Colorado Greenery

Mission Accomplished!

2010-11-09T15:35:00.000-08:00

I've tried to read Cervantes' "Don Quixote" several times and have never made it any further than about a quarter of the way. I just don't have what it takes to stick with a 982 page book. It is AMAZING to me that Corban has read this entire novel at age 11! He just finished it today! And here is his critique of the book: "It's a good book, but it has a sad ending." Makes you want to get to the library and grab a copy, doesn't it? :-)

2010-10-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Kaela was learning about the parts of an invitation today. We talked about times when you'd send an invitation, like to a birthday party. She made a comment about not needing to send invitations since she didn't have any friends. I told her that one day she would, and she says, "Maybe next year." I asked her why next year and she said that next year she'd have friends because she'd get to go to school. Isn't this just breaking your heart? I made some comment about her maybe going to school next year and asked her if that's what she wanted. She said yes, of course. Homeschooling is just too lonely and boring with me. Anyway, I started carrying on about how lonely I'd be and how much I'd miss her, blah blah blah. Then she says, "I wish there were four kids." She clearly doesn't want to be the one to leave poor Mom home alone. Sweet, friendless girl.

Random Thoughts

2010-10-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

A purging of of my mind:

1. Winter is coming. I'm not ready.

2. Our oven randomly beeps, sometimes for lengthy periods of time. It is irritating, especially when I want to go downstairs to sleep on the couch because I'm still not asleep at 1:00 or 2:00 or 3:00.

3. I finished knitting a scarf! It's not long enough to be a scarf, however. I'm starting a second one and hope it will be a usable scarf.

4. I love Chick-fil-A. I could eat there 7 times a day.

5. Corban gets really, really good grades. I want to be as smart as Corban.

6. I coughed so hard this morning that I thought I would throw up. Kaela didn't even check to see if I was okay. I think she just asked if she could have a sweet. She's always asking for a sweet. I think she should go to school so that her teeth don't rot away.

7. I lose lots of hair in the shower. Lots. It's not the gray ones.

8. I think a lot about re-educating myself/getting a job. I wonder why I think this is a good idea when I struggle to keep things running smoothly at home.

9. "Horton Hears a Who" is one of my favorite movies.

10. I haven't exercised in about 2 weeks. I think I'll go eat Chick-fil-A.

My First Flowers

2010-10-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Mom! Dad! Look! It's the flowers you helped me plant that I said I'd post a picture of! :-)

Good news from Corban!

2010-10-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Corban auditioned for a spot in the school district's Honors Orchestra and found out last week that he made it! He's very excited and we're very proud! Way to go Corban!!!

Here is the blurb from the school's newsletter:

Students Who Made SVVSD Honor Orchestra for the 2010-11 School Year

o 6th Grade – Corban Green (very unusual for a 6th grader to make this ensemble!)
o 8th Grade – Jaimie Erker, Eric Peairs, & Monica Walker

**Congratulations! This is a very special honor for Trail Ridge Middle School!

Corban told us that they announced his achievement during the morning announcements as well, so he was being congratulated all day. Fun!

Hangin' Out

2010-10-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to say about this activity that Corban dreamed up one day. Maybe when you have a very high loft in your home, it's just what a boy thinks of doing. Rho belayed from up top and pulled them as high as possible, then, lowered them down. It just doesn't sound that cool, but they all got a kick out of it!

Beautiful

2010-10-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

Beautiful

Days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves enough to die

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes

You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His

The Green Home

2010-09-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our house really needed painting and the HOA told us that we had to paint it, so we had it painted this summer. Here's the whole house before.............

The very faded garage door.....

Looking better........

And now the whole house.........
The paint job has been done for about 3 months and I STILL have debates with myself over the color of the darker green trim. It just didn't turn out like I expected. If I look at it when the sun is shining directly on it, I'm like, "No way. That has got to be changed." Then, in the evening, I'm like, "Well, it really looks fine." It's strange and I think I should probably just forget about it, but that's hard for me. My neighbor across the street is very wise and suggested that I simply not look at my house during the day when the sun is shining on it.

P.S. to last blog post

2010-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

After I mentioned Sen. Mike Crapo in the last post, I was trying to remember another very strange and unfortunate name that I read in our paper just a few days after chuckling about poor Sen. Mike's last name. Well, it came to me and I've looked in the newspaper's online archive to double check myself. It was a story about a man in a neighboring town who was growing a pineapple (musta been a slow news day!). His name is...........get ready for this............Purdy Outhouse! I am not making this up! What were the parents of this man thinking? As if Outhouse wasn't challenging enough, they gave him a first name that can be heard as the sloppy form of "pretty!" Oh, my, my. Maybe one day Mr. Crapo and Mr. Outhouse will meet and appreciate the odd connectivity of their surnames. This makes me grateful to have the simple last name of "Green."

Mr. WHO?

2010-09-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

This might be one of those "you had to be there" moments, but it made me laugh, several times, so I thought I'd share it. Kaela was reading a book called "A Fish Out of Water" to me. It's about a boy who feeds his pet fish, Otto, too much food and the fish grows bigger and bigger and bigger. The boy buys the fish from a man named Mr. Carp. Well, Kaela is reading along...."This little fish, I said to Mr. CRAP, I want him. I like him. And he likes me. I will call him Otto. Very well, said Mr. CRAP...." She just keeps right on reading, not realizing that Mr. CRAP is a strange name for a person. She only stops because I'm laughing SO hard. I correct her, without any explanation, but now I will always, in my head, hear "Mr. CRAP" when that story is read.

Sadly, there is someone with the last name of Crapo. Mike Crapo. He's a senator from Idaho. Poor guy.

July 4th, 2010

2010-09-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping around in time, posting old stuff and new. Bear with me.

Our 4th of July celebration was different and really fun this year. Rho bought some tickets for a professional lacrosse game from a co-worker. So, we went down to the Pepsi Center and got there early to eat our dinner in the van. For whatever reason, we didn't open the windows or anything and when we finished eating and stepped outside, it had gotten chilly! We were all dressed in shorts and flip flops--totally inappropriate for the change in weather. We knew there was no way we could enjoy this game if we were freezing, so we made the decision to drive all the way back home (about 40 minutes) to get warmer clothes. On our drive back home, it also started to sprinkle, so we grabbed ponchos as well. Well, even though we went as fast as we could, we had missed half of the game by the time we got back. The weather had not cleared up, and we were in our seats for probably 2 minutes before the rain came pretty hard and we all threw ponchos on. Many people were using umbrellas, which we chose not to take, figuring they weren't allowed. Umbrellas would have helped A LOT! Kaela had to go to the bathroom after a little bit, so I took her, and when we were heading back to our seats, we saw that it was absolutely pouring! We stood around under cover for a bit before heading back to our seats and word was spreading that the after game fireworks were going to be cancelled! NO! That was the main reason the girls even cared about being there. We sat, trying our best to keep dry, for the rest of the game, which was really fun to watch, and near the very end an announcement was made that the fireworks would indeed happen! YAY! We've been to a couple of stadium fireworks displays before and they are really neat. They do loud, patriotic music and slides on the big screens, along with in-your-face fireworks. It was awesome! I turned to look at the kids at one point and saw that Karis was crying! huh? I could tell she wasn't upset, however, so I left her alone. Afterwards, I asked her why she was crying and she said, "It was just so beautiful." Awwwww! What a sweetie. It really was an awesome show, despite our soggy bottoms and the chill we got. We were happy to get back to the van afterwards and crank the heat on! There are no pictures to post of the game, since it was raining, but here are a few taken earlier in the day.

I gave the girls patriotic manicures and pedicures.

Corban's 11th Birthday

2010-09-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Kaela and Karis's birthdays are upon us and I realize that I never blogged about Corban's birthday. (Quite a realization, huh, seeing as I hardly ever post about anything! Ha! But I'm getting better!)

Corban had one wish for his birthday this year. A longboard! I don't know where he first heard of these things, but he'd been to the skateboard store a few times to look and was sure these were lots more fun than a regular deathboard. I mean skateboard. He was very happy to get one. And to make it more fun for Corban.......

Rho thought he should get one too. It's more fun to ride with someone!

Corban tries out the board.

And now he helps Karis try it out. What a nice brother!

And then Kaela gets a ride. Fortunately, the girls did not get the "bug" for longboards. I would not want for this to become a family activity! Corban hasn't had any major crashes on his board, thank God, but Rho had a good, but soft, fall one evening and says that passers-by were actually laughing at him! Hahahahahahahaha! Wish I could have seen it! I mean, I'm really glad Rho is ok.

Locks of Love

2010-09-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Near the end of July, Karis's hair was long enough for a donation to Locks of Love. There had been MANY times we were ready to get rid of the length, due to the frustration of tangles, but she was determined to grow it and give it away.

Here she is at Great Clips ready to get her new "do."

She first had to endure this Princess Leia-like goofy look.

Then came the big cut! Bye-bye hair! Good riddance tangles!

She's all smiles afterwards, loving her shorter hair!

The back is shorter than the front/sides. I thought she might be upset after having so much cut off, but she loved this cut immediately! Way to go Karis!

The Climbing Handyman

2010-09-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here's Rho doing another tricky maneuver when I needed this crazy stairwell window and light fixture dusted. He started at the top of the stairs and shimmied his way over until he could reach the window with an extender pole. This was taken several months ago and now there's a lightbulb burned out, so he'll need to do it again before long. It's handy to have a rock climber around the house!

How many tools does it take......

2010-09-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

.....to change a lightbulb?

1. 4 chairs
2. 1 ladder
3. 1 2x4 (or something like that)
4. 1 pair of kitchen tongs

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

2010-09-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Kaela's history curriculum started with a lesson about the continents and oceans. Because it was a beautiful day, I asked Kaela to go outside and do a chalk drawing of the globe. This is what she drew. What I want to point out are the 2 oval-ish shapes on the outside that kinda make it look like the earth has ears. I asked her what those were and she explained to me that they were "God's hands, holding the earth that he made." What a beautiful addition she thought of! I love it!

First Day of School PHOTOS

2010-09-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

It would have been nice to post the photos with the blog. But, better late than never!

Kaela is ready for first grade! A homeschool kid needs a backpack too! Well, not really, but she filled it with homeschool supplies, which was really cute. I had her stand outside the school room door and wait for the "bell" to ring. When it did, I opened the door with a cheery, "Welcome first grader!" We wanted it to feel official.

Wow, I can't believe Corban is in middle school. This photo was actually taken on the second day of school, which was the first "real" day. The first day was just an orientation day. He has considerable less "poof" to his hairstyle since having LOTS of hair thinned away. Thank goodness.

Ever since she got her hair cut, Karis looks almost too old to be a second grader. She could hardly wait to get out the door the first morning. I wish that were still true now, 3 weeks later! She's hangin' in there though.

First day of school 2010

2010-08-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a long day. I already feel like going to bed and it's not even 10:00am yet!

Corban's first words at 6:30 this morning were, "I'm not so excited about going back to school anymore." The nerves had set in, poor kid. He got up quickly though and got himself ready, though he was barely able to eat any breakfast. I think he managed 1/2 of a Toaster Strudel.

