Happy Thanksgiving!

The chaos has begun. It always seems that we get so busy this time of year that you don't have time to sit and enjoy yourself, let alone family and friends. The Thanksgiving weekend started for us the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had dinner at Shane's mother's home with his family. It was great food, as always, and we all had fun. We then moved on to my side of the family. My brother and sister-in-law came home for the weekend and so we all stayed at Nic and Kim's - Thursday through Sunday. We had lunch at Grandma Kunkel's Thanksgiving day and it was delicious. Friday the girls got up at 4:00 a.m. for some shopping. It wasn't too bad and our longest wait was at Starbucks waiting for coffee and tea. CRAZY I know. It didn't seem there were as many deals this year as last but it was fun to be out without the kids. Saturday the boys went to a movie and later that night we all went to BWW's for wings and to watch Basketball. It was a good time. On Sunday we loaded up and headed home to unpack and try to relax. Garrett got the flu over the weekend and I think Anna and I got some of it as well. Then the week after Shane was feeling it and still is. I didn't get many pictures but have a ton of memories. Thanks guys.

If we can just get through Christmas maybe we can slow down......

Happy Halloween

This was a great year for trick-or-treating. The weather was great and the kids had so much fun. Anna was not real into the costume at first saying "I don't yike it!" but after she learned that people put candy in your bucket she was running up to the houses. Ian would yell "Happy Halloween" to everyone who gave him candy or he gave candy to. He would also stare at some of the costumes as the kids walked by and say there goes .... Like we didn't see it or know who it was. He was so cute. We had some friends stop by and we got their pictures as well.

Here are my pirates: Jack Sparrow and Princess Pirate (that is what she called it).

Shane and I had costumes again and it was fun. I think next year I may get a little more crafty and decorate the wagon to go along with our theme. Mema and I thought a Ship was needed.

Wayne and Linda (friends in our neighborhood) always dress up and have a spooky house that all the kids look forward to. This is Ian and Linda.

Here are a few of the kids going to the door and Ashlie and Brittany (neighbors) handing out candy.

After getting candy, we sat on our porch handing out candy to the other kids. Ian handed out candy as Anna ate anything wrappers and all. The dogs sat at the door begging to go trick-or-treating to.

Siann (baby-sitter's daughter) and Gracyn (Ian's girlfriend) stopped by.

We had soooo much fun and way too much candy left. Anyone need some?

Trick-or-Treat

We carved pumpkins the other night. When I say "we" i really mean Shane and I. The kids started and then went to watch cartoons. I cut open the pumpkins and set them in front of Ian and Anna and told them to get all the guts out. Ian went right to work. Anna dug in at first and then told me it was "icky." From that point on, she was done. Ian has a pirate ship on his, Anna has bats and stars, Shane has a skull of some sort, and I went with the traditional vampire face. We really did have fun and the house looks great. "Only one more day till Halloween!" Ian says.

Things around the house.

Having a boy at home is challenging but fun. You hear and see strange things....different things. Ian is into super heroes (still) and has costumes and little figurines all over. The other day I saw two things that were very unexpected.

First:

I opened the fridge to get something and spotted two heroes guarding the salsa. I called Ian in to see why they were there. He laughed and said "I was looking for those."

Second:

I came home from work to find Ian dressed up which is expected. But Anna was also dressed up. She hasn't gotten into this as much and I thought it was funny. Kim, I think we may be ready for that Wonder Woman costume.

Best Attitude and Encouraging Others

At Karate practice the other night, all the kids worked on their forms. One at a time they would stand up and go through the whole routine. At the end of practice the instructors got together and then handed out trophies to each kid for different things. Ian's was for encouraging others and having a good attitude. Krue's was for having the hardest punches in the west. It was cute to see each of the kids faces when they got a trophy. Ian was so proud and excited about HIS trophy. This was his very own. He is now ready to give Anna the ones Daddy won for him since he has his own. And he would like to know when he can go bowling again so he can win another one. Girls: I think he is calling us out.

