My Guys

I love these guys. They are soooo different. They approach life from opposite angles. Here's one example:

Last night for dinner I made broccoli soup and whole wheat muffins. Kaeleb complained that he only likes broccoli with ranch, but when we weren't looking he tasted it, liked it and ate nearly all of it. He made me cut every bit of crust off of his muffin-- yes, on a muffin, that is the entire outside, and then he happily and carefully ate every crumb.

Brennan sat and looked at his food for a moment, then grabbed his muffin, threw it into his soup and smashed it with his spoon. Next, he dumped the whole slop onto his plate and ate it with his hands. Halfway through, he looked up and said "Jam?", which we declined giving him, as we assumed it would not mix well with the broccoli.

Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

Pirates and fire ants

Last weekend we celebrated Kwint's un-birthday. Kwint's real birthday is Dec 23rd. He never gets attention and presents that aren't surrounded by Christmas. It doesn't bother him, but I am a big fan of birthdays and I think he deserves a little party on a non-Christmas occasion. So, we got presents, we made a cake, we went to dinner.

The pictures came up in reverse order and I am too lazy to change it, but as you can see, the party was a pirate theme. Here we are at Pirate Island Pizza...


Here is the Pirate Cake...

Here are the boys "helping" me make the cake...



We had a lot of fun as a family and we all love Kwint so much.

We intended on playing Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly, but Kaeleb stepped outside for a moment and got bit by a fire ant which very quickly ended the party. We had a good little spiritual experience with it, if I may share.

Fire ant bites burn like crazy, sometimes for hours. So, Kaeleb was writhing in agony and we couldn't distract him. We tried a baking soda paste-- don't know what it does, but my mom used to put it on my bee stings, we tried an ice pack, benadryl, ibuprofen, and a movie. Nothing worked. So, after an hour we decided to try what we know works-- a priesthood blessing. In the blessing Kwint felt inspired to tell Kaeleb that he was given this experience to learn the power of personal prayer. After the blessing he asked Kaeleb to say a prayer that Heavenly Father would heal his bite and make his foot stop hurting.

Kaeleb was still crying and sobbed out a little "Heavenly Father, please make my foot feel better..." and what do you know? Not five minutes later his body suddenly relaxed, he threw off the ice pack and said nonchalantly, "It's better." And that was that. He got up and started playing. I love the priesthood!

I have one more matter of business. I have lost much sleep over this. One of my mission comps daughters inspired me. I am thinking about donating my hair to locks of love. It would be a super huge deal. I have only had short hair twice in my life and I just don't like it, not to mention that in order to grow my coarse, dry, frizzy hair that long without major split ends is to stop blow-drying, curling or straightening it for the next 6 months. So, do I put up with ugly, frizzy hair for 6 months and then sacrifice it all for the greater good, or do I hold on to my identity and selfishly keep it long and shiny? I am putting it to a vote. It may not help me decide, but I am curious. Last time I cut it I was amazed by how personally some people took it, so I wonder what my family friends think about it.

tinky titty

Well, the batteries are charged, but I forgot to take pictures. Oh, well.

We had a wonderful weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's celebrating Grandpa's birthday. Kaeleb and Brennan love their G&G sooooo much. The Robinson's came too, so we had even MORE fun!!

Some funny memories we made included Brenny and the cat terrorizing each other. Bren followed Squeakers around trying to pull his tail and the cat got his revenge by jumping out of the laundry room and startling Bren. He screamed like a girl and then cried for several minutes, "Titty cared Me!!"

Once when Brenny had a stinky diaper I asked him if he needed his bum changed. He said "No. Titty tinky." MmmHmmm. Blame it on the cat-- nice try.

Kaeleb's favorite part of the weekend was playing video games with Grandpa. We got Gpa Lego Indiana Jones for his b-day. It is Kaeleb's favorite game at the moment and Gpa loves Indiana Jones, so we thought it would be fun for them. He stayed up until 11:30 playing with him-- pretty late for a small fry.

