Lake Tahoe 2018

My brother called me on Wednesday letting me know he was in Reno visiting his friend Jesse and asked if we wanted to meet them in Tahoe on Friday.  I immediately texted LaVor to see if he thought he'd be able to take the day off.  Within a few hours, he said he was off and I let me brother know we'd be at the beach with bells on.

We haven't seen my brother and his family for two years, since my dad's heart surgery, and we hadn't seen Jesse and his family since The Lime's baby blessing (say what?!?!).  We all picked up right where we left off, including the kids, and had a wonderful few hours under the sun.

Our boys (the little ones) immediately jumped in the frigid cold water and just about froze their buns off.  They'd get out of he water, complain how cold they were, then jump right back in.  This process was repeated multiple times throughout the day.

Other brave souls jumped in the lake but I was not one of them. Unless I was sitting directly in the sun, I was cold and I knew the second I went in the water, I'd never be able to recover. And honestly, I hate being cold so exposing my skin to the harsh Lake Tahoe sun was good enough for me.

We saw fellow beach goers jump off poles into the middle of the lake, a mama duck and her babies, and more geese and ducks than we wanted (dang, do they beg!).

The wives chatted, the husbands chatted, everyone snacked, and the kids played until it was time to go. We had to be back home for The Lime's baseball party so on the road we went but because I'm my father's daughter, I had to take a few group photos before packing up.

We've realized we've visited Lake Tahoe for the last three summers and don't know why we don't visit more often. We'll see what happens in the next 12 months.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 27

Today was the day! We finally got to see Coco before Grammy & Papa had to head back home.

What a darling movie! And the reclining seats were an added bonus.

We have had the best time with LaVor's parents visiting. From going to breakfast, looking at Christmas lights, playing at the arcade, going Christmas shopping, playing at the park, and just hanging out, it's all been a blast.

We're so grateful they took the time to visit us and make our boys (and LaVor and me) feel so loved. We wish we lived closer but are looking forward to seeing them again soon for The Lime's baptism!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 23

When we pulled up to LaVor's grandparents' tonight, there was an unfamiliar couple also getting out of their car. They made it into the home before we did, and Doodlebug had just woken up from his nap and was less than desirable, so I didn't get a chance to speak with them off the bat.

It wasn't until dinner was all done that Grams introduced me to her brother and his wife.

I've known LaVor for 18 years, dated him for 4 of those 18 years, and have been married for 11 of those years, and I never recall even knowing Grams had a brother!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving this was to be able to see them together and finally meet Lane and his wife, Elaine. I snagged Grams and Lane before Lane headed off so I could snap a few pictures of them together. Family relationships are so important and I wanted to document this night for posterity.

My boys were making silly faces.  I love Elaine's expression!

I'm also grateful Elaine was shocked when I told her I'd been married for almost 12 years and had two kids. She thought I was only 18 :)

Expressing Gratitude - Day 18

Today was a good day.

My paycheck wasn't ready when I arrived at work so I had to go back at 7:00 to get it.  Doodlebug was already awake (the kid wakes up before 6:30 every.single.day) and The Lime woke up when I went in his room to get Doodlebug's clothes.  I asked him if he wanted to come with us, and that doughnuts were going to be involved, and he said yes.

We picked up my check, grabbed our doughnuts, hot chocolate, and orange juice, and headed back home to gobble up our treats.  I got ready for the day while the boys played outside and then we headed out to run some errands.  We might have stopped by Togo's for lunch where The Lime graciously offered to hold the door open for a woman in a wheelchair but she declined.  Love that he is willing to serve others.

LaVor needed some new work boots so Boot Barn was the next stop on our list.  When we got in the car to leave, Doodlebug asked where we were going next.  Bass Pro wasn't too far so we poked our heads inside for a few minutes.

We worked off our lunch by now and were one exit away from our beloved Taylor's.  Doodlebug asked for a milkshake earlier in the day so it only made sense to make a pit stop.

After enjoying our ice cream and shakes, we walked over to the park next door where Doodlebug played on the playground and The Lime stared at the skateboarders.

The sun began to set and the temperature was cooling off; both signs it was time to head home.

Even though I don't get the weekends off, I'm grateful for the time we're able to spend together as a family.

This next week is going to be just like that times 6!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 17

I was on Facebook one day (shocker, I know) and saw a comment on my sister-in-law's page from a woman in my ward.

"How do you know Robin?!" I asked my SIL.

"She's my mom's cousin," she responded.  "My grandma and Robin's dad are brother and sister."

Since then, I've felt a bond with Robin and her dad.  While we aren't related by blood, I imagine we're related through temple sealings and that's pretty awesome.

