Kobe Family Happenings

2011-12-08T19:42:00.001-08:00

Wow, time has gotten away from me, but I hope to catch up on some posts. Hopefully people haven't given up on me completely! Anywho, Derek and I went to Costa Rica last month, and as always I don't have my good pictures, or really any pictures of the trip. But Derek and I did go on a river tour to see ,obviously, crocodiles! We were on the boat for this picture and you can see how close we were because the edge of the boat is just in the corner of this picture! I was not zooming in! Crazy Costa Ricans! But very nice people!

Everyone but Erin finished soccer season in October. Erin continues to play indoor soccer until the end of this month. I've enjoyed watching them play so much that I signed up for my own indoor soccer games! Who says the kids get to have all the fun! But man, what was I thinking? It's been over 15 years since I played on a team and I was sucking wind the first 10- 15 minutes of my first game! Then I remembered how to play smarter, and was able to finish out the game without colapsing on the fake grass!

Morgan was a little spitfire this season and wants to follow in Erin's foot steps with competition soccer.

Shannon is just having fun with it for now, but believes she wants to be like her big sisters. It was sooooo cold for this last game. But she got to wear her tiger hat which I think is the cutest thing! I got Lauren a monkey hat too!

Erin is growing up so fast, I'm having a hard time keeping up with her! She's going to surpass me in height here soon! She already wears my shoe size and tries to borrow my clothes! She has really enjoyed this competition soccer and indoor soccer. It is time for a break though, and she'll get one until Spring after these next two games. Erin has a mean kick when she can get her foot and the ball to connect just right! It's been fun watching her team grow together, seeing as how this is their first year together. A lot of them have gotten much better.

No, there will be no pictures of me playing soccer; mainly because I'm the only one taking the pictures, but because I don't look as good as these girls when I'm pushing myself. Like the ugly cry, I have the ugly work out face! My girls always look at me in wonder after I've done my running, and inform me "Mom.....your face is REALLY red!" I don't need that kind of exposure on the internet!

2011-06-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Daniel, was married last weekend and we had the privilage of going to the ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple. They were such a bubbly couple; at least Melissa. Daniel is very Jensen! I can say that because I've been told I'm the same way; we don't show too much emotion. It's great when trying to bluff in a game!

Very handsome guy, that one is!

She had a very pretty dress; buttons down the back and cute detail on the train. Very classic, which is what I'm pretty sure they were going for.

Two peas in a pod

2011-05-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

These two are getting married in June. This is my brother in law and his sweet girl!

We are so excited for Ashlee to join our family! Bret and Ashley were gracious enough to pose for me so I could get some practice with my newly tweeked talent. They are a fun couple to work with.

This one is my favorite! They both have such pretty blue eyes! And Ashley... that hair is just gorgeous! My girls can't get enough of these two. Thanks again Bret and Ashley!

Photography; what FUN!

2011-05-01T21:46:00.001-07:00

Missy Lolly; our biggest and best ham!

(not touched up yet)

I have always enjoyed photography and trying to capture that perfect image, but now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing......I'M HAVING SO MUCH FUN! I thought I was getting some good images before, but I've started using my photoshop (now that I have a clue how to use it; thanks to Emilie). Those of you who have taken her classes, know what I'm talking about. What a fun lady!

Miss Moo; our helpful and "stick to it" one

Miss Shani; miss "drama" herself

Miss Erin; our oldest and getting braces this month

Now that I know what I'm capable of creating, I think I'll have my camera in my hand a lot more. I made my bro in law and his soon to be bride pose for me, even though they already had some pictures done earlier. I just needed something to play with on the computer and they turned out really cute. Soon to come!

Make sure to eat your vegetables!

2011-04-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

Derek was involved in a reenactment of disasters for the purpose of training health care and emergency workers. Being a nursing student, this was part of one of his clinicals for school and had to show up and call on those acting skills of his. Derek's role to play was that of an inmate being transfered by a bus that was involved in a serious crash with a tanker transporting rocket fuel. They were suppose to be taken to one of the hospitals in the area, involved in the training, and dropped off at the ER. Derek was suppose to have had a heart attack 3 yrs ago, taking nitroglycerin and asprin. He was suppose to be having another heart attack after the crash and not have his meds with him. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be planned out very well and Derek and the other actors were taken to different hospitals before being dropped off about 2 blocks away from the hospital they finally ended up going to. While fully shackled and in their prison garb, Derek and the other men were made to walk those two blocks to the hospital; crossing a very busy road. Derek said they received some very strange looks from people in their cars wondering what was going on. Derek said he caught the wide eyes of one little girl. He wished he had told her,"make sure you eat your vegetables!" Derek could see why no one would want to try to run in shackles. He came home with marks on his ankles and wrists from being shackled for nearly 3 hours. The "makeup" artists had used perminent marker on their "victims" so Derek came home with "dogs" and "cats" written on his knuckles and some fake tats on his hands. They wanted to put tats on his neck and head, but Derek said no way when he saw that they were using perminent markers. I got a kick out of the picture; big tough Derek next to the little squatty police officer! Love it!

Lolly and PCMC

2011-03-10T20:33:00.001-08:00

So I couldn't get the photo to turn on my laptop so sorry it's sideways. Lauren had some tests at Primary Children's today and this is her smiling face before the tragedy begins. She wasn't too sure about running around without panties under that gown, but we got over it quickly. She kept saying " I don't want shots, I don't want shots." I had to keep reassuring her that there were no shots; I just didn't tell her about the nice catheter she would be getting in her bladder. She wouldn't have understood much anyway. After the VCUG, she kept asking me what it was the doctor "put in her bum". She said "it felt like a shot in my bum" OHHHH! I felt soooo bad, but luckily kids are very resiliant and once her catheter was out she was just fine. She just wants to talk about her experience A LOT! Unfortunately her problems have worsened over time and we will be going in for surgery in about 3-4 weeks. I'm not sure how we are going to get that gown on her again after today. She loved getting the Bambie toy. Not so thrilled with the doll in the hospital gown. Hopefully she doesn't develop a phobia of hospital gowns!

2011-01-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm at work and have time to post on my blog. So I borrowed my mother in laws acoustic guitar and had it restrung yesterday. I took it home and learned some cords! I really enjoyed it and had to tear myself away from it to come to work. I think my mom was getting a little tired of my going over the same notes again and again in her kitchen. At least you could start to hear a tune out of what I was playing! Hey, it's my first "lesson"! The girls were with me when I took the guitar in to be restrung. The store had keyboards and drums as well as walls of electric/acoustic guitars. Shannon fell in love with the drums! She was sure that was her calling in life! "Mom I love this (glittery gold) drum. Can we get one?" Lauren about jumped out of her pants (which isn't hard to do since they are barely hanging on as it is) when she pushed a couple of keys on a keyboard and a loud noise issued forth! It made the girls laugh. Morgan liked a blue electric guitar with green lightning bolts on it (typical Morgan-style) and Erin just had a headache from "all the noise the girls were making". But Erin did ask if she could get a disco ball for her room! Over all it was a good field trip for them and they got to do some people watching as well. I must say, there are quite an array of people that come in and out of that store. The girls got an eye full! I was just waiting for that one comment that was going to get me the black eye, but they kept their comments to themselves. What a lucky mom!

2011-01-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited for a new year and have many things I want to accomplish for myself and my family:

1. go part time at work: Derek, being the most generous husband anyone could ask for, contributed to my "get Katie out of work" fund. We want to have so much saved in my accounts before I can go part time and he just put me over that edge this Christmas! So now I just want to have all of our dept payed off, and then I'll go part time at work! Yay! Hopefully this March or June.

