Valentine's Day

We started the day off with a HUGE V-Day card and some heart-shaped donuts for breakfast.

 After work, Daddy bought special treats for everyone. He took one to Adrienne, then brought one home for each of us. Kendall ripped into her treat before I had a chance to take her picture.

At school, Max made Clifford out of heart shapes. I noticed that all the other kids were satisfied with just Clifford's head, but Max felt strongly about him having a body so he gave him one :)

It was a LOVEly day!

Precious Snow

Enjoy these snow shots...this was our one and only "snow storm" for the entire winter!

Holy "Crap"

There was a minor incident while Kev, Adrienne, and I were away. Grandma had to fill in at the Kindergarten Round-up parent meeting. Ashley was kind enough to watch Max and Kendall during that time. For reasons we cannot begin to understand, being in Dan and Ashley's house brings out the worst in our family...and by worst, I mean poo. Kendall used to blow out diapers, both kids have pooped in underwear, they ALWAYS poop on the toilet when there. Even Lily has pooped in their house... remember this? So, of course, I get a text about Max (who hasn't had an accident since I can't remember when) not making it to the toilet in time and having to clean up his underwear a bit. Not too big of a deal, they laughed, I profusely apologized, then moved on. A couple hours later, after the kids had returned home with Grandma, Grandma sends me this picture of Kendall:

Yep, those are Max's underwear. I swear I gagged like I was in a room full of people who were vomiting. I later confirmed that these were clean underwear from the laundry basket.

Meanwhile...

While Mom, Dad, and Adrienne were in Florida, Max and Kendall stayed home and Grandma and Aunt Debbie came for some good times. Here's what they were up to...

 ...they learned how to live like Laura Ingalls at Ernie Miller Nature Center...

...Grandma worked her magic on Kendall's hair, they made Valentine's Day cookies, and Kendall cooked some dinner.

Thanks Grandma and Debbie for visiting and holding down the fort!

DEEP THOUGHTS by Max

Rachel: "Hey! I saw you on the playground. Were you playing with Rosie?"
Max: "Yeah. She said, 'Can I kiss you?' "
Rachel: "She did? What did you say?"
Max: "I told her no."

Adrienne's Trip to Tampa

 

 We stopped for a bite to eat as soon as our flight arrived. I tried to get a nice picture of father and daughter... not possible.

First on the agenda: Busch Gardens

Our hosts, John and Beth, joined us for a day of wildlife and roller coasters

the main attraction... the roller coasters, of course

Coaster ride count

Kevin - lost count

Beth - lost count

Rachel - 1

John - 0

Adrienne - infinity + 1

Kevin and Beth were able to tag team and hang with Adrienne for the majority of the day. Kev ended up with a headache from all of the brain jostling.

 Our plans to go kayaking were cancelled due to low temps and high winds.

Instead, we had a nice lunch on the beach (indoors), John showed us the tree house he was hired to build (also on the beach), and we had lattes with John's German friends.

.

That evening, we schooled John and Beth on one of the greatest card games ever... Spoons! They were quick learners... and before we knew it, people were getting bruised and bitten!

All in all, it was another great trip. It's nice to have a little 2 on 1 time with a big kid who is getting older way too fast! Thanks to John and Beth for giving us a place to stay!

Max's PJ Day

Birthday Makeovers

Kendall took Madison to get a makeover for her birthday. Nails, hair, and makeup... there wasn't an inch on their bodies that wasn't covered in glitter.

Horsey Rides

Bill Cosby style

compliments of Dan

Max's School Open House

"If I were President, I would help people build houses."

-Max Clark

Kendall's PJ Day

V-Day Card Photo Shoot

For those of you who received a card... they don't come easy.

Near Sleepover

Madison recently spent an evening with us. We went to dinner, took a bath (Max is wearing trunks:), busted out the new kids shaving kit, and dressed in matching PJ's. Then the girls crawled into bed and informed us of the sleepover they were having. Sounds like a great idea... if they were capable of closing their eyes and their mouths when they are in the same room...maybe next time ladies.

At Long Last

After a long hiatus, Max is back in the gym!

and he couldn't be more excited about it

The Cotton Bowl

K-State football exceeded any and all expectations going into the bowl season this year. Before the season started, they were picked to finish 8th in the Big 12 conference. At the end of the regular season, prior to being selected to play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, our team was the #8 team in the nation. After the excitement of that season, there was no way we were going to miss a bowl appearance. So we rallied the troops and planned a trip down to Dallas.

23 game tickets, 5 parking passes, 8 hotel reservations, suitcases, several coolers, and kids in tow...

we were off to Dallas Cowboys Stadium!

We opted to break the trip up on the way down with an overnight stop in Tulsa.

These two were bouncing off the walls. I don't know what it is about hotel rooms, but they love them.

We rolled into Dallas just in time for the pep rally which was held at Texas Rangers Stadium.

After the pep rally the whole group headed out for a game day eve dinner.

Game Day

We hit the parking lot at noon for a 7pm kickoff. We drove a long way and were going to make the most of our efforts.

Little Super Fans

and the whole group (minus Philip and his family, of course... they inevitably disappear before every group picture)

This guy strolled right on by our tailgate

Michael Bishop, former KSU quarterback of arguably the best team in the history of the school

At long last, it is GAME TIME

People say this is the best football stadium in the world. I can see why, it was pretty incredible.

With all the anticipation and build up, the game was a bit of a let-down initially. 

KSU 16

Arkansas 29

Then you realize you should be sitting at home watching a bunch of other teams play.

We decided to stay an extra day and hit the Dallas World Aquarium. We met my old friend from grade school and her daughter.

So long Dallas, it was fun!

Great season Wildcats!

Hope to see you in another bowl game next year

Turbans

Finding ways to keep these two entertained while waiting for our food is no easy chore.

Cheer Showcase

Check out those moves in the middle of the screen!

Who Can Tie A Shoe???

THIS GUY!!!

Kendall's First Dance Class

This is serious business. Look out tap and ballet world!

New Year's Eve 2011

I believe this was Year #6 with the Kaiser's. The party has grown a bit. Once again, Max was the lone boy in a sea of girls, which he didn't seem to mind. Another successful sabering and a little wrestling rounded out the evening. Good times!

DEEP THOUGHTS by Kendall

Rachel: "Kendall, I ate too much. Look at my big belly."
Kendall: "Whoa! You look like Ashley."
Rachel: "Maybe, but Ashley has a baby in her belly."
Kendall: "Ashley ate a baby?!"