Grandparents Day

Friday was Grandparents Day at Connor and Kaelene's school. Fortunately, Connor and Kaelene have their 'Minnesota Grandma.' Helen is a dear friend of ours. Wade went to science camp (yes, you read that right) for years with her son and she has been family since we have moved here 9 years ago. Helen graciously attended the whole day event. And Wade and I were lucky enough to have her for lunch in between visits to the kid's classes. I forgot to take any pictures so I included this recent one. We had had dinner and camped at Helen's amazing farm in September. We are smiling because our bellies are full of good food and smores. We love you Helen. Thanks for always being there.

First Day of School

These pictures of Connor and Kaelene are the perfect example of the personality differences of these 2. Kaelene was super-excited and ready for anything. Connor was excited but nervous. When it was time to line-up and go in. Kaelene was waving and saying something like, "Ok Mom, you can leave now."

Connor, who started 2 days before Kaelene, and is a second grader wasn't sure about lining up by himself so I waited until the bell rang. And then as tears welled-up in his eyes he begged that I come in with him. I hesitated, wanting him to do it himself but I decided that I would do it just for today. Then the next day, as I dropped Connor off I waited in the

car to see if he was ok. I suddenly lost sight of him so I looked all around to see if he'd found someone to

play with. Well, just then I hear a knock on the passenger-side window and Connor says, "Mom! DRIVE AWAY!"

And that is

how it

goes...Connor is always fine once he figures it out but Kaelene is the one that just dives right in. They are so different but I couldn't love them individually more!

P.S. This is Kaelene's glass of milk that she left on the table at breakfast. I couldn't help but get a bit emotional because I knew she wouldn't be coming back anytime soon to finish it.

For the Love of the Game

Have you ever seen a cuter football player in your life? His smile says it all because Connor LOVES every single moment of playing this fun game. Last weeks game was cold and raining. This weeks game it was snowing and the wind was howling. Other kids could periodically be seen walking off the field, crying and climbing into their Mom's laps because they are so cold. Connor, on the other hand, just has this look on his face.

Today he had a bunch of quarterback sacks, tackles and blocks. Connor told me after the game that when he blocks and his team mate goes onto score that it's his touchdown too! I'm sure he heard that from his coach but I love that sense of teamwork he's learning.

Go, Connor Go! Can't wait for the years to come!

P.S. Steve, Mike and Brad-This brings back so many memories when you guys played at this age!

Clyde and Ursula

Don't you just love my parent's names? So classic! Their names are so unique I've often wondered if that is why all my siblings names are so, well common. Deborah, Pamela, Melanie, Daniel, Rebecca, Stephanie (Me), Steven, Bradley, and Michael. Well, as you may have guessed, my parents came to visit. It was in April but I didn't want to miss posting about it.

There was a lot of eating. We were at Victoria's---Yum, yum!!!

There was a lot of smiling....

There was a lot of thumbs-uping!






















There was even some binky sharing!

We made it over to Oxbow Zoo. Always a hit. And then, shocker I know, we ate again!

A picnic this time. So fun! Grandpa Weber kicked the football to Connor. We flew kites that G&G brought. And we even fit in some baseball catching and hitting. What a fun-filled time, I don't think we could have fit in much more.

And then of course it came time for the goodbyes. I hate this part, but at least we knew we'd see you both soon for the Weber family reunion in Durango. We love you, Grandma and Grandpa Weber. Thanks for coming to see us. It means a lot!

The Happiest Place on Earth

What could possibly be better than spending time with your dear kids and dear husband at DISNEYLAND of all places? The next picture may give you a hint....

That's right! Spending time at the most magical place with your in-laws! Don't smirk...I happen to be one of the lucky ones that have great in-laws who were a blast to spend time with. Connor and Kaelene were able to go on double the amount of rides, and Wade and I were actually able to go on rides. With Grandpa's amazing ability to have us on rides constantly with his Fast Pass genius, and Grandma's savant-like knack for what rides/shows to see when and where, Wade and I just passed them the keys (figuratively) to our Disney fun. They did not disappoint. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Alleman, we couldn't have done it with out you. And Elise, thanks you for the extra 3 lbs she gained everyday eating Grandma and Grandpa's snacks while waiting for Mom and Dad to get off the rides.

More pictures to follow...

Confessions

So, I've decided: I'm not much of a blogger. I have such good intentions. I think about things to blog everyday, all day but as you have seen, very few of my thoughts ever make it onto my blog. But I love keeping in contact you so I will continue to check your blogs and add to mine when I can.

Another confession. Connor is 7 and I have tried periodically for the last 3 years to teach him to tie his shoes. Sounds easy enough, right? Well each teaching session inevitably would end with tears. Either mine, Connor's or both of us! I couldn't figure it out. I learned in what seamed like no time. Connor picks up things OK, so what is the big deal?! I must confess I finally turned to YouTube for help. While watching one of the videos I realize that I AM LEFT-HANDED!!!! And I've been teaching Connor left-handed. Poor, Poor Connor. No wonder we've both been frustrated. Duh! I immediately apologized profusely to Connor. Making sure he knew all the failed attempts at shoe tying were my fault. Then, I taught myself to tie RIGHT-HANDED. (Go ahead, try it with your other hand, it's harder than you think!) 5 minutes later....BAM....we have a tied shoe! It's amazing how hard I can make things sometimes.

P.S. After writing this, Connor showed his Dad his newly aquired skill. Apparently Wade ties his shoes left-handed too even though he's a right-hander! Unbelievable! Sorry, Connor, you never had a chance!

Demons Be Gone!

This is a semi-recent (can November be called recent?) pic of Elise and Kaelene. Gosh, I haven't posted in a while! Hope you all are still hanging in there with me. Wade has most of the last months pics on his computer and I need to download them to mine. I'll be posting (hopefully) a ton of material then. Reba is probably laughing right now knowing that this may never happen. Hey, I'm trying!

So this is the post that I've been meaning to write for a while that I mentioned down below. So Kaelene goes to a wonderful Lutheran pre-school. And given that the curriculum is partially faith based, Kaelene sometimes comes home with some interesting ideas and comments. Don't get me wrong, Connor went to this pre-school too and I've loved it but yet some core doctrines that I hold dear are sometimes taught differently than I would choose to teach them. Anyway, here comes the dialoge (or at least as close as I can remember) from Kaelene on the way home from school on a random Monday in December 3008.

Kaelene to me: Mom, Jesus washed away our sins.

Me: Yes, he atoned for them didn't he? And when we are baptized our sins are all washed away.

Kaelene: Well, (a common beginning to a sentence for Kae) I don't have any sins.

Me: Reeeaaallly?

Kae: But Mom, you have tons of sins. You tell me not to do stuff and get mad at me and that is bad. That is a sin. You are a sinner!

And of course as you can imagine it went on from there. But I thought it was funny/telling that Kaelene viewed herself as having NO sins. Well, self-esteem has never been one of her issues. And for the most part, that's a good thing in my book.