My Husband, Keith

I got tagged by Nicole so here it goes.

1. Where did you meet? We met at Snow College in a Calculus class.

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for about four months, engaged for two months and got married.

3. How long have you been married? 12 years, 25 days, 10 hours, and 46 minutes. Wow, time flies when you are having fun!!

4. What is your favorite feature of his? Most definitely his smile and his eyes!!

5. What is your favorite quality of his? He is a very hard worker. He is always looking for ways to serve and help others. He is wonderful with me and the kids and always tries to be the best father and husband he can be.

6. Does he have a nickname for you? Yes, Neena. About 10 years ago, we babysat for Keith's cousin so they could go to Hawaii. The youngest was about two years old and every time he tried to say my name he said Neena instead. Keith thought that was cute and ever since he has been calling me Neena.

7. What is his favorite food? Growing up it was his mom's pork chops, rice and gravy. Now it is Pasta Carbonara--or anything else Italian that he makes. He makes GREAT Italian food!!

8. What is his favorite sport? His favorite sport to watch is football and his favorite sport to do is hunting.

9. When and where was your first kiss? Our first kiss was just outside my apartment just after a date.

10. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like to have date nights at home. We put the kids to bed and then have dinner and watch a movie.

11. Do you have any children? Yes. Six. Jessie--10, Jason-- 9, Logan-- 7, Meagan--5, Kaden--2, Brenna--9 months.

12. Does he have a hidden talent? He can sing, even though he says he can't. He even tries really hard to sound horrible so no one can hear how he really sounds. The only time he sings normally is at church. FHE and the Happy Birthday song are a different story all together. He also has a talent of being able to fix anything.

13. How old is he? He is 34 years old.

14. Who said "I love you first"? He did.

15. What is his favorite type of music? He likes to listen to country, rock, and Italian music.

16. What do you admire the most about him? I admire his ability to fix ANYTHING--you name it, plumbing, wiring, drywall, cars, columns, and the list goes on!! He is always thinking of some way to fix something or to solve a problem. I admire his love for the gospel and his testimony of the gospel. I admire the way he always makes the time to fulfill his responsibilities as a father, husband, employee, and priesthood holder.

17. Do you think he will read this? Maybe. He usually doesn't read our blog, but he knows I am doing this, so he just might read it to see how I answered the questions.

I am going to tag: Jenni, Carillisa, Amy, Candise, Staci, Jolyn, and anyone else that wants to do it.

Here are a few pictures of Keith.

Keith tearing down sheet rock after the tub over flowed from Jason's "swimming lesson".

Keith and the kids on the train at the zoo.

Keith holding Brenna in the hospital.

Keith and the kids in Nauvoo.

Keith fishing with Kaden.

Keith, Jessie, Jason and Logan with the fish they caught earlier that day.

Keith and his brothers, David and James. Keith with Kaden and Brenna. Keith playing with Kaden. Mr. Fix It working on our columns. With the help of a few men from our ward, Keith was able to tear down our old columns and put up new ones in their place. He did such a great job. They look Fabulous!!

First Day of School

I am a little late on posting the first day of school. But what's new, I post when I can, right. Our kids started school last week. They were all pretty excited to go back to school and see their friends. I think they were more excited than I was. I always knew my older kids were GIANT helpers when it came to helping with the younger kids or doing their chores, but now that they are in school, I am really noticing how much they helped out with Kaden and Brenna. I hope you kids have a great year!! It is really different sending Meagan to school. I was just thinking about how it seemed like yesterday she was entering this world six weeks early with complications, and how we got thru it and now she is a little spit fire. She has waited for this day for a very long time. Before the school year started last year, she was telling people that she gets to go to school. What she would leave out is that it wast't until next year. Well, that year has arrived and she has already established herself as the teachers helper, made new friends, learning new things, and is loving every minute of Kindergarten. Logan is in second grade and gets to be the big brother this year. Kindergarten thru third grade have lunch and recess together. He will do a great job watching out for his little sis. Jason is in fourth grade and Jessie is in fifth. This year they have a split class. It has some fourth and some fifth graders in the same class. Jessie and Jason were lucky enough to be put in the same class. So far it is working out really well. They have a really tough teacher and I am glad they are in there together to give support and help each other.

