Day with the Girls & Bolt

Kylee, Abby and Makenna sporting their 3D glasses.

I spent the day with Kylee, Makenna and my niece, Abby. I took Rob's advice and took them to see Bolt in 3D. The movie was fantastic. Beyond the terrific story, the RealD 3-D visuals were very impressive. If you enjoy going to movies and haven't seen Bolt yet, I would recommend seeing Bolt in 3D before it ends its run.

The whole day was a lot of fun, we:

• Went to Dick's Sporting Goods and PetSmart in Mishawaka. (The girls do not have any pets, but they do enjoy looking at the animals in pet stores.)
  
  
• Went bowling at Strikes and Spares in Mishawaka. (None of us had been there before. It is a very nice place. It was Kylee and Makenna's first time bowling and we had a good time. I plan on returning to Strikes and Spares.)
  
  
• Ate lunch at Chick-fil-A. The girls played in the play area.
  
  
• Went to Build a Bear Workshop and Claire's in University Park Mall.
  
  
• Took the Toll Road from Mishawaka to Elkhart.
  
  
• Saw Bolt in 3D in Elkhart where we drank 120 ounces of Pepsi and ate a large popcorn.
  

Our Best Video of The Year

Our best video of 2008 was recorded shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve. The throws were great, the celebration even better.

Six Years Ago Today

At the Fashion Farm in 2002 & 2008

Kylee

2002..........................2008

Makenna
2002..........................2008

Trick or Treat

Unbelievably Blessed

Long before I had any children, I wanted twins - twin girls to be more specific. I never expected to get them, but I did. They are just the kind of kids I always wanted.


I love this picture of Kylee and Makenna, taken in April 2007 at a mall in Nashville, Tennessee. It hints of them venturing out into the big, wide world, but doing it together. Cool stuff in this photo: holding hands, no one else being around, their jean pockets and especially their instep stride with identical peaks at the bottom of their shoes.

Makenna

My daughter, and fellow blogger, Makenna, recently posted the 100th entry to her blog.

Bible Quiz Team

Kylee and Makenna are on the Bible quiz team at our church. This is their third season quizzing. This past Saturday was their first meet of the year. Their team won 2 and lost 2 on Saturday. Makenna did record her first "perfect quiz out" ever on Saturday. A perfect quiz out is when one quizzer answers five questions correctly during the 20 question, 8 competitor quiz without getting any questions incorrect.

There are about 150 questions per month to memorize. This year the questions will be based on Exodus 1 - 20.

Here's Makenna sporting her perfect quiz out medal on Saturday. We spent about a half an hour on Sunday afternoon looking through leaf piles for this medal, only to have Landen find it this morning behind one of our living room chairs.

Kylee had a perfect quiz out last season. Here is a video of that event (about 4 minutes.)

Favorite Shirts

Me and Landen in our favorite shirts.

Landen is Funny

Having a two year old around the house can be pretty funny too. The girls are on the quiz team at our church. The quiz questions this year are on Exodus, so a lot of the answers are "Moses." Yesterday, Kristi was studying with the girls and Landen was in the room playing with his cars. Hearing so much about Moses must have gotten to him because pretty soon he piped up and said, "Moses is driving a car!"

Last night 30 seconds after Kristi had tucked him into bed, Landen wandered into the hall and announced, "I had a bad dream."

Chapter Book Read Alouds for Ages 3 to 7 - Ranked

I recently finished reading Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary to Kylee and Makenna. This was the 22nd chapter book that I have read to the girls. I started reading chapter books to the girls about four years ago when they were three years old. (Charlotte's Web was the first one.)

Today I made a form for Kylee, Makenna and I to each rank these 22 books in order from favorite to least favorite. (1st through 22nd)

I quickly read the list of books to them and we briefly discussed the plot of a few of the books to jog our memories. Then I walked us through the rankings by telling them to mark a 1 by their favorite book, a 2 by their second favorite book and so on. I also reminded them to remember to carefully look over the whole list before the next book was chosen. We didn't look at each other's sheets at all and didn't discuss where we were ranking the books.

I then tabulated the results, football poll style.

So, here are the chapter books that I have read aloud to Kylee and Makenna during their three year old, four year old, five year old, six year old and seven year old years, ranked. (And if you are looking for chapter books to read aloud to your children, hopefully this paragraph will help you with your search results.)

The Rankings:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
4 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
5 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
6 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
7 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
8 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
9 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
10 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
11 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 Ragweed by Avi
14 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
15 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
16 Socks by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
18 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi

My thoughts on the rankings:

• I wasn't surprised Holes is ranked first. I am a little surprised all three of us ranked it first though.
  
