Gotcha!

January 28th my mom turned 60! We invited her up for a birthday dinner. We thought it would be a perfect time for a birthday surprise! So we called in some family and surprise is what followed!



Or maybe it was disbelief...because it's really hard to surprise my mom. (Check out my dad in the above picture. It was so great!)



Grandma, Uncle John, Aunt Patty, Sarah, Brian and McKayla came from Ohio! My mom couldn't believe they were actually here! It was just so fun!

Uncle Chuck and Aunt Linda got in on the surprise by sending beautiful birthday flowers and wishes from Washington!



Aunt Sandra, Uncle Dave, Judith, Bruce, Elaine, Avery, Melinda, Pat and Abby sent birthday wishes, pictures and love from New York and Maine!

And Heather, Terry, Ellie, and Laney came over on Saturday to join in the birthday fun!



Here are just some fun pictures from the weekend...

a little Wii competition,



some birthday cake,



birthday gifts and wishes.



(I was able to make my mom a necklace out of some of the beads from a necklace that my Great Grandma wore. That was pretty fun!)




(Heather and Terry framed a picture that my brother had drawn in college and added a scripture to it. Very touching, very special and I know very much appreciated!)



There was some serious eating going on all weekend. So, there had to be some sleeping





and good conversation!



This weekend was so much fun - good times and really special memories! Thanks everyone! We love you, Mom!!! :)

A Little Pampering!

Look at these nice feet!



So, at night when all the kids are clean (including their teeth), we have prayers, and everyone goes to bed, right? Ummm, no. Kyler and Kavan share a room. Kyler will usually go to our room to read for a little while, so Kavan can fall asleep without any distractions. Our room is across from Karlee's room. And it just so happens that Karlee has kind of a hard time settling down at night.

The other morning Karlee was telling me a story at the breakfast table and was standing close by. I noticed that she smelled really good (not her normal smelling body wash and shampoo). When she was done telling her story I said, "Wow Karlee, you smell really good!" She kind of giggled. I asked her if she had used some of my lotion. She thought for a minute and said, very sincerely, "No." I'm thinking why would she lie about using my lotion when she knows I'm okay with that. Then, Karlee - still kind of thinking - said, "Oh, I forgot. I rubbed Kyler's feet last night." It was so cute. We were all laughing a bit as Kyler turned bright red and said, "Well... it was nice!"



By the way, Kyler got his braces off (and the incredible amount of metal out of his mouth). He is so excited as eating, brushing and flossing are now so much easier! He will still be super crowded, so in a couple of years he'll have phase II. But for now, all is well...teeth and feet! :)

New Pictures!

We updated our pictures thanks to April!

http://aprilmitchell.blogspot.com/

It is amazing to see how much the kids have grown and changed in just one year!

A Very Merry Christmas!

The leftovers have almost all been eaten. The decorations are put away! And the memories have been made! This Christmas brought so many things!
Like...
Really great times with friends and family! :)

Fun decorating, pizzas (the best ever), and a birthday party (Ali is 2!).













[Unfortunately - coughs and colds, strep throat (poor Karlee), a crazy-serious ear infection (poor Jana), and sleepless nights (poor Kirk).]

So much yummy food, scrumptious treats, beautiful music, caroling and even a talent show.















Santa,



anticipation, excitement,



presents,and "Oohs and Aahs" galore.





Lots of hugs and the phrase "OOH, thank you, thank you, thank you!"





Messes,



more presents (Oh my goodness are the pecan turtles yummy! Thanks Dad!),



and lots of time to play!







And I really love that it brought those sweet, tender moments of love



and time spent reflecting on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.













What a wonderful time of year! We truly have been blessed! We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! And we hope this New Year will be filled of those special moments spent reflecting on our Savior Jesus Christ. May we remember Him all the year through! Happy 2010!

Distracted!! - And a fun week!

I got distracted (that funny Kavan) posting my blog about last week, so I'm gettin' back on track.

On Thursday, there were 22 fifth grade students at Kyler's school inducted into the Beta club and Kyler was one of them.
We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. We are thankful that he strives to do well in school!





(Kyler and his fifth grade teachers - Ms. Roy, Ms. Peace, Ms. Hughes, Ms. Drake, Ms. Snyder, and Ms. Cypress)

On Saturday morning, Karlee had her 2nd grade Christmas play. She was so excited about it! It was really cute! They had made reindeer shirts to wear, and they sang so good, and it was just really fun to watch!




After Karlee's play, we were off to Athens to see McKenzie perform at The University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival. Kenzie was invited to participate in this UGA Midfest about a month ago and left Thursday to begin her fun weekend. Thursday afternoon, all of the students (one by one) played for judges. They were then placed into one of 8 bands. Those with scores high enough were placed into the Honor Band who was directed by Cheryl Floyd. Kenzie said she was soooo nervous and was disappointed with how she played. We reminded her that it was an honor just to be there - and to be able to have the experience is awesome!
McKenzie's conductor was Mary Land. They met Friday morning, rehearsed for 5 hours. Met again Saturday morning for a 2 hour rehearsal. Then, concerts began at 1:00pm. Kenzie's band performed at 3:00pm. They played four pieces:
...And The Nations Rejoice/Smith
High Water Mark/Sweeney
A Christmas Auld Lang Syne/Swearingen
Zia, Zia!/Smith
and it was wonderful! It was hard to believe that they had only played together for a day!
Although they were there to play music, the kids did have an opportunity to goof off. They ate, hung out at the mall, ate some more, watched the UGA band perform, and even went bowling (bedtime - midnight or beyond, wake-up call - 6:00am). Kenzie also got to meet up with Zachary Koschene (a close family friend) who was there from Harlem Middle School.




On a side note, two of the guest conductors that were there, Steve Tyndall and Russell Bertles, I had remembered from my own band experiences at school and All-State. So for me, watching McKenzie perform brought back many great memories. I am so thankful and excited that McKenzie got to have such a neat experience! She is already hoping for the opportunity again - and that makes me smile!
Thank you so much to those who helped with this endeavor - Mr. Whitaker (Kenzie's band director), of course McKenzie, and especially Mom and Dad and the Koschene family!


(A very cold and tired, but happy, McKenzie!)

A Puff of Wind!

As I was getting ready to post a blog from this past week I came across this picture again. This picture of Kavan just makes me laugh! He's working so hard!



I took the kids for their wellness visits right after Thanksgiving vacation. We found out that Kavan is in the 30th percentile for his height and the 10th percentile for his weight. The doctor said to Kavan, "In other words, if a puff of wind comes it might just blow you away!" - No worries though - he's gained enough weight from last year and his personality more than makes up for it! :)