Karis, on the other hand, flew down the stairs this morning, dressed and smiling hugely, at 7:00. School doesn't start until 8:50! I wasn't going to wake her up until 8:00! Yesterday, we went to the "Popsicle Pop-in" where kids got to meet their teacher, have a popsicle, and take their supplies into their classroom. Karis's teacher is Mrs. Wills, who seems especially sweet and has a son who was in Corban's class last year. I'm glad Karis didn't get Mrs. Jingleheimerschmidt, since she was having trouble remembering "Mrs. Wills" last night!

Corban and I left the house at 7:10 and walked to Trail Ridge for his first day of 6th grade at M-I-D-D-L-E S-C-H-O-O-L! He wanted to know if I remembered how I felt on my first day of middle school or high school or college. I can't really remember my first day of middle school, but is there any question that I was nervous? No. When we got close to the school, Corban slowed down and told me goodbye. I took this as my signal that I wasn't to go any further with him. I was being DITCHED! This bothered me. I had NO IDEA what his day would be like! Didn't it bother him? Didn't he need me to walk him to the front door and make sure everything was in order for him? Didn't he need me to AT LEAST hang there until he was safely surrounded by a few friends? I guess not. He allowed a hug, however. For this I am thankful. Today is basically a 6th grade orientation day, where only 6th graders show up (they don't even take a backpack or any supplies....just lunch money) with some chosen 7th and 8th grade kids who lead them through their day, somehow, someway. I don't know. And it bothers me! But what could I do?!?! I had to let him walk away into the UNKNOWN, to the gathering of other kids, and try not to vomit or run after him. My children cannot go to college. I won't survive.

Speaking of vomit. Kaela woke with moans and groans and calling "Mommy!" from her bed. Since Rho was hanging with us this morning, he went up to Kaela and got her to the bathroom where she emptied her belly into the bowl. Ugh. Not a good start for her first day of school. I let the teacher know that she wouldn't be coming to school today. :) Hoping that Kaela's illness was minor, Rho went on to work, believing I'd be able to get Karis to school just fine. (Read on.) Karis passed the time by playing some Wii and asking several times if it was time to go yet and suggesting that she walk to school on her own since Kaela was sick. She really wants to walk to school on her own and she probably saw Kaela's illness as her big opportunity. Ha! No way! Kaela barfed again just moments before we were to leave, so we actually drove half way to a little parking area next to the park and walked from there so that I wouldn't have to carry Kaela so far. So, I'd been wondering how it would go with Karis on the first day. Here's how it went: Karis TOTALLY DITCHED me when we got to the outside door of her classroom! Didn't she need to stand beside me to feel safe? Didn't she need comforting words from me? Why was she still so happy, even though she didn't know anybody? Why did I have to motion for her to come and give me a hug???!!?! ARRRRGH! She was WAY TOO HAPPY! I gave her a hug, unable to say any final farewells, then quickly grabbed my sunglasses to hide. Mrs. Wills opened the door with a cheery, "Good morning 2nd graders!" and my girl disappeared through the door and I nearly vomited. I walked away quickly, barely getting away from the door before Kaela needed to throw up again. I was prepared with a Wal Mart bag and dish towel, so we squatted on the sidewalk and took care of it. What a scene. A crying mother with a child in pajamas, squatting on the sidewalk, throwing up into a plastic sack. Pitiful. And it made me cry harder. Kaela said, "I've never seen a PARENT cry before." When she asked why I was crying, I told her it was hard to leave Karis at school. She assured me with a "It'll be okay, Mommy." I'm pretty sure she's right, but it's still going to be a long day.

-

Elementary Graduation

2010-05-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ta-Da! I still know how to post pictures! Granted, they aren't very good, but hey, I tried.

Today was Corban's 5th grade "Continuation Ceremony." Family and friends gathered in the gym for the program, which basically consisted of a reading of "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess and a slide show of tons of pictures of the kids taken throughout the year. The kids were called up, one by one, to receive their diploma. I took one picture from my place very near the back of the room, so it turned out very dark, of course. Corban is looking and smiling though. And he looks so cool in a shirt and tie! I love it!

Here are Corban and his friends Catherine, Diego, and Amira. They are a nice group of kids. Unfortunately, Diego is enrolled in a private school for next year and Amira is moving, so Corban only has one close friend (Catherine) going on to Trail Ridge Middle School with him. I'm sure he'll meet other friends next year, especially now that he'll be involved in band and orchestra.

After the ceremony, a picnic was held at the park next to the school. They served lunch for everyone and the kids had fun running around with each other and enjoying a beautiful, breezy day. The kids were allowed to leave afterwards, so we signed Corban out and then took him over to Amira's house where this little group continued their celebration.

Help Me...My Blog is Ugly

2010-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hey! I have a question for anyone who might still be looking at my blog. Do you know how to make my blog look better? I don't like it anymore. The colors look dull and it just needs a good spiffing up. Any suggestions of how I do this? Like some website or something?

They Crack Me Up

2010-04-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

The funny things kids say is one of the little rewards of parenting. Here are a few that I want to remember.

A few mornings ago, Kaela overheard Corban and I talking about a newspaper article that told of a kid who was accidentally shot when a gun he believed to be "jammed" suddenly went off. Later, as Kaela was eating lunch and looking at the paper, she saw the picture of the boy and said, "Mom, is this the boy who got hurt by the gun that shot jam?" Huh? I asked her what she was talking about and she clarified for me that the boy was hurt by a real gun that he thought only shot out jelly! heehee

Kaela prays for the people of Haiti. She wants them to have their houses back the way they were "in the very very very very very very very very first place."

Karis is able to find the smallest of opportunities to make a funny. Once, her math lesson asked her to circle the operation needed: addition or subtraction. She did a couple of problems and then very nonchalantly says, "I think this one's OR" and circles the word "or." What a goof. Another time, while teaching her measurement, I asked her what we were going to do about measuring a book that was longer than the ruler. She answered, "Just get a smaller book." She cracks me up.

Karis tries to eat with chopsticks at dinner. As she's picking them up off the floor, she says "If only I was French!"

Sprinklemania

2009-12-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight's evening activity was decorating sugar cookies! Fun! And Yum!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go clean up icing and sprinkles.

Jessica...are you happy now?

What's this?? A blog?

2009-10-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Colorado Greenery has been resurrected, again!

Dedication to my blog clearly isn't one of my strengths, but I'm back for a quick post because Jessica will be on my case soon and because my sweet mother-in-law, Becky, requested. :) It's a small miracle that I was able to remember how to find my blog and hook up the camera to download pictures!

It's been a season of many changes for us, as you already know. Rho's new job started in April, the kids and I arrived at our new home in Longmont on August 1st, Corban started public school, and Kaela started Kindergarten. I'm very happy with our new home, though it needs our attention in several areas. After putting up blinds and ceiling fans, repairing the sprinkler system, planting grass, pulling gobs of weeds, and having the front porch repaired, we started our first major project--the kids' bathroom. Rho has ripped the carpet and wallpaper out, textured the walls and we're now trying to achieve the right shade of yellow after a miserable first attempt that reminded me of newborn pooh. Sorry, but it's the best description I can think of! Rho will tile the floor and hopefully be able to put the potty back correctly! It's quite an undertaking to do home improvement! We seem to have very nice neighbors and I feel quite at home here....more so than I did after 5 years at our first house!

The kids are doing great. Corban's transition to public school has gone so smoothly. I worried for no reason. He's doing great academically and has yet to have any complaints. The girls and I had some rocky moments early in our school year, but, if memory serves me right, getting started has always been rough! Things are going well now, but it's definitely time consuming! Karis needs more patience with reading, but she's making progress and I'm hopeful that she'll learn to enjoy reading. Kaela is psyched to do school on most days and usually wants to do more than I ask of her. I wish I had the time! Corban played lacrosse again this fall and Karis is about to finish up soccer. Corban decided that Boy Scout's wasn't his thing, but is continuing with Bible Bowl. He'll start violin lessons again soon, I hope, when we find a new teacher.

Sadly, I haven't taken many pictures since we moved, but here are a few to show you that our kids are turning out to be just as weird as Rho and I.

And here they are showing that they can be normal and pretty cute, too!

Just Pictures

2009-07-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

The girls sitting at the neighborhood beach access walkway.

Stopping to smell some beautiful flowers.

The Green girls in a giant red chair.

The kids learn about dragonflies during an educational outing.

Corban does his best dragonfly impersonation.

Just Pictures

2009-07-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post pictures in my Outer Banks blogs, but don't feel like messing with them now. So instead, I'm just posting pictures separately.

The kids feed turtles at the neighborhood pond. There were SO MANY turtles!

The pool at the house was a huge hit with the kids.

The very large home we stayed in.

OBX Day 6

2009-07-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

Jack and Kathy, Shannon's parents, left early this morning. When we awoke later, it was cloudy and sprinkling. We decided to visit the Wright Brothers Museum. Interesting, but a little dull for the kids. Went for lunch at a pizza place. Eddie took the 3 boys straight back to the house for swimming. The weather had cleared and was very nice. Mom, Dad, Shannon, girls, and I made a couple of stops for souvenir shopping. Then returned home and joined the pool fun. Decided to make one more trip to beach. It was high tide. Eddie and Cam caught some good waves. Made sand castles. Returned to house for dinner. Started packing a little. Headed out again for shopping since earlier stops were not successful. Bathed kids. Got to bed late.

Left on July 4th around 7:15. Stopped for breakfast and lunch. Had a scavenger hunt competition between the two vehicles. Find roadkill, a school bus, a car with a kayak on top, etc. Arrived home around 7:00. Unpacked UHaul, ate a bite, put kids to bed. Pretty pooped.

OBX Day 5

2009-07-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

I was awake pretty early this morning for some reason, but I didn't mind so much. I grabbed "Twilight" and made the most of my time, even though my eyes were barely opened. I'm having a hard time putting that book down. In fact, I finished it today and can't wait to get to bed and start the second one. After reading for a bit, I heard a bunch of commotion and soon the kids were rushing into my room to get dressed for a treasure hunt! I knew that Shannon's parents were staging a treasure hunt down at the beach, but didn't realize when it would be. I got up quickly, threw on some clothes, and we were all out the door with 2 metal detectors, shovels, and buckets. Jack, Shannon's dad, was already at the beach and had "called to tell us all that he met a guy down at the beach who told him there was probably a lot of things to find at the beach today" for some reason or another. Jack was there, guarding the hidden treasure that he had burried. The kids scanned the beach with metal detectors, all 5 of them dropping in the same spot whenever it went off. Corban dug up the first treasure, a gold dollar coin, I believe. He was SO excited. The kids were way excited now. They continued to find special coins, sea glass and special shells. All the treasure was put in one bucket to be divided up later. I don't think any of the kids caught on! After treasure hunting, we came home for a late pancake breakfast. Afterwards, the kids went swimming while the grandparents watched. I laid on the front deck hammock and enjoyed more "Twilight." Shannon wanted to go to Duck, a town just north of us, to poke around in some shops. So, when she was ready, 4 of us (Shannon, her mom, Dad, me) drove to the Waterfront Shops in Duck which are located on the Currituck Sound. It was a nice little outing. We got back for a late lunch. Mom had already fed all the kids. After the rest of us ate, I suited up for swimming and went to the pool. Kaela was the only one interested at first, but soon the others came out to join us. We played some fun pool games and I watched as everyone had some special pool trick to perform. Corban and Cameron like to do this game where they pretend to be someone in the family as they are jumping into the pool. It's funny. For example, they might swing an imaginary golf club so hard that they fall into the pool. That's their impression of Jack, Shannon's dad. For my Dad, they pretend to be asleep and snore and fall into the pool. For me, then pretend to clean everything before they fall into the pool. :) I will take this opportunity to report that I have NOT cleaned anything since I've been here, though it could use it. The baseboards on the stairs are covered with dog hair and it pains me not to clean it. There's a vacuum downstairs calling me, but I resist. Anyway, I'm rambling now. So, after swimming all afternoon, we were ready for dinner and enjoyed a beach boil meal with potatoes, shrimp, sausage, and corn on the cob. It all gets cooked in one big pot with some seasoning called Old Bay. It was yummy. The adults enjoyed some time on the upper deck, the ocean breeze making a very pleasant evening. We had some birthday cake then, celebrating George Bush's birthday. I don't really want to go into that. It's just some joke going between my dad and Jack. After that, we went to the beach to fly the kite I mentioned from the other day. It went up easily this time and the kids each took a turn flying it. Then, of course, we did more crabbing! I'm pretty sure I'll have crabby kids in the morning after all these late bedtimes! Fun times, though, and the day was made even better with the good news of the house inspection going well! Yea!!

