Happy Birthday Palmer!

Palmer is now 8 years old! Where does the time go?

For his birthday we decided to go with some friends and check out a place called Science City.

It is in Kansas City, and it is our new favorite place.

At Science City you can......

dig for dinosaur bones

play "science golf" where balls fly through the air

check out the space shuttle potty!

learn how to fly the space shuttle

wrestle a gator

check out some critters

practice your high-wire act!

(if you're tall enough)

Preston is strapped to the bike, but the bike is NOT hooked

to the wire! You can read how the science works below.

fly a helicopter

and so many more things we didn't get pictures of.

We had so much fun we bought a yearly pass so we can go back for more!

Palmer said it was the best birthday!

And then there was the cake.

Palmer drew a design of what he wanted this year's Star Wars cake to look like....

.... just right!

Happy birthday buddy!

We love you!!

Little Mr. Robot

Some kids do funny things; this kid IS funny, he has a sense of humor WAY beyond his 5 years! This was his birthday song to Palmer. Not sure who, where, when or how he learned this, but it cracked us all up!

On the Road Again

April 20th was a BIG night for the Kempers. It was our first concert!

We told the kiddos on Easter that we had tickets to see Willie Nelson and the count down began. Nick was the most excited. He asked me if he could make a poster that said "Willie Rocks!" As funny as I thought that would be I had to say no, the concert was not at the right venue for signs.

Kevin has always been a Willie fan, I also enjoy his music. I can give a lot of credit to Lyle and Ashleigh for our little Willie fans. They gave us Guitar Hero World Tour which has "On the Road Again" on it. We all know the words to that song by heart because of Guitar Hero, and because they liked to hear that song when we were in the car we've listened to a lot of Willie ever since.

The kids were SO excited when he finally came out. I forgot about the warm up bands that play at concerts, and Nick was really irritated that he had to wait an extra hour. If I had planned better I would have arrived later so we would have missed the waits at the door, and then the wait in our seats. But, the wait was worth it to see the kids' faces when Willie came out on stage.

Preston and I played photogs. These pictures were of us taking pictures of each other at the same time.

This is Nick's tired/mad/sad face during the warm up band. The saddest thing for me about the whole night was that after Nick had been SO excited for so long, he fell asleep after Willie had only been playing like 10 or 15 minutes. He slept on my lap until we got up to leave.

Kaydie was not tired, and had a great time. She's the night owl who can stay up for anything.

He started out he concert wearing a ball cap. After a few songs he threw it into the crowd. Then he put on the signature bandana. He had 6 or 7 of them, he would wear one for a bit then throw it to a fan. He didn't talk a lot in between songs, but he played for 1 1/2 hours.

The boys had fun. It was a late night and after a while Palmer had had enough and wnated to go home because he was tired. At 10:15 we could tell the show was wrapping up, and Palmer was claiming to have a stomach ache so we ended up leaving a little early.

See the bandana.

At the end he was out of bandanas.

There were a lot of people who looked at us with funny expressions on their faces when they saw a young family at a Willie Nelson concert. There were not many kids. A lot of people have thought it was funny that we are even fans at all. It's all good. I'm glad we were able to take our kids to see a music legend. I know Willie Nelson is an old pot head, but he is an awesome musician. He is amazing on that guitar. We had a fun time despite the fact the kids were tired and got a little bored towards the end. It will be great memory for them.

I always laugh that my first concert was New Kids On the Block. Lame-o! I think it will be awesome that our kids can say their first concert was to see a legend who was around for decades, even if it was the pot that kept him going for so long!!

The shirt off his back.....

This is our Palmer B.

He did something friday morning that made our hearts happy.

The kids' school color is purple. Every friday is Purple Pride Day, and it is a big deal. The classes all compete to have the most students in purple. We've made bracelets, colored purple stars on hands, bought ribbons for ponytails, and dug out all of Kaydie's purple jewelry so the kids can go as purple as possible. Back in the fall we also ordered school t-shirts to help. Preston and Nick chose grey shirts with purple writing, Palmer went with purple tie-dye, and Kaydie went with solid purple. They all also have a "back-up" shirt for just in case.

Well friday morning the kids were sitting around the table eating breakfast and all of a sudden I hear Kaydie gasp. I looked over and saw that she had spilled her bowl of cereal down the front of her. She was soaked; shirt, pants, the whole bit. She was so sad, worrried that she would be in trouble, then worried about what she could wear; she has outgrown her "back-up" shirt. Without hestitating Palmer told her she could wear his tie-dye shirt that he already had on, and he would wear his other one. After a quick change-a-roo we were all set for school and everyone still had smiles on their faces.