2. Re tile the kitchen and entry way in the apartment and put in new carpet. Can't wait for that!

3. Recommitte to going to the temple at least once a month. This is going to be one of my challenging ones because of our schedules, but I really feel the need to be in the temple more often. And with the Ogden Temple closing in April that will make it even more fun to plan.

4. Study the lessons in our gospel doctrine classes before the actual class. I'm really hoping to get more out of my classes this year. I just need to stay awake in class after working the night shift before!

5. The old stand by.... get into shape, AGAIN! I do want to run some races this year, so if anyone has one in mind, bug me to go with so I have something to train for.

6. Not cutting my hair, no matter how much I'm hating it at the moment! I really want to grow it out so I can do something with it!

7.Spending more time with Derek and the girls doing things we love. Not enough of this going around due to our hectic schedules and we can feel the strain in the girls. Lauren is always telling me not to go to work and always asking where Derek is during the day. You have to be pretty hard hearted for that not to get to you!

8. I really want to learn how to play the guitar...something I've always secretly wanted to do! I'd like to start self teaching with the girls this year.

9. Finally learn how to hold very simple conversations in Spanish. We have the Rosetta stone at home and I have lots of opportunity at work to use it so.....it only makes sense.

10. Get back into photography. I've really missed using my camera and seeing what images I can catch through my view finder. I also got photoshop for Christmas! Need to use it now!

11. Learn how to set my priorities in the right order. I just noticed that I had putting in carpet and tile before temple attendance and gospel study! Please don't judge me for that one! Hehe!

I hope everyone's new year is the best one yet, and you're able to accomplish most of your goals. I'm going to be realistic and probably only plan on accomplishing 30-50% of mine! I know how I've been in the past. Love you all!

Erin's book report

2010-11-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Erin had a book report due this week and has put a lot of work into her project. We made the animals, truck, hay bales, and tools out of air dry clay. I only made a few suggestions and then Erin took off with it. She made most of the animals and did all the painting. She did a great job and I think she'll get a good grade on it!

The two dogs in the book thought they were tasting "cotton wood candy". This was Erin's favorite part of the book.

The dog, who hates cats, ended up in the tool shed, during a rainstorm, with a bunch of cats.

The hero of the story in this scene is tied to a post and has cats hanging around and bothering him. The haystack is the cats home. The barb wire fence is suppose to be keeping a bull fenced in.

This is the truck the the dog "drove" into the creek with hay bales on the back. The dog's owner is suppose to be trapped under bales of hay. I'm not sure what happened to the arm and leg that were sticking out from under them, but the book report is done.

The book report project consisted of four scenes that the kids picked from their book that were to be narrated and displayed while they gave an oral report.

General Conference Fall 2010

2010-10-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

During the priesthood session last night; we were encouraged to add a link to lds.org on our blogs if we hadn't done so yet. So I made it a goal for myself during conference, while I listened of course to the talks, that I would place in my blog a link to the site that explains my beliefs truthfully. There is enough out there that spreads untruths about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its members. We need to make the truth available just as readily at hand for those that don't know our beliefs or understand. So for anyone who comes across my blog; I bear my testimony to you of the truthfullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. We have a living prophet of God at this time, Pres. Thomas S Monson who speaks with the Lord and testifies truthfully of Him. The temples of the Lord are homes of refugee and are filled with the spirit of our Savior. I urge you to pick up a copy of the Book of Mormon and read, with pure intent, to know for yourself the truthfullness of its contents and then pray to know whether it be true or not. I know that if you pray, with a real desire to know if these words are true, you will receive an answer to your prayers of this books truthfullness. I testify of these things to you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

goshute cave

2010-09-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

So these pictures are reverse in order. The top picture is the end result of our hike to goshute cave over memorial day week end. The girls were real troopers because that is not an easy hike! You can see the opening of the cave on the picture with Lauren asleep on Derek shoulder. Lots of shale and small rocks to slip on. They did great! And Derek is super dad. He carried Lauren all the way back down to the car so she wouldn't slip and fall. Shannon had help from me on the way down, but still did great! The girls got to see bats and actually thought it was cool. It was a great spur of the moment trip for our little family.

Happenings of Summer/Fall

2010-09-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Mom put together a "dinner theater" with our girls for their parents, grandpa, Aunt Laura and Uncle Adam. We got to see Little Red Riding Hood with Erin as "Red", Morgan as "BB Wolf", Shannon as "Grandma" and Lauren as " Woody Cutter".

We also saw the girls perform Goldy Locks and the Three Bears. Morgan was "Goldy", Erin as "Papa Bear", Shannon "Mama Bear" and Lauren, of course, was " Baby Bear". The girls helped make their costumes and I had some face paints to complete the look. So much fun!

I've taken the week off because Mom and Dad went to visit Kellie and Ryan in New Hampshire and I've really enjoyed spending all this time with the girls. I miss being able to take pictures on a whim and run around having fun with them. Luckily I got to transfer to a hospital closer to home and won't have to drive so far.

Shannon started Preschool and Lauren was sure she was on her way to class too. So we primped and gave her a backpack too. She was so excited to go to " Grandma school" that day!

I sent Erin and Morgan to school with "good grade" incentives for their teachers on the first day of school. I needed an excuse to make these cute cupcakes and Erin and Morgan's teachers really liked them! Erin's teacher liked them so much she took pictures of them. I think they're adorable and they were fun to make!

the things my kids say and do...

2010-04-11T00:59:00.001-07:00

I don't have pictures yet for my stories because I'm at work tonight and nothing else to do, so I'll tell you what's been going on at home. Morgan has had trouble lately with some cousins and not feeling really good about things, so I've been trying to encourage her in things she enjoys. She loves to sing her own songs at the top of her lungs. So a asked her "Morgan, do you like to write your own songs?" She said yes, rather shyly. I explained to her that some people do make a living writing songs and composing music for those songs. She got excited and said " I want to do that! I could do it on my days off from the circus!" For as long as I can remember she has aspired to be a trapeze artist and still wants that as a career. So now she wants to work for the circus AND write music/songs on her day off. I got Morgan her own little note book so she could write her songs down (as best a 6 year old can) and she felt pretty special! She also imformed me that she is planning on having 10 kids so she is going to be a very busy lady when she grows up!
Our dog Sam redeemed himself, I think, for the rest of his life. Lauren was outside playing with her sisters in the back yard last weekend. She usually stays put, but has been known to go back into the house while they stayed outside. I was asleep from having worked the night before and Derek was in the garage working on our suburban. Lauren left and the girls assumed she went into the house. Derek heard Sam barking but didn't think much of it because he barks at birds all the time. But he kept barking rather adamently, so Derek went to see what was up. You have to cross a bridge that goes over a canal to get up to our place and Lauren happened to venture down to the bridge. She hadn't crossed it but had gone up to the opening next to the bridge that allows you to go to the canal! Sam was barking at her because he couldn't get to her due to his shock collar perimeters. Derek ran down to grab her thank goodness before anything happened. So needless to say I don't like to sleep during the day when she girls are outside because I'm afraid she will wander off again. Im very glad Sam barked up a storm and Derek checked on him because it makes me sick to think of what could be. I love my Sam for that! Every kid should have a dog like him! And to thank him for this he's getting fixed in August. Sorry Sam!

HELLP!

