The Dreilings December 2011

We had family pictures taken this month! They turned out very well.....or as well as pictures can turn out with a 2 and 4 year old involved! Enjoy!

The Dreilings (2011)

This pose was all Kale's idea! He is quite the little model when he wants to be ;)

Brothers.

My little Maks is getting so big! He wanted a picture by himself on the stairs so this was his pose of choice! I can't believe how big my sweet little baby is getting, but don't let this innocent little picture fool you he is quite the trouble maker these days... just today he was trying to dig up the babysitters in ground sprinkler system with his bare hands!

Marisa's 1st Dance Recital

I wasn't able to make it to Marisa's first dance recital because I have been sick all day plus I had to stay home with Maks who is sick also. I sent Erin and Kale to record it for me and this is all they got recorded prior to the battery dying! Of course! Well at least part of our family got to go and part of the dance got recorded! ;)

2011 Kansas State Fair

Well it's that time of year again and the Kansas State Fair is in town. Living in Hutchinson the fair is our entertainment for 10 days. The kids are thrilled and wake up asking to go and fall asleep walking home daily! Day one was yesterday (September 10th), Kale got home from school and the first words out of his mouth were asking to go. We hesitated to take him yesterday because he had been complaining at school of having a head ache and stomach ache all day. They told us he had not been acting like himself most of the day but was still interacting with others. His temp never went above 100 but stayed very close for most of the day. When he got home we gave him his allergy meds and a dose of Tylenol and he was good as new. We still made him take it easy and ride in the stroller but we headed off to the fair after dinner time.

The girls went along with us. Monica had already been at the fair for a few hours but walked to our house because her stroller tire had deflated and she needed it aired up. It seemed like a good idea but the tire had a bigger hole in it and would deflate almost immediately after airing it up! Hopefully today Erin can help her change the tube cause that stroller will be getting a lot of use in the next 9 days!

Kale and Marisa love the dress the part at the fair! They both have cowboy/girl boots and they love to wear them with their jeans....Maks and Malea on the other hand could really care less! Maks actually fights us about wearing his boots and Malea likes her Abby Cadaby shoes much better! They are not in the least bit amused by the cowboy look!

Well on to the best part of the fair.....THE FRIED FOOD! This year there are some interesting new foods (most of which are fried but not everything). On the top of my list is the fried Kool-Aid! I wasn't actually able to find it yet but don't you worry I will! The first food of the 2011 State Fair that we consumed was an accidental find! As Erin and I were walking out to leave we found the Fried Cookie Dough booth! We had no idea it was there but once we saw it their was no doubt in our minds we had to try it! 2 minutes and 5 dollars later we were biting into what could quite possibly be the BEST fried fair food of the year, maybe century! It was AMAZING! One LARGE scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is scooped up and dipped into a sweet batter then immediately dropped into pipping hot grease! The cook time is minimal but perfect to give you the crispy golden brown crust on the outside and perfectly warmed dough on the inside. The warm center melts the chocolate chips perfectly for a gooey center that is swirled with creamy chocolate (even though I have a love/hate relationship with the mess it creates) it is wonderful! The serving size was more than enough for me. One order consists of 3 Fried Cookie Dough balls. Coming from someone would can't eat a lot of sweets I was able to devour about one and three quarters of them before I decided I either needed a glass of milk or to just stop! Erin was perfectly fine with my inability to eat the entire plate of them because that meant he would actually get to try some! ;) In conclusion Fried Cookie Dough is amazingly wonderful, worth the money and something you should NOT eat on a daily basis (I don't even want to guess that calorie content in one of those)!

Other foods to come....within the next ten days I plan to eat at least one of the following: ear of grilled corn, baked sweet potato, Nitrogen ice cream, gourmet cupcakes, bacon wrapped meatball, caramel covered apple, fried oreos, homemade biscuits and gravy, an ice cream burger and possibly anything else I happen to walk by that I feel is worthy of being called fair food!

