Kirby Family

Things I Have Not Done in a Year

2011-06-22T06:48:00.001-05:00

In the past year I have not . . .

1) Driven a car.

2) Worn a seatbelt while riding in a car.

3) Used a vacuum.

4) Used a dishwasher.

5) Used a dryer.

6) Cooked anything in an oven.

7) Said “it’s cold” except when I was in an overly air conditioned movie theater, bus, restaurant ect.

8) Eaten steak, or really any form of beef.

9) Gone a day without eating rice.

10) Walked anywhere without carefully watching where I step so I can avoid the many creepy crawlies and the occasional elephant poop.

11) Walked into a public restroom expecting to find any of the following: a western toilet, toilet paper, soap or paper towels or any means of drying your hands.

12) I have not flushed toilet paper down the toilet.

13) Gone a day without smiling and laughing.

It has been a great year and I will miss so many things about Thailand and I am looking forward to the day I get to come back again.

The Beach

2010-09-19T06:10:00.010-05:00

Our Bungalow

After summer school ended the Kirby's really needed to get away and relax so we planned a trip to the beach before the school started. We headed to Pranburi which is south of Hua Hin. This trip was much easier than our previous one to Kanchanaburi. Again we took the public bus, but it was a much shorter trip and the bus was much nicer.

Once at the beach we finally relaxed. We stayed at a resort called Dolphin Bay that was perfect for families. The set up was great and allowed Rob and I a chance to lounge, read and even get a massage. The kids immediately made friends and spent their days playing in the pool and at the beach.

After a few days of doing nothing we decided it was time to venture off the resort. We hired a local fisherman to take us out in his boat to do a little fishing. The trip out to the fishing spot was nice as we watched jellyfish float by. Once at the fishing spot we were given two fishing poles and 3 coke bottles with fishing line and a hook. We set about fishing. We didn't have much luck with the coke bottle, Chet finally caught one on it right before we headed back. Everyone caught a fish and of course yet again I out fished Rob. Although the fisherman out fished us all put together and he was using a coke bottle! When we finished fishing we headed back to the hotel and gave the fish to the hotel restaurant they cooked them up for us and we enjoyed a nice fish dinner that night.

On our last day we took another trip off the resort to Monkey Island. Monkey island is an island that filled with monkeys that is very close to the resort. Again a local fisherman took us over to the island. Then he gave us bananas to feed the monkeys. Nell was very excited about this and I think it was her favorite part of our trip. All too soon it was time to head back home and start the school year. We really enjoyed our stay at Dolphin Bay and hope to go back again.

Chet reeling in his first fish!

Our Fishing Boat
Me with my first of many fish.
Rob with his first fish, note how much smaller his is than mine.
The kids with our haul.
Chet and Katie waiting to dig into our fish dinner.
Katie, Nell and Chet at Monkey Island.
Chet looking cool on the way back from Monkey Island

Kanchanburi

2010-07-30T07:00:00.007-05:00

Last weekend was the beginning of Buddhist Lent, so I had two days off! We took our long weekend and headed to Kanchanburi to visit the Bridge over the river Kwai (pronounced like square with out the S) and Erawan National Park.

Our journey began with a bus ride. We took a 2nd class air conditioned bus to Kanchanburi, it was only supposed to be 2 hours but with all the stops it took longer. Then we got on a local non air conditioned bus that was packed like sardines for another hour to our bus stop. From the bus stop we walked a ways before a hotel van picked us up and took us to the pier where we got on a long tail boat down the river Kwai to our hotel. To say the least we were in a very remote area. The first day we hung out at the hotel and the kids swam in the pool.

Sunday we headed into town to visit the sites. For those of you might not be up on your history, during WWII the Japanese occupied parts of Thailand, including Kanchanburi. They set up prisoner of war camps here and used the prisoners to build a railroad that would connect Thailand and Burma (now Myanmar). We started with a stop at the cemetery then headed over to the Bridge over the River Kwai. We walked part of the way across and then had lunch on the river. The restaurant had fish food, so the kids had fun feeding the fish in the river, Mom and Dad enjoyed eating the yummy fish from the river. Next stop was the JEATH museum. I would definitely skip this one next time. Next up we headed to Hellfire Pass, which was just past our hotel. This was one of the most difficult parts of the railway has they had to cut through a large section of rock. The museum here was excellent and it was very interesting to walk along the trail and see the pass. I would definitely recommend that people take the extra time to come out here when visiting.

Monday was our day to go to Erawan National park. We hired the most cautious songtow driver I have ever come across in Thailand. He drove very slow and slowed down for all the speed bumps! The only frightening thing was the hand gun we noticed half way through our trip in his glove box. Erawan National park consists of a series of 7 waterfalls. You hike along a trail to each of the falls stopping along the way to swim. The kids really enjoyed this. Nell especially liked the one you could slide down. I liked the one that we dangled our feet in and little fish came up to us to nibble on our feet. Watch out for the big fish though they can hurt.

Our trip ended on a very sad note. Our last night there we received word that Rob's Grandmother Gayle had passed away and that our basement in Illinois had flooded. This made the trip back rather somber. We will miss Gayle very much, but know that she led a long and full life.

Buses, Taxis, Boats and Skytrains

2010-07-23T05:17:00.010-05:00

Last weekend we took the kids to see the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Rob and I have been before, but this was the first visit for the kids. We decided to go by water taxi, so we got on a bus and headed down to the pier in our town, Pakkred. When we arrived we saw a woman selling snakes and various sizes of turtles. Buddhists believe that you receive merit if you release animals back into the wild. The kids were interested in trying this, so we purchased three small turtles for them to release in the river. After releasing the animals we asked which boat do we get on to get on to go to Bangkok they just laughed at us. After waiting and searching for a while a very nice woman called us over and explained the boat doesn't stop here on weekends only weekdays. We needed to go to the main pier in Nonthaburi, so we jumped in a taxi and were soon at the right pier.

The boat ride into Bangkok was pleasant, as we got closer and closer the boat filled up more and more. When we got close to our stop we had to fight our way through all the people to the back to get off, fortunately we began our trip to the back a few stops early or we might not have made it. The boat drops you off right at the Grand Palace, so we ate lunch at a riverside restaurant and then headed over to see the sights.

Rob and I had to buy tickets for 350 baht, the kids being Thai were free. They went through a separate entrance. Once inside everyone was amazed by the beauty. All three kids took lots of pictures. As we walked around we kept seeing the same two novice monks. They were about Chet's age maybe a year or two older. We think they may have been following us around. They kept looking at us, smiling and laughing and then running away.

After sightseeing we promised Chet we would buy him a book he wanted at the bookstore in Siam Paragon so we headed over there. This was Rob's first time this trip to this part of Bangkok, the kids and I went to the bookstore a week ago to buy books for school. This is the area where a lot of the protests were and you could still see the damage. After the bookstore we went to Mac Donalds for dinner. It was very strange, they sat us and took our order at the table and even brought us our food. Siam Paragon is right on the Skytrain so we took it to the last stop and got a taxi home. It was a very busy and tiring day, but lots of fun.Nell with the turtles before we released them

Nonthaburi Pier, if you look close you will see the light posts have Durian fruit hanging from them Nonthaburi is famous for it's Durian fruit.

Rob and I at the Grand Palace, photo by Chet

What is left of ZEN department store after the protests

Toilet Paper

2010-07-16T07:22:00.007-05:00

When we went on our excursion last week to Koh Kret I knew I wanted to buy a piece of pottery. I was thinking about getting something practical that we could use around the house. Originally I was thinking a flower pot, since we were going to buy plants that day as well. Then we were in a shop and Rob and I both saw the toilet paper holder and we knew that would be a most practical item to buy.

For those of you who haven't traveled in Thailand or only ate and stayed at 5 star hotels and restaurants you may not understand how many uses toilet paper has in Thailand. At most restaurants including my school cafeteria there or no napkins to be seen, but on every table is a roll of toilet paper in a plastic holder. In many of the bathrooms, I am talking the nice ones there are no paper towels or hand dryers, but there is a big roll of toilet paper. In my classroom I have no Clorox wipes to clean after snack and no tissues for then kids noses, instead I have toilet paper. Of course there is also one thing that you must never do with your toilet paper in Thailand and that is flush it down the toilet! The plumbing just can't handle it and you will end up with a backed up toilet.

City Tour

2010-07-10T07:32:00.012-05:00

Today we hired a taxi driver named Chanok who spoke English to take us around Nonthaburi. We started the morning by driving through the expensive well secured village that backs up to our house, Nichada Thani. Next he took us to the Royal Irrigation Department. This is where the King stores his boats on the Chao Phra River. There was a small temple/shrine as well as a site of an old temple from the Ayuthaya period. While we were looking at the river Nell spotted the largest snake I have ever seen floating in the river, don't worry it was dead. Check out Chet's blog for a photo.
Next Chanok took us to Koh Kret, a small island known for its pottery. To get to the island you have to take a boat as there is no bridge. We walked around the island for a bit and saw how they make the pottery. Once we had toured the island it was time to cross back over the river and purchase some fish for our pond. Then we needed some plants to help shade our pond so we visited the plant store and purchased a lotus for the pond and a beautiful bougainvillea bush for in front of our house.

Tiger Shrine at Royal Irrigation Department

Watching pottery being made on Koh Kret

Some of the finished pottery

Thai Sweets for sale at a shop on Koh Kret

Katie with our newly purchased fish

Releasing the fish into our pond

Bugs and other Creepy Critters

2010-07-09T05:01:00.003-05:00

I know many of you are wondering about the bugs and other creepy critters. As I wrote earlier, Katie ate a fried grub the other day that we got from a cart that came by our house. We have seen many lizards around our house and Rob even caught one in our bathroom. On my way to school I have seen many squashed toads and two squashed snakes in the road. At school the other day there was a live toad that hopped into the boys bathroom. After we had a very hard rainfall one day I came out from school to see a fish flopping on the road. I pointed it out to one of the office staff and they told the security guard so she could catch it and eat it. Unfortunately before she got to it a man on a motorcycle came by and scooped it up. That same day we learned that you always shake your shoes out before you put them on when Chet found a cockroach in his, (you leave your shoes outside so you never know who or what may have crawled in especially after it has been raining).