2010-03-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry, all my life seems to be revolving around these days is work and kids, so that's what I have to blog about. Anyway I had a crazy night at work a few weeks ago and four words pretty much sum it up...hellp, blaauuggg, goosh and waaaah..(I'll explain) I had a patient come in complaining of contractions. She was crying from pain and just didn't look like she felt well. I did her assessment. Nothing really stood out except that she was in pain and couldn't really pin point where her pain was, just all over. No cervical change, no contractions, etc. The doctor said to send her home with tylenol!! I was uncomfortable with that so I asked him if he was ok if I sent her down to the ER for some more workup but she checked out with us on Labor and delivery. He said you can if you feel it's necessary. I did, so I sent her down. Then I picked up another patient. It was her second baby and she wasn't feeling well and nauseated. I checked her and she was dilated to 10 cm and ready to deliver. I called the doctor and went back to the room. My patient said she was nauseated and had to throw up so I set her up a little and she threw up, then we heard a gush when her water broke and then a small waaahh! I look under the sheet and we have a baby on the bed! So she delivered without a doctor! FUN STUFF! So we get that taken care of and a little bit later one of our nurses comes up to me and says that the patient I sent down to ER is back on our floor because she has HELLP syndrome. HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets and is a very serious condition to have especially during pregnancy. She was a very sick lady and I'm so very grateful I followed my gut instincts and didn't send this lady home to who knows what. She was c-sectioned that morning because of it! So Yeah for me! (and her too)! So those of you I love, who are pregnant, go into the hospital if you think ANYTHING is wrong and don't let them tell you everything checks out and send you home if you really feel something is wrong.
Derek went to a Daddy Daughter dance that the elementary school held for the students and their dads or other special men in their life. They had pictures done for the girls and treats (a chocolate fountain much to derek's surprise). Morgan said her dad lifted them up in the air and slid them under his legs and out again. Other kid's dads where lifting them up, but not as high as her dad, according to Morgan. The girls had a great time and loved being with their dad!
The girls are learning their articles of faith before we will take them to disneyland. Shannon has to learn all 13 too so I think we are safe for a little while, I thought! She has just about mastered the first 3 and says them over and over to anyone who will listen. I'm proud of her! Lauren is even picking up words here and there.
Erin got a live bunny for her birthday and I'll have to tell that story later, but it's my own darn fault for not understanding someone with a thick accent. So now we have a dog and a bunny, a show bunny none the less!

Update...

2010-01-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

I do way too many of these, but that's all I seem to have time for these days. Christmas was great since we got to stay home and just relax... not much of that going on these days. The girls told us that they didn't get what they wanted but that it was the best christmas ever. I think Santa just didn't care to worry about what the girls WANTED, but more of what he thought they NEEDED! 'nough said! I've been working a ton and really enjoying it, the actually work itself. Some of the staff are a little hard to take when a lot of them are so set against "Utah Mormons" and how they would never raise a family here! Yeah, I was the one out of 5 sitting there at the nurses desk listening to this and not really believing what I was hearing. Because I know for a surety that if I can hear them, their patients can hear them too and most of them are likely to be LDS! Anyway, enough of my soap box! Shannon is now 4 as of yesterday and she loved being queen for a day, but had been up late the last few nights and needed constant reminders of how we treat and talk to people (namely our sisters) when we don't get our way. Lauren is the snuggliest little thing and loves giving hugs and kisses to those she loves. Shannon was giving hugs to those who had given her presents yesterday and Lauren decided to get in on the action, so she just started giving hugs left and right to anyone who would take her...and who wouldn't take that kind of lovin'! Erin and Morgan went back to school today and Morgan promptly informed us that she didn't learn a thing today. Nice. Erin brought a book home from the library and has been reading it none stop! I must say I like seeing that. She also informed me that she wanted to walk the treadmill while watching a movie so she could get healthy. I guess that works. As long as it's not because she decided she was fat. I'm just praying that this year goes better than the last two we have been through, but I'm feeling optimistic about this one! Happy New Year to everyone, we love you....(and good luck!)

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T10:57:00.001-08:00

As always the obligatory Halloween pictures. Lauren had to be piglet this year because she's the last to fit in it and then we are done with it. Morgan was a jack-o-lantern because she has lost 3 teeth since school started! Shannon wanted to be the care bear. We've had that costume kicking around for years, but no one wanted to be the care bear until now. Some of the paint has worn off their faces because we dressed them up THEN had dinner. I was in a time crunch. Erin went as the 50s girl; not sure she wanted to be that for Halloween. She always wants to be the spooky villian. Last year a vampire, this year she wanted to go as a devil; what happened to my girlie girl? I went as tigger but no pictures here. Shannon had to tell everyone her life story and pet their dog and so forth while we were out! I looked at Derek and said "Who's child is this and where did she come from?" Those of you who know Shannon well, know she can be rather quiet when she doesn't know you well ( and that's putting it gently)

Just some fun pictures we tried to take before all the leaves fell from the trees because we have had no time to do any of this stuff lately. But the sun went behind the mountains, the leaves weren't as bright and the girls were getting cold. I thought these turned out fun though; just need a little brightening up! Lauren was playing peek a boo with Daddy while he was trying to get her to look at the camera!

Morgan is 6!

2009-10-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

My girls are growing up too fast! Morgan Louise Kobe turned 6 yesterday and had a great birthday! She has been asking to get her ears pierced and I told the girls they have to show me they are responsible enough to take care of them and Morgan is a pretty responsible kid so I gave in. I took her to the mall after school yesterday and just the two of us went. It was fun to do a one on one with my girl! She was sure that this was what she wanted. She got into the chair and I asked her "Are you sure?" She nodded her head yes and the girl pierced the first ear. Morgan didn't make any sound, but they look on her face was a little shocked! After we finished I told her I didn't want to hear anything about flu shots ever again!
We had a family dinner that night and I had been working on her birthday cake for two days because I had other things going on at the same time. I had an itch to make a "fun" Halloween cake for her birthday....let's just say that I am cured of that itch for a while. I am far from getting the fondant making technique down (I struggled for some reason, even though I followed the recipe) I don't know how you do it Lauri! And I had a lot of unsolicited "help" wanting to make "dough"! The cake got a little heavy on the front due to the rice crispy mummy so it started to droop, but the kids loved it and that was all that counted! I tend to pick my projects apart too much instead of enjoying the effort! My bad. I figure I need to take advantage of Morgan enjoying the Halloween themed birthday as long as I can because I remember Kellie getting sick of it after a while.

Labor & Delivery here I come!

2009-10-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago I was sent an email, out of the blue, asking me to apply for an L&D residency at Jordan Valley Hospital. I wasn't even thinking of working any more than I am and put it on the back burner for a couple of days. Derek and I talked about it extensively and prayed about it. We felt good about my interviewing for the position. I interviewed and was offered the job on the spot! The supervisor that I interviewed with said she hardly ever does that but when she saw someone who had something to offer the team and would do well in this position she wanted to offer it to me. They are only taking on 6 new RNsa and she had already hired 3. I will be starting my training in November and I can't wait. I will get to scrub in to C-sections and tubal ligations; some emergency hysterectomies. This is the reason I went into nursing and now I have the opportunity to do what I've gone to school for. It is a long commute, but after 2 years I will be able to transfer somewhere up north closer to home. So thank you, in advance, to those who will be helping me to realize my goals!

Hip Hip Hooray, Kobe Family!

2009-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Erin, Morgan, Mari and David started soccer today and all did a great job winning all their games! Especially amazing since none of them have played before! David scored several of his teams goals, Erin was an amazing kicker and aggressive. Her coach kept asking us if Erin had ever played before! Mari and Morgan pretty much towered over all the other kids on their team and the opposing team. It was a little comical! They both scored points for their teams and we where proud of them all! Our girls kept asking when they would get to play again and decided they really liked playing soccer! I said "Of course, what's not to like?"

TADAH!

2009-09-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

We did it! Mom and I finally finished the cake for her Enrichment auction night. Lauri, Keli, and Grandma K came up and put the base of the cake together for us so we had a nice canvas to work on. Then we spent an evening and part of a day finishin it up and this is the finished product....

I think it turned out pretty cute after we left it for a while and came back to it! To say Mom was worried about it is an understatement! Sorry Mom! Ignore the mess in the back ground. I had to leave to get Morgan to school and we didn't have time to clean up for the pictures, but what the hay!

