Go COWBOYS!

For my birthday, we decided to go to Oxnard for the Cowboys Training Camp and the Salsa Festival. It was neat to see the players out on the field and so close up. We didn't get any autographs, but Grant had fun playing on all the inflatables.

The Salsa Festival was a little disappointing as we went there with high expectations that we would find a salsa we absolutely loved. We didn't. In fact, we know of several restaurants in Bakersfield that have salsa 100 times better than most of those. It was fun to experience though!

 
 
  

Salsa cook-off

We decided it was time to make some homemade salsa, so the kids and I decided to split up the tomatoes and each try our hand at our own style of salsa. We made Daddy the "judge," and without knowing which was which, the winner was ...

Katelyn!! She came in first, then me, then Grant. However, after a couple of days, the others actually started tasting better than the first day!

The kids really had fun making their creations, so we will definitely have to do it again!

 
 
  

meet izzy ...

Her real name is actually Isabella, but we call her Izzy, and before you say it, yes, we know we're crazy. But this one will work out much better than Snickers. As much as we loved Snickers, he was about to drive us to the funny farm ... and I'm not kidding! It just wasn't a good fit. We did find him a wonderful home that he loves, loves, loves and they wear him out much better than we did!

Izzy is pretty sweet and quite the emotional little girl. I'm not sure if it's because she's female or because she's a Cocker, but I've never seen such a cry-baby for a dog! It's almost funny. I guess I shouldn't laugh, though, because I don't want to hurt her feelings ;) Anyway, Max loves her to death and doesn't even mind when she attaches her mouth to his diaper as he's running down the hallway! He loves to give her kisses and hugs ... it's pretty sweet!

  

first day of school ... 2006-2007

As sad as I am that summer is over, I am glad that the kids are really enjoying their new school year! Katelyn loves her teacher and loves every single thing about school, even the homework. She has even been asking the teacher for extra work. I told her to lay off, or she's going to drive her new teacher nuts! Ha, ha ...

Grant has a long-term substitute as his teacher is out on maternity leave until January. She's a great sub, and we think of her as his teacher, and not a sub. I know he will miss her when she goes. As always his favorite part of school is recess, but he is doing really great with school work also. We just have to work on neatness, but he is excelling in all other areas.

The hard part has been adjusting to waking up in the mornings and getting ready without dawdling, but they are doing pretty well! They enjoy walking to school, so they have to be ready 15 minutes earlier than normal to do that.

Max and I miss them, but do enjoy the little bit of peace and quiet we get too! Max has the dogs to harrass while they're at school!

 
  

Sniff, sniff ... another year gone

I keep telling myself that I can't believe Katelyn is 9 and in 4th grade. It just doesn't seem possible! I remember dreading it when people would come up to me and say, "I remember when you were this big," as they would make a little knee-high gesture with their hand. I would laugh and think, "poor old people." Ha, now here I am thinking the same thing. What happened to my little two-year-old that was always smiling and night and talked non-stop? Well, now she's 9 years old and smiles all the time (except when she's mad at me ... which is definitely more than when she was two!) and pretty much still talks non-stop! I love it though, and I love her. I can't imagine life without her, and I'm so blessed that God gave us such a wonderful gift!

It's a little belated (for the blog anyway), but "Happy Birthday, Katelyn!" We love you!

PS: We opted out of birthday parties this year, and instead had a little birthday dinner with Grandma Gotcher and Katelyn's 85-year-old friend down the street, Dorothy! We made all her favorites ... hamburgers, party potatoes, homemade ice cream and bough Smith cookies instead of a cake! It really was a fun time!

PSS: And don't forget to check out that great shirt ... MOM ROCKS! She loves me! (And NO, I didn't tell her to wear it!)

 
  

no greater joy ...

For Max right now, I don't think anything brings him greater joy than someone saying, "Max, do you want to take a shower?" He makes a beeline for the shower, struggling to strip off him clothes as he goes. He even goes so far as to grab the little stool that sits in my closet and strategically place it in front of the shower door, so I can sit and read my book as he enjoys his shower!

 
 
  

a little behind ...

Well, I wish I had a cute picture of Max's little behind, but I don't ... yet!

So, as you can tell, I'm several days ... OK, nearing several months behind on updating my blog. I could give you the excuse that we were out of town, or have been busy playing, but excuses are excuses, so my goal is to get this blog updated soon!

We did drive to Lincoln (the kids and I!!!) and spent a couple weeks with Steve's family! We had a great time, and it was definitely hard to say good-bye. We're looking forward to Steve's parents coming to visit here in September and getting to go to the Nebraska vs. USC game! WOOO HOO! This event has been in the planning stages for a couple of years! Go HUSKERS!

Anyway, we have lots to update you with, and I'll probably go backwards, but oh well, it will get up eventually!

nothing like a sleeping toddler ...

Besides getting a little peace & quiet of my own, I love watching little Max in his crib ... the way he always tucks his legs up under him, with his little rear in the air. And those little toes ... love them! He is definitely a fan of his crib, and I can't imagine him out of it for awhile! I still can't believe we had Katelyn in a toddler bed at 18 months! There is no way Max would ever stay put! He'd be like, "Woo hoo, PARTY!" It'd be crazy!
 
