December Fun

St. Nicholas came to our house and filled our shoes the night of December 6th.  Of course the boys were full of anticipation.  This is such a fun tradition we have. 

We had a big snowstorm this  past Monday, resulting in a foot of snow.  School was canceled the next two days, so Christmas break began early.  All three boys have been relaxing--reading and watching 'The Wiggles' (Gavin's new favorite). 

This was Gavin's first time to play in the snow.  Initially he was uncertain about it, but quickly adjusted.  He stayed outside for at least an hour.  He ate the snow while Matt and I shoveled the driveway. 

Christmas came a bit early to our house.  Robert told me a Christmas/Birthday surprise was being delivered at 6pm.  I definitely was not expecting a new washer and dryer.  The boys spent a good hour watching a load of laundry this morning. 

School Bus

Gavin likes to watch the school buses from our front window.  Every time he sees one, he tries to say 'bus'.  Adam and Matt get a kick out of this because Gavin can't quite say 'bus'. 
Instead he says 'butt'.

Thanksgiving

We went to Leavenworth for Thanksgiving to spend it with Robert's parents and brother.  It was a really nice break.  Gavin is getting old enough to start remembering and relating to people.  He enjoyed being with Grandma and calls her "Mama Chichi".  Uncle Eddie teasingly talked to Gavin like an Ewok.  Gavin liked this and now calls him "my Eddie". 

 I didn't do a great job of documenting all that we did but did get a few photos.  We drove up Wednesday.  Thursday was spent cooking and eating.  On Friday Robert and I went into Kansas City to do some shopping.  We bought quite a bit and didn't think about having room in the van to get back home.  We were pretty packed on our drive back to Garden City.  That evening we took Adam and Matt to see the movie "Arthur Christmas".  I love all the fun movies that come out this time of year.  On Saturday we took the boys to Liberty Jail.  This was their first time there.  Of course we initially were met with resistance and moans of "that's sooo boring".  However, they enjoyed it.  We also stopped to see the temple that is being built in Kansas City.  The outside looked nearly complete, with only some landscaping needing to be finished.  Word is that it should be opening around April.  I've jokingly told the boys that's where they're going to get married (I'm half joking, half serious). 

At Liberty Jail--Grandpa Kennington, Gavin, Robert, Grandma Kennington, Adam and Matthew. 

Matthew, Gavin and Adam checking out the display at the jail.

Adam's 9th Birthday

Adam is 9 years old today.  His last year in the single digits.  It's fun  to see his growth and maturity increase with each year.  His current stats are:  60 lbs. and 4'6".  He currently is really into anything electronic, reading, Cub Scouts, Pokemon and other Japanese anime.  He is a great son and a very loving, big brother. 

   

We had a birthday party for him on Saturday.  He had 9 friends (and brothers) there.  He wanted a 'video game' party so that's what we had.  We had a Mario Kart cake, presents, and then lots of video games. 

 In attendance were:  l to r from Adam, Kyler Bennett, Kenji Craig, Cole Thompson, Orion Craig, Cyrus Kentner, Koby Bennett, Gavin Kennington and Matt Kennington. 

 I love this photo.  Even though we had asked the boys to sit on the floor in front of Adam, they just couldn't resist being right there while he opened his presents.

 Playing the Wii--Orion Craig (one of Adam's best friends from school), Matt, Adam and Cyrus Kentner (he's been to all of Adam's bday parties in Garden City--that's six parties).

Airhockey was also a popular game to play.  This was the best Santa present.  Everyone enjoys playing this. 

My Blue-Eyed Boys

18 Months

 I'm 10 days behind.  Gavin turned 18 months on the 10th.  This is a very fun age.  His current stats are:

Weight:  24 lbs.

Height:  31 in.

He is 1/2 inch and 1/2 lb. bigger than Matt was at this age.  Adam, however, was two inches taller and a pound heavier.  So I'm thinking Gavin may be more of Matt's size---which is little.  He is our social butterfly-talking to everyone, either saying "hi" or "bye-bye".  He has started putting together 2 and 3 word sentences.  He is obsessed with the vacuum.  He wonders where it's at, if I've used it, etc.  He has literally talked about the vacuum all day.  Which basically is him saying, "vacuum away?", or "vacuum mama?".  It's cute, but after answering those two questions for the 1000th time in a day, it gets a tad old.    He's in a clingy stage right now.  This isn't characteristic of him, so I'm figuring it's simply a phase.  He enjoys playing with trains, saying thank you, sitting at the piano, and getting his own snacks.  He knows where to get a small tupperware bowl and how to get a box of cereal out of the cupboard.  He attemps to pour the cereal himself.  Sometimes it works and other times it's a big mess.  He loves his little, blue bear.  He calls it "bear bear".  It has a pull string on the back that sings a lullaby when pulled.  He is definitely becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby.  

Adam's Music Program

Adam had his Music Program last week.  He wasn't too excited about singing but did enjoy playing the drums.  The theme was "Heroes".  He had hoped for a christmas program, but perhaps, next year. 

He got to stand in the front row--great for us, not so much for him.

Gavin, on the other hand, LOVED the program.  He had fun clapping after every song, and was very pleased to sit in his own chair.  If he wasn't clapping, he was saying 'hi' (repeatedly) to everyone around us. 

