Upward Basketball

Gabe had his first basketball game today. He made a basket, which of course made him happy! He had a lot of fun, earned a red star for defense and life for him was wonderful this cold Saturday morning!!
Another busy Saturday.

Busy Weekend

It is Saturday night and the Kahl family is FINALLY sitting down. We have been on the run since school let out on Friday. We had a great opportunity to see the Harlem Globetrotters Friday night with Ben and Gabe's Cub Scout pack. Besides getting a great price on tickets we were able to have a private meet and greet at halftime. The boys were excited. I have a new respect for the Harlem Globetrotters. They were so sweet with the kids- joking and giving encouraging words. It was well worth braving a snowstorm to get there.
Saturday morning we all woke up and went to the Pinewood Derby. It was a long day which ended well for the Kahl Family. Ben won 1st place out of 80 and Gabe won 4th place. It was fun because Ben and Gabe had to race each other in the finals. All of the hard work Kevin did was worth it!!!! Now we are all snuggled in, getting ready to watch a movie.

Go Away

Go away winter! I am really done with you! It has been snowing since I woke up this morning and now THIS for Friday. YUK!

My Tooth

My Tooth
by Gabe
Today I lost my first tooth. I pulled it out myself.
I went to school and I was in math class and I saw orangish, redish stuff on my paper. I put my finger in my nose and there was no blood there and so I checked my tooth because I knew I had a wiggly tooth and I pulled it to the side once and nothing. Then I kept pulling it to the side and then there was my gums coming out a little and then I pulled out my tooth. I showed it to Mrs. McGann and she got a container and I put my tooth in it. I showed everyone in my class. They all said "Cool!"
The End

Goodwill Dresser

Sometimes you just have to have a vision.
When I saw this dresser, I knew it could be great. It is Ethan Allan, solid, great wood- just a little neglected. I sanded it, Kevin painted and my friend helped me put new drawer pulls on. Dresser. 20.00. Pulls- 30.00. Love it!!!!

Homework

Homework= Punishment to Mommies all over the land!!!Last night it was 3 hours.
It is not the amount (well- maybe a little) but that Ben loathes homework. He does not just whine a little or use tactics to delay. He is in an all out debate mode/ He can tell you the research on the benefits of homework- there are none. He can tell you what homework he had in 1st grade, 2nd grade....) He will describe teachers by the amount of homework given. To say he doesn't like it is a understatement.
So last night when he had a writing assignment which is the worst form of punishment EVER!!!(in Ben's eyes, I, of course, love it and want him to love it)
We tried a new tactic and let Ben type it on his laptop. Since it was suppose to be 2 pages written, we said one page typed.
He began by using 75 font. His name and title appeared on the page, filled in up and he declare Done! We explained 16 is average size, but because we are loving and generous parent we would accept 18.
After coming to us on numerous occasions to see if his page was filled Kevin showed him how to print preview. Ben had about a paragraph to fill the page and he said he couldn't think of anything else to write. Stresses out Mom responds. "Well you should probably think of SOMETHING!" Kevin added "That's meaningful!" Here is what his last paragraph said

"How long did it take me you ask? 1 and 1/2hours! Here's one message to you. This thing has made by evening miserable. Well it has made my whole families evening miserable. My Mom is stressed. I wanted to play with my dad and brother.This has tooken up my whole evening!!"

We, of course, erased it and made him write a new ending...

SNOW DAY

We had a snow day here today.
Freezing cold.
Still had appointments to keep.
Horrible roads.
The worst part- We argued over homework from 3:30-7. FINALLY got it in the book bag and NO SCHOOL until TUESDAY!

Gabe Quotes

I was helping Gabe get ready for bed and I kissed him on the forehead.
Gabe- "you stink."
Me- My breath?"
Gabe- "No, your whole self."

While watching the movie Dolphin Tale
Me- Oh look, the boys are going to race the dolphin.
Gabe- "Those boys better get out of that saltwater before a shark eats them, who cares who wins!
Me- "Just because it is saltwater, does not mean there are sharks.
Gabe- "Mom you have a lot of learning to do."

New Years Eve 2011

We had a great New Years Eve this year. We had a nice dinner of steak and potatoes (IN OUR PAJAMAS) We had the 1st Annual Kahl Family Wii Challenge which included bowling, dancing, cow riding, archery, wakeboarding, jet skiing, and snowboarding. Gabe won 1st place overall but Ben also felt like a winner because he was able to mix six different kinds of soda together and drink as much as he wanted! We also snacked on chocolate chip cookies and chips galore! By 11:00 we all were tired and had belly aches so we all crawled into our bed and watched a movie and then we watched the ball drop in times square. At 12:01 we were ALL fast asleep. I hope everyone had a great night!