punkinheads

the long-awaited day finally arrived on monday: the kids were able to carve their pumpkins! (seriously - there's been a countdown for at least a week.) they had a ton of fun and were thoroughly and deliciously grossed out by the pumpkin innards. don't let their faces fool you - they took utter delight in the slimyness. the kids drew the best faces - they were a lot of fun to carve. (a bit of a challenge for james, who carved kalei's cat face. how he followed her exact drawing with just kitchen knives, i'll never know. silly man let me choose which face i wanted to carve first. ummmm... i'll take the less detailed but equally charming one, thank you!) now we have two beautiful pumpkins that totally match the personality of their creators. happy halloween!

Parent-Teacher Conference

This past week we met with Kalei's 1st grade teacher, Miss Cindy Baker. To be honest, this school year has made a whole lot of difference as to how we view her school (and by extension, her schooling). Speaking as a parent, last year's kindergarden experience left something to be desired (from the fact that her name was spelled wrong on the bulletin board since orientation ... and was only "corrected" midway through the semester, to assuming that Kalei spoke Spanish and needed help with her English ...).

This year's experience has been a nice change. In meeting with Miss Baker, it is apparent that she knows Kalei and her strengths and places that could use improvement. Miss Baker noted that she enjoys reading Kalei's journal entries and said that Kalei would draw all day if she would let her, also that Kalei gets math easily some days, and not others (which she assured us is perfectly normal), but Kalei tries hard every day. These may seem like small things, but they certainly left us feeling that our daughter is known and appreciated. We don't expect her to be the head of the class, but we want her to do her best - this teacher is dedicated and positive and seems to inspire joy in Kalei. We love our sweet girl and are so pleased that her teacher has taken the time to get to know her, as well as teach her the required curriculum.

saturday night lights

we were able to go to the western football game last night and had a great time. koa talks a good game about wanting to see the football players, field, game, etc., but then he had his hands over his ears before we were even in the stadium. he's such a funny guy. sometimes, he would forget himself (especially when the band was playing) and would just dance or play without the ear covers, but once he stilled, he would remember and protect himself from hearing damage. we took sandwiches and snacks and the kids enjoyed their football picnic. the top left picture is the new side of the stadium. now that western's division one, they needed some high priced skyboxes, and seats with backs. nothin' but the best, baby! (notice that we are still in the $5 seats.... and we even got those for free.) just goes to show, you don't need to spend a lot to have a great time - and if you get the tickets for free, you don't feel bad leaving at half-time. words to live by.

the frost is on the pumpkin

we are embracing the halloween season and have decorated the house accordingly. the kids love any and all halloween decorations. koa, who used to be afraid of his own shadow, really LOVES to go down halloween aisles and be surprised by mechanical skeletons that jump out at passers-by, and he also makes himself useful by pointing out all the "punkins" and "ghostes" that he sees. we have decided to wait till next week to carve our big pumpkins, and the kids cannot wait. we are especially proud that the white pumpkins on the mantel and the corn on the front step came from our garden this year!

and the winner is....

we'll be sending you all something very soon! :)!!

(thanks, jeni & alan and susie for your wonderful comments!)

my new motto

i love it!!

100th post!

these were koa's socks last night - he does so much running around that he wore a hole right through them. (not many of his socks are in good enough shape to hand down to kawelo, but socks and underwear are things that each kid probably wants to be brand new for them, right?) this picture reminds me of spencer w. kimball's quote about wanting his life to be like his shoes: worn out in service. james & i are making a family goal to increase our service and a goal as a couple to follow president monson's advice and find joy in the journey. so, since this is our 100th post and we want to celebrate, we'll have a giveaway! we'll pick someone randomly from the comments on october 10th, and figure out some way to do something service-y and joyful for you! good luck!