We've already started the training bra! AHHH!

2009-09-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

So we were eating lunch as a family this weekend and Lauren needed to be changed because she had made a mess as usual. I proceeded to undress her and this is what we found under her clothes.....

We did not readjust for the picture! This is how we found it! It's a headband the girls had been playing with and Lauren added it to her wardrobe. Lauren is way ahead of her sisters in the chest department apparently and didn't feel she was getting the support she needed! Hehe! But this is the typical training bra for us Jensens and I dare say Kobes too! The girls thought this was pretty funny too and laughed a ton. Lauren just wanted to join in the fun so she started laughing with the group!

Is there another baby in our future?

2009-09-04T21:03:00.000-07:00

Shannon seems to know more than her parents do. She informed Grandma Jensen, one day, that she knew why I was going to the doctor's office. My mom asked her why and Shannon said "because she went to pick up the baby they have already paid for." Interesting! I had no idea! Now if she could only tell me if it was a boy or a girl. If it was only that easy, I may have had another one by now, but alas, we are done! It worries me a little that my children have been so psychic; Morgan told me when Lauren was coming before Derek and I knew. I do know for sure that we are not expecting at this time!

Bath tub pictures

2009-08-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

This just makes me laugh! This is for you Aunt Kathi!

Flaming Gorge

2009-08-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Flaming Gorge was fun. The girls went fishing for the first time and were the only ones to catch fish out of our group. Erin wouldn't hold her fish so Morgan held up their fish for pictures. Morgan however wouldn't gut the fish and the horror on their faces while Grandpa gut their fish was priceless! Shannon was enjoying the worms. Grandpa was very patient with the girls and helping them with their lines. You can tell that he has done this before with 3 other little girls!

Both of their fish look the same so I'm only putting this one up!

Shannon was naming our worms "mommy worm and baby worm"

Zip Sled!

2009-08-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Our girls are learning how to water ski this year and are having a blast! Erin and Morgan are getting to be little pros at riding the zip sled their grandma Kobe has. Erin has even started out in the middle of the lake, while laying on her stomach on the zip sled. She gets onto her knees and slowly works her way up to standing! It's impressive! Morgan does well just hanging on for dear life, but continues to go out when asked if she wants to ski again! I think maybe there is a little sibling competition going on here. Shannon is content staying on land and I'm ok with that. No need to rush things! And Lauren...well let's just say we are happy if she just sticks her feet in the little wading pool at home. She's not happy with moving water on the beach!

Erin

Morgan

Cedar City and Fun

2009-08-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

We just got back, Sunday, from a visit with Laura and Adam in Cedar City. Mom and Dad tagged along and we all had a blast! We got to see Laura and Adam's apartment and how cutely decorated it is! They were the perfect host and hostess! We all ate very well and were always on the go! One of the things we did was take the three oldest girls on a hike south of Cedar City. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it, but it was fun and the girls, especially Shannon, were troopers because this was not an easy hike for little ones!

It started out easy and then we started to follow a creek up into a canyon that turned into a slot canyon. There was a rather unstable ladder (if you could call it that) that we had to climb up and that was an adventure in of itself!

Our destination was a natural waterslide that we promised the girls they could go down and true to their word, they went down the slide! And that water was FREEZING! Everyone went down the slide except for me and Dad. We enjoyed the warmth of our clothing! Shannon wanted to go down so badly! So Derek took her down, but she jumped into his lap which he wasn't ready for and they went right down into the water! Derek didn't have a chance to prepare himself so he could keep Shannon's head up out of the water, so she got a nice brain freeze and couldn't help but cry! I was impressed that she even wanted to go because, like I said, that was cold water!
Before her dunk!

Erin

Morgan
We had a little trouble getting back to the car without some protests from the girls, but overall it was a good hike! And thankfully Mom kept Lauren back at the apartment. Neither one of them would have enjoyed this hike!

summer ouchies

2009-08-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wow this summer has flown by and I haven't been posting so here is a little update on a few of the things we're up to. Erin, apparently, reacts poorly to any kind of bug bite. One ,evening while I was at work, the girls went over to their cousins house and Erin was in her swimming suit still from swimming in our pool. So she took her shirt off and ran around in a swim suit and shorts. Not smart in Morgan county at dusk! This is the result.....

Then just a few days ago she was stung on the ear by a wasp and it gave her this result....

Not to be outdone, Lauren fell of a bench and split her ear open on Tuesday. It looked bad enough that I took her into the doctors and she ended up with 6 stitches! Poor thing! The doctor gave her 5 dumdum suckers for it though, so she made out like a bandit!

You can't tell from these pictures, but she took a chunk out of the rim of her ear and it's rather swollen. She won't hold still any more for me because she's a little leary as to what I'm doing. I was literally on top of the girl to keep her still so the PA could stitch her up. I layed my head on her while he was working and he asked if "mom was ok". I said I'm fine, I just had to work the night before. I have no problem with blood and stitches. I thought, "I see more blood than this at work!"

Hopefully we are done with the swollen body parts for the year and school starts next week, even though that doesn't guarantee an emergency room free year!

Adventures in babysitting!

2009-06-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

This last weekend my sister in law was riding a motorcycle and broke her leg. She was taken to Davis Hospital and then transported to U of U to see a surgeon who specializes in the kind of break she sustained. This all happened Saturday and her husband was leaving town Tuesday for work and not getting home until the following Saturday. Guess who was going to be home? Me and my poor sister in law, Elise, who is expecting in Aug, here on her vacation time and sick. Lucky for us, we weren't the only ones feeling "under the weather". Almost all of the 11 children, we were watching together, had the cold in some form or another. We had 4 babies that were 1 year old and younger, one two year old, two 3 year olds, one 4 year old, two 5 year olds and then an 8 year old who was in school for most of the week. We were giving drops to 5 out of the 11 kids. All the babies were sick and wanting individual attention. Luckily, some good samaritans took a few kids out of the equation two days out of the week. This helped some, but we still felt overwhelmed! By the end of the week we were throwing in movies left and right...and PROUD OF IT! I'm pretty confident in saying that that was not how Elise imagined spending a good chunk of her vacation time. But we survived and, by a higher power, so did all of the kids!

more pictures of my girls.....

2009-06-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

I had to take some updated picture of my girls a couple of weeks ago because they are growning up right before my eyes! The sunset and weather were perfect so I had to take advantage!

I love my new job!

2009-05-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've had two days orientation so far, but I already know that I am going to love this job! I've started IVs on kids ranging from preemie, new born that day, to 17 years old. And apparently I'm pretty good! I seem to be better at it under pressure because we've had several kids who have already had other nurses try to get IVs on them and been unsuccessful. They call us in and as soon as we step in the room, the child is crawling up the wall! There is always two of us, because we usually need someone to hold the arm, leg, or head of the child so we can get the IV in. On a couple of cases we have needed two people holding the child down while I put it in! And the parents are there watching the whole thing. Luckily I've been able to get it in the first try! I actually had a room full of family, when putting in an IV for a 4 y/o, and just as I was about to put the needle in, the grandmother stood up and snapped some pictures! Not something I would think you'd want to put in the kids scrapbook for the memories!
I've been oriented on placing PICC lines which go from the forearm into the superior vena cava. I'll get to use ultrasound to place them, scalpels, lidocain, and then I get to suture it into place as long as the tip of the catheter is in the right place. We have to get an x-ray done in the patient's room to check that. I'm excited to try my first one, knowing full well that anything can happen! The one I saw placed went so slick that I got excited to try my first one. I know this probably sounds a little (or a lot) morbid to some, but I get a rush everytime I see that flashback of blood in the catheter and I'm able to advance it into the vein with ease. I know Annaleigh will agree with me, it's COOL!

