Walking to school . . .

Every week day Jack, Beth and I walk to school to pick up Megan and Kylie. Our walks always take at least three times as long as I would take to walk to school by myself and are filled with discoveries. We always start by Beth and Jack each carefully selecting a stick to take with them from our neighbor's yard/sidewalk (they have a tree that seems to shed branches). We cross the street (the kids have been taught to "wait on red" as the ramps at the corner of each sidewalk are painted red) and then both Beth and Jack need to walk on the cement wall, which is about 30 feet long. We often stop every few inches to pick flowers or weeds. Both Jack and Beth proudly hand them to me, telling me they picked them just for me. Jack's are usually handfuls of greenery, ripped from the ground, or the tops of flowers. Wildflowers seem to flourish in our part of Texas, so there are lots to choose from. We pick up rocks too, and bring them home to rest under our rosebush. We have quite a collection!

Today Jack decided that he was picking his own shoes. He wore one cowboy boot (on the wrong foot) and one plastic sandal (with the ankle strap in the front). Beth's shoes matched, but she topped off her outfit with a bright purple Dora dress up skirt (she was wearing yellow and pink). She wanted to bring a backpack full of toys, a doll stroller, her Dora doll, two stuffed animals and her little metal Dora purse. I unfeelingly vetoed them all, having had quite a bit of experience attempting to carry a gazillion things home with me, while also carrying one or more children, who have either gotten tired of walking or scraped their knees.

Jack's stick was a horse this afternoon and he happily announced "I'm a cowboy! YeeHAW!!!" as he galloped down the street in his boot and sandal. Beth took several minutes carefully picking out the biggest stick she could find, finally settling on one almost as tall as me (I'm 5'10"). It took quite a bit of agility to avoid being poked in the eye with it as we walked to school.

I love our walks despite the high levels of patience often required of me. I love that my kids notice little things like tiny flowers or bugs or rocks. I love having my kids bring me flowers they've picked. I hope that never changes :)

Post #200!!!

When I signed in to post I discovered that this is my 200th post on this blog :)

Sorry, I don't have any pictures. Our cameras have both died and I haven't gotten around to buying a new one yet. We have been busy though! I finished winter quarter about a week and a half ago and got an A in the class! Yay!!! This was a very difficult class for me due to the teacher's grading habits (see previous post), but I did my best and I made it through and hopefully will never have to take a class from him again! The completion of that quarter signified the completion of my first year of classes. Only 2.5 years of classes and 1 year of internships left!

You would think that without grad school, my life would be relaxing, but the quarter ended just in time for me to host book club (we use that as an excuse to deep clean the house and touch up the paint, etc) on Tuesday (which was also the night Rob had to be at church for the pinewood derby). Two days later was our major Relief Society (church women's group) dinner thingy, which I was in charge of. That was a bit stressful, but I had lots of people helping me out, so that made it much easier! Friday night I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend.

Saturday I was supposed to meet some friends that morning, but Rob forgot and turned my phone off to let me sleep in. I woke up 30 mins before I was supposed to be there and it was 45 mins away. I called and let them know I was going to miss it, but would meet them for lunch. I never made it to lunch as we discovered that Simon had chewed through the gate in the backyard and disappeared. We spent the next four hours driving around the neighborhood calling his name, but to no avail. I called the two nearby police departments, but no dogs had been picked up that day. We even checked the highway, although since Simon is scared of loud noises, we doubted that he would get anywhere near a highway. Megan and I drove down to the Humane Society and checked their lost and found rooms. No Simon. I called the nearby shelters and rescues and even called the microchip place as Simon is microchipped. We finally had to give up and wait to see if someone took him in to a vet's office on Monday since all the vets were closed for the weekend. Megan cried herself to sleep and Jack kept asking "where's my doggy, Mommy???" Kylie was upset as well. Beth didn't seem affected by it, but was certain that we would never see him again. Megan said "at least Harlequin is happy!" (Harlequin, Rob's cat, does not like Simon at all and routinely attempts to beat Simon up. Poor Simon.)