*Health Disclaimer....In my defense we walk A LOT during the fair, we never drive to get there AND I push the stroller the entire time we walk around so I burn at least part of the extra calories that I consume for these 10 days.....or at least I tell myself that I do! ;o) Oh and also, almost always when we get fair food I don't consume the entire portion by myself (that why I bring Erin)! So that has to help some too!

Well that's about it for now, I am working this morning to administer the Official Practice Test. After I get off work and the kids wake from their naps we are heading back to the Fair so watch for more updates to come but until then Happy Saturday.

The boys and I at the Hudson City park celebrating my 27th birthday. After being good for lunch we let them play for a little while. It is a very nice park for such as small town. It was terribly hot out there but the kids don't seem to mind. For lunch we ate at the Wheatland Cafe. It's a very small little cafe in the middle of town. They serve fresh pan fried chicken breaded with Hudson floor! It is amazing they even have real mashed potatoes! I was very happy that my parents finally got to go there with us! It has been a great birthday after lunch we came back to town and had a Chocolate Texas Sheet cake and opened my presents. I got a new wind chime for outdoors from my parents that is shaped like a lighthouse and sounds like one also. Then after they left and everyone got naps in we went and spent some of my birthday money on a few new pairs of shoes and a dress for work. Now it's time to relax and find some dinners and get ready for work tomorrow! It's the first day of school for my students!

Bee, up close!

Bee, up close!

Sunflower

I have been saying for years I was going to take pictures of a Sunflower field in the summer but it has taken me years to figure out the perfect day to do it! I got a new camera today and decided I would go and check it out. I had no idea if I would find anything or not but I lucked out! The perfect time for this field would have been about a week ago but I did ok cause there were still a few pretty ones out there! It was terribly hot outside today to be taking these pictures but 106* won't stop me! I loved the color in this picture and the fact that it has a bee in the middle!

Erin and I at Stephanie and Ralphs Wedding July 16th, 2011.

Stephanie and Ralph are one set of our neighbors. They are wonderful and we couldn't be luckier to have them next door!

That's my "look I got him to kick his feet and enjoy it" face! ;)
Maks was a hard cookie to crack during swim leassons this year.

He enjoyed it once he got in the water but getting him in was always the trick. Then once he was in you had a short window of time before he got tired of being held! We had a great time though and are glad we got the boys in.

Kale's new goggles!

Kale has been doing very well in swim lessons this session so I decided to get him a pair of goggles today. He loved them so much!

He wanted to wear them in swim lessons today and they seemed to make him love going underwater. He had a great time going underwater wearing them although he didn't quite understand that they would help him look around under the water. So he would just go under water and continue to look straight ahead instead of down or around the pool! Guess we will have to work on that next!

Summer is here!

Well summer is here and man it is hot! We have been staying very busy this summer with Kale's sports, both boys swim lessons and also working!

Kale finished up soccer and started up T-Ball he is really enjoying it and we are as well. The games are quite entertaining as the kids all chase the ball no matter if they are the outfield team or not! Kale got his picture back this week. We missed the group shot (oops) but our individual turned out great! Maks loves supporting his brother and yelling from the side lines. He is going to have it all figured out by the time it is his turn to play sports!

The boys are both enrolled in swim lessons. We went ahead and bumped Kale up to the Preschool group (supposed to be ages 4 and 5) because we didn't feel like Kale would get much out of a parent and me class at his age. We were a little unsure at first but he is doing great in his class. They are learning to go underwater and open their eyes, swim on their stomachs and backs, push off the wall and start swimming along with many other techniques!

Maks is still too little to put in anything other than the parent assisted class. He hasn't been a big fan of the class but he is starting to come around the more we take him. The class requires the parent to hold the child the entire time since they are in the deep end. He would rather get down and run and play in the water by himself. He is also very leery of other people that he doesn't know. This is not new to us he has always been this way no matter who he is around. I have a few pictures that I will get uploaded soon but I don't currently have the adapter beside me! ;)

It's hard to believe that it is already July 2nd! This year has just flown by so far! This weekend is Hutch Fest. The town has many events and fun activities for the kids and then of course on the 4th is the parade and the fireworks! We plan to attend a few different events but it is so hot out we will probably spend more time close to the water than to downtown Hutchinson!