It was nice to be with family, talking & laughing, doing yoga with the girls, going to the movies, and talking about all the books we are reading. We love our families.

We are sorry we didn't have time to see more of our friends, although we were glad we got to see Burke and Heidi's new house-- we totally love it!! And we were happy to see Dan and Dee there. We love you guys all so much. I am still amazed... 8 years ago the six of us went to Mexico and slept in the same bed. (Don't ask-- it was so humid and only one bedroom in the condo had a swamp cooler. I'm not saying it was comfy, it was simply necessary.) Now the six of us have 9 kids collectively. It is fun to watch us grow and wonderful to still feel the same friendship that time and distance can't touch. Hopefully we can get together with everyone over the 4th of July.

Some news on the homefront....

Brennan is now sleeping in a big boy bed. A few weeks ago we thought he might sleep more comfortably in it and hopefully not want to be in OUR bed quite so much-- it has worked, by the way, for the most part. He looks very cute in it and feels quite proud. We have a little railing up to catch him from falling. He gets out of bed every morning and comes to find me, which is a nice change from screaming "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Usually he smashes open the office door (which is where the exercise equipment is and therefore, me) and demands a "baby bottle, couch".

Kaeleb is taking tumbling this summer and LOVES it. I asked him to choose between several sports and it was the winner hands down. He is a natural flipper, flopper, jumper and tumbler. We have a little routine we practice every day. The gym he goes to is great. It's called Barefoot Gymnastics and they have everything a budding tumbler could need from trampolines to rings, parallel bars, balance beams and more. The idea was to give him something to do during the summer, but I think we will keep going through the school year because he likes it so well.

Kaeleb is trying really hard to read. Grandma gave me some more easy readers to help him learn. He has worked so hard to write his lower case letters and I am proud of him. That was the hardest part of preschool for him, so he is rockin'.

Thanks for enduring my stories, this is my only journal now, as I am lucky to get enough alone time for a blog... and I want to preserve all the good stuff in my life. Especially since motherhood has robbed me of my short-term memory and the long may be next.

9 years of bliss

Happy Anniversary to us!! As of Wednesday we have been happily married for 9 years. We celebrated this weekend by spending a night at the lush and beautiful Green Valley Spa. W-O-W! We had so much fun! We brought the camera...but it turned out that the batteries were totally dead. You can google the spa if you want to see pictures, it's a wonderful place.

Aunt Tam was kind enough to take our kids for the night and they had a great time. She really is the best Mom there is and we feel blessed that our kids get the benefits of being with her. They ate stuffed shells, went to the water park, watched lots of their favorite Little Einsteins and Charlie and Lola, and got to play with a new baby kitten.

We had been swimming at the spa before and have worked with a few of their guests in our wellness program, so we have spent a lot of time there, but never as guests. It was fun to be pampered by them, instead of being the pamper-ers.

We got there in time for dinner, which was quinoa stir fry. (The spa only serves food that fits in this diet called "New Lifestyles" or something, and it is all beef-free, pork-free, wheat-free, soy-free and dairy-free. What is left, you ask? So did I. The answer is quinoa and rice.) SO, anyway, it was actually pretty good, although we ended up so hungry by 10:30 pm that we came home for a bowl of cereal and then went back. :-) Don't tell!

Next on our agenda was a hard core yoga class that left us with muscles shaking and fat cells starving (hence the bowls of cereal later). The instructor was big on alignment, which intensifies everything, and boy, did we feel it.

We topped the yoga class off with a couples deep tissue massage. Neither of us had ever had one and may not ever do it again, but since it came with the package, we went for it. Don't get me wrong, it felt amazing and the most relaxing thing we have ever done, but there was something about being naked in front of strangers that felt a little bit awkward, even if we were covered in a sheet. Kwint's chronic sore neck is gone and my sad little feet got the rub they have needed for the last 3 years, so it was worth it.