Oh, I learned today that there are people out there in the world who make paper from elephant pooh! Yes, it's true! I was poking around in one of the little shops and saw a shelf of products from a company called the Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company. I'll prove it later with pictures, though I'm sure you could look it up if you wanted. Funny!

OBX Day 4

2009-07-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

We woke up early today with a plan in place. Leaving the house around 8:15, we headed south on the island to a state park called "Jockey's Ridge," a sand dune area. Our goal there was to fly a nice kite that Eddie had gotten. We were glad to have gotten there as early as we did, because it was already hot. After a good effort, it was determined that the kite was too complicated for kite novices. The girls didn't really enjoy the dunes and I had to endure a good bit of complaining from them. Kaela, like a scene from a movie, was actually crawling up the dune! Oh, the drama. I intentionally hiked away to the next dune over just to get away from them for a bit. It was worth the sweat and effort. I even found a toe ring in the sand. I wished that Cameron had found it with his metal detector, but he was pleased enough that I gave it to him. After rinsing the sand off and refreshing ourselves with drinks, we headed further south to the Bodie Island lighthouse, one of 5 lighthouses on the Outer Banks. As we were approaching the lighthouse, Kaela said, "I can't believe we're going in the president's house!" I explained that we were going into a LIGHThouse, not the WHITEhouse! So cute. Anyway, we walked in and looked up at the winding staircase going to the top. Pretty neat. Other lighthouses allow people to climb to the top, for a fee, of course. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch at a Subway and then took the kids to play putt putt at a cute pirate themed course. It was hot, but fun. Kaela dropped her ball in the water, but did not have a melt down, thankfully. I was able to get another ball easily. It was the girls' turn to ride in the Jeep, so they were happy. The Jeep people stopped at a hammock store, the van people continued on, and all who wanted ice cream met at Big Buck's for some creamy, cold yumminess. Everyone needed some veg-out time when we finally got home around 3:00, so we watched some cartoons and hopped on laptops. Habits die hard, don't they? We hung around the house until dinner and went to eat at a local place called Sooey's. The kids got frisbees for plates and ate poorly because of the late ice cream treat. Oh well. It's vacation! Upon our return, the kids hit the pool for a little while and then we all went to the beach again for another "crabbing" excursion. The kids just totally love catching those crabs! After that, when the kids should have been put to bed, we let them perform their variety show. The kids were so cute performing their magic tricks, skits, and singing songs. I videoed the whole thing, like 35 minutes worth! Maybe Rho can do something cute with it. It was a late night, the kids getting to bed around 10:30!

OBX Day 3

2009-06-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Even though everyone was up at a decent time, our morning was a bit slow as we batted around ideas and ate breakfast. The kids spent a lot of time putting together a talent show that they'll perform for us later. The boys were using the Internet to find magic tricks they could do and the girls were practicing songs that they plan to sing. Should be cute. Around 10:30, we gathered our gear and gooped up with sunscreen and walked over to the beach. It was a real hot day, but very pleasant on the beach with the breeze. Since Rho isn't here to do ocean play with the kids, I did the best I could. Corban and Cameron stuck together and went pretty far out. Since Eddie was out there, I felt ok about it. The girls needed more attention, of course, and fortunately, Eddie took Karis out to where she wanted to go.....further than I could make myself go. I went up to my waist, however, which is farther than I've ever been, so I'm getting braver! Karis is so brave and just loved being in the water. I was so proud of her and am happy that she isn't showing signs of having lots of fears like I did as a kid. Kaela enjoyed the water, moderately. I was trying to take her out further, but even though I was holding her, she repeatedly asked me to go back closer to the beach. The adults got a little more reading done (I have started Twilight, compliments of Shannon, and am really enjoying it) and soaked up the sun. We saw a group of dolphins go by at one point. That was exciting. I'm just glad I wasn't in the water then. I'm sure it would have scared me. We also saw an F18 or something like that fly over and do a little show off move. When we were all hungry, we packed up and came home for a late lunch. After lunch, Mom and I and all the kids went down to the house pool. I was able to convince Kaela to use only ONE floatation device for a little while. She wears a life vest AND wants an inner tube around her also! I don't have to worry about her drowning! When everyone had had their fill of the pool, we came in. The kids played around the house while Mom, Dad and I cooked dinner (bbq chicken on the grill, fried potatoes, stir fry green beans, squash/zucchini, and rolls....sorry Rho!) Eddie and Shannon did another Jeep ride to take her parents to view the wild horses. Mom and Dad and I stayed here with the kids. The kids messed around and then rode bikes and scooters out front. Corban and I played Jai Lai (sp?). When the Jeep riders returned home, we ate brownies that I had made earlier in the day along with homemade ice cream that Shannon made. So good! Sorry again Rho. :) Then, the whole gang walked down to the beach to do some "crabbing." Armed with shovels, buckets, and flashlights, the kids ran around chasing and catching crabs. It was really neat. Corban and Karis worked together and caught 7 or 8 crabs. Kaela was carrying her little bucket around, too scared to actually catch one, so Corban caught a couple for her. She was very content to carry them around and when she dropped the bucket and her crab friends escaped, she was very distraught. All together, I think the kids got close to 20 crabs and we had a mass release when we were done for the evening and bid our crab friends goodnight. Another fun day here!

Oh, the turtles. At some point today, I walked down to the neighborhood pond with Corban, Cameron, Karis and Kaela (Matthew was napping) to feed turtles. We had walked by the pond on Sunday, stopping to look at a couple of turtles that we spotted. The turtles spotted us too, and there were probably 100 turtles that came swimming over, waiting for us to feed them. We were ready today, with a few heels of bread and some Matzo crackers left over from communion. I just couldn't get over how many turtles were in this little pond! I tried counting, but they don't cooperate and just keep moving around.

OBX Day 2

2009-06-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

(I plan to add pictures and spiff up the writing later. I have to put something down now though or I will forget)

Early risers made eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Around 10:45, we headed out to the Currituck Nature Center for a presentation on dragonflies, geared toward children...cute. Went into the small nature museum there, Kaela and Corban tried on turtle costumes, then all walked over to a lighthouse. Just looked at this one. Costs $7 to climb up. Might do that at a different, more famous lighthouse. Came back to house for lunch. Swam for a few hours at house pool. E/S/C/C played some tennis in the crazy heat. Ate spaghetti dinner, made by Kathy. Ed/Lana/3K went for beach drive in Eddie's Jeep to see wild horses. Drove 11 miles to Virginia border. Saw probably 15 horses, 2 kayakers, lots of dogs, 2 sailboats, and 1 wedding! "Wild" horses actually quite tame, coming within a few feet of Karis and Keala....pictures will show! E/S/C/M, S's parents, and Corban went to play putt-putt while we were Jeeping. Baths upon return. Terrible tangles in girl's hair....no more Jeep rides w/o ponytails! Shannon sprained ankle while going down stairs to beach. :(

Outer Banks Day 1

2009-06-29T06:57:00.000-07:00

Left TN 6:30. 10 and 1/2 hour drive, arrived at 5:30. Unpacked, went to dinner at a pizza place, walked to ocean for a quick look. Spotted several crabs.

Day 1
Morning....Eddie took all 5 kids to the beach for early walk while others woke up/dressed/etc. After breakfast, we held church services here at the beach house. Eddie "preached" about blessings, in general, tying in lessons that the kids had just had at VBS last week. Corban helped serve Lord's Supper and led closing prayer. His maturity shouldn't surprise me, but he even included things from the "sermon" during his prayer. Such a special boy. Kaela squirmed around the whole time, falling asleep near the end. Other 4 kids swam in house pool, used hot tub. Woke Kaela, ate lunch, then all 12 went to beach, about 100 yards away. Kids wave jumped, found shells, dug holes, built castles. Adults sat, read. Headed home late afternoon, made dinner (hamburgers, hot dogs). E/S/boys took Jeep drive to see wild horses. Ed/Lana/3K walked to community pool and playground to check it out, then across street to shops. Played at another playground there and ate ice cream. Karis completed monkey bars for first time. Kaela did 2 bars! Passed pond with LOTS of turtles. Plan to go back to feed them.

Corban's 10th Birthday

2009-06-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

It was a "big" birthday this year for Corban, turning double digits. I remember thinking it was pretty important turning 10. I don't think Corban thought it was such a big deal. Thankfully, Rho was still here in TN to celebrate Corban's birthday. Originally, he was not supposed to have been here, but it worked out that he was. We had a pretty "normal" day as I recall, torturing Corban until the evening to celebrate. He had chosen manicotti for dinner and a multi-flavored cheesecake for dessert. Eddie's family was over to celebrate with us....that's Cameron and Matthew in the pictures. I wish I could remember to have someone take a family picture on the kid's birthdays, but I always forget.

Corban celebrates his iTouch, his only desire this year. He's turning into a techno kid, for sure.

AMSE

2009-06-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

So this is more old news, from when Rho was here in TN, and that was FOREVER ago.

Us Greens and all the Kuhls made a trip to Oak Ridge, TN to visit the American Museum of Science and Energy. There were lots of interactive exhibits for the kids to enjoy. In the pictures, Kaela is working a dinosaur puzzle, Corban is making his name in braille, and the big group standing around the table is working various puzzles. There were so many neat things to do, including a demonstration of the "big ball that makes your hair stand up." It has a real name, but like I said, this is old news and I can't remember what it was called. Karis was brave enough to volunteer to go up on stage and have a room full of people laugh at her crazy hair!

She's Got Talent

2009-06-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, as we were out shopping, Kaela must have gotten bored. She was wearing a sleeveless dress and was trying to be patient while my focus was on Karis. She made a neat discovery and announced to us all, "I can lick my armpit!" You can just imagine how proud I am. Thought about posting a picture of it, but don't want to encourage that behavior! Gross!

