Weekend in Tulsa

Last weekend, Tom and Spencer flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma to be with Tyler at his Eagle Court of Honor.  Tyler is Spencer's first cousin and is 14 years old.  They are great buddies and it was super fun for them to hang out together!

Yes, I forgot to pack his jeans that is why he is wearing shorts!  Oh dear . . .

 Tom said it was a wonderful event with lots of family around.  Of course, Lisa had it all planned out from what the daily activities were to what the meals were each day.  That is SO Lisa!  She is amazing!

 We are super proud of Tyler for receiving his Eagle!

They were there for Easter Sunday and the Easter Bunny just happened to know that Spencer was in Tulsa!

 He got a new tie with tiny Moroni statues blowing his trumpet all over.  It looks great on him!

 Of course, our two girls had to make a grand "Welcome Home" sign for them since they had been away a total of three days!

 They used Hailey's new sidewalk chalk "eggs" to make the super colorful mural!

 When Dad and Spencer got home late that evening, they were really surprised to see the huge drawing all over the driveway.  Isn't it great to feel loved?  I hope Tyler felt that way with all of his family supporting him.  I truly believe that feeling loved and loving others is one of the best kept secrets to living a life filled with happiness!

More fun Easter pics!

Last Thursday, Hailey had an Easter party at her kindergarten class. We hid Easter eggs, decorated cupcakes, made a duck with their handprints, and sorted/graphed colored jelly beans.  Fun fun!

 On Friday, there was NO school!  So, we grabbed the Hoover kids (Hailee and Jaxon) and headed for San Tan Mall.  Kelsey and Hailee went to get pedicures while I took the little ones to Dairy Queen.

 It's so cute how Hailey and Jaxon are best buddies!

 This was Easter morning.  I absolutely LOVE this Easter dress.  It was Kelsey's when she was 6 years old.  Hailey wore one just like it 6 years ago when she was just a little baby.  Kelsey pulled it out of storage and we decided we liked it better than any other "new" dress we could buy.  

 She did, however, get some new Easter shoes.  (again, these are "clippy clopp" shoes----high heels---her favorite!)  I painted her toe nails especially for Easter!  

 She looked so pretty!

 My two daughters . . . how could I be so blessed to have two sweet angel daughters like them?  They truly are such a joy in my life!

 I know I went a little crazy taking pictures of Kelsey - but her outfit matched the bougainvillea flowers so well!  She looked so pretty too that I just had to post all of them!

 Hailey got this book for Easter.  It's a beautiful book with artwork about the Savior - but there are hidden pictures in the background.  It's really fun for her to find the hidden objects.

I just love this picture of Kelsey.  She looks so beautiful and so happy.  It's the kind of look that radiates from a young woman who is clean and pure---and trying to be obedient in all she does.  

Easter Fun!

The Easter Bunny came to our house . . .

The baskets are always from mom and dad, but the Easter bunny hides the eggs filled with candy all over the living room!

 Kelsey would be embarrassed that she is in her nightgown - but I thought they were cute pictures of she and Hailey early on Easter morning.

I picked up a copy of "Horton Hears a Who" for Kelsey and Spencer since they were both recently in "Seussical."  I glued a 5x7 photo of the entire cast on the inside cover of the book so they can show their kids someday the fun adventures they went on when they were kids!

On Saturday morning,  I saw this cute drawing on my counter.  Yes - we couldn't put it off any longer---we "died" our eggs and Hailey was in heaven!

Can you see the pretty glitter in the colored water?

I will be sad when these fun Easter traditions aren't what the kids live for when they get older.  I love how Hailey keeps us all young and excited about these things.  Actually, I hope none of my kids ever get too old to have fun holiday traditions!  I still love them myself (even though for a mom, there is much more work involved!)

Kindergarten Field Trip

My little kindergartner, Hailey, wanted me to go on a field trip with her to the farm.  I was so excited because I know she doesn't have many more field trips in her little life so I jumped at the chance to go to this one.  So, last Friday, we went to Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek and had such an awesome time!

 Here is her kindergarten class!

 This was a really fun hay maze!

 This is a cow named Buster.  He was HUGE and he played "tag" with the farm worker.  It was so funny!

 Hailey fell in love with the 3 week old baby goats.  They were SO cute!

We were able to pick some vegetables afterwards.  She picked some Swiss Chard and some radishes.  We even went on a hay ride and had a picnic.  It was the best day ever---just being together!

