Football

So, not only did we have practice four days a week, but football ended up being way to dramatic this season. We started off with the broken arm, and about the time the cast got off was when the game schedule cam out and all of Kaleb's games were scheduled to be on Sunday. After much discussion to no avail with the coaches, we left the decision up to Kaleb as to what he wanted to do. He has grown into such a wonderful young man. He decided he would go to practices with his team but that he didn't think he should play in the games on Sunday. It was tough some days to get to practice when he knew he couldn't play in the games, but he was such a good kid about it. At the end of the season he got the chance to play in a Saturday game with another team, and got to play in one post season Saturday game with his team. We of course went and cheered loudly for him. It was so fun to get to watch him finally get to play after all his hard work!
Here he is getting his trophy at the end of season banquet. We're really proud of him for sticking with it through the season despite all the problems that arose!

Cheerleading

Other than the four days a week of practice and games on Saturdays that kept us quite busy, cheer leading was great. The coaches were wonderful and Mayson was so cute. She is loud and bubbly!! She was born to be a cheerleader.


Other than the four days a week of practice and games on Saturdays that kept us quite busy, cheer leading was great. The coaches were wonderful and Mayson was so cute. She is loud and bubbly!! She was born to be a cheerleader.

Rhyan Starts Preschool

Rhyan started preschool this year. She did such a great job. She had always been the most reserved of our kids and the one who has had the hardest time being away from mom. She had talked about it for months and was so excited to go, but I was just waiting for the tears to start when she realized I was actually leaving her there. We did her orientation day where Asher and I stayed and she did great. On her first day by herself, on the drive to school we talked about how she would be there by herself and that mom would leave and come back to get her. She was very concerned and looking pretty sad but I of course assured her that I would definitely be coming back for her and that she would have a great time. Well, we got to school and walked in, hung her stuff up, and she gave me a hug and a kiss, told me she loved me and walked in the class without a second thought. She looked so proud of herself. Now, I will admit there was a small part of me going, "hey, wait a minute, you should be crying for mom and telling me not to go." But, the bigger part was so proud of her and happy for her and how much she has grown over the last year. She is such a big girl and is really such a sweet little person! Her little brother and best bud had a little adjusting to do. the first couple of days he had to be carried out screaming because he wanted to stay too. I think now he has learned to appreciate his alone time with mom. Every day when we pick her up though as soon as he sees her he runs for her and tackles her in a bear hug. It is very cute!

First Day of School

The kids (and mom) were so excited for school to start this fall. Our summer had been so crazy and it went so fast. I couldn't believe it was really over, but I'll tell you what, the start of school couldn't come fast enough. Kaleb and Mayson were very tired of one another and were needing a little more time apart! Kaleb started 5th grade this year, and Mayson started 2nd grade. I can't believe how big they are getting. It's crazy to think that Kaleb will be starting junior high next year. Let me just say, I am very afraid!!

Kaleb Breaks His Arm

So, in July football and cheer leading started. I can't tell you how glad I am to be done with that. The kids had fun and we had fun watching them, but practice was four nights a week. Again, I go back to, is it any wonder we didn't do the blog?? Anyway, the first week of August at practice one night, Kaleb broke his arm. Not very fun but he was tough about it and came home with this fancy camouflage cast. He was sad that he could play, but was a real trooper and went to practice every day anyway and helped the team with what he could. Great job Kaleb!!

Best Friends

Rhyan and Asher really are the best of friends. They are so cute with each other! They play together all the time and you can tell that they really enjoy one another. As you can see, Rhyan likes to help dress him up with her.

Rhyan's Fourth Birthday

Our little Rhyan turned four this year. She is such a sweet little girl and is really turning into her own, independent little person. She had a strawberry shortcake birthday party with all of her little friends and looked so cute!

This is Kirtland!

So, for those of you who don't know, we spent a good portion of our summer inundated by the play, This is Kirtland. THis is Kirtland is the same type or thing as the Palmyra Pageant of the Nauvoo Pageant. It is about the churches history in Kirtland and Joseph's role here. It is a lot of singing and dancing and is actually really good for and amateur production. Luckily we have people who are professionals to help with the production. Anyway, Kaleb, Mayson and Misty were in the play this year and it was quite an overwhelming time commitment, but it was a great experience. Yeah, I know what you're all saying. Really, Misty was singing and dancing on stage... well, let me tell you how this happened. Our dear friend Sunny had Mayson sing a solo in sacrament one Sunday, and upon realizing what a great voice she has thought it would be a great idea to let her try out for the play. Of course Mayson thought this would be great, when is she ever not looking to be the center of attention! Then of course Kaleb thought it would be fun too. He had just spent the year in Oxford's show choir and had really enjoyed himself. So, of course, the push over mom that I am, I hauled my kids out to Kirtland to try out for the play. Now, let me just say, I had no thought of trying out myself, I had nothing prepared, and I'm sure I was looking lovely because it was bright and early on a Saturday morning that we had to be there and I had not gotten cleaned up. Not sure how it happened, but somehow I ended up getting talked into trying out. Well, the rest is history! We all got in and had a great time. We had rehearsals three to four times a week from the the end of april through when performances started in July. All I can say is that it was a big commitment, but we had a great time and my kids are asking about doing it again next year. Rhyan says she wants to do it this time. I keep trying to help them understand that with the move coming up, we can't next year, but hey... since when do they listen to me? Okay, so for all of you who have given me so much crap about why we quit blogging this summer... are you starting to see why?? Our life was crazy!!

