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!

Dreiling Family 2010

Well Halloween is over and we are quickly trying to clean-up redecorate and get into birthday mode! Kale was a great Spiderman and Maks embraced his Hulk costume well. Grandma Dreiling came down and handed out candy at our house while we took the kids a few places during the late afternoon and evening. She had just as much fun as any of the kids handing out candy! Maks and Kale did fantastic all evening, Maks had figured out the candy things within only a few houses, and Kale said, "Trick or Treat and Thank You" at each house. We were very proud.

Erin and decided we would dress up as well. Neither of us really had an exact person we were trying to look like but just had fun with it. Erin wore an old blue tux that I found at the HCC Theatre Costume sale for $1! He ended up looking great and reminded many people of their wedding tuxes so many years ago! LOL! He was called John Travolta more than once! He claimed to be a disco dancer! I found a long black wig for very cheap and ended up wearing that with a black dress and just being a witch. Kale loved my hair, but I sure didn't once I realized how windy it was outside! The first place we took the boys was the Hutchinson Zoo. This picture is Spiderman (aka Kale playing on the spider web). While Trick or Treating at the zoo we not only got candy but also got to pet random animals along the way! The kids really enjoyed this!

The ghost that I made turned out to be great and people loved seeing it out on the porch with all the lights. The dry ice and fog machine just added to the effect! Next year we play to have him out again! We also downloaded some scary Halloween sounds to play over the speakers with the iPod it all came together very well. I think that Halloween is going to be a top holiday around our house in the next few years! Although next year I will time the decoration take down with the days that Erin will be home! Decorating was fun but undecorating.....not so much! O well! Totally worth it!

Well better get back to cleaning for Kale's birthday party tomorrow! It sure is a lot harder to get things clean when every other thing I put away is back out within minutes because Maks and Kale and following me around tearing up the house!

Kale and Maks Halloween 2010

The boys in their Halloween shirts for the morning! Costume pictures to come!

So far they boys have gotten to go and Trick-or-treat at their dad's work and play around the house in their costumes. They are having a lot of fun being Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk together! Kale runs around yelling, "Come on Hulk, we have to save people" and Maks just follows behind him with no questions! It is really funny to watch them. We are planning to take them to a "Truck-0r-treat" this afternoon at the Law Enforcement Center then out to a few friends and families houses this evening and back home to hand out candy at our own house! We have decorated our house this year more than in the past. I guess Erin and I had more fun with it this year because they boys are old enough to understand and enjoy it all. This picture shows my ghost that I created out of cheese cloth, a wood frame (built by Erin) and lots of liquid starch! We also have a fog machine going but you can not see it in this picture. Today we decided that we should buy some dry ice as well! We will see what we can do with it!

Brothers!

Kale (35 months), Maks (15 months) taken October 2010

Stephanie, Kale and Maks

The boys loved this swing/bull. Kale said, "Come on Maks we can pretend we are cowboys!"

Kale on tire swing at pumpkin patch. October 2010

Kale October 2010

Maks October 2010

Maks riding the pony at the pumpkin patch October 2010

10-10-10

Well it has been a busy few weeks but here were are! I am done working in the Financial Aid office so next time I return to HCC for work I will only being teaching my ABE/GED classes. I am very excited!

We have been working to get our Halloween decorations out but it has been a long process since I was so busy working last week. We have finally gotten the inside decorations up and the porch finished.....well it was finished then I decided I wanted more. We are now in the process of building a ghost with Styrofoam and cheese cloth! Pictures to come!

Kale has been wearing his Buzz Lightyear costume all over the place....literally he even wore it to Ace Hardware the other day! When Erin was cleaning the other day he found Kale's first Halloween costume (Superman) and brought it up for Maks to wear....boy was that a mistake. Kale was not happy to share that costume!

Yesterday we went up to Grandma and Grandpa Dreiling's house to carve pumpkins and play with Marisa and Malea. They are both doing well and all the kids (including Grandma, Grandpa and myself) had fun carving the pumpkins. The littles didn't really get to into the carving they were more entertained by the basketballs!

