Family picture in front of our home
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday, September 5, 2008
We are raising butterflies
A neighbor gave us some caterpillars and we are watching them change into butterfleis. In this (poor) picture you can see a cocoon and a caterpillar. The kids have had fun watching them. Cool.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Remember when I said I needed to add pictures of our children? Well, here they are! I'll start with Dane, our littlest one.
Our "little" baby is now 11 months old! He will turn 1 year old next week and we can't believe it. He has been the easiest baby, an easy traveler and soooo much fun. And he has 3 other moms (his sisters). Maybe that is why he has also been easier. He has been walking for a month now and he is almost running! Dane is very lucky in that after 5 babies, all of HIS stages are just so adorable to us, even the messy ones!
This picture of Dane's "fuzzies" in the back of his head is Sydney's favorite picture. He has blonde, thin hair that fuzzes up after he sleeps and we all love it. So here's a close up of it! (The date is wrong on this picture. It should be August 2008.)
This is my personal favorite of Dane. He has extremely long eyelashes, blue eyes, dimples and is just adorable.
It is so fun to watch babies' personalities come out! Hence, Dane started crunching up his nose and sniffing on purpose in June, 2 months ago. He now also whistles, makes a low growling nose, can roll his tongue and cracked himself up laughing last night.
Dane started "exploring" when he was 9 months. Here he is hiding in the kitchen cabinets. Dave was watching him and suddenly couldn't find him! I don't know WHY he didn't think to look in the kitchen cabinets!
Our "little" baby is now 11 months old! He will turn 1 year old next week and we can't believe it. He has been the easiest baby, an easy traveler and soooo much fun. And he has 3 other moms (his sisters). Maybe that is why he has also been easier. He has been walking for a month now and he is almost running! Dane is very lucky in that after 5 babies, all of HIS stages are just so adorable to us, even the messy ones!
This picture of Dane's "fuzzies" in the back of his head is Sydney's favorite picture. He has blonde, thin hair that fuzzes up after he sleeps and we all love it. So here's a close up of it! (The date is wrong on this picture. It should be August 2008.)
This is my personal favorite of Dane. He has extremely long eyelashes, blue eyes, dimples and is just adorable.
It is so fun to watch babies' personalities come out! Hence, Dane started crunching up his nose and sniffing on purpose in June, 2 months ago. He now also whistles, makes a low growling nose, can roll his tongue and cracked himself up laughing last night.
Dane started "exploring" when he was 9 months. Here he is hiding in the kitchen cabinets. Dave was watching him and suddenly couldn't find him! I don't know WHY he didn't think to look in the kitchen cabinets!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Our Blog is Refined!
As you've probably noticed, I've changed our blog background! I finally learned how to make it look our style and I LOVE it so much more! I am loving this blog and want it to become our family scrapbook and memory holder. My older girls LOVE reading our family members blogs and learning about their family stories and experiences. It has helped us to bond with them a little more. And seeing how cute many of them are has got Sydney to get me to get ours going. In fact, while I was putting our heading together, they helped me come up with the phrase underneath "The Konopnicki Family" which is "work hard, play hard, love and serve always". It really sums up what our family is and wants to be. It's like our family mission statement that I have been trying for a few years now to put together with our children. So, this blog has been a great thing for us so far! I am GETTING HOOKED! It's a good thing to be hooked to, as long as I can control myself! I could do this all day! I LOVE looking at pictures of my dear children and our family and recording stories and fun memories. And this is so much easier than all the paper and pictures in albums! That's for sure!!
And there was ONE more thing I wanted say. I'm done slobbering over my husband!!! I really do miss him this week and want my children to know what a blessing of a father they have. I also want them to know how much I love him and appreciate all that he is in our lives. I think it's so important for children to see their parents outwardly show love and complete admiration for their spouses. A marriage is the foundation of the family and should be constantly nourished and built. And, as my eternal mate, I want DAVE to know how much he is appreciated and loved and adored. So, now that I'm done slobbering over Dave, I'll move on to our cool kids. Hold on!!
And there was ONE more thing I wanted say. I'm done slobbering over my husband!!! I really do miss him this week and want my children to know what a blessing of a father they have. I also want them to know how much I love him and appreciate all that he is in our lives. I think it's so important for children to see their parents outwardly show love and complete admiration for their spouses. A marriage is the foundation of the family and should be constantly nourished and built. And, as my eternal mate, I want DAVE to know how much he is appreciated and loved and adored. So, now that I'm done slobbering over Dave, I'll move on to our cool kids. Hold on!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
MORE DAVE!
Okay, I'm still missing Dave and wanted to post more pictures of him and show what a cool husband, father and person he is. He is a HUGE part of our whole family's lives and he's just adorable to all of us.
This is Dave, getting all excited to go flyfishing for the first time in a few years. And he deserves it! He watched all 5 kids for 1 and 1/2 days while I spent a day at Girls Camp! That's a lot to handle, especially with a little nursing 9 month old. So, when I was finally done at Girls Camp, I had lots of fun watching him get ready to go flyfishing in the Black River by Alpine, AZ. I couldn't help but get a picture as he got all his equipment ready. See the sparkle in his eye?!?
