Sadly it is true --- I have to admit it --- I am indeed an Engineer!!

It seems like it should have taken longer for Rachel to get to 100 days of school - but when you think she started in August it does make sense. Here in Texas the 1st grade classes celebrated 100 days on January 30th and they all made posters with 100 things of their choice. There were some very fun posters in the 1st grade hallway. Rachel chose to have 100 Love Hearts on her poster. Over several days we went through my box of scraps and punched out 100 hearts.

The engineer in me came out when she was putting the hearts on the poster. She did not care about straight lines, even spacing, colour patterns - nothing. It killed me to watch her put the hearts down on the poster board. But as Jennifer kept saying to me "It is HER project" so I kept my linear thinking comments to myself and ignored the anxiety her crooked lines were causing. She LOVED her completed project and was very every proud of herself. Here she is proudly displaying the poster wearing the t-shirt we made to mark 100 days.

The morning at school was spent sorting out 10 different piles of treats with 10 pieces of each treat. They also made Froot Loop necklaces to mark this momentous day. Mrs Fleming was very happy to see me show up to help hand out all the items.

10 year old love

I thought a little post about Kenny was in order today. He has had a busy week!

Here are some of the highlights:

Last Saturday night we drove up to Stockton for a hockey game to see 5 of our former Falcons players and 2 of our coaches play for the first time since our team folded mid-season. This has been hard on Ken and the boys as hockey games were their special dad n' me time and they had really bonded in the last 2 years over their love of hockey. All the boys had a rough time seeing our guys in the "wrong jerseys" as Kenny put it, but by the end of the night and a new Stockton jersey given out by the promotions team to Kenny, we had a happier outlook. We could barely believe the guy put the jersey on Kenny when he thanked all the Fresno fans for coming out to support the Thunder team. He was able to get the jersey (and his Falcons jersey too) signed by the coaches and players after the game at a special Falcons Fans Meet n' Greet. It went a LONG way to healing his little heart. Here he is right after getting the jersey, I think he still didn't believe the guy gave it to him, LOL.

After the big hockey weekend, we finished up his History Day project for 4th grade. I am so proud of how hard he worked on this project to learn more about his topic and really make the project his own. His project was about James Naismith, the inventor of the game of Basketball. Kenny thought hard about his topic and chose someone that plays an important role in his life today. He said, "I like it that he made up a game a long time ago and I play it today at school." A big thanks to Grandma Brotton for all her help over the Christmas break too! He was not chosen as a winner for his school, but I loved his presentation board anyway.Finally, this week was report card week and school awards. Ken went over to the school to see Kenny earn his Principle's Honor Roll award for straight A's and excellent behavior.

He also lost yet another molar on the playground so the tooth fairy made a gold ribbon tied visit to our house this week too. We are so proud of our little boy! He is working hard in school, Tae Kwon Do, BreakOut and many other activities. Keep up the good work son!

Love, Mom

A time of Change ...

What an historic day for the world we live in. African American Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Most of us watched this historic event on television ... but some got to be there and see it first hand. Jennifer's sister-in-law was there - how cool is that?!

With the swearing in of President Obama, George W Bush became former President Bush. After the inaugeration, he and Laura borded a helicopter which took them to Andrews Air Force base, where they borded an airplane and flew to Midland, Texas. This is where I come in. 8 years ago, Mr and Mrs Bush had a send-off in Midland so it seemed fitting that this would be the first stop on their way to being normal citizens again. There was a massive crowd gathered waiting for them to arrive and we were entertained by several bands and patriotic songs.

I do not know these people, but I was alone since Jason had to take Rachel home when she started getting sick, so they were my subjects. There were signs like this all over the place. Mr Bush talked about the museum in town - the George W Bush childhood home. He said when he heard about this he wonder why they did not name it the George H Bush home, that George W got to live in. And when he told his mom about it - she told him he better go clean up his room.

Mr Bush wanted to see the crowd so he had the pilot fly over the crowd - so cool.

I was not close to the stage so I only saw them on the large screen - but it was still neat to be part of this occasion. Laura looked relieved that she was almost done being the 1st lady!!

5 .. 6 .. 7 .. 8 ..

Upward Upward hear our wish ... all we want to hear is SWISH SWISH SWISH. Yup Rachel cheered for her first games this weekend. The first game was 1st and 2nd grade boys, the second game was 1st and 2nd grade girls. There are 7 girls on her cheer squad and they did a great job. Rachel got a star for "Best Effort". They did their cheers at half-time and then cheered on the side-lines through-out the game. They had little dances they did on the side-lines and they were SO CUTE! Rachel is on the left of this photo ...

She is so excited for cheer practice on Thursday and can't wait until her next game.

Drive By Posting

Stop by Coordinates Collections this weekend for a little scrappy inspiration and a crop. They are loads of fun, lots of challenges, door prizes, and chatting. I guest designed for this site a few months ago and the kits are wonderful too. I plan to spend the entire weekend at my scrappy table catching up on all the inspiration in my head - YAY! Come on over and tell them Jen and Amy sent ya!

And check back here soon to see the great little mini album project Amy and I have been working on this week. You won't be disappointed!
xo, Jen

I love January!

I love to organize and make things that are mundane look pretty so the beginning of every year is always fun for me. I love that there are inexpensive options for getting our lives uncluttered at every turn in most stores. Target didn't disappoint (as it rarely does) and I took up the challenge of the pre-schooler's closet yesterday. These yummy canvas bins will be perfect for all those little collections of toys we have accumulated. I plan to pick up a few more when they have the colors I want too. I get so excited to begin that I often forget to take before pictures of my organizing projects, but I didn't this time. I am over-the-top excited about our new toy system for the boys' toys now. YAY! Kaden is having a blast in his room and it's keeping the toys in one half of the house so that makes mommy VERY happy! So here ya go! I hope it inspires you to tackle a hard place in your house. Make sure you link back with pics if you have any fun organizing tips or ideas for me too. It's something I just can't resist, LOL!

Before:

After:

It makes me happy just to look at it!

xo, Jen

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008 was not the easiest year for either part of the vanderkooi/Allred family! There have been some big UPS and some big DOWNS. BUT we have made it through and are relatively unscathed! We both had wonderful Christmases - I am sure Jennifer will share some of the pictures from her parents' visit to Fresno soon! We are both still putting the finishing touches on our December daily books and will post them soon!

Last year both Jennifer and I made the Daily Blessings books. I was sure that there was no way I would keep up with this BUT I did and I managed to write in this book almost everyday in 2008. However as Jennifer said - it was hard and once you missed one or two days it was hard to get back on track. So this year we are going to change it up a little bit. Jennifer challenged the girls at Peek to participate in a weekly Blessings book. I think this one will be WAY easier to keep up with - and it will give me an opportunity (and some space) to write a little bit more when I feel like it!

There are some BIG things coming for our families in 2009!

We will both celebrate our 10th anniversaries this summer! We both have brothers getting married in 2009 - mine in February and Jennifer's in July. Some big moves planned this year - some already in the works, others are hopefully coming! My sister's eldest - Rebecca - will be 10 in a few weeks! Jennifer and I will be doing some FUN scrappy things this year - so stay tuned - the best is yet to come!!

Happy New Year - with wishes of health and happiness for all our friends and family!

Amy

xo