I joined the work force!

2009-04-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

I got the job I wanted at Primary Children's this week! I had an interview every day last week except Friday and was at the end of my rope trying to find sitters for my girls while I drove north to these interviews. PCMC was on Monday and I didn't think I had interviewed well. I don't do well with 3 other people on the other side of the table asking me questions about how I would handle stressful situations that I may come upon. I answered the best I could, but didn't feel well about it. I didn't hear from them until Tuesday, this week, and by then had told the hospice/home care center that I would take the PRN job as a case manager. I was worried about the scheduling for my family, but thought we might be able to work it out. When PC called I was ecstatic! It was scheduled time, and I could work my way into a full time position if I wanted to AND keep up my skills! I will be on the IV team and we are responsible for placing about 95% of the IVs and PICCs placed in the hospital. This is evidently a very respected team at the hospital and I'm really looking forward to improving my skills in this area! Yeah! I'm really excited to start! And I should be able to work night shifts on weekends and then sleep while Derek is home with the girls. Again, so excited!

Erin is baptized and lovin' it!

2009-04-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

We were excited that Lauri, Jay, Kyle and Mark happened to be in town at the right time!

Most of the cousins that were there

The proud family of Erin N Kobe

I think Erin is glowing!

Erin was so excited for her day!

Today Erin was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! She couldn't wait for this day to come. She was up before 6:30am because she was so excited! Her daddy was able to baptise her and confirm her on the same day. Derek gave a very short talk, (they say to keep it short for the kids, but I think the parents appreciate it too) then Erin's parents, Aunt Laura, Aunt Erin, Uncle Kyle and Uncle Trevor sang Dearest Children, God is Near You. There were three other children being baptized that day, one from our ward (another Aaron). Erin was the third to go and she looked so nice all it white (I need to get a picture or two from you Dad). We really appreciate the family support and love shown to Erin on her day! She was born into a great family if I say so myself! We then went to, as Morgan lovingly calls it, Chuck A Grandma, or as the rest of us would call it Chuck a Rama, at Erin's request of course! We were having an open house today and wasn't able to entertain at home afterwards. I have to say... I'm ok with that! I may just do it that way again for Morgan's...we'll see. It's been a good day, but everyone is beat! We did manage to go home long enough to change clothes. I sent Shannon upstairs to change her clothes and went to change mine. I then went upstairs to check on Shannon and she had fallen asleep on the floor in fetal position with one arm in her dress. I woke her up and she told me "I can't get my dress off!" So we'll just take a rest on the floor until Mom comes to help me! I should have taken a picture, but we were in a hurry to get out. Again, thanks to everyone who came and everyone who was there in spirit. It made Erin's day even more special for her! We love you all!

TEN YEARS AND STILL TICKING!

2009-04-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Derek and I celebrated our 10th anniversary yesterday and can you believe it, we still like each other! Just kidding! I love him more today, than the day I said "yes"! So for those of you who don't know Derek very well, or at all here is a little taste of the guy I call "babe"!

1. Derek has been blessed with 4 girls (sorry Derek no boys in your future)
2. Derek loves to get out doors and go...snowmobiling, motorcycling, boating, camping...you name it he likes doing it outside!
3. He can't stand not being busy. He needs to have something to do all the time.
4. He has a very sweet tooth! He loves chocolate when he has the munchies!
5. His favorite color is yellow.
6. Derek's dream job is to own a charter service and fly jets.
7. He likes to sleep in...a lot!
8. He loves spending time with his family...yah us!
9. Derek is 6ft 4inches

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST..

10. Derek is an awesome and loving husband and father!

I LOVE YOU BABE!

I've been inspired!

2009-03-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Watching Kara and Karli becoming quite the pros at the ol' camera thing has inspired me to dust off my camera and take those pictures of Shannon in her "not-cowgirl boots"!

A true "not-cowgirl" learns to sleep anywhere!

At least it's not her sleeve!

DRAMA....at the Kobe home!

2009-03-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

The culprit.....

The victim.....

The accusers....

While I was making Erin's birthday dinner, Erin said "Mom! There is a huge spider out side!" I went to look, and, I'll admit, at first glance it looked real. So I went to get my shoes on to take care of it, when the girls started to scream bloody murder! Sam is outside and really excited to have everyone near the door so he is jumping around the "spider" and the girls are worried he is going to get hurt. Very sweet, but VERY loud! Lauren was scared and started to cry, so I hurried outside and felt very sheepish when I got closer and noticed that it didn't move. I showed the girls that it wasn't real, but Erin ran into the laundry room and shut herself in! I swept the toy aside and went in to put my shoes away. Erin wouldn't let me in! She thought I was going to throw the spider at her! What kind of mother does she think I am? I should have! Erin wouldn't even get the toy spider for me to take a picture. I had to send Morgan out to get it for me! I'm going to hang onto it for future use...because that's the kind of mother I am!

Evening Crazies

2009-03-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

In the hospital we talk about our elderly patients sometimes getting the "evening crazies". Well, we have a younger version in our home and her name is Lauren.This was last Sunday and she was bored, so I had a pair of tights that already had a hole in them. So, naturally, they go on her head!....And she loved it! Of course, once her sight has been altered, she feels the need for speed...in any direction!

HELP KARLI BEAT MIKE!

2009-02-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

My supper awesome cousin needs help beating her sneaky husband in a blogging contest and would appreciate all the help she can get. Click on the web site to your right and leave a comment, thus putting your name in some drawings for some cute stuff! We wish Karli the best of luck and may the best woman win!

Dead Mermaids?

2009-02-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

Let me explain this title. We were getting ready to eat dinner and, as always, Shannon wanted to say the prayer. We relented, AGAIN, and she wanted to say it by herself which can turn out very odd! ANYHOO, Shannon is doing well and out of the blue says "and please bless us that we can see a dead mermaid"! WHAT THE HECK? Derek and I had the oddest faces on when she finished. We asked the girls what this was all about and Erin claims that one of her friends said she saw a dead mermaid. For starters, we had to explain that mermaids are mythical creatures...not real! Erin actually wanted to argue this point with us! We also had to talk about keeping our prayers reverent and it's not appropiate to ask for a dead mermaid let alone a live one! I tell you, I wonder where we went wrong sometimes! I didn't think we'd ever have to censure the girls' prayers!

Draper Temple

2009-02-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of my family in front of the temple,but if you've been there yet you know the set up isn't really condusive to taking pictures of the temple. I think they are so worried about anyone having to be out in the elements you don't really have a place to stop and just look at the outside. It is beautiful though! Our girls were so excited to go and see the inside of the temple and get a little taste of what their parents see and do when we go to do temple work. You could tell the girls were feeling something while we walked through and saw all the beautiful work that had been done. They were very reverant for the most part. Shannon tried to give herself her own tour, but was redirected by some of the volunteers. It's a good thing they have someone at every turn! The girls favorite rooms were the bride's room and the sealing rooms, because "that's where families are sealed forever". I think they found a real interest in the baptismal room because they would get to do baptisms first. Erin in only 4 years! I can't believe how the time has flown! We made sure each of the girls got a pamphlet to put in their journals to remind them of the day. They really want to go to the next temple open house now, and I don't know how you can say no! And on the way to the temple I spotted a KENNINGTON COURT. I wanted to go back and get a picture of the street sign to put on my blog, but Derek took another route home. I may have to go another time.

Shannon was hungry and tired by the time we took this photo. It's in front of the church building where we parked our car and watched the video. Then a bus took us up to the temple.