And here he is in the action, in the Black River, all decked out with his waders, waiting for the right fish to come along. The kids LOVED watching him fish, as they haven't seen him do this since they were old enough to appreciate seeing Dad doing something he totally enjoys. And Mitchell and Dane can't wait for future fishing trips with their Dad! If these little boys only knew how lucky they were!
I have to throw in this picture. For Father's Day, Dave wanted a pair of roller blades so he could go roller blading with his kids. Well, this is his first time roller blading with his kids. But the biggest kid that day was NOT Sydney. You guessed it! The only word to describe Dave that first day is UNINHIBITED. That's what he was, and he fell HARD and landed on his bum on the pavement during the first 5 minutes. We all had a good laugh, of course, and it was a definite memory in our family. I wouldn't have him any other way!
These next shots represents our first date night without the baby! When I told Dave that I was going to leave the baby with Sydney for Date Night, he got all excited and surprised me. All he told me was that he had a special surprise for me and to wear black, sunglasses and shoes that covered my feet. So, when we were all ready to leave, he took me out in front of the house and lo and behold, he had a Harley Davidson motorcycle waiting for us! Ha! He is SOOO fun. We borrowed helmets from a friend and headed down the backroads to Solomon where we ate at "La Paloma" and talked and laughed. It was a fun evening I'll never forget! Dave told me later that he planned on borrowing a special sports car from his friend who owns the GMC dealership in town. That car wasn't available anymore, but said he had a Harley that just arrived that day. So, Dave borrowed the Harley and came home and surprised me with a totally fun night. And just so you know, I wasn't taking the pictures, our kids did. Here are the best shots we have!
This is Dave, getting all excited to go flyfishing for the first time in a few years. And he deserves it! He watched all 5 kids for 1 and 1/2 days while I spent a day at Girls Camp! That's a lot to handle, especially with a little nursing 9 month old. So, when I was finally done at Girls Camp, I had lots of fun watching him get ready to go flyfishing in the Black River by Alpine, AZ. I couldn't help but get a picture as he got all his equipment ready. See the sparkle in his eye?!?
And here he is in the action, in the Black River, all decked out with his waders, waiting for the right fish to come along. The kids LOVED watching him fish, as they haven't seen him do this since they were old enough to appreciate seeing Dad doing something he totally enjoys. And Mitchell and Dane can't wait for future fishing trips with their Dad! If these little boys only knew how lucky they were!
I have to throw in this picture. For Father's Day, Dave wanted a pair of roller blades so he could go roller blading with his kids. Well, this is his first time roller blading with his kids. But the biggest kid that day was NOT Sydney. You guessed it! The only word to describe Dave that first day is UNINHIBITED. That's what he was, and he fell HARD and landed on his bum on the pavement during the first 5 minutes. We all had a good laugh, of course, and it was a definite memory in our family. I wouldn't have him any other way!
These next shots represents our first date night without the baby! When I told Dave that I was going to leave the baby with Sydney for Date Night, he got all excited and surprised me. All he told me was that he had a special surprise for me and to wear black, sunglasses and shoes that covered my feet. So, when we were all ready to leave, he took me out in front of the house and lo and behold, he had a Harley Davidson motorcycle waiting for us! Ha! He is SOOO fun. We borrowed helmets from a friend and headed down the backroads to Solomon where we ate at "La Paloma" and talked and laughed. It was a fun evening I'll never forget! Dave told me later that he planned on borrowing a special sports car from his friend who owns the GMC dealership in town. That car wasn't available anymore, but said he had a Harley that just arrived that day. So, Dave borrowed the Harley and came home and surprised me with a totally fun night. And just so you know, I wasn't taking the pictures, our kids did. Here are the best shots we have!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
MISSING DAVE!
Dave is gone to a week long scout camp called NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) all week, yes 7 days, and I am MISSING HIM! He hasn't been gone this long since he went to HU (Hamburger University) for two weeks during our first year of marriage. He was asked to be on this committee to get this leadership training going in our area, and it's a great thing for the young men. It is basically a Woodbadge for young men. So, it's a wonderful thing he's doing, and that is the only thing that makes it easier for me to let him go. He is such a fun, loving type of guy to have around, not to mention so handsome and so cute! He is the epitome of the song "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!" All the children (who are capable of running), run to the door when they hear the door bell ring anytime after 5:00 P.M, which is his normal "come home time". And more than fun and loving, HE DOES DISHES! HE COOKS! He's good at putting the kids to bed. He keeps our house hopping with his humor and energy. He is also a good listener, and knows when I just need to talk. I miss him and I have 4 more days to go. So, in honor of Dave, (who LOVES having this blog), I want to post some of our pictures from our last trip together. We took a trip to Orlando, Florida for the McDonald's World Wide Convention this past April. It was a definately fun trip together. And it wouldn't have mattered where we went, just being together was great. I love being married to him! Here are some pictures from our trip.
