Almost July!

Let them eat cake! Here's Kyle digging into his piece of Grandpa's birthday cake. On the 17th, Mom threw a big party for Dad's 65th birthday. It was a nice summer day, and we had the party outside in the backyard. Dad put up the canopies and we had tables and chairs brought in. Lots of family and friends attended. It was nice visiting with everyone. We even got a lot of the 1st generation cousins to sing Karaoke. I have the pictures, but I think my cousins would not be too pleased if I posted them. It was fun and a great time!

This month has been very busy for me. Kevin and Kaela both finished school. Kevin didn't have a graduation, but their last week of school was all fun and games. There was a Kindergarten carnival. I was able to help out with the help of Ris. She stayed home with the kiddos while I went. Kevin was so pleased that I could be there. A few of his classmates even gave me hugs! They are all so cute!

We went to a end of school year party at Kevin's friends house. A lot of his former classmates and their families were there. That was really enjoyable too. His teacher showed up and the kids insisted that she read them a book. Afterwards, the kids played with water balloons. Kaela got paired up with Kevin's friend Alyssa. It was so funny watching the two girls toss the balloons to each other. Neither could catch, nor throw. They were only standing about a foot from each other, but managed to drop and pop about 20 balloons!

Kaela had a bit of an accident the other day. Keith had to come home early and I took Kaela into the doctor. She slipped on a toy and whacked her head into the side of their wooden table. She slammed her right ear against it and managed to slice it pretty bad. It didn't cut all the way through and it didn't require stitches. The doctor said that it'll leave a noticeable scar. He also said they could recommend a plastic surgeon in her teens years if it bothers her that much. I think she can just keep her hair long.

Kyle is plugging away with the words. He is forming more sentences and you can almost understand everything he says. He seems to be a "big boy" now. But, I asked him if he was ready to start using the potty and he replied, "No. Pee diapers. No potty." Well then, I guess I'll ask him again next month.

Kenny. She is a climbing troublemaker. She climbs on everything. She can get on top of the dinner table and has even started to climb the ladder up Kevin's bunk. She is always on the kids' table and I swear if she could, she'd climb onto the dresser in the kids' room. She likes to make the other kids mad but turning the TV off and running away. I swear she has an evil laugh as she does it.

Kyle has taken on a nurturing side. I think he picked it up from Kevin. Whenever Kenna cries, he goes to her and strokes her hair and says, "Donh cry Nena." It is too cute. He's always finding toys to console her. He brings her her Teletubbies (which were Kevin's, then Kaela's, then Kyle's). He is pretty good at making her stop crying. He doesn't like when I leave her in her crib a little too long after she wakes from her naps and cries. He has figured out (which I am not sure how) how to lift her out of the crib and take her out.

Since Kevin has been spending more time outside with his friends. Kaela and Kyle have become quite the pals. They don't fight nearly as much as they used to just a few months ago. They actually play together. When Kevin comes back in, he just joins right up with them and Kenna too! I can actually find a few blocks of time during the day when the kids are all playing nicely together. I once in a while will hear a "Hey!" but then they seem to be able to resolve differences on their own.

Oh my babies, they are growing up too fast!

Let's see. What else?

Convention is less than 2 weeks away. SU! just released its new 2006-07 catalog and it is awesome! SU! has an incentive cruise for top earners and in 2008 they are cruising to Bermuda. I think I may have to take this more seriously and try to win it. That would be a cool vacation for me and Keith!

Mom is coming to visit for more than a week! Yippee! The kids are so excited to see Grandma again. They got some really cute postcards from her in the mail today and they loved them! They all carried them around the house all day today.

Keith's birthday is the same day that I leave for Convention. I can't say how old he is going to be. He hates when I mention it. lol I don't think he is old at all. He doesn't seem anywhere near 42 to me. Oops! Did I just type that out loud?

Well, I guess that is it for now. I know I keep saying I am going to do better at keeping up with the blog, but life gets in the way sometimes. Good night!

Happy 7 Years!

Us, June 12, 2006

We celebrated our 7th anniversary on Monday. This is a picture of us after we got home. It was past the kids' bedtime, but they still had tons of energy.

I was going to make a card for our anniversary, but I fell asleep (yes, I once again waited until the last minute to do something). By the time he got home, I was rounding out the third hour of my nap. I must've been tired. Keith got me a beautiful card, a really pretty sun catcher and of course some beanie bears. He got me the one named Fun because we always have fun when we go out together. The other he got me was named Dear One. He got that one because he says I am the Dear One. Ain't that sweet?

We had dinner at the local food court area. We had Indian food. It was really yummy. We didn't go out for a romantic dinner, but we still had a nice time. It was nice that we can actually sit in a restaurant with four kids and have a pleasant dinner. All the kids did great and I think the consensus of favorite food these days is Indian.

After dinner, we went to the "big" mall in the area and had ice cream at Cold Stone. The kids love their ice cream! You can kind of see in the picture that Michaela's hair is curled. She got it done at one of the little kiosk/carts at the mall. They were trying to get me to buy a ceramic curling iron. It was a really neat product, but they wanted $85 for it. Uh, no.

Anyway, the night was really enjoyable. The kids had fun walking around the mall and looking at the fountains and all the cool things to look at. Even though we weren't alone it was a really great night. I am not sure which I had more fun on - our first night of our honeymoon, or this night.

Seven Years Ago

Us, June 12, 1999

This was us during our first dance as a married couple. What a fun wedding we had. We weren't there long, we hopped a plane a flew to Seattle. We had dinner that night at Ivar's and stayed at the Westin. We had a nice high floor and a perfect view of the sound. The next day, we went to Victoria and stayed at the Empress. We had a suite that over looked the harbor. We stayed in Victoria for a couple of nights then headed back to Seattle. We still talk about how much fun we had on our honeymoon.

I found a link to our online wedding album that I did back in 1999. I haven't visited it in a few years and I am even surprised that it still exists on tripod. The link is below, but I must warn you that with ever picture you view, there is an obnoxious pop-up ad. Maybe that's why I haven't visited in years!

Our Online Wedding Album - Posted in 1999

New Pictures

I have just added a new photo album. It is listed on the left hand side as "May June 2006". Or, click here.

I have been really bad about the blog and I realize that I have only been updating once a month. I just need to organize my time better. *sigh*

There really has been a lot going on. One fun thing that happened on the 10th was we went to see the movie "Cars". It was so fun. Keith, I, Kevin and Kaela all went. We got free tickets for the premiere from AT&T. Along with the tickets, they provided the drinks (huge), popcorn (really huge) and a good bag for each kid. It was really a fun story. The kids enjoyed it and so did we!

We've been doing fun family stuff. Kevin's school had a spring fling that we went to. Stampin' Up! donated a lot of merchandise and I was able to make three nice baskets for the silent auction. We did a great job raising money with them!

We have also gone to the Discovery Science center. We go out for ice cream a lot too!

Kevin has been playing more with the neighborhood kids as we have finally let him venture out on his own. He has met a lot of good friends. His school is over next week.

Kaela is doing good. She is now writing letters and is copying words every chance she gets. She really wants to be a big girl asap!

Kyle is saying more and more (as always) and is getting more clear. He and I would go have bagels with Kenna every Tuesday together. It was fun, but will have to wait until the fall when the olders go back to school.

Kenna is actually saying a lot of words. Me, me, me. Cheese. Daddy. Mama. She is opinionated too. If she is not happy with you, she will yell at you. Ahhh! Ahhh! It is too funny.