we are definitely hooked...

we have been camping twice this month and we are addicted! our friends, the andersons, meet us up there and we have a blast! this time my dad went along and nick's dad and barb met us up there (they "camped" at the lodge down the street!). we have the best time and the kids do nothing but play, play, play and we all go on ranger and quad rides... so much fun! these pictures are from this past weekend...

he loves to ride... his first time and he is so good!

beautiful girl

he wants to play for the d-backs, i think he has a shot!

silly kiddos

i love this picture! that's elsa, she and ethan were "married" by their older sisters last 4th of July... they are inseperable and they have so much fun together, so cute! that's a pop gun... no ammo and they are not allowed to "pow peoples" or it's gone!

do you think that they love each other!? this is nick's dad... he's awesome!

happy tuesday!

a

three things you don't know about me...

the blog hop this week is "3 things you don't know about me"... i'm struggling to come up with them because i'm kind of an open book, but here it is...

1. i am a pretty simple person, it doesn't take much to make me happy.

2. i like odd food combinations... sour cream on lasagna, mayo on my fries, mustard and cheese on sloppy joes, i like hot dogs cut up in macaroni and cheese with ketchup mixed in.

3. i worry too much. i know almost every mom says that she worries, but i struggled with consuming anxiety and irrational fears for a long time (maybe i will post about it sometime) and have recently overcome it without medicine. i know that a lot of people require meds and i have nothing against that; anxiety is bad enough without having people judge you for the way that you function, i just never wanted medicine.

happy tuesday!
a

blog hop

i have seen so many FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHS through the "blog hop" today, so i thought i would play along...

i love this picture of em and ethan from our camping trip over the fourth! so sweet and it shows how they really are, they are so great together, just like a brother and sister should be! check out the roots on that tree stump, it was so cool that they were above ground! i love it!

happy tuesday!
a

wordless wednesday

(and a summer fun photo post all in one.... I'm all about being efficient)

happy july

a

eight

I was tagged by Hollie a very long time ago, but I was at Disneyland, probably busy spinning on the Teacups, or eating corn dogs, or kicking my husband's rear at the Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania rides. What's that? He kicked my rear? Until you can prove that, I am sticking with my story... this is, afterall, my blog.
I also weigh 120 pounds and am a natural blonde.
Really.

8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:
1. Christmas
2. The mom's group at church to start back up
3. Camping with my three favorite people :)
4. Snuggle time in the morning with my kiddos
5. Getting back into my favorite jeans
6. Re-decorating the kids bathroom and the downstairs bathroom
7. The tomatoes out of my "garden"
8. Enhancing my photography skills

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
1. Snuggled with my munchkins in the morning
2. Read
3. Drank a yummy smoothie that I made with this thing, my favorite kitchen appliance
4. Snuggled with my hubby while watching The Bachelorette... seriously, what is she thinking with Wes!?
5. Got rid of a TON of my kids clothes/ toys that they have outgrown or no longer use
6. Drank too much sweet tea in place of water (at least it's made with water)
7. Spent too much time on the computer
8. Laundry

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
1. Find a fairy that would come change the sheets (my least favorite housekeeping task, which I do twice a week because I'm kind of a freak like that)
2. Play a game of Farkle with Mrs. Ricketts
3. Spend more snuggle time with my munchkins in the morning (or all day for that matter)
4. Fly... but not on an airplane, that terrifies me.
5. Travel around the world with Nick and the munchkins for a year
6. Stop worrying
7. Magically make my hair start growing into all of the colors that it currently is (I know, I know, shocker that it's not real)
8. Find the Tiffany ring that Nick surprised me with that I lost a couple of years ago

8 SHOWS I WATCH:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. General Hospital
3. The Today Show (I really only like the opening music and the first 10 minutes)
4. The Nightly News with Brian Williams
5. The Bachelor/ Bachelorette
6. The Amazing Race (I am going to be on this with Nick and we will win, because we're cool like that)
7. Food Network... all of it, but I really love Paula and Rachael
8. Desperate Housewives (I know, I know, but I really like it)

