The Skinny on the Skinny

Don't ask me to explain their outfits.

It's unexplainable.

But get this, I took the two clowns above to the doctor today for their yearly check-ups.

Holland, at age 10, weighs a whopping 64 pounds (25th percentile) and

measures up at 53 1/2 inches (30th percentile).

Now here's where it gets interesting.

Greer is two years younger and is catching up fast-- not in weight but in height.

Here's her stats:

50 pounds (25th percentile)

51 1/2 inches (74th percentile)-- only two inches shorter than her big sis.

Holland was freaked out enough tonight that she's been

drinking whole milk and munching on veggies like crazy.

Between a Rock and a Shattered Place

Ouch!

Byron was taking Holland and Reese shopping for a birthday present for Greer a week ago...

a shopping spree that is gonna be an expensive one.

Look what happened to the moon roof on my car!

 It appears some hoodlum pre-teen boys

(who have clearly been raised by wolves instead of responsible parents)

were out chucking fist sized rocks into traffic.

Lucky us... we win best timing.

Huge bummer!

P.S.  the hoodlum/wolf boys were never caught.

Another School Year Whipped On By...

None of us can believe school is over for another year.

How did that happen so fast?

Holland had her 4th grade music program on Idaho history.

She's somewhere in that sea of kids...

 The kids sang, played their recorders and did a dance number.

And out of the whole gym, Holland ended up dancing right smack dab behind us.

 Then it was back to the school for Greer's second grade Birthday Bash.

Once a quarter, they celebrate all the kids birthdays with treats, games and crafts.

 This Birthday Bash's theme was "Polar Bears". 

I was in charge of the game.  We rotated in 4 classes of 2nd graders for a 12 minute fun fest.

We had the "it" kid go out of the room, then come back in and have to guess which child

was holding an ice cube.  I tell you these kids were pretty smart.

Some of them would run to the sink and get their hands wet so they'd look like the kid holding the

dripping ice cube.  It was sure funny to watch.

Then it was back to the gym for the school's talent show.

The stands were packed... and guess who auditioned, made it

and performed in front of her peers and parents? 

 That little speck up there on the stage is Holland singing a solo.

She's much, much braver than her mother!

 Finally, we went back to the school today for the "Family Picnic".

 Somehow we scored some shade-- probably because we were off on our own, away from the crowd.

 We didn't mind a bit.  We were in great company!

Holland ran back to tell her teacher Mrs. Gunn goodbye.

Reese went with her.

Here's our conversation when they got back:

Reese:  "Mom, this is the weirdest thing ever..."

Me:  "What?"

Reese:  "I knew Mrs. Gunn's name but can you believe she didn't know mine!"

"Isn't that the weirdest thing ever?"

Milestones

I have to tell you what Kean did this morning... it was sooo cute.

I got him up out of bed, changed his diaper and asked him if he'd like to go downstairs

and eat some breakfast or drink some milk.

He immediately took his index finger and started pointing to his open mouth...

as if saying "eat, eat"!

His intentions couldn't have been clearer unless he'd said it out loud.

It may be a small step for mankind...

but it was a huge step for the Kean-miester!

P * A * R * T * Y

If there's one thing about our family (which drives Byron crazy)... it's that we love

to stretch out birthdays and milk 'em for all they're worth!

On Greer's actual birthday, she picked Fuddrucker's to celebrate for dinner.

Grandpa and Grandma Bodily and their grandchildren

and their two great grandchildren (did you follow that?) joined us .

 Then this past Saturday, Greer was baptized.

In our church, children are baptized at age eight-- by then, they know right from wrong,

are accountable and can make their own decision as to whether or not to join the LDS faith.

So here's Byron and Greer outside the church.  Greer picked the fabric out and designed the dress

she is wearing.  My very talented mom whipped it together.

 Here they are standing in front of the baptismal font.

 Our super-dooper, dear friend, Ron Moomey hung out with Kean during the event.

Kean, now has a thing for mustaches. 

He loved this new textured toy.

 This was taken right after the baptism.  So Greer has wet hair.

But this is a four generation picture.

My 92 year old Grandmother joined us!

 After the baptism, we headed home for a BBQ with family and friends.

Don't you just love Holland's crazy hair?

 Of course, you can't have a party without cake.

And add to that list, cupcakes too.

Crazy us, we had the baptism in the morning

and then Greer's birthday party in the afternoon.

About a dozen friends came over for a swim party

at Grandpa Bodily's pool.

 Once they were all good and water-logged,

we headed across the lawn to our house for another BBQ

and presents.  GiGi is holding the coolest origami butterflies made out of money.

 I don't know where in the world we are going to put all the presents she received.

 And remember the "burnt" flower pins the girls and I made?

Each girl got one as a thank you gift for coming to the party.

My mom gift bagged them...

 While my amazing Grandma held the bowl to choose from.

 It was perfect weather for a perfect day.

The Sweat Shop

Phew!  We just finished making tons of thank you gifts for Greer

to give out at her birthday party.

They are burned flower barrettes. 

Holland and I singed the edges of the fabric to get them to curl up like petals

and then the girls helped me put them together with brads. 

Pretty simple-- and some are definitely cuter than others....

As for Kean today...

he's so brave.

His ear surgery went smoothly.

The doc cleaned the goop out of the left ear and put in a new tube.

Then, surprise, he put a new tube in the right ear too.

It was looking like it was starting to work it's way out.

It feels kind of like Ground Hog's Day.

 We just did this exact surgery 4 months ago.

Crazy.

But we are soooo glad to have this out of the way.

A Slice of Heaven

Lucky us!

My favorite intern clear back from when I was working at KPNX in Phoenix came to visit last night.

Micaela brought her baby, Maisey and we met her husband, Martin for the first time.

Martin is a chef and happens to own a successful bakery in Salt Lake.

And aren't we the fortunate ones... Martin came bearing a gift.

A very, very tasty gift.... something he just whipped up, I'm sure.

 The girls had a grand time playing outside...

 hanging out with sweet baby Maisey.

Silly me didn't get any pics of Micaela or Martin.

I can blame it on Maisey being so darn cute

and the cake being so darn yummy.

Now for the Keanster update.

We visited his ENT doc today.

And we are scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 6:45 a.m. (Yawn)!

He'll suction out the goop in his ear, replace the tube and take a good look at the other ear.

I'm expecting all to go well.