard as we did she would not smile.

The evening went verrryyy long.  This was taken during one of our drink/bathroom/diaper change breaks.  It's a good thing she's so cute, because her behavior these days leaves something to be desired. :)

Sadly, none of Kevin's films that he worked on were nominated.  Although he was pretty disappointed, we of course were very proud of him and the hard work that he put into his schoolwork this year.

What's Up?

This picture really has nothing to do with this post.  It's just for fun.  And yes, that is lipstick.

It's been a while, so here's a quick run down on life in our house these days.

8 days of school left for the kiddos!

9 days of school left with students for me, but actually I have 11 days left before my summer break!

I can't decide if I'm excited about how fast the school year is coming to a close or not.  I can't help thinking about the fact that the summer will go by just as fast.  I'm extremely grateful that I have the time off with my kids, don't get me wrong.  I'm just hoping to squeeze every ounce out of our time together and I just don't want it to end. *sigh*  Right now I'm formulating a summer bucket list (thanks Delia for the idea), to help us make the most of it.

Changing gears:  We're supposed to get our van back from the body shop today.  It has been over a month and I'm ready to have some closure on all this mess.  I will say it's been very nice driving around in a brand new mini-van in the meantime.  I think we will all miss the cool features that come with it--especially the satellite radio. 

I've started an alternative teacher certification program in the hopes that maybe I will get hired as a full-fledged teacher.  I figure since I'm already working teacher hours it would be nice to be able to make twice as much.  So we'll see what happens.  Either way I feel like I'm making progress towards gaining more education and setting up some security for my family just in case.  And some day I plan to pursue a master's degree and do other things, but for now working as a teacher fits our families needs best.

On another note, Justin hasn't traveled as much this month which has been wonderful and huge blessing!  There's something about the end of the school year, we're all trying to cram everything in-final drama performances, choir concerts, awards nights, etc., etc. I have no idea how we would have managed it all without him.  Honey, you're my hero!!

Life According to Kate

I found myself at home yesterday with my two little ones while Kate got over a 24 hour stomach bug.  And as Kate began to feel better she kept saying things that made me smile, and think.  Here's a few gems that I remembered to write down.

"I love that 12 is a big number.  If it was a little number I would be sad."

"I love how Heavenly Father picked robin's eggs to be blue!"

"How can I un-think bed bugs?  That's going to be hard."  (Apparently she is tormented every night by these colorful things 'that only kids see' that to her represent bed bugs.  Hmmm.  I was trying to tell her that her mind was more powerful and she could think about other things.)

"I miss a lot of things from my old life."  (When you move as much as we have, you have yard sales and get rid of stuff and she was remember old toys that she used to have.  I know I should feel guilty, but she has so much stuff now I do not).


Enjoy & Have a Great Day!

We Survived!

I'm happy to report that we survived the first week of school.  Things I have learned from this week:

1).  Any and all chore assignments during the week are completely thrown out!  Oh, our kids will still help out around the house.  I've just given up on any assigned chores to get done everyday.  It's just too much to worry about along with everything else.

2).  Kids who wake up at 6:15 am need to go to bed by 8:00 pm--sadly we never met this goal last week, but it gives us something to look forward to for next week.

3).  I need to come up with easier dinner plans.  It's no wonder so many people eat fast food.  I want to give a huge thank you to my close friend Sheila for surprising us with dinner on our first day!  It was wonderful and a a great blessing!  Thank you!

4).  If I pack a good sized lunch for the kids they hardly eat any of it, resulting in eating it at home.  This means that at 5:00 pm no one is hungry!  But if I pack a smaller lunch they eat it all and are starving--resulting in eating a big snack once they get home.  Which also means not being hungry for dinner at 5:00 pm.  I just can't win!

5).  Text messaging back and forth with kids and hubby during the day is fabulous!  I'm so happy that we have this available to us to keep tabs on where everyone is during the day, etc.

5 Days down, only 172 more to go!!

Kids' Eye View

In an effort to pass the time yesterday, Kate and Kevin took the opportunity to snap some pictures of their own.  It's funny to see things from their perspective!

