For many reasons this Year, it feels as though our Family has graduated on many different levels. And over the past year, we could certainly fill an entire yearbook with stories that could make you laugh (a few too many), pictures that are worth more than a thousand words and postings on our blogs that we wouldn’t want our mothers to read (ok- kidding about the last one!). But, as with any class, we have a few characters of our own.Class Clown
Koebe graduated from pre-school and jumped feet first into Kindergarten. He has a teacher he adores and he loves to read. As the year has progressed, he has developed a sense of humor and loves to make people laugh. From developing funny voices to making jokes he has become our own class clown. His favorite lines he uses as of late include, “Is this a joke? You gotta be kidding me!” He has kept busy with soccer and t-ball. He is looking forward to starting basketball in January. Koebe also keeps us on track by reminding us about prayers, scriptures and family home evening!
Drama Queen
Kalee has also matriculated from no school to pre-school and loves her teacher Ms. Kary. Whatever she is teaching it must be gospel because whenever Kalee justifies something it starts off with, “Ms. Kary says….”. Kalee has now gone from dance classes to tumbling and we think it suits her just a little better. Not that Kalee wasn’t doing well, let’s just say the physicality of gym better suits her temperament! Speaking of temperament, Kalee’s personality continues to evolve. She is a passionate little girl with her opinions and a memory like an elephant. One night, after putting her to bed she asked for something to eat. So, Trevor gave her a strawberry nutrigrain bar. Not wanting any of it she requested a “green” nutrigrain bar. And not having any Trevor told her that was all we had. After going round and round, she exclaimed she wanted a “fruit” apple. After telling her all we had were green apples, she was in a fit. Not being able to come to an agreement, she went to bed with nothing. Four hours later, Aprille goes in to check on her and there she is sleepy-eyed sitting up. When asked what was wrong Kalee said she wanted a red apple. So Aprille walks out and finds one (Trevor really thought they were gone) and gives it to her. The first thing out of her mouth? “Tell daddy we have red apples.” The next morning, she wouldn’t even look at Trevor until he “apologized.” Yikes! Is there a book for dealing with your teenaged toddler????
Voted Most Likely to Be a Juggler
Juggling would be a fitting description. Hopefully it’s not the kind of job an MBA will get Trevor in this economy! But, thankfully, he has been going to work while getting his MBA, so the job, for now, is secure. Yes, after taking longer than expected, Trevor has finally completed his MBA. Plans for an MBA hatched back in 2004 when he was suppose to enroll at Portland State in September, but at the last minute ended up moving the family to Texas in August of that same year. So, to say this has been a long time coming would be an understatement! In fact, Kalee does not know what it’s like to have a father not in school. She probably thinks all dads leave their families on Saturdays to study and get stressed every 6 months around finals! Outside of school, Trevor bounced around traveling pretty extensively this year including Barcelona, Shanghai and Beijing, even taking in the 100 m dash gold medal race at the Bird’s Nest this summer during the Olympics. In addition, Trevor has spent the last year launching his Samsung Charging Station program in 8 airports across the US.
Head of the Class
Over the past 3.5 years, Aprille has been the glue that has held our nucleus together. In fact, Trevor is requesting that Aprille’s name be added to his diploma because she has more than earned it. Missed outings with friends, Saturdays spent being a single parent, and most of all dealing with a sometimes cantankerous grad student for a husband are all reasons why Aprille is hands down head of the class. She has been an amazing source of support and encouragement and definitely earned honors. When she was not providing encouragement to a distraught grad student, she has taken an active role in Koebe’s class and thrown her whole heart into working with the different youth in the church. She also enjoyed a few field trips of her own (and on her own) to Maui, Mexico and Vancouver, Wa. (Mom’s don’t get summer vacations, in case you haven’t heard). She is looking forward to having her husband back and will be handing over about 3 years worth of to-dos!
Field Trips
We’ve had fun with the kids this year. We took them to their first (and our) hockey game to see the Dallas Stars. Hockey is surprisingly fun and entertaining. The kids got into it and especially liked seeing players get sent to “time out”- I suppose it made them feel like they are not the only ones! We also had a class reunion of sorts with Aprille’s family in Las Vegas in August. Yes, Vegas in August. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, but it was definitely great to see family. Koebe and Kalee got to play nonstop with their cousins and probably more Wii than they should! We also went camping. Let’s just say that we won’t be camping in the summer in Texas ever again. Don’t get us wrong, but unless you bring your a/c unit with you (and yes, some people do) there is no point even going outside! But, we did make up for it in November by actually getting to start a fire and enjoying the cooler weather.
The past year has been one of lessons learned, too many tests to count or want to remember. But the best part of being in a class are the classmates and friends we’ve been able to share the year with. We hope your year has been as memorable as ours. KIT. HAGS.