Ballingall Park and the Ottumwa Historical Museum

Jessie has been begging me for a very long time to go to the Historical Museum. In third grade, they learn some of the history of Ottumwa and they take a field trip to the Museum and Ballingall Park, which is just outside the building. So today was the day. Jessie packed a lunch for us, all by herself, and we were off. It was a GREAT day for a picnic. The humidity was way down, there was a slight breeze, which made it very comfortable. I would never have guessed that it was 81 degrees outside. We had a really fun time. Jessie and Jason had been here before with their third grade class, so when we went into the different rooms, they had to tell me every thing they learned. I was quite impressed that they remembered so much. During our picnic two trains went by. Kaden was so excited to see the trains that he stood up pointing at them making sure that I didn't miss them. After that, I had a hard time getting him to sit and eat.

Eating our picnic in Ballingall Park.

Brenna chillin out.

The kids by the fountain in Ballingall Park.

The train engine in Ballingall Park. The park is just outside the building that has the museum and the train station in it. Meagan noticed that Jason and Jessie were telling me about the different things we saw, and wanted to have me listen to her, too. She would point things out and then tell me about them. The first thing she pointed to was the oil lamp. She told me that they would us this lamp when the electricity would go out. (We have an oil lamp that we have had to use on more than one occasion because our electricity has gone out. It is really fun eating dinner by lamp light!!) This was a replica of the milk wagons they used to deliver the milk. It was used on a t.v. show--I can't remember which one. Kaden saw this little milk wagon and wanted to get in it so badly. You can see by his face he really enjoyed it. When I took him out he cried for ever. It was a good thing we were the only ones in the museum. These are the desks in the one room school house. Grandpa K. told Jason about how when he was little they would dip the girl's pigtails in their ink wells. (naughty Grandpa) Even though Grandpa didn't go to school in a one room school house, I can see that it would be really easy to dip pigtails in ink when the table top is hooked to the back of the bench. The kids thought of the Little House on the Prairie show when they saw this. Jessie really liked this section of the museum and had the camera at the time, so she took a picture. She liked that it showed how hard women worked and that her hands were the proof of that hard work. This picture doesn't do the hands justice. Me and Brenna in front of a old John Deere tractor. We love John Deere!!

Meagan's new haircut

This morning Jessie came to me and told me there was a bunch of hair in the bathroom. I knew right away it had to be Meagan---this is something she had done before, twice. I found Meagan and asked her if she did something this morning that I wouldn't be happy about. She confessed to a couple of things I didn't even know about and then when I asked her if she cut her hair, she sheepishly said, "yes". I asked her why she would do that and her reply was that she had a ponytail holder in her hair and it wouldn't come out. I then asked her why she didn't get me or someone to help her and she said that she asked Jessie to help her, but Jessie was getting a bowl of cereal and said she would help in just a minute. Meagan is very independent and didn't want to wait, so she just cut the hair to get the ponytail holder out--why couldn't she cut the ponytail holder instead?? AAAARRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!! I guess Meagan will be getting a new haircut just in time to start kindergarten.

Meagan's masterpiece.

After I talked to Meagan, I ran my fingers through her hair to assess the damage and this is all the hair that was cut but still mixed in with her hair.

