Bug Zoo....

Kyle's big question for the day....."Can we make a bug zoo?" If it gets them outdoors, and creative, absolutely--I'll supply the zoo-- okay the tupperware that is! Kyle and two of his pals spent hours turning over rocks, digging through bark, and digging holes on the side yard to find their zoo inhabitants. I'm amazed that although these boys are getting older, they still go crazy over finding an ants nest, find fun rolling the rollie pollies, and hold with intent the centipedes until they crawl off the end of their hands. It was cute to hear the oldest of the boys explaining larvae, and egg sacks to the other two. They laughed, made a mess, and were all BOY!

The Bug Zoo celebrated it's grand opening and it's closure with about a two hour run--but it was a good one! A storybook day-- three boys, Spring weather and bugs! I am happy to report there was no eating of bugs--no dares or creative cuisine. Only Gilligan would take the plunge and did get quite a reaction from the boys as he enjoyed a nice mouthful of ants. Yuck!

A bit of luck!

Karly's teacher couldn't wait to show me the following writing piece! Her teacher said that most kids wrote about lucky pennies or material items, but she was brought to tears to read the following:

When has a bit of luck come your way?

By Karly Kern

"I feel that I'm lucky because I got adopted. One reason why I feel this way would be, if I wasn't adopted I might not be in my class. I might be in an orphanage (spelled correctly I must add). The second reason would be, I wouldn't have such great friends, family, and teacher. The third reason is having such a great and free country."

Pretty cute huh! Had to share!

Two Cutie Canucks

Spirit day at school brought out the Canucks! Today was cultural dress up day, and seeing that we weren't quite sure how to make the proper Englishman, passionate Italian, or good old sturdy German we pulled out the Canada gear. With a little creative tweaking (and a few safety pins too) Daddy had these two sporting the maple leaf pride! Go Canada!

Why???

I never did like math. My brain doesn't seem to think this way. So imagine the fun I'm having with a college statistics course. I felt okay the first week or two, but by week three I'm out of my league. Can't follow it, don't like it. Don't understand why in the world I need to know such things. I'm a word girl, I don't care about squaring numbers and finding their square roots.

If it wasn't for my loving husband, this class would be dropped. He has sat hours with me helping me understand the problems and assisting me when I wanted to try no more. To him it's a challenge. It's fun to try, learn, and get it right. To me, it's a foreign language from a country I have no plans to visit.

I love a good challenge, but let's be real....when in the world will I use standard deviation of grouped data?

I never did like math.

Mr. Pincher

Out with the amphibians and in with the crustaceans. Our froggy friends (2 fresh water frogs) called the Kern house home for eight months (hand me down frogs from Kyle's Kindergarten class)--these were great pets, that is until one died. We had a floater. We cried, we said our goodbyes and we bought a new little pal for Kyle to adore. The joy soon ended as replacement froggy died quickly, and now froggy friend 2 was also looking sickly. We cried. Mommy promised new frogs and a surgical cleaning of the tank.

Promises can be a tough to keep when both Pet stores in Roseville are out of fresh water frogs. They are also compromised when you are told that frogs aren't doing so well this time of year and that even the frogs coming soon might not be in great health. We don't want to say goodbye to any more froggy friends.

So what does a mother do? She buys a Hermit Crab.
I knew a little boy was coming home to an empty aquarium and I bought the easiest small critter I could. Then we spent two hours this afternoon setting up his environment (might I add his little environment cost more than the $10 I thought I'd be spending on a couple of frogs). Hermit Crabs are not as easy as fresh water frogs, but my son couldn't be happier! He loves Mr. Pincher and it's fun that he's a pet Kyle can hold and care for.

Welcome Mr. Pincher...........and do LIVE long!

She's eight--she's amazing!

Can't believe she's eight. Where does the time go? Eight years of joy with our Karly! Just this week we found ourselves again pondering her unique spirit. A constant happy, smell the roses kind of kid. I honestly can't think of anyone else I've ever known with a similar spirit for life. She brings something to the table that would be hard to duplicate. Her flavor is indescribable, unmatched. What a gift this child is! Her contribution to our family and the lessons I have learned from her life story are abundant. God's plan was so much bigger and better than mine! She's eight and truly --she's amazing!

Surreal Life

Well it's time to say goodbye to the surreal life and hello reality. With Christmas and the New Year I get spoiled with Kent and the kids home and tomorrow all will be back in full swing.

We had a busy few weeks, but fun ones--here are a few highlights...

* Karly sang with amazing presence at Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas program. Stoic and assured, yet sweet and peaceful.

* Kyle especially adored playing with cousins Zach and Reagan. He's got such a heart for little ones. Such a handsome one he is too!




* Kent's parents retired. We attended a sweet dinner for them and enjoyed their smiles as the thankyou's were lavished on.

* New Years at Almanor meant snow for the kids. They played outdoors for hours, literally--so nice that they are old enough to make good choices!

* Both Kent and I managed to injure ourselves while playing "superparent". Kent fell trying to help Kyle and split his head open requiring an emergency trip and six staples in his head, and I jammed my middle finger (yes, the middle one--just lovely) so badly sledding with Karly (I was trying to slow us down) that I ripped a tendon and broke a bone. Six weeks in a plastic mold. Gee, we couldn't be getting that old could we?

* Time for us! Kent and I enjoyed three days together as the kids went back to school and Kent still had time off. We had lunch together, went shopping, and took our time at the gym. Yeah!

Tomorrow is another day. A new year. Another adventure is just ahead! We're ready!