 

 
 

Max's new loves ...

Shoes ... anyone's will do, but he's partial to flip flops.
Shopping Carts ... just make sure the dogs stay out of the way.
Purses ... um, yep. He's shopping, come on!
CLIMBING ... on everything and anyone!

 
  

Matejka Mom Musings ... #1

I'm not sure if any of you have experienced this while raising your kids, but I tell you what, God sure speaks to me about my relationship with Him through my kids! Wow ... sometimes it hits me square between the eyes. There has got to be a book out there on "Things I've Learned From My Children."

So, I figured maybe I'd share on here some of the thing I've been learning and the ways my kids inspire me to be a better child to God.

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Musing #1:

Yesterday, we started this chart for Grant ... he can earn stars for listening and obeying and even more stars for doing things with a happy heart, not whining or complaining when he doesn't get his way. Liz shared the idea with me about keeping a character chart, and I thought it was a great one. Seems we always have chore charts, but I loved the idea of a chart to encourage them to develop good character and reward them for that instead of continually harrassing them about doing their chores, etc., etc. It all seems to fit together.

So, Grant started the day out great ... talking nice, no whining, doing what he was asked. It was great ... I think he earned like 10 stars by lunch time. By evening, he was tired. He got to play at a friend's house all afternoon, and by the time Steve got home, he started back into the whining. It's so tiring. Even this morning, he just didn't seem as focused on his chart ... he started to lose sight of the end rewards (sleepovers, computer time, video game time, etc.).

While trying to figure out what to do to encourage him to refocus, I realized how God must feel. Here He's given us this great reward to look forward to in heaven (well, even heaven itself!!!) and only asks us to love Him, love others and love ourselves, but how quickly do I lose sight of that and spend my time worrying about myself and what I want, not what God wants and asks of me. I don't believe that doing good deeds will get me to heaven, but I definitely know that God wants us to do good things for others in His name and show His love.

And how much am I like Grant, get to spend the day doing what I want (shopping, working, etc.), so I'm too tired to really think of others, and am just pretty grouchy. How often do I do that? Toooooo much! How sad is that!

I am no different than Grant in God's eyes ... so today, I will make my own mental character chart. Hmmmm, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control ... YIKES! I've got some work ahead of me ... Good thing God is a patient God!!!

That's all for today!

Sniff, sniff ... Katelyn's first year at camp!

It's hard to believe that Katelyn is now old enough to go to camp ... it just doesn't seem right! Even so, Katelyn has been looking forward to this week for quite some time, so I was excited for her and her first week at camp. We drove about 3.5 hours up to the Sequoia National Forest to Lake Hume. It's so beautiful up there ... I almost wish I was a counselor this year, but Steve said I couldn't do that ... the whole point is the kids have time away from us! I just don't understand, but anyway, here are some pictures from the area.

Katelyn is staying at WagonTrain this week ... and they get to sleep in covered wagons ... they looked a bit primitive compared to what I stayed in when I went to camp, but they definitely looked fun too! Grant already was playing in the little crick that ran between the wagons. Our church brought about 40 campers, 20 girls, 20 boys, but there were many other churches there too.

To find out more about this camp, check it out online Hume Lake Christian Camp.

 
 
 

 

Drawing in 3-D ... with Mark Kistler

I thought since school ended on June 1, it would be sooooo relaxing to be on summer vacation! NOT! I happened to sign Grant up for a 3-D drawing class that started the week after school got out, and the first session was at 9:00 a.m.! He and a buddy Caleb went to both the morning and afternoon session. I only stayed for the first session and Caleb's mom took them for the 2nd. I must say, it was quite fun, and the boys had a great time with Mark ... he was definitely all boy with great sound effects and creative drawings! Katelyn decided on the 2nd day that she wanted to sign up for a class too, so she did the morning class and really enjoyed herself. Here are some of the pictures from the last day ... getting their certificates signed and just being boys!

 
 
 
  

the CUBE!

It's funny how a $30 toy can bring hours of fun for the kids! I picked up this silly cube thing at COSTCO the other day, thinking it would probably be popped within an hour. Fortunately, it is still alive, as the kids have had so much fun in it. It definitely gets a little crazy in there, and we've only had one head bonk so far (Grant's nose connected with Katelyn's hard head!). Max even gets a kick out of it. Of course, the kids have found how you can flip it in the water! Figures! Here are some fun pics!

 
 
 
  
  

2nd Swim Meet of the Year

Obviously, I'm working backwards again... but that's the way it goes! ha, ha. Our second swim meet of the year was at Taft. Katelyn swam her regulars: 50 yd. free, 25 yd. back, 25 yd. fly, and 25 yd. free. She was also in a mixed relay. She had a great meet with 3 first and 2 seconds (one being the relay). Grant is working really hard, and we've seen such improvement! He's starting to get the strokes down, and really wants to compete more, so this meet he did the 25 yd. back and the 25 yd. free. He got 4th in the back and 9th in the free. The best thing is he's improving his times!! Woo hoo!!

Here are a few shots from the meet. If I ever figure it out, I'll try to add video!