Our House

2010-07-08T07:49:00.009-05:00

We moved into our house on Tuesday, June 29th. It wasn't my first choice, but it the other house I liked more we could not move into for two weeks plus it was more money. We have a two store house with three bedrooms there is an extra room (with no air conditioning) on the first floor. The house is completely boxed in by a concrete wall, on top of the wall is broken glass to keep anyone out who may want to climb over. There is a large spirit house in the front. We are to place offerings there to keep the bad spirits out of our house, we have not done this but so far I haven't felt any bad spirits. Around the house we have no plants or greenery to speak of, but we do have a little fish pond with no fish. Hopefully this weekend we will add some plants and fish. The house came very sparsely furnished, so Rob and I feel like newlyweds setting up house again with very limited resources. From the house it takes me about 25 minutes to walk to school, we hope to purchase bikes soon to make that shorter. We can also walk to a big shopping mall, Central Changwattana. In our village there is a community pool and tennis courts, we took the kids swimming there on the 4th of July. Everyday different carts and trucks pass our house selling various things. I have seen and ice cream man, a broom man, the meat and vegetable man as well as the a man selling sweets and fried bugs. Katie was really curious about the fried bugs and even tried a grub. We are settling in slowly, below are some photos from move in day. I will add more once we get things decorated more.

Spirit HouseKitchen: Note there is no oven. That is a washing machine, no dryer.
At the other end is a small refrigerator. Living room, no TV yet
The master bedroom

Hampton International School

2010-06-25T20:27:00.002-05:00

On the flight over I kept reminding myself that I would need to adopt the Thai attitude of Mai Pen Rai, which basically means never mind, no problem. When we went to see the school for the first time I definitely needed this frame of mind as one of the first words out of their mouths were "I hope you can be flexible." Then they said that they only had one student enrolled for preschool and so they wanted me to teach 1st grade.

A little about the school. It is brand new, in fact they are still putting the finishing touches on the school. Because it is new, they do not have many students enrolled. Right now my class will only have 3 students. All the staff are super friendly and the facilities are very nice. I will be teaching summer school starting July 5th which will be like 4 weeks of summer camp. This should be a nice way to get to know some of the students I will have and get my feet wet teaching a new grade. I am a little scared to be starting work, but also excited at the same time.

We Are Here

2010-06-23T01:24:00.007-05:00

After many hours on two planes and a few hours waiting for our connection in Japan we arrived in Thailand late Tuesday night. As soon I stepped off the plane the familiar smell of Thailand hit me in the face. For those who you have never been it is difficult to understand the distinct smell that is Thailand. It is a mix of heat, sweat, jasmine and spices among other things that I have only experience here. The plane ride was uneventful, the kids are truly seasoned travelers. The whole way over I had to keep reminding myself that this was not just a two week vacation, we are actually moving to Thailand. I am not sure when the reality of everything will really sink in with me.

We arrived at our hotel and settled down for bed by about 2 am, then we were all awake by 6 am. We showered, ate breakfast, figured out how to connect to the Internet and then went to explore a bit. We walked down the street and checked out Big C, a local store something like Walmart but not exactly. It was fun for the kids to see all kinds of new foods and see some familiar ones. The kids were especially interested in all the different chip flavors. Check out Chet's blog for more about that. Our next adventure will begin shortly we are headed over to the school at 2:30 pm.

Katie Sleeping at the Tokyo Airport

Our Hotel TK Palace

The Main Road

Good Bye America

2010-06-20T21:06:00.004-05:00

As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room close to O'Hare airport. Our house and suitcases are all packed and we are ready to go. Our flight will take off tomorrow at 11:40 am and if all goes well we should arrive in Thailand on Tuesday at 10:50 pm. The reality of everything still hasn't settled in for me, maybe when I am finally on the plane it will all hit me. The kids are very excited and I know they will have a hard time getting to sleep tonight. Maybe that will help them get on Thailand time, Thailand is 12 hours ahead of us. I am not looking forward to jet lag, especially since we hit the ground running. I have a week before work starts and we need to find a place to live still! I can't even imagine what our new house/apartment will look like but I do know it will be nothing like our house in the states.

Last Day

2010-06-18T20:41:00.003-05:00

Today was Nell's last day at gymnastics. It was a bittersweet day for Nell. Gymnastics has become such a big part of her life this year, she practices 9 hours a week. She wants to continue with gymnastics while in Thailand. I have looked on the internet and found a gym that might be a possibility, but I know it wont be anything like it is here. This morning I asked her what she really wanted to do today at her last class and she quickly responded squat on leap to the high bar. This is a new skill she has been working on for the next level. When I arrived she asked me to video her doing this skill.
Coach Erin and Nell

Packing

2010-06-17T07:03:00.003-05:00

It feels like we have been packing and organizing our house for months now. The one task I have dreaded the most is packing up Chet's room. Anyone who has been to my house will understand why this task is so daunting. Well yesterday I finished and Chet's room hasn't been this clean since the day we moved in. I really wish I had taken a before picture for those who had never seen his room, but I didn't think about that till I was half way done. Below is the after picture.

Thailand Here We Come

2010-06-15T21:56:00.004-05:00

Katie Chet and Nell in front of the Thai Consulate in May

This year has been spent planning and preparing for our move to Thailand and now it is finally upon us. We are currently madly packing up our house and getting all the last minute details in order. On Monday we board a plane to begin our Thai adventure. This has been in the works for about six years and it is finally going to happen. When we first started to talk about our year off we had a completely different plan. Rob was going to be taking a sabbatical while he finished up his doctorate and we were going to travel around the world and spend an extended period of time in Thailand. Well Rob put his doctorate on hold indefinitely and we began to look at things in a different way. Eventually we came up with the plan to spend a year in Thailand, which meant one of us would need to do something to secure a visa and an income to help support us. As we talked with more and more people it became clear the easiest way to do this was for one of us to get a teaching job and since I have experience teaching the task fell to me. I applied to many schools and Skyped with a few before accepting a position at Hampton International School in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

A Year In Review

2010-06-15T21:08:00.007-05:00

The 2009-2010 school year was another busy one in the Kirby household. We started September off with the girls birthday. They turned 8 this year and wanted a dog themed party. This year was full of change for me. I left my job at the recreation center and took a job as a teacher at a local preschool. This was a great change for me as it meant that my work schedule followed the kids school schedule, no more working on school holidays. I spent much of my free time trying to get us prepared for our upcoming move to Thailand. Which mostly consisted of me applying and interviewing for jobs.

The kids as usual we over extended with all their activities.
Chet played soccer, Tae Kwon Do, Lego League and took up the alto sax this year. He continued to do well in school, but one of his biggest achievements was his Lego League making it to the state level of competition. Chet also turned 11 this year and was promoted from 5th grade.

Nell did gymnastics, Girl Scouts and piano this year. Gymnastics took up most of her time as began competing this year. Nell excelled at school this due to an awesome teacher. Her biggest achievement this year was qualifying and competing at the state gymnastics tournament.

Katie did piano, Girl Scouts, Tae Kwon Do and Irish Dance. Katie also did very well at school and has become an avid reader. Her biggest achievement was placing first at her Tae Kwon Do tournament.

We took a few trips this year including a trip over Halloween to see the girls sister Abby and a trip to California to visit Grandma and Grandpa O and the California relatives.

Chet at one of his Lego competitions

Katie and Nell warming up after a swim at Grandma and Grandpa O's house

Nell and Katie at their 8th Birthday

Nell getting ready for her first gymnastics meet

Katie Nell and Abby on Halloween

Kirby Family Christmas Eve

Katie in her Irish dance costume

The girls with their teacher after the school talent show

Chet's 11th Birthday

Chet and his teacher at promotion

Katie getting 1st place for Tae Kwon Do

Last Summer

2010-06-15T19:21:00.008-05:00

Okay so it has been a year since I last updated my blog and I thought it might be a good idea to get caught up before we start a new adventure in Thailand. I will start with last summer and our trip out to Montana. We began planning our trip to Montana back in October when I made reservations for Rob and I to spend a night in Glacier Park at the Granite Park Chalet. The plan was for Rob and I to leave the kids with my parents and hike into the Chalet spend a night and hike out. Reservations fill up very quickly for the two Chalets in the park and we were lucky enough to get a spot.

We took the Highline trail which begins at Logan Pass to the Chalet. It was a beautiful day at the start of our hike, although all day we watched as the clouds spilled over the Garden Wall. When we were less then a mile out we saw the first lightning, we were fortunate to make it to the chalet before rain set in. We signed up for our cooking time and settled into our room. After a dinner of freeze dried beef stroganoff and a bottle of wine that we hiked in the rain had stopped and we went for a short hike and watched the deer all around the chalet.

The next morning we got an early start as we headed down Swiftcurrent trail towards Many Glacier. It was a cool morning and the clouds were beautiful as the rose from the trail. Rob somehow talked me into taking a detour and hiking up to the Swiftcurrent fire lookout or as I like to refer to it the death march. We were the only ones on the trail that seemed to never end. As we got passed the tree line the wind was blowing hard and I was freezing but eventually we made it to the top. On a clear day they say you can see to Canada, but it was nowhere near a clear day. It made Rob happy to get to the top of the mountain and now that I have had almost a year to recover I might agree to do it again, but I would make sure I had bear spray as we did see evidence of bears.

After our detour we continued our way down. On the way we meet a mangy marmot who tried to chase me down the mountain. We also saw big horned sheep and lots of huckleberries. We heard from hikers coming up that there were bears, but we were lucky enough to not see them till we had arrived in Swiftcurrent and where in a car. We hitched a ride back to Logan Pass with another couple we meet at the chalet. Then it was time to drive back to the cabin and see the kids.

