Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Sight words
Scott has been coming up with a bunch of fun games for Karsten to play while practicing his sight words. This makes it way more fun than just going through flash cards. I love that his teacher allows the kids to learn the words at their own pace, when the kids learni one group of words, they move along to the next set. Karsten is now working on first grade words!
The first game was like slap jack where Karsten had to find the word that Scott said. Since using his hands would not be near as fun, he used the pinchers he made with the Lego kit from Jenn.
Tonight's new game is a flash card road where Karsten has to see how fast he could guess the word before driving along to the next card.
Scott timed him so we know what time he should try to beat tomorrow.
The new game is a success - I think Karsten is going to do great on his sightword quiz this week.
The first game was like slap jack where Karsten had to find the word that Scott said. Since using his hands would not be near as fun, he used the pinchers he made with the Lego kit from Jenn.
Tonight's new game is a flash card road where Karsten has to see how fast he could guess the word before driving along to the next card.
Scott timed him so we know what time he should try to beat tomorrow.
The new game is a success - I think Karsten is going to do great on his sightword quiz this week.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Magic
The boys are still eating candy from their Halloween bag, and tonight for dessert Liam chose one of the small sweet tart packets. He wanted to sit on Scott's lap to eat them, and Scott tried to sneak one away to eat.
Then Scott decided to do a magic trick and make the sweet tart disappear and reappear in Liam's ear.
Hilarity ensued - we're not sure if Liam really thought the sweet tart was in his ear or if it was just funny. Who knew Scott could do magic!
Then Scott decided to do a magic trick and make the sweet tart disappear and reappear in Liam's ear.
Hilarity ensued - we're not sure if Liam really thought the sweet tart was in his ear or if it was just funny. Who knew Scott could do magic!
Sunday, January 24, 2016
The tape saga
Liam continues to enjoy the fancy tape that Linda got him for Christmas. He colored this picture the other day and asked Scott if he could hang it on the door. I guess we need to start specifying how much tape is needed to hang a picture!
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Belated Christmas
We typically exchange Christmas presents with Jenn and the kids during our New Years Eve celebration. Unfortunately, this year Eden was sick on New Years Eve so we weren't able to get together.
A proven way to get the kids to all smile for a picture is to remind them that it's present time right after we get a good group shot. They were all excited and ready to open presents, so this didn't take long at all!
And after they had lots of play time, we didn't protest when they wanted to watch something on the ipad and wind down before Jenn's family had to head home. Ahhh...quiet...but aren't they cute!
Our belated celebration was the perfect excuse to leave one of our Christmas trees up for longer than I normally would have. We finally celebrated on Saturday night and I now have a beautiful new piece of artwork in my entryway - check out the amazing sign Jenn created for me. I always admire these but have never found the perfect one for our home. I may have had a hint about it, so I got the canvases printed to hang next to it.
A proven way to get the kids to all smile for a picture is to remind them that it's present time right after we get a good group shot. They were all excited and ready to open presents, so this didn't take long at all!
And after they had lots of play time, we didn't protest when they wanted to watch something on the ipad and wind down before Jenn's family had to head home. Ahhh...quiet...but aren't they cute!
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Marvel Universe Live
One of the boys Christmas presents from Linda and Leland was tickets to Marvel Universe Live. I had seen the commercials and thought the boys would enjoy it - real, live, super heros? What little boy wouldn't love that!
The boys convinced us to buy the glowing and flashing swords. They were pretty excited for the show to begin!
The boys were glued to the show as soon as it got started. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was pretty impressive. There were pyrotechnics, people dropping and swinging from the ceiling, motorcycle jumps and stunts, and acrobatics.
All the characters were there - they look just like the action figures the boys play with all the time. Pretty impressive.
Such a fun show - we hope they come back to KC next year for another show!
The boys convinced us to buy the glowing and flashing swords. They were pretty excited for the show to begin!
The boys were glued to the show as soon as it got started. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was pretty impressive. There were pyrotechnics, people dropping and swinging from the ceiling, motorcycle jumps and stunts, and acrobatics.
All the characters were there - they look just like the action figures the boys play with all the time. Pretty impressive.
Such a fun show - we hope they come back to KC next year for another show!
Winter Event
Last night, the company I work for held the annual winter event. It's always a fun event with food, drinks and great giveaways.
We had an 'official' photo taken like we do every year, but it's super bright and I look like a ghost.
Waiting for the presentation to begin and see if this would be the first time in many years that I'd be amongst the winners? No luck - another year without winning - but I knew several of the winners and was excited for them.
The boys had a fun evening with Grandma and Papa - Liam was disappointed that they only got to stay for one night, he wanted to stay for two! Grandma and Papa's house is way more fun than our house!
We had an 'official' photo taken like we do every year, but it's super bright and I look like a ghost.