Easter 2009

2009-05-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Our Easter weekend was a busy one with extended family coming to Maryville to celebrate my grandmother's 85th birthday. We had a delicious Easter meal on Saturday afternoon at my brother's house and enjoyed catching up with each other. On Sunday afternoon, the kids enjoyed an Easter egg hunt at some friend's of Eddie and Shannon's. We even got to see some itty-bitty baby bunnies just behind the fence that the kids are standing in front of. They were so cute! What a neat Easter treat!

Putt Putt Fun

2009-05-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

After shopping at the outlet stores in Pigeon Forge one evening, we took the kids to play putt-putt at an Old MacDonald themed course. I don't know what Kaela thought it would be like, but she did not want to play and was crying by the time I chose a ball and club for her. I didn't know a child could be so nervous about playing miniature golf! After the first hole, however, Kaela loved it and they all had fun. Karis was happy to have her picture taken with a cow, her favorite animal at the moment. She got lucky at the end of the game by getting a hole-in-one on an almost impossible putt and won a free game!
Kaela, as she so often does, says "This was my best day ever!" She has lots of "best day evers." Even if she gets a new toothbrush, it's a "best day ever!"

Ice Cream #2

2009-05-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

We're doing our best to eat our fair share of ice cream, so we took a field trip on Thursday to Mayfield Dairy where we had a tour of the milk and ice cream factory and then enjoyed some ice cream, of course! The only cow we saw was the giant one in the picture below, so I insisted that Corban milk it. Rho told me that Corban always wanted to milk a cow when he was little. I thought this might be the closest he'd ever get to fulfilling that dream. I thought we all looked pretty spiffy in our red hair nets, don't you?

Ice Cream #1

2009-05-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

So much for posting old news in any kind of order. It's just going to come at you randomly. How 'bout that?

There isn't much that beats eating free, delicious ice cream in your pajamas and that's exactly what's going on here. Mom and Dad knew of a great ice cream place in Knoxville that was giving free ice cream one Saturday to anyone who showed up in their jammies. Yum!

Buzz Cut

2009-05-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

I was going to post our TN happenings in chronological order, but I wanted to post these pictures of Corban's last haircut. My friend Jessica asked if Corban had been saying "NO" to haircuts. Well, for a while, he was sporting a longer style that he would wet and put curling gel in. It looked very nice that way, but as most of us with curly hair know, it became a hassle and I finally talked him into getting a "summer" cut. Before the cut, he could pouff out his hair pretty big (first picture with goofy grin)! Nan (my Mom) was the stylist for this latest buzz cut and she had some fun by first giving him a rad mohawk. (I think I'm going to be in big trouble for posting this picture). The end result is nice, as you can clearly see in the last picture of a very handsome 10 year old.

Backyard Fun

2009-05-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

These are just a few photos taken early in our TN stay. My parents have a nice, big backyard for the kids to enjoy. If only we could annihilate the ticks and bugs! Ick! Colorado doesn't have all these creepy crawlies....it takes some getting used to. Corban enjoys shooting a b.b. gun and the girls sometimes take over Pappaw's shed to use as a play house. My parents have a great waterfall and LOTS of flowers and such. The garden is in as well, after Rho tilled and worked the dirt. I realize I didn't post pictures that show all this! Maybe in a later post. Oh, and we're watching some baby birds whose parents made their nest inside one of the bird feeders. Cool!

Temporary Tennesseeans

2009-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

A WHOLE lot has happened since my last blog. Most of you know about all that. Though it's hard to imagine that I would ever forget this crazy time, I'm going to write down a quick recap here anyway, since I know how unreliable my memory can be.

On February 23rd, two days before we were to sell our Erie home and buy a new home in Loveland, Rho's boss informed him that he would be laid off at the end of March. One of our main goals for this move was to get Rho closer to this job. Not knowing how long it might take for Rho to find a new job or where it would be, we backed out of buying the Loveland home. We still sold our Erie home, closing on the 25th. In the midst of shock and confusion, we were forced to make many difficult decisions, quickly. God saw us through that time and, in the end, Rho stayed in CO to finish his work and I packed up the kids and a UHaul and drove to TN with the help of my Mom. Rho was soon told by his boss that he could just quit working and still get paid, giving him the freedom to job hunt full-time. Within a week, Rho had interviewed with Lockheed Martin, a former employer, and basically had secured a job. We felt amazingly blessed. During an economically tough time, we were amazed that a job presented itself so quickly. Clearly, God's hand was in this. Though being apart from Rho was tough for the kids and I, we felt very encouraged that we'd be back together sooner than we imagined. Though we had hoped Rho's job would start on April 6th, he actually didn't get started until the 27th. There were "issues" at Lockheed that are too confusing to remember!

During parts of March and April, Rho came to TN and was able to spend several weeks here while waiting for his job to begin. I made the trip back to CO with him and did some house hunting. We are still waiting for the right house to show up. We did make a bid on one, but were outbid by other buyers. We weren't terribly disappointed over this, just frustrated that it meant MORE house hunting and that our being together as a family would be postponed a little more. We continue to pray that God's Will will be done in this and that he'll bless us with the home that he'd have us in.

So, that's the saga, in a nutshell. It made me sad to think about all that again. What an emotional time. Anyway, I hope to do several blogs to show what we've been doing while in TN. It's old news, but at least there will be pictures to enjoy!

Thanks to each of you who have prayed for us during the past months. It is greatly appreciated.

Packing Up

2009-02-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Our cleaning out and packing up continue to go well as our moving day draws closer. It's hard to believe we'll be saying goodbye to our house in just 4 days! Karis and Kaela have found the fun in moving....boxes! They've enjoyed playing house amongst them and using them for hiding while playing hide-and-seek.

We're looking forward to my Mom coming out on Tuesday to help us with our move.....hope she's been lifting weights in preparation! We've got some heavy furniture!

Corban is sick with a fever again today, though we didn't realize it until we were at church. We decided to go ahead and stay since he said he was okay and it was our last time to be there. After his passing out at church a few weeks ago and throwing up/passing out another Sunday, we're beginning to feel like we'd have to find a new church even if we weren't moving!

Sign Confusion

2009-02-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

Kaela's take on a common parking lot sign: "Mommy, that person is sitting on the potty."

Late December-January

2009-02-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas was spent hurriedly preparing for a trip to Abilene. The weather was gorgeous while we were there, making it hard for me to want to return to cold, cold Colorado. I enjoyed many nice walks around ACU, alone, and with Bo and Becky. Corban played some hacky-sack and a lot of ping-pong. Karis and Kaela enjoyed their many girl cousins on the Green side of the family. Rho and I celebrated our 14th anniversary while there, going to dinner and a movie.

Upon our return home, we contacted a realtor to talk about putting our house on the market again. On the 12th, Mike came to our home and we signed papers to make him our realtor. I was expecting to get some advice and spiff things up around the house before listing, but Mike said "go," so we did. We did a good bit of tossing, organizing, storing, cleaning, furniture moving, etc. over the next few days before the house was listed on the 20th. On the evening of the 22nd, we had a contract. Boy, we weren't expecting that and there were tears shed that night as the reality hit. Since the average days on the market for homes in our area is 3 to 4 months, I didn't think we'd be moving until late spring, maybe even summer. But you just never know, do ya? We continued to show the house through the week and weekend. On one crazy day, we had roofers, concrete workers and carpet stretchers here all at once, taking care of things that we'd been putting off. We went out for our first house hunting mission on the 28th. It's mostly been a blur since then, but we have located a house in Loveland, just south of Fort Collins. In just 17 days, we sold our home and purchased another. Of course, we still have to do inspections and whatnot, but we are scheduled to close on both homes on the 25th. I do believe God is answering our prayers about this move and we just continue to pray that he'll bring us to a new church where we can serve and meet new friends! Exciting and busy days are coming our way!

December

2009-02-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

December brought some really cold weather, but some nice snow to play in as well. The days sped by as we homeschooled, went to Options school each Tuesday, continued swimming lessons for the girls, and Bible Bowl, Boy Scouts and violin lessons for Corban. Before we knew it, Christmas was upon us! We were home for Christmas day and enjoyed playing all day with new toys, especially Rock Band!

November

2009-02-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm struggling to remember how to do things! I won't dwell much on the several months that have passed since I last blogged, but I'm going to do a quick month by month update, if I can pull anything out of my memory bank to share. My last blog was about Halloween, so here's a little bit about November...

Corban participated in a scouting event called the "Rain gutter Regatta." He and Rho put together a little wooden boat and Corban decorated it. Then, one Saturday afternoon, there was a big competition between all the boys. As you can see from the picture, the boys blow on the sail to make them travel down a rain gutter.

On the 15th, I celebrated my 36th birthday. woo-hoo.

We switched things up this year and went to Tennessee for Thanksgiving instead of making our usual Abilene trip. We did this to coordinate a visit with my grandmother that I see very rarely. Our trip started out a bit rough with Kaela throwing up for several hours the night before our departure. Since we weren't sure what the morning would bring and knowing that we were going to start out sleep deprived, we played it by ear and thankfully, were able to leave just a few hours later than our original ETD. The trip went smoothly and we had a nice visit with my parents, brother and family, aunt, uncle, grandmother, and one of my two first cousins and her family.

Pre-Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a little trip to Sevierville to eat breakfast at a yummy pancake house.

Corban, Cameron, Karis, Kaela, and Christina chow on a delicious Thanksgiving day feast. Rho was my Mom's unexpected sous-chef this year, cranking out 3 pecan pies, a vegetarian casserole, and a homemade squash/carrot soup. I was Rho's sous-chef, chopping endlessly and taking much grief from him over how nicely his pecan pies turned out. They WERE beautiful, but I'm certain it has everything to do with altitude!

Corban and Karis enjoy playing with their only cousins from the Kuhl side of the family, Cameron (rolled up in blankets) and Matthew.

Inside the Orchestra

2008-11-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

Corban enjoyed a great experience on Halloween that involved a different kind of dressing up. He was invited by his violin teacher to perform with a program called "Inside the Orchestra." This is a program done by the Junior Symphony Guild where about 14 professional musicians and a conductor go to elementary schools to introduce students to instrument families, musical terms, and classical music. It's a really fun, interactive experience for the kids. The conductor is entertaining and on this particular day, Halloween, they played music from "Harry Potter," which totally thrilled the crowd. The purpose for Corban performing was to show the kids that playing an instrument can be something they do too. He played a Minuet by Bach and he totally rocked the gym! If he was nervous, I couldn't tell. He did a great job and I was really proud of him. I hope to have Rho include the video in this post soon, so check back if you'd like to hear it for yourself!

Halloween

2008-11-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been more than a week since Halloween?? Now that's scary! So here are the kids in their costumes. I was a little disappointed that Kaela decided not to be Spiderman like she had been planning for many weeks. I thought that would have been pretty cute. She makes a sweet little M&M though. Corban and Karis went with spooky costumes this year, so we didn't go to the church building as we usually do (no scary costumes allowed there). Rho took them around the neighborhood while I stayed home and passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. The kids enjoyed nice weather for a change and came home happy with their haul of sweets.

Mom....do you remember the time you tried to tease out my hair for Halloween (I think I was a witch)? I remember crying and making you comb it back out so that I had normal hair. I'm glad Karis knows how to have fun better than I do!! I would have NEVER gone for the green face that she so proudly wore!

