Sunday, August 31, 2008

Restless

I'm restless. Restless for peace, restless for insight, restless for guidance. I know where I'm at right now is not the final picture. I know there is supposed to be more than what I'm doing with the "me-ness". I'm restless to prove to God I'm not a total failure as one of His people. I'm...so...restless. Blah, I'm restless and suffering from allergies. The combination has given me a few sleepless nights.

On a lighter note, Doozie (Ms. Dailah if you're nasty) is officially poop potty trained. She has been for a couple days now but I'm just getting around to congratulating her now. I can't take any credit for it, however, as she has become quite persuasive in her pursuit for growing up. I think watching big brothers have all the fun on the potty has led her to believe she's missing out on something big by not doing so herself. So...hopefully soon to come will be being potty trained in full and then no more diapers for camp Klipsch.

P.S. 10 cyber dollars for anyone who knows which song I referenced with Dailah's name.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Yee Haw Baby Doggies

First I want to give a big "Shout out" to my favorite daddy. He celebrated his birthday yesterday and I didn't have internet to give him a shout out then. I must say I am so very thankful he is my daddy and such a good one at that. Though quiet by nature, his presence is always felt and as good as he is as a dad, he might be an even better grandpa. It's baffling to think about but my dad, John, doesn't even mind that Doozie calls him "Papa Don". He's an awesome man, and I know had he fathered everyone else in this world (that would be weird!) the world would be a much better place. Happy Birthday, Dad!





Today found us heading the horse barn so the kids could have a quick ride. My mom-in-law, Terre, was (and still would be if not for that fake hip and whatnot) a pretty great equestrian from what I hear and her youngest son's (my hubby) "got skillz" as well. He's eager to see which of his offspring will follow in those big (and stinky) footsteps. If today is an indicator, it looks like the one who saw his first horse 4 months ago. Imagine that. Enjoy these.




Doozie watching Tariku, "Hmmm, I'm not REAL sure I want to do this."



Ok, I think I can get used to this.



Old hat at this, he'll be leading next time and we'll see if he's as confident.



I just thought this was funny. One of the junior high kids who helped the horse wrangler this summer named a horse, "Zach". I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing.




Then we went to a River Bandits game. Here are two of my favorite people sportin' their shades.



Sometimes the camera turns on me.



Dan, Becky and Baby Cates joined us to make Dailah's night by holding the baby.



And perhaps my favorite picture of the day. Clearly this should be in a picture frame somewhere.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

1 adult, 5 kids, 3 dogs = Success

(Can you tell I finally got internet after 2 days? Hence the 4 posts)

Last night I offered to watch my nephews while my bro and sis-in-law went to their FINAL HOMESTUDY (yippee!) to bring home my niece from Ethiopia. Zach had to work so it was just me, 5 kids, and 3 dogs. I was nervous, admittedly, but things went along swimmingly.

I even, just to prove I could, decided to cook a homemade meal. This meal was complete with stuffed chicken breasts (with made-from-scratch stuffing) and homegrown tomatoes. After dinner I spoiled them with berry cheesecake. Seriously, am I an amazing aunt or what? Shoot, let's just round up and call me an amazing woman. Check out the pic (obviously much tastier looking in person).



And some more just for your enjoyment...

Abe's namesake.



Doozie didn't have pockets so she borrowed Puddin's to store her toy.



They are the best of friends, seriously.



Yes, I was proving a lot to myself last night. I bet Zach I couldn't fit 5 Klipschs in a tub. I won.

And He's "That" Kid

So my son comes home from Kindergarten yesterday with two pictures he had drawn. "Tell me about these, Trysten!"

(As I look at this picture)



He says, "Well, that's a guy running down the street with a snake chasing him and the snake ate his clothes and his butt cheeks are showing."

I'm only human, I laughed and asked where he came up with that, "Just in my head." Obviously.

"What did your teacher say about it?

"She didn't see it, but my friends at my table thought it was hilarious." Obviously.

Then I see the next picture.



"And what is this?"

"Oh that is a guy pooping on everyone else."

"Trysten, that is not appropriate."

"Well my friends thought that was even funnier than the buttcheeks."

"And now you just sound like your father."

And he is, just like him. I happen to love them both.

I guess...

After six years of marriage there are still things you learn about each other. We were in the car yesterday and I had my legs crossed. Zach says, "You have dirt on your leg."

I looked down and saw that he was looking at my BIRTH mark that has (obviously) been there since we met. It's on my shin for goodness sakes. I told him what it was and he said, "I guess I'm too busy looking into your eyes." And by eyes he means boobs.

What can you do? I think he's charming.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Meet, Abe

So...meet the newest Klipsch. Isn't he the cutest? His name is Abe and he is a great dane (hi, mom!) He is Zach's birthday present and my substitute for another child (only kidding).

