Corban's 11th Birthday

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

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

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......

.....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

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

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

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.

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