Ward Campout

We all had a good time at the Ward Campout over the weekend.

Kyle was allowed to eat powdered donuts for breakfast.
Hayden brought along his Star Wars Lego book, so he was a happy camper.
The kids could get as dirty as they wanted to. Jared wouldn't let me get a picture of him.
Allison found someone's princess dolls, so she was in heaven. It was nice to get out of the heat, if only for a little while.

The First Day of School

It's already that time of year again. The summer flew by and now the kids are back in school. Since the bus has a track record of not showing up on the first day of school, I drove the kids over there myself. Besides, I also wanted to get some pictures of the big day. Kyle is starting 4th Grade and was super excited that school was starting again. But Hayden, who is now in 2nd Grade, was dreading it as you can see from the pictures. Actually he was mad at me because I put his backpack in his classroom instead of outside like all the other kids were doing. But in my defense, his backpack weighed a ton and I was just trying to be helpful. Sheesh! :-) He cheered up a little bit later and I got a better picture of him. And then it was time to line up and he started to get nervous, so I started to get nervous. Then he started to get teary-eyed, but I was brave and didn't start to cry until he left for his classroom. I cried all the way to the car. I'm sure they're both doing just fine. They both have good teachers this year from what I can tell. We'll be on our way to pick them up from the bus stop in no time!

Happy Birthday Kyle!

My little boy turned 9 last week. I can't believe it's been 9 years already! It wasn't that long ago that he was a tiny baby who was good natured, but never slept. He still doesn't sleep much. He's got an alarm clock, but he wakes up before it goes off. He's usually up and ready for the day before anyone else wakes up. He finishes his chores without complaining (usually), loves to have friends come over and play, is always up for a board game, and is the most helpful boy I've ever met (I think that comes with the territory of being the oldest). He is such a sweetheart who is eager to please, loves school, loves scouts, and loves being around other people. We are very blessed to have Kyle in our family.

For his birthday he wanted to do much of the same things that we did for Hayden's birthday. We went to BounceU, went out to lunch, got his free doughnuts, played video games, ate pizza, opened presents and had cake and homemade ice cream for dessert.

Here are Hayden and Kyle at BounceU launching balls at the kids on the other side of the "battlefield":
That's Kyle at the top in the blue shirt:I think this one is Jared laughing at Hayden, who he probably just knocked over in the boxing ring:During the last 30 minutes Allison finally got up the courage to play. Once she figured out it was actually fun, she went on this slide over and over again until it was time to leave.I finally let the kids try the Hurricane Wind Machine. As you can see, the wind speed is up to 76.2 mph (it maxed out slightly higher than that). Allison jumped out right after I took this picture.This was the temperature as we were driving to the doughnut shop:Kyle's favorite present:The Harry Potter Hogwarts cake that Darlene made:And the coordinating cupcakes: Happy 9th Birthday Kyle!!

My Little Guys

I took Kyle and Hayden in for their birthday portraits a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately we got a newbie photographer who was...not good. She kept mumbling to herself, "What to do with their hands? What to do with their hands?" So the pictures are a bit stiff and boring, but you get what you pay for and JCP is cheap. Here are the better of the bunch.A couple of handsome boys if I do say so myself. I can't believe how old they are getting. The time is flying by!

Ultrasound Pics

Since I'm measuring a little ahead of schedule, my doctor ordered another ultrasound this week. It was fun to see pictures of the little guy again. I've been having lots of baby girl dreams so I was glad to see he is still a boy. Ha ha! He is doing just fine and is measuring right on track. He now weighs about 3 lbs 2 oz. We still haven't come up with a name for him yet. Kyle wants to name him Phinneas/Finneas and call him Finn. I...uh...don't think that one will make it onto the short list. Sorry. The ultrasound tech switched over to 3D/4D for a few minutes and printed out a couple of face shots. He was moving around so much that they look a little lumpy, but you can get an idea of what he'll look like when we get to meet him in a few more months. He's got both of his arms tucked around his face, one under his chin and the other on his right side. Even with all the lumps and bumps, I think he's still a cutie! And it still amazes me that they can even get pictures like this. I'm glad there are smart people in the world that can come up with this kind of technology.

Hayden's 7th Birthday

How I love my Hayden! He is a sweet, affectionate, tender-hearted boy who loves all things Legos, survives on Goldfish crackers, is a sucker for infomercials, and sees the world in his own unique way. He had been planning the details of his birthday for months and was so excited when the big day finally arrived. When he woke up he got to try a new cereal he's been asking for, "Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch." He gave it a big thumbs up. Then we all went to BounceU to play for a little while.Then it was off to Krispy Kreme for his free birthday dounuts!After a sausage pizza dinner, it was time for cake! This year Hayden wanted a Lego cake. But not just any Lego cake. He wanted a cake that looked like the head of a character named Mack that came with a Pharaoh's Quest Lego set that he didn't even own, but it was on his wish list for birthday presents. Luckily Darlene (Deedum) came through on both counts. Here's Mack:And here's the cake. AWESOME!And she made a bunch of coordinating cupcakes! Hayden loved it!And then it was time for presents! I've never seen so many Lego Sets! Hayden was in heaven!
Happy 7th Birthday Hayden!!

Haboob!

Here are some photos of what rolled through town last night. The guys on the news were saying it was the biggest haboob they've seen in many years. The winds were reported at up to 69 mph! Crazy! I didn't take any of these photos, by the way. By the time I realized what was going on I couldn't even see the houses across the street. Clint was just about to start a softball game when it rolled over the field. He caught it on video with his cell phone and I'll try to upload that later. Watching out the window it seems very much like when a blizzard rolls through and you can't see anything. Except instead of snow, it's just a bunch of dust. Kyle and I ran out to the back yard to pull in the patio furniture closer to the house and came back in with dust in our eyes and teeth. Blech!
In other news...HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYDEN! I'll be back later with photos and fun from today.

U/S Results are in...

The Kobers are having BOY #4! Only one of the pictures we got was really recognizable (and that was the "money shot" which I'm not going to post). The rest were kind of freaky looking or just blob-ish, so I'm not going to bother posting pictures. Everything looks great and all the body parts are where they're supposed to be and functioning properly. He's measuring right on schedule for his due date of October 7th. Which means we've got 137 days to figure out a name for this little guy. Although even if we pick one we really like, we still have to wait to see him to make sure it "fits." For now, it's time to start shopping!