Indy 500

Kevin had the opportunity to go to the Indianapolis 500 today. He left at 4 AM and returned at 7:30. He had a great time. The rest of the Kahls stayed home, in our pajamas for the day-relaxing until we had to go to the basement when there was a tornado warning. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Pool Progress

We have water in the pool. Hard to believe they only started the pool on Wednesday and by Friday they had water in the pool. Next week cement, sod, fence. We may be swimming soon!!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Gabe graduated from Kindergarten today. He goes back for one more day on Tuesday (snow make-up) so he said on that day he will be a 1/2 kindergartner 1/2 first grader. Gabe had a wonderful teacher, made some great friends and learned a lot. We are so proud of you Gabe!!!!!

Life and third grade winding down

We went to Ben's end of third grade celebration tonight. It was songs, slide shows and presentations. Before we left home, Ben made the comment, "I'm in the back row." He said it like he was back there as a punishment. I told him that because he is tall, the back row would be his LIFE throughout school. Another part of life in school, is to strategically place sweet, rule following girls among the back row of boys. Check out that back row- Believe me, when that sweet girl told Ben to sit, he sat!

Digging Out and a Governor named Daniels

WELL- To say this week has been normal would be a lie. Between Kevin's travels, hosting the Governor, and starting the HUGE backyard project I need sleep. Kevin walked in from his buisness trip, the Governor walked in one hour later. The Governor walked out the next morning and the excavator rolled in an hour later. Now our new septic system is in and the yard is ready to put the pool in next week. The laundry is caught up and everyone and everything is clean again. Now as I take a moment, I need to write down what this week has meant.
It has meant fun, excitement, lack of sleep, dirty house, spotless house, ups and downs. Since the Governor left and we started telling people of our adventure we were quite shocked with the questions people have asked. Did you see him in his pajamas? What did he eat? Did he talk to you? Was he good with the kids?
As I was thinking about writing the Governor a letter to tell him what this experience meant to my family, I decided I would do it here on my blog, so I could share what really happened with everyone. Do you think he will read my blog? Who knows, but my guess, after meeting him is Yes. If he knows about it he will.
Sooooooo Here it goes
Dear Governor Daniels,
People keep asking about your visit. We have become the subject of many conversations. Some questions and comments leave us speechless, while others seem valid and still others make us laugh out loud. I was wondering, would you mind if I told them THIS:
He walked in, ignored us, told us our house was ugly, and our kids were brats. He said he really didn't want to stay here but the Super 8 was full. He did tell us it would have been better given the squalor we live in. He said he thought our house had looked normal from the outside but boy was he wrong. He looked in our pantry and told us it was obvious we do not follow the healthy initiatives and could we get him some fruit. He said Bruiser was a creep and we should put him outside. He went to bed, slamming the door while saying he hoped he would survive the night in our pigsty and to make sure we brought him breakfast in bed. In the morning, he walked down the stairs, said thanks for nothing, your family is weird and slammed the front door.
Or- Would you rather I just stuck with the TRUTH?
He was nice.
He was completely normal.
He made my kids laugh.
Yes, he made his bed- better than I do actually.
He was genuine.
He was funny.
He told great stories.
He came in alone- we were the ones with reinforcements.
I truly think, given the opportunity, he would have just rode over on a Harley. I also think that if it were not for that little meeting the next morning, he would have went to garage sales with me.
Governor, people are asking me all of the time what you gave us. It caught me off guard at first because is such a strange question to ask. I am not sure if they wanted to hear you GAVE us advice, you GAVE us a pony or you GAVE us strep throat. As I thought about this I realized, you did give us A LOT.
You gave Gabe PRIDE: Thanks for sharing Gabe's picture at your breakfast that morning. A reporter told Gabe what you had done and Gabe was smiling so hard his face hurt. That kind gesture has made Gabe feel very important.
You gave Ben MOTIVATION: By signing Ben's homework that morning and telling him how important it is to study, you made him realize the importance of homework in future goals. Now, when Ben says, "Why do I have to do my homework?" We can say, "Because the Governor told you to."
You gave Kevin his MOMENT: A moment to show off his Harley mini bike and Big Green, his high school car. These are 2 things he gets nagged about on a daily basis and which I threaten to sell every day. Now he can say that the Governor sat in Big Green and he liked the mini bike so we can't sell them.
You gave me- a heart attack- no really you gave me OPPORTUNITIES: The opportunity to do what I love, to write about our families adventures, to put into words what we experience in life on a daily basis no matter how big or small(This one happened to be big!). You gave me the opportunity in the days following your visit to discuss hard topics, be firm in my values, and stay true to my beliefs.
So Governor Daniels: Thank you for giving my family the opportunity to spend time with you. Keep doing what you are doing- it meant the world to us!
P.S. Sorry to hear about your head. Ben said to tell you, the worst part was when the doctor has to sit on you to put the stitches in, so hopefully the worst part is over.
Take Care and Thank You!
Mary Kahl

