Fall Pictures

Claire 8 Yrs old

Brock 5.5 years old

Thanksgiving Pictures

Thanksgiving this year started with the annual lunch that they have at Baker. This year Heidi, Poppy, Sheila, Tim and I all got to go with the kids. It was great and we got a seat on the stage where there was a table big enough for all of us to sit. Trouble was that one of us (Brock) wasn't about to sit on stage when there was a room full of people to perform to. I don't think that he touched his plate the entire time. I was able to get some really cute family pictures.

I got this really cute one of Claire and Pops so of course I wanted to get a good one of Pops & Brock, but Brock had a mind of his own and I ended up with one of the funniest series of shots ever! Enjoy...

Brock wouldn't smile so..

Noone will smile this time

Thankfully we were able to get some good ones of the girls!

and even a family picture too!

Claire's class had a special presentation they did for guest which was really fun. They were willing to perform at a moments notice so we had them present to us before lunch, and they did awesome.

Andrew

Two years ago today, my good friend suffered a stroke that ultimately took his life. He was a good guy, a funny guy, a guy that should have lived a long, happy life. But he didn't, instead he lived a short life and impacted many young people along the way. Andrew was one of a kind and will always be missed. He is someone that I will tell my kids stories about and laugh at the funny things he did. I hate that he isn't around to hear Brock stories, because he would have LOVED Brock stories. His loss is sad, but he wasn't a person who had a great appreciation for sad. SO in honor of Andrew I want to keep this happy. Today, instead of being sad, I am going to list a top 5 favorite memories of Andrew!

#5 - Fighting with Andrew - He and I had some really great fights over the years!

#4 - His Hair - I knew Andrew for over 20 years and his hair never changed.

#3 - The fact that I still can't say the name Robert without saying "and Andrew". They will always be connected. Their friendship isn't confined to this world.
#2 - Basketball games our Sr. Year - Thanks Coach V for cutting him, it made my Sr. Year so much fun! Andrew was SUPER smart, extremely creative and very outspoken. He could infuriate an opposing team faster than anyone I have ever seen! Sitting by him at a ballgame was so much fun and just a little bit dangerous.

#1 - Andrew fighting with Mrs. Stholdrier (sp?)! This is one of my very favorite high school memories which says a lot because I have some fantastic memories. Only Andrew could have gotten away with that one!

My thoughts and prayers are with his family. They have been amazingly strong the past two years and he would be so proud of them. I know how much I miss him and I just can't fathom how deep their pain is facing the past two years without him.

Kelly's Kids Half Price Sale

Hey everyone, I have several things from my trunk that I am selling at half price. Email me if you are interested and I can tell you what I have in the size you are looking for! There is some really cute stuff left!

So What does your son draw in Art class?

Earlier this week Tim picked up the kids from school and brought them home (I was there with the AT&T Uverse guy). When they got to the house, I could tell by Tim's face that he was amused about something, but I could never have imagined what it was. I was asking the kids about their day and realized that Brock was getting a piece of paper out of his folder. He opened it up and showed me what he had drawn in art that day. I was looking at the paper and couldn't exactly tell what he had drawn so I said "That's neat Brocky, what is that?" His reply was not quite what I was expecting and he said "It's a bunch of BUTTS". Oh boy!

We've Been Busy!

Whew, things have been hectic around here so I have several things to blog about. Bear with me, this could get lengthy. I will start with the special dress up days that the kids have had at school.

Brock had 50's day to celebrate the 50th day of school. I called my Dad the night before and got my instructions on how to dress him. He looked so adorable. So adorable in fact that the little girls at school called him "hot". My FIVE year old! The result of that was that for several days after that we had to fix his hair "handsome". It was pretty funny!

Claire's class did a unit on Charlotte's Web which she loved. She knows that story inside and out! At the end of the unit they celebrated with Charlotte and Wilber Day. The kids all dressed up as their favorite character from the book, and Claire went as a very adorable Fern! We had her in overalls, two braids, and Cowgirl boots. One of the teachers brought some of the animals from her farm for the kids to see which Claire would have NOTHING to do with! She was not interested in getting anywhere near the horse, colt, cow, calf and there was no amount of coaxing her to get her over there.

Claire's I don't want to get near the animals face

Claire's they are not making me get near the animals face

A safe distance away

The girls in Claire's class

Halloween was so much fun this year! The kids were absolutely adorable and loved every minute of it. Claire was Pocahontas and looked so cute with her war-paint. Brock was the Red Power Ranger. He stayed in character for most of the night. I think he might have a future in acting. He sure enjoys entertaining people around him that is for sure! My nieces and Vanesa came over and ate some Chili and joined us on the hunt for excessive amounts of candy. Since our neighborhood is so hilly we put the kids in the back of Tim's truck and took them on a "Hayless Hayride" as the girls were putting it. We ended up picking up several of the neighborhood kids along the way which made the ride even more fun. We trick or treated for about 2 hours until both kids were asking to come home. (I didn't know that could happen!) It was a fun night and only made me more aware of how much fun I have with my kids (and nieces!).

We met up with a few school friends along the way too

It is so hard to believe it is already November! By the way... Happy Birthday Shannon King! I love you even though you still don't answer the phone, hope that you have had a great day!

Airshow 2008

We have been to the Air Show several times but this is one of the first times the kids really remember. They had a lot of fun, but mainly because we were able to find the Coopers. Here are some cute pics.

Brock's School Adventures

Well, Brock is having a great time in Kindergarten. At his conference, Mrs. Cunningham said that he is doing great. He knew the majority of the words on his test and is happy and eager to learn. We are really proud of how good he is doing. Last week he was chosen as the Character Kid for his class. Mrs. C said that when they called his name he went nuts doing double fist pumps, saying "Yes, Yes, I have waited for this for sooo long. I really wanted this!" Apparently, it really meant a lot to him to be chosen, which is a good thing. I am glad that he got his life-long desire.

Pumpkin Patch....

Monday our Kindergarten classes went to the Pumpkin Patch and had so much fun. The kids went on a hayride to the patch and then chose their pumpkin. Brock had it in his head that he wanted a green pumpkin. Not sure why, but we brought home a green pumpkin. They ate their lunch at their playground and then played until it was time to go home. They were exhausted and filthy and had a great time. It made me really sad to realize this was my last trip to the pumpkin patch. Claire has a field trip coming up next week... I am the Field Trip pro!

This is what you do with a pumpkin to impress the ladies!

They insisted on doing this for the picture. I am not exactly sure why.