Door Decor

2008-10-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

For about a month now, Karis has had faces made out of paper plates hanging on her bedroom door. She mentioned a few times that she had plans to finish the artwork. Today, she convinced Rho, and later, me, to help her make bodies for her girls. The girl on the left is Karis, and her dress says "Jeri's Best Friend." The girl on the right is Jeri, and her dress says "Karis's Best Friend." (Words authored by Karis, written by Rho.)

Lacrosse

2008-10-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

Corban finished his first season of lacrosse this past Saturday. He really enjoyed learning the sport and intends to play again in the spring. Out of the sports that he's tried so far, I would say that this has been his most successful. He would really get in there and be aggressive and wasn't afraid to have control of the ball. We shouldn't have been surprised, really. Corban has had an attraction to all long, stick-like objects for his entire life. Maybe he should try pole vaulting next!

Family Night

2008-10-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

I may have posted about our Family Nights before, so bear with me as I am possibly repeating myself. Over the past few years, we've used books written specifically for families to learn about God in a fun, memorable way for children. There's always a neat activity to be done to reinforce what's being taught. Since we've exhausted the books and haven't found anything new yet, Rho has improvised beautifully and come up with some fun ways to teach Bible stories. This past week, he reinforced the virtue of determination that's being taught at church. He had me read the story of Noah as he and the kids acted it out. I got such a kick out of it that I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures. In the first picture, Noah (Rho) and his 3 sons are sawing, hammering, and whatnot. Later (2nd picture), when the rains came, they all boarded the ark (couch). Looks like they had extra time to invent and manufacture a couple of umbrellas and a raincoat!

Why we don't eat out much

2008-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

This should explain it pretty well.

Duet

2008-10-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy this little tune from Corban and me. It's called "Happy Farmer." (Thanks to Rho for putting the video together)

Determination

2008-10-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our children's program at church focuses on a different virtue each month. The virtue of determination was introduced this past Sunday. During class, Karis was asked to draw a picture of something that shows determination. She created this drawing of herself holding our blue dust rag that she uses to dust our stair and loft banister, her Wednesday job. She used to love helping Corban do this job when it is was his responsibility. Now that it's hers, the job is drudgery, and in her mind, takes determination! I got a kick out of her name at the top. Obviously, she doesn't know how to spell her middle name and she chose just to make a green dash mark for "Green!"

Kaela, On Motherhood

2008-10-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Karis!

2008-09-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Karis's birthday celebration started a day early with a sleepover on Friday night. Her friend Jeri arrived around 4:00 and they enjoyed playing until dinner. After eating, Karis opened presents, including a new bike! The kids all got in their pajamas then and settled in to watch Mariposa. When the ice cream cake was finally ready, we paused the movie to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat a very yummy brownie-filled ice cream cake. The girls woke the next morning, ready to play and ride bikes. Around 10:00, though, Jeri began to feel sick to her stomach and lost her breakfast shortly after. Fortunately, she felt totally fine afterwards, and was ready to play and enjoy the rest of the day. The kids really kept themselves nicely entertained all day and had a good time.

Our Littlest Scholar

2008-09-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

Corban and Karis were off at Options school today, so Kaela and I started her homeschooling. She was very excited when I suggested we do school work. She colored, colored, cut, colored, drew pictures, named letters, and colored. She said, "I didn't know school could be so much fun" and "I want to do this every day!" She did 20 some pages out of her little workbook and saved them all in a folder to show them off to Daddy.

Portrait of Karis

2008-09-17T18:58:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not going to attempt a drawing of Karis. You're glad to hear that, I know. I've just been wanting to write some things down about Karis, giving a small glimpse into what life with her is like. It's interesting. Her personality confuses me and I still have a lot to learn about how to manage/control/train/mold her. I am open to suggestions. Anyway, here's a brief portrait, in words, of Karis.

I try to work with the kids on polite interaction with adults....stuff like speaking loud enough to be heard and looking at the person speaking to you. Today, an adult spoke to Karis and she messed up both of those goals. I pointed it out to her later and shortly after that, she had the chance to try again. Another adult asked her a question and she spoke loudly enough and looked at the person. Great improvement! When the adult was gone, I complimented Karis and she says, quite sarcastically, "Dooo I geeeet a cerrrrtificaaaate?" Where oh where does she get this attitude?

Karis, lacking any girl friends in our neighborhood, is lucky to have a brother who lets her play with him and his friends. Several evenings ago, Karis comes running into the house and asks, "Can I fight in the street with the boys?" This totally cracked up Rho and me and I wondered how many mothers have to answer a question like that from their daughters! We really need to find some girls around here! (The boys were play fighting, by the way.)

During Corban's last visit to the dentist, we were waiting for the dentist to come in after the hygienist had finished cleaning his teeth. Through a small window, we could see the room next to the one we were in. Karis saw movement through the window and commented, "Here she comes." Karis continued watching the window and says, "Oh, she got stuck." I say, "What do you mean by stuck?" Karis explains, "She got stuck talking just like mommies do. That's why mommies have kids....to help them stop talking so much." That's an interesting viewpoint and may explain why I get interrupted so much! She thinks it's her JOB!

Today, after swimming lessons, I'm combing out Kaela's hair. Karis was waiting for me to comb her hair and says, "It's not all about Kaela, ya know. It's about me too." Middle child syndrome, perhaps?

Karis needed to be disciplined one evening just before dinner. She was off in the other room, crying, when Rho called the kids to the table. He asked if they had all washed their hands and Karis dramatically says, "I washed my hands with my tears."

Birthday Girl

2008-09-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

Kaela has been counting down the days to her birthday for more than a week now, so she woke up excited yesterday. She walked sleepily into my bathroom, wrapped in her Pooh blankie, to announce that "today is my birthday!" When she came downstairs she found balloons tied to the back of her chair and several cards to open. She asked me at some point to call her "Birthday Girl" instead of Kaela, so I did, as often as I could remember. Funny kid. Later, she got a Happy Birthday phone call from Daddy, which made her feel very special. Since I hadn't wrapped her gifts yet, I had to get that done. I told her that I'd be in my room for a few minutes and for her to play until I got done. (Quick sidenote: I had hidden the gifts and could not remember where I'd put them. It probably took me 10 minutes to find them! Kaela's not the only one getting older!) Anyway, she could barely stand the waiting and instead of playing, sat right outside my bedroom door, frequently asking if I was almost done and could she come in yet. Finally, I let her in and she was happy to help choose the bows and ribbons to decorate the packages. We had to go over the expected course of events many times that day to help her understand WHEN she was going to get to open those presents. Rho was able to come home early and we went to dinner at Cinzetti's, an Italian place. As soon as Kaela was done eating, she was ready to get home. The drive home was close to 20 minutes, plus we had to stop for gas, so her patience was really tested. Lucky for her, Grandma and Grandaddy called, so she was nicely distracted from her waiting. Once home, she opened her gifts and played until it was quite a bit past bedtime. Since we had eaten a big dinner and had dessert at the restaurant, we skipped the cake last night and will finish our celebrating tonight!

Karis loses a tooth

2008-09-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Karis lost her first tooth yesterday at school. When I arrived to pick her up, she ran to me with a big grin to display the hole. She thinks the hole is a great way to "scratch your tongue." She was very excited about it and of course, put it under her pillow for the "Tooth Fairy." Starting school and now losing a tooth....it's just too much growing up for a Mom to handle! More growing up coming your way as Kaela turns 4 in my next blog. Sigh.

The Green children go to school?!?

2008-09-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

We experienced a big "first" in our family today. Corban and Karis both WENT TO SCHOOL! We have joined a homeschooling program called Options where kids are homeschooled 4 days a week and attend a homeschooler's school one day a week. The program is run by Aurora Public Schools and meets in many locations. We are attending one that meets in a church building in Boulder. Both kids had a really great first day. Corban's excitement and anticipation woke him up early this morning, ready to go. Karis, I think, was feeling a little hesitant, but appeared totally fine when we arrived at school. I managed to hold it together, mostly, until I got back to the van. Surprisingly, the day went quickly and Kaela and I were picking the kids up at 3:30. They both reported fun, successful days. Corban is taking History, Science, PE, Beginning Orchestra, and Electronics/Robotics. Karis gets a little of everything....Language Arts, Math, Art, PE, Music, and even Spanish. They're both already looking forward to next Tuesday!

Can we say.....

2008-09-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

In our home, it seems we're often talking about what is and isn't appropriate language. The kids will hear a word like "crappy" and ask if they're allowed to use it. (The answer is no, by the way). Well, Kaela has had some funny requests that I thought I'd share.

"Mommy, can we say......"
1. Cornelius?
2. Flibbert?
3. Hopeless Loser? (Gotta watch out for Garfield movies)

Elitch's

2008-09-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

With Corban feeling better, we went to Elitch's on Labor Day. Surprisingly, it wasn't very crowded, the weather was nice and lines were short.....perfect amusement park conditions. And, as we were standing in line to buy tickets, a family in front of us offered us a coupon that saved us some money! We started off by riding the Ferris Wheel, which I typically wouldn't have done, but the gondolas on this Ferris Wheel were kind of enclosed with bars, as you can see in the pictures, so it wasn't too bad. After that, we split up with Rho going to the kiddie rides with the girls and me going to a couple of big rides with Corban. After the first roller coaster, I wasn't sure how I'd make it through any more rides. I've totally gotten wimpy! I kept my eyes closed the entire ride and was shaking at the end of it. Pathetic. For Corban's sake though, I had to go on. The spinning rides that stay close to the ground are fine for me, but I just clenched my teeth and survived the others. Corban kept saying, "Oh Mom, come on!" Later, we switched kids and I got to recuperate while watching the girls on kiddie rides. Rho went on several rides with Corban then and returned pretty sick. I had to brave a few last rides with Corban before we called it a day. We stood in line for a ride that I really didn't want to do and listened to a Fleetwood Mac song where the final lyrics say "Fallin' Fallin' Fallin'" over and over again. They should screen those songs! I wanted Corban to ride it without me, but he begged, and I gave in. I shut my eyes tight and tried to relax while Corban chatted at me the entire ride!?! HE apparently keeps his eyes open and wanted me to know when we were facing the sky or the ground.

Kaela clings to Rho on the terrifying Ferris Wheel ride.

Corban, Karis and Kristen enjoy the sights from up high on the Wheel.

Karis and Kaela were brave enough to do the kiddie roller coaster, which really jerked them around. Karis liked to act like it was all baby stuff, though we could see the fear in her eyes. SO funny!

Corban poses in front of a wall of water created by a ride he just got off of.

The kids are completely soaked after riding Disaster Canyon. Kaela says, "I don't wanna do any more water rides."

2008-09-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had planned on going to Elitch's (an amusement park) in Denver. Corban had earned a free pass with the summer reading program. Unfortunately, just before we were about to leave, Corban told us that he really wasn't feeling well enough to go. He had been struggling with a very drippy nose for a couple of days and just wasn't feeling that great. So, with Elitch's cancelled, we had to come up with a plan B. We already had our lunch made and everyone was sunscreened! So we headed towards Boulder, but ended up at a nice playground just over in Lafayette. The kids enjoyed some interesting equipment that we've never seen before and then we ate lunch by the lake. Corban was pretty wiped out and really wanted to go home, so after a couple of errands, we came home and he headed straight for the couch where he took a big nap. He pretty much stayed there the rest of the day and barely made it upstairs for bedtime before he threw up. Rho stayed home with him on Sunday morning, though he was really feeling much better.