It made mom and dad so happy to see Palmer's generosity, and to see him accept a thank you hug from Kaydie.

I had warm fuzzies friday morning. It was so good to see a little act of kindness from one of the people who can drive me CRAZY and leave me wondering sometimes. I now have something to look back on and give me hope that Kev and I are doing something right the next time those same people do something that makes me want to pull my hair out!

Pinewood Derby!

It's our first Pinewood Derby!! Let the madness ensue. Preston didn't turn 8 in time to go to the derby his first year in scouts, then last year our ward had a space derby, after we moved. So we were newbies (at least I was, Kevin was a cub scout) to this derby thing, and the first thing we did was buy an extra car so Palmer could race in the "open" race for siblings, because he turns 8 in May and I didn't want him to miss out. The scout store has everything under the sun for all things derby, so we decided to buy the book with tips for a faster car, and a couple other things; this derby thing gets pricey....FAST!

First, I guess I should have taken pictures of the block of wood that we started with. Oops, oh well, it's a rectangle; you get the idea. So the first task to tackle in our little project was to bake the blocks. It's a little tip to help get extra water weight out so you can add more weight where you want it.

After the baking came the shaping. We don't have a garage to tackle these types of projects, so the basement had to do. We also don't have any handy power tools to make the job easier, so Kev went old school. This is something else I should have taken a picture of because he managed to change rectangles into triangle wedges with a coping saw and chisels!

On to the sanding......

Preston was ready to help every step of the way. Palmer helped with his car for a bit, but he was happy to watch his brother take care of the sanding when it got boring. Preston took his time and got the cars super smooth.

When the sanding job got the final OK from Dad it was on to the detailing. Spray paint is so much more fascinating than sanding!

When the painting was finished it was time for the speed details.....

The book had tips for using sandpaper to smooth down the wheels to help them go faster, and other tips about axels, yadda, yadda, yadda. Kevin held the wheels, Preston ran the drill. It was fun to watch Preston and Kevin working together, if nothing else the derby gave the boys some quality time.

The finished products!

Palmer's is the AT-AP, in tribute to Star Wars. Preston's is the PK Ripper, his nickname. Some extra Guitar Hero stickers came in really handy!

The big race.

After we checked in and weighed the car we took it to the judging table. All the kids would have their car judged in different categories like "Most Colorful", "Most Realistic"...

Looks good, huh!





Then it was race time! This guy ran the race. In order to keep the chaos to a minimum, and keep the track intact, he would place the cars in the lanes while the spectators looked on from the sidelines. Preston's car is in the far right lane.

On your mark.... get set..... GO!

Preston's car came in a consistant 4th in his heat. His times were pretty fast, and he was running in a fast heat. Each car ran once in each lane, so we watched his car race 6 or 7 times. 4th place almost every time!

He had a great time. He was a little disappointed that his car did not make it into the final heat, but it was fun to watch. His car did pretty good for having crooked, loose axels and being weighted wrong for the type of track they were racing on.

This is PK receiving his award for "Fastest Looking". He probably would have been more excited about it if his car actually had been the fastest! I can see the look on his face, and he's thinking "Huh?"

Palmer was excited to be able to race. He was a trooper and waited through 30 or so races to get to the open race.

On your mark... get set..... GO!

(It was easier to get a good picture of his car at the start because by this time pretty much everyone was interested in something else, and it wasn't a big deal if I got close to the track.)

He came in 2nd!

Palmer kind of got a raw deal, they only let these kids race once. But he was thrilled with 2nd so he wasn't too upset about it.

Pinewood Derby lessons learned:

1.Pinewood Derby is SERIOUS!

2.Hobby Lobby has pre-cut cars.

(would have been nice to know BEFORE we started!)
3. Walmart's spray paint cans are 97 cents.

4. Fishing sinkers work just as well as "Pinewood Derby Weights".

(again, 3&4 would have been nice to know earlier in the process!)
5. It's helpful if the wheels stay on the car, the whole way down the track.

6. Buying the $12 book of tips for fast cars, and following those tips

does NOT guarantee a fast car!

7. You should give yourself more than 4 days to make your car.

I am proud to say that Kevin and I did NOT turn into Little League parents at any time during the derby events. Preston and Palmer were allowed to give as much help as was safe during the process of making the cars. Hopefully we made some good memories.

I was hoping for PK's car to do a little better, it was fun to watch his reactions to the races. It would have been fun to watch him watch his car try to win.

Over all we had a great time, we worked hard and fast in order to have the cars ready on time. The most important lesson I learned is after all the prep, work, and strategy, it all ends up a crap-shoot anyway; so have fun and don't take it too seriously.