This was one of the best trips I have ever taken and I look forward to the kids being old enough that we can all do it together.

View of the mountain we hiked to get to the lookout, taken at the end of the Swiftcurrent trail

View of the many lakes we would be hiking around

Small waterfall we saw on the Swiftcurrent trail

Darcie and the Mangy Marmot

Fire LookoutView of the ChaletRob and I on the Highline Trail

Highline Trail

Rob on the Highline trail

Tennis and Softball

2009-06-26T17:24:00.007-05:00

This summer I told the kids they could try a new sport if they wanted. Nell and Chet wanted to try tennis, just like mom and Katie choose softball. Luckily for mom they were offering tennis and softball at the same park at the same time! Nell and Chet did a great job with tennis. Nell's coach thinks she has some potential and should continue. With her gymnastics schedule this isn't going to happen, but maybe she can be like her mom and do gymnastics till high school and then switch to tennis. I was also very impressed with Chet, he has a nice swing and he is always prepared to return any ball (most of the other kids just stood and watched the ball bounce past them). Katie, I a mean Katherine (that is what she told her coaches to call her) is great at softball. She can hit any ball that is pitched to her and has quite an arm when it comes to throwing.

Summer Rolls & Grasshopper Pie

2009-06-26T17:14:00.002-05:00

When we go out to a Thai or Vietnamese restaurants summer rolls are one of our favorite things to order. Unfortunately they can be a bit pricey and you usually only get two and when you have to share them 5 ways no one ever gets enough. So this Father's Day I decided to try making them at home. They were surprisingly easy and for about the cost of two orders I was able to make two big plates full. They sure hit the spot on hot day. In addition to the summer rolls I also made a grasshopper pie, with a Cocoa Krispi crust. It was pretty yummy, but a little hard to eat.

Tae Kwon Do Tournament

2009-06-21T10:19:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday the Kirby family skipped soccer and headed to Bloomington, IL for a Tae Kwon Do Tournament. Chet and Katie had been practicing hard for the tournament ever since their instructor mentioned that they might be ready to compete. Katie was a little nervous and unsure about competing, she doesn't like to fail at anything. Her instructor was very good as easing her mind and preparing her, so when the day came she was confident and ready knowing that we everyone only expected two things from her 1) To do her best and 2) To have fun. Well Katie did just that and she took 1st place! She was so excited/happy/proud it was great to joy she was feeling when she realized she had won. Chet also did his best and had fun taking 3rd place, missing second by only a tenth of a point. Both Katie and Chet had a great day and are looking forward to competing again next year.

Happy Birthday Chet!

2009-06-11T16:12:00.005-05:00

Chet turned 10 back in April. Things were a bit hectic then, I was still working full time, my folks came for a visit and various other activities kept me from posting. We celebrated his day with a family party at our house. In attendance was both sets of grandparents plus Rob's brother and his family. Grandpa O made some delicious ribs for everyone, and Chet choose an ice cream cake from Marble Slab. Then a few weeks latter, we had a friends party. For his friends party Chet choose a Dr. Who theme, and we played laser tag in the backyard. It was a really laid back party with minimal work, but everyone had a good time.

Chet helping Grandpa with the ribs.

Easter

2009-06-11T16:03:00.004-05:00

Easter this year started with me putting on our towns Easter Egg Hunt. I was told that last year there were about 20 kids and not to expect too many. Here is a photo of the last of the three age groups which was the smallest, so I had a few more than last year. For Easter we hosted this year. Rob's family joined us. Between the egg hunt on Saturday, the church egg hunt on Sunday and our family hunt on Sunday the kids ended up with way too much candy (although mom is always willing to help them with their chocolate). It was a nice day.

Florida

2009-03-28T09:42:00.004-05:00

We just got back from 4 busy days vacationing in Florida. It was an almost perfect trip, but we wont dwell on Rob leaving his wallet in the rental car when we were leaving. We started our vacation with a trip to Kennedy Space Center. While there we checked out all the rockets, I Max Movie, Space Shuttle Launch simulator, bus tour of the launch pad and had lunch with Astronaut Jon McBride. It was a very cool day and we didn't have time see everything!

Our next day was probably my favorite. We spent the day at Discovery Cove. It wasn't cheap, but it was a wonderful experience that we will always remember. We swam with dolphins, snorkeled, feed stingrays and relaxed on the lazy river.

Our tickets to Discovery Cove included passes to Sea World so that was how we spent the next day. We took in the Shamu show, dolphin show and of course Clyde and Semore (the sea lion show). Clyde and Semore were the kids favorites.

On our last day we headed back to Kennedy to finish the bus tour. We were able to see the Saturn V rocket, touch a moon rock and visit the building where they get items ready to go up to the Space Station. There are only 3 more items that will go up in the Space Shuttle to complete the Space Station and we saw them! From there we headed to Cocoa Beach, where Mom and Dad relaxed on the sand and the kids played. The kids found some Jellyfish that had washed up and of course Katie was fascinated and had to have her picture taken touching one. This was one of the nicest trips that just our family has taken, the only downside was it was too short

Nell's Hair

2009-03-13T16:56:00.003-05:00

Nell has been growing her hair out to donate for sometime now. Today she decided it was time to cut it. She was very excited and proud, till they finished. Then the tears came, because she didn't want short hair. Luckily they didn't last long and Mom rewarded her by letting her pick out some new hair clips. I think it looks really cute, but she is set on growing it out. Katie wants her to keep it short so they can have the same hair. Only time will tell what happens.

Irish Dance

2009-03-13T16:47:00.003-05:00

Katie had her big dance recital on March 7th. This year I skipped curling her hair and bought a wig. Katie did a great job! She always has to be the center because she is the smallest, she is even smaller than the kids in the beginning class. Sometimes this bothers her, but tonight she didn't let it get to her. We were joined by Rob's brother and his family. It was very nice of them to come and made Katie feel very special, as did her present from Grandma O, an Irish dance outfit for her doll.

Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-02-09T16:45:00.004-06:00

This past Friday night was the Daddy Daughter Dance at my work. This was my first time being in charge of the event. It was a lot of work, but also very rewarding. Since I was in charge of things I gave my camera to Chet to be photographer. Needless to say I don't have many good pictures. Everyone had a great time, I hope to add some better pictures once my friend sends them to me, so check back later.

Family Tree

2009-02-09T16:39:00.003-06:00

Chet's class at school has been working on a project called "Voices from the Past". As a part of the project children had to put together a family tree. This is something that can be difficult for an adopted child, but Chet handled it so well. He decided he wanted to include everyone, his birth family, foster family, adoptive family, sisters birth family, foster family and half sister and half brother. The amazing thing is how he came up with a way to include everyone, by having different branches come off of a 3 dimensional tree, with leaves that included extended family members, such as cousins. Chet continues to amaze me with his creativity.

Cheerleading Clinic

2009-02-09T16:34:00.004-06:00

The girls participated in the Illini Cheerleading clinic again this year. Katie was a little unsure at first because Nell knew so many girls from gymnastics and she didn't really know anyone, but she ended up having a great day. Nell enjoyed seeing her old friends from gymnastics that moved up to team this fall. Both girls did a great job, and so did the Illini Women's Basketball team. The best part of this year was that I didn't get my camera stolen.

Lego Build Off!

2009-02-09T16:28:00.004-06:00

My work hosted a Lego Build Off. All the children were given a new tub of Lego's and one hour to create what ever they wanted out of their Lego's, then prizes were awarded for the best creations. Chet created a mechanic shop for spy boats. He won 2nd place, no I didn't do the judging otherwise he would have won 1st.

Inaugural Ball

2009-02-09T16:23:00.002-06:00

To celebrate the inauguration of our new President, Rob and his students put together an inaugural ball. I borrowed an old bridesmaid dress from my sister in law and we headed of to the ball. It was fun to see the students so excited about the future of our country, but I have to say it made me feel old. I only new a couple of the songs they played and Rob didn't know any of them! It was still fun to get dressed up and go out though.

New Years

2009-02-09T16:15:00.003-06:00

I am trying to get all caught up on my posts. For New Years this year we headed up to the Chicago area to visit the girls half sister and their family. It had been a while since we had seen them, but the kids started playing right away as if they had never been apart. The girls always have a good time together and were up till the wee hours talking. Chet also has a good time spending time with their boys, whom he considers to be his brothers too. After New Years we said good bye to Rob as he left for Jamaica on a mission trip with some of his students.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T09:20:00.004-06:00

Christmas 2008 has gotten off to a great start. The kids were up bright and early this morning, all excited about Christmas. We have opened out presents and had a yummy breakfast of crepes with Nutella. Latter in the day we will head over to the Peoria area to celebrate with Rob's family. So far the favorite presents for the kids are as follows. Chet: his new red video camera and the Wii game Ravin Rabbids 2. Katie: her new blue camera that she plans to use to take pictures and create her own newspaper. Nell: her quillo (quilt/pillow) and her new pink camera. Rob: our new couch. Darice: our new couch and my Rumba whom I have named Pepe. I hope everyone is having a nice Christmas morning.

Just Another Typical Saturday

2008-12-21T10:16:00.005-06:00

This past Saturday was another typical Saturday in the Kirby household, with way too many things going on. The girls had their last ballet class (no more Saturday classes from now on), then we went right to Chet and Katie's Tae Kwon Do test. Katie is really doing a great job, we had lots of parents come up and compliment her after her test. Both Katie and Chet moved up a belt. Chet moved up to a striped belt, on his next move he has to break two boards at once! I really want him to move up because he will get a new black uniform, his white one is getting too small and isn't so white anymore. After the test we had lunch then headed home for a little while. Then it was time to go to a friends house for dinner, yummy homemade Korean food. After which we headed over to the University for the girls piano concert. It was well past their bedtime by the time they got to preform, but they did their best although rehearsal went much better. I am still having trouble posting video so check back latter and it may be here.