Whirlwind 15 Days

Life has been so busy the past 15 days.  I have traveled the last three weeks.  Our first weekend out of town we went to the temple in Denver.  It was a quick overnight trip.  It was really great to go to the temple and also to see all the beautiful trees in Denver.  The following weekend I flew to Salt Lake City for the memorial on my Nanna.  She had died in England the previous month.  For all of those that couldn't attend the funeral there, we had a family memorial in Utah.  It was really nice to see my siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.  It was meant to be just an overnight trip, so I could be back for Sunday.  However, my plane in Salt Lake was delayed a few hours so I missed the connecting flight to Garden City.  I ended up staying the night in Denver.  Originally I was supposed to get home Saturday evening at 8pm.  I finally made it home Sunday afternoon at 2pm.  The frustrating thing was we only live five hours from Denver but I spent 24 hours waiting to get home.  I got home, had Halloween the next night, an awards assembly and class party for the boys and then left again Thursday afternoon for Kansas City.  My friends, Amber & Kim, and I headed up there to attend the Time Out for Women conference.  We spent Friday shopping and seeing the Footloose remake (loved it!), Friday evening at the conference and Saturday as well.  We had a great time.  We got home last night at 11:30pm.  Living out here in the boonies makes us immune to driving 6-7 hours to go somewhere.  I don't know how many times I've said, "it's only a six hour drive--no big deal".  I have no out-of-town plans for this weekend.  Thank goodness.  I've got a couple of weeks to recuperate before Thanksgiving break. 

Halloween

I'm finally getting around to posting Halloween photos.  I know I'm a week late but at least I'm doing it.  We were behind on all Halloween festivities this year.  The day before, on Sunday, I had gotten back in town around 3pm.  That afternoon and evening we quickly decorated sugar cookies and carved our pumpkins.  We attempted to carve Star Wars pictures.  Way too complicated for us!  We eventually gave up as the entire face/picture caved in.  We resorted to the standard triangles.  As for costumes, Adam was Ash from Pokemon; Matthew was the Green Lantern, and Gavin was a Jayhawk.  I went and helped at the school for the class parties.  It was fun for me and a bit embarassing for the boys.  We enjoyed trick-or-treating.  Gavin quickly picked up on what to do.  Each door he said, "treat" and then an emphatic "bye-bye".  Too cute! 

Soccer Season

Adam is playing soccer again this fall.  Each year he is enjoying it more and more.   

 Gavin enjoys going to the soccer games.  He is either trying to run onto the field or running around the playground. 

Matt decided not to play soccer this year.  Not exactly sure why.  So, he spends his time on the swings during the games. 

Happy Birthday, Robert

Robert had his birthday last Friday.  We celebrated with dinner and cake.  The boys get so excited for birthdays.  We gave him the new blu-ray Star Wars saga DVD set.

Give Me Kiss

Gavin has started giving kisses.  In these photos he kept running into the bathroom while Matt took a bath in order to give him kisses.



Spaghetti Boy

"Is my face red?"

Brotherly Love--Matthew & Gavin

Dig, Dig, Dig...

About a week ago we replaced our sewer line.  What an ordeal!  Initially, the plumbers thought it would go in a straight line from the house to the alley.  They soon learned that wasn't the case.  Rather, it ran diagonally across our yard and then another 10 feet further down the alley.  Here's the 'before' picture. 

Let the digging begin!  They had to take down our fence to get the backhoe into the yard.  Soon after the digging started, they hit un unmarked gas line.  The fire department and gas company had to come out to check the gas levels in the house.  Then the digging resumed.

...And went on!  That is a tree root to the left of the trampoline.   So many roots were dug up, we think our tree is dying.  At least half of the leaves have turned yellow this week. 

...And on!  The trench was 10 feet deep.  This photo gives some perspective to the depth.  See the man in the trench and the gate above him. 

Here's a picture of the part of the pipe that replaced the old one.  The plumbers and excavators worked for 12 straight hours, in order to get the pipe in and to let us turn our water back on. 

The next day they returned to fill the trench back in.  It took two backhoes about four hours.  In the mean time, all of our grass is GONE. 

We now just have dirt.  Lots of dirt. 

Trip to Colorado---Denver

We had a four-day weekend over Labor Day.  We decided to head to Colorado--specifically Denver and Colorado Springs.  When we travel, especially to somewhere we haven't or the boys haven't been to, we try to see and do as much as possible. 

 Here's Gavin happily playing with his train.  He survived the five hour drive quite well.

 Adam and Matt playing their Nintendo DSs.

 We arrived during the afternoon.  After a quick stop at Toys-R-Us, we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese.  Later that evening all of the boys went swimming and I went shopping---by myself.  What a treat!   

Saturday we spent the day at the Nature & History Museum.  Oh, my--what a place.  They had dinosaurs, animals, space exploration, geology, health/body, and a discovery zone for young children. 

We then took the boys' to their first IMAX movie.  We saw one called "Under the Sea".  It was about the coral reefs around Papau New Guinea and Indonesia.  It was in 3D and very cool.  Gavin started to fuss, and he and I were "politely" asked to leave and kicked out.  At least they reimbursed our ticket.