So we'll take our lessons learned, and our experiences from the race, and kick butt next year!

Kids say the darndest things....

Tonight was our Ward Talent Show, and we were all excited to participate. We chose to do some skits and try out our performing talents. Kevin helped the kids put together a little skit, and I did one with some of the Relief Society ladies. To make this even funnier, I have to add in that the kids' skit was about needing toilet paper, and at first Palmer was on board, but then he was trying to back out when we were driving to the church because he thought he'd be embarassed.

I didn't have my camera, but even if I had, it would not have captured the priceless moment of the night....

So as all talent shows go, there are the performances, and then there are the gaps in between. To fill the gaps our awesome emcee dazzled us with his assortment of Laffy Taffy jokes, and invited others to share in the joke telling. We had some great "a man walked into a bar" jokes, and lots of fun knee slapper jokes. Well, after about four or five of these "gaps" where open mic joke telling was going on I see Palmer standing with the mic in his hand, then I hear.....

A boy goes to see his doctor and says, "Doctor, I need a new bum, 'cause my old one has a crack in it." The doctor says, "I've told you a million times; everybody's bum has a crack in it!"

Everyone was busting up laughing, I was turning several shades of red. I had NEVER heard this one from him! I pulled him aside to ask him about his joke, wondering where on earth this came from. He told me he read it in 'Diary of a Whimpy Kid'. Then I explained to him that although it was funny, it wasn't the best choice for a joke in the church; with lots of people looking on and chuckling to themselves. This stuff is so much funnier when it's someone else's kid. But, I do have to admit that it was pretty funny.

So, the Kemps managed to make their mark on the Ward Talent Show. Open mic might not be so open next time, and in the mean time we get to be the "butt" of lots of jokes!....at least Palmer said bum.

changes.....

This is what one corner of our basement usually looks like. This is where all the toys go, and where the kids are supposed to go to play with them. What mostly happens though is the kids get out a bunch of toys that they leave out, or the toys find their way upstairs and all over the house because the basement is too boring!

They love to make swords and weapons with their toys and then play whatever adventure movie they've just been watching.... Star Wars, Narnia, Princess Bride...you get the idea. But, they DON'T like to play it in the basement. So I find swords, guns, legos, etc.... ALL OVER!!!! Well......

The kids woke up to a surprise last week. A tv and dvd player in the basement! Now they can watch and play their adventures at the same time!!! Life is good.

Now, we didn't put a tv in the basement purely for the kids' entertainment. Kev and I have been struggling like everybody else to find time to exercise. We do have a gym that we can go to, but with the crazy school schedules we have, sometimes getting to the gym is impossible. So, we decided to put a tv in the basement and make the play area a play/exercise area where we can take advantage of the weight bench we have and the workout videos we own. Last week was my first week, and it went pretty well, I got in 4 workouts. This week I'll do better, and hopefully Kev will be able to join me a couple of times.

I hope these changes will make life a lot better. Kev and I will feel better and get the whole fitness thing back on track, and maybe my house will stay a little cleaner since the basement is more entertaining! The first thing Preston said about the new and improved basement was "Great, now we're gonna have to keep the basement clean cuz mom wants to work out."

Crazy Times!

I have been MIA for a while now, life's been super CRAZY! Here is an update of our last 2 months.

December was great. Kevin and the kids had their last day of school on the 18th. We then cleaned the house, packed the car, and headed for Utah on the 20th. The drive was ok, Nick got car sick the first night, the next day was full of "Are we there yet?" Driving across Wyoming takes FOREVER!! Finally after 1 1/2 days in the car we were home for the holidays. Here are a few pics of the festivities.


This year for Christmas we did a few things we've never done before. First, we spent the night at my parent's house, which was so much fun. It was fun to share our pizza tradition. Second, we let Preston open one of his gifts Christmas Eve because it was a group gift from Kev and I and our parents. We got him a guitar and we wanted the grandparents to see him open it. He was really excited for another instrument to learn to play. He does a really good Nacho Libre imitation! Then, we had a new santa helper this year, and that was a blast for me! It was so much fun to watch my buddy being so excited to make Christmas special for the family. The last thing that was different was all the presents were wrapped, which made for a little christmas morning confusion. We heard the kids get up, then we heard Santa's little helper being a little too helpful showing Nick that Santa had left him presents under the tree. We hurried out. On to the presents!

This year was also different because our kids are all getting older, and gift giving is a little harder to figure out. When we asked what they wanted the things were either too over the top, or too little kid. For instance, Kaydie wanted a Dora bathtub toy she had seen at the store. What the? I had to remind her she's going on 7, not 3! Then, we had lists that included PSP's, DS Lites, huge Lego sets! But as the kids told us it's ok to ask Santa for those because the elves can get the expensive things, then they're free! Let's just say this Christmas morning will not go down as one of the more magical ones! Palmer was upset that Kaydie got the MP3 player HE asked for, and he did not get anything that was on his list! He and Nick got remote controlled cars, what was Santa thinking?! Kaydie only got A Barbie, not BarbIES! There was some pouting and whining, and Kev and I almost fought back with "Well, maybe if you'd behaved better and had done a better job of obeying then you would have gotten what you asked for!" but we resisted. As the morning went on they decided their gifts were not as bad as they thought, it took until the afternoon til they would admit that they were having fun with their stuff. Preston got a digital camera, and Kev got a big hug from him, that made it mostly all better.

We had so much fun being home. We played lots of Battleship and Wii, had yummy dinners with friends and family, and had a great time being with the people we love and miss so much. But all good things eventually come to an end, and so did our holiday.

It was hard to leave again, I had to fight back tears when it was time to go. Nick got car sick again, then we decided to go a different way home, and ended up driving the whole way home in one day! We did not intend to do that, but when when it was 11:00 at night and we thought we were 3 hours away, we figured we would just go and not worry about stopping at a hotel. Well, we were actually 5 hours away and we got home at 4:00am! The kids were so funny when we were getting them out of the car, they couldn't believe we made it all the way, they were so proud that they had been such good little travelers and helped us get so far!

We got home early Jan 2. I was ready to get back on a schedule, looking forward to the kids being back in school, and excited for a week when the kids would be in school, but Kevin was still on his break. The kids had their first day back on Tues., and they went on Wed. Then came the arctic blast that made the temperatures dip to 30 below zero wind chill.... NO SCHOOL! Another LONG weekend. The kids were thrilled, me, not so much. Our anniversay was on Fri. the 8th, Kev and I had planned to spend the afternoon together, and we did.....at the Olive Garden.... with the kids! The plans changed, but we still had a fun day. It was fun to include the kiddos on our day, I think it made them feel pretty special too.

The next week we were back on track. All had been going well until Thurs the 14th when Kevin's brother called to tell us Grandpa Kemp had passed away. We weren't sure what to do, sometimes it's so hard to be a 1000 miles away. I told Kevin he needed to be there, and his uncle offered him a plane ticket. Kevin was going to fly out Monday, go to the funeral on Tuesday, and fly home early Wednesday. This decision was really bothering me, I couldn't get passed the feeling that all of us should be there, but I didn't want to make waves. My schedule was not the problem, it was Kev's that was hard to work around, but I didn't want to make him feel guilty about it. Finally on Sunday morning I couldn't hold it in anymore, and as we talked we decided to change the plans. We decided that we would drive out that day, and then he could still fly back on Wed, and I would drive back with the kids.

So, less than a month since we had left the last time we were headed back to Utah, again. I am so thankful for guidance from Heavenly Father, even when it's a pit in your stomach and a thump on the head saying WRONG! We felt so much better about going together, even though it meant a long week.

Being home for Grandpa's funeral was such a blessing for our family. It was so good to be able to be with our family and be able to participate in the funeral. We were so glad that our kids were able to listen to stories about their great-grandpa and learn more about him.

Kevin flew home early Wed morning, then we headed out on Thurs. I had not planned on driving 4,000 miles in one month, and definately not driving 1,000 without Kevin, but we made it home on Friday!

Then, I think Nick picked up a flu bug at church on Sunday. He got sick Tues night (26th) and threw up AGAIN! He asked me why he was the only one who throws up! I felt sad for him. But, he didn't have to feel bad for long, Preston followed on Thurs, then Kaydie and Palmer finished up the group on Sunday night. Another week and a half of school that my kids were missing. Finally, February arrived on Monday, and by Wednesday everything was back on track.

So now, after 6 crazy weeks I am hoping (knock on wood) that life will get back to whatever normal is! Time is flying, there is always so much keeping us busy, but life is good and I wouldn't have it any other way.

These are some pictures of some snow fun for the boys. Kaydie wasn't feeling well, so she missed it. We love playing in the snow!

These are from my parent's house. They have a big jetted tub and the kids put it to good use while we visited. The soft water and jets were a great combo for tons of bubbles.

Really, I'm thankful!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was fun and crazy! We were so excited for a visit from Grandpa Kerry and Grandma Karrie. They arrived here Tues. night, came over and surprised the kids as they were getting ready for bed. It was SO good to see them after almost 4 months. We talked and played games and made our big weekend plans.