Zucchini Mommy

2008-08-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while since I've blogged. Hello again! I received several chastisements from my mother, one claiming that my "faithful followers would dump me" if I didn't get back to blogging. That was several weeks ago. Your threats don't work on me, mother. But I do so hope the "faithful followers" are still there.

What better way to get back to the ole' blog than to show and tell about our GIANT zucchini! Just look at the size of that veggie! Corban wanted to let one zucchini grow as big as it could. I think it would have kept growing, but he decided to pick it today.

Karis, who has never liked baby dolls much, started playing with this zucchini like it was a baby. She wheeled it around in the stroller, rocked it, dressed it and get this....I saw her nursing it! As in BREAST FEEDING the zucchini! I could hardly stop laughing and she seemed a bit put off by my cackling and was like, "MOM! You have to give a baby mommy's milk!" She was also pretty concerned that it might rot. I assured her that she would have several days with her baby zucchini before it withered up and had to be thrown out. Silly, silly girl.

Great News!

2008-07-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

"....there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

We are certainly rejoicing tonight over Corban's decision to be baptized! After talking with Rho for several months, Corban has been seriously considering baptism for a few weeks. Before his trip to Tennessee, he had told Rho that he planned to get baptized when he returned. And, he did! We are so very proud of him and his decision to follow Christ.

Welcome Home Corban

2008-07-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, it's good to have our boy home again. We picked Corban up this evening after his 2 week visit with his grandparents in Tennessee. His description to Karis of his time there was, "It was awesome." Indeed, he had a great time with Nan, Pappaw, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Shannon, Cameron, and Matthew. (Thanks to all of you for taking good care of Corban and entertaining him so much!) After his MANY activities while away, I feel certain Corban will be bored in the coming weeks with our usual routine around here!

The top photo shows Corban gathering sticks for a fire while camping. Don't strain yourself, Corban!

This bottom photo is of Corban and his two sweet and handsome cousins, Cameron and Matthew. As an honorary member of the Kuhl clan for the 4th of July, Corban sports the "uniform" for the day. Matching t-shirts rock! :-) (You're the best, Aunt Shan!!)

4th of July

2008-07-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

This photo is my 4th of July fireworks show this year. Rho and Karis have gone to enjoy Erie's show while I stay home with Kaela, who has a fever today and really doesn't need to be out late tonight. She happily took a handful of glow sticks to bed with her and wasn't at all upset about not getting to go out. If I remember correctly, she fell asleep during last year's fireworks display! After blogging, I plan to finish the final book in a series by Beverly Lewis. I think I should take a break from Amish fiction soon, as my head is filled with thoughts of Amish-ness. I see people who I think look "plain," consider myself "fancy" as I put in my earrings, and wonder if the Amish ever exercise because they sure seem to eat a lot of pie.

Anyway, the day started with an interesting event. We were all upstairs in my bedroom with the windows open when we heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves. We lifted the shade to see a horse being ridden down our street! I'm pretty sure the man riding was talking on a cell phone. Getting directions back to the ranch maybe. Though Kaela was coughing a good bit, we decided to give her medicine and go ahead with our plan to see Wall-E at the movie theater. We went at 10:30, planning to get home for lunch and rests. The movie was pretty good, even though there was very little dialogue. I think it was hard for Kaela to follow what was going on and she was ready to go home by the middle of the show. After the movie and lunch, Kaela and I took naps while Rho and Karis washed both cars. We putzed around for a while and after deciding that spaghetti just wasn't American enough for the 4th of July, we went to the store for dinner ingredients and came home to cook Boca burgers and corn on the cob.

We're missing Corban as he's still in Tennessee. He called this morning and wished us a happy 4th. He was excited about Uncle Eddie's (my brother) purchase of 2 bags of fireworks that they plan to set off tonight up at his cabin in the hills.

Going now to finish my book. Wonderful gut idea, jah?

hellooooooo think you'll ever blog again???

2008-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

The title for this posting came from an anonymous comment left on my last blog from way back in early June. (Was that you Michelle? Or maybe Jessica?) I've been feeling kind of blah about blogging since summer started, but because someone showed they cared, I'll give a quick run down of June happenings.

June 9-12: VBS at Rocky Mountain. Kids had a great time. I "taught" a preschool class and generally felt overwhelmed by the 20 kids and 10 pre-teen helpers, but all went well.

June 13-16: Trip to Pagosa Springs. On the way there, we stopped in Salida and spent a few hours with my friend Tracey and her family. We arrived late on the 13th and were greeted by Bo and Becky, Rho's parents. Our condo was adjacent to theirs and also to Tuell and Sharla's. Rho and Tuell woke early to go bouldering while the rest of us went to the resort rec center for swimming and exercising. Later, after lunch, the whole group (14 of us) went rafting. I have stolen a picture from my sister-in-law's blog (thanks, Sharla) because Rho and I left our borrowed camera at my friend Tracey's and have no pictures of our time in Pagosa. Our luck with cameras is bad lately, for sure. The rafting was pretty fun, though Karis started out crying because the guide's pre-trip talk scared her. She was convinced she'd fall out of the boat. No one fell out, of course, but we all got pretty wet, mostly from splash fights between the two boats.

On Sunday, we hiked up a trail to a beautiful spot with a great view of the mountains and had a devotional. We got back to the condos for a late lunch and then Kaela crashed for a huge nap. I'm not sure what everyone else did that afternoon, but I stayed in the condo with Kaela and enjoyed the peace and quiet, reading and resting. On Monday, we went to an area called Chimney Rock and did a guided walk through Indian ruins. Rho and I and the girls left for home after lunch, leaving Corban behind with Bo and Becky.

June 18-23: Bo, Becky, Taylor, Jade and Corban arrive late on the 18th after spending some extra time in Pagosa Springs.

June 23-27: Corban and Karis attended another VBS at Boulder Valley Church of Christ and had a great time, again.

June 28: Corban flies solo to TN for a two week visit with my parents. I leave the interior lights on and return to a battery-dead van. I track down a couple of bored Denver cops who kindly get the battery revved up again. (I can't remember a time when I've gone to an airport and NOT had some problem......is it just me??) Rho and Karis leave shortly after I return from the airport for a backpacking/bouldering trip to Mount of the Holy Cross. Kaela and I are alone for a day and a half to do as we please, which wasn't much.

That was June and I can't believe it's July already!

School's Out!

2008-06-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

Our friends and neighbors have already done it, so we decided to join the fun today and FINISH SCHOOL! Corban completed his last math lessons today and wrapped up 3rd grade. We celebrated by going to DQ and enjoying some ice cream. We're now looking forward to the 3 Rs of summer: Readin', Restin', and Recreatin'.

BolderBoulder

2008-05-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

bib number: GD475
overall place: 20137
division: F35 (Females, age 35)
division place: 181 out of 465
gender place: 7784 out of 23403
mile 1: 0:09:32.96
mile 2: 0:10:04.82
mile 3: 0:10:28.94
mile 4: 0:10:31.89
mile 5: 0:10:19.32
mile 6: 0:10:46.38
net time: 1:04:01.58
pace: 10:19 (based on net time)

I DID IT!! Without stopping!!

With a couple of blisters and some soreness to prove it, I ran the BolderBoulder today! (A picture would have been nice, but I won't point fingers about that). I woke early, picked up my friend Coralie at 6:30, and drove into Boulder. We found parking easily and walked the mile or so to the start. Though it was chilly, the walk warmed us up and of course, once we started running, we didn't notice the chill at all. The weather was actually nice for running and the race was pretty enjoyable, despite the labored breathing, sweating, and nagging voice in my head that tells me to quit. Coralie and I stayed together the whole race, which was great. Having someone in it with me, besides the 50,000 or so other folks, was encouraging. There were bands, belly dancers, and the stereotypically strange Boulder people along the route to entertain the runners. I was a happy runner when I made it across the finish line without stopping, which was my goal. Then, when Coralie reported our time, I was surprised and even happier! I expected 11 minute miles, but ran each in under 11! Coralie and I found Rho and the kids and the Wilcox family up in the CU stadium where the race ends. We had hoped to hang out a bit and watch some further BB activity, but the weather was turning colder and had started to sprinkle, so we decided we all needed to leave and get warm. It was really a fun morning and it feels nice to accomplish a personal goal. I hope to run again next year! Anyone care to join in the fun? Shannon?? We could wear matching t-shirts! Michelle? You can redeem yourself (4th place, ON PURPOSE? Puh-lease!) Becky? Hey! You're retired.....nothing stopping you!

A photographer from the Boulder newspaper took this picture of the flag. The kid holding it is Corban!

Wild weather

2008-05-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

Maybe you heard of some tornadoes here in Colorado this past Thursday. There were 7 that touched down in Windsor, which is between here and Fort Collins, causing significant damage. We were glad to learn that several families we know out there were ok. Fortunately, all we experienced that afternoon was some rain and hail, which was exciting enough. Corban and Karis went out afterwards and found some pretty big hailstones.

Violin recital

2008-05-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm behind in blogging about Corban's violin recital from last Saturday. It was his second recital so far and he did a really nice job. He was the first one to play and started out with a trio, including his teacher, on violin, and myself on piano. It was a simple song, but sounded nice. Corban really likes to play music with other people. After the trio, he did two more songs, alone. He got a little messed up by switching over to a different song in the middle of his piece (they were memorized). He just stopped playing and said, "I think I'm playing the wrong song." His teacher encouraged him to keep going, and it turned out fine. My guess is that no one would have noticed. He had a second 3 song set later, after several other students had played. The first of those 3 was a duet with his teacher and then he did two more by himself.

This is his teacher, Ms. Georgina. We can't say or spell her real name....she's from Hungary. We like her a lot and she is so complimentary of Corban. We'll miss her this summer as her son, just graduated from music school in Cleveland, takes over her students for two months.

The kids enjoyed some cake after the recital. The girls' favorite part, of course!

(Mom.....click on a picture if you want it bigger)

Orange you glad....

2008-05-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

.......that I'm able to post pictures again?? Rho got a card reader, I think it's called, so we can get photos off of the camera I'm borrowing from my Mom and Dad. I wasn't too great at "drawring" (remember Mike Meyers on SNL?). Be happy that you've been spared further artwork from me!

Wish you could have heard the cackling going on at the dinner table a couple of nights ago when these three crazies were entertaining themselves with oranges.

The Return of Net Face Girl

2008-05-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still here, just not blogging much. I've been pretty busy with Corban and his school work, trying to get everything done by early June. Along with regular daily work, COVA is asking for more testing to be done. We do it at home, thankfully, but it's just one more thing on our plates during an already busy time.

I had another Pixel treatment yesterday, so am looking like a weirdo (lobster/net face) again. The aesthetician that is treating me told me yesterday that she is moving to California at the end of the month. I'm kinda bummed about that. I like this gal a lot and trust her, though I'm sure the new person will be fine.

