Establishing Traditions

With my first one going to kindergarten I wanted to start some back to school traditions. Here's hoping I can keep it up throughout the years. To start off, Luke and I went on a "date".
(not sure why blogger feels like it needs to underline everything, i can't turn it off)

Despite the look on Luke's face, he was really excited to just go out with mommy.

We went out for pizza, Luke's favorite thing to eat. He was so cute while we were waiting for our pizza. After we finished talking about kindergarten it was quiet for a minute. He started fidgeting in his chair and then leaned back and said, "So, what's going on?" It was so cute because he was trying to keep the conversation going on our little "date".

I didn't take pictures of the next parts of our date, but after pizza we went to see the movie G-Force. He LOVED it and I thought it was pretty cute! When we were walking into the movie I was commenting on how hot it was outside. Luke then said, "I think I know why it doesn't snow and get really cold in Las Vegas. I think Heavenly Father forgot about Las Vegas because he was too busy making other places cold." I said, "hmmm, that's an interesting idea" The kid cracks me up with his ideas and his never ending questions.

After the movie we quickly ran and bought him some new shoes for school and then got some ice cream. It was so much fun hanging out with my little man! I can't believe he is going to kindergarten tomorrow. Here's hoping I can hold it together. :)

I got my next idea from nie nie's blog. I love her blog and am so inspired by her and her story. If you have not heard of her or read her blog, you are definitely missing out. She was in a horrible airplane crash along with her husband and another man that did not make it. She and her husband have endured many hard things since this crash, but have amazing faith. I am so inspired by her, her family, her faith, creativity, courage, and strength.
I loved her back to school feast idea so I implemented my own version. Mine was definitely not as fancy and with picky eaters the menu was quite simple.


The table was dressed up "fancy" in our terms of the word "fancy". Real plates versus paper plates is fancy at my house. The kids thought the candles and the "fancy" glasses were the best thing ever.

We ate chicken rolls w/gravy, cooked carrots, fruit salad, and had some sparkling juice.

Luke saying "kindergarten".

Katelyn saying "pre-school".

Ashley was supposed to be saying "mommy" because that is all she cares about right now.

We ate and then Kevin gave Luke and Katelyn father's blessings and we finished the night off with the best chocolate cake.

Katelyn turned 3 on August 8th

One of Katelyn's birthday requests was to have a "cone shaped party hat"! So she found one on the table right when she came downstairs in the morning and put it on. I think she is pretty pleased in this picture.

Katelyn had two birthday parties to go to on Saturday and none of them were her own party, but she still loved it. This was her year for a small family party. So we went out to breakfast at the Pancake House, then she went to a friend's birthday party, opened a few presents, had lunch, opened a few more presents, had cake, watched a movie, went to dinner at Taco Bell (her choice), and then went to her uncle's 30th birthday party! Quite the day for a new 3 year old I think!
Eating breakfast at the Pancake House. Party hats and all!

She has wanted pom poms forever and so she finally got some for her birthday. Here she is doing a birthday cheer for us.

Her favorite present was a princess castle. She has been into the whole princess thing lately so we kind of went with that theme for her "party".

My super easy version of a princess cake. Katelyn loved it and now she has some princesses for toys.

Enjoying some cake!

Really enjoying her cake now! So much easier than using a fork.


This is my Katelyn over the past 3 years. I like to take a picture by their birthday sign each year. This year Katelyn was so wiggly and would not stand still. If I knew how to do a small collage I would show you the many different photos I got of her. The last one here was the best one and it is still blurry.

Looking back at these pictures makes me miss my kids as babies and I can't believe how much she has changed from a year ago.

Three things about my Katelyn:
1. She has so much spunk and amazes me with her energy.
2. She loves to draw and color. Usually on paper, but sometimes on herself.
3. She loves to line things up... like her toys, her crayons, or anything she is playing with at the time.

Another Interview about Daddy

Two years ago I interviewed Luke about his Dad for Father's Day. I thought it would be fun to do again and include Katelyn this time. I used the same questions and it was fun to see which ones Luke answered the same and which ones he changed.

Luke's answers at 5 years old...

What's your daddy's name? Kevin
How old is your daddy? 35
How tall is your daddy? ummm...I don't know... ummm... maybe 20 feet
What color are his eyes? blue
Is your daddy strong? Yes How strong? he can lift up the couch
Where does your daddy work? at his work What does he do? builds stuff and gets money
Does your dad ever get mad at you? Yes
Why does he get mad? because sometimes I hit or push
What does he do when he gets mad? he sends me to my bed or puts me in time out
What do you like to do for fun with daddy? wrestle, got to fun stores, go to the playground...lots of fun stuff
What is he good at doing? playing What do you like to play? ninja warrior
Is your daddy smart? yes, he knows what 100+100 is and he teaches me lots of stuff
If your daddy was a superhero who would he be? Wolverine
Is your daddy your best friend? Yep!


Katelyn's answers at 2 1/2 years old... (it took us three different sessions to answer all these questions)
What's your daddy's name? uhhh...Daddy
How old is your daddy? maybe 2
How tall is your daddy? big
What color are his eyes? brown
Is your daddy strong? Yah How strong? he does push ups
Where does your daddy work? far away What does he do? push ups
Does your dad ever get mad at you? uh huh
Why does he get mad? "I make him happy." What do you do that makes him mad? "because I'm not happy"
What does he do when he gets mad? maybe he puts me on the stairs in time out
What do you like to do for fun with daddy? wrestle and go to Depot, Depot (this is what she calls Home Depot)
What is your favorite thing to do with daddy? go to Disneyland
What is he good at doing? work
Is your daddy smart? yes, he rides in a truck
If your daddy was a superhero who would he be? a man What kind of man? spiderman
Is your daddy your best friend? Yes

My kids are so lucky to have such a fun, smart, hard working daddy. He is always involved and helps me out so much. We love him!!!!

