This is Isaac's beloved new car bed. And yes, Meili is standing up all by herself - and yes, she did pull up all by herself.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Grand Opening of Legoland in Wallingford, PA!
The Vance family has a Saturday tradition that involves waking up really early and going treasure hunting (that's code for going to garage sales), followed by waffles. I usually have something I'm looking for, like a toy for the kids or household item, and I get Marshall to join me by luring him with the possibility of finding someone's old stash of Legos or action figures. As luck would have it, this last Saturday all of Marshall's dreams came true. At the last garage sale of the morning, Marshall got a sweet deal on two huge boxes filled to the brim of the sweetest Legos he had ever beheld. After negotiating the price down (which you should always do at a garage sale - never pay asking price), we took the loot home and Marshall began the exploration of his new-found treasures. As I made the waffles, I kept hearing exclamations from Marshall (repeated by Isaac) like, "Sweet, I've been needing this piece," or "Whoa, cool!" My living room has looked like this for the last two days (Am I a mean wife/mom for making Marshall and Isaac clean them up until next weekend?).
Saturday, May 23, 2009
It's Been Two Years
Today marks two years since Jonathan died. As a tribute, I thought I'd share a few memories of him.
Jonathan and I were exactly one year and two weeks apart, so we were pretty much best friends when we were little (I know what you’re thinking – I’m still little). When we lived in Utah, we had these giant cherry trees (they may not have been that big in real life, but to us - who were pretty tiny - they were humongous!). We loved to climb them in the summers and pick the cherries and eat them, of course. We also had a few pine trees and other various trees and bushes that made the perfect forts. This one tree in particular grew right next to our house. I wasn't too fond of climbing that one because of all the needles and pokey sticks, but Jonathan would climb all the way to the top so you could see his head popping out of the tallest branches of the tree. He was like the angel on top of a Christmas tree. However, his main objective wasn't to stay in the tree, but to climb onto the roof of our house. All three of us Koberna kids were quite fond of climbing on roofs, even though we knew we weren't suppose to. If I remember correctly, he'd get in a lot of trouble for getting up there.
We had a pretty big yard that was separated by a fence. The first part was the 'backyard' and the second was the 'back, backyard.' In our back, back yard we had a swimming pool. Well, it wasn't exactly a swimming pool, it was a big, round metal horse trough that we filled with water and played in. At times it was home to frogs, algae, water skeeters, and who knows what else - but kids don't care about gross things like that, right?! Our mom wouldn't typically let us fill it very high - she was a little paranoid that we'd drown, or something- but sometimes she'd forget that she was filling it and the trough would overflow with water, which was our favorite, because then we could actually swim in it. We would put other things in it sometimes besides water. One time our dog, Ebony (picture 120 lbs of black Newfoundland), got sprayed by a skunk. She smelled SO bad and there was only one thing to do - give her a bath in tomato juice. The only thing we had that was big enough to use as a tub was our horse trough, so we filled it with tomato juice my mom had canned herself. I don't know what's worse, having a dog smell like skunk or tomato juice - actually skunk is worse, but tomato juice isn't that great, either. Maybe that’s why I never liked tomatoes.
When my parents divorced, I moved with my mom and brothers to Texas. I was nine and just about to start the fourth grade. My mom had to work during the day, so after school my brothers and I went to ASAS (After School Action Site), which was located in the gym and playground area of our school. College-aged staff would babysit us until our parents came to pick us up. We had a lot of fun doing crafts, playing on the playground, or doing homework. The guy leaders would often play football with the boys, and one leader, in particular, would award a 'coke' (which in Texas means any carbonated beverage of choice) to whomever caught the designated throw, which was made once or twice a week. One fateful day, Jonathan was playing football and he knew that that day would be the day he was going to make the catch that would land him the coveted 'coke of the day' award. The leader announced that the next throw would earn the lucky recipient a coke. So all the boys got ready, the throw went way up. Jonathan ran full speed, looking back toward the ball, and just as it landed in his out-reached arms, he turned right into a picnic table. Not only did he get his beloved coke, but he also got a concussion and a broken tooth. The dentist made a piece to replace the part that broke, so half of his front tooth was fake. You couldn't tell most of the time. However, anytime there was a black light (like at the skating rink on Friday nights), Jonathan's fake tooth would glow. Lucky for him, it was a big hit with the ladies and he used it to his advantage - it was the perfect conversation starter.