Waiting for the presentation to begin and see if this would be the first time in many years that I'd be amongst the winners? No luck - another year without winning - but I knew several of the winners and was excited for them.
The boys had a fun evening with Grandma and Papa - Liam was disappointed that they only got to stay for one night, he wanted to stay for two! Grandma and Papa's house is way more fun than our house!
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
All About Karsten
Today was Karsten's turn to tell his class 'All about Karsten'. His teacher sent home a poster with a bunch of questions as well as a bag that had several things he should bring to share.
Also, since Karsten has a summer birthday we wanted to celebrate his half birthday at school this month. He chose a cookie cake to share with his friends. When it's your (half) birthday you get to pass out treats to everyone, take the first bite and choose a friend to help you deliver treats to the other teachers nearby. He delivered the cake pieces with great consideration while his classmates patiently watched.
It was pretty cute to see him talk about his poster with his friends. His teacher read the questions and he answered in a quiet voice at the beginning, but then he got more brave after a few questions. We got to bring the poster home - it will definetely go in his school memory box!
He got to bring a favorite toy (pull back cars from Gaga), a favorite book (The Day the Crayons Quit), a toy that's his favorite color (Hulk from his new Lego set) and a picture of his family.
Also, since Karsten has a summer birthday we wanted to celebrate his half birthday at school this month. He chose a cookie cake to share with his friends. When it's your (half) birthday you get to pass out treats to everyone, take the first bite and choose a friend to help you deliver treats to the other teachers nearby. He delivered the cake pieces with great consideration while his classmates patiently watched.
It was pretty cute to see him talk about his poster with his friends. His teacher read the questions and he answered in a quiet voice at the beginning, but then he got more brave after a few questions. We got to bring the poster home - it will definetely go in his school memory box!
He got to bring a favorite toy (pull back cars from Gaga), a favorite book (The Day the Crayons Quit), a toy that's his favorite color (Hulk from his new Lego set) and a picture of his family.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Sunset
We've had beautiful sunsets this week - tonight, I glanced out the window at work and the sky looked like it was glowing pink. I quickly packed up my stuff so I didn't miss the glowing sunset. I enjoy heading home to my guys while admiring this beautiful sunset!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Tape
The boys have been into coloring, drawing and general crafting lately. I love it and am happy to keep them supplied with lots of paper, scissors and glue. Recently, Liam became enamored with tape. He used a TON of tape on a recent project that resulted in a dinosaur.
We eventually moved the tape to a location that's not reachable by Liam because we didn't want all the tape to go into his projects. I helped Linda with her Christmas shopping for the boys, and I needed to get one more thing for Liam. After several tape filled projects, I realized he would love washi tape - printed, colorful tape, what could be better?
I was right - when he opened it, he didn't know what it was, but when Linda told him it was tape, he was thrilled. Today, Karsten had to work on a poster all about him for school, so Liam created a poster of his own for Grandma to thank her for the tape.
We eventually moved the tape to a location that's not reachable by Liam because we didn't want all the tape to go into his projects. I helped Linda with her Christmas shopping for the boys, and I needed to get one more thing for Liam. After several tape filled projects, I realized he would love washi tape - printed, colorful tape, what could be better?
I was right - when he opened it, he didn't know what it was, but when Linda told him it was tape, he was thrilled. Today, Karsten had to work on a poster all about him for school, so Liam created a poster of his own for Grandma to thank her for the tape.
A warm wait
After church, we went to iHop for lunch before Linda and Leland hit the road for home. It was so cold outside, so even though we were waiting inside, we were all freezing cold still. The boys decided they would be warmer if both of them could sit on Grandma's lap!
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Belated Christmas
It's always great to spend the day with family and we enjoy stretching out the Christmas festivities. We took our big tree down the day after Christmas since we were not sure how much Scott would be able to lift after his surgery. I couldn't take down everything, so we still have a little tree in the dining room so our celebration still felt 'Christmasy'.
The hot wheel ramp is still a hit with everyone - young and old.
Scott's extended family does a drawing to exchange gifts between the cousins, Aunts and Uncles. We saved these gifts to open today - Liam was thrilled with the transforming bat car (not to be confused with the tranforming bat cave!), and Karsten thought the Operation game was so cool! Thanks Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Steve!
Linda got Karsten a Lego set that he's wanted for a while - it has a Lego Hulk in it, what more could a guy want? He was pretty excited and was ready to go build right then!
It was a musical Christmas for Trent and Taylor. Taylor wanted a bluetooth speaker and seemed excited when he opened this! We hope he enjoys it!
Trent wanted these cool speakers that have water in them that changes colors and dances with the rythm of the music.
And, since it's always cool to be just liked your big brother, Liam was SO excited to get a Lego alarm clock just like Karsten. Karsten's clock is Batman and Liam has Superman. Now if they could just sleep in enough to let the alarms go off...