My ever growing testimony

2009-02-16T14:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know why it continues to astound me everytime it happens, but I guess I just need reminding that I am a child of a Heavenly Father who is very patient with me. I'm scheduled to teach the first sunday lesson next month and I'm one that stresses over it for weeks before. Teaching is not one of my talents, to say the least. So I had decided to teach on receiving personal revelation. I have wanted to teach on this for a while, but it was never the right time. Since this might be my last chance to teach the first sunday lesson, since we are moving, I decided now or never. I struggled to put my lesson together; I couldn't recall quotes, scripture, anything to help me in preparation for my lesson. Nothing flowed well. I was reading through me Ensign and had only read one or two articles, when out of the blue, I had the feeling to do my lesson on self reliance. This was a completely different direction than I wanted to take my lesson! I put the magazine away for the day. I went over my original lesson with Derek that night and it still didn't feel right. Today, I sat down with the Ensign again (Lauren was asleep and the other girls were with Derek running errands). I was flipping through it again, skimming over articles and ran right into Elder Ballard's article on....SELF RELIANCE! I sat down and put my talk together within the hour. My mind was opened and I was able to recall quotes and scripture that I had read that related to this very topic. I had made up my mind to follow the Spirit's promptings and was ,I hate to admit, amazed at how easily it came to me. Just like my own girls need CONSTANT reminding and encouraging to do what's right and listen to what I say, I, in turn, need my constant reminder that all will be done on the Lord's time table and only through Him will it come together so as to be effective for those we teach. I am indeed grateful for this calling and have learned so much in regards to listening to the spirit and studying the words of the prophets and apostles. I may just be rambling, but was told in my P. blessing that if I shared my testimony every day, if only with myself, it would grow to be very important to me and a great blessing. So I am sharing it with anyone who reads this and maybe that will cover me for a couple more days

The four letter word

2009-02-15T20:55:00.001-08:00

Shannon has now picked her expression of choice when life gets hard. It's the "f" word....FOOF! She was eating lunch today in the kitchen and dripped some food on her lap and out came "Oh, foof!" She will also run out to the car to leave and get to the car door "Foof!" to replace phew. I think I'm going to take her example and use it in my vocabulary. It's much like Laura's "piffle". But I think it sounds cuter coming out of her mouth.

Looking on the brighter side

2009-02-11T13:57:00.001-08:00

In my quest to try looking on the brighter side and find the positive in life right now, my mother in law sent me an email. I had to add my own pictures because I couldn't upload the email pics. Enjoy!

NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES!

All personnel will now be required to look happy while working. Company-approved supplies will be provided to each employee at little or no cost.
• Workloads getting to you?
• Feeling stressed?
• Too many priorities and assignments?

Here is the new low-cost, company-approved solution to cope with multiple priorities and assignments!

Each employee will be supplied 2 paper clips and rubber bands. (See Fig 1.)

Assemble items as shown in Fig 2.

Apply as shown in Fig 3.

Enjoy your day. This new office equipment will help you to reach the end of a productive work day with a smile on your face!

The Management

This may work really well on Shannon, if I could ever get it on her!

Home at last

2009-01-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

We went on our family trip this January with some of our family missing. Derek stayed behind so he could drum up some business and keep it going. He also talked me into taking the four girls to Florida with my parents, Kellie, and Ryan. I admit I was a little excited to go, but still hesitant seeing as how I am the only parent with four little girls trying to get through security at the airport and my husband being at home by himself; maybe I need to stick around to show support. Regardless, we went. It was an ok flight into Orlando and Monday was nice since we just relaxed and played in the pool with the girls at the hotel. Monday night, though, all heck breaks loose and Lauren and my mom get the stomach flu. Unfortunately, it doesn't end there. While Lauren continues to have a very rough week, Shannon and Erin get sick on Wed, Kellie on Thurs, Dad and Morgan on Friday, and Ryan Sat night. I didn't get it, but maybe that's because I needed to stay well enough to clean up the messes all week. The girls and I were in one unit while Mom, Dad, Kellie and Ryan were in the other. Mom and I lost count of how many loads of laundry we ended up doing. We did manage to take those who were feeling up to it, in shifts, to Sea World and Busch Gardens. I think the girls had fun, but they were glad to see Dad and Sam at the end of the week. The flight back was a little more dicey because I was worried Lauren would heave on the plane, but she didn't. I gave all the girls except Erin, Dramamine and Shannon slept most of the flight. Shannon was by the window on take off when she said "Oh, we are going to fall". I tried to reasure her that no we wouldn't fall. It was a very turbulent flight, Mom was a little worried and the girls said we were on a roller coaster, but Shannon slept through most of it. She was awake for the landing and it was very noisy and we were shaking a lot. Shannon turned to me and said "I told you we were going to fall!" She makes me laugh. I didn't get a lot of pictures on this trip, more video, but here are a few. The pic with me was at the end of the day and it had been a long day!

My Christmas Present

2008-12-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

My homemade gift this year was quilting stands that Derek made in his shop. He first brought in a "bird house" he had made out of sheet metal?! I said it was wonderful, but not too sure what he was thinking making a bird house out of sheet metal. Then after that presentation I went to get his present (the quilt) and he quickly set up my real present, the stands. I was relieved! He said he had to make something to through me off because I, just out of the blue, told him to make me quilting stands while he was at his shop working on my present a few days ago. I had no idea that's what he was doing! He had the girls help make them and paint them. I love how Erin and Morgan painted their own names on a post and then Derek put Shannon and Lauren's on too. I have been wanting these for a while, but never told Derek. He read my mind! I have such a neat husband who listens to the things I don't say. I love them!

Our new addition!

2008-12-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

Derek and I gave the girls a black lab puppy for their Christmas present this year. The girls named him Sam and he is only 7 weeks old. He is so much fun and has actually been a very good puppy. He goes to the bathroom outside as long as we are on top of things and take him out to do his business. He doesn't bark much at all. He slept through the night the first night home, which I was not expecting. He is definitely a puppy though. He tries to bite the chairs in the kitchen so we put some of that dog repellent on them and I haven't seen him do it since. He has also learned, very quickly, who he can bully and who he can't. The girls aren't use to being around dogs and don't quite know how to tell him to back off when he nips and jumps up. We are continually "rescuing" Shannon and Morgan, but they are both getting much better at being around him. Right now the girls fight over who gets to walk him and I'm trying to enjoy this sense of responsibility they have now while it lasts. Erin has been very good at taking Sam out when he needs to go, and it's even been snowing and raining like crazy. But Sam is definitely Derek's dog. He loves Derek and follows him around everywhere. He even whimpers for him when he leaves the gated area or goes out of the room. We were out shoveling the snow tonight (not an easy job this time around) and Sam stayed right with Derek and tried to attack his shovel. If Derek calls him, he usually comes right away. If the girls or I call, it's a 50/50 chance he'll come. But a very cute addition.

Poor Lauren

2008-12-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Lauren got the scare of her life when Morgan accidentally left the fireplace in our living room on after I told her not to mess with the switch that turns it off and on. I heard a scream from Lauren while I was in the kitchen and it was not a scream of delite. She had placed her hand on the glass to support herself because it is a see through fireplace and she was looking through it. I was trying to run her hand under cool water, but she was fighting me the whole time. I got some burn cream and wrapped her hand in gauze to keep it clean and from her putting it into her mouth. Luckily she left it on, but kept trying to shake her hand off to get it to stop hurting. She cried for over an hour. I felt so bad. This is what it looked like the next morning. I didn't realize she had burnt her fingers so badly too. Poor thing!

2008-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Derek and I are convinced that Lauren gets the evening crazies just like any cat or elderly person in the hospital. Before I put her to bed, she likes to find any towel or piece of clothing the girls have left on the floor and drape it over her head. Then she crawls, full tilt, in any direction without the use of her eyes! Derek and I have had to stop her a number of times from running into corners or furniture. She also loves chasing her sisters around the house. Who needs a cat?