• Thank You Squanto being ranked third is sort of like what it would be like for East Carolina to make a run at this year's BCS national title game.
  
• All three of us liked The Magician's Nephew better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
  
• I haven't read them my three favorite chapter books to read aloud yet: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Poppy by Avi and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
  
• Kylee and Makenna's teacher did read Edward Tulane to their class last year. I'm going to read it to them again at some point anyway.
  
• There was quite a bit of consitency between all three of our rankings. The rankings Kylee and I did are especially similar.

Click the chart for a larger, more readable view of the ranking chart.

How Kylee Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
3 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
4 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
5 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
6 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
7 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
8 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
9 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
10 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
11 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
17 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
18 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
19 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
20 Ragweed by Avi
21 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How Makenna Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Ragweed by Avi
3 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
4 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
5 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
6 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
7 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
8 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
9 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo
10 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
11 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
12 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
13 Socks by Beverly Cleary
14 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
15 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
16 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
17 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
18 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
19 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
20 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
21 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
22 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi


How I Ranked Them:

1 Holes by Louis Sachar
2 Shiloh by Phyliss Reynolds Naylor
3 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
4 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
5 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
6 Thank You Squanto by Peter and Connie Roop
7 Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo
8 Turn on the Light Thomas Edison by Peter and Connie Roop
9 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
10 Miss Holly is Too Jolly by Dan Gutman
11 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
12 Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
13 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
14 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
15 Socks by Beverly Cleary
16 Ragweed by Avi
17 Mr. Klutz in Nuts by Dan Gutman
18 Mrs. Roopy is Loopy by Dan Gutman
19 Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
20 The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
21 Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation by Avi
22 Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

Mountain Biking at Winona Lake

From what I've read, one of the better mountain biking trails in the Midwest is the trail in Winona Lake, Indiana. Kylee, Makenna and I rode this trail once last year. We went again today. We stuck to the beginner trail, taking the long loop once and the short loop once.

We ride bike so much we should really go to Winona Lake more often, because riding a trail like this is just a barrel of fun compared to our usual riding routine. I sold my mountain bike last spring, so I tackled the trail today on my Trek hybrid bike. The girls have good quality kids mountain bikes and they ride a lot, but are certainly not powerful riders. They are seven years old and have to walk their bikes some on this trail, but there are spots where the difficulty level is just right for them.

Kylee taking it easy down a pretty steep hill.

Miles Biked Update: August 29, 2008

We haven't added any family members since my last update 19 days ago, but we did add a bike rider. About two weeks ago Landen learned how to ride his little training-wheel bike. I put a bike computer on it about one week ago and he has been a bike riding machine ever since. He probably has logged more miles than any of the rest of us the past seven days.

Miles biked in 2008:

Steve - 482.8
Kristi - 386.6
Kylee - 294.1
Kenna - 293.3
Landen - 12.1

More Broken Bones on the Way?

The other day I looked across the yard to see that my two year old son had climbed a tree. Did I rush to his rescue? No, just to get the camera.

Way Before They Blogged - Makenna

We started journaling with Kylee and Makenna when they were two years old. Their entries were dictated to either or Kristi or I. I'm not sure if this early journaling experience helped inspire Makenna or not, but she has loved writing ever since she could begin to manipulate a pencil. I looked through some of Makenna's old journals today. The first entry I could find that is composed entirely in her own handwriting was when she was four years old. Here are Makenna's first three entries, which were done sort of way before she blogged.

Mentos in Diet Coke

This was our Sunday afternoon entertainment.

Chapter Book Update

Kylee, Makenna and I decided that I had not actually read Ramona Quimby, Age 8 to them. So I am reading that now.

To follow up our reading of Holes, we watched the Holes movie last night. The movie follows the book very closely and I recommend both. It would definitely be better to read the book first though.

Landen's Broken Leg

Landen had an X-ray and doctor appointment this morning to get his broken leg checked out.

We found out today that he had broken his fibula all the way across, into two pieces. He broke it four weeks ago. With being on vacation, not being able to tell how hurt he was and the Fourth of July holiday, we didn't get any sort of treatment for his leg until about 1 week ago. His treatment ended up amounting to nothing more than an ACE bandage wrapped around his leg for a few days last week.

I did pray for Landen's leg to heal normally.

Today, Dr. Wally said that Landen has no restrictions and that his leg healed in perfect alignment.

Indiana Beach

How much did Kylee and Makenna enjoy the Cornball Express roller coaster at Indiana Beach on Wednesday? See for yourself.

Click the picture for the full size view.