Mystery Guest

Last night Indiana's governor, Mitch Daniels stayed with our family overnight. Our family had such a great time talking with him and getting to know him. When on the road, Governor Daniels stays with families instead of hotels. We were his 110th family he has stayed with. At breakfast this morning Ben whispered to me, "This is not something you see everyday."
So the big questions are:
1. Why The Kahl Family? I know you are wondering, I would be asking the same thing. Our friends put our name in when they were called for a recommendation.
2. How do you prepare? You call that friend that gave your name 50 million times for advice. You clean your house- A lot- You pray that your children do not talk about bodily functions, or the time you screamed at the dog.
3. What do you talk about? Everything. We talked about septic systems, Iowa, wrestling, Indiana, his family, his travels, the boys showed him artwork. We talked about schools and favorite subjects and when the Governor of Indiana tells you to study your spelling, well, you just have to!!!!! And yes- we even talked about garage sales. He was really easy to talk to.
This morning he chatted with us, took pictures, signed pictures, and went back to the busy life he leads. Our family feels incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity. This was so exciting for us and such a great time.

Mommy- Off Duty

Do you remember the post I wrote about things that husbands should not do while traveling on business. Well, this is definitely one. Do not send pictures of what you see from your hotel room especially when you are in Palm Springs and your wife has a view like the 2nd and 3rd pictures. It's not even OK if you attach a sweet note saying "Wish you were here with me." because I really wish you were here handling our backyard project. So now that I have said that...
I have an announcement- today I am OFF DUTY. I am done cleaning, organizing, paying bills, juggling various people associated with our projects, no laundry, dishes- all of it done. I am going to enjoy my spotless house, my organized closets, my clean bathrooms. I will wait...
Wait for Kevin to arrive home from Palm Springs
Wait for Bruiser to turn sweet
AND I will wait for our guest who is arriving today.
We know our guest.
We like our guest.
We have never met our guest.
We are very excited for our guest to arrive.
We are ready.
We are clean(us and the house)
Read more tomorrow...
Enjoy your day- relax like me!

Gabe's Party

Gabe celebrated his birthday with his friends from school last weekend. The party was at Coveleski stadium. Gabe threw out the first pitch and then all of his friends got to run on the field with the players for the singing of the national anthem. Gabe also went back on the field to have the whole stadium sing him Happy Birthday. With our seats almost on the field, it was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The kids had a great time.

Still Don't Garage Sale? You Should!!!

Thursday was a very productive garage sale day. The biggest deal- 2 GPS systems- 4.00 for both! They are in great condition. Pottery Barn Mail System- 10.00 for both. A Crate and Barrel HUGE THING no idea what it is really called, no idea what I am going to use it for but it is COOL- 10.00. These 2 big bowls, they are larger than they appear in the picture and very old. Does anyone know what they are? The man selling them (for 2 dollars each!- Love it when a man is running the sale) said he bought them in California where he was stationed for 4 years. Also not pictured is a left handed set of golf clubs for Gabe.

Baseball-Cheering and Age

I am just too old to be attending baseball games for my kids. Sunday was Mother's Day. Our family spent from 4-8:30 at the ballpark. It's no secret I do not like sitting at the ballpark. It is a messy, weird place where the mommies huddle together in conversation and Dad's get a little crazy. But still- I go- you know, for support, to hover like a helicopter, to witness craziness.
I clap-sometimes.
I cheer- a little.
But mostly I put my head down low and silently pray.
"Please God- just let him hit it."
"Please God just help him catch it."
"Please God do not let him be the last out."
Sunday was a little different. I am not sure if I felt I needed to show extra support because of the whole Mother's Day thing. Maybe it was because it was an exciting game in extra innings, I am not sure.
I cheered, I stood up, I screamed at the top of my lungs and then...
I peed my pants.
Yep! I am too old to me cheering. I am going back to the silent method of watching baseball.

Kahl Rules

Finally! We have found a system that works!!! As you might know, we do not believe in the typical allowance here. Our belief is, you do jobs around the house because you are a part of this family, you do not get PAID- you just do them. BUT- we also feel that Ben and Gabe need to learn how to manage, save and of course, spend money. We have a set of six family rules you must follow. If someone catches you following one of these rules you get a stick in your bucket. Friday is "Payday" The sticks are counted (each one worth a dime)- Don't laugh the kids think they are rich!!! Your total for the week is written on your paper. You can withdraw money whenever needed. The funny things is, they like to see the amount add up, so they are savers-
They are not allowed to tell us they have followed a rule, we see it, we may or may not mention we are adding a stick. We never take sticks away because they earned it~~ Each rule has a corresponding bible verse so they know this is not only what we expect of them but what God expects of them. Finally a system of behavior, money earning and management all in one

******ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE-----
I have a sinus infection and a ear infection. Am I 42 or 5?????? Regardless I feel pretty horrid. More later.....