God bless America!

I am just remembering on this day all the blessings I have by being and American. I am thinking of all those who have given their life for the freedoms we enjoy. I remember the shock this nation felt 8 years ago today and remember the calm assurance that I felt as I listened to David A. Bednar give our opening semester devotional at BYU-Idaho that afternoon. Not only am I grateful for America but I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that gives me a focus and balance in life no matter what is going on around me.
To hear a 9/11 survivors story click here.

Micali turns 3

 

Micali had a birthday. It was way back on July 19th but we did take some pictures of her on her special day. She really loved her fruit pizza. We thought that once we got back with daddy we would have a big birthday celebration for the both of us since mine was on the 11th of July. It still hasn't happened. We won't let him forget about it though. I really could use some cheesecake!
Micali had a fun summer playing with her cousins and grandparents. She loved the cow, dogs, cats, and chickens at Grandma and Grandpa K's house. She also loved playing out in the grass and lunch picnics in Michigan at Grandma and Grandpa P's. She also enjoyed riding on the boat and tubing with her uncle while there.
She is finding some friends here in Monticello but often asks to go back to Alaska to see many her friends she had there. She seems to enjoy the warm weather and especially likes going to the park and daddy's work. She is proud of her dad and loves calling him coach. She thinks his whistle is pretty cool too!

Eli 18 and 19 months

 

Eli is growing up and doing so many things. He is climbing onto everything. I found him in the kitchen sink a few weeks ago when Micali left her chair next to the sink after washing her hands. He is talking quite a bit. He can say: banana, apple, cracker, cheese, "cali" for his sister, football, dog, please, thank you, more, done. And probably more that I can't remember right now. He has figured out how to give real kisses with his mouth closed. My favorite part of the day is snuggling with him in the morning right after he wakes up. This morning he kept pulling my face over so he could kiss me and then he would put his forhead on my lips so I could kiss him. He is a sweet brother and is a very good sport while playing with Micali. He loves going into nursery at church and has never had a problem with us leaving him there. He doesn't eat anything we put on his plate like Micali would. He seems to be a vegetarian as any meat we put in his mouth comes right back out. We do keep trying though. Occasionally he will eat a chicken nugget depending on the day.
He still hasn't totally figured out walking. He is taking 5-7 steps away from places before he falls down and decides that crawling is much faster. He is actually going to start some physical therapy here in the home through an Early Intervention program the school district has. They came over and did all sorts of tests with him. He passed with flying colors on everything except his "locomotive" skills which is walking, running, going up and down stairs, etc. It will be interesting to see what the PT lady does with him. She said she thinks he will be up to speed in no time though. I am just hoping that by Feb. when the baby gets here that he can get around by himself with out any problems.

Frustrated!

 

Our computer isn't in the most convenient set up to blog right now but I have been trying. A couple nights ago I put together several picture collages to blog about when I got a chance. Well now I have the chance but all the collages are missing. This picture of Eli describes how I feel.
Update: I did get to go to the Dr. last week and was relieved to see the baby in action during the ultrasound. I always start to get a little nervous before I can feel the baby move and before I can see that there is really a baby there. He or She was being very modest however so we don't know yet if it is a boy or girl. I go in on the 21st for the "real" ultrasound from the actual lady who is trained to do just that. The doctor just took a peek for me because I asked him to. He is also keeping the due date for Feb. 14th but I told him I would try very hard not to ruin his Valentine's day.
We were also excited to have my sister and her husband come down for Labor Day weekend. We took another little camping trip up in our mountains here. Luke and Austin also tried out the golf course here. The girls and Eli enjoyed riding along in the carts being the caddies and Micali especially liked all the deer meandering through.
More pictures to come but for now just enjoy the picture of Eli.

CUTE

 

Continued

For the best look at Micali's facial expressions, click on the picture to enlarge it. Don't worry she really was having a good time.

 
 
 
 

Best Laugh of the summer...

Shortly after we got to Kansas, Micali experienced her first really big thunderstorm. This particular morning it was raining super hard and created some puddles in the yard. Micali told her Uncle Derrick she wanted to go play out in it. He thinking my little girl wouldn't want to get wet searched for a rain jacket for her. She refused it and just wanted to get outside. He decided he after all didn't need his rain jacket either. It was a nice warm rain. It didn't take long before she was jumping in and having a good ol' time. Derrick seemed to thouroughly enjoy himself too.

 
 
 
 

Back to blogging!

I have a lot of catching up to do but for anyone still following us and eager to see pictures I am working on it. Stay tuned. The pictures are now mostly all downloaded and much more accessible for me to put here on the blog. It is good to be back!

Camping in the Abajo Mountains

 

This nice campground is just 5 minutes from our house. We decided it was a safe distance to try camping with our kids. It was a really spontaneous decision to go. We quickly packed up the van on Friday night. Grabbed our tent and a few things to eat and set off for our first camping adventure with children. Micali and Eli both did great and thought camping was pretty cool. They especially liked the HUGE tent that we bought. They had plenty of room to run and play.
We forgot the pump for the air mattress and the ground was pretty uneven with just sleeping bags but, we all did manage to get a little bit of sleep.

Back to School 2009

 

Luke just finished his first week of school. Along with that comes a lot of time behind books and papers. Micali stole his book from him today and decided to tell him all about it. This year he is teaching an AP Literature and Composition class and their first novel is Tale of Two Cities. This is the one Micali is sure she knows more about then him!
So far all is well here in Buckaroo country. Luke has succesfully completed 3 days of coaching football. You should ask him how much background knowledge he has of this sport. Remember he is a wrestler. As I am currently blogging this he is digesting: playbooks, practice drills, and football vocabulary terms. I am proud of my "Coach" for being so willing to help out where he can!
Despite our aversion to watching much TV or sports we may just have to buy a TV and get a few channels to become better acquainted with Football. Besides football they are trying to get him to coach baseball in the spring. Oh help us! He has already told them "no" but only time will tell.