Landen's Broken Fibula

We still don't have the "rocker boot" for Landen's broken leg. They didn't have his size. We are hoping he doesn't re-injure it because it really hasn't limited him. He just goes about his usually business, but limps while he's at it.

Landen's Leg

The doctor called yesterday to let us know that Landen broke his fibula, a little above his right ankle.  He said it appeared to be healing normally, but that we should get Landen fitted for a rocker boot to help prevent it from being reinjured.

It's Landen's first broken bone.

Landen's Leg

I mentioned in a previous post that Landed came down on his leg wrong and was limping on it.  That was almost two weeks ago and he is still limping.  We took him to get an x-ray today.  I looked closely at the x-ray, but couldn't see anything wrong.  They will send the official report to the doctor tomorrow.  It's frustrating because Landen's leg hasn't been swollen and it hasn't stopped him from doing anything, he's just limping and falling at times when it gives out.  He can't tell us "where" it hurts.  The doctor only ordered an x-ray for his lower right leg, but for all we know it could be in his foot, ankle, upper leg or hip too.

DO I NEED TO TURN THIS VAN AROUND?

Is it too much to expect that if I am going to spend money on a fun day with the family that the day actually be fun? Whenever we make a day trip, I get this hard to describe sort of nervous feeling in my stomach that expects the day to be a perfect family outing, but knowing that just might not happen.

To kick of our first-summer-in-a-long-time-with-no-major-vacation-plans right, we decided to head over to Deep River Water Park in Crown Point, Indiana. We debated some about whether to go today or tomorrow. The kids really wanted to go today, so we decided to go for it. We packed everything up and the kids were waiting in the van when all of sudden Makenna comes in and says in her whiniest voice, "Kylee is being mean to me." I said, "We're not going today." And we didn't. We made the girls help clean the whole house and told them we would try for the water park again tomorrow.

On the plus side:
I'm a parent who is not afraid to take something away. I'm really pretty good about making a reasonable threat and then sticking to it.

On the minus side:
I expect utopia just because I'm spending money.

I don't think it is too much to expect a fun day, but perfection? I need to set reasonable expectations and handle any problems that do arise in love. (And I do reserve the right to "turn this van around" - in love.)

Summer Goals

Kylee and Makenna are both very goal oriented; however, they sometimes need some help coming up with their goals. On Sunday I sat down with them and came up with some goals for the summer. They pretty much thought of them. I mostly just helped refine the wording.

Kylee's Goals for the Summer

1. Pass the plus time test.
2. Improve at soccer.
3. Update Blog regularly.
4. Bike 250 miles.
5. Start learning to play the piano.
6. Spend time alone with God everyday.
7. Listen for God’s voice.
8. Follow God’s voice.
9. Read at least 10 minutes a day.

Makenna's Goals for the Summer

1. Pass the plus time test.
2. Improve at soccer.
3. Update Blog regularly.
4. Bike 250 miles.
5. Start learning to play the piano.
6. Spend time alone with God everyday.
7. Improve following directions.
8. Improve being kind to my siblings.
9. Read at least 10 minutes a day.

Our Family Goals are:

1. Go to Indiana Beach.
2. Go to Chicago on the train.
3. Go to the water park.
4. Be nice to each other.

One Year Ago Today. . .

I took this picture.

Grown Man Cries in Claire's

It was me. I wasn't sobbing or bawling, just choked up - twice. We we took a day trip to Ft. Wayne yesterday. One of our stops was Glenbrook Mall.

The girls wanted to look in Claire's, so we went in. We were about ready to leave when suddenly Makenna asked, "Can I get my ears pierced?" Kristi explained a little more about it, and ten minutes later her ears were pierced. After seeing Makenna hardly flinch, Kylee got hers pierced too.

I was the one who flinched. As soon as I saw the ear rings emblazoning the lobes of each girl, I wanted to rush up and tell them how pretty they looked. But I was too choked up. I couldn't speak, not yet.

Each girl sat so bravely, looked so pretty, growing up so fast, time going by too quickly.

Three Piggy Opera

Another teacher covered my class from 2:00 - 3:00 today so I could leave work early. I was able to attend a program Kylee and Makenna's class put on. It was such a cute show. I'm very thankful I was able attend.

Play Cars

About a month ago Landen and I got my old Matchbox cars out of the attic. He REALLY likes to play with them. He likes it even better when daddy will "play cars" with him.

5 Things I Want My Kid to Know

I feel honored to have been tagged by one of my blogging heroes, Rob Henschen. Rob is a great writer and an honest and interesting blogger. Check him out if you haven't, I bet you'll learn a thing or two.