A funny side note about Kenzie, today as we were getting in the car to run a quick errand she shouted out, "Shot Gun!"  It doesn't take them long to figure that one out!  It was so funny.

You'll have to excuse the laundry and ironing, etc.  Justin was getting ready for a business trip.

This is the kids favorite cereal!  They don't get it very often and when they do it doesn't last long!  I like it because there's nothing artificial or processed in it.  We got it as a celebration for the end of the school year.

Object Lesson

We had a very quiet, laid back weekend.  We didn't plan very much and just enjoyed not being busy for a while.  We talked about things we could do here, or places we could go there.  However, we really needed to make time to clean things up and do a little housework.  This kind of task is never fun.  No one ever wants to do it, especially when you have a 3 day weekend to enjoy.

Unfortunately, things had been left un-done for too long.  I expressed my frustration about it to Justin.  Our kids have daily tasks that aren't difficult and when we stick to the schedule our house is maintained and we enjoy being at home.  The tough part is getting the kids to get their jobs done.  I get so tired of constantly nagging and micromanaging them that I admit, days go by and I just give up and let everyone slide under the radar.

Well clever and supportive Justin came up with a great object lesson for our kids.  He had each one of us take turns trying to pick up one end of our couch all by ourselves.  The kids happily stepped up to the challenge and relished an opportunity to show just how strong they were--only to be quickly humbled at the realization that the couch is heavy.  When it was my turn I was able to lift one end and then Justin asked me to carry it into the other room.  He asked me if I'd be able to carry the couch around all day.  Which of course would be extremely difficult.  Then he had each of us lift a section of the couch.  We could all see how much easier it was to lift when we all carried a different part.

Justin likened that to the daily tasks it takes to keep our house going.  If we all do our little part the job is not to big or too heavy.  He admonished our children to no let mom carry the whole burden herself, but to help by willingly doing their individual parts.

The whole thing went well.  I think the kids understood at that moment and now I have a little ammunition when they whine and complain.  I can remind them how difficult it is to carry "the couch" all by myself.  I'm anxious to see how it goes.  We're still at the beginning of the week, and it's a new month.  I will have to report back and let you know what happens. 

Weekend Update

Peek-A-Boo!  I see you!

It's hard to believe that we only have 7 days of school left!  I think for the most part I feel relieved.  I'm looking forward to quieter, slower, mornings.  This morning I woke up and couldn't remember what day it was.  I was really hoping it was still the weekend so that I could sleep in a little more.  Oh well!

Justin and Kevin enjoyed going on the annual Father's and Son's campout this weekend.  This meant a girl's night at home.  We broke out the nail polish and did all the girls fingers and toes.  I really should have taken a picture but was too distracted with anxiety over my club box circuit class that I had to teach the next day.  We finished up the evening watching "Confessions of a Shopaholic," a perfect chick-flick.  It was a lot of fun.

I'm happy to say that my club box class went very well.  It's a new format for me so I have to really practice to get it just right.  It is so ridiculous that something so insignificant to the eternal perspective of my life takes up so much of my time!  I enjoy teaching it, I just wish it was something that I could just pull out of the air and put together.  I'm not quite at that level yet.  I'm hoping that it will get easier soon!

Since getting rid of the cable box we have enjoyed instant streaming from Netflix to our Wii console.  It has been a lot of fun finding and watching movies and tv shows that way.  We can also access hulu.com through the Wii too, so we really don't miss our cable at all!!  If you're considering getting rid of it I say do it! 

An Afternoon With Kate

Kate received this set of pop beads for her birthday.  When Kenzie is down for a nap we like to pull these babies out and get creative!

Kate likes to use them to make "bead people/families."

Bead families, all lined up.

Kate:  "Ooooh pink earrings!  So Pinkalous!"

What do you think of my statement necklaces?

Kate:  "I'm a fashion princess!"

Kate:  "Thank you for all this jewelry stuff!  Now I can be truly happy!"

{Spoken like a true fashion princess. :) }

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).