New Camera Love

Kevin bought a new camera yesterday and I am in love!!! It has 20x zoom which I love, it takes great pictures and is easy to use. The kids are over mom's photo shoot. They rebelled after about 50 pictures- You can see Gabe's ketchup face(I think he left it there to taunt me)

YUM

What you see here is called boot camp failure! Whenever Kevin's co-worker comes to visit, he buys they wives (left at home) dessert. He is a very smart man. Instead of being mad at our husbands we are very happy for them to come home at any time. Like I said that Jim is a very smart man. Soooooo- last night at 9:00PM I ate a giant portion of fried ice cream from Hacienda! What you see here is a tiny amount of leftover crust. Boot camp failure yes! Happy wife yes!Stomach this morning at 7AM while walking in a handstand position against the wall- bad news!!!!

FROM HATE TO LOVE

Hate is a very strong word. We try not to say it in our house and it is reserved only for things we TRULY can't seem to like and we can NEVER use the word to describe a person! Right now we have or maybe I should say had some "hates" in our house. Right now- I HATE boot camp. I do not want to go each time. I certainly DID NOT want to run a 5K on Friday and actually had tears in my eyes from the pain of it all, but I did it, and after it was over- I was glad I had! Ben HATES writing that is what he says EVERY TIME someone brings up writing. So I signed him up to attend a young authors conference- sounds mean right? BUT as we were leaving the building AFTER the conference. He said he LOVED it. It brought a tear of JOY to my eye! So, the whole way home we compared boot camp to writing (I will spare you the list!) Now- the adults in Ben's life who LOVE writing are his "personal trainers" Just trying to get him ready for the bigger race- junior high, high school and eventually college. He has to train to get better. It is hard, but it feels good when you are done!!!!! When you have written something you want to share with the world and they respond with great comments it's like winning a race!. His small group instructor told Ben his piece was outstanding, not just good but outstanding. That word made a difference to Ben and it showed!- and this conference will quite possibly turn Ben's hate into love!!!!!

Art Never Looked So Good

OK- I really, really, really (get the idea?) did not want to go to this event tonight at Ben's school. Not because I thought it would not be good- I KNEW it would be great. It was because Gabe was in the backyard with 2 neighbor boys, constructing some contraption and having a ball. Ben was engrossed in Legos and a book. The weather was beautiful-sun shinning- warm. BUT--- we went. We went because Ben worked so hard on all of these art pieces. We went because so many people took so much of THEIR time to put this all together. We went because I want Ben to LOVE art. It was worth it. There will be many nice days ahead. But never again will I walk the halls with my 2nd grader looking at his treasured art!! My favorite, by far was "BENzilla" That cat cracks me up and it has Ben's personality all over it! Next year I will have a kindergartner and a 3rd grader's art to look at!! YIKES!!!!

America the Beautiful

It is official!!! Fabi and Joe are U.S. Citizens. After working and living in the United States for 10 years, Friday, it was official. I feel so blessed that I was able to attend the oath ceremony. I felt so proud to be an American and so blessed that I know these 2!!! There were 46 people from many different countries in attendance! During the ceremony the judge gave a great speech. He said that people who immigrate to the US are some of the bravest people he knows-such a profound statement. Can you imagine moving far from your family, not speaking the language or knowing the culture and trying to live life?. Fabi and Joe have embraced it all- showing that they are 2 of the bravest people I know!!!! We are so glad to have been a part of this great day!!!! Congratulations!!!

Kahl Boys On The Loose

Kevin, Ben and Gabe drove 2 hours south to a wrestling tournament on Saturday. They had fun staying at the hotel, swimming with friends and of course wrestling. Kevin said they both wrestled hard. Gabe got his first pin and placed 2nd. Ben got 3rd place and would like me to tell everyone he wrestled a 4th grader. I enjoyed my weekend as well. I cleaned the house, went to eat at my FAVORITE restaurant (The Bonefish Grill) and saw a movie. And- here is the BEST part. I slept until 9:00 AM on Sunday morning!!!!

WHAT?????

Someone please tell me, how does THIS happen? How did our lives become so busy? I USE TO be the Mom who was very proud of the fact that we do not do a lot of running around. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I bragged about it to others.(Don't remind me if I did!) NOW all of the sudden we are CRAZY!! Do not get me wrong. Ben loves it! Gabe loves it! Kevin loves it! Me- well not so much love but more like the I am OK with it feeling- for now anyway. My Wednesday is very busy but only in March. After that, it's smooth sailing until after spring break. Next Monday I start Boot Camp. The one thing on this calendar I wish I could put a GIANT X through. I am scared, I might require CPR or I might not be walking after the first day- but hopefully before spring break I will actually be able to put on last years swimsuit!