Larry's Birthday

We celebrated Larry birthday in July, and for those of you who don't know how old he is, I won't disclose... lets just say he's getting old! We had a great day with him and the kids all made him these really cute cards. They love their daddy!

Rolling Ridge Ranch

The day after the Fourth of July, Julie talked us into going with them to Rolling Ridge Ranch. I protested at first because it wasn't cheap and I wasn't sure I wanted to pay the money, but it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went. It is a zoo/animal park type thing owned by the Amish out in the middle of nowhere Ohio. It was an absolutely beautiful drive, and reminded me of why I sometimes consider staying out here. (don't worry, we're not planning on it) Anyway, you get into this wagon that is pulled by a team of oxen, and they give everyone a bucket of food. Then you start rolling along and wind up feeding animals you never thought you would get that close to. Yes, that is a water buffalo, and yes, that is a regular buffalo. Aaron thought it was pretty funny to put his food bucket down by my flip-flop clad foot and get the thing to lick my toes. It was pretty funny... it's always exciting at the Kalke house. We fed long horns and emus, zonkeys (yes, that's a real thing, it's a cross between a donkey and a zebra) and all sorts of animals I don't remember the names of. They had a petting zoo with lots of baby animals for the kids to hold and pet after we got off the wagon. The kids absolutely loved it! We all had so much fun and I'm really glad we went!! Thanks for the peer pressure Julie!

Fourth of July

FOurth of July was fun. We hung out with the neighbors like we do every year, had a great barbecue, and wasted money on fireworks that do nothing but shoot out a lot of smoke. Thanks to the wonderful state of Ohio, that's all we can get here. As you can see though, it doesn't put a damper on anybodies fun, it just adds to the humor!

Kaleb gets his Bear

Kaleb earned his Bear this year and we are proud of how hard he works and how excited he is about scouts. It's a great program and he has so much fun going. We're grateful for the great scout leaders we have!

Father's Day

Father's Day was a good day this year. We pampered dad, and I know he was grateful to have all four kids home with him and doing well. Recent events have definitely helped us both be more mindful of how blessed we are to have our four kids with us!!

Dabama Theatre Children's Playwriting Festival

So, for those of you who didn't hear, there is an independent theatre here that has a children's play writing contest each spring. The children were required to write the plays entirely on their own. The only help they could get was with spelling and the actual mechanics of setting it up on the computer. They had to do all the writing/dialogue and plot themselves. Mayson thought this sounded like fun and decided she was going to write a play. Her play was entitled Who Gets The Cookie, and was about a thief trying to steal a cookie and the mishaps that followed. It was really cute!! If anyone is interested I can email you a copy. Of the over three hundred applicants, twenty were picked as winners and twelve of those were produced. Well, Mayson not only won, but hers was one of the plays that was produced. She was so excited and we were so proud of her! We got to go to the theatre for the opening night of the festival, watch the plays and be there for the playwrite reception where she received her award and savings bond. Needless to say, this of course occurred the same night that Asher went back into the hospital, why would we expect anything to be easy. We were so torn between Asher and needing to be there for Mayson. Let me just say the nurses at Rainbow are awesome. They sent us off to watch Mayson's play, and took Asher to play and fed him dinner and put him to bed. It was the most expensive night of baby-sitting we will ever have!! We went back to spend the night with him after wards, but I am so grateful for the wonderful nurses and doctors who were so willing to help us and take good care of our Asher. I know that Mayson was so happy we were both able to be there with her. The first two pictures on here are the ones the photographers took to put in the book that all the scripts were in, and to hang up and put on the post cards that went out and posters hanging around town. Mayson thought it was really cool when we went to the pool and here picture was on the poster hanging on the community board!

Back to the Hospital

So, once again our Asher ended up in the hospital for two days. This time he got to be on the children's floor instead of in the PICU and he loved it. They had a big toy room with an air hockey table and balls and ride on toys. He thought his crib he was in was a jungle gym to climb under, and once again all the nurses fell in love with him. Also, once again, we came home with no more information than we had the first time. For whatever reason his body was struggling to keep his blood sugar where it needed to be. When we were admitted this time, they thought he was in early onset type 1 diabetes. Thankfully through all the lab work and test that has been ruled out. Once again he was happy and cooperative and all that you could ask for with a two year old in this situation.

Scout Camp

Kaleb went to scout camp in June and LOVED it!! He came home so excited each night about the archery and the bb guns and everything else they did. He earned lots of awards while there and just overall had a great time. Mom even got to come and help for a little while. I was supposed to be for a whole day, but once again, Asher stole Kaleb's thunder. I ended up back at the hospital with Asher by noon that day so I only got a few hours with Kaleb that morning. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time with him next year.

Checking out the Dinosaurs

We went to check out he dinosaurs at the zoo and for the most part the kids loved them. Rhyan was a little cautious but enjoyed herself up until the very end. As you can see, she was not happy while she was sitting on the dinosaur at the end. The funny thing is that she wasn't afraid of sitting on the dinosaur, she was scared of the ones right behind us. There were two of them shooting water out of their mouths and she was terrified they were going to spit on her. It was actually pretty funny.