Michael Jackson Madness

It was interesting to be in LA when the death of Michael Jackson occurred. It has dominated every local channel here non stop for the last few days. On Friday, the day after his death, we went into LA to see the sights. We started on the Hollywood Walk of Fame where Jackson has a star. That star had been covered up by a movie premiere on Thursday night so it was uncovered when we were down on Hollywood Blvd. There were huge lines of people and paparazzi taking in the scene. From there we took a limo tour of the Beverly Hills area. They had the street he was living on blocked from people, so we were only able to get pictures from the street. People had music playing and there were signs and flowers all around. The photos don't do justice for the amount of people that were everywhere.

Welcome to California

We are enjoying ourselves in Los Angeles, California on the national FBLA trip. Yesterday was a packed day with seeing Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and then going to the beach for dinner and the sunset. The best thing about California is the weather. It has been so pleasant with 60's in the morning and warming up to mid 80's by the afternoon. No humidity and a gentle breeze off the Pacific makes it wonderful. I can see why millions of people want to live in this area. The worst part of California is that the millions of people all own cars and want to drive the exact same place we want to go. Yesterday it took us close to 2 hours to drive the 30 miles from LA to Anaheim. 2 hours driving 10 mph with 6 tired high school students is not what I would call a vacation. More posts to follow with pictures of students and some of the Michael Jackson madness.

Daddy's Little Girls...

God REALLY blessed me when he chose Jared just for me and then for the girls too. When I get to see him be a daddy to my girls, I fall in love with him all over again.

When people ask me how many kids I have and I respond with "3 girls", I frequently hear, "oh, your poor husband". As I try to restrain myself from wanting to respond back with something not so nice, I kindly respond..."He loves his girls and he is so perfect for them". And this is true. He is patient (more-so than me most days!)

And he understands that a close relationship with them now, will have a HUGE impact on their relationship in the years to come (especially the more-difficult years!)

He is a great "stay-at-home dad" in the summer and is doing a wonderful job with the girls. They love him and have every one of their fingers wrapped tightly around his heart.

 

Thank you Jared for being the best daddy to the 3 precious princesses we have been blessed with! Happy Father's Day!

Tomorrow's Generation

 

This is a typical sight around our house. The girls love to play on mom's and dad's laptops. They are quite good at navigating around and can find their favorite internet sites. Ellie loves to watch Cailou (a PBS show) on youtube and Emma is usually on disney or starfall (a great educational site). As a computer teacher I wonder what I will be teaching these kids in 10 more years.

Edamame...

This is the new food of the week at our house! Our whole family has LOVED eating this little soybean and the girls frequently ask for "eat a mama"...such a healthy snack and SO good!

 

 

 

Congrats new mamas!

Ok, it's me, Krista...had to come back briefly and talk about the baby shower b/c Jared didn't think he was capable, ha!! Anyway, in the midst of our busy weekend with friends, the girls found a little spot in the lobby of the hotel Sunday morning and got to celebrate the arrival of miss Lily (congrats Katie and Kiley....she is beautiful!!) and the upcoming arrival of baby boy Ellis! We are so excited for you and we are praying for you as you begin the glorious adventure of parenthood! (We are convinced they think parenting is glorious after spending the weekend with the 15+ kids, ha!!)

 

 

 

Priceless...

$40 at the Royals game, $100 for a hotel where the girls stay up WAY too late and wake up way too early, $60 at the water park. Quiet sleeping girls on the way home plus 3 hour naps....PRICELESS!

Coco Key Resort...

 

 

 

 

More Royals Pics

 

 

 

Weekend with the TKE's...

We had a fun weekend getting together with some of my college friends and their families. There were 30+ plus in attendance counting all the kids. We went to the Royals game on Saturday night and then stayed the night at the hotel/indoor water park across from the stadium. The Jackson crew only made it until the 6th inning before returning to the hotel. This was our 2nd game this year and our girls already knew all the fun things to do besides watching baseball.

Karma is a -----

After my last post made fun of the girls' driving skills and Krista's related driving record I managed to get rear-ended extremely hard in Lawrence today.  I had the 3 girls with me and their cousin Avery.  Thankfully everyone is Ok, but it was scary for a bit. The adjuster is coming tomorrow, but there is a chance I will be looking at my second totaled car in 18 months.  

No more post making fun of anyone in the future... 

Like Mother, Like Daughters

I took some pictures of our girls doing the things Krista loves to do all the time.

 

When I was home the other day with the girls I walked into the living room while Emma was trying to sell Arbonne to Ellie and our neighbor Ashley. She was telling the girls how good all the products were and showing them how to put them on.

 

They may look innocent in this picture, but our two girls are crazy drivers in their Barbie Jeeps. I had the greatest missed photo op when Ellie ran over the tricycle and was high centered and looking around trying to figure out what to do next. Not saying Krista has ever hit anything, but the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree on this one either.

 

Edyn loves to take our phones and act like she is talking or texting. She doesn't want the play phones only the real thing. Sorry to all those she has called playing this game.

Fun at the Pool

The water and weather are still a little cool, but we have been enjoying our neighborhood pool regardless. It is usually me and the other stay-at-home moms. Luckily there are two areas for seating and I usually try to stay out of the neighborhood gossip.

 

 

 

Notice the position of Emma and the laugh of our neighbor Tina. Tina purchased inflatable swim toys for all the girls and a boat house the entire neighborhood enjoys and is trying hard to destroy.

 

Summer Quote...

"Daddy why do you have to do all the work now?" This came from the mouth of Emma this morning as I was peeling potatoes and carrots for dinner tonight. Krista is home today had been working in the kitchen all morning and made sure Emma knew the real story. I guess when you go from doing little around the house over the last 9 months it looks like a lot when I start helping out. Today is a great summer day.