Ralph, the dad, passed away last week after 12 years without his sweetheart.  LaVor had a chance to sit down and talk with him once and Ralph expressed how ready he was to die.  Over the course of those 12 years, he handcrafted his coffin (boy, I wish I had a picture of it...talk about AMAZING!).  The detail was immaculate.

The Lime asked me the other day what Ralph was to him.  "Well, he isn't really anything to us but he's Auntie Krista's great uncle."

"I guess I'll have him be my second grandpa," The Lime said.

Ralph was a happy guy and could always be seen with his wooden cane, which he also made.

After his service today, his daughter posted on Facebook that she managed to make it through the entire service without shedding a tear.  "...I am so happy he is with mom. I will miss him terribly. I am grateful and proud to be his daughter."

I don't know how people deal with death without the knowledge of eternal families.  It's so hard to be sad for someone when you know they're jumping for joy because of all the reunions they're participating in.

I can't express enough gratitude for the hope and happiness the gospel of Jesus Christ brings me.  And for the blessing it is to be sealed to my family forever.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 15

I got to work this morning and it was BUSY. I used to go in at midnight but realized I needed a good chunk of sleep before heading out so now I arrive after 2:00. Since it rained today, and I knew I'd need extra time to bag the papers, I went in a smidge earlier. A bunch of carriers were still there and my normal table was taken so I parked it next to my friend. My friend that has no name because I'm embarrassed to ask him! He knows mine but I have yet to ask him what his is. I'm horrible.

We got to talking about Thanksgiving and the craziness it brings when it comes to newspapers. Like, each paper weighs about 5 lbs. Say a prayer for me Thursday morning.

I asked him what his plans were and he said he didn't have any. "Any kids that'll come over?" "Nope," he said. "Any siblings close by?" I asked. "I have a nephew in Huntington Beach and my mom is down there. But nobody up here."

My heart sank.

Nobody should be alone on Thanksgiving.

I regretfully told him we were headed out of town, otherwise I'd be more than happy to have him join our family. He appreciated my offer and said he'd be fine.

Man, it made me grateful that we always have a place to go. We have plenty of family around that are more than willing to celebrate with us. And even if they weren't, we have friends that could substitute. And if that didn't work out, we have each other. It's something that I might have taken for granted in the past but I will now treasure the moments we get to be with our family. Especially this year, with LaVor's parents joining us.

Thanksgiving 1993

Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2012

Expressing Gratitude - Day 7

My sister directly above me is 21 months older than I am. That meant we spent two years at each school together. While I found comfort in just knowing she was there, it wasn't until high school that we got to have (at least) lunch together.

I wanted that same thing for our kids which is why we started trying for a second baby when The Lime was 2. But Heavenly Father had other plans for us (because he's way smarter than we are) and we didn't get Doodlebug until The Lime was 4.

I was really nervous that with a 4 year gap between the boys, The Lime would be "too old" to play with his little brother. But Doodlebug has proved he can hang with the big boys. In fact, sometimes he seems like the big brother as The Lime yelps for someone to help him because Doodlebug is beating him up.

These two boys fight like it's going out of style but boy, do they also sure love each other.

My heart nearly explodes when they're sweet to each other and play nicely. I especially love hearing The Lime teach Doodlebug how to do something or helping him out. Like tonight, Doodlebug was having a hard time getting the toothpaste out and The Lime showed him how to squeeze everything down to the opening.

Or when The Lime finished his dinner first tonight and Doodlebug said, "Good job, Dieta!"

I see how much fun they have together now and can only imagine what it'll be like when The Lime is 18 and Doodlebug 14. Oh, the trouble they'll get into!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 4

I can't remember what initiated his interest but The Lime asked me who his great great grandfathers were yesterday. I happened to have my laptop close by so I opened up Family Search and I was able to not only show him names and birthdates of these men but pictures as well.

Great Great Grandpa Steenblik

Great Great Grandpa Phelps

Great Great Grandpa Neuenswander

Great Great Grandpa Evans

Great Great Grandpa Warmuth

Great Great Grandpa Siemsen

Great Great Grandpa Trimble

After I took my Christmas decorations down at the beginning of this year, I decided to redo a wall that I'd been feeling not so hot about. A couple of years ago, when I was making Primary visits with the president, we visited a home that had a wall dedicated to just old family photos. I thought it was awesome and wanted to do something similar in our home. I feel strongly about our boys knowing where they came from and recognizing the people who are rooting for them on the other side. So after Christmas, I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to display our family photos.

What an amazing time we live in that we have easy access to valuable information, including priceless photos! When else have people had the opportunity to view century old documents with a click of a button?