New Couch

2008-12-11T18:06:00.003-06:00

We finally got a new couch. We had been looking for one since April, but could not find one we liked in our price range. Finally after Thanksgiving we headed over to Good's Furniture and found the exact couch I had been looking and it was on sale. The only issue was they could tell use when they would be able to deliver it, but this week they called to say they could bring it on Thursday. Wednesday they called to tell me they would deliver it between 6:30 and 8:30 am! I told them I had to take the kids to school at 7:30 am and wouldn't be home till 8:30 am, they assured me they would deliver it before I had to leave. Well sure enough this morning they showed up at 6:33 am! It looks great and I am very happy.

Busy Weekend

2008-12-11T17:55:00.007-06:00

This past weekend was another busy one in the Kirby household. We got double booked on Sunday, when the University moved their gymnastic exhibition because of an NCAA volleyball tournament. We made it work and everyone had fun. Nell and I went to the gymnastics exhibition while Rob, Katie and Chet headed over to church for the greening of the church. Nell and I were able to enjoy the entire exhibition, get a picture with her favorite gymnast for the third year in a row and even get autographs from all the gymnasts and still made it in time for dinner at church and then the pageant. The kids did an excellent job in the pageant this year, but Katie really stole the show. She knew her line the best out of everyone and delivered them with lots of emotion. Katie and Nell also sang a duet together, it wasn't outstanding, but they did a good job. (I am having trouble posting the video so check back latter) It was a very fun night for everyone, but we were tiered and ready for bed when it was all over.

Finding Balance

2008-12-11T17:44:00.002-06:00

Going back to work has caused me to reevaluate some of my priorities. Life has just gotten too busy for me to try to be supper mom. Not that I was before, but I did try harder. Sometimes I worry that I am having to give up too much of the things I used to do with my kids, but on the other hand they are getting older and have other interests now. What I am learning is I can't keep up with all the traditions we used to have, but I need to figure out which ones I wont let go. This year I completely forgot about Loy Krathong, and that is something I hope never to do again as that is very important to me and to instilling a sense of pride in my children's birth country. I also didn't have a spooky dinner on Halloween and I wont be having the kids friends over this year to make gingerbread houses. I did however help the kids make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and we are continuing our tradition of reading a different Christmas book every night. I just hope that I am providing my children with a happy childhood that they will look back fondly on and I am pretty sure that I am only time will tell.

2008-11-09T10:00:00.003-06:00

Even though I might complain about living in the Midwest, what with its lack of mountains and its freezing wind there are some nice things about where we live. One of the best things is that on any given day there is always something going on, and usually it is free. This weekend it was an Irish dance performance by Identity an Irish dance troop from the University. The girls and I headed over to the library to watch them dance. They even taught all the kids a jig, of course Katie already knew all the steps. The girls were very nice and took time to talk with all the kids. Can't wait to see what we can do next weekend.

Halloween

2008-11-02T17:51:00.005-06:00

I have to admit I really didn't get into Halloween this year. I was just too busy planning Trick or Treat Street and a Haunted house for our towns Halloween festivities that my kids got the short end of things this year. The kids did get to carve pumpkins, which they grew themselves, although I failed to get any pictures of the finished products. On Halloween the kids went trick or treating with Rob, then headed over to the Recreation Center. This year Nell was an cheerleader, Katie was Pikachu and Chet was Ash (Pikachu's trainer). A big thank you to Grandma O'Neil for her help with Chet and Katie's costumes. I think the kids had a good time, I know they got more candy than they have ever seen.

Piano Recital

2008-10-26T17:07:00.003-05:00

Friday night I took the girls to their first piano recital. This was just an informal recital held in the music store where they take their lesson, but it gave them a taste of what it is like to preform in front of an audience. Both girls where excited and eager to show off what they have learned. They played a duet with their teacher and both did a great job. They finished the night excited about spring when they get preform on the big stage.

In other news, Chet had his final soccer game of the season Saturday. As you can tell from the picture it was a cold morning, but his team played hard and won. They finished the season with 6 wins and 1 loss. Chet's team had an awesome coach, who really new the game and got the kids to work together as a team. Unfortunately coach is moving back to California, we will really miss him when soccer starts up again this spring.

Gifts from Japan and More

2008-10-16T07:56:00.002-05:00

My parents recently returned from a trip to Japan, so of course they had to send the kids some gifts. The kids were most excited about the Pokemon cards, but the girls also liked their new bath robes and wanted to model them.

In other news, Katie has written a letter to Barack Obama and is anxiously awaiting his reply. This all came about from Katie being upset that she can't vote, and Rob telling her that even though she can't vote she can still make politicians hear her voice. Once Katie heard this she immediately began her letter. This is how it went.

Dear Mr. Barack Obama,

I care about America. I am glad that you care about America too. I am from Thailand. I like Pokemon.

Katie Kirby

Maybe not the most interesting letter he will ever receive, but it was all Katie and she was very proud of writing it all on her own. Although we did help her address the envelope properly.

Weekends

2008-10-04T16:02:00.005-05:00

Our weekends have become extremely busy this fall. Last weekend was no exception. After Chet's soccer game we ran a few errands then had lunch and were off to the Peoria area. We went to visit Great Grandma Gayle who is 99 years old, she turns 100 this January. She had a rough week, but when we were there she was doing much better. We then went to visit Rob's brother and his family. They have just moved back to the states and are getting settled into their new house. The kids had a great time with their cousins and are looking forward to being able to see them more and so are we. We stayed the night and then on Sunday we headed home for Rob to go to work and the girls a birthday party.

Soccer Update and More!

2008-09-27T11:10:00.003-05:00

We have had two more soccer games since my last post. A make up game on Thursday and our regular game Saturday morning. We won both by a landslide. During the Thursday game Chet scored a goal!!! Of course I missed it because I was running Katie and Nel around to their activities. Today Chet didn't score, but he did play hard, he was forward for half the game. They have two boys on the team that are really good and they tend to be the ones who score the goals, but everyone is good about passing and working together.

In other news this week. On Thursday while Chet was at his soccer game, Katie tried out the advanced beginning Irish Dance class and was asked to join. Nel is also doing really well at gymnastics and finally got all the way down in her split. She is continuing to excel on bars and is getting close to having her back handspring. Now if only she would grow a little so she could get enough weight to get a spring out of the springboard on vault.

Soccer

2008-09-21T16:57:00.003-05:00

Chet is playing soccer this fall on a recreational team through the Park District. His team is called the Black Arsenals. They had their first game this past Saturday. Last Saturday was to be his first, but the fields were too wet. Luckily his game was early, 8 am as it began to rain around 11:30 am although it was rough getting up early on a Saturday. Chet's team tried their best. In fact the first half they did great, but I think they used up all their energy because the second half they were dragging. Chet had a good time though and the girls had fun chasing bugs. They found a huge praying mantis which really drew a crowd of kids. I didn't get a picture of it though because I was too busy watching the game.

Happy Birthday

2008-09-08T18:42:00.003-05:00

This weekend, Saturday to be exact the girls turned 7! Wow has time gone quickly. We celebrated on Friday with Grandma and Grandpa Kirby by going out to eat. The girls picked Red Lobster. I don't think I will make the mistake of going out on a Friday night again. The restaurant was very crowded and we had to wait 1/2 an hour for a table. The girls enjoyed their meal, but were a little sad that the staff didn't sing to them, it was too busy. When we got home they were tiried, but not to tired to open presents. They both got Nintendo DS's and games. Then on their actual birthday I had to work and Chet had another party to go to, so we didn't do much. Sunday afternoon was their friends party, which was held at the local Apple Orchard. All the kids had a great time and were very well behaved. They got to eat pizza and cake, go for a wagon ride, slide down the inflatable slide, race each other in the inflatable obstacle course and ride ponies! Needles to say the girls were dirty and tired by the time it was over, so it was home for a shower and then off to bed.

First Day of School

2008-08-22T07:39:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was the start of a new school year. Chet started 4th grade and Katie and Nel started 1st. The girls were excited about school starting because this year they get "desks that open up" and homework. Chet wasn't as excited, but he did set his alarm and got up and ready before I came out of my bedroom. Everyone enjoyed seeing their friends again and brining in all their new school supplies. We weighed their backpacks with all their supplies and Chet's came in at 13# and Katie and Nel's at 11#. That's a lot of school supplies. We celebrated the first day of school with our traditional letter shaped pancakes and picture on the fireplace.

The Wedding

2008-08-17T09:31:00.006-05:00

Last night was our baby sitters wedding. We had gotten very close to her, she even worked for me at the Recreation Center and then for Rob as a student minister in addition to being our sitter. The girls were asked to be flower girls, their friend was asked to be the ring bearer, Rob was the minister and Chet got to be my date. It was a very fun night. The kids all had a blast dancing the night away. Chet caught the garter, Nel tried to catch the bouquet and missed, but was given the flowers latter. The the girl who caught the flowers boyfriend wasn't too excited about her catching them. Katie loved dancing and unfortunately is already taking after her mom and downing her her drinks. Nel and the ring bearer danced every slow dance together. I think we may be in for some rough years when she is a teenager. It was cute to watch them though, on their first dance they were about 3 feet apart, but as the night progressed they got closer and closer together. The kids were exhausted, but didn't want to leave and but their parents were tired too and made them go home, after they begged for just one more dance.

British Soccer Camp

2008-08-16T10:28:00.003-05:00

The kids just finished a week at British Challenger Soccer Camp. This was their second year doing the camp and they had been looking forward to it all year. I am happy to report that this year was just as much fun as last year, maybe even more, because this year we hosted one of the coaches. Hosting was a lot of fun, I only wish we hadn't been so busy this week with other activities so we could have done more with him. Our coach was from Brighton, England. He was a very nice and intelligent young man and great with the kids. I am learning that being a mom and working full time is proving to be harder to juggle than I anticipated, hopefully it will get easier now that camps are over and the kids will be back in school.

Cabin Pictures

2008-08-13T20:44:00.004-05:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from around the cabin in Montana.

