Monday, November 24, 2008
one more thing....
3rd grade performance
Monday, November 17, 2008
It has been a while since I posted..
Our backyard pond is gone. We hired someone to install underground drains for the natural spring and fill in the hole with rock and dirt. It is done and currently covered with hay until next spring when we can plant grass. It looks so much better. The pond was nice - in it's better days - but it was a lot of work and had become unmanageable. I will post a pic one of these days when I get around to taking them off my camera.
Brad went back to work last week. So far so good. He told them he no longer wants to be a team lead - so he doesn't have to to deal with that anymore. He does not seem stressed.
I went to a purse party Friday night at a friend's house. It was more about seeing old friends than purses. It was fun. There were 20 or so women there. Most I work with now or used to work with. We ate, drank and gabbed.
Saturday both boys had sleepover parties to attend - so Brad and I had some 'us' time. We didn't do much - but that was fine. I love my boys - but having peace and quiet and alone time with Brad is nice sometimes.
Sunday was another day out for me. I went to lunch and shopping with Carla and Jennifer for Carla's birthday. It has become a tradition for the three of us to go out for each of our birthdays.
That's about it. Next week I may have an update on my decision about my job.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Time off, teacher's conferences and Halloween
Conferences were good. Both boys are doing great!
Halloween was fine. Alec was invited to a friend's for trick-or-treating and a sleepover. After I dropped him off - Brad and I stayed home and Jason went with the rest of the cul-de-sac on the Steven 's annual hayride/trick-or-treating. It was a nice night and there were many, many kids out. We had several trick-or-treaters but not as many as I expected. Probably because the neighbor's houses were dark - so not everyone wanted to journey into the cul-de-sac for one house.
Marissa and Alec
Sabrina and Jason
Alec's jack-o-lantern
Jason's jack-o-lantern
Monday, October 27, 2008
not too much more news this week
Brad's 1st week off went by very quickly. I do not know of he accomplished what he wanted or not. Mostly he wants to de-stress and relax. He pretty much did that.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Rest in Peace Kieth
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He was born June 1, 1964, in Garden City, to John W. and Valetta F. Nichols Koehn. He grew up on the family farm north of Sublette, graduated from high school there in 1982, attended Kansas State University and later graduated from DeVry University with a bachelor's degree in computer science.
Mr. Koehn had been employed by Trailblazer Installation.
In September 1986, he married Julie Saul. They later divorced.
Survivors include his parents, of Sublette; two sons, Jonathon Maxwell Koehn of Lawrence, and Anthony Thomas Koehn of Overland Park; a brother, Wendall Koehn of Wellsville; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
Funeral was Thursday at Wilson's Funeral Home in Wellsville, with burial in Wellsville Cemetery.
I worked with Kieth at both UMB and American Century. I hired him and was his boss for a short time at UMB. He hired me and was my boss for short time at American Century. He was good guy and very smart. It is very sad to see him gone at such a young age.
Monday, October 20, 2008
the past week....
Alec started in the Roots & Shoots club at school.
Jason started electric guitar lessons. He goes once per week for 1/2 hour.
I went to a purse party at Michelle's sister's house. It was fun - and of course I bought a purse (and a few other things too).
Jason spent the night at his friend JR's house Friday night. He was bit tired on Saturday due to lack of sleep - but he had fun.
I spent 3 days in OmniScript training. It has yet to be determined whether I will actually use it. ;0)
And Brad - well he worked a LOT last week. And he almost quit his job. Looks like, at least for now, he will stay with DST - but he is officially on vacation - starting today - for 3 weeks. That gives him some time away and some time to figure out what he wants to do. I guess I better hold off on my decision for a few more weeks.
That's about it....
Hope everyone has a great week!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
October
No other month starts on the same day of the week as October in leap years.
Just a random fact to make you think.
I visited UCM in Warrensburg today. They offer a degree in photography - which I am seriously considering - with a minor in Graphics. Warrensburg is closer than I thought but still about a 40 mile drive. I think a commute for something you want vs. one for a 'job' will be well worth it. There aren't any other colleges around here that offer the photography degree.
This Friday, October 10 - Brad's grandmother - Gladys Willis - will be inducted into the Jena High Hall of Fame. There was an article in the Jena Times. Unfortunately they must not archive their articles on the net - because I can no longer find it at thejenatimes.net. It was a very nice article and this is quite an honor. I certainly can't do her accomplishments justice with just this little blurb - but she was a teacher for many years, is very involved in her church and still volunteers at the hospital one day a week. Gladys - aka 'Mammaw' Willis will be 94 on October 17.
Monday, September 29, 2008
September is almost over!

'Events' of the past week:
Monday - Cub Scouts
Thursday - Alec started Tae Kwon Do
Friday - Alec's friend Nick spent the night. His room is now a disaster - but at least they went to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Saturday - Alec and I went to Westlake to sell popcorn for cub scouts. We had a 2 hour shift at the 'show & sell' table. When our shift was over at noon we went to lunch with Mom and Dad. They picked Jason up from home and we ate at Rancho Grande. Later in the afternoon - (after Jake's baseball game) - Grandpa came and picked up Alec and he spent the night at their house.
Jason and I went to the mall and got some fall clothes for him and me. Then we came home and Brad, Jason and I watched 'Baby Mama' on DVD.