I love walking by this wall and seeing the faces of those who worked hard, pushed through trials, immigrated to an unknown land, and built a legacy that I hope my family can continue.

OMGoodness

Seriously, Kimberly? No posting for the last 6 weeks? Yikes!

If I'm being honest, there really isn't much going on in our lives that I feel needs to be documented (or that anyone would want to read about). Also, life is steadily crazy that I haven't had time to catch up on my recorded shows, let alone blogging.

But Doodlebug is sleeping, my baking is done for the day (but I just remembered I need to buy candy for our ward's Trunk-or-Treat tonight), and I don't need to pick The Lime up for another hour. So how about an update?

I'm six months late in announcing I am back in the workforce, if you can really call it that. I wake up in the 2 o'clock hour every morning to go fold and deliver newspapers. I'm crazy, I know. But I needed something that would allow me to stay home with Doodlebug, volunteer in The Lime's classroom, attend mutual every week, etc. It's definitely a different world in the middle of the night but I'm grateful for the opportunity to help my family financially while still being a full-time mom.

The Lime is winding down his season of Fall Ball. Although he's on a Farm team, I don't think there are any T-ball teams so he has some kiddos playing with him that have never played before. It's been really fun to see all the progress the team has made but I'm especially fond of cheering The Lime on. He's been on fire and would love to move up to AA in the spring but we're still talking about it.

LaVor works his tail off at work and then comes home and does the exact same thing. He ripped out our summer garden and has all the fall/winter product planted. We're going to have endless amounts of broccoli, kale, lettuce, beets, carrots, herbs, and more. We can hardly wait!

Doodlebug is a little firecracker, that kid. He cries a lot, just like he has his whole life, because he knows nobody wants to listen to that sound so we give in. But the kid is almost three and a half. This crap has gotta stop. Throwing large rocks at his brother's head is not okay and it will result in consequences. But then he does stuff like slaps my bum while singing, "Spanky spanky spank your butt, doo daa, doo daa" and I have to just eat him up. He's so funny! Soooo funny! He had all three of us laughing hysterically in the car last weekend with his creative facial expressions.

He loves riding his scooter to The Lime's school every morning and usually eats it at least once. He and The Lime race and he gets a little too wobbly, ends up flying through the air (or rolling) and crashes to the ground. But he's a tough cookie and gets up and continues on. Big, brave, tough boys is what we like to call them.

I suppose I should write down how amazing the Coldplay concert was! I drove to my sister's on 10/4, ran inside to brush my teeth, and then we got back in the car to drive to the concert. Someone recommended to her that we take public transportation rather than forking out $50 to park at the stadium. It was a brilliant idea so we followed his directions only to find that the trains weren't running as frequently at 8:00 at night. After debating on whether or not we should wait for the train or start walking, we decided to start walking. It ended up being over 3 miles but we did it because we wanted to see Coldplay, gosh darnit.

I should back up and inform you that when I bought our tickets a year prior, I purchased two sets. When we went to the concert last year, the gentleman sitting behind us told us he paid double what we did for tickets because he waited until the last minute. So when I bought this year's tickets, I thought I could make a buck or two. Nope, I didn't. In fact, I was out hundreds of dollars. I ended up not being able to sell the extra tickets which, financially, sucked BUT it meant my sister and I got to sit on the field! Good golly, was that a neat experience.

We arrived to the stadium during their second song and it was a magical two hours of singing, dancing, laughing, and crying. They put on an electric show. So much so, you can just feel the love and joy everyone around you is experiencing. I'm certain the band is tired from touring but I can't wait until they come back.

The most current news is that we have a mouse somewhere in this house and it's literally driving my crazy. I'm a paranoid wreck that can't keep my eyes off the ground, looking for evidence of where the little bugger might be. In the 11+ years we've been married, this is the first mouse we've dealt with. And while I know it won't be the last, I can hope.

And just like that, I've come to the end of my free time.

I certainly hope the next two months are a little more blog worthy than the last two.

Post-Summer Vacation Fun

The day The Lime started school was the same day LaVor's family arrived in California from Hawaii and Colorado. Since they flew into Oakland, they stayed put on Wednesday and Thursday but drove up to see us on Friday. We took The Lime out of school just a tad early so we could have some fun with our family!

I think the family traveling from Hawaii (they stopped in Salt Lake on their way from Europe to Hawaii, so they'd been ALL over the place) was a bit worn out so we decided to go bowling.

Although we hadn't seen LaVor's brother and his family since our visit to Colorado last year, the boys were able to pick up right where they left off with their cousins. I think The Lime wants a big brother because he was glued to his cousin, Jacob, the entire time they were here. And Doodlebug took a liking to his cousin who also happens to be his twin (just 10 years older).