I have been working fewer and fewer hours as the summer gets near. I have about 3 more weeks of no work now until I am back to work full time. I am enjoying my time this summer but it is quite a change for me to have so much time off work. The boys daycare was closed this week for her vacation so we have all three been home during the days while Erin goes to work. Maks birthday is coming up very quickly. Of course I have put off planning it but I think it will come together just fine. We are going to have a Mickey Mouse cake and a sports theme! Those are his favorite things! Well better go and get ready for the day! Watch for more pictures to come!

Kansas State Fair 2011

Well this year I am going to try and get my pictures in early...well at least on time! I have started to go through them and sort out my favorites! Entering the pictures in the fair has become something that I enjoy doing even though my chances of winning are slim and the top prize of $7 really isn't a a driving factor, however if you enter pictures by a specific deadline you do get free admission tickets so that is one major perk! The most I have ever entered is 8. I really have no idea how many I will do this year but I will put on of this sunset in, plus one picture of each boy (they just like to try and find theirselves on the wall) and possibly a few of my flower pictures. But I guess I better get back to sorting so I can show you all my choices! ~S

Kale June 2011

This is a picture I took of Kale last week at Dillon Nature Center. He came up with that pose all by himself!

Here are a few more pictures that I took of Maks this morning. It is rare that Maks gets a mini photo shoot by himself...so I took advantage! Kale stayed with his Grandma Dreiling last night so this morning it was just Maks and I!

Maks

Maks and I were home alone this morning and decided to take a few pictures! He loves to stand on the front porch and push my swing back and forth, so that is what we did! (Luckily it has only come back to knock him in the face once, and today we made it with no face shots!) June 15, 2011

Little bit of Spring

Wow, it is hard to believe that Kale's first season of soccer is almost over! Today is his last game! He has loved playing and done a great job! His team mates started dwindling down about halfway through the season and that made it a little bit harder cause his friends weren't there but hopefully next season he will want to play again and he can be on a team that is a little more dedicated! Watching Kale play soccer has taught Erin and I a lot about ourselves, we learned we are very competitive parents! Watching the other parents we see that many of them do not push their kids to act independently or play as a team, we hope that our pushing never becomes over the top but that we will push our kids to play on the field with confidence and also respect to the others on the team!

The next sport Kale has signed up to play is T-Ball! This is much more up my alley than soccer! I was thrilled to get him out there with is glove! Kale was just excited to have a "real" metal bat and a cool team shirt! (For those of you that didn't attend a soccer game Kale hated his team shirt because in his words it was too big and too ugly! He had a pregame meltdown about 3 weeks in a row and after that he still complained but wore it anyways). So when he was handed his grey XS baseball t-shirt with the cool orange logo he was trilled, and so was mom and dad!

Maks has been a great brother this spring with all of Kale's sports. At first he didn't understand that he was not allowed to play but now he is getting the hang of it! Although he still wants to go play with brother and the team he now sits on the side in his chair (Toy Story 3 chair to be exact) and cheers on his big bro like a champ! Because of his birthday Maks won't be able to start sports next year but will have to wait until the summer he will be 3 :(

Yesterday was Kale's school program! He was very happy to get his certificate of completion from Pre-School. Due to Kale starting preschool at 2.5 he will attend for 3 years! He still loves school very much and does a wonderful job. We have seen him grow before our eyes, his teachers all just ranted about his personality in class and manorisms towards the other classmates. We are very proud of him! Next year he will have one of the same teachers and one new one. We figure if he is going to attend for 3 years we should change it up a little each year!

Kale adjusting his shin guards prior to his soccer game.


We are very pleased with his abilitys on the field.
Not only does he listen to his coach and follow directions but he is learning to take turns and stick with things. He still needs work on his drive when someone takes the ball but Hey! He is only 3!

