Lexi's First Day of Kindergarten!

Lexi's frist day of school was on August 18th. I can't believe my little girl is old enough to go to school! The hard part was leaving her at school, all by herself, not knowing anyone. The teacher said it is usually harder on the parents than it is the kids. It think he was right! Although, Lexi did look a little teary eyed when we left and it made me cry even more! She made it through the first day and loves school!
She looks so grown up!

Daddy was making her laugh so she would do her fake smile.
Almost there!
We made it a family affair!

Lexi sitting at her table.

A couple more years and we will have to do it again!

Christopher's 3rd Birthday Party!

We had a Cowboy/Wanted themed birthday pary for Christopher on August 8th. It was a great success!

The cake! It was huge and heavy!

The kids table.
The kids LOVE balloons!
Chris got the biggest piece of cake. It was almost as big as him!
The little Spiderman!

Joe's 1st Mountain Bike Race!!!

I am trying to play catch-up for a few weeks...

On August 1st, Joe completed his first mountain bike race! I am so proud of him! Although he didn't place, he did do something exciting...He beat out Lance Armstrong's trainer! I think that is awesome! Here are some pictures of the big day...

Here are our friends Richard and Ethan showing their support! Joe checking to make sure everything is working correct.
This is the starting line. You can see Joe in the middle wearing the red helmet and blue jersey.
Taking off for the first lap! Go Joe!
Coming in from the first lap...
Coming into the finish line...a look of determination!

The race was at the Air Force Academy. They rode 2 laps totaling 26 miles. Joe did 2 practice runs before the day of the race and he beat his best practice time. He was exhausted when it was over, but looking forward to another race!

Garden of the Gods

A few weeks ago, we went to Garden of the Gods with the Swanson Family. It was their first time there. We agreed on a time to meet inside the park, but we couldn't find each other! They tried to find us first (since we arrived first), without any luck, so then we searched for them. After about 45 minutes, we were finally all together! We toured the park and it was such a beautiful day. Here are the pictures of both of our families.


Chris, Joe, Kristen & Lexi

Wyatt, Derrick, Ruby, Jen, Chris, Jackson & Avery

They came over for dinner after walking around the park. The younger kids had so much fun playing together! It is nice to finally have some family close.

Ice Cream!!!

It has been such a busy summer! I haven't been keeping up with the blog like I want to, but it should be winding down soon! The kids started VBS tonight at our church. I thought it would be fun to go out for ice cream afterwards since we never do that. There is a place just down the road, a mom and pop ice cream and sweet shop. We gave it a try and it was a huge hit! Lexi wants to take Daddy there in a couple of days for a treat. She is so sweet!

They had ice cream everywhere! Lexi even got it in her hair! It was past bedtime when we got home, but they needed baths bad!

Gymnastics!!!

We decided to let Lexi give gymnastics a try. We didn't know how she would like it, but she absolutely loved it! She had her first class on Wednesday. We all went, anxious to see what she would think. The class is ages 4-5 and there were about 8 girls in her class. They all had long blond hair, too! They started with exercises and the teacher, Ms. Heather, would do funny faces and make it fun for the girls. Then, it was off to try some somersaults (forward and backward), wall stands, donkey kicks and cart wheels. They had different mats set up for different activities. The somersault mats were shaped like ramps to help them out. There was a mat for the cart wheels with foot and hand prints so the girls knew where to put them. It was so fun to watch! Lexi kept steeling glances back to us to see if we were watching her and then she flashed us a huge smile! After those activities, it was off to the bigger things. Next, it was jumping backward onto a huge mat, jumping off a spring board and trying to land without falling and last, the big trampoline! When it was Lexi's turn for the trampoline, we didn't think she was going to do it. They are attached to a harness and then the teacher pulls on a rope and they go up into the air. She doesn't like going high. She will only sit on a swing at the park for a few seconds before getting off! To our surprise, she didn't hesitate getting into the harness and before we knew it she was in the air! She swung back and forth and then she did a flip! Joe and I looked at each other wide eyed, smiled and said 'wow'! She did a couple of flips and she smiled the whole time. The last 5 minutes of class, they are free to do whatever they want. Before the teacher dismisses them, they get a card with one of their accomplishments on it. Lexi's says "Lexi can do a backward roll on the choose mat". They also get stamps on their hands and feet. We do not know yet what the stamps mean, but the girls love them. That evening after class, Lexi wanted to do gymnastics outside. We brought out my exercise mat and did donkey kicks and cart wheels. I was sore the next day! Now we have to wait 2 weeks for her next class because they are on a 2 week vacation. She can't wait to go back! Here are some (blurry) shots of her in action. We had to stand behind a glass wall and watch.

Lexi doing a forward somersault.

Lexi doing a backward somersault.

Lexi on the spring board.

Lexi on the trampoline with the harness.

Maybe she will try out for the Olympics! You never know...

Kyle Gordon Kestner

Today is the 10th anniversary of Kyle's (my brother) death. I cannot believe it has been that long. The pain lessens over time, but it does not get any easier. At only 16 years old, he was the greatest person I ever met. He was my best friend. I miss him dearly. I wish everyone in my life now would have known him. I get to see a glimpse of him everyday in Lexi and Chris. Even though they will never meet their uncle, I hope they one day know how great of a person he was.

I love you, Kyle.
June 2, 1982 - May 19, 1999