Boston Here I Come!!!!

This past weekend I ran my second Marathon and it is still the Dumbest thing I have ever done. If you will recall last year I did my first full marathon and finished in 3:47. In order to qualify for the Boston Marathon I must run a 3:40. The Boston Marathon is the second biggest one day sporting event (second to the Super Bowl) and is a BIG deal for any runner. Well Shane and my Dad came out to cheer me on. And cheering they did. I saw them quite a few times and it was VERY helpful...until at the 24 mile mark my husband says "only two more Kel!" ONLY? I don't think he will do that again (I love you dear and know you were trying to help...just have to give you a hard time). Anyhow, the first half I felt excellent and never really felt too bad until like 22 or so. I kept watching my time and knew what I had to have at each point but it still didn't seem possible. I had some cushion from early on in the race and kept telling myself to keep going. I could not get my hubby to finish with me this year. He said he felt stupid last year and stayed in the grass running. I crossed the line and the clock said 3:38. Now I was worried that I had just missed it because last year the time was off by two minutes. Shane and my Dad kept assuring me I had to have made it because that time was when the race started not when I started. I was still worried until I saw the official results - 3:37.08! Not only that but 14th girl overall, 2nd for my age group, and 157 out of 1038 finishers. I still hurt pretty bad and am moving slow but I did it. Anyone up for Boston?

This was the start of the race.

At the 24 mile mark.

At the finish - Looks like an add for Gatorade.

Me and my fan club.

Autumn in the Country.

Ian's school took a trip to "Autumn in the Country" last week. They had a petting zoo, made apple cider, corn and straw maze, hay ride, and a lesson in grains. Then they all got to pick a pumpkin and gourd. Ian had fun and hung out with Brantley, his best friend and car pool buddy.

At the grain lesson the lady was telling the kids what types of grains and such are used to make different things. She asked the kids what they had for breakfast. Most kids said cereal and oatmeal and other "healthy" things. My kid yells "FRUIT SNACKS!" Yes I fed him fruit snacks that morning because we were in a hurry and that is what Anna pulled out of the pantry. Rather than fight with her I just gave in to save time and Ian had to follow and eat them as well. I didn't realize he'd tell the whole world. The lady giving the lesson laughed and said "I guess there are SOME vitamins and such in fruit snacks." At any point someone else can take the "mother of the year" award...I am ready to step down.

My Little Bruiser


* Shane wanted me to make sure that everyone knew he was not involved in this incident in any way. (For those of you who may remember Ian's version of his trip down the stairs when he was one).

Last night at Tailur's game Ian was playing under the bleachers with some other kids and I heard him scream. Although Shane was not involved, this one was. She got fed up with him teasing her and gave him a big knuckle sandwich.



Seriously, does that look like a face that would do that to her brother? OK. Don't answer that question.





Really he ran face first into one of the posts under the bleachers. It actually doesn't look as bad as we thought it would. It swelled up right away last night and looked like it hurt. Ian didn't complain and I think he liked the attention.









These pictures are from last night. As I was taking the pictures, I told him he had to give me a mean look like he had just fought with Green Goblin or someone and won. This is his mean look.





















These are from this morning. Let's just hope they don't schedule pictures for school any time soon.

Hilgar's Fantasy Land

This weekend Mema and I took the kids to Hilgar's for some fun. They loved it and it would have been the perfect fall day if it wasn't 90 degrees out. It was hot. There are some many things to do and see and the kids loved it. I think Ian's favorite part was the Zip Line. This is where he got to pretend he was flying like Spiderman and Batman. Anna loved sitting on all of the pumpkins. Don't know why but she did.

There were mazes that Ian led us through, a giant that told stories (Anna hated), a haunted house (Ian made Mema turn around and leave), a huge hay mound to climb up (a smaller one for little kids - Anna), train rides, cow rides, pig races, and so much more.

I did have some camera problems (shocking I know) and so Mema will have more pictures later.