Glacier Park Pictures

2008-08-13T20:34:00.003-05:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Glacier National Park.

Vacation: Part Two

2008-08-13T19:52:00.006-05:00

Okay I know it has taken me a long time to post about the rest of our vacation, but here goes. We flew out of Indy to Spokane then we made the four and a half hour drive to Kalispell, MT. The kids were great the entire time, but were ready to be at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin.

The kids settled right in and enjoyed swimming, walking in the woods, riding bikes, shoot bows and arrows, and kayaking. The first day we were there we got the shore station and boat in the lake so off course Chet wanted to try water skiing behind the big boat, no more dinky fishing boat for him. He did a fantastic job and got up on his first try!

One of the high lights for the kids each year is their camping trip with Dad. This year was quite an adventure, as the girls were able to hike all the way to the top of the mountain behind the cabin. The other memorable part was the terrible rain storm they had that left them soaking wet and very tired.

While we were there we headed to Glacier National Park for a day. We did a short hike on the Trail of the Cedars which was really beautiful and amazing to see such an old growth forest. Of course we went to Logan Pass at the top and saw some mountain goats. The kids completed their Jr. Ranger books, and were awarded with a Jr. Ranger Badge. It was quite the honor as the Ranger made everyone in the visitor station stop and listen while she announced their names.

Being there reminded me how flat it is here and how much I miss the beautiful scenery. Rob and I began talking about coming back next here and doing some back country hiking. It also sparked talk about moving to Montana. Every year we go we always talk about moving, but I think we just might do it in the next few years. I even know just where I want to build our house. Of course our trip was much too short and soon it was time to make that four and a half our drive back to Spokane to catch our flight to Indy and drive another hour and a half back home.

Vacation: Part One

2008-08-03T08:42:00.003-05:00

We have been home from vacation now for over a week, but with going back to work full time I haven't had the time or energy to post about it till now. We started our vacation with a trip to see Aunt Pegg. The kids look forward to our visit to Aunt Pegg's house every year and this year was no exception. We headed down to Aunt Pegg's house after church Sunday and of course the first thing they wanted to do after petting Chance, Pegg's dog, was go in her pool. We spent the afternoon swimming had some dinner and the kids where off to bed, although sleeping wasn't in their plans, I think they finally stopped talking around midnight. The next day we headed over to a local nature preserve to do a little hike/walk. The big excitement there was we stumbled on a fire caused by a lightning strike. We had a very nice visit, but soon it was time to head off to Indy to start the next part of our vacation.

Not Much Happening

2008-07-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

Not a lot going on in the Kirby household these past few weeks. I have just been enjoying my final days of freedom before I go back to work full time. That's right on July 28th I start as the new program director for our towns recreation center. It is going to be a challenge juggling work and family, especially the first few weeks before school starts, but I am looking forward to it. The pictures of the girls are from after the 4th of July parade at their day camp. Chet and I missed the parade this year because he had a doctors appointment.

Talent Show

2008-06-25T13:14:00.005-05:00

Today was the annual Talent Show at camp. Chet revised his magic show for the forth year. Nel did the level 1 gymnastics floor routine and Katie put together an Irish dance. All three of them practiced really hard yesterday and they did an awesome job today at the show. Here are some video clips from the show. Katie's is actually from after the show as I had technical difficulties, because of this you don't get the full effect of everyone clapping along with her dance.

Chocolate Covered Kids

2008-06-24T08:41:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago while at the library Katie saw another kids cookbook. In it she found lots of recipes she wanted to try. The other kids weren't as enthusiastic but they agreed the frozen chocolate covered bananas looked good. Yesterday I picked up the bananas and chocolate to make them to have after dinner, only everyone was too busy playing with the neighbors to make them. We ended up making them after dinner so they will be ready to enjoy tonight. The kids had a lot of fun, especially after we were done making them. I set the timer on the oven and gave them 3 minuets to have at the chocolate. They devoured all the chocolate and were coated up to their elbows in it. Needless to say no one argued with me about a shower last night.

Day 5: Washington DC

2008-06-23T08:31:00.003-05:00

Saturday was our last day in DC, we cut our trip short by 2 days as the kids were tired of visiting museums and it was supposed to rain the next two days. That said the kids were in a great mood and we actually visited 3 museums. We started with the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The line to get in was long but the kids had a good time playing in the shade under a tree while we waited. Once inside the line moved quickly and it was fascinating to think of all the information that they keep on file. Someday it would be interesting to look up some of my family's history there. After the Archives we where hungry so the kids voted for heading to Chinatown for some Dim Sum. Chinatown in DC is small compared to Chicago but we managed to find a nice place to eat, Tony Chen's. Then we were off to the National Geographic Museum, I was hoping they would still have the tree frog exhibit but it had changed over to one on China and one on the human footprint. Of course the photos were beautiful and the it was interesting and thought provoking to see how much stuff we use in a lifetime in the human footprint exhibit. The kids were still in a great mood at this point so we gave them the choose of heading back to the hotel or going to the National Building Museum, the voted for the museum. This was the perfect place for Chet as they were having family day and had a huge section of the floor covered with Lego's to build with. While Chet and Katie played with the Lego's I took Nel to some of the other activities and Khim explored the exhibit on how DC was designed. When Chet and Katie finished their projects we walked through some of the exhibits and then it was back to the hotel to eat dinner and pack up to leave the next day.

Day 4: Washington DC

2008-06-20T19:00:00.003-05:00

Today it was back to the Mall to visit the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. This wasn't our best day, as Nel and Katie had no interest in being in the Air and Space Museum and let us know it, but after some whining their behavior improved and we had a nice visit. It is always hard for the kids in museums as Rob likes to read everything and they like to touch things, there wasn't a lot to touch but there certainly was a lot to read! Chet enjoyed the museum especially the space exhibits. After a hot dog on the mall we walked over to the Natural History Museum. This one interested all the kids. We let them each pick what exhibit they wanted to see, Chet choose the Hope diamond, Katie the dinosaurs and Nel the hall of mammals. One of the biggest hits was the exhibit with all the animal skeletons.

Day 3: Washington DC

2008-06-20T18:22:00.004-05:00

The kids were in need of a kid focused day and they requested that we go to the National Zoo. It sounded like a good idea to all of us so we headed to the metro to catch a train to the zoo. Problem was our exchange student Khim wasn't paying attention and failed to get on the train with the rest of us. We told her through the door to take the next train and get off at the next station. We thought she understood as she nodded, but we waited at the next station for her but the next train came and she didn't get off. I jumped on the next train back to her and found her on the platform looking lost, I called out but she didn't come, so I ran over got her and got back on the train to Rob and the kids. Needless to say Katie was very upset by the whole incident and made Khim her buddy and didn't let her out of site the rest of the day. After a rocky start the rest of the day went really well. We got to the zoo and immediately went to see the Panda's. There was no line like in San Diego and they had a nice large enclosure. After the Panda's we meandered looking at all the animals then on our way to the sea lions a strange thing happened. Katie, Nel and Chet decided to have a race as they were running a squirrel ran between Katie's legs and across Nel's foot. It surprised Rob and myself but the kids didn't slow down they just finished the race and proceeded to laugh hysterically. Then it was on to a training demo at the sea lion exhibit. Katie was fascinated and declared she wants to work with sea lions when she becomes a marine biologist. Then after the demo she stuck around and got to meet on of the trainers. The zoo was a big hit, in addition to the Panda's we enjoyed eating our lunch as the orangutans climbed over our heads on ropes and everyone was amazed by the fishing cat that actually caught a fish while we were watching it!

Day 2: Washington DC

2008-06-18T19:33:00.009-05:00

Today was our really early day as we had to be at the White House for a tour at 7:30 a.m. this meant we had to leave the hotel at 6 a.m. Things were going well until we missed our exit and got lost and stuck in traffic. We thought for sure we wouldn't make, Rob and I had a little argument and then just like that we found another road with an HOV lane that was wide open and took us right where we needed to be. The tour wasn't really a tour but a self guided walk threw, but it is still cool to say we have been in the White House. From there we walked over to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. For the kids the most exciting thing was seeing the baby ducks in the reflection pool, although they all enjoyed standing where MLK made his "I have a dream" speach. After the monuments we had a snack and headed over to Arlington Cemetery, where we saw the eternal flame, the tomb of the unknown soldier and the memorial for the Space Shuttle Challenger. The kids were very tired at this point, touring DC means a lot of walking and they were definitely done for the day so it was back to the hotel for a rest and swim in the pool before we were off for dinner. Tonight was our splurge night so we went out instead of cooking our dinner. We headed over to the Dancing Crab in Tennley Town for some Chesapeake Bay crabs. The kids had a great time smashing there crabs with the wooden mallets. Katie had a blast, she didn't want to take off her bib and wore in out of the restaurant. It was still early so we drove down the street for a quick look National Cathedral before calling it a night.

Days 1: Washington DC

2008-06-18T19:04:00.009-05:00

We had our first full day in DC on Tuesday starting with a tour on Congress. We arranged a tour through our Representative and had a very nice but young tour guide (he had just graduated High School). After our tour we walked past the library of congress and over to the Supreme Court, where we sat in the court room for a brief lecture about the court. Nel took a little nap during this, but Chet seemed to enjoy it, especially when they said there were no requirements to becoming a Supreme Court Judge, meaning no previous experience necessary and no age requirements. After that it was off to grab a bite to eat and then we headed over to the Mall, where we checked out the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshorn Museum. Katie had to find Claes Oldenburg's Geometric Mouse, Nel Joan Miro's Lunar Bird and Chet Barry Flanagan's The Drummer. I had read you should pick up a family guide at the museum and make a scavenger hunt out of it, only problem all the paintings in the guide where no longer on display, but the outside sculptures were. So we looked around a bit inside, where we saw a video installation that really captivated the kids, especially Chet then it was out the sculpture garden for our hunt. The kids had done a great job but at this point we were all tired of walking and ready to head back to the hotel.