Forgive my complaining, but I hurt today. I ran outside yesterday (instead of on the treadmill) and I'm totally feeling that in my legs today. I'm also experiencing unusual pain in my hands that I'm calling Sudden Onset Arthritis. Every joint in both of my hands has hurt all day, when they felt totally fine yesterday! Bizarre. Then, this morning, I had a run-in with the wall (it's ok, go ahead and laugh.....) and caused a welt/bruise on my shoulder. Ugh. Woe is me. Tomorrow will be better, surely. (Is that what you tell yourself, Jessica?) Oh, by the way, when I told Rho about my aches and pains, he said, "I could kick you in the butt." (Since that part doesn't hurt. Nice, huh?)

It rained today and I like rain. Thought about how nice it would be to be lying in a tent, reading a good book.....

Microdermabrasion

2008-05-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I had the microdermabrasion done yesterday and I was kind of sweatin' it. The pixel treatment last week created quite a shocking look for several days and I was concerned that the microdermabrasion might do something similar. Fortunately, it doesn't, and I haven't been forced into hiding again this week. The microdermabrasion just took off dead skin, basically. It was like a little vacuum. Maybe my Dyson vacuum would do the same. I'll try it on Rho to see. The gal showed me the dead skin after she was done. Ick.

Let there be Light

2008-05-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Light, posted. heehee

So, I accidentally posted this blog with only it's title, but it produced one of Rho's funnier jokes in a long time. "And there was light.....but no post."

The original reason for posting seems lame now, but, in gratitude to Rho, I'll go ahead. Rho installed a lovely light in our loft this past weekend, allowing me to possibly do some scrapbooking up there, if time ever allows. I thought Rho might have actually enjoyed this little home improvement project, but he assured me that he got "absolutely NO satisfaction" from it. Maybe that's why we've tackled only 2 projects in our 5 years of living here!

Bible Bowl Finale

2008-05-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

Corban left on Friday afternoon for his final Bible Bowl Round Robin tournament in Garden City, Kansas. It felt a bit scary to send him off "on his own," but he seemed fine with it. I'm not even sure he would have said goodbye to me, had I not tracked him down and given him a hug! I was a bit teary as I drove away from the church building and have decided that if he goes off to college someday, we'll just have to move. Anyway, his trip went well, despite a tire blowout on the van he was riding in. This delayed their arrival into Garden City and caused them to get to bed quite late. Corban reported that they got up before 7:00 the next morning and had a great breakfast. Apparently, the lady who opened her home to all 14 boys and 5 male chaperones, laid out quite a feast to prepare them for their big day. Their competition went great, with Corban's team earning 2nd place in Division 1, behind another RMCC team. They got back to the church building around 8:30, two hours earlier than we expected them. It was good they got back early because Corban was exhausted.

Today, to celebrate the end of the Bible Bowl season, they had a party at Bouncetown. The kids bounced around like crazy for an hour or so and then stopped to have pizza and an awards presentation. Each child was given two awards; one that described a personality trait and a "silly" one. Corban was given an award for Diligence and his silly award related to his Heelys, which have apparently become somewhat of a trademark for him. Anyway, we sure are proud of all the Bible knowledge Corban has gained this year and of the effort he put into studying with his Dad almost every night before bed. Way to go Corban!

Ouch, my face

2008-04-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

I have not been sunbathing, but look and feel like I've got a wicked sunburn. Today was the first in a series of treatments I'll be getting to treat my acne scarring!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very excited about it. I had pixel skin resurfacing done today. The process was only mildly uncomfortable, but the effects afterwards are a hot, stinging face to which you cannot apply cold water or even fan yourself. It's bearable, really....a small price to pay for what I hope will be smoother, even-toned skin. Imagine that. I hardly can. In case you're interested, here's a brief description of PSR:

Pixel skin resurfacing is based on the principle of micro-thermal treatment zones. The laser pulses create tiny ablative zones, removing the epidermis and upper dermis. The treatment then triggers the body's natural healing process, stimulating the growth of new, healthy skin tissue.

To give you an idea of how funky my face looks, I found this picture. My face is very red with white dots, looking much like this dude's black dots. It looks like I mashed my face up against a screen door. Karis' comment was, "Your face looks like a net." (Bonus points for you if you recognized pixel dude as President Hamilton from the 10 dollar bill!)

I'll let you know how the microdermabrasion goes next Monday.

No Maximum Occupancy

2008-04-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

I read a book to Kaela today called "Are Angels Real?" Part of it reads, "Angels don't die, though that seems rather odd, For they are already in heaven with God." She stopped me to ask when she was going to die. I told her a long, long time from now. She said she didn't want to die, to which I responded, "But where do we get to go?" "Heaven," she says. I ask her who will be there and she says "God." In an effort to make heaven sound great to her, I said that Jesus will be there too, along with angels and lots of other people that love her. She looks at me and says, "It's gonna be crowded!"

Corban birthday, part 2

2008-04-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

The kids and I returned Mom to the airport on Saturday morning. We were sad to see her go, but had such a nice week with her. The kids were feeling kinda low, but fortunately, they had Boondocks to look forward to later in the afternoon. Corban's friend and only guest for his "party" was Andrew. I'd love to post a picture of them soaking each other on the bumper boats...... Mom left her camera behind for us to use while we are without, but I don't have her cords, so can't upload pictures. Anyway, the boys had a blast playing video games and laser tag. The girls had access to a play area, much like a McDonald's, but bigger. They played in it for a bit, but really weren't that thrilled. They were patient, though, while Corban and Andrew did their things. We came home and had pizza and dessert, and that wrapped up part 2 of Corban's birthday celebration.

Lost camera

2008-04-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

I hope you like my artwork, because it's what you'll be getting in my blog for a while due to my losing our camera today! (or possibly, it was stolen) ARGH! I would kick myself, but I think the stomach ache I got over it was punishment enough. We were having a nice day with Mom at an outlet mall and were about to leave when I noticed that my camera was missing. I retraced our steps, going back through stores, asked clerks, reported it to a security guard and even got the support of one sympathetic shopper in Eddie Bauer who helped me look for a minute or two. I left my name and number with the mall security folks who will call if it gets turned in. Miracles happen, but I'm not getting my hopes up. The camera, of course, can be replaced, but I'm kinda sick over losing the photos. Fortunately, there are a few here in my blog of recent events, like Corban's birthday, but I'm still bummed. So, my drawing, which could easily have been drawn by many 4 year-olds, is my best effort at showing Karis and Kaela on the mall carousel. Just use your imagination, ok? I know it's sad. And so is a girl without a camera.

2008-04-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day today, so we got out and enjoyed the morning at a Longmont park. There's a skate park there, too, that Corban enjoys. He was kind of rusty on his skateboard, but had a good time. We took our lunch and picnicked. Afterwards, Nan treated us to Sonic. Java Chillers rank up there with lava cake, I think. So worth the calories.

Happy Birthday Corban!

2008-04-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

My Mom arrived this past Saturday morning to celebrate Corban's 9th birthday with us. We've been looking forward to her visit and are really enjoying having her here. Dad stayed behind in TN to take care of Molly (the dog) and tend to the lawn and such. We wish he were here as well, but since we've had tofu twice since Mom arrived, I don't think he'll wish he were here! :)

Our plan for celebrating Corban's birthday included going to Boondocks, an entertainment center offering bumper boats, go carts, laser tag, etc. He was SO looking forward to it. Sadly, he got feverish and we decided to postpone Boondocks until next weekend. Corban was really disappointed, but his mood brightened when we gave him his gift. We got Corban an aquarium....our family's first try at pets! He's very happy to be the owner of 3 fishies now. We spent Saturday afternoon letting Corban choose rock and other aquarium decorations and then went back to PetSmart yesterday to let him choose some fish. He has 3 guppies named Azul, Sunshine, and Phoenix, named according to color. We'll add more fish later, so the excitement just keeps going!

Corban chose to have Lava Cakes for his birthday this year and they were so incredibly yummy! Kaela claims she wants them for her next birthday, as do I. I'm pretty sure we won't be able to wait until Kaela's birthday in September, so we'll come up with another reason to indulge in the lava cake's extreme chocolatey-ness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORBAN!!
I LOVE YOU,
MOM

hug bug, red bed

2008-04-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

I've got to tell of my excitement this evening after a successful reading lesson with Karis. Over the course of this school year, we've been working with Karis here and there on reading. Every time I did it, I would get frustrated and wonder how on earth I would ever be able to homeschool her. A typical reading session would include lots of moaning and groaning and rolling around on the couch (by her, not me!). Not fun for either of us. I decided to give it another shot today and it went SO much better. She was actually willing to do the work and after each success, she would say, "this is SO much fun," in her very typical over-dramatic manner. At one point, when I was about to help her with a letter that she sometimes struggles with, she threw her hand up and commanded, "Don't help me!" She also expressed that she thought her brain might be growing and claimed that her head hurt. haha Later, she wondered if she should watch TV, in case her brain was getting too big! (Rho always tells her that watching TV shrinks her brain.)

Mistaken Identity and mistaken season

2008-04-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

At the rate we're going this spring, I wonder when we'll see some "Colorado greenery" around here! We woke to snow again today and temperatures in the 30s. I had moved the winter coats out of the hall closet this past weekend, so had to go and drag them out today! Wishful thinking, I guess. As we drove to swim lessons, Corban asked, "this is spring, right?" Only according to the calendar. Kaela is longing to wear the cute spring dresses I found for her last week at a MOPS consignment sale and Karis has worn flip-flops on days when I would advise against it, but don't battle with her over it.

I wanted to recommend a book that I just finished called "Mistaken Identity." I'd never heard of the story, but it was national news back in '06. It's the story of a terrible accident involving a van load of college students. In a nutshell, one of the survivors was mistaken for a girl who actually died in the accident, and was cared for by the wrong family for 5 weeks before the truth was learned. It's a gripping story (I read it in a day and kinda shirked my educational duties today to read it......bad mom!) and is encouraging in that both families remained incredibly faithful through their pain and give an incredible testimony for living for Christ.

Plays with Scissors

2008-04-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

I went to an 11 hour scrapbooking marathon on Saturday called "World's Largest Crop." (That sounds a little insane, huh?) I played with scissors, paper, and tape all day with my two dear friends, Shannon (standing) and Michelle (seated). I had an awesome time chatting with friends while working on a Disney album from our trip last summer. Michelle, eager to display her scrapbook sorority-style spirit of the day, poses with decorations from the table. Next year we're wearing matching t-shirts, right Michelle?

Weekend Update

2008-03-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

After everyone enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning and eating banana chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, Rho took Corban and Karis with him to meet up with the Wilcox family for a hike that they called a Geocache. From what I understand, you use a GPS unit to make your way to a specified site where a "treasure" is buried. If you find it, you can take what's there and put your own item in for the next person to find. Sounds kinda neat, but Kaela and I went to the scrapbooking store instead, which is even neater. I've been wanting to check out this store called Archiver's for a long time and finally made my way over there. It was a fun store and I found a good bit of stuff to use for my Disney album. I also ran into a couple of old friends from the church we used to attend in Boulder years ago, so that was cool. After their hike, Sherri Wilcox took her kids and ours back to their place to play while Rho and Jeremy messed around with some climbing. Back at our home, Kaela tried to rest while I cleaned. Rho made it home at 5:30 with Corban and Karis and we quickly got the kids bathed since we were heading out for the evening. Sherri and Jeremy brought a babysitter to our home to watch the 5 kids and we headed to Boulder to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant called Ras Kassas. Rho and I had eaten there years ago (BC....Before Corban) and were excited to go again. There were 9 of us gathered for dinner to celebrate Sherri's birthday and we thoroughly enjoyed lots of yummy food eaten sans utensils. Fun!