We loved our room. It was so clean and pretty and plush. The bed had one of those fluffy duvets that poof when you do a belly flop and you get lost in the poof. (I know because I tried it.) There was a massive TV, jacuzzi, kitchen, etc. They gave us two soft teddy bears that we gave to our kids and a line of earthy skincare products which smell yummy.

For breakfast I had steel cut oats with agave nectar (by the way, Staci, I loved it and I am going to get some) and Kwint had rice bread french toast. He liked it, although we couldn't really decide what is so bad about whole wheat. We are totally into super health foods, so we loved it, but it was no where near the 3000 calories that Kwint needs every day.

The spa takes their guests on hikes every morning, but we skipped it because having lived here for nearly 6 years, we have been on all the ones they were offering that day, so we went and worked out in their gym and then went to the temple to do sealings. It was really nice to think back on our wedding day and hear the beautiful words of the covenants with an even deeper love and much less nervousness than 9 years ago.

We feel so thankful for each other and the blessings of our marriage. Marriage is not easy, we all know that. It takes a lot of work and I am so blessed that I married someone who is willing to do that work and is so selfless, loving, kind, and loyal. He supports me in every silly little thing that is important to me and helps me when I want to change. He treats me like the Disney Princess I wish I was. :) Kwint is always trying harder to be better and has been everything I had ever hoped a husband would be. It may sound cheesy, but that is what anniversaries are for-- a socially acceptable time to be as cheesy as we want to be.

And Then We'll Hit The Road

It's time for silly stories of the Kemp boys.

I am loving the phrases Brennan comes up with these days. He talks like Yoda. A bit backwards, but it works. When he wants something he says "Bottle, Me." "Cereal, Me." "Water, Me." or "Nacks, Me." (Snacks)

He has decided, I think from watching Brother, that he is afraid of the dark. He comes to me every night whimpering, "Scared, Me. Dark. Light on."

Another of the cutest is how he says "Fix it". "Fik ix." I love it. And then there's the antibiotic-induced diarrhea, which he calls "Water-poop, Mom. Change Me."

The top three Brenster stories of the week are:
3. I am trying unsuccessfully to wean him off the bottle. He came to me for the fourth time on Friday and said "Bottle, Me." I had given in because he'd been to the doctor for shots and thought he needed the comfort, but four bottles by 2pm? Come on! I said, "Brenny, you can't have another bottle. You've already had three today." He looked me in the eye and demanded, "FOUR". I didn't know he could count- I was so impressed, I gave him the bottle.

2. Whenever Kwint leaves for work he says, "Well guys, I'm gonna hit the road." Bren has picked it up and every time we got in the car for several days he said "Hit da woad. Hit da woad." over and over. Well, the other night at bedtime Kwint said "Let's hop in bed and say our prayers and then it's time for Dad to go brush his teeth." Without a moment's pause, Bren said "And den we'w hit da woad!"

1. The number one Brenster story of the week is.... I gave him a bowl of carrot noodle soup. (Kaeleb is very picky. The only way he eats carrots is in chicken noodle soup but he won't eat the chicken or celery, so I make broth and put noodles and carrots in) I was impressed when Brenny brought me the empty bowl and praised him for eating all of his lunch like a big boy..... Later that night, as Kwint was hopping into bed, he pulled back the covers to reveal his comfy, plush pillow... and found a pile of carrots on it. Oh, that little rascal.

Kaeleb is doing great. He has been learning to read this past week. We have a bunch of books with good sight words and rhymes and he is trying really hard.

Oh, if I could remember all the funny things he says!! He is cracking us up. Indiana Jones is his best imaginary friend these days. Yesterday we got home from dinner at Aunt Tam's and he opened the door. "Oh, hi Indiana!" Then he cracked up laughing and said "Guys! Indiana was standing right here by the door!" He loves to put off his chores by saying "I can't right now! I'm stuck in hot lava!" or "Sorry guys, I am being chased by a boulder!" or "I can't get out of this quicksand."