I'm still pretty new to blogging, and didn't understand the whole tag thing at first. I think I have it figured out now. If you get tagged, you're supposed to answer the tag question.

So, here goes.

"What are five things I want my kids to know before they grow up?"

1. Jesus' love for them.
2. How to have a personal relationship with Christ, and to desperately desire a relationship with Him.
3. That I love them immensely and try to be a great dad, but that I fall so short of their Heavenly Father.
4. How to pick a great spouse.
5. How to spend less money than they make.

If I have this figured out correctly, I now tag five others.

Meagan - my sister in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kristie - someone whom I'm pretty sure I don't know, unless I know her through my aforementioned Kentucky connection, because I picked up the link from Meagan. Kristie has a great blog. Just read the "About Me" on her user profile and you'll be hooked.

Shelly - the author of one of my favorite blogs.

Tilly - nothing like hearing from a kid, on what is important for kids to know.

John - since Rob tagged me, I'll tag Rob's best friend John to see if it will inspire him to do a second post. Plus John's a great guy and I'd love to hear his insite on this question.

Summer Safety

With summer just around the corner, it's time to think outdoor safety. Today's tip: If your two year old wants to roller skate on the cement and you don't have a helmet that fits him, stick a stocking cap on his head. Safety first!

Mall Night

As part of our simple spring break week, we took the kids to Mishawaka tonight. We spent about an hour and a half at University Park Mall. We just went to goof around and spend time together as a family. The kids had such nice attitudes tonight. That made it really fun. When we got within view of the Disney Store, Landen actually raised both of his arms and said, "Yeah, yeah!" We didn't even spend a dime in the entire mall, just had fun.

Speaking of not spending a dime, they have this tiny merry-go-round ride in the middle of the food court. It is for three kids to ride on and it costs $1. I don't think I have EVER paid for my kids to ride on one of those things. (Except for maybe at Meijer, where "it's only a penny," but I don't usually have any change anyway.) So our kids are used to getting on these rides and just sitting there without moving. (I will sometimes give the ride a little shake for them though.) While the girls were sitting there tonight, another kid got on and his dad was getting money out to pay for the ride, so I told the girls to get off. But the guy said they could stay on. So, they got to ride for free. The girls got a free ride on that thing when we were at the mall about a year ago too.

Hopefully, I'm not too cheapskatish. I don't mind spending money, I just don't like to waste it. I try to set a good example for the kids about being cautious with our finances.

Spring Concert

Kylee and Makenna's spring concert was tonight. The girls both had parts in the show. Little did we know that Makenna had one of the five lead roles. The real treat was seeing both girls step up to the microphone quite confidently for their parts.

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Matt Terui does a great job leading the music ministry at church. I especially appreciate how Matt sometimes pauses between songs to offer what I'll call a "thinking point." These thinking points provide insite to the lyrics and obviously give you a point to think about and more importantly a chance to listen to God. Today we sang, Chris Tomlin's Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone.) After the song, Matt had us consider what chains we had. Well I have to admit, I didn't totally understand singing "My chains are gone," then pondering what chains I have. I do know what God said to me though, "comfort." I'm too concerned with my own comfort. I want to watch the game, I want to take a nap, I want some peace and quiet, I want time to sit at the computer, I want Landen to take a long nap so I can finish this post (as I begin to hear crying come from upstairs.) I, I, I, I, I.

I need to think less of my comfort.

(Later)
Kristi and the girls are at Grandma Alice's. So I went and got Landen up. He's had a fever most of the day. Honestly, a lot of times I would have stuck him in front of the TV and got back to what I wanted to do. Well, it would have been a little bit hard to do that in the middle of this post. So, we sat on the couch for a while, cut paper for a while and played cars. Well, I would have totally missed out on a great time with my son had I stuck him in front of the TV. We got to playing with one of those cars that sort of winds up when you push it and it keeps going. Eventually our game turned into: Put your face by the floor. Let the other person aim the car for your nose.

We had a ball. I was blessed.

"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways."
Proverbs 8:32 NIV

Attention Span

I think Landen has a longer attention span than I do. He's been doing this for about 45 minutes.

Class Program

Kylee and Makenna's class had a program today. I was able to get coverage for my class and leave Bremen early enough to attend the program. The girls didn't know I would be there, so it was a nice surprise for them.

A Conversation

I had this conversation with the girls today:

Me: "Guess what.
"Girls: "What?"
Me: "I started my own blog.
"Girls: Excited expressions
Kylee: "What did you name it?"
Me: "Steve Gall . . . . . . it took me two hours to think of that name."
Kylee: "You could have named it 'Steve's World.'"