She's a W-O-N-D-E-R

She has always been bright! She buzzes through books-they have been her favorite thing since infancy. Now, she excels with her spelling no doubt thanks partly to all that reading I'm sure.

After three sets of district test and finals, it's official....Karly will be representing the School District at the Placer County Spelling Bee and she is beyond thrilled. First of all, she loves Valentines Day (her favorite holiday) and then to get such news....she's on cloud nine! We have 32 small print pages of words for her to study--many of them Mommy and Daddy can't spell ourselves. She has three weeks to prepare.

As parents we are scrambling with her. She's yet to take an oral exam and the country finals are oral. What to do! How to do it? We'll be thinking through but rest assured we are most proud. I especially think of all the reservations that we pondered long ago about adopting a child. Raising a child without our genes, without prenatal advantages and gestational control. I just giggle to think that we had to come to turns with the fact we couldn't offer her all of us in advance...and now.....BOY am I glad she doesn't have our genes. We can't spell worth a lick and this girl has some talents academically that amaze us. So glad I wasn't in control! She is a WONDER and I am thankful to be her Mama!

Lingering Irritation....

I know they were the underdogs, but I was behind the AZ Cardinals and hoping for an upset like no other and for a few brief moments-I thought we might just get it!

It's not even so much that I like the Cards all that much, but I KNOW who I don't like. I REALLY don't like the Steelers and last nights game reminded why! I have some serious lingering irritation here...a rare unsportsmanlike irritation, have I mentioned I REALLY don't like the Steelers? They are right up there by the Packers. 'Nough said!

Which Way Will the E Go?

Every now and then we revisit the heart and mind of my literal child. This morning Kyle had us literally laughing to pieces over his story about yesterday's eye sight screening at school.

Kyle is in line, ready to take his vision test, and very little to no instruction is given. Kyle steps to the front of the line and asks, "what am I supposed to do". The man replies with, "just tell me which way the E is going". Kyle watches and waits. Waits and watches. The E isn't GOING anywhere. It's just there. Again the man says, "tell me which way the E is going." Suddenly the E moves to the left (as if the next E is coming soon and this E is exiting the current screen) so Kyle points to the left. The next E moved upward (again as if it's exiting, moving on in the test), so Kyle pointed up. The same repeated several times, and each time Kyle waited for the E to actually physically MOVE on the screen before indicating a direction change. He repeated this morning over and over, "mom, it just wasn't GOING anywhere!"

Kent and I are cracking up, explaining to Kyle that he was supposed to say which way the arms of the E were facing. He said with a small not quite embarrassed giggle, "yeah, my buddies were trying to tell me that afterwards." I am glad that Kyle is beginning to even laugh at himself in these situations, seeing how his thought process is unique.

A good reminder for all of us who love Kyle that when something is new to him, a little extra instruction goes a long way. :)

OLD Sacramento

With friends in town (the little boy seen in the pictures is Connor) and an beautiful afternoon we hit Old Sacramento for some outdoor fun! We walked the boarded sidewalks, took a peak inside a few stores, climbed train cars and contraptions-- all eventually ending with a stop at the Railroad Museum. The weather was truly unbelievable for January and the kids had a fabulous time exploring about. Old Sacramento certainly has some charm and of course mom likes the history it represents as well.

Now if only I had taken my camera to our frozen yogurt stop afterwards, you could have seen Karly's vanilla and chocolate yogurt covered in caramel, candy corn, peek-a-boos, and gummy worms. Wait that might have given you a stomach ache, it was one nasty sugar packed treat! To each his own I suppose!

Mommy's Hamburger Shack

It's Karly's birthday, she can have ANYTHING she wants for dinner. We tell her, you pick the restaurant. What does she say? Mommy's Hamburger Shack. WHAT? I'm thinking I'll have a night off cooking and the next thing I know I'm at the grocery store buying hamburger meat and a four pack of buns. I even make them half-way healthy, whole wheat buns, lean meat with a little egg white--doesn't matter--my family would eat Mommy's hamburgers at least once a week. It's by far the favorite meal around here and hey, I beat out every restaurant we could throw Karly's way via suggestions. Who would have thought!

Karly's only stipulation.....extra pickles mom. LOTS of them!

Our Sunshine (with a smile) turns 10!

This birthday girl is thrilled that she's turning 10, but even better..............she's now a DOUBLE DIGIT! Karly has been absolutely overcome with excitement about leaving single digits behind . It's all we've been talking about here! Imagine her disappointment last night at bedtime when she came to the realization that she is a PM baby and not an AM baby. She would not rise officially 10. We tried to convince her that a birthday is still a birthday, but she pressed on insisting it wouldn't feel real until later in the day! Too funny!

While sweets are frowned upon at school, this year exceptions are made for birthdays. Karly had, as you can imagine, a variety of ideas for birthday treats to take to class. In the end we settled on candy kabobs....only to find out when trying to assemble them, that candy doesn't kabob very well! HA! So, we put our thinking hats on and made fun with cupcake tins. In the end, the class wouldn't care if they came in a paper bag I'm sure. A sugar treat is a sugar treat regardless of how it's presented.

As for our treats here at home tonight-we have cupcakes! Karly has always been our "sunshine" so I found it pretty stinking cute that when I asked her how she'd like her cupcakes decorated, she said, "sunshines with smiles". That our Karly is!

A Shout of THANKS!

THANK YOU--to two great sets of grandparents who made a get-away trip for New Years possible! We had a great time sleeping in, resting, enjoying the company of friends, and delighting in all kinds of yummy meals! And.....it's not just the trip itself either, it's the anticipation of it and the stress relief that brings to the days before we even pack our bags.

Time away as a couple is most important to Kent and I and we know that we just couldn't do it without such great loving arms to care for Karly and Kyle. Hats off to Grandma, Grandpa and Grammy and Pop! We had a wonderful time!