We finally did it!

Since we moved here we have been saying that we were going to get bikes for everyone and a bike rack, bike trailer etc. and we were going to go biking. We can now say we have accomplished that dream!! It took us a few years, but we now have two kids on two wheelers. Kip and I both recieved bikes for our birthdays, him this year and me last. ( thanks mom and dad K and Mom and Dad B) We have a bike trailer (thanks Kevin and Jill). For Father's day this year Kip got a bike rack for the back of the van. Sorry for all the boring details of how the goods were acquired, but it is so much a part of the story for us.

It was a happy day, even though it was only about 55 degrees and we were wearing jackets on the first of July. It's kinda funny when you think about the fact that we drove 30 miles so that we could ride our bikes for three. We had a great time though. Aaron fell asleep in the bike trailer and the other two didn't complain at all, even on some rather large hills. We are planning our next biking adventure!

One Thing Leads to Another

The picture you see is only the beginning of the end of the story. Kip got himself into some trouble over Christmas break. You see, he decided to fix a coat rack that had come partially off the wall. I happened to walk in when he was in the middle of his 10 minute project. I suggested that since he already had that off the wall we might as well paint the walls in the back entry of the house. They needed it badly and we both knew it. That quickly turned into "Well, we might as well paint the laundry room since we already have the paint out. It needs it just as bad and the room could really use some color."
After deciding on yellow for those two areas we decided we might as well paint the kitchen yellow like we had always wanted to. We had also always wanted to paint our very dated cabinets white. We knew it was a huge undertaking and had therefore never gotten past choosing a paint color. Now seemed like a good time, so we spent most of Christmas break and every free moment for the next month working mostly on the cabinets, sanding, priming, painting, sanding, painting and so on.
Okay, so I will give credit where it is due. My fabulous husband worked like crazy!! I did a little here or there (to make it look like I was being useful). I am not sure we would ever do cabinets again, but I have to say my kitchen is so light now! I love it! I should have included some before shots, but here are the afters. By the way, the laundry room was not available for pictures tonight :) Maybe another time when it's not laundry day. Do those days happen?

March 2009

I thought I was too late. I was going to post some winter pictures, but was wanting to do so before the beginning of spring. Spring is now here officially, but the current snowfall makes me feel like maybe it's not to late afterall. Only one problem, as I search through my stash of pictures I realize that I only have this one single picture. Is that really possible?!! How is that possible? This one was taken of Aaron looking like a large black and blue walking marshmallow after one of our big snowstorms. He really enjoyed the snow this year. Meagan loved pulling Aaron around in the sled. We had a lot of snow this winter, and actually did quite a bit outside. Apparently just not much worth documenting.

Isaac had his last basketball game last week. He had a great season and was a real asset to the team. His understanding of the game amazes me and he is a true team player.

Meagan has already had some big accomplishments this spring. Last Saturday Kip took her training wheels off and within a few trips around the block she was on her own. We are still working on starting and stopping which makes things interesting.

Answers

I haven't been back for weeks, cause quite honestly I didn't think anyone was viewing my blog. Nice to see there are a few of you out there...it is worth it afterall. You were all right, by the way. Alisha first, in the hat. Kip was next "in front of something wooden." Isaac was the one in the suit. Aaron is under the toy, and last of course is Meagy! Thanks for playing!

Who's that baby?

I don't know what gave me this idea, but it sounded fun. I have been reading blogs all afternoon for the first time in a long time. Decided to do something a little different just to change things up. Give it your best guess who's who. Your options are Kip, Alisha, Isaac, Meagan or Aaron.

I am not going to say that it was one of my new years resolutions to post regularly on my blog...then I would have to admit that I am already failing. :) It is only the middle of January, not to late for a Christmas post right?

We were dissapointed that we didn't get to spend Christmas with Kasey, Kathryn and Jakson who were going to come from D.C. and Kamele and Seth who were coming from Seattle. It was nice however to begin the holiday season with family over Thanksgiving. We shared gifts as well as Thanksgiving dinner with the Broadheads, made presents for Grandpa and Grandma Kimball in Samoa and went to see the lights on temple square in SLC with the Kimball cousins. It was a great start to an unforgettable holiday season. Having Isaac home from school, Meagan home from preschool and Kip home from work (and Aaron too of course) for two weeks made plently of time for us to relax and make a lot of fun memories. It all sort of feels like a good dream now that we are back into real life (which is generally nice too :).

The second Family Night in December we have a tradition of doing Gingerbread houses. This is always very fun for me, and very messy too. I was feeling extra ambitious this year and was going to make everything from scratch and I had all kinds of creative ideas for embellishments. Then Kip talked me back down to reality and we bought one of those basically predone everything ones. We all had a great time and still managed to add some of our own creative flair between bites. It was a little difficult to involve Aaron on this one if we wanted anything to stay in tact. He ended up in the middle of the dining room table sorting through and tasting the candy. Despite what it looks like in the picture, Isaac and Meagan helped out a lot!

I couldn't resist putting in this picture of Meagan. Santa came to her preschool this year. It was complete magic for her! She was mesmorized. I asked her what she wants me to write about this picture. She says "I love you Santa!! " My favorite part about the experience was when Santa was about to leave and she jumped up off my lap and ran and gave him a hug and said "thanks for coming Santa....Merry Christmas!" It was so sweet and sincere, it brought tears to my eyes.

Isaac really wanted me to post this picture of him and Aaron. Last year Isaac recieved NFL pajamas for Christmas. When Kip and I found the same ones in Aaron's size, we couldn't resist buying them! The boys looked so cute with their matching pjs! The funny part was when Aaron picked them up and took them to Isaac, almost like saying "Mom and Dad made a mistake, these are yours!"

At our Ward Christmas Party this year we had a special Nativity program. Isaac got to be Joseph and Meagan got to be an angel. They both did a great job! Kip got to sing with a mens quartet and did a fabulous job.

In summary, we had a fabulous Christmas season.

Alisha's top 5

1. Wii fit!

2. Bath and Body works Orange Ginger!

3. Trip to Castaway Bay! (indoor waterpark and hotel in OH)

4. The kids reactions on Christmas morning and spending so much time together!

5. Getting my kitchen, back entry and laundry room painted!

Isaac's top 5

1. Castaway Bay

2. wii - wii fit, and MarioKart

3. The movie "Bolt"

4. Camping kit

5. magic kit

Meagan's top 5:

1. Castaway Bay

2.The movie "Bolt"

3. American Girl Mini Doll Julie, and book

4. Two wheeler scooter

5. MarioKart and wii bowling

Aaron's top 5: (guesses made by Isaac and Meagan, Aaron is currrently naping and unavailble for interview)

1. NFL pajamas

2. dinosaurs from Meagan

3. hotwheel cars from Isaac

4. Having Isaac, Meagan and Daddy home around the clock to play with!

5. Castaway Bay!

Kip's top 5:

1. Painting the kitchen, laundry room and back entry for my wonderful wife!

2. wii !

3. Castaway bay!

4. Playing and working with my wife and kiddos!

5. Hanging Christmas lights

(okay....so Kip was unavailable as well. Some of these I am sure he would have put, and some....well maybe not. :)

If you have made it this far in my post CONGRATULATIONS! You endured well.