Seussical is Over

"Seussical the Musical"

Kelsey and Spencer performed 8 shows in the last two weekends and now they are suffering from major PPD (post-play depression!) We are all suffering . . . being a part of a show, even for me backstage and in the audience, is such a wonderful and emotional thing.  There is a sort of let-down after it's over.  Just like a fun vacation---you want it to continue on and on and on . . .

Spencer is on the left in the red sequin vest (third kid in from the left) and Kelsey is to the left of the Cat in the Hat on the right side.  

Since it was their last weekend for performances, we decided to get Kelsey some beautiful yellow roses and Spencer got a fun candy bouquet (perfect for boys!)

 This picture cracks me up because Hailey was SO mad that she didn't get a candy bouquet.  She is not afraid to show her true feelings!  ha ha

 Many of their cousins and aunts were able to come to their last show.  It was super special for them to hear everyone cheering them on!

 It's a fuzzy picture but here is Mary Jo, the artistic director, hugging Kelsey after the show.  

 Here is Hailey with Jana, the "Sour Kangaroo!"

 This is Bre, one of Kelsey's sweet friends from the show.  She even shared her roses with Hailey!

 This picture really made Hailey smile---Dale picked her up and wanted to take a picture with her.  (remember, Hailey has a big crush on Dale :)  The Grinch even snuck into the picture!  ha ha

I have some more professional pictures to add later but there are over 2,000 of them on a disc and I don't  have time to sift through them this morning.  What an incredible experience for our kids.  We feel so blessed to live in this area and have the means to be able to give our kids these fabulous opportunities!

What's in a name?

About 17 years ago this month, I was pregnant with my first child.  When Tom and I found out it was a little boy, we were so happy---but I came from a family of 4 girls then 1 boy.  I really thought my first child would be a girl so I had a ton of girl's names ready to go in my mind.  Oh, I had a few boys names that I liked but honestly, never thought I'd use them for my first child.  Then, as Tom and I were talking about what we would name him, the name Kohler came up since it's a family name in Tom's heritage.  Tom had actually thought more about having a son than I did and he actually loved this name and wanted it for his first son.  I have to be honest---this name meant nothing to me when he said it.  The only connection I knew with the name Kohler was that is was a bathroom/kitchen finishings store.  I didn't want my child to be named after a toilet brand!  I immediately fast forwarded to junior high and envisioned kids teasing him about his name and I was worried.  I didn't put up an outward fight with Tom, but inwardly, I was really struggling.  I prayed about it over and over again, and to my surprise, it felt right for him.  So, we named him Thomas Kohler Chamberlain, after his grandfather and father, Thomas.  We didn't want another Tom Jr., so we decided he would be called Kohler.  

Through the years, I have often wondered how he felt about his name.  I have asked him if he is ever teased about his name because I never hear him complain about it.  Then, just last Friday morning, I sat down on my computer and found this essay that he wrote for his English class on my screen.  It touched me so much and I asked him for permission to copy it for my family records.  Here it is:

I Am Me

            My mother and father were the ones that gave me my name.  I was named after my great grandmother’s maiden name.  My grandma’s mother was named Geneve Kohler.  She died when my father was very young so I never knew her. My name is very unique and I love it because nobody else has that name.  My name is very rare because I have never heard someone called that before.  Since no one has probably ever heard of that name before, nobody has ever made fun of me for being called Kohler.  My name fits me and I am pretty sure that people are fine with it.  The main name, by which I am usually called, is Kohler, although Kohler is my middle name. My father’s name is Tom, and my first name is Thomas.  So to make things easier, I was just called Kohler.  But some of my nicknames that I have had in the past are, “Thomas the choo-choo Train,” “Koka-Kola,” (with a K for a C), ”Cold Cuts,” ”Kohler Smash,” and a couple others.  These nicknames mainly reflect me for being strong and funny. I also got most of my nicknames from my friends at football.  But my main name that I go by is just Kohler.  My nicknames are commonly used at football practice, but rarely outside of practice.  The nicknames that I have been given don’t offend me, but sometimes the ways people say them can.  I would not change my name, mainly because it is unique and special to me. I have never heard of anyone else called Kohler besides a kitchen and bath company called, “KOHLER”.  But, I love my name and I really believe that names and nicknames can reflect who you are and what you do.  I wouldn’t change my name anyway because I need to honor it and because it is my great grandmother’s maiden name. I like my name the way it is!

Do you know how happy that made me feel to know that my son loves him name?  I am so glad that I trusted my husband and listened to the Spirit when naming this boy.  He is a very special human being that will do many great things in this life with that name, especially if he is proud of it and will honor it always.