karate????

So Xander has never really showed interest in any form of sports before. However, lately he has decided that when he's 7 he will start karate. I'm a little torn on this idea because of the added expense it will be in very tight times. But, on the other side, I've invested so much into Kenzie and her gymnastics that it's only fair to let Xander discover a talent too. But, I can't do trade to earn his karate fees. Oh what to do???
What are your thoughts?

Lesson Learned (the hard way)

So Xander and his Uncle Dan were playing with a plastic fireman's ax on Friday. Uncle Dan pretended to shave Xander's head with it, and Xander pretended to shave Dan's face (since he hadn't shaved in three weeks).
Later that night I sent the boys up to get ready for bed. Dawson came down complaining that Xander wouldn't let him in the bathroom, and he had to go! I asked Xan what he was doing on, but he wouldn't answer. A minute later he comes down the stairs crying and screaming that his finger is bleeding. Correction, it was gushing blood. As Tyler and I tended to him, we noticed a patch of scalp on the side of his head...also bleeding. Uncle Dan went upstairs and found Aunt Jess' razor laying in the tub with a chunk of skin and hair in it. It turns out he sliced a chunk of skin off the tip of his finger as he tried to get the hair out of the razor.
After quite a while and a lot of blood loss, we got him taken care of!
Of the situation, Xander said, "I learned a lesson the hard way, huh?"

People in the ground.

Dawson and I were driving in the car today and as we passed a house, there were people working in a ditch. Dawson asked mom, why are there people in the ground? I said, they must be working. He responded, are they live?
ME- Yes they are alive.
DJ- No they aren't.
ME- Why aren't they alive Dawson?
DJ- Cause their heads are under the ground.
ME- Honey what people are you talking about?
DJ- The ones that aren't alive.
ME- Do you mean people that are buried in the ground cause they're dead?
DJ- Yes, the ones in the dead ground rooms.
ME- Cemeteries?
DJ- Yep that's the place for people to be in the ground.
ME- OK my son.
Then he asked me if evil snowmen can get people that are buried under ground.
Where in the world did he come up with this????

Kenzie's disclaimer

Kenzie wanted everyone that has watched her gymnastics video to know, that some of the routines we not her best performances. I will testify to the truth of that. For example, her balance beam routine. This was the first and only time she slipped off the beam. She has never fallen off before. And unfortunately, this was the time we recorded it. She said the beam was slippery. Several girls slipped off. The equipment at every gym is a little different from their home gym. Because of these differences sometimes the gymnasts are little off. And her back hand spring on the floor routine. She bumped her head on the mat. But still scored very high because everything else was 'tight'.
But who cares really. Can any of us get up and do that?
You still rocked it Kenz!

We've survived!

Well the Christmas break ended and school has resumed. Not only did we make it through the break but Ty has flown the coop and returned to work. Heaven smiled down upon us and he found work again. We did our time, kept up our spirits, pressed on and conquered the unemployment bug.
OK. so I was never unemployed but I did survive 7 months of having my husband home daily. Not an easy task for some. For me it wasn't so bad. I truly enjoyed having him here. He was a relief when I needed him and very helpful to have around. I think the reason we made it together for so long is both of our very laid back personalities.
I had several people tell me what they think was best for our situation. And several people tell me what I needed to do about my husband being home and to put my foot down, be tougher, tell him what he needs to be doing. I even had someone go so far as to say the unemployment was stressing our relationship. And they didn't want to see us get divorced. To these people I appreciate your opinion but, I didn't take it. And to the last person, the growing bump I am now sporting just shows that our marriage is solid and stress free!!!
Ty and I have this un-spoken communication and it works for us. We don't raise voices toward each other or even disagree that often. So 7 months with him around wasn't bad. If it wasn't for that crazy thing called money, I'd keep him around longer.
So yes, we survived many things this past year and look forward to 2010. We look forward to the arrival of this new little baby that will soon join our family and to many great things that await us.
Before I end this post, I want to thank all those that stepped up and helped us through this tough time. You know who you are. And please know that you were answers to many prayers. And your kindness and generosity blessed our family more than you'll ever know. Thank you to all for the encouraging words and phone calls and love. We felt your prayers and knew we weren't alone. We are truly blessed to have family, friends, and neighbors like you.

Get ready!

OK everyone. I just received word that the next gymnastics competition season starts...... March 13th.
Kenzie said she was going to give me 9.0 on her vault for my birthday. And possibly on the bars too. No pressure Kenz. I said, just give me your best. And I'll be happy.
Guess I have birthday plans after all.
Good luck 'little lady' on your next amazing season.

Mackenzie's November Gymnastics Meet

Ok, I've finally got around to uploading these vids of Mackenzie's last Gymnastics meet. Enjoy!

-Tyler

Vault:


Vault #2:


Bars:


Balance Beam:


Floor Routine: