Lately

We didn't celebrate New Year's Eve like I had planned in my head. I was getting over a cold, I was sad about my Dad leaving, and just overall exhausted from all the fun/stress of December. We did however have the annual Bradley Family Fondue! John and I had a huge pot all to ourselves and it tasted just like his Dad's. Mmm, I love this tradition :)

John had Monday off and took Marshall bowling. I'm so glad they got some one-on-one time...that didn't include Xbox.

On Tuesday we all started back to the grind (is that the right expression?) I woke up with a renewed energy for a great new year and decided to steam-vac my carpets. I've made this my New Year's resolution the last couple years because it's super easy and only takes a couple hours ;) We also started back to school, much to Marshall's chagrin.

Wednesday morning Coen decided to wreck havoc on the dining room carpet. I had run out of vinegar (used it in the steam-vac) the day before and had only done the living room, thankfully. He had figured out how to unscrew the cap on a do-a-dot marker, black, and painted a good little patch of the floor. Urgh.

Marshall had his annual well child physical at the doctors on Wednesday morning. He is still in the 97th percentile for height and 90th for weight. He passed with flying colors on all the tests - count to 20, draw these 4 shapes, what is this color?, say the abc's, and then, the doctor asked him to skip. Being my son, the boy has very little coordination. The doctor was concerned and ironically John and I have been too but just thought it was genetic. So we're having him assessed by a physical therapist. If there is anything that can help him, I'll do it because speaking from personal experience, it just sucks to be one step behind everyone else in dance class, urh, karate as it were.

On Thursday Coen found a pair of scissors and the half-empty box of Otter Pops on the bottom shelf of the pantry (stupid!) and cut a few open over the carpet in the dining room. On Thursday while dinner was cooking and John was playing Xbox with Marshall, I fell asleep when I sat down on the bed to get dressed for a workout class at the church. During the 20 minutes dinner took to cook, Coen decided to spill not one, not two, but THREE drinks onto the freshly steamed living room carpet!!! RIGHT in front of John who was too glued to the Xbox to notice. Thoughts of smashing the stupid machine in with a metal baseball bat ran through my head, but alas, we don't have a metal baseball bat.

On Friday we escaped the disaster waiting to happen that is our apartment and went to a friend's house to play and celebrate another friend's birthday. Luckily my little tornado left her house in tact.

Saturday morning was filled with lazing around the house all morning then finally deciding I needed groceries. At some point during the day Coen decided to get into the do-a-dot markers again (black and orange this time) and did-a-dot every few inches all across the living room floor. Let's see, that's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Five, Five days and my carpets actually looked worse than they had before I steamed them.

I sat that boy on a chair and told him he was in big trouble and that painting carpets was a no-no. Do you know what he did? He crossed his little arms over his chest, gave a big "HMPH!" and turned his face away. I stared at him for a minute and as he peeked to see if I was smiling, which I definitely wasn't, he scowled at me then turned his face again.

That night John and I made Risotto and I fulfilled a fantasy of his...co-cooking in the kitchen. I'm more of a stay out of my way while I do this kinda gal, but hey, anything to keep the hubs happy :) I organized the boys' toys in their room and was able to step out after lights-out without stepping on any Legos. Woohoo! Coen fell asleep early, as he had not taken a nap, which gave John and myself some time for games with Marshall before his bed time. After the kids were down I read by the fire in my cozy sweatpants while John hunted down Inception at a Redbox. We watched the movie while the fire burned then went to bed and cuddled.

Being all cozy and warm and tucked in made me glad for the simple things - my {crazy} family - black paint and all.
Top left corner has one of the drink spots

Grandpa Kirk comes to KC

My Dad and Pippa came over Monday morning ready for a Kansas City adventure! After playing with the boys for a few hours, we ventured out after lunch. Our first stop was the Jazz District and Jazz Museum. The Museum was closed on Mondays, but we were able to see the lobby thanks to a nice gentleman who let us in and gave us a little background on the African-American history in the area. Since the Jazz Museum wasn't opened, we headed over to The Money Museum, a Federal Bank here in KC. That night after dinner, the adults watched Knight and Day after the boys went to sleep.

::Pippa plays with Coen in his bedroom::

::sending the car straight into some animal figures Pippa had set up::

::Marshall sneaking in to surprise us with a Snap Circuits board that he set up to launch this fan into the air::

::Outside the Jazz Museum the boys found a giant teddy bear::

::Outside after our tour through the bank::

::Inside the boys were able to design their own currency and choose denominations and designs for their money::

::Back at the house that night (and every night) Grandpa Kirk read stories and helped tuck the boys into bed::

::Here are Marshall and my Dad playing with Marshall's new game, Rush Hour Jr.::

On Tuesday afternoon we had the boys' favorite sitter over while Dad took us all to see True Grit at the theater. We came back to a delicious stew Pippa had cooked for us. After dinner the adults were able to play a game of Blokus.

On Wednesday we all headed downtown to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. I was a little worried about how the boys would do in an art gallery. Marshall tends to complain when we do anything deemed as "adult" in his eyes and has a huge tantrum. I printed off a list of things for him to look for in the paintings at the museum and we did a scavenger hunt. He did really well, learned a lot, and actually had fun, not complaining or whining once. In fact, when it was time to go, he asked if we could stay! Outside in the sculpture garden, my dad played hide and seek with him just like he used to play at the mall with me and Brandon.

After a little R&R we met back up at our place and headed out to dinner while the boys stayed home with the sitter again. My dad took us to Fiorella's Jack Stack where we had some of the most delicious barbeque Kansas City has to offer. When we got home it was time to say goodnight and send them on their way.

We had such a good time having them visit us. My dad and I have been through a lot of ups and downs and have come out on the other side. I love him so much and will miss him a lot! John and I both commented that our favorite thing was seeing Dad and Pippa playing and interacting with the boys.

Thanks for coming all this way to visit us! We love you guys!!

Our Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
"I can not find my charger!" I squealed like a mouse.
"My old point and shoot will have to suffice,"
I muttered in spite as I turned out the lights.

Aside from not being able to find the right lens or my camera battery charger, we had a wonderful first Christmas in Kansas City! On Christmas Eve, John made us his mom's tomato soup, an old Christmas tradition of theirs. We were able to Skype with his family and see all our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins doing their traditional singing and nativity reenactment.

After getting off-line we told Marshall Santa wouldn't leave presents if he saw his toys scattered all over his room. We finally got the place clean, just in the Nick (haha) of time! We came out to the living room to sing songs and read the account of Jesus' birth in the scriptures while Marshall acted it out with a nativity he made earlier in the week.

On their way to bed, the boys found their new pajamas lying in wait for them. Nice and cozy, they settled in and went right to sleep so Santa could come.

::The obligatory "jammy" picture::

:: Coen had not been sleeping well all week and spent most of Christmas Eve night either awake, or tossing and turning in our bed. That's why he looks so happy::

:: Just in time for Christmas day, Coen learned how to do a "canned" smile. I love it, it's so goofy!::

::It's called a stocking for a reason, guys!::

::A wise Santa gave Coen his very own "guys" to play with so he wouldn't have to bother big brother when he's playing::

::Marshall found a Toy Story watch in his stocking::

::Excited about a Zoob set from Grammy::

::Coen plays with his new transporter from Grammy::

::John shows off the new emergency light/radio his parents gave us!::

::Every time we go to Target or Barnes and Noble, Marshall stops to play with a Tag in the store. He's been begging for one and I found a great sale, so Coen gave him this. Marshall was stoked!::

::Almost done unwrapping, Marshall started to worry Santa had forgotten his request for little robots, but Santa came through and bought him Zibits::

::Marshall gave Coen some nesting suitcases, knowing how much he likes to open and shut things with his toys tucked inside::

::I love Coen's expression as he opens this construction set from his cousin::

::Coen's big gift from Santa this year was a Toy Story 3 play set, complete with Buzz, Woody, Lotso, and some Aliens.::

::Marshall's big gift from the red guy was this play set for his Zibits robots::

::Marshall concentrates as he creates something with his Pixos from Grandma Sarah::

::Trying out the new Tag Reader::

::Coen tests out his new Fridge Phonics set from Grammy. His favorite is the button that sings the Alphabet Song::

::Marshall enjoyed playing his new Leapster games, Cars, and Dinosaur Discovery::

::John played Xbox all afternoon, his perfect Christmas::

:: Coen loved the tool set we gave him::

I love watching my boys on Christmas morning. We had so much fun staying in our jammies and playing with their new things all day. We had my traditional Christmas Casserole for breakfast, along with cinnamon rolls and grapefruit. In the afternoon, Coen and I took naps while John and Marshall bonded over video games. Later that night we had leftover soups from the 2 previous nights' dinners and watched the boys' new movie, Curious George 2. It was a fabulous Christmas!!

Grammy comes to visit

My mom came for a week's stay at the beginning of December. Marshall had no clue she was coming so the day we went to pick her up at the airport, I asked if he wanted to go on a surprise adventure while blindfolded. Amazingly, he was all for it! I put the blindfold on before we got in the car, tightened it at the airport, then had him ride in the stroller with Coen on his lap. My mom walked right up to him, knelt down to his level, and I told him to pull it off.

He was so confused and just looked around for a moment before the realization hit that Grammy was standing right there in front of him in Kansas City. He leapt up and gave her a huge a hug, pretending that he knew all along that she was the surprise. (He likes to be a know-it-all these days.) I was too busy filming it all to get a snapshot, but the memory is priceless!

We had a fun few days. She came on Tuesday, November 30th. Wednesday was Marshall's birthday and along with presents, cake, and ice cream, we went to lunch, Kaleidoscope, and to Crayola Land. On Thursday we had another full day showing her around town and going to Fun Run. Friday we were all a little burnt out so we stayed home, played with Marshall's new things, and took it easy. Saturday we were back out, this time venturing over to Kansas for Wonderscope Children's Museum. Sunday after church we went to Liberty Jail and drove her down the 92, the country road that John sometimes takes to work, to show her the landscape and how close we are to wide open fields.

Monday was another relaxing day, then on Tuesday we had to say goodbye. Coen cried just seeing her luggage being packed up and taken down to the car. He cried all the way to the airport, then on the way home until he fell asleep. Marshall was sad but held up well. He just had a melancholy look on his face the whole way home. A few times since then I have looked back in the rearview mirror to see him with that sad look on his face and he tells me it is because he misses Grammy.

I can tell he has matured so much since moving here though. Back in Utah, he would cry if he missed her and she would come get him (from 2 minutes away). Instead of crying he is now able to talk about it and understand the distance and effort it takes to get here. I am so proud of how grown up and mature he is becoming.

December 1, 2010: Marshall's 6th Birthday

While our kids are little, I decided to let them open birthday presents in the morning. Waiting all night for dad to get home and have dinner and cake is just too torturous for kids. After all, by the time he woke up he had been 6 for about 5 hours already.



Marshall has always shown an interest and talent in drawing, so I got him a couple how to draw books along with a sketch pad.

The reaction over Toy Story 3 on dvd was even better than the year I got him a castle! He also got action figures, a Toy Story Leapster game, lots of Legos from Grammy, a K'Nex set, and lots more.

About to blow out the candles while we sing the Marshall Family Birthday Song. A couple weeks later he told us his wish hadn't come true. We convinced him to tell us what it was and when he told us it was to move back to Utah, it pulled on my heartstrings. I love it here and don't think we're moving back anytime soon but all we could tell him was that maybe someday we would, but right now this is where dad's job is.

Crayola Cafe

For his birthday lunch, Marshall chose The Crayola Cafe at Crown Center downtown. While we ate a junior high choir group was down stairs singing Christmas songs. We loved being able to hear it while we ate but Coen loved it so much that I had to hold him up by the ledge the entire time so he could get a good view of them singing. He was pretty upset when they left and he had to sit down to finish his lunch.


**Mom: Don't be mad at me for posting these! I don't look great either with my crooked glasses and all.

Playing at Crayola Land

We had time to kill between lunch and the next session at Kaleidoscope Museum, so we headed to the free Crayola Land exhibit at Crown Center. They rotate the exhibits every few months. This is where we played with the Clifford stuff back in May or June.

The best surprise was that Santa was there to take pictures with!! The place was dead when we got there, so we were able to skip any lines and walk right up to him - SCORE!!

::I wish I had known so I could have planned outfits better. Oh well, I'll take no wait over nice clothes this year ;) ::

::they were so busy, this was the best I could do to get a smile::

::helping each other match the characters up::

::Coen thought climbing up was just as much fun as going down::

::climbing out the window::

Kaleidoscope Museum

Kaleidoscope is a free, hands-on, children's art museum. Hallmark's headquarters are located in downtown KC, and this museum is run by them. The kids are allowed to create whatever they can dream up using materials donated by Hallmark and Crayola.

:: Coen loved finding out what noises the different buttons produced::

::In the blacklight room, Coen made his art up on the wall by waving a wand::

::Coen found his true love - a truck::

::Marshall drew a picture to remember his sixth birthday, then sent it through the puzzle making machine::

::turning the wheel to move his puzzle through as it gets cut::

::the finished puzzle::

:: A human kaleidoscope. This was cool. A camera projected your image onto the wall and made you into a kaleidoscope image (enlarge to find Marshall)::

:: do you see him?::

:: back in the black light room, Marshall decorates a Christmas tree using glow in the dark, melted down crayon wax::