We took 8 month old nursing Dane with us. He was a great little traveler, not to mention a good conversation starter. We forget how some people aren't around babies that much and just LOVE them. This is his first "run in" with Ronald. He's not sure what to think!
And of course, we had to take a group shot. Ronald is Cool!
This "free" rental car upgrade made us feel OLD! Dave said, "Now I know what it feels like to be a 65 year old white man."
This is Dave's favorite photo of this whole trip, all because of the HOT SPOT sign. He couldn't wait to get our picture taken by it! See that excitement in his smile? I love that about him. It's my LEAST favorite shot, but hey, Dave's worth it.
Just hanging out with Dave on the Convention Floor was great! I got listen to Dave talk McDonald's stuff with his fellow operator's and friends in the business. Someday I hope to actually be a part of the conversations and know what I'm talking about! For now, I'm a stay at home mom, supporting my cool husband on his business trips, so he won't be lonely.
We took 8 month old nursing Dane with us. He was a great little traveler, not to mention a good conversation starter. We forget how some people aren't around babies that much and just LOVE them. This is his first "run in" with Ronald. He's not sure what to think!
And of course, we had to take a group shot. Ronald is Cool!
This "free" rental car upgrade made us feel OLD! Dave said, "Now I know what it feels like to be a 65 year old white man."
This is Dave's favorite photo of this whole trip, all because of the HOT SPOT sign. He couldn't wait to get our picture taken by it! See that excitement in his smile? I love that about him. It's my LEAST favorite shot, but hey, Dave's worth it.
Dane was such a fun, easy baby on this trip! On the airplane I was able to bring the carseat for him to sleep in. Everytime he got tired, I just fed him, put him in his carseat and WALA! He was asleep! And that's how it was this WHOLE trip. It was fun to just adore him for 5 days. And that's what it was...adoring adorable Dane.
Just hanging out with Dave on the Convention Floor was great! I got listen to Dave talk McDonald's stuff with his fellow operator's and friends in the business. Someday I hope to actually be a part of the conversations and know what I'm talking about! For now, I'm a stay at home mom, supporting my cool husband on his business trips, so he won't be lonely.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
GRAND CANYON OR BUST!!
We finally made it to the Grand Canyon! It was SOOO beautiful! I've been waiting my whole life to see this place and it was worth every penny we spent to get there. Every trip to visit nature is a total success, the kids LOVED it! Here we are, a big family of seven! We love it!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Polar Bear Swim 2008
Diane asked that we post the video clip of the Polar Bear Swim.
The plan was to swim down and back which sounded like a good idea at the time. I should note that the water temperature was in the high 30's. The day before the swim the water temp was 35 with a thin sheet of ice on the surface. As you can see we all followed Don's lead...in and out of the pool (down not back). Not to mention his leading all of us into the house squealing like little girls.
For those of you that think this was foolish and a potential health risk, I'll have you know that safety was top of mind as we had a medical professional (Don) on site observing the event. He assured me that we had nothing to worry about as long as our hearts were strong, otherwise the shock of cold water could send our hearts into fibrillation.
Other than knowing that we all have strong hearts, describing the swim is difficult to put into words. Let just say it was a man kind of pain...awesome! Being in the water for even a few seconds chilled us to the bone for several minutes after being out of the water. The sunrise on the horizon adds a nice touch.
I should quote Lance Armstrong while training for his marathon, "pain is temporary." It simply must be experienced, so be here on New Years Day next year to join the club.
Diane asked that we post the video clip of the Polar Bear Swim.
The plan was to swim down and back which sounded like a good idea at the time. I should note that the water temperature was in the high 30's. The day before the swim the water temp was 35 with a thin sheet of ice on the surface. As you can see we all followed Don's lead...in and out of the pool (down not back). Not to mention his leading all of us into the house squealing like little girls.
For those of you that think this was foolish and a potential health risk, I'll have you know that safety was top of mind as we had a medical professional (Don) on site observing the event. He assured me that we had nothing to worry about as long as our hearts were strong, otherwise the shock of cold water could send our hearts into fibrillation.
Other than knowing that we all have strong hearts, describing the swim is difficult to put into words. Let just say it was a man kind of pain...awesome! Being in the water for even a few seconds chilled us to the bone for several minutes after being out of the water. The sunrise on the horizon adds a nice touch.
I should quote Lance Armstrong while training for his marathon, "pain is temporary." It simply must be experienced, so be here on New Years Day next year to join the club.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
We Started the year with a splash!!!
Crazy Dave and his crazy brother-in-law Don, and his crazy supervisor Kenny started the year with a "splash" by starting the first annual "New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim" in our backyard pool. They actually swam across the pool in 40 degree water, at 7:30 in the morning! Out of the 10 guys he invited, these are the brave souls to be the first to "take the plunge". It was quite entertaining to watch these guys prepare themselves physically and mentally in the kitchen before proceeding into the backyard. This is the BEFORE shot, you should see the actual video. (Notice they're still smiling and the snow-capped mountains in the background!) Dave said it invigorates the mind, body, AND spirit. For those of you who are up for a thrill next New Year's day morning, you know where to go.
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