They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m still sad he’s gone – even after two years. I miss him so much and can’t wait to see him again.
Jonathan and I were exactly one year and two weeks apart, so we were pretty much best friends when we were little (I know what you’re thinking – I’m still little). When we lived in Utah, we had these giant cherry trees (they may not have been that big in real life, but to us - who were pretty tiny - they were humongous!). We loved to climb them in the summers and pick the cherries and eat them, of course. We also had a few pine trees and other various trees and bushes that made the perfect forts. This one tree in particular grew right next to our house. I wasn't too fond of climbing that one because of all the needles and pokey sticks, but Jonathan would climb all the way to the top so you could see his head popping out of the tallest branches of the tree. He was like the angel on top of a Christmas tree. However, his main objective wasn't to stay in the tree, but to climb onto the roof of our house. All three of us Koberna kids were quite fond of climbing on roofs, even though we knew we weren't suppose to. If I remember correctly, he'd get in a lot of trouble for getting up there.
We had a pretty big yard that was separated by a fence. The first part was the 'backyard' and the second was the 'back, backyard.' In our back, back yard we had a swimming pool. Well, it wasn't exactly a swimming pool, it was a big, round metal horse trough that we filled with water and played in. At times it was home to frogs, algae, water skeeters, and who knows what else - but kids don't care about gross things like that, right?! Our mom wouldn't typically let us fill it very high - she was a little paranoid that we'd drown, or something- but sometimes she'd forget that she was filling it and the trough would overflow with water, which was our favorite, because then we could actually swim in it. We would put other things in it sometimes besides water. One time our dog, Ebony (picture 120 lbs of black Newfoundland), got sprayed by a skunk. She smelled SO bad and there was only one thing to do - give her a bath in tomato juice. The only thing we had that was big enough to use as a tub was our horse trough, so we filled it with tomato juice my mom had canned herself. I don't know what's worse, having a dog smell like skunk or tomato juice - actually skunk is worse, but tomato juice isn't that great, either. Maybe that’s why I never liked tomatoes.
When my parents divorced, I moved with my mom and brothers to Texas. I was nine and just about to start the fourth grade. My mom had to work during the day, so after school my brothers and I went to ASAS (After School Action Site), which was located in the gym and playground area of our school. College-aged staff would babysit us until our parents came to pick us up. We had a lot of fun doing crafts, playing on the playground, or doing homework. The guy leaders would often play football with the boys, and one leader, in particular, would award a 'coke' (which in Texas means any carbonated beverage of choice) to whomever caught the designated throw, which was made once or twice a week. One fateful day, Jonathan was playing football and he knew that that day would be the day he was going to make the catch that would land him the coveted 'coke of the day' award. The leader announced that the next throw would earn the lucky recipient a coke. So all the boys got ready, the throw went way up. Jonathan ran full speed, looking back toward the ball, and just as it landed in his out-reached arms, he turned right into a picnic table. Not only did he get his beloved coke, but he also got a concussion and a broken tooth. The dentist made a piece to replace the part that broke, so half of his front tooth was fake. You couldn't tell most of the time. However, anytime there was a black light (like at the skating rink on Friday nights), Jonathan's fake tooth would glow. Lucky for him, it was a big hit with the ladies and he used it to his advantage - it was the perfect conversation starter.
They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m still sad he’s gone – even after two years. I miss him so much and can’t wait to see him again.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Photo Shoot with Marshall and Isaac
The other day I ran to the store while Marshall stayed home with the kids. When I returned, Marshall said that he and Isaac had a little photo shoot while I was gone, and he told me to look on the camera to see the pictures they took. This is what I found:
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
"I can watch Star Wars when I'm four!"
Somehow Isaac inherited Marshall's Star Wars gene and is now completely obsessed. We told him he can watch episodes IV thru VI when he is four and now he talks about it all the time. So we made him 'light sabers' that he and Marshall can fight with (thanks to Erin for the idea)!
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