At 6am the next morning, Rob woke up thinking someone was trying to break into the house. Someone was . . . Simon had chewed his way back through the repaired gate and was attempting to chew his way into the house via the back door. We were all very glad to have him back! I don't think Rob or I realized how much of a part of the family he had become until he wasn't there anymore. I don't know where he was or what happened to him, but since getting home, Simon has been very nervous being in the backyard alone. I tried to take him with us when we walked to pick up Megan and Kylie from school, but he planted his feet and wouldn't leave the house. Whatever happened, we're so glad he found his way home!

Here's hoping this week will be less eventful! I have the next three weeks off from school, then I start two classes. Having taken two classes at once before, I know it will be a hard quarter, but hopefully this will be the last quarter I need to double up. I have registered for my first residency in Phoenix in September, which I am very excited about :)

The kids are doing well. Beth has made it almost two months since her surgery. She has her checkup next week :) Our whole family was able to go to church on Sunday for the first time since before her surgery! We are looking forward to having Susie and Travis down here for the summer in a few weeks :) We'll miss Molly and Brian though!

El Ten Eleven

Lately Rob has gotten very interested in listening to a genre of music known as post rock. His very favorite post rock band is El Ten Eleven, a duo based out of California. You can find them on YouTube here. Several months ago as Rob and I were deciding which 10 songs we would buy off iTunes that month (we limit ourselves to 10 a month - that helps to prevent us from spending tons of money and also insures that we only buy songs we love), we looked up the websites of some of his favorite groups and bookmarked them so we could check periodically and see if they were playing anywhere nearby. About a month ago, El Ten Eleven announced that they were coming to Dallas on a Monday night in March! They aren't very well known at all (around here at least) and were playing in a bar that only held about 50 people. The performance was free, but the doors didn't even open until 10pm and there were two other bands playing as well.

It's spring break for us, so we asked Brittney if she would spend the night (we didn't know what time we would be home) and Rob took the day following the performance off work so we could take turns sleeping. Last night was the big night! The kids were thrilled to see Brittney (and Brittney to see them :) ). Rob and I were able to find the bar pretty easily. It was sort of cozy I guess. It had been a double-wide trailer that was converted into a sort of retro-60's/texas bar. I think we were among the oldest people there (except for the members of one of the bands, who looked like they were at least in their 40's).

The walls were lined with old couches and upholstered benches that were pretty comfortable. They didn't allow smoking in either the bar or the nearby building that they had converted by putting a stage at one end and a small bar at the other. It wasn't at all what I was imagining. I didn't even see anyone drunk. Rob and I didn't really fit in with everyone else, but no one cared. There were a few others like us who stuck out a bit and were obviously only there for the music (and probably just for El Ten Eleven), but most of the people there were guys with longer hair, converse sneakers and button-down plaid shirts. There were other people too - like the 6'3" guy with the mohawk and striped overalls and the girl with bright orangish-red hair, topped by a hand crocheted beret, with a long t-shirt, scarf, black leggings and high heels that were half shoe and half go-go boot.

The first band to play was The Constellation Branch (based out of Phoenix, AZ). They had four members, three guitar players and a drummer. Only the lead guitar player sang. When they started their first song, I thought "this isn't going to be too bad" . . . and then they got past the first stanza. The lead guitar player certainly seemed to be talented and there were parts of their songs that I really enjoyed - very small parts. Rob turned to me and yelled in my ear (necessary considering the volume of the music at the moment and I'm sure not overheard by anyone more than an inch away) that if I ever had any clients with rage issues, I should encourage them to join a band like that one. The lead guitarist and the drummer especially seemed to really get into each song. After the first two or three songs, my right ear, which was closest to the speakers, was hurting and the other one was numb. We were sitting on a couch against the wall, turned towards the stage. For a while I used Rob's shoulder to block my right ear, then discovered that if I put my arm along the back of the sofa and leaned on my hand, I could unobtrusively cover my ear. I thought later that I should have worn my hair down and worn ear plugs. It was even more overwhelming since the venue was so small. We were sitting towards the back of the room, but were still only about 20 ft from the stage.