I also want to give a shout out to my Dad.

My dad has always been my number one fan. I have fond memories of seeing my dad in the stands at all my high school basketball games cheering me on and sometimes giving the refs a hard time. :) Many times he was there in a suit having just come from work or a church meeting. He has always been a support and strength to me. Not only has he been a wonderful father, but he is a super grandfather. My kids love to go to grandpa's house and help him in his garden or play in his fun backyard. He is always willing to take them to the park and have fun with them. Thank you for your great example Dad! I love you!

Creativity At Its Best or Worst

Katelyn loves to color, draw, and paint. She has really progressed a lot in her coloring and drawing. She can now draw a circle face with the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair in the proper place. She wanted to try painting and did really well the first couple of times. No big messes and she was occupied and I was happy.

Well, I guess regular painting on the paper was not creative enough for her. She started painting her hands and trying to make hand prints on the paper. Of course she was using watercolor paints so the hand prints weren't really working, but she did have a mess on her hands and down her arms. I let it slide the first and second time, but by the third time I told her no more painting for awhile. That made her so mad and the tantrums began. Even though it wiped off easy it left a dark stain on her hands for the rest of the day.

On Saturday I decided to give her another chance. She hadn't painted for a few days and she was needing something to keep her busy. I told her that if she painted on her hands we would put the paint away and she couldn't paint for a long time. I got her all set up and then left her to do a few things around the house (this was my mistake). Each time I would check on her she was quietly painting and the last time I checked she was done and sitting on the couch(with her back to me) watching TV with Luke.

I cleaned up the paints and then a few minutes later I heard Luke saying, "Katelyn has paint all over her face!" What?!?!.................










She was just sitting there like it was no big deal and I guess it wasn't a big deal to her. I guess I need to be more specific with her. No paint on your hands, face, knees, legs, feet, ears, etc. Luckily it wiped off pretty easy and there weren't any dark stains left.

Preschool Graduate

Preschool has been soooo good for Luke. He has come a long way from the beginning of the school year. His behavior has improved so much and he is now reading and writing. He would sound out words and write words all day if I could be there to help him with the ones he doesn't know and be able to give him my attention all day.
His preschool experience was a little different because he had Miss Kathy from the beginning of the school year until the first week of April and then went to Miss Heather's preschool until the end of May. Miss Kathy had to stop because her son was sick. I was worried how Luke would transition, but he surprised me and did really well.

(Signing the ABCs. I was cracking up because the teacher was going a little fast and Luke couldn't keep up. He said really loudly, "you are going too fast!" That's my boy, not afraid to say what's on his mind.)

(The fam minus dad in Luke's first preschool room.)

(Miss Kathy-she was so patient with Luke)

(Miss Heather-(not a great picture of Luke)she had a dog that Luke learned to love. This is pretty amazing considering how terrified Luke is of dogs.)

Disneyland Fun

We decided to brave Disneyland for our family vacation this year. We thought it would be a great time to go because Katelyn and Ashley were still free. We did have a great time and came home exhausted!

Highlights and lessons learned from the trip:

• Stayed in a suite for the first time and it was so worth the little bit of extra money
• Ashley had her meltdowns in the hotel before heading to the park
• Katelyn only had one major meltdown
  
• Luke was braver than I thought and loved the roller coasters. Katelyn also loved the little roller coaster in toontown.
• (This was Luke right after riding a roller coaster at CA adventure.)
• Katelyn did not like the characters and would not take a picture with any of them.
• The weather was hot on Thursday, but there were hardly any lines.
• The weather was nice on Friday, but the lines were longer.
• Never spend the money on pizza at CA adventure again
• Don't go on the swinging carts on the ferris wheel again. They scared Ashley and I, Katelyn thought it was so funny to be swinging back and forth.
• Favorite Rides: Buzz Lightyear, Toontown Roller Coaster, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters Inc., and Toy Story
• Katelyn and Luke were pulled out in the Celebrate parade to dance and they loved it. Katelyn kept wanting to go the "party" again.
• Ashley thought she was such a big girl and would walk in the lines like everyone else.
• Frozen strawberry lemonade is the best treat on a hot day.
• The water and snacks we brought were lifesavers.
• Hand sanitizer is a must!
• Time together at a fun place with family is the BEST!
• Our double jogging stroller was so nice and at times would hold all three kids.

(Video of Luke and Katelyn dancing in the parade.)

Mother's Day

I am blessed with a wonderful mother and mother-in law. I am in awe of these two amazing woman.

My mom had six kids in 8 1/2 years. She gave birth to 3 of the 6 kids in the Middle East while we were living over there. She gave birth to 1 child in Salt Lake while my dad had to stay overseas and had two small children already. Along with my dad, she traveled the world with 5 small children ( I seriously don't know how she did that. I can barely drive to Utah and keep my sanity.) She has served faithfully in all of her church callings and has always been an example of trusting in the Lord and serving others. She is one of my heroes.



(This picture was taken a couple of years ago, but I love it so I decided to post it.)
My mother-in-law has raised 9 children, yep that's right 9. I seriously don't know how she has done it. She has been through a lot in her life and remains so strong and faithful. She is a kindergarten teacher with this being her last year of teaching. I wish my kids could have had her as a teacher. She is someone I look up to and admire.

I am so grateful to be a mother to these three cuties. Motherhood is not easy and I struggle most days to be a good mom. It is because of the great examples of mothers in my life that I keep plugging along and try to do my best in this most important job. Thank you to them for their help, support, and encouragement.