The first thing we planned was a trip to Independence and Liberty Missouri. These two cities are a little over an hour away and they are church history sites. There is a Visitor's Center in Independence where we watched a video on the importance of family, and how families can be forever. It was so fun to see this with our kids and my parents. They also have interactive displays, copies of the Book of Mormon in all the different languages, and other fun things for the kids to see. The favorite part was a pioneer display, They have a model of a log cabin where you go in and learn about the pioneers who came to settle in Independence. There was a play area where the kids could play pioneer style with checkers, a covered wagon and a kids' size cabin. It was a fun place to see.

After the Visitor's Center we headed to Liberty so that we could go to jail. That's what the kids kept saying anyway! We went to see Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and several others were held for over four months. They rebuilt the jail on the original floor in the exact place where it once stood and built a visitor's center around it. This place is amazing! The sister missionary who was giving the tour told us that the spirit is unrestrained in the room where you view the jail, she wasn't wrong. The spirit was so strong there, it was such an amazing experience to share with my family. I was so glad that we took the time during our thanksgiving break to visit some church sites.

Of course when we left for our day I grabbed the camera, but forgot to charge the batteries! So pictures? yeah, I got nothing! Such rookie mistakes, when will I learn? Kev and I decided it would be a great reason to go back again!

Thanksgiving day was so not what I had planned. Kevin and Preston went to play football with other families from the ward, like always. What wasn't like always was the phone call I got that morning. Kevin called to tell me he thought he had broken his collar bone during the game and that we needed to go to the ER! SERIOUSLY! At first I didn't believe him, I thought he was kidding me like usual, it took him a few times of explaining before I took him serious. So off we headed for x-rays. Yup, he broke his collar bone, not just fractured it, BROKE IT IN HALF!!! Yup, it's his right arm. Yup, he's right handed. And yes, finals are only a few weeks away! We don't do anything the easy way. It was a nontraditional day with a nontraditional dinner (ham, way easier!), and several rounds of dominoes. Despite the difference, we still had a lot of fun; well Kev probably didn't have quite as much fun!

On Friday we got the news that our dog Molly wasn't doing well and needed to be put to sleep (see previous post). It was a hard morning for us with lots of tears. I'm glad my parents were here to be with the kids, they were such a great help. The day was beautiful, almost 70 degrees outside, so we (except Kev of course) decided to get out for a break. I found this place the day before, the Family Fun Center where the kids got to hit golf balls and get some coaching from Grandpa. We also drove a few laps in the go-carts. Preston was stoked that he got to drive his own, and he was the only one on the track for his turn. I took Nick with me, my dad took Kaydie, and my mom took Palmer. We all had a great time. It was so fun to see the smiles and hear the laughs. We needed it that day! We also took my parents on a little driving tour of Topeka and got treats at Dairy Queen. We had such a fun day hanging out together.

Saturday was the day that came too fast, grandma and grandpa had to start driving home. We spent the morning together playing more dominoes and war, then we had lunch at Red Lobster. It was so hard to say good bye. At least it was more of a see you soon, since we'll see them for Christmas. We had such a great thanksgiving with my parents, I am so grateful they made the trip. Thanks Mom and Dad! We all love you so much.

Now for the wound photo gallery!

Notice how his right shoulder slumps a little compared to the left?


Yes, he's my hairy gorilla. No, it doesn't bother me! I love him like crazy:)

His right shoulder blade looked like it was kind of sliding off.
One of these shoulders is not like the other!



I should have paid more attention to what day it was when I took these pictures.
I'm not sure how many days had gone by, but the bruise had turned a spectacular yellow!

It's now been a little over a week since the big game and he's doing a lot better. We now think he might have cracked a couple of ribs along with breaking his collar bone. Our bishop who is a doctor also told me he thought Kev had done more damage than just his collar bone from watching the way he is holding himself and the way he is moving. You know how turkey bowl is, go big or go home! Really, the football part had nothing to do with it, he was running to catch a long pass, stepped in a hole, and fell hard. He will want me to clarify that yes, he caught the ball!

Finals start this week, he will be able to dictate his essays and circle answers instead of fill in scan tron bubbles, so he should be fine for those.

It has been been all kinds of crazy this past week, but what's life without the crazy? If we didn't have the crazy could we appreciate the good times? All I know is that it was a good thing we started off thanksgiving weekend by learning about how Joseph Smith was very kind and gracious during his time of adversity in Liberty Jail. That put a broken collar bone in perspective, it can always be worse, so why not just smile and make the best of it?!