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-06-14T09:20:00.005-05:00

My 35 birthday was on Thursday, so Rob helped to organize a little party for me on Friday. We just had some friends over for cake and ice cream. We were lucky and the big thunderstorm never came and we had a nice evening hanging out in the back yard.

Better Late Than Never

2008-06-13T16:55:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures of the fish that were caught on Memorial weekend. Rob took the kids over to grandma and grandpa Kirby's and while they were there they did some fishing. As you can tell from the pictures Katie was having a great time and wasn't scared of the fish. Nel on the other hand was having a good time, but didn't want to touch the fish.

Sewing

2008-06-01T08:31:00.004-05:00

Much to the disappointment of both my mother and mother in law I don't sew. In spite of that fact I got it into my head that I should make the girls some play dresses. Katie is always upset that all the dresses are girly and that they never have sea animals, so I went out and found some fabric with fish on it and a matching t -shirt. Then I searched the internet and read up on how to sew a skirt onto the shirt to make a dress. These are really simple dresses to make, in fact I made both dresses in a few hours. They are a little big and don't look too close as my hem it isn't very straight, but for my first time sewing clothes I think I did okay.

Poetry Cafe

2008-05-28T08:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Chet's class put on a Poetry Cafe. The Moms and Dads provided snacks and the kids provided the entertainment by reading their poems. Some of their poems where quite good and a lot of them sounded the same as they had to write them using examples and themes as a model. Everyone had to write a poem about "I am from" talking about the things that make them who they are, here is Chet's.

Crazy

by: Chet Kirby

I am from Mars, from NASA and a volcano.

I am from the tan house.

I am from Poison Ivy and sand.

I am from Thai New Years and vacations.

From Rob and Darcie Kirby

I am from bike riding and eating ice cream.

From "Be quiet" and "Go to sleep".

I am from God.

I am from Thailand and pad thai and thai omelets.

From the time I got my sisters

And the time I cut my toe.

From the time I came home from Thailand.

Three Cups of Tea

2008-05-25T09:19:00.006-05:00

In my post about the garage sale I mentioned that the kids donated their money to Pennies for Peace. I thought I should share with you all a little more about this organization and why we sent their money there.

It all began when I started reading Three cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. The book tells about Greg Mortenson's life fromthe time as mountain climber he made a failed attempt at K2 and found himself in a small village in the Karakoram mountains. He is so touched by the people that he makes them a promise that he will return and build them a school. That one promise leads to the building of not just the one school but many more schools and not just in Pakistan but also Afghanistan. I found the book very moving and inspiring. The book makes a powerful argument for education as not only a means of helping this impoverished area but also a way to help combat terrorism. I personally have been struggling with my opposition to the war and still wanting to do something to prevent terrorism. I found the idea of helping to bring education to this area, where before the only choice for education was to attend the Taliban run madrassa's very powerful and inspiring. For those unfamiliar with a madrassa, it is a school only open to boys that is typically run my extremist Muslum clerics many of whom do not posses an education themselves. Many of these schools have become jihadist military training grounds and it has been extimated that more than eighty thousand of these young madrassa students have become Taliban recruits. I encourage everyone to read this book and learn more about this area of the world.

Pennies for Peace is an organization designed for schoolchildren. It costs only a penny to provide a child in Afghanistan or Pakistan with a pencil and a 100 pennies will pay a teachers salary for a day. To date schoolchildren have collected more than eight million pennies. If you are an adult and want to help support efforts to provide education in Afghanistan and Pakistan then you can visit the Central Asia Institute's website for more information.

Garage Sale

2008-05-20T15:10:00.005-05:00

We had our annual garage sale this past weekend. Once again it was a big success, we had very little left over only two small boxes. We were able to sell our living room set, so now I need to find a new couch. I am looking for a leather sectional, so if you know a good place to buy one let me know. The kids did there usual lemonade stand. This year I made a deal with them if they gave the money away and didn't complain about me selling some of their toys we could use some the money from the garage sale to buy new summer toys. They accepted and donated all their money to pennies for peace. As soon as the sale was done the girls were jumping at the bit for me to take them to get new bikes as part of our deal. So I went in search of two 16 inch bikes, which was not easy on a bright sunny Saturday afternoon. I ended up buying one at Target and the other at Meijer. They were very excited and wanted them put together right away so they could use them.

Girls Weekend

2008-05-12T08:07:00.019-05:00

This weekend the girls, Katie, Nel, Grandma, Khim and myself, headed up to Chicago for a girls only weekend. We stayed with Veronika a good friend of Grandma's who leaves in Oak Park just around the corner from Frank Lloyd Wrights house (www.gowright.org). It was a perfect weekend, the girls were on their best behavior and the weather Saturday was delightful not too hot or cold and the sun was out.

We spent all day Saturday in Chicago. First we headed to Lincoln Park where we visited the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (www.naturemuseum .org) and Lincoln Park zoo. At the nature museum we spent most of our time in the butterfly house. The girls loved looking at the butterflies, which kept landing on Grandma and Mom. Nel was a little upset that they weren't landing on her and was determined not to leave until they did. So she stood very still right in between Grandma and Mom and waited for a long time for one to land on her. Finally we were all ready to go, but one still hadn't landed on Nel, however she declared that she felt on land on her head and that was all she wanted and we could go. We only spent a short time at the Lincoln Park Zoo (www.lpzoo.org) where we saw camels, polor bears, bears, hippos, giraffes, lions and sea lions. I am always a little unimpressed with zoo's having grown up in San Diego, but this was a nice zoo especially since it is free.

At this point the girls were tired of walking and hungry so we headed over to Chinatown for some Dim Sum. We had lunch at Phoenix (www.chinatownphoenix.com)which overlooks a strip of shops with a courtyard and in the courtyard they were having a special event for the upcoming Olympics in China. They had all the olympic mastcotts and several performances by locals. We stayed and watched a dragon dance, and some little children preform a dance before we did a little shopping in Chinatown.

The girls were very tired at this point and we headed back to Veronika's house, they slept the in the car, so we drove around Oak Park a bit and looked at some of the beautiful houses. That evening we had a quiet dinner at Veronika's and then headed out for a walk around Oak Park. Oak Park is a beautiful town, I think I could live there if only I could afford a house. In addition to Frank Lloyd Wrights house/studio there are many more of his houses around town and it was fun to walk around and try to spot them. Sunday it was time to head home, which was not so fun as it was pouring down rain and very windy.

Happy Birthday Chet!

2008-04-27T13:34:00.007-05:00

Today is Chet's 9th Birthday! We celebrated yesterday with a Harry Potter Party. We meet at Rob's church and started in the great hall with a sorting ceremony, where the kids were divided into houses. Then we played a Harry Potter trivia game, a guess the flavor of the Bertie's Bots Every Flavor Beans and then outside for a game of Quidditch. After all the games we headed to the churches movie theater and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, after which we had cake and ice cream. I think everyone had a nice time, I know Chet did. Once the party was over and everything cleaned up we headed over to Famous Dave's with Grandma and Grandpa Kirby for a birthday dinner.

Swim Lessons

2008-04-20T16:09:00.005-05:00

Saturday was the last day of the kids swim lessons. We took them through the University this time and I have to say these are the best lessons they have taken so far, and we have tried everywhere in town. One of the nicest things was the pool was actually warm, so Nel didn't once have to leave class because she was too cold! All three kids did a great job. The girls really improved this time and were promoted to the next level at the end of the session. Unfortunately we wont be able to do the summer session too much going on, but we will try again in the fall. Check out Katie with her goggles. She loves wearing them so much that she usually puts them on for breakfast on swim days, and will often continue wearing them after class is over. In fact this week we went shoe shopping after class and as we walked into the mall I looked over and she still had her goggles on.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

2008-04-18T07:58:00.002-05:00

I thought by leaving California I had also left behind being woken in the middle of the night by Earthquakes, but that is not the case. At 4:40 am Rob and I were woken up by a 5.4 earthquake. Rob was a little confused, never really experiencing an earthquake before. I was also confused at first as I heard the house shake, and thought it was a really strong wind only the wind usually doesn't shake the entire house quite so much. I put up with a lot living in the Midwest, tornado's, floods, thunderstorms, snowstorms not to mention a flat boring landscape. I don't think I should have to deal with earthquakes too! Okay I know earthquakes can happen anywhere, but at least in California you get beautiful weather year round in exchange.

Out of Hibernation

2008-04-06T17:12:00.005-05:00

This weekend was one of those weekends when the sun was out and the temperature was above 65 so everyone in the Midwest begins to come out of hibernation. It is always nice to get to see your neighbors again after a long winter. We kicked off the weekend with swim lessons Saturday morning, then we headed over to the Veterinary School's open house. This was our first year at the open house and I have to say I was a little disturbed by the fistulated cow (a cow with a hole in it's side so you can reach into it's stomach). I know they insist the cow doesn't mind, but I think it does. The kids had a good time checking out all the animals and really enjoyed milking a cow (not the fistulated one) and preforming surgery on a dog. After all that we were hungry and headed over to our favorite Mexican restaurant for some lunch. It was a busy morning so when we got home Nel decided to take a nap! I got to work on painting our kitchen stools. Once those our done our kitchen will be finished, okay I really want to get a new light fixture but I haven't convinced Rob. Today I put a final coat on the stools, and took the girls and a neighbor to the park to play. I hope this weekend means we are finally done with winter.

Aniversary

2008-04-01T15:57:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe but Chet has been a part of our family now for 7 years and Katie and Nel for 5! I can hardly believe that my little Chet will be 9 at the end of the month, what happened to my cute chubby little baby? Then there is Katie and Nel, they have grown and changed so much in 5 years. I remember those first months with them when I couldn't leave the room with out Nel crying. She was so demanding I thought I would never get a chance to bond with Katie, but slowly she would let me go out sight knowing that I would always come back. Today she is so outgoing its hard to remember that she used to be so clingy. We celebrated this year by watching the videos, and tonight we will have a Thai dinner including Chet's favorite Thai Custard. Here are some photos from the day we meet the kids in Thailand.