We woke to a cold, snowy morning on Sunday. Winter is stubborn in Colorado, rearing it's ugly head during Spring, making us wonder when we can ever put our sweaters away for good! After our usual long morning at church, I came home and ate lunch in front of the fireplace and then crashed for a much needed 2 hour nap. Both the girls slept that afternoon as well, leaving the house nice and quiet for Rho to do the taxes. Kaela has put on her tutu, ready to do ballet with Bella Dancerella, so I'm off to put in the video.

Heely fun

2008-03-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

As the kids and I were leaving the grocery store the other day, an old man and woman were walking towards us. The old woman was watching Corban roll past her and I heard her say to her husband, "How does he DO that?" heehee Corban's trickin' old folks with his Heelys! He's also been busted by a few store clerks lately, who've told him he can't skate in their stores. Being a good mother, I instructed him to keep rollin' (with caution) and just make sure no store workers see him! Some rules are made to be broken, right?

Visit from Bo and Becky

2008-03-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

(Rho has told me that I post my pictures too small, so here they are in jumbo size.)

Rho's parents and two of our nieces, Taylor and Jade, came to visit us last week during their Spring Break. As usual, we weren't terribly entertaining, but I know the kids had a good time together and the adults enjoyed several evenings of playing "42", teaching me along the way.

On Sunday, everyone attended Corban's Upward Basketball awards
program in the afternoon and we ate at Noodles for dinner afterward. It was cold and drizzly that evening and we awoke to snow on Monday morning, causing great excitement for Jade. Several of the gang made a great snowman in our backyard.

Becky and I attended my yoga-pilates class together on Monday evening, returning home to find the kitchen cleaned up AND the kids in bed!! WOW!

We ate dinner out again on Tuesday evening at an Italian place called Cinzetti's. Everyone enjoyed that.

We took the kids to a neat playground one day, where Bo helped Corban fly his cool dragon kite. Most of the kids took turns flying it and had a good time generally running around and burning some energy.

On Thursday, we hit the rec center for some swimming. The girls had their lessons, so it was a convenient time for us to enjoy the pool. Becky chose not to swim, since she was sick, but the rest of us got in and splashed around.

During the week, Bo was busy working on several projects for us. Notice his t-shirt that says "I Can Fix Anything!" So true. He got our dining room chandelier rehung so that we're not knockin' our noggins anymore. He repaired our drippy kitchen faucet. He did some electrical thing with the lights upstairs in the loft. Most importantly, though, he fixed our psycho garage door!!! That thing has given us headaches for the last three winters, going up and down and up again and stopping mid-way and going down a little, then up a smidge....you get the picture. I'd leave the house early just to allow time to get the garage door down! It's a joy every time I see that door go up or down with only ONE push of the button! HOORAY! THANK YOU BO!

What? What?

2008-03-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

"What?" is what I've been hearing all day from my kids as my voice comes and goes as a result of this blasted cold. Fortunately, I've gotten some energy back today and have started to get things under control again, but Rho is upstairs this evening with a headache and stomach pain. Sounds like me a week or so ago. Karis has been complaining of stomach pains for several days now, but we've started to wonder if she doesn't just like to eat Tums.

Corban completed his CSAP testing today. He had to go yesterday morning and this morning for testing in math and writing. It was a nuisance to get up early and drive 20 minutes to the testing site, especially while sick, but it's done.

Drip, drip, drip

2008-03-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

It's not as bad as this picture might portray, but I've suddenly begun to feel pretty lousy this evening. I was hoping to catch up on some blogging, but guess it will wait a little longer. Hope you all are well.....

Kaela the Flasher

2008-03-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I was on the treadmill, Kaela came into my room complaining of a string hanging from her panties. Since I didn't want to get off the treadmill, I just told her to put on different ones. Well, she tossed the offending panties down the chute and raced off to put on a new pair. Or so I thought. Three year-olds, especially Kaela, are prone to distraction. Later, as we were out shopping, Kaela needed to go to the bathroom. Whilst in the ladies' room, I discover that she is not wearing any underwear. I asked her about it and she just looked at me blankly. I said, "Kaela, doesn't it bother you to not have any underwear on?" She says no, it does not. It bothers me greatly, but what am I to do? We continue our shopping which includes trying on some new dresses for Easter. Karis and Kaela always like to show Corban what they're trying on, so they go racing out of the dressing room. I'm not paying a lot of attention to them at this point, but turn to call them back. It is at this point that Kaela's lack of underwear is significant as she and Karis are jumping wildly about, flipping the dresses up and down. Kaela is now flashing the Target workers and shoppers, mortifying her very modest mother. Now, before we leave the house, I'll have two things to say. As always, "Kaela, your shoes are on the wrong feet." And now, "Kaela, are you wearing underwear?"

Kaela speak

2008-03-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Some more goofy mis-speaks from Kaela:

Piggy pank

Cocoa Fuffs

Cliffdord

"I'm as still as a mustache!" ???

Crowns

Groakin the Cave Dweller

2008-03-03T21:23:00.001-08:00

I've wanted to show you guys what Groakin looks like in his "home office," otherwise known as his cave. Here, under the stairs of our unfinished basement, Rho spends two days a week in a space that's about 3 feet wide. Behind him, but not pictured, would be some basement-y type things like a hot water heater. To his left, in the foreground of the picture, is a shelf full of paint cans and a few of his personal effects. Down at his feet is a small space heater that I bought him so that he won't ice over down there in the winter. Lastly, I'll point out the lovely artwork made for him by his sweet daughters, who clearly saw that his drab workspace needed a little something cheerful.

Weekend Update

2008-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

The first thing that comes to mind about this past weekend was the crazy weather. We had a gorgeous 70 degree day on Saturday and woke up to blowing snow and 30 degree temperatures on Sunday. It warmed up enough today to melt most of the snow, thankfully. We're all ready for spring!

Corban had a very early morning on Saturday, waking at 6:00 to get to the church building by 6:30 for a Bible Bowl Round Robin in Littleton. When I picked him up around 3:30, one of the Bible Bowl mom/leaders told Corban to tell me how "cool" he had been. So, as we drove home, I kept waiting to hear some story, but it never came. As I do with Rho, I had to drag the details out of Corban. Turns out that his team of 4 came in 5th place in division 1. Though that might not sound so great, what's significant is that his team was supposed to compete in division 2, an easier group. So, all in all, they did really well, even beating one of the division 1 teams! I don't think Corban felt it was that great of an accomplishment, but I assured him that it was pretty awesome and that he indeed is very "cool."

Rho and I had to go to a party Saturday evening to celebrate the opening of Cerience's new office. It really is nice, especially compared to the old place. They had a catered buffet of different finger foods and a selection of wine and beer. I got so smashed! (That made me laugh out loud!) I was a tad bit embarrassed when we needed to raise our glasses for a toast and I had to hold up my bottle of water! HA! Anyway, it was good, considering this kind of socializing is not my, nor Rho's, cup of tea. We managed to be social though, and it was nice to meet the other workers and their wives.

On Sunday, after sleeping poorly due to wild winds, we dragged all our tired selves to church. The afternoon was spent resting, by most. I polished off another of Jan Karon's books in the Mitford series. (Thanks for the recommendation, Becky!) Our small group was canceled for the evening and Rho suggested that Michelle and I go do something while he watched our kids and hers, since her husband's away. In the end, it almost ended up being a small group night when the Wilcox's joined in the fun. Sherri went to the movies with us (27 Dresses....pretty cute) and Jeremy had the pleasure of helping Rho babysit the 8 kids! When the girls returned, we were happy to find that no one was crying and that the men had successfully changed two diapers, only after putting it off so long that they couldn't bear the odor any longer!

2008-02-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's been a slow week for us, I guess. I've been fighting a cold and trying to keep up with the regular weekly routine. Rho is working at home this week as his group is moving to their new site in Fort Collins. He's been able to help out more, which I really appreciate.

Karis and Kaela had a case of Spring Fever on Saturday when the temperatures creeped up into the 50s. They donned short-sleeved dresses and flip-flops to have a picnic lunch out on the driveway. It wasn't long before they were coming in to put on tights and jackets!

Kaela joined Karis for swimming lessons today after the swim teacher suggested that Corban might do group lessons instead. It was difficult for her to juggle the two of them with their differences in ability. Kaela enjoyed the lesson and was quite proud of herself, though she truly wasn't doing everything she was asked....like putting her face in the water! Maybe Karis can encourage her, though she has become hesitant about it herself. As you can see from the huge grin on Kaela's face, she had a good time!

The kids took to calling each other "buddy" this morning and were quite a tight threesome. Here's one more picture of the buddy trio:

My friend Tracey

2008-02-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

This week started off great with a visit from my dear friend Tracey and two of her little ones, Ember, 2 and 1/2, and Calhoun, 7 weeks. Tracey, who is brave and crazy, was traveling to Vermont to attend a wedding. Her husband had left days before with their 4 year old, Annie. Ben refuses to fly, so he and Annie made a 3 day haul to Vermont. Anyway, Tracey and the two little ones spent the night with us on Monday night and the kids and I drove them to the airport on Tuesday. I'll go to pick them up on Sunday evening and they'll spend the night with us again! Little Calhoun is so adorable and cuddly! Tracey, by the way, is the person who coined the term "Greenery" for our family, which is why my blog is called "Colorado Greenery."

2008-02-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, we went to Texas last week to attend the funerals of two of Rho's uncles, BJ and Felix. We left on Thursday afternoon, the 14th, arriving in Gruver around 10:00, if I remember correctly. Both of the funerals were on Friday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The day was sad, of course, but the services for both men were so nice and I was so thankful that the family gathered there could also be joyful in the assurance we have of our homes awaiting us with the Lord. What a blessing. Anyway, we stayed Friday night and went out to Rho's aunt Glenda's on Saturday morning, along with other family. We were able to visit there a bit before leaving around lunch time. There isn't much to report of our trip home other than to tattle on ourselves. Well, on Rho, really. I'll just preface this, (MOM), with the statement that Rho loves his family very much and would never harm them, (MOM). Trips can be quite dull, so, here's a picture of Corban and Karis doing a little van surfing!

Corban only fell over a couple of times as Rho swerved around on the road, making them unsteady on their feet. Just look at those smiles. FUN! Kaela is safely secured in her seat and looks bored out of her mind.

2008-02-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

Here's just some kinda funny stuff the girls have said lately.

Karis on marriage: "I can't marry somebody who loves trains." (Said to me after suggesting she could marry her friend Cole, who lives for trains.)

Karis at the grocery store: "Corban! I found Larry. And Bob is over there!" (Shouted across the produce section after asking me to point out the cucumbers.)

Kaela: "Maybe Daddy's dead." (Said as the rest of us wondered aloud where Rho was.) Well, that one's not so funny.

Kaela calls this an "Injury Bar" (Energy Bar)