So he's 14-weeks-old and already weighs 45lbs. Doesn't look like a puppy but is cuter than cute, if I do say so myself. Have I told you how much I like big dogs? Okay, you've waited long enough, here are the pics!

And though there might be some friends (and family) who might question our sanity at this point in time, we love dogs and since we live on 265 acres we think it'd be sacrilige (sp) if we didn't get another, right?

Kids waiting for Abe (they picked his name, by the way) to get out of the car.



Abe laying down getting to know his surroundings.



Look at that face!



The brothers and their bones.



Doozie watching a movie and enjoying her new dog. All of the kids love him, especially Tariku who giggles every time he comes around.



Oh, and Cindy, Zach's tattoo means "father" in Amharic and that is (obviously) the outline of Ethiopia. Love it!

Yesterday

Yesterday was a GREAT day! It started with Trysten's first soccer game. It went well, but we lost. I'm blaming it on the fact that the other team's coach was Scottish. Anyone who calls the soccer field a "pitch" and refers to soccer cleats as "boots" is going to win against the coach who uses the former words. Don't you think?

After soccer we came home for some naps where I baked bread and did some laundry. Upon waking, the kids played guitar with daddy and Dailah did what she did best, played with babies.

Once the bread was in the oven, we went for a hike around camp. As you'll see from the pictures, we are dogsitting my nephew-dog (i.e. my sister's dog) until she moves back here in a few weeks. He is enjoying the great outdoors and I'm not real sure he'll ever want to leave. Though he's never been on a walk without a leash, he was just fine for us and the boys took it upon themselves to help out.

After the hike we made some delicious spagetti, had baths and then rented some movies. It was a really great, really relaxing day and just what the doctor ordered! The only thing that could've made it more perfect was if my allergies wouldn't have been flared up! Enjoy the pics, holla!

Trysten getting prepped for game time, while holding our coffees, niiiice.



The spectators.



We had chairs for both but it's infinitely more fun to be with the ones you love.



I showed Dailah how to wear her baby like the Ethiopian women do, it caught on real quick.



This is how Dailah likes to hike.



Trysten training Leo to heel.



The doggie cousins, too cute.



I love when they just do this without me asking them to.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

While I'm At It

When the internet is working well out here, I go for it. So here are some more pictures to show what we've been up to lately.

My brother (#10) playing soccer last weekend.



For some reason my parents thought it would be a good idea to face the sun during the game, so this was us.



Tariku going down the slide (this was 1 minute after I pushed him and 30 seconds before he thanked me)



Trysten going down the slide, no forcing with him, he wanted to show up little brother.



Kids helping my uncle Vic water my mom's flowers that were driving him crazy.



Tman, mommy and my cousin, Storm, on the tubes after I forced Trysten...I sense a theme here.



Brothers, their hearts have no idea they haven't always been.



I love this, the expression is in his eyes (and he's not picking his nose, he's wiggling his tooth).



I have no words for his beauty or his personality, only lots and lots of praise (but seriously, when is his molluscum going to disappear?) AND THERE'S A TARIKU (From Ethiopia) IN THE 5000 METERS IN THE OLYMPICS. HOW COOL IS THAT?



LOVE her!



Trysten talked Papa into Applebees for his night before Kindergarten. Imagine that.



And I think this is the picture of happiness, don't you?

From Last Night

We went to River Roots Live last night in Downtown Davenport. It's a free concert series this year so the kids and I went to Andy Landers and the Ragamuffin Band. We also got to catch a friend's brother's band beforehand and they were tops as well. I'll get their name so you local folks can check out their CD. It also happened to be ribfest as well, which basically brought the best ribs in the U.S. Of A to our local Davenport and needless to say, Zach and I were smitten kittens with all the ribs surrounding us. Here are some pics that will make you jealous you weren't there as well.

Zach after he ate the ribs when he asked for "hotter sauce". He said he felt like his mouth was going to explode and he just wanted a pound of ice to just sit in his mouth. I took the boys to the bathroom and came back 8 minutes later. In that time, Zach drank a total of 40 oz of fluids. It was amazing. Check out his eyes and lips. The guy is miserable.



How could I not?



Rare is the shot when I get his actual smile.



C'mon, really.



2 of my favorite musicians of all time. Andy Landers (on the left mic, who is Jody's hubby) and Ellis Kell, the scruffy bearded one.



Look how she's looking at her brother. You can often find her giving him a huge bearhug.



Uncle Frank did his best to throw Trysten around enough to have him sleep hard for the night.



The kids showing our friend, Jill, some moves.



I'm trying to talk Jill (above) and Drew (below) into adopting from Africa. Drew played the tough guy but this was him, by choice, at the end of the night.



And she's spent.