2008-12-18T19:22:00.001-08:00

I finally finished Derek's Christmas present today, thanks to Kara, for letting me borrow her sewing machine since mine is broken! Derek has this blanket from his childhood that he loves, but never uses. He wanted me to mend it, but this blanket was beyond repairing so my mother in law gave me the idea to use the old blanket as the batting for the new blanket! So, I did! We are all making homemade gifts for each other in the family and this seemed the best idea for me. So I asked my friend Tammy to help me tie it, and I'm sorry Tammy, the thread count was so high it took us forever to finish it. It was so hard to pull the yarn through and some of the batting and fabric from the old blanket was being pulled through too. But it is done and, I think, looks ok! I left the colorful side of the old blanket facing up so you could see it through the white side (kind of like a shadow box). It's fun to see it now that it's done. It will definitely be a warm blanket. I took pictures of the old blanket so I could go back and make Derek a blanket much like his old one, but later on when I have a little more time (ha ha). I didn't display the really torn up parts of the blanket, but this gives you a small taste of what it was like.

Updates

2008-12-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

Boy, I am awful at keeping this thing updated, but what can you do? We finally decorated the chirstmas tree (seeing as how it's been up for um... about a week or more!) Now the girls won't leave the tree alone. They like to rearrange the ornaments like I remember doing as a little girl; except they keep putting the breakable and chokable ones within Lauren's reach so I have to go back and rearrange it again! We went through Erin and Morgan's school made ornaments and it's fun to see how they have grown. I have so much fun recording my girls playing with their toys. Elise, you know how Tori was microwaving your baby Jesus from your nativity and how "licious" he was? Well, according to Shannon, our baby Jesus falls into boiling hot lava off of our living room table and gets saved by Prince Phillip and Aurora! What do you think of that? And I got it all on video! How great is that? We also got Lauren playing peek a boo at dinner when she was all covered in chili sauce; so naturally it ended up in her hair, eyes, ears, etc. I'm trying to teach her to nod her head yes because all she does is no. She's finding this very difficult unless she gets her whole body into it. Again, funny on video! We are also getting a black lab puppy for the girls for Christmas and they don't know it, so we thought. We still don't know for sure, but out of the blue Erin has become very adament about Santa bringing her a puppy for Chirstmas. Previously we have told the girls they can't have a dog until we move back to Morgan, but someone Derek knew asked if he wanted to do some trade work for one of his pure bred lab pups. Derek agreed, hence the Christmas puppy. Morgan keeps telling Erin that they can't have a puppy until we move, but Erin just says "I know, but I really want one" so we don't know what she knows if anything. Derek and I are still debating how to give the girls the puppy so if anyone has any great ideas we'd love to hear them!

Katie for President!

2008-11-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

Erin asked me today if anyone could run for president and we had a nice little talk about it. It's been kind of fun because she and Morgan, mainly Erin, have been very interested in this presidential race. She thought for a little bit and said "Mom I would vote for you if you ran for president. I think anyone who knows you would vote for you! Can you just say "AWWWWW!" What a sweetheart! I told her you wouldn't want Mom to be president because I wouldn't be able to spend so much time with you. She thought a little longer and then decided that maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea, but she still would vote for me! It's funny because the girls will see me watching the news and say "There's Barack Obama again" or " There's the white haired guy again"! For some reason they can't remember John McCain! At there age I was completely clueless! What smarties!

Spooky!

2008-11-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

We went to halloween party a few days before halloween and they had face professional face painters there and Derek was finally convinced that he needed to paint his face, but came away with a lot more! People kept coming up and asking Derek if they could take a picture of his head!I think he got a lot more than he bargained for!

On Halloween night we had quite the range of costume; considering we only have girls. Erin wanted to be a scary vampire, but pulled off Eddie Munster rather well instead! Morgan was our homeless gypsy and Shannon was our beautiful witch! Don't call her a cute witch or she will turn you into a toad! They had a blast going out with Dad for an hour and a half! Derek said most of the homes were shutting down for business so they did a bit of walking. He's a good dad because I would have said let's bag it, go home and eat our own candy!

My girls-again!

2008-10-22T14:59:00.001-07:00

I like it when I can find time to take pics of my girls. Shannon's pose is all her own! Lauren is just growing so fast and now crawls using her hands and feet. I haven't had time to crop some of my pics so I apologize for the back ground in the group pic.

update-Morgan's party

2008-10-22T14:54:00.001-07:00

Morgan's party went well. I was just surprized with how quiet all of these girls were. I had to keep the conversations going while they had lunch and cake. I played Disney songs and had them guess which movie it came from (they seemed to enjoy that. Shannon guessed "Ariel!" every time). Erin had to break the piniata because the girls would just tap at it and then when the candy was on the ground, they made a circle and checked out the candy before even picking it up! Much different from my days as a kid when you had to make a mad dash just to get your share! I could have kept these girls all day! They had their faces painted with butterflies and I had to take a picture.

Butterfly Piniata

2008-10-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Morgan helped me make a pinata for her butterfly birthday this year. I think it got a little out of hand seeing how big it ended up being. Erin decided she wants a shamrock for her birthday and I'm not too sure I'm up for that.

Funny Girl

2008-10-06T19:55:00.001-07:00

I was pulling out the larger sizes of clothes for Lauren and the warmer clothes for Morgan and Shannon today. I was trying shirts on Shannon and putting the rest back in the box when two pistachio shells fell into my lap. I asked Shannon to please throw the shells away for me while I go upstairs to put the "new" clothes away. As I walk up the stairs, I observe Shannon, with her shirt off, places the empty shells on her chest like "Ariel sea shells"! I thought this was pretty funny seeing as how all my girls have this fasination with putting "shells" on their chest at one point or another. She then proceeds to dance in the living room! FUNNY! Those of you who have seen our Erin's interpretation of "seashells" on home video can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Busy day

2008-09-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Derek had his surgery on Tuesday and all went well as far as I can tell. I didn't get to talk to the surgeon because I was at home asleep because I didn't sleep well the night before and I had to take Lauren to Primary Children's for a renal ultrasound. I didn't want to run off the road so while Derek was in surgery I went home until I got a call that he was in recovery. Luckily, Mom was able to come down to help me with my crazy schedule. I got Derek home around 12:15pm, got his perscriptions, and headed out to get to Lauren's appointment at 1:30pm. To add insult to injury, I sat in the waiting room with Lauren for almost an hour because they didn't get her name back to radiology until I mentioned we had been waiting for a while and everyone that came after us had gone in already. Not happy! But Lauren did great! She played with a toy while they looked at her kidney and bladder with U/S and then we did her VCUG. I was expecting her to scream bloody murder (because that's what Erin did as an infant when she had hers done), but we gave her a sucker and she forget everyone and everything around her! She went to town! They put her cath in and strapped her legs together and she seemed completely unaware, until her bladder was so full she was in pain. They waited a while for her to urinate into the cath, but she would only do spurts. We were still able to see that she has reflux into the right kidney (so now I have to take her to a urologist). After waiting so long they finally took out the cath and untied her legs. As soon as her legs were free she "assumed the position" lifted her legs and let 'er rip! When she was done she put her legs down, feeling much better! She was such a good girl! It was a busy day! Luckily I got my apple sauce canned the day before because I have no time now!

Will it ever end?

2008-08-25T19:40:00.001-07:00

We went camping with Derek's family this weekend, which was a joke! First of all Derek is already in pain, but wants to do something "fun" with the girls. Well, the girls were having a blast until Erin was stung in the eye by, we are going to say a bee because we don't know for sure. We didn't have any benadryl in our emergency kit; boy that tells you what kind of nurse I turned out to be. We did have some ice so I made her sit for a spell with some ice to her eye which she complained about endlessly. This picture is not too bad. The next morning, for church, it looked a lot worse! She looks like she's been in a knock out fight!

