Kendyl's First Haircut!

Kendyl's hair is out of control. Seriously! Look at this. She refuses to keep in any bow, barrette or rubber band so this is how her hair looks 90% of the time and it's driving me crazy. I wanted to let it grow out all one length, but we will have to wait on that. Off to get her bangs cut in.

We went to Snip-Its, a place that only cuts kids hair. Amazing! Not one tear. It was fantastic!

Steven blew bubbles to keep her entertained (sometimes she looked). The hairdresser (Jenn) sang to her, there was a video playing, all sort of fun things to look at, and she got a prize at the end from the machine (put in a card, some of her hair and it makes a noise and spits our a prize).

She looks so much older!

After her haircut we ran some more errands (why do boys not tell you their clothes do not fit until they have nothing to wear?!?!?), then ended up at Baja Fresh for lunch. Here she is eating a Churro.

It was an around the world kind of a day. Baja Fresh (Mexican) for lunch, Ikea (Sweden) for shopping and a snack, then spaghetti (Italian) for dinner. The boys got a kick out of it!

Monster Jam!

On Sunday, we experienced our first Monster Jam. The boys were sooooo excited. I was excited to have a day out (just the four of us) like we used to!

Tim and I had this idea to make it a Cub Scout event, thankfully one of the Dad's ran with it and got us great seats for a great price. It included the pre-show pit party to see all 8 trucks, and an autograph session with the drivers.
Grave Digger and Donkey Kong were big favorites of course.

DK even had the tie!

Here is Steven getting his t-shirt autographed by the driver for Backdraft. He got all 8 signatures on the back of his new Monster Jam shirt (as did Andrew).

Andrew with the driver for Grave Digger.

After the Pit Party we left the Spectrum and went out to lunch at Ruby Tuesday with another family. It was nice to enjoy a relaxing lunch before the show (plus we had 2.5 hours to kill).

During the show! Headphones on!

I have more photos of the trucks doing their stunts, but they are on my other camera and I need to load the software, find the cord, etc. So that will be another day. They also had quads and stunt motorcycles perform. We loved the motorcross motorcycles!

Where was Kendyl? She spend the day at home with a new babysitter (under the watchful eyes of the cats). Thanks Grechen!

Pinewood Derby!!!

My boys in uniform!
Steven (the bear) and his car the Shuttle Explorer.

Ready to race in lane 3!

Andrew wore many hats today. Security for the impound lot, set-up assistant, videographer, and judge for the "best in show".

Steven....crossing the finish line in lane 3.

Steven made it to the finals!!! He ended up placing 3rd in his den! He missed 2nd place by 1/10th of a second!!!! So close.

See how close! Steven and Tristan were neck and neck all day, taking turns beating each other out. Guess Tristan sweaked by in the end.

Andrew and a few other boy scouts judging for "best in show". We know the results.....but have to wait until the Blue and Gold Banquet to reveal the winners.

101%

Andrew got a 101% on his science fair project!!! Woohoo!

Some of the comments from his teacher were:
Great idea!
Great bibliography.
Excellent experiment (variable, controls, material list, procedure)
Great bar graphs!
Nice pictures - really adds to the effect!
I like the blue background...it stands out!

Way to go Andrew!

Snow Day Fun!

Kendyl's First Snow Day (that she could enjoy anyway!) We were able to squeeze a little wet playtime in this morning as the nice snow fell overnight, followed by freezing rain and some rain before we woke up. We caught a little break with some misting and decided to make the best of it.
Kendyl loved her sled (thanks Marianne!) and so did I. We took a nice walk to see horses, but they were in the barns. We did get to see the boys do some sleding, and take a good walk and enjoy what we could for snow covered in ice. Kendyl just sat in the sled and enjoyed the moment, babbling away, watching her brothers and saying "weeee" down each little hill.

We took the shortcut over the bridge thanks to the snow, ice, and some help from the boys to ensure our precious cargo didn't fall out!

Andrew pulled Kendyl up the hill back home, and wanted to take her sledding back down. They both had fun. I can just see them next year....

So pretty! Our bigger creek.

Shoes.....Waiting for the Snow

Funny girl! Kendyl has been REFUSING to wear real shoes for a good month (only wears the soft leather Robeez), then suddenly this week has an interest in shoes. Today she insisted on wearing them to Miss Jenn's and wore them all day. So when she wanted to go outside (her playhouse is on the deck) while Tim was cooking dinner, I figured what the heck. She is walking around like a pro, loving her new little black shoes.

Snow was supposed to start at 4:00 today (....it's 8:40 and we are still waiting). Andrew and his friends were playing outside (building a fort) and Steven was doing his homework (he had a scout meeting right after dinner). Kendyl wasn't happy with only playing on the deck for too long....

Soon she headed off to the playset.

Shortly after getting in her swing, she was surrounded by boys! They are so good with her. They were swinging her high, making her laugh and laugh. Too darn cute.

We are all ready for spring! Ok, one good snow first...I want some snow pictures with Kendyl! She has a snowsuit and sled she has never used!

How Can Life Suck and Be Wonderful at the Same Time?

No pictures. Just rambling thoughts. I'm taking a page out of a friends blog (thanks Andi!) and I'm going to try and use the blog not only to share photos and doings of the family, but also some of my thoughts and feelings. Now I don't think I can be quite as open and honest as she is, but I do need to "get some things out".

It's amazing how life can completely suck and be so wonderful at the same exact time. I guess that goes with the territory of being an adult, a parent. The stresses, the wonders, the joys all rolled into one. Here's my short list for today:

What is Wonderful:

• My marriage.
• Watching our children grow into amazing people.
• Great relationships with my children. The conversations are priceless!
• Our children are active, polite and pick great friends.
• Watching Kendyl grow, and watching her brothers enjoy her too!
• That we both have jobs!
• We have a house in an area we love.
• Our kitty cats.
• Our health....for the most part.

What Sucks:

• A few things I am not ready to admit.
• My relationship with my family (and I don't know how to fix it).
• Not making enough time for a social life.
• Letting friendships get away.
• Not being as organized as I used to be....what happened?!?!?
• Not knowing how to help a friend through a difficult time.
• Active pre-teen boys are money sucking leeches (and I'm sure it's only going to get worse).
• I'm 37 and still have acne problems!

Well, at least I am in control of some of the sucky things and can do something about them. I just need to find the motivation that I have been lacking. Anyone have any magic remedy for that?