Day in Nauvoo

Sorry about the big post, but we had a great time and I wanted to share. I also can't figure out how to get my paragraphs to show--it puts them all together. So, if anyone can help, that would be great. I was finally able to get Keith to take a day off from work. Lately, he has been working so hard at work, that when he comes home and all the kids are in bed, he sits down to his computer and starts working some more. Things at work are really crazy right now, even though he hired two guys to work under him it seems like he has more work than before. Getting the tractors ready for the customer shows takes its toll on him and the family. I am really glad he was able to take the day off. We went to Nauvoo for the day and also to see the pageant that night. Even though we have been to Nauvoo more than a few times, it still is really fun to go around and see all the different things there are to see. And since you can't squeeze everything into one day, we don't see everything there is to see every time we go down. This time we went to the Pioneer Past Times where the kids were able to dress up as pioneers, play in the school and the log house, and play with all sorts of pioneer games. I think the bear racing was the family favorite. The kids loved trying to beat Keith and me. We also went to the blacksmith shop, the gunsmith shop, the print shop, to John Taylor's home, and on the wagon ride that takes you out north of town and you get to hear lots of great stories about the people who lived on those one acre plots. Meagan thought the wagon ride was really boring and fell asleep. The pageant was really nice. I liked it much more than the old pageant they had. During the pageant, they talk about Joseph Smith, building up Nauvoo and the temple. On the stage they built a temple bit by bit--a frame out of big logs and material attached to it for the actual temple. At the very end, they drop the temple they just made, and you see the real temple sitting up on the hill all lit up. It was such good pageant. (Just a fun side note--- Every night when the pageant is running, all the temple lights are turned off so it is dark behind the stage. At the end of the show, there is a spot light that lights up the temple. The temple still has to be cleaned so the workers wear little head lights as they clean. Anyway, I thought that was kind of a fun thing to share.) Here are some pictures of our fun day.

Jason, Jessie, and Logan racing their bears.

Brenna sitting happily in her stroller. She is such a great baby!! Look how cute that hat is on her! Oh, and that smile! She is so adorable, if I do say so myself!!

Kaden showing me his horse as he grunts trying to make a sound that is something to what a horse would say.

Our little Meagan all dressed up in her pioneer clothes ready to do some cooking.

Jessie getting into the action trying to iron a dress.

Logan and Jason doing a bit of thinking, trying to win.

Keith, Kaden and Brenna playing with the blocks. Kaden wasn't having much fun just sitting here in the stroller, so after he was done with the blocks we let him out.

Kaden trying his hand with the bear racing. What a cutie!!

The girls on a couple of sheep.

Kaden eating.

Keith trying to beat Jason at the bear racing. Keith figured out that instead of alternating your hands up and down to get the bear to go up and win, all you had to do was to pull your hands apart as fast as you could and your bear would zip up to the top and you would win.

The boys all together. Logan wasn't very happy that he couldn't be on the horse with Jason and Kaden, but there wasn't enough room. So I took a picture of him alone and he smiled for this one.

Meagan and her bear.

When we went to the print shop, we got to see the old printer and all the really, really small type they used. I can't believe that someone put all those little things together to form words so they could print them. I looked at the letters up close, and on some of them I couldn't make out what the letter was. All I have to say is wow!

"Let's head West!!"--maybe some of our family will let us crash at their house.

Jessie and Jason in the gunsmith shop. They are standing next to a machine gun that they still used today.

Looking out over the Mississippi. This used to be the North landing where all the boats would load and unload their cargo and passengers. Then if they were going South, they would go down the river and their cargo was put on wagons and they would pick it up at the South landing. This is because the river wasn't deep enough and the boats couldn't get around the bend when they were fully loaded.

The family with the horses that took us on our wagon ride.

This picture was taken just across the street from the Nauvoo Temple.

The fam in front of the temple just before the sun was setting.

Nauvoo Temple

Pictures of the cast from the pageant. We had such a great time. The kids were so great even though it was really late and they had had a really long day. I am so grateful for the early Saints. They had to endure so many things that I don't know if I could of handled them. When we left the blacksmith shop earlier that day, Jessie said something to the effect of, "So, it wasn't really that hard to live here, was it Mom?" I just looked at her and thought where did you get that from? Were we hearing the same things? We had just gone through all these different buildings and in each one of them, they told a story about how different life was then. And to me , I couldn't do without my modern conveninces. --Hello, indoor plumbing is all I have to say. But I guess it is all in your perspective. Jessie saw Nauvoo as a wonderful place to be.

Kaden didn't quite make it through the whole pageant.