We took our motorcycles up with us and Derek wants so badly to ride and thought he might get away with riding the girl's bike a little, but I made him get off after I took this pathetic picture. He wasn't very happy with me as you can tell. (I made him smile in one for me).

Over all the girls did have a great time and
got very dirty! Derek slept most of the day Sunday and was still tired when we went to bed for the night. It may be a while before we venture out again.

Kids conversations

2008-08-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

I overheard Morgan and Erin chatting in the back seat of the car a couple of days ago. Morgan was saying to Erin,"Respect. It has to mean something doesn't it?" It was funny hearing Erin try to explain it to her.
We were watching the women's water polo on tv during lunch and the girls were in awe because they don't touch the bottom of the pool while they play. Erin saw one of the girls go down and come back up and was saying "she got water in her nose!" I explained that they have learned to blow out their nose while they play so it doesn't get in their nose. Erin explained that she had to plug her nose whenever she goes under water. Morgan piped up "I can blow out my nose under water!" Erin excitedly said " Morgan can blow out her nose! She could go to the Olympics!" Boy, if that's all it takes to get to the Olympics, sign me up!

Three down, One to go!

2008-07-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Shannon is finally potty trained! Derek and I told her if she stayed clean and dry in her underwear for a week, we would take her to the zoo and she did it! I think Erin and Morgan are just as excited or more so than Shannon. (Lauren couldn't care less) But they have been great sisters in helping her along. They cheer her on when she has a success and help her get on the potty when she has to go and I can't get right to it! It was funny because while we were doing the "two steps forward-one step back" routine, we would bring up the zoo and Shannon's response was always " yeah, I can go see the bears and the lions and the zebras and .....". It would get frustrating because she had the idea in her head, but wasn't incorporating it. But now she is working on the night time stuff and she's made some headway. She wants to wear the underwear to bed, but she is still unpredictable. Maybe she's like Morgan was; wet when she wore the training pants, but managed to stay dry with underwear. I'm not sure I'm ready to try that yet. So hopefully we have only two more years of buying diapers. One can only hope!

2008-07-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Since Derek has been laid up for awhile, I've had a lot more to do and less help to do it. Well, I made lunch for everyone last Sunday along with mini vanilla pudding pies. But before the girls could eat their pies, Derek made them say 5 "great" things Mom does for them. They came up with the usual "she cooks for us, she buys us things.." not really what he was looking for so he urged the girls to really think of SOMETHING! Morgan got a big smile on her face and said "she teaches us the gospel" and sits back as though she just made the greatest comment. Derek said that's great now expound on that. Morgan looked at Derek confused at this reponse and said" But Dad that's all we can possibly know!" I almost had pudding coming out of my nose!

New cousins for the Kobe girls

2008-05-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

May 1st, Lauren and I flew out to Omaha to visit the newest additions to the Kobe clan. Adrienne Jolene and Sophia Elise Smith are twins born April 22nd. They are very cute and very easy to tell apart. Adrienne is on the left and Sophia on the right and I bet you all can tell who is in the middle! I can't believe that Lauren was that little only 3 months earlier! Lauren did pretty well on the airplane ride out there. She was making friends with everyone especially the lady sitting next to us. At first Lauren wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh at her, but she quickly warmed up. We were in Omaha till the 6th and Lauren got very used to having Mom all to herself. Elise and Trevor had a dinner to go to that Saturday and took the twins with them. They dressed them up in dresses that were a little big still and then wanted to put on some head bands that were given to them by a friend. This friend made them and they were cute, but looked funny on the girls because the flowers stuck out so far from their heads so we put it on Lauren and took a picture. She reminds me of the queen ant from A Bug's Life! We also gave all the girls a bath the same day so we took their pics before their baths. Lauren was getting cream for 3 months and it shows. How cute! It was fun to see everyone, but we are glad to be home!

Salt Lake Marathon

2008-04-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

Erin, with her cousin Kayla, ran in the kids 1k during the SLC Marathon. We thought we would be running 1 mile at first but I didn't look at the info very closely, so the girls didn't get to run to their full potential. Maybe in an upcoming 5k! Anyway, they ran with their moms and ran the whole way! They got to meet Elmo, even though Erin made sure I understood that Elmo wasn't real and that it was a person dressed up as Elmo. Leave it to Erin to keep you in the know! They got medals and a T shirt for running in the race. Erin was a little scared before the race because she expected something very different. She said she had pictured a field with grass and lines painted to show you where to run. She also requested that the Union Station, which is where we waited to start the race, could be quiet for a little while. She is a country girl all the way! She was also worried that she wouldn't know where to run if she got ahead of me. I informed her I would be right by her the whole time! She was sure she was going to win the race! Alison told me that Kayla thought the race only consisted of her, Erin, Alison and me! She told Alison that she had a chance of winning this thing! So cute!

Lauren's blessing day

2008-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today Lauren was given her blessing. Derek did a wonderful job as expected; even though he forgot to take his pain meds this morning because we were rushing out the door. He was in a lot of pain and had to teach in Priesthood today too. The girls enjoyed playing with their cousins after church, in the backyard; it was such a beautiful day! We were all burnt on our arms; the girls on their faces too. We spent the whole day ,yesterday, in the backyard getting our garden ready for planting. It takes the first burn of the year for me to remember to lotion everyone up before going outside. Morgan found some grubs in the dirt and was naming them. The first one was named Hate and then she renamed it Derek. The second one was named Katie. So now we know how she feels about her parents. Shannon was playing kitty for Erin and Erin put a jump rope around her waist for a leash. Erin then decided she needed to go inside for a drink and tied her "kitty" to a tree in the yard until she came back outside, then they went for a "walk" around the yard. We just need to move up to Morgan so the girls can get a pet. It was nice finally getting out into the yard and working in the dirt.

Easter

2008-04-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

The girls all looked so cute in their new Easter dresses I had to take a "few" pictures after church. They all made a pretty good haul this year after the Easter Bunny came and grandparents pitched in. Shannon did especially well at Grandma Kobe's house because she had had some practice at home with the easter bunny.

Erin's hiphop party

2008-04-09T16:14:00.002-07:00

Erin had a hiphop birthday party this year because she wanted to invite a bunch of friends and I didn't want to clean up the mess so we had it at the dance studio that the girls go to. They provide an hours worth of dance instruction and then an hour for eating and presents. It was funny to watch because none of the girls had any idea what hiphop was. So I asked the instructor if she would perform a short dance so they could get a taste of hiphop. After that they played the freeze game (the kids dance till the music stops and "freeze" in any position)and the kids (mainly Erin) really "got their groove on". Luckily we got some of it on video! After dancing and playing games they all had pizza and cake. Erin said she had a good time and would do it all over again. The nice thing was being able to leave the mess behind!

Busy family

2008-04-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

The Kobe family has been pretty busy lately. Derek is in the process of framing the rest of our basement in hopes of finishing the family room soon. Katie is still RS president (even after Bro Ballard's talk from General Conference). I'm giving a cheese cake demo at the end of the month to kick off our cooking classes we will have every month. There was a lot of interest in the classes, but not many sisters volunteered to help teach the classes. Erin is working with Derek on her first science project for school (we aren't sure what it will be yet; it's a work in progress). Morgan is rehearsing, with her ballet class, the dance they will perform in June at Thanksgiving Point. Shannon is in the process of being potty trained (we hope), but I had to put a stop to it today because I got a sinus cold and I'm not in the frame of mind to deal with wet undies all day! Lauren is in her own room now (yipee) and we will start training her to sleep through the night soon! Hopefully this will go better than the potty training.