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.

All Clear.
Anna had her yearly check-up with the lung specialist, Dr. Chowdary, yesterday. He said she is excellent and his only comment would be she is tiny. He laughed and said "make her eat more." Yeah right. When we first got there she threw a huge fit because the nurse wanted to measure her head, weigh her, and then measure her height. You would have thought they were doing the surgery all over again the way she acted. Then Dr. Chowdary opened the door, peaked his head in and said "Anna, will you come with me?" I laughed and said "good luck." She was hiding behind me and so he said "Do you want a sucker?" That was all it took. She went out in the hall with him, let him listen to her breathing, let him hold her...they were pals.

Every time he sees her he holds her and shows her off to the nurses and anyone around. I don't know if he does this with all the kids but he does with her and I love it. It makes a parent feel very comfortable. Especially in a serious situation like the past with Anna. So she is good and unless she has problems he does not need to see her again until she is about 7-8 years old. So they scheduled our next appointment for October of 2013. Can you believe that. We were all laughing about that. At that time he wants to do a lung study on her but would like her to be able to participate. Not sure what all that entails but we look forward to the next 6 years. I only hope Anna does not continue to exercise her lungs by screaming as loud as she can in the middle of the night.

Say Cheese!

I have received some pictures from some friends this week that I want to share.

Brett and Gina Browand welcomed baby Collin Robert to the world back in July. They came to visit us shortly after that and my kids loved him. They love babies, period. Here is Ian and Collin. Look at the smile on Collin's face. Priceless.

The next pictures are from the parade the last day of our fair. Every year the officers have to block off streets and so we have reserved seats thanks to Shane. Lee and Erin joined us and took these pictures. This year we were right by the Kaiser home which means food, drinks, and restrooms. Jim and Deb Kaiser live right downtown and each year have doughnuts, coffee, hot chocolate and restrooms for friends and family. Jim is a retired Officer and now works for Youth for Christ and Deb works in the Prosecutor's Office. So Shane and I know them well. Thanks guys.