Easter

2008-03-27T15:59:00.004-05:00

We arrived in Chicago to 30 degree weather wearing our shorts on Saturday evening and drove home. The kids were tired and so were Mom and Dad. The kids and Dad headed off to church on Sunday for Easter service, Mom stayed back to unpack, grocery shop and help the Easter Bunny. The kids had to sing in church and Rob said it looked like they might fall asleep, but they perked up when they got home and saw that the Easter Bunny had come. I think it took them less than a minuet to find all the eggs but that was a good thing as it was cold and there were a few snow flakes in the air.

Spring Break: Dominican Republic

2008-03-27T15:32:00.007-05:00

We headed out of the country again for Spring Break. This year the extended Kirby clan (Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Clif, Aunt Elaine, Logan and Jada) all took a trip together to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The weather didn't always cooperate as it was quit windy and they head to close the beach for swimming, but we didn't let that get us down. We continued to relax as we hung out by the pool or the beach all day. The kids had a blast getting to play all day with their cousins, Logan and Jada. All the girls got their hair braided and looked like real beach girls. Chet's favorite activity was digging in the sand and he spent all day everyday doing this, he also enjoyed the stories Dad shared about the pirate Captain Morgan. One of the best parts of the trip was the day we spent snorkeling, we saw all kinds of cool sea creatures, including manta rays, eels, puffer fish and giant star fish. The bus ride home from the snorkel trip was fun too, but I don't think Grandpa and I will be drinking anymore rum for some time. Soon it was time to head home and as we arrived at the airport we learned that Chicago had gotten 6 inches of snow the day before, which made us all even more sad to come home.

Responsibility

2008-03-05T15:09:00.005-06:00

Today during a school assembly the girls received the Responsibility award for their class. They were all smiles as their names where called and they got to go in front of the whole school to receive their ribbons. I am really proud of them, they have grown up so much this year. Sorry the pictures are so bad, I do have a new camera but the lighting in the gym isn't good for pictures.

Irish Dance

2008-03-02T15:05:00.009-06:00

Katie started taking Irish Dance this past fall and this weekend was her recital. Usually first year students are not in the recital but this year they decided to let them participate. Their part was very small, but still Katie was excited. The hardest part about Irish Dance is curling your hair! I didn't do a very good job even though Katie was remarkable cooperative. If she continues with Irish dance I will definitely buy a wig. All the students did a great job at the performance, although I think Katie was the cutest. She was so proud and is already talking about next year, when she will get to do more and even wear a costume and ghillies (soft soled Irish dance shoes)
*Still don't have a camera I ordered a new one yesterday. I took these pictures on Chet's camera

Long Time No Post

2008-02-26T17:34:00.003-06:00

First off let me apologize for taking so long to post and the fact that I don't have any pictures. Life has been busy and I lost my camera.

We had a great visit with two of my nephews from California, once they got here. They had some trouble with their flight into town being canceled and ended up taking the bus from Chicago. We tried to keep them busy as best we could. We took them bowling at the student Union. Katie rocked with the highest score! Yes, she had bumpers. Wednesday we went to the men's basketball game and had a good time even though they lost. It snowed, which was a big hit with everyone especially when we went sledding. The older kids took a tour of the University and were really impressed with Sibel building. On Saturday we took a trip to see the Lincoln Museum and Lincoln's tomb. Katie was disappointed to learn that we didn't get to see his body at the tomb, but it was still a nice trip. Plus we ate lots of yummy food. Company is a good excuse to go out to eat so went to the new Jupiter's and to Buffalo Wild Wings, Buffalo was a big hit so we actually went twice.

My nephews left on Sunday morning and that afternoon Katie and Nel attended a cheer leading clinic and then they got to cheer at the women's basketball game. They had such a good time and can't wait till they get to do it again. I took lots of pictures, but unfortunately it was at the game that I lost the camera. I am still hoping that some good Samaritan found it and will turn it to the lost and found.

Daddy Daughter Dance

2008-02-09T14:13:00.000-06:00

Last night was the Daddy Daughter Dance at the recreation center. The girls look forward to this event every year, it is a real treat to get to be out with Daddy on a date. Katie had a great time dancing and making new friends, Nel was a little cranky but got really excited when they dropped the balloons towards the end of the evening. I always look forward to this night too as it gives me some time to do something special with Chet. This year we rented Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and had popcorn. Chet has been reading all the Harry Potter books and as he finishes I let him see the movie. We are a little behind as he is almost done with the third book.

Oprah

2008-02-06T08:08:00.000-06:00

So about two weeks ago I sent an e-mail to Oprah for last minute tickets and on Friday during the snowday I got a call aksing if I could come on Tuesday for a taping and that I could bring a friend. I was so excited!!

Yesterday was the big day. We had to leave at 3:30 am to be up in Chicago for the morning taping. We got there no problem and even found free street parking right next to the studio! The show was about clutter and how it can make you fat. The author of "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" was there and they followed a California family as they decluttered there house and began the road to weight loss. Most of the show was watching clips of this family and their journey. The show is set to air on Thursday, February 7th so be sure to watch it and look for me.
After the show Oprah talked a little more on the topic and then she talked about the election. Illinois is one of the Supper Tuesday States so she had voted that morning and we all know who she voted for, Go OBAMBA!!! The neatest thing was she showed a clip from You Tube of a Barack Obamba music viedo set to one of his Yes We Can speach.

When we were all done with the taping we headed to Michigan Ave and had lunch at the Grand Lux Cafe which was really yummy. I was surprised I hadn't seen it before as it is right across from the hotel I stayed at with my parents for New Years in 2007. Then we went back to the Oprah studios and checked out Oprah's new gift shop that just opened last week. After that we were on the road and home in time to pick up the kids from school.

Free

2008-02-04T11:05:00.000-06:00

Who ever said you can't get something for nothing never shopped at CVS. I decided that I wanted to try to bring down our grocery bill this year and so I have been trying my best to work coupons and deals. To help with this I have been reading Money Saving Mom's blog. She does a far better job than me, but here is my first CVS haul.

1 2 litter of Coke

1 2 litter of Diet Coke

1 2 litter of Sprite

1 2 litter of Rootbeer

1 20 oz Coke

1 20 Coke Zero

5 Boost Smoothies

2 Bags of peanut M&Ms

1 Box of Slimfast Meal bars

1 8 oz Purel Hand Sanatizer

After coupons I paid out of my pocket $7.29 and got back $8.00 in store credit. Like I said I am new to this but if you want to learn more visit, http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Snow Day

2008-02-01T19:31:00.001-06:00

The past two weeks have been crazy weather wise. Last week they cancled school because it was too cold, then this week on Tuesday we had 40+ mile an hour winds with some snow/ice that left us without power from 6 pm till after 10pm (which wasn't so good for the lasanga I was trying to cook) then yesterday we were hit with a snow storm and school was canceled for today. The kids love a good snow and of course we had lots of fun playing in it after the driveway was cleared. Chet and Nel wanted to go with Daddy to work and play in the snow there, so Katie and I got some good one on one time and we built a snow fort in the front yard, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Snack

2008-01-20T12:33:00.000-06:00

The other day I took the girls to the new library and while there Katie found a kids cookbook. She was so excited about all the recipes especially the one for funny face bagels. The girls were having a play date on Friday so I suggested we make the funny face bagels as part of their play date. Katie jumped at the chance and studied the recipe making a few changes as she was concerned that her friend may not like all the veggies they used and that fruit would be better. Anyway here are Katie and Nel's creations, all three girls had fun making them, but Katie was the only one to eat hers all gone.

Sweet Dreams

2008-01-20T12:22:00.000-06:00

While we were at my parents house in California the kids all slept in one big bed. Since we have come home every morning when I go in the girls room to wake them up I find them sleeping together in Katie's bed.

Photo

2008-01-09T17:28:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to share this photo of Chet I took at the beach. If you want to see more visit my other blog, My Pictures there is a link on the right.

California

2008-01-09T11:03:00.001-06:00

The kids and I headed to California after Christmas. Poor Rob had to stay home and study and work on the kitchen. Hopefully all our remolding will be done soon so I can post pictures of everything. Anyway back to our trip. We had a great time in California the weather wasn't the best but we kept the grandparents busy.

This visit we went to the Zoo. Chet wanted to see in the baby Panda so we stood in line for about an hour. Khim was able to see some animals she had never seen before, polar bears and koalas. Katie got to see lots of turtles/tortoise including the Galapagos tortoise which are always one of my favorites. Nel also enjoyed the day but her favorite part was stopping at build a bear on the way home to spend some of her Christmas money.

On New Years Eve we went to Legoland, but we weren't able to make it to their New Year party which was at 6pm, the kids were too tired! We still picked up the noise makers and did our own countdown and the kids were asleep by 7pm. I took a second trip back to Legoland with just Chet since they gave us a free pass to come back. It was nice to get some one on one time with Chet.

On New Years day we watched the Rose Parade in the morning and then swam in the pool until it was time for the game to start. I think we should have stayed in the pool and skipped watching the game.

Other highlights of our trip included a trip to La Jolla to see the harbor seals at the children's pool and a trip to Swami's beach to see the tide pools. As well as a trip up to LA for me without the kids to check out Olivera St and the garment district. We spent our last night visiting my cousin and his family, then it was time to head back to Illinois and the real world.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas

Santa was good to the Kirby family once again. Here are our some of our favorite gifts. Chet got some cool Lego sets, but his favorite things were a Harry Potter movie and trading cards. Nel loves her new snake which she has had wrapped around her all morning while she put on make-up from her new make-up set. Katie was excited about her new sea animal finger puppets, but her favorite was her aqua raiders lego sets. Mommy got her wish and we now have a family Wii and Khim really likes her new backpack.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T19:44:00.000-06:00

We have been to the early Christmas Eve service and now the kids are all snuggled in their beds, but I don't think visions of sugar plums are dancing in their heads just yet. Hopefully they will be asleep by the time Daddy gets home from church and Santa is ready to arrive. Here are some pictures from before church and one after with the kids in their new matching pajamas.