Can't wait for a few summers from now when both boys are out there playing sports!

Soccer

Tonight was Kales first day for soccer practice! He loved it! We had a great time out there even thought it was very cold! We are sad that we forgot the camera.....well we didn't actually forget the camera we forgot the memory card! Whoops! But anyway Kale has decided he loves the sport and will continue to play!

On his team he has two other friends Kayla and Jalen. They all had a great time...and not to brag but there were the best 3 on the team! Kale loved to dribble and kick the ball into the goal and did a great job at it. He took turns and didn't get in trouble by the coach once! We were also very happy that he went out played and listened to the coach without us having to hold his hand.

Garden 2011

This year we got our garden in a little earlier, it seemed like a great idea that the time cause the weather was so nice and the forecast for the next 10 days was looking great......but that all changed! It has stayed above freezing for the most part but in the past 2 days it has gotten before 32* so I guess we will see what ends up growing in a few weeks!

As I am typing this it is hailing outside! At least we got a little moisture!

In our garden we planted potatoes (2 rows), carrots (1 row) and peas (2 rows). Kale and Maks were great helpers while we were putting the seeds into the ground! Maks was great at getting the potatoes, he was quite the great planter!

Kale helped me dig a trench for the vegetables he got tired about half way down and tried to quit but I made him tough it out! :)

When I tried to till the garden under before planting I decided that my tiller was not going to work out! So off to Lowe's I went and this is the pretty new tiller I cam home with! I am very proud of my new Troy Built. It works great! The only way I finally talked Erin into letting me get it was promising to till up the yard and reseed it before summer! So that is my next upcoming project! I sure home the grass grows yell....I'm sure it will though cause we are using all natural AgGrand fertilizer on the grass along with the garden!

Well I will keep you updated on the growth of the garden as soon as we start to see some! Oh and I will let you know how the yard looks, too!

We are still here!

Wow! I can't believe it is March already! 2011 is flying by already! It has been a busy few months for us! I can't remember if I posted in my last blog that I have changed jobs....but if I didn't you know now! I am teaching in the Adult Basic Education department at Hutchinson Community College. I have classes in the afternoons and evenings a few days a week. I am loving the job and all the new challenges that I am facing. Although I am currently only working Part-time it seems like a full time job with all the papers I have to grade now!

Kale is loving school....when he actually gets to go! Between sicknesses and days off it seems he only goes a few days a week! His school always seems to have something to close for and he is never sick on those days! But I guess that is how it goes sometimes! He is currently fighting to get rid of pneumonia. We have lots of meds and breathing treatments right now, but we are pleased with his success with them and his ability to stay strong so we didn't have to be admitted to the hospital.

Maks has been sick also but didn't end up with the pneumonia, thank goodness! Maks has truly turned into a little boy in the past few weeks. He is talking up a storm and getting into everything on a regular basis! He is now big enough to wrestle with his brother and get him into trouble! Maks is quite the handful!

Erin is still driving back and forth to Wichita for work everyday, he is not loving the drive but getting more used to it as time goes on.

I have been trying to get pictures uploaded and videos onto YouTube and FB today so hopefully you will start seeing them on here as well. Erin and I went to see Cirque de Soleil in December and I have a few videos that people have been asking about! I finally got them uploaded if you are interested they should be in the scrolling video bar at the top or you can find my YouTube Channel (coconutkeeper). The show we saw this time was Alegria. It was a great show and we reccommend it to everyone! Also I uploaded a video of the boys playing on the stairs that everyone should watch! It's cute, until the end but you knew it was coming! LOL!

Well better get something for lunch!

Kale and Erin playing soccer.

Today we took the boys out to play with their new soccer balls. Kale will be playing on a team in a month and we wanted him to see what a field was like and where to kick the ball. They both had a blast and Kale has quite the little leg on him!

Kale and Erin playing soccer!

Today we went out the soccer field and let the boys play with their soccer balls. Kale will be playing on a team in a month and we wanted him to see what a field was like and how to kick it! He had a blast and seems to have quite the leg!