After bowling, we came back to our house and chatted for a bit before we headed to the outlets so they could use their gift cards before heading back to Switzerland. It was also extremely convenient that one of their favorite Mexican restaurants from when they lived here was just a hop, skip, and a jump from the outlets. Since they can't get Mexican food in Switzerland, they stocked up while in California.

By the time dinner was over, we were hitting 8:00 and everyone was getting tired. Since they had a 2 hour drive back to the bay area, we said our goodbyes and planned on getting together the following day.

LaVor's cousin was having a baby shower on Saturday and a majority of the extended family would be there. LaVor and the boys drove down and met up with his brother's family & parents. I think I overdid it with the nachos, mozzarella sticks, and Mexican food the day before so I decided to stay home where I slept off the yuckiness. They were gone all day but arrived just in time for me to head off to work.

We woke up Sunday with plans of meeting up with everyone one last time before people started heading home. We weren't planning on going to an A's game but were thrilled when LaVor's mom said that's where we were headed. We got ready as quick as we could and headed to Livermore in a flash. Unfortunately, driving through Tracy is never quick (especially when there's a motorcycle on fire) so we ended up missing the first couple innings. But it all turned out great and we had SO much fun!

The Lime REALLY wanted to get some players' signatures so we snuck down to the infield seats (and got yelled at) right before the game finished. On our way there, we ran into Stomper so we had to grab a photo with him. We also had an employee ask us if we were going to go onto the field. Huh? He said after every Sunday game, they allow kids to run the bases.

The Lime was only able to get Matt Joyce's autograph but we told him it was fine because that gave us a reason to come back.

We took the employee up on his offer and got in line as fast as we could for the chance to run the bases. The staff had you moving quickly but it was still a fun experience with the kids.

We had several hours to spare before we needed to head to the airport so we took a detour to Alameda for some bagels and beach time.

As we were leaving, I told LaVor I really wanted to find a field of sunflowers somewhere (not necessarily in Alameda) to take pictures of. We literally turned a corner and a home had a patch of sunflowers in their front yard. Ah! It made me so happy.

We had to visit La Piñata for one last Mexican dinner and we made it out just in time to get them to the airport. It was a weird/chaotic departure from our car so we didn't get to hug them or say goodbye but we did wave and wished them luck.

After one more bathroom break and a quick photo with Grammy & Papa, we were on the road back home. It was a quick three days but also wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

The following Sunday, we had some friends from Southern California invite us to their cabin in Lake Tahoe. We missed an opportunity to see them when we were at Disneyland so we didn't hesitate when they asked us if we wanted to join them.

The last time we saw them was when The Lime was about 2 so we were really excited to introduce them to Doodlebug (because Christmas cards can only do so much). Carol was kind enough to buy some toys for the boys and they had lunch ready to go as soon as we got there (yummy hamburgers!).

I actually met Carol on some message board that I joined WAY back in the early 2000s. The first time we met Joel and her was when they came to our wedding reception. We then met up with them for dinner when we were in Southern California for our honeymoon and then we got together in about 2012. But we've maintained contact over the years so it's nice to be able to see them in person every once in a while.

It took no time at all for the boys to jump in the lake. Surprisingly, it was not that cold. Well, for them. I hesitated for a long time getting in and only stayed for a short while. I much preferred sitting on the beach, chatting with Carol.

For the next several hours, the boys took turns going in the lake and playing in the sand. They could have stayed there all day but the clouds were coming in and I didn't think thunder and lightning would be as much fun to play in.

We took a few photos before saying goodbye and we promised each other it wouldn't be another 5 years before we got together.

The weekend after that happened to be our 11th anniversary AND the A's were in town. It wasn't a hard decision to make that we needed to head back to Oakland, just like we did 11 years ago, for a fun-filled day. Except, I left the camera charger in the car so there are no pictures of us at the game. It was really hot (but not as hot as the following weekend!), the boys had fun in the updated Stomper Zone, I managed to convince an usher to let us move from the bleachers to the shade, and The Lime didn't get any new autographs. Two baseball games in two weeks meant we were pretty happy.

I asked LaVor to take us up to the temple so we could re-enact our wedding photos...just kidding :) But it was fun to be in the same spot we were just a few years ago, celebrating our family where it all began.

Because it's what we do, we stopped at La Piñata on our way home and then sat in traffic through Tracy (this time a big rig ran into a tree). Like most Saturday nights, we made it home just in time for me to go to work.

And just like that, our summer came to an end.