All I Want For Christmas

2007-12-24T12:57:00.000-06:00

All I want for Christmas is my bottom tooth.... Okay I know that's not how the song goes, but that is what Nel wants since she lost her first tooth last night. It had been lose for a few weeks and she had been wiggling it like crazy trying to get it out. Then last night Chet gave a tug on it and out it came.

Roller Skating

2007-12-22T09:59:00.001-06:00

The girls just finished their roller skating unit in PE, so when they came home with free passes to the roller rink I thought it would be fun to take all the kids skating. The kids all did great, Khim had never been skating! Nel was whizzing around the rink as soon as we got there, Katie had a lot of falls but never let that get her down and Chet entered the race and came in second (there were only 3 kids). The best part was watching the girls interact with their friends from school. There were three little girls from their class and they held hands and skated around, while a boy from their class would go by showing off his best dance moves.

Visit with Santa

2007-12-20T17:36:00.000-06:00

Today I took the kids with me to the post office to mail a package. Chet and Katie decided to bring their letters to Santa to mail, while Nel wanted to wait to give her letter to Santa in person. Chet's wish list for Santa was rather long, he had just about every lego set ever created listed as well as an I Pod and few other things. I was worried Chet had big expectations for Christmas this year until I read his letter to Santa. In his letter he explained that Santa could get one or all of the things on his list or he could get him something that wasn't on his list and he would be happy. After the post office we headed over to the mall to see Santa, so Nel could give him her letter.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

2007-12-16T12:26:00.000-06:00

Last night we had a snowstorm so I spent this morning shoveling the driveway. As I shoveled I enjoyed looking at our neighbors blue spruce all covered in snow, which brought back all kinds of memories of Christmas' past. As a child I remember my Dad flocking our Christmas tree (covering it if fake snow). I always thought this was kind of weired but my Dad missed the beautiful snow covered trees of Montana, we didn't get a lot of snow in southern California. Speaking of snow one of my favorite Christmas' as a child was the year my cousins came to visit and we went to Sea World, where they had brought in fake snow to sled on. I remember thinking this was the coolest thing, and not wanting to go see the animals because all I wanted to do was play in the snow. Of course my cousins who were from Montana didn't think it was that neat at all, what they thought was cool was picking oranges from our neighbors tree which didn't impress me very much. Yes that is me, got to love those bell bottoms!

My last memory was brought flooding back to me by Nel, who came home from school one day to share that the kids where teasing her because her name was in one of their songs for the holiday performance, Up on the Housetop. To refresh your memory in the song there is a line, "first comes the stocking of little Nel." Luckily Nel handled having her name in a song much better than my sister. Beth do you remember how much you hated it when we would sing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem"? I can remember teasing you about that one! Beth, Nel doesn't like the teasing but she thinks it is cool to have her name in a song, and of course Katie is jealous.

Thanks for taking my trip down memory lane and feel free to share any of your favorite holiday memories.

Katie the Artitist

2007-12-10T08:22:00.000-06:00

Katie has really been into drawing lately and has become quite the artist. Her latest masterpiece is a portrait of her webkinz, Fatty.

Lego Competition

2007-12-10T08:12:00.000-06:00

This weekend was Chet's Lego competition. This year he joined a team at his school, but although he was able to participate in the preparations he was not allowed to actually compete. They made a rule that you had to be 9 by December 1st. So Chet helped his team prepare for the competition, and participated in the skit but during the actual competition he just cheered his team on. He really impressed me with his sportsmanship, when I offered to pick him up early to take part in another lego event held at my work he simply replied "No thank you I want to be there for my team." Chet's team finished second in the robotics portion of the competition, but they did not place in the overall competition, however another team from his school took 1st place in the overall competition and will move onto the state competition in January.

ILL-INI

2007-12-08T08:25:00.000-06:00

Last night Nel and I had some special time together. I took her to see the University's Gymnastics teams do an expedition performance. Last year I took all the kids, but this year I wanted it to be something special just for Nel. She was so excited about it all week. When I told her we were going she yelled "Yeah I get to see Nicole again!" All the gymnasts did a great job, especially Nicole. After the performance we lined up to get autographs, I bought Nel a shirt and she wanted all the gymnasts to sign her shirt. Nicole was so nice to us, she let Nel come over and sit on her lap and talked to us for a few minuets. Turns out she is adopted too (from Korea) and her favorite event is bars just like Nel! It was a very nice night and as Nel arrived home she couldn't wait to show off her shirt to Dad, he said her smile was the biggest he had ever seen.

Gingerbread Houses

2007-12-08T07:54:00.000-06:00

Friday was an exciting day in the Kirby household. To begin with we woke up to a blanket of snow! This was Khims first snow, so the kids were excited to teach her all about snowballs and snowmen. Unfortunately there wasn't much time before school :( After school I watched the girls walk home from the bus through the window, the entire way they were making snowballs and throwing them at a very nice 5th grade girl who walks with them everyday. I was worried that they were bothering her and was just going to say something she stopped and stood still so that they could actually hit her with a snowball.

The real excitement came when their friends arrived after school to make gingerbread houses. We had somewhere around 10 kids maybe more I lost count all making gingerbread houses and eating lots of candy and frosting. Khim even had a friend over from the neighborhood to make one. Chet was too excited about the snow to be bothered with making a house, so he and his friend stayed outside the entire time playing. As kids finished up their houses some of them joined Chet outside while others went to play in the basement. What would I do without a basement, although I haven't ventured down there yet to check out the damage. I think everyone had a good time and the houses turned out nice.

Christmas Pageant

2007-12-03T16:29:00.002-06:00

Last night was the kids Christmas Pageant at church. They worked very hard learning the songs and lines for the play. Everyone was on their best behavior and did a great job. I was really blown away by Chet, not only is he the only boy in the choir but he also had a solo! I am not sure where my kids got their outgoing personalities it sure isn't from Rob or myself. Anyway I had a nice video of him singing but then I accidentally deleted it, but I do have a video clip from rehearsal although not of his solo as someone stepped in front of me during that part of the song. Keep in mind it is rehearsal and everyone did a much better job on Sunday night.

Ice is Nice

2007-12-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

Today when we got home from rehearsal for the church Christmas Pageant the driveway was covered in ice! Both Rob and I had a heck of time getting the cars parked (yes we took two cars very bad I know, but Rob had to be at church earlier than we did). Rob even claims to have done a 360 in our drive way but I didn't see it. I on the other hand stopped when Chet waved at me thinking he wanted me to stop for some reason and almost slid into the mailbox. Well of course all this slipping and sliding inspired the kids to get the sleds out and we had a little sledding party on our driveway. By the time we were done all the other neighbors kids where out ice sledding as well.

Loy Krathong

2007-11-24T11:48:00.001-06:00

It was fun teaching Katie and Nel's class about Loy Krathong, but we still had to celebrate as a family. So on Friday we along with Grandma, Grandpa and two friends from Korea had a celebration. We build our Krathongs using the traditional banana leaves, although we didn't have a banana tree trunk for the base so we used rice cakes. Everyone had a good time making them and they all turned out beautiful. I prepared a Thai dinner of coconut soup, satay and fried rice, it was yummy. Then after dinner we took our Krathongs to the pond to light and release.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T11:33:00.000-06:00

The Kirby's headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's Kirby's this year for Thanksgiving. We were a smaller group than years past as Aunt Pegg couldn't make it, she was missed by all. The kids had a great time, they love playing at Grandma and Grandpa's. One of their favorite things to do is play restaurant in the extra kitchen in the basement. Nel also enjoyed hosting a tea party for some of Grandma's dolls and of course her lizard from our Chicago trip. It was also wonderful day and we were especially thankful that Great Grandma Gayle was able to join us again this year.

Loy Krathong

2007-11-21T15:11:00.000-06:00

Today Rob, Khim and myself went to Katie and Nel's classroom to share about Loy Krathong. I cooked Thai Fried Rice for snack, Khim dressed up in a traditional Thai dress, and we talked a little about Thailand and the holiday then all the children made their own Krathongs. This is much like what we did last year in Chet's class but this time we cut out paper leaves instead of folding them origami style. The kids were great, I was blown away by how many really liked the snack and they all did a great job on their krathongs.

Chicago and Schaumburg

2007-11-11T19:01:00.000-06:00

The Kirbys headed out on Thursday to Chicago. It was Katie's turn to pick a museum so we went to the Aquarium. We all had a great time and saw many amazing things. The girls both decided to buy lizard stuffed animals at the gift shop. I am not sure why, they did have an exhibit with lizards but it wasn't their favorite thing. Anyway the girls and their lizards have not separated since. After the aquarium we headed to Millennium Park to see the bean. It was a beautiful day, especially considering it is November. We did our best to run all the kids energy out, then we jumped in the car and headed out to Schumburg and our time at the park worked, Katie and Nel went right to sleep holding onto their lizards. On Friday we swam in the hotel pool, went to Ikea and of course Woodfield Mall. Chet and Katie had a great time in the Lego store while Nel and Mommy went to Club Liby Lu to check out all things girly. Katie refused to go because she didn't want "any of that sparkle stuff on her head." As you enter the store they sprinkle you with fairy dust. Nel spent what felt like forever looking for something to buy with what money she had left and finally found some lip gloss she could afford, although what she really wanted was eyeshadow. On Saturday we headed over to a friends house for a visit. The kids had a blast playing with there kids, while the grownups got a chance to visit. It was a great trip, but it is nice to be home.

Ham and Eggs

2007-11-06T16:21:00.000-06:00

The girls have been having such a good time at Kindergarten. Everyday they come home and share something new they have learned. The other day they came home signing a new song, Ham and Eggs that they learned in music class. They were just so darn cute I thought I would share it with everyone.