The second band was Venus Flytrap, from the Netherlands (and for anyone going to YouTube to try and hear these bands, it is not the ladyboy band from Thailand). There were five members of the band, the youngest of which was at least in his late 30's (the first band looked like they were in their early-mid 20's). Several members of the band had gray hair and were in their 40's or 50's. I liked their songs better. They weren't quite as full of rage. There were words I could actually hear and understand, although their songs were a bit repetitive. Apparently once they found a phrase they liked, they stuck with it. They also applied that principle to stanzas of music.

I entertained myself by imagining what their lives were like. The lead singer/guitar player, who was very short, with short dark hair, reminded me of the energizer bunny. When he got really into the songs, he started manically bouncing up and down. I think he had a tall, blonde girlfriend at home, lived in a basement apartment, and enjoyed hanging out at bars with his girlfriend on his arm, talking about his band. The second guitar player was very tall, over 6 ft, and had long, curly gray hair, which he wore loose and head-banged with when he really got into the music. I decided he was actually an accountant with a wife and three children. He wears brown suits to the office, and of course ties back his hair. He takes three months off a year to tour with the band and feels like he is regaining his youth. I think the other band members, led by the lead singer/guitar player tease him for working a "normal" job. I didn't develop life stories for the other members, but I loved that the drummer looked like a character out of a 1950's movie, complete with thick, black-rimmed glasses!

As Venus Flytrap was playing, Rob nudged me and standing next to us was El Ten Eleven! (Not that I recognized them - I didn't even know how many people were in the group.) Rob was thrilled to be so close to them and spent more energy watching them while trying to appear not to be watching them than paying attention to the music (not that it mattered - if you listed to one stanza, you pretty much got the whole song). Venus Flytrap wrapped up their performance and El Ten Eleven started setting up. Quite a few people left the building for a bit (probably to go get drinks or to smoke in the patio area). The couches we were sitting on lined the wall up to the stage and were empty except for us, so we moved closer to the stage. The bands used the couches to pack up their instruments, so we had the lead singer/guitar player for Venus Flytrap's guitar next to us (the clasps were all broken and he used a black leather belt to hold it closed), then the drummer from El Ten Eleven stacked his drums just to the right of us before setting them up on stage. Very exciting for Rob :)

El Ten Eleven's music was softer than the previous bands and I discovered I didn't need to cover my ear. The music had a nice beat and I loved watching everyone around us - a whole room of white people (I think there were a few Hispanics as well) in their 20's standing and nodding in time with each other, usually with one foot tapping as well. Two guys in sports coats sat down next to us, more of corporate America sneaking in to hear the music. In front of us was a couple that were also obviously part of corporate America. They stayed next to each other the whole night and talked between performances, but never touched each other. I postulated that they worked together and he had been wanting to ask her out for a while, so used the show as an excuse. I don't think it would have been more than that as they didn't even hold hands.

The show got over at about 1:30am, so we got out earlier than we thought. Total cost - $2 in tips to the bartender for ginger ales which he didn't charge us for. I was so excited Rob got to see them! We have started working on crossing things off our bucket lists and this was on Rob's :)

The kids had a fantastic time with Brittney (thanks Brittney!!!). The took a few pictures ~

Jack and Beth sporting sunglasses ~


The braid Megan put in Brittney's hair (I didn't teach her how - I think she just figured it out) ~


Meg and Brittney ~


Kylie playing soccer ~

For Priscilla and John (who apparently go through withdrawals when I don't update my blog)