Maks stayed home from daycare a few days last week with high fevers that we couldn't explain. Finally on Thursday night he started showing signed of a sore throat. We got him right into the Dr. and he was diagnosed with a virus called Hand Foot and Mouth....except he only had the mouth part! They gave him some meds to help and they did. With in one day he was already starting to act more like himself.

Yesterday Kale came to us and told us that he had something in his mouth. We were not sure if he was starting to get the same virus as Maks had but when we looked in his mouth we found that he had a tooth size tissue growth on his gums! It always seems to be something! So I will be calling the dentist tomorrow to see what they say about it! Since yesterday it has popped and reduced in size but I still want to have it looked at.

The Chiefs game is on now so better get back to cheering for them! Still undefeated....Can they continue? Chief's Will!

Maks

It was very windy!

Kale and Mom

Kale and I putting on the fire with the small hose!

Maks and Kale sat on the front of the firetruck and watched the Helicoptor take off. They had a great time at the Fire Fighter Training Facility's open house today! Maks was pointing at the Helicoptor to make sure we saw it and didn't miss anything!

It's almost October!!!

Wow this month has flown by! I can't believe it is almost October! I have been saying for 2 weeks it's time to get out the fall/Halloween decorations but not one has made it to my walls!

I've been staying busy this week. On the 23rd I applied for a new job on campus. I was actually offered it the same day! I decided to accept the job and starting on the 27th I have been working both. The position that I accepted is the instructor of Adult Basic Education/GED here at HCC. It is a part-time position. My new hours will be Monday-Thursday 12:30-4:30 PM and on Monday-Wednesday nights form 5:30-9:30 PM. I will be teaching Math 1 and Language Arts 1. In the past two nights that I have been training I have already been very happy with my deicision to change job pathes. It is a new and exciting path for me and I can't wait to see what the future will bring. I know that many people dont' understand the change but I am happy with my deicision.

Kale has been doing great as usually at school. He was having a small problem with spitting at kids but seems to be doing better now. After he figured out that his teachers were telling us about it he straightend up real quit! ;) He is learning more and more everyday. He loves to sing and is always looking for letters in his everyday life. He finds them in places that we would never think! On the tile of bathroom floors, drains, walls, trees (circles or "o's", or "L's" on crooked branches).

Kale and Maks are very loving brothers as well. They love spending time together and like to include each other at home when they read or play games. Every morning they like to give each other a hug and a kiss before going their separate ways to school.

Maks is still going to Miss Debbie's for daycare and seems to be loving it! She is fantastic at working with him and teaching him new things. He is going to be talking up a strom in no time. He is trying to say more and more words everyday. He is also learning to dance and sing (scream) at daycare! :) Maks is still our little eater he is never full. I can't figure out anything to keep him fed! He can eat anytime day or night!

This past weekend Erin and I had Corporate Cup. He was the captain of his Dillon's team and I was on the Board and also a member on our HCC team. It sure kept us busy for the weekend. Events started on Friday and went through Sunday. We were in events such as Dodgeball, Raft Relay, Swim, Dodgeball, Volleyball, Bowling, Golf, Tennis, Horseshoes, Obstacle Course, Football Relay, and Tug-of-War. After the long weekend we were both very worn out and sore! My battle wounds from hours and hours of Volleyball are fading and Erin is recoving from his events. He suprised everyone with his ability to run very fast sprints in his football relay. He didn't shine however in the raft relay! ;) That was a funny event for his team! Tug seemed to be HCC's worst event. When they blew the horn for us to get started only half our team was holding onto the rope! We all went flying it was pretty ugly! As a member of the board I was incharge of all of the scoring and it was a huge repsonsiblity! They old scoring system wasn't working correctly so I had to improvise on the spot, it all turned out ok but it was stressful at the time!

Kale and Maks got to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa during the weekend. They had fun playing and coming to some of the events. Kale had a funny moment when Erin told him they were going to go and watch horseshoes....Kale has never seem them before so he was excited to see the horses put on their shoes so they could run fast! LOL!

Well not much else right now! XOXO