Structure...yuck...

School has begun. I think we all have mixed feelings about it. In some ways it's nice to have some structure back in our lives (i.e. bedtimes, hairdos, wearing something besides play clothes all day) but at the same time it's hard to get back to structure (i.e. bedtimes, hairdos, ironing and especially homework).

Ty and Ken were both excited for their teachers this year and couldn't wait to see their friends they hadn't seen all summer long.

Kenna convinced mom that she wanted to be a "sack lunch" kid. Ty thinks she's crazy. He loves having hot lunch. Mom just got tired of Kenna only eating the dessert off her lunch tray. So far, sack lunches are going smooth. Except the time she left a half eaten container of yogurt in her luch box because she wanted to save it for later. Her lunchbox now smells like strawberry yogurt. Other than that it's smooth, but let's check back on this in a few months. ;-)

Tyler started flag football this fall. He is having a real fun time and loves to teach us the new plays they practice. If only we could get him to love homework as much as he loves football!!

Happy Birthday To You!

My baby turned 7 last month! I can hardly believe it. Kenna is such a sweet loving little girl who is always willing to help out. She is such a thinker and is always dreaming up some new craft to make. Her grandmas and aunts knew this and gifted her with plenty of craftiness for her birthday.

We love Kenna and are so blessed to have her in our family.

Surprise!!!!

I bet you thought you'd never see another update, didn't you? How do you catch up on six months all at once? I'll try really quickly.

Von turned 40 in November. Wow, that's old!

Tyler spent January and February wrestling. This was his first year and he had a blast. He took home two silver medals and a bronze.

Kenna finished up another year of dance. She really learned a lot this year. She's got great rhythem and it's fun to see her cute little personality come out in her dances.

Von was called to be the scout leader for the 8 year old boys last fall. He and Tyler have a lot of fun planning activities for the scouts. They built a boat for the raingutter regatta and had fun racing it. Tyler painted his blue (all by himself) like the Indianappolis Colts. He's really become a football/basketball whatever sport is in season fan. :-)

Von poured our patio out back and hung the porch swing we got for Christmas. It's really fun to sit out there and enjoy the outdoors and kids playing (i.e. scooter races). We've even put in a fire pit to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Now that's my kind of camping :-)

The kids are getting excited for summer to begin. Mom is too!!!

Happy Haunting!

It seems that since school has started our lives consist of running from one activity to the next. It's so crazy!

The kids had a fun Halloween. It seemed like an entire week of it, since they had DARE week at school. First it was crazy hair day, then tie day, then cap day, then red day and finally Halloween costume day. Whew! Tyler came up with his sailor costume all by himself. He was really proud of himself. Kenna decided at the last minute to be a witch. Thank goodness grandma had a costume bin with a costume that fit perfectly!

The kids had a costume parade at school, and then the first graders went to the care center to sing Halloween songs. The staff had dressed up all the residents and it wasn't until the kids were completely done singing that I realized I was sitting right behind my grandma. She was dressed up like a devil! So funny, she slept through the entire program. Don't they look entertained? ;-)

We ended the week by going trick-or-treating. The kids got loaded up with candy and Kenna got a belly ache. Tyler's reached a milestone because this is the second year in a row that he hasn't throw up all his Halloween candy! We did had a little drama at our house that night when Tyler's pumpkin was stolen off the front porch. Von thinks it's because I gave out lousy treats. I'm sure it's because Tyler had painted it so cool.

Six Little Monkeys Playing at the Zoo....

We have a Labor Day tradition of going to the Hogle Zoo with our family. There were lots of baby animals to see and the kids had a blast. My mom warned me that the zoo might want to keep Tyler because he's such a monkey. Some days, I could let them :-) This trip was compliments of Grandpa and Grandma Allred. Thanks guys!


The biggest monkeys of all Tyler and Jaxon


All six of the monkeys


Tyler, Katie, Brecken and Jaxon on the Conservation Carousel. Isn't it funny that they insist on riding certain animals? Tyler was sure that his bufflo kicked like a buckin' bronco and Jaxie was so in to the reptiles that he had to ride on the poisonous tree frog.

Cute baby giraffe

School Days.....

Wednesday was the first day of school for both of the kids. Tyler made the move over to Kenna's school this year and they were both kind of excited to start. They changed the bussing schedule and we have to put the kids on 20 minutes earlier than last year. This is tough! It's weird that all four of us aren't rushing out the door at the same time now.

When I ask Kenna what her favorite part of school was that evening, she said "I get three recesses!" Tyler's favorite part was the treasure hunt they had in his classroom. It's decorated in a pirate theme, complete with a ship. I can already tell it's going to be a good year!

XGames Stunts

I know I keep posting video of Tyler doing tricks, but I find it amazing that he can do them. He has such a sense of balance (he gets that from his dad) and a lot of determination. He watched the X Games on TV this summer and then the county fair had the Ogio 5050 Freestyle BMX/Motocross team in Delta. Tyler was fascinated. He's been on his bike or skateboard ever since, and I do have to say, he's pretty good for an 8 year old kid. However, he needs a constant audience. He doesn't want a cool trick to happen while no one is watching! Even though the driveway scraped the freckles off one side of his face, he just keeps trying. :-)