And, since Liam has a new obsession with tape, Linda got Liam some washi tape and he was sooo excited!
The last present from Linda and Leland was tickets to Marvel Universe Live. I had tried to think of somewhere we could go or something we could do that would be a fun experience for their Christmas present, and when I saw the commercial, I knew this was it. I made 'tickets' for the boys and then we showed them a YouTube clip so they could see what it will be like. They got excited and wanted to go now!
Leland is tough to shop for, but I remembered him talking about the bath soap from their Grand Canyon vacation, so I found it online for him. I was worried he wouldn't like it, but he really seemed excited!
Once presents were open, Liam was ready to get started with his tape and wanted Grandma to help him open it now!
As everyone played with their new gifts, Karsten went to the table and started building his new set. He did the whole thing himself with only a few assists from Scott and Trent.
Linda and Leland brought a ham from their local meat locker. It turned out wonderfully - delicious!
We ended our great day with some yummy desserts and some more fun together.
The hot wheel ramp is still a hit with everyone - young and old.
Scott's extended family does a drawing to exchange gifts between the cousins, Aunts and Uncles. We saved these gifts to open today - Liam was thrilled with the transforming bat car (not to be confused with the tranforming bat cave!), and Karsten thought the Operation game was so cool! Thanks Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Steve!
Linda got Karsten a Lego set that he's wanted for a while - it has a Lego Hulk in it, what more could a guy want? He was pretty excited and was ready to go build right then!
It was a musical Christmas for Trent and Taylor. Taylor wanted a bluetooth speaker and seemed excited when he opened this! We hope he enjoys it!
Trent wanted these cool speakers that have water in them that changes colors and dances with the rythm of the music.
And, since it's always cool to be just liked your big brother, Liam was SO excited to get a Lego alarm clock just like Karsten. Karsten's clock is Batman and Liam has Superman. Now if they could just sleep in enough to let the alarms go off...
And, since Liam has a new obsession with tape, Linda got Liam some washi tape and he was sooo excited!
The last present from Linda and Leland was tickets to Marvel Universe Live. I had tried to think of somewhere we could go or something we could do that would be a fun experience for their Christmas present, and when I saw the commercial, I knew this was it. I made 'tickets' for the boys and then we showed them a YouTube clip so they could see what it will be like. They got excited and wanted to go now!
Leland is tough to shop for, but I remembered him talking about the bath soap from their Grand Canyon vacation, so I found it online for him. I was worried he wouldn't like it, but he really seemed excited!
Once presents were open, Liam was ready to get started with his tape and wanted Grandma to help him open it now!
As everyone played with their new gifts, Karsten went to the table and started building his new set. He did the whole thing himself with only a few assists from Scott and Trent.
Linda and Leland brought a ham from their local meat locker. It turned out wonderfully - delicious!
We ended our great day with some yummy desserts and some more fun together.
Basketball
When we told Karsten that Trent and Taylor would be at his basketball game, he was so excited! Both Trent and Taylor are great athletes and Karsten really looks up to them.
Karsten had a great game and scored the first point for his team! When he ran back to the other end, he tried to secretly glance over at us to make sure everyone saw it. Very cute.
It's been fun to watch him playing - the rules as well as offense and defense are really starting to click with all the boys. He has a great time playing with his classmates - we are lucky to have such a great group of boys!
Karsten had a great game and scored the first point for his team! When he ran back to the other end, he tried to secretly glance over at us to make sure everyone saw it. Very cute.
It's been fun to watch him playing - the rules as well as offense and defense are really starting to click with all the boys. He has a great time playing with his classmates - we are lucky to have such a great group of boys!
Friday, January 8, 2016
Cousin fun
We're celebrating Christmas with Scott's family tomorrow, so Linda and Leland came in town today. They stopped and picked up Trent and Taylor along the way, so they could spend some extra time with all of us.
Can you tell that Karsten and Liam LOVE spending time with their cousins? I think the feeling is mutual - all four boys had a great time together.
They also had a good time running from the 'tickle monster' (aka Grandpa).
Trent and Grandma made a dessert for Saturday. I was sure that Linda was going to have three or four boys helping her with this, but the other three were too busy playing!
Trent is turning into quite the chef - he really enjoys cooking and told us about a new recipe he tried from a cookbook that he got for Christmas.
The night ended with Trent reading a book to the boys - pretty adorable!
Can you tell that Karsten and Liam LOVE spending time with their cousins? I think the feeling is mutual - all four boys had a great time together.
They also had a good time running from the 'tickle monster' (aka Grandpa).
Trent and Grandma made a dessert for Saturday. I was sure that Linda was going to have three or four boys helping her with this, but the other three were too busy playing!
Trent is turning into quite the chef - he really enjoys cooking and told us about a new recipe he tried from a cookbook that he got for Christmas.
The night ended with Trent reading a book to the boys - pretty adorable!
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