Sorry I haven't posted in the last month. The class I'm taking this quarter has proved to be challenging. It's "Intro to Marriage and Family Therapy" and it's not so much the material that has been challenging for me, but the teacher. My professor seems nice, but I'm not a fan of his system of grading. Different teachers look for different things when grading. This teacher focused on improving the quality of our writing format. I don't mind that he focused on format, but the way he did it was by increasing his standards each week, without telling us first. I would get a 100 on an assignment one week, then the next week he would give me an 82 saying that he wanted indirect quotes instead of direct quotes. It was frustrating, however it forced me to just aim for perfection in every area as I never knew what he was going to be checking that week. I still have two small assignments left and I need to get my grade for my term paper, but as long as I get an 85 or better on my term paper, I should have an A in the class. It was a lot of work though! It was somewhat ironic that this teacher turned out to be such a hard grader. I switched classes before the quarter started as a classmate from last quarter said the original teacher I had was very difficult. I don't know if it would have just been easier to stay in her class, but I'll find out as I have her next quarter. Lesson learned - don't bother trying to avoid something difficult as you might end up facing something even harder.

Other than homework, we haven't been up to much. Beth's surgery has Beth and Jack housebound in an effort to keep Beth from getting sick. Somehow everybody got colds anyway, but Beth's has been mild and we keep pumping her full of vitamin c and echinacea. Nobody except Rob got really sick, just runny noses.

A few recent pictures ~

Beth and Jack coloring pictures sent by Grandma K ~


Love Beth's cheesy grin! ~


Megan was digging through her closet (note to self - don't use her closet to store things in) and found a copy of a glamor shot I had taken just after we were married. She decided she needed a glamor shot and carefully compiled her outfit and picked a pose (note the yellow plastic sandals) ~


The first pose failed to include the fake diamond ring she got from a kid in her class for valentine's day, so we took another ~


Beth was watching and decided she needed pictures too ~




The elders (missionaries) in or ward got transferred out two weeks ago and we got sister missionaries instead. We had the elders over for dinner one last time and took pictures. The kids were not horribly co-operative and so only half of them are in the picture. Good-bye Elders Skeem and Monillas! We'll miss you! (and to missionaries reading this, we do keep track of when missionaries are supposed to get home and expect you to contact us . . . you know who you are) ~


A random shot of Jack, seriously he is the cutest boy on the planet! He has been speaking in complete sentences for quite a while and makes us laugh by picking up phrases. His latest is "I HEARD that!", said in response to anything we say about him within his hearing ~


Beth wrote her name for the first time on a note to Grandma and Grandpa K (and see how good Kylie's writing has gotten)!~


Megan has really enjoyed cooking using the cookbook we gave her for Christmas (and the apron Christy gave her). Last week she found a recipe for homemade lemonade as asked if we could make it. As I didn't have 13 lemons in the house, we had to wait until I went shopping (and even then, we only made half a gallon as 13 lemons are a lot!) Tonight she wants to make "pasta with homemade cheese sauce" which is basically pasta with Alfredo sauce. I think I will have to teach her the time-honored recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo taught to me by my grandfather instead of using the recipe in her cookbook :) I was probably about her age when he taught me :)




For the school open house, Megan wrote an essay about herself, taped the sheets of paper it was written on together and added a head colored to look like her, hands and feet. It was nearly as tall as she was! ~


Here is her essay (censored for personal information) ~

Hi! My name is Megan Rose K****. I have 6 people and 4 pets in my family. My favorite animal is a penguin. My favorite color is rose red. My friends are Paula, Destiny, Connor, and Jose. My favorite food is cheese. That's why people call me "little mouse". I also have a brother and a little sister who are hilarious. I have 1 brother and 2 sisters. They laugh at me a lot. (On one vacation it was for my birthday) My best friend, Jill, and her family came over. They gave me a webkinz platypus. I am the biggest kid in my family. I love to make toys. Once I made a Dora in the box. It was for my sister's birthday. Also, I fix books. I make lots of books at home. One time I saved my brother. My birthday is July 31, 2002. That's when I'm going out and putting little jewels on my feet and getting my ears pierced. I have my own email and a purse. My email is **********. (It's the kids email I say). My favorite dessert is rice pudding. My favorite dinner is mac and cheese. I hope you learned more about me!

(If you want Megan's email address let me know - she loves to correspond by email with people!)