Tough Boy

This is Gabe's best tough boy expression. Cute isn't it? Gabe got his first official black eye tonight. He came home from wrestling- announced his eye turned black when he wrestled the boys head- and is now sitting with his daddy and a ice pack(That I JUST bought- how do mothers know these things?) Is it because when you have kids things like this are bound to happen? Anyway- he is now a member of the Kahl "tough Boy" club and he is ready for his first tournament- Oh- and don't let this make you think wrestling is a "dangerous" sport as we so often hear- He could have done this tripping over a ball.
On a completely separate subject- I just noticed by next post will be my 100th post. In blog land that is a big deal. Most people write about 100 life goals, 100 things they love about life, etc. But not me- I will write about 100 DEALS I have gotten by shopping SMART. It may take awhile to make the list- so if I don't blog for a couple days- I am still alive!!! I am making THE LIST!

TUBING

We braved the snow storm today and went tubing at a local park. The kids had so much fun and completely surprised me by trekking up and down the hill a million times(OK Maybe 50) I went up ONCE screamed the whole way down hit a patch of ice, had snow in my face and was DONE!! I headed directly to the warming house- I do not think I even returned the tube!!! We are in the midst of the GREATEST SNOWSTORM- We are getting A LOT of Lake Effect snow- I hope for tons more!!!!!! Every time our friends from Iowa visit they bring they snow with them.

SLEDDING

The boys spent 3 hours outside today sledding. They made a jump and were having so much fun. I really wanted to walk outside to take pictures but decided my warm fireplace was a better spot. So thank you to our friend Klaus who took these amazing pictures of the kids sledding. It was so great to open up my e mail tonight and there they were. (Merry Christmas to me!) Tomorrow- we have a wrestling tournament- and await the arrival of our friends from Iowa!!! OH HAPPY DAY!

FINALLY

It has finally happened- we had enough snow to play in, sled and shovel. I know it sounds crazy especially to our Iowa friends and our friends on the East Coast who are still digging out- but we(I mean Kevin and the boys) enjoyed the day in the snow- not just looking at the dusting of it!. We fired up the coco latte machine after coming inside(If you do not own one of these RUN to Bed Bath and Beyond to get one- They make The PERFECT cup of hot chocolate!!!!!) It was so nice for the boys to get out in the fresh air and running- you can only play so much inside before you get stir crazy!- Fresh air does them good and they will definitely sleep well tonight!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009

Merry Christmas everyone!! We feel so blessed this Christmas and have so much to be thankful for. We went to church last night and of course it was a beautiful service. Does anyone else cry when a whole church is singing silent night? I ALWAYS get choked up! Ben was FORCED (that's what he says) to wear a tie and actually kept it on until church began and he discovered all of his friends had on sweaters. After church we ate soup, watched Twas' the Night Before Christmas and put the kids to bed- Kevin and I worked on our surprise for the boys and after several interruptions(Ben said- Hey don't you remember being 8 on Christmas Eve?) we FINALLY finished the boys "chill room"- which use to be our spare room -at midnight. We bought them a new TV and video chairs, put the Wii in there. We made it a place for the boys to just hang out and- well- CHILL. They were VERY HAPPY when they opened the door to their surprise this morning. Ben is also the proud owner of a DSi- Gabe, well he is the proud owner of a lot of stuff!!!!!! Kevin and I enjoyed our gifts from the boys- new pool balls for Kevin and a new phone for me( I still had the old flip phone which I finally figured out how to check messages from 2007) Today we are enjoying our day and will eat a delicious meal Kevin is preparing. Later we will head to the neighbors for dessert and coffee!!! We hope your day is filled will joy- Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Visit to Iowa

Oh to be 4 again. We just came back from a trip to Iowa. We were able to celebrate Christmas with Kevin's family as well as mine. The boys were able to play with their cousins, and had a great time. This picture of Gabe shows how fun it is to be 4 at Christmas. He was so happy every time he opened a gift. We were also able to celebrate Kevin's birthday with his family. We only ran into a little bad weather while traveling between Kevin's dads house and my parents. Gabe wanted to ride on cousin Sofia's Kitty Kat and I have decided this is exactly what the boys need to cruise the neighborhood this winter. It may take me a little bit to convince Kevin- Wish me luck!!!! Oh yeah and the pictures of all the tickets- That was from Kevin playing the kids version of the price is right wheel. The kids were jumping for joy with his big "wins" I think with all of those tickets we ended up with a rubber snake and a glow ball!!!!!