Sunday - Jason and I picked Alec up and went to the pet store. We were looking for a turtle for the boys to keep as a pet. We found a couple but decided to do some research. They sound like a lot of work! I told the boys they had to take care of it - completely. I don't think Jason realized how much work it would really be. So anyway - we are still turtle-less.
Later in the afternoon all 4 of us we went to the Stone Creek 'picnic' at Vesper Hall. There were not very many people there. I think a neighborhood picnic should actually be IN the neighborhood. Oh well - maybe next year. We did at least get a BBQ dinner.
That's about it. Right now I am procrastinating. I need to do laundry and clean up around here but just don't feel like it right now. It will get done eventually ;)
This pic is actually from last year's popcorn sales.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Beautiful weather this week
The week was pretty uneventful. Just the normal school, work and scouts.
The weekend was a bit busier. I took Friday afternoon off week to get ready for our garage sale. Jason went to a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament at a friend's house Friday night. He had a lot of fun.
Saturday morning - bright and early - Lucia and I opened the garage sale. People really do show up the minute you open the door. Crazy! Even all the kids got up early and helped out. Garage sales are a lot of work! If it wasn't for selling our upright freezer - it would not have been worth all the trouble. I probably will not be having another for a very long time (if ever :)
We were worn out and closed up around 1:00pm. We got quite a few customers earlier but the traffic had definitely slowed by then.
I took a shower and then a nap. Both were very refreshing.
Saturday afternoon Alec went with a friend to Worlds of Fun and spent the night at his house.
I went to the Plaza Art Fair with Vanessa. Brad and Jason hung out at home.
The art fair was enjoyable but very crowded. The nice weather brought everyone out and about.
Sunday was a recoup day for me. I did clean out the freezer so the buyers could come pick it up - but the rest of the day was pretty lazy.
I guess that's about it for now.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Rain and more rain
Sunday morning Brad left for Chicago. I went and picked up the boys at Grandma and Grandpas and we spent a nice quiet day at home.
Monday was our first cub scout meeting of the school year. We have 5 new boys. With the 6 from last year - that makes a pretty big den. Chad is going to do all the meetings this year and Crystal is going to help. I am going to just do the behind the scenes bookkeeping and I am very happy about that.
Tuesday was a busy day. I went in to office after Alec got on the bus. After work it was a rush to get dinner and help the boys with homework before my 7:30 scout committee meeting. Alec was having a bit of a melt down about his stretch project and I was no help since I had no patience. We really needed Brad that night :)
Wednesday - school, work and Alec finished his project for Stretch. Hunter called that night and we had a nice conversation. Unfortunately part of the reason he called was to tell us he broke his collar bone playing football - OW! He had just gone back to practices after the doctor cleared him for his knee issues - and about 15 minutes in - BAM he broke the collar bone. No more football for him.
His good news was that he has been nominated for Homecoming royalty. We are very proud of him. There are 5 boys and 5 girls in the running. They will find out the results on 9/22.
Thursday - school, work, dinner at Salt Iguana, trip to the Guitar Center and fall school clothes shopping at Kohl's.
Friday - school, work, tornado warnings and hurricane Ike. Brad came home - yeah!
Saturday - lazy day at home for me and Alec. Brad and Jason went to Bass Pro Shop. Jason climbed the rock wall and made it to the top. I think they had a good time and it was nice for them to have some 1 on 1 time.
Today - time to get my butt moving and get ready for the garage sale next Saturday.
Jason rock climbing
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Mom's 70th Birthday Party
I think the party turned out nice last Sunday. It was bit hot in the basement, but no one melted. (except maybe me a little bit :) I could not seem to cool off. There was a lot of body heat! There were 40 people in attendance.
Not really much else to report this week. Alec is really enjoying his Stretch classes. He wishes they were every day.
Coming up for this week:
Brad and I are going on a 'date' tonight to the Power & Light District.
Brad leaves for Chicago tomorrow and will be there all week at a conference.
We have our first cub scout den meeting of the school year Monday night.
Here are some party pictures.
Friday, August 29, 2008
now other news for this week.....
The boys (and Brad & I) seem to be adjusting well to the back to school routine. Alec had his first day of STRETCH yesterday. STRETCH stands for "Students Reach Excellence Through Challenge" and is the Blue Springs Gifted program. He will be traveling to a different school one day a week and working on special projects. He seems excited about it. There are only 3 other 3rd graders in his class so they should get lots of personalized attention!
Last night was curriculum night at Jason's school - so I got to meet all his teachers and hear what he will be doing this year. He has all the general classes as well as Family and Consumer Science (FACS) and French.
Taryn and Brady arrived last night for the weekend. They have tickets to the American Idol tour at the Sprint Center. All 10 finalists will perform but they are really going to see David Cook.
Taryn, Brady and I actually got to see David Cook live and in person just an hour ago. They unveiled a mural that had been created in his honor in downtown Blue Springs. It is very nice. I need to get a picture of it from Taryn. I failed to take my camera or my camera phone with me. It was a nice event because it wasn't well publicized so it wasn't horribly crowded. It was just a nice little home town event.
Taryn and Brady have gone to downtown KC right now to pick up their tickets for tonight. The boys are at school. Brad and I both have the day off. And how we spending it? - We are in separate rooms both on the computer. Oh well. :)
Sunday we are having a big party for Mom's 70th birthday - so I guess I better go clean house or something. I'll post pics of the party next week.
TTFN!


















