Who needs the Cinema?

Who needs to head to the theater when Dad can make one from the comforts of home! This fun is our new 2x a month tradition. Thanks to a bedsheet on the wall, the laptop DVD player, a great projector and two fabulous sound speakers, we have movie night with all the perks and no crowds or ticket prices. It's very cool! Sometimes we watch along with the kids, Narnia Prince Caspian was a hit for mom and dad, and nights like tonight-- Kung Fu Panda will be showing. Very cool, and another one of Kent's fantastic ideas. A huge bonus for Karly and Kyle to have a Daddy who is a big kid himself! He knows just how to hook them up!

Christmas in a Nutshell!

Three Christmas's had, but we were lame and forgot our camera. Probably for the good since my family has come to despise my constant picture taking and promises of "just one more shot".

Hopefully family will send a few pics our way! Here's what we do have! Enjoy!

Christmas-We're ready for you!

Letters to Santa....check!

Christmas spirit....check!

Visions of sugar plums.....well maybe not sugar plums.....but two kids with big dreams for a fabulous Christmas!

A Quick Snow Fix!

What better thing can a Daddy do with his kids on his first official day off work than take the kids up the hill for a quick snow fix! Even with all our snow gear up at Almanor, we were able to throw together enough mis-matched items to provide a little comfort and a whole lot of smiles!

I'm sure this was quite a lop-sided snowball fight with respect to Kyle's throwing skills and Karly's lack there of. Chances are Daddy played hero or Kyle entertained Karly enough to allow for her to have some extra opportunities to make contact.
Of course there is always time to catch a falling snowflake or take the more simple route of just scooping and eating the already fallen fresh stuff!

Nothing beats a little hot cocoa!
Capturing a few great shots is always a must-even without Mama there! Fantastic job Daddy!

One of Kyle's TD's!

Thanks to Coach Dom for sending this our way! Kyle hikes the ball and then catches TD pass.

LOST and FOUND

Here are some pics we just found on our other camera! Forgot all about them!

Kyle getting ready to carve his pumpkin:
Karly playing in her pumpkin!
What Gilligan does when home alone! Yes, tp it is!
Christmas Tree box turned clubhouse:

All Lit Up!

The lights are on and our feet hit the pavement to take our traditional walk about the holiday cheer! With starbucks hot chocolates (and one latte for the Mama) in hand we made our way through the neighborhood admiring the lights and sounds along the way. Our favorites: the lights that were synchronized to music. Good times. Great fun! Even Gilligan enjoyed himself!

5k-Jingle Bell Run~

Yes, it's true. It's that time of year again, and Kent was faithful to please his local fans and run yet again in the Roseville Jingle Bell Run as no one other than Santa. While a few toddlers were quite mesmerized by Kent's red suit and white beard, most other runners agree that he was awfully skinny to be a Santa. Regardless, his presence definitely provides some comical relief to the brisk foggy morning and was cracking us up with his HO HO HO's along the way!
The big surprises this year: Kyle and I joined Santa in the race. This girl hates to run, so it was quite a feat, but I did it! Kyle on the other hand was amazing. He actually enjoyed running and came through under 30 minutes. I am confident had he not slowed down to run with his mom for a bit, he'd have been even faster. He truly enjoyed the run and is looking forward to complete another 5k in the future. Awesome!

As for sweet Karly she was the elf and the cheerleader for our day. A great sport she was hanging out in the freezing cold with her book in hand. I doubt Karly will ever seek to run a 5k--then again--I never thought her mother would either. Ha! You never know!

A Little Recognition

Each trimester, the 4th and 5th grade students at Blue Oaks Elementary are recognized for their outstanding achievements in academics and school character pillars. Karly was beaming with pride as she joined fellow students on the school stage to soak up the applause. Karly received three awards this trimester: all 3's on her report card (like A's of old school), reaching her AR goal and exceeding it by 25%, and the surprise award for her was the Respect award. She was voted by her class for the "Everybody has a right to stay and feel safe" award.

It's a cool program. A way to reward the kids and offer them some positive reinforcement for all their hard work! Awesome work Karly!

Ahhhh!!!!!

The Kern team had a most restful Thanksgiving week! We hope you did too! We did lots of nothing sprinkled in with: Almanor time, golf for the boys, reading for the girls (okay, so I read magazines and leave the novels for Karly), 24 hour family for Gilligan (a treat as he's not used to having company all day) and oh yes.....eating! LOTS of eating!

A great week of relaxation it was! We are thankful to have slowed down-something we plan to practice again!

Vandal's Crime Exposed!

The culprit: Canis lupus familiaris (aka Gilligan)


The crime:


We hereby give public notice that this is not the Canis lupus familiaris (aka Gilligan's) first offense-therefore additional grounds patrol during the late hours of the evening will be implemented. It will also be necessary to transfer funds from one public departments to another in order to replenish the garden hose population.

"Between Us Men"

The Scene: Dinner time at the kitchen table

Event of Interest: Kent and Kyle are laughing and teasing about an incident earlier in the day-something to do with girls calling boys-hehe (don't worry it wasn't Kyle they were talking about). Karly asks what's so funny and wants to know the scoop. Kent tells Karly, "it's between us MEN, right Kyle?"

Taking Action: As we continue eating Karly gets up without attracting any attention and heads for our junk drawer. She comes back like this:Karly says, "Now will you tell me?" As if her paper mustache qualifies her!

Kent laughs until he cries, she's too stinking clever! She completely surprised us all. LOL!

Future Leaders of America?

Karly came up with that title. She wanted to add Future DORKS too. I told her Mama has veto rights!

Here's the kids in their new student council attire. Every Friday they will wear these and help promote school pride. Their current student council projects are a canned food drive and taking nominations for naming the new school mascot-a huge Bear.

I love the opportunity for both kids to shine as leaders. They lead with different styles, but I am proud of them both! Go Bears!

My Pumpkins!

Sandwiched between the fun that a Friday night Halloween can bring and the few raindrops that fell upon our heads, Halloween was fantastic here at the Kern house. We started the evening with our neighbor friends and pizza. Then it was off for costumes and hitting the neighborhood for some treats! As always, the Kern kids laughed and smiled their way about the houses drizzled with every scary, gross or spooky this or that one can imagine. (Why do people put so much money into Halloween decor?) Anyways, our skinny boy turned Sumo Wrestler and Angel of a daughter came home with a bucket full of sugar and it was too funny to watch them trade favorites with each other and their friends. In case you are wondering? Karly's favorites are twix and almond joys. Kyle picks the peanut butter cups and crunch bars!

Exploring the Riverside!

A beautiful day's exploration along the river banks. The foothills are just gorgeous this time of year! The kids had a fabulous time just hiking along, throwing rocks, jumping along the riverside and more! We saw huge tad poles and few craw-dads and heard lots of creatures moving in the brush--though we never did see them! Karly and I were happy with that.

Awesome day!