One of my faves was when I was leaving the office, he said "Mom! Don't step there! It's booby trapped!" He led me through the house and told me which tile squares were "safe"

The number one Kaeleb story of the week was two nights ago when I tucked him into bed. "He said, "Mommy, I love you so much." It was so sincere that I was touched and said "Thank you so much." His reply came, "Any day, any time, Mom."

Oh, we love 'em. Having said that, we have actually had a super tough parenting week. Some days we feel like we are doing nothing right, and some days they just don't seem to have a obedient bone in their bodies, but we love them totally.

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!! We hope you've had a great weekend. We sure did. We were glad to have Dave and Staci Chavez and their kids in town to hang out with. We had to ignore them for a couple days because Brennan had a fever, but luckily we had a good chance to play yesterday and today.

We tried not to let the illness get us down. We decided as long as we were outside and he couldn't slime anyone we would go to the Medieval Festival thing at the fairgrounds on Friday night. We got to take a hayride and watch knights joust. That was entertaining. What a weird sport.

Here you can see the boys at the Splash Pad on Saturday. We didn't stay long because it got really windy and Brenny didn't feel good, but it was fun to watch them play for awhile.

Sunday was busy with church and callings, then after dinner we walked to the park and fed the ducks (sorry, no pictures)and talked with lots of neighbors and friends. Yay!!
Today we went to the lake. Here is Kwint catching some air....

...and Gina wimping out, staying on the boat with the kids....

...and the kids having a blast building sand volcanoes with the dry ice Dave brought. Huh? Who randomly shows up at the beach with dry ice? Dave Chavez does, that's who.

While they played Staci, Tam and I chilled out in the hot sun. Luckily it wasn't crazy hot like it usually is this time of year. Just 92, and with the breeze it wasn't too bad.

Little Estella stuck her toes in for a few and made us all look bad because she was so cute.


Now I am too tired to elaborate, but we had a great time.
Last on the blog but earlier this week... Wednesday was Kaeleb's last day of preschool.

He had such a great year. Preschool was the best thing in the world for him. He learned a lot academically, but more special than that was the social experience with all the cute kids in his class and the relationship he developed with his teacher. Oh, Miss Mary! I will miss her more than he will!! I love her for what she has done for Kaeleb. He learned to follow directions and keep the rules. He learned to respect his teacher and the kids in the kids in the class. He learned to trust a grown up that isn't Mommy to take care of him. Most importantly he learned that he can find love and acceptance from a grown up who is "important" and isn't Mommy.

Mary went out of her way to make the class special for all the children. They had field trips and parties and the last day of school was "Water Fun Day". She made a DVD with a slide show of pictures set to fun songs and gave one to each child. Kaeleb has watched it every day and I well up with tears every time. Sheesh! How will I handle college?

Alan and Angie

Breathe in, breathe out... ah....

Does it get any better? We just spent 4 days in the great state of Washington. Green!! Our very bones were basking in the green of it all.

This, by the way is the exact spot where Kwint proposed to me more than 9 years ago, under a full moon, in the frigid cold that we didn't notice, when I had to all but beg for him to kiss me because he was so nervous.

This is the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls.

This is mom and Brenny enjoying the scenery.

And, this is the real reason we went there.... My big brother Alan got married on Saturday! We are so happy for him and so grateful for his beautiful wife, who is his perfect match and so sweet.

This is my family. Yes, as you can see, I am the shrimp of the family. I don't know how I got the short end of the stick. L-R, Gerritt, Ira, Mom (Dorine), Me, Alan.

Alan and Angie with his kids, Brittney and Tristen

Last but not least, me and my little crew of guys. They were quite handsome in their matching ties, I must say. The boys were little troopers. They were well behaved on both plane rides and pretty darn good at the wedding. We all had a blast playing with cousins, aunts, uncles and Nana.