8 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME (I'm adding this because I also got tagged with this and don't want to post seperate):
1. I'm allergic to ants
2. I like ketchup with scrambled eggs, cheese crisps and mixed in my macaroni and cheese (with hot dogs cut up in it), but not on anything else normal like a hot dog or hamburger
3. I love taking pictures of flowers
4. I think that taking showers is a waste of time (but I take them... frequently, I just don't like to)
5. I have window tint stuck in my left arm and a small spot in my left cheek... I was in a car accident almost 10 years ago, was flewn to the trauma center and received more than 500 stitches in my left arm and the left side of my face and neck and sent home within 3 hours of the accident.
6. I never had a bit of plastic surgery after the accident and the only way people know is if they see the gnarly scar on my left shoulder... I heal well, but apparently my stretch marks from bearing children didn't get that memo.
7. I wish that I could go back to my junior year spring break missions trip to Mexico and finish building the house we started. Short version... I went down there with my church youth group to build houses for extremely poor people, but we only got to pour the foundation before a massive hurricane rolled in and we had to leave 4 days early. I cried for weeks.
8. I try to aviod drama. Unless, of course, it's this kind.

8 PEOPLE I TAG
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
and you... just leave me a comment one thing (or eight if you would like) that you wish you could do... please.

happy tuesday
a

thoughts on a tuesday

i just read this post over at mckmama's blog and it struck a bit of a chord with me.

we all have things that we struggle with. we all have people that we struggle with. it's just a fact of life. what isn't typical in those situations is mercy. we tend to jump to conclusions when it comes to others; myself included, but i've worked on this one and i've gotten a lot better than i used to be (not patting myself on the back or getting on a soap box, just putting a little bit of me out there, and well, it is my blog.) i used to over-react to things that were said and done, whether those things were said and/ or done directly to me. i've changed. i've outgrown that. it really has nothing to do with me and everything to do with Him and the mercy that He has shown me.

anyway, i like the post and i like the story. now if only we could track down the guy that was "looking out" for us and took our lawnmower and weed whacker out of our driveway last summer so that nobody would steal it...

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44-45

happy tuesday!
a

happy wednesday

(i didn't feel like digging any deeper for a catchier title)

i love the piano. i love the cello. i pretty much love any instrument and the beatiful sounds that a skilled artist can produce with something that is otherwise useless.
when i was a little girl i wanted to learn to play piano and took lessons for a bit. turns out that i really loved being able to play, but i didn't like my teacher and i didn't like to practice. unfortunately, my piano skills are very limited.
i came across this video of two very talented artists and i love it. i could play this on repeat all day and blast it throughout the house; i think it is beautiful and it just makes me happy.
i hope that you enjoy it as much as i do (and remember to pause the playlist at the bottom of the page).

happy wednesday!
a

the best 30th birthday ever...

tuesday was my 30th birthday and my amazing husband planned a great celebration for me. he has been asking me for months what i wanted to do for my birthday because he wanted to do something special since it was the big 3-0!
well, he really out-did himself! last friday we loaded up and headed to california for five straight days of fun... at DISNEYLAND! and to make it even better, nick's dad and stepmom, barb, had a last minute vacation cancellation and were able to join us!
we had the most amazing time and turning thirty is a breeze when you are acting like a kid, i highly recommend it!
i took a ton of pictures, so instead of boring you with a post of 60+ pictures i made up a slideshow.

happy thursday!
a

little miss' turn

emily has been waiting patiently for months for her hair to be long enough to cut and donate to locks of love. she has wanted it cut like mine for so long but was willing to wait. she is so sweet and i am so proud of her for thinking of this. it just shows her heart. today was the day and she and i both had our hair done today. we had so much fun!
i will have to post better pictures of what she looks like tomorrow, but couldn't wait to get this up. the back of her hair is so cute and she can't stop playing with it and has combed her hair for probably a total of an hour just because it feels so new and neat to her that it is short!

happy wednesday!
a

signs of summer...

little man has a new "do"...

before... he has no idea what he's in for

where's my hair?

my tough guys!

sweet little man!

happy friday!
a

more graduation pics...

these are from saturday's graduation.

Congratulations Class of 2009!

Wednesday was so nice and the graduation was great! Everything worked out really well and we all ended up where we were supposed to be. Getting to and from the stadium was a bit of a mess logistically, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of exercise!

President Obama spoke at the graduation. Regardless of your own personal political views, it was a really neat experience to be in the same place as the President of the United States of America and his speech was pretty great. We had great seats, but the view of the podium was blocked by the speakers. Nick said that his view from the field was blocked with teleprompters, so I guess it didn't really matter where we sat, the big screens were probably the best way to see.

I didn't take my zoom lens becuase I was afraid that it would get broken in the crowds so I didn't get great close up pictures, but I wanted to share some of what I did get. I hope you all have a great weekend!

The individual school graduation is tomorrow and they will call Nick's name to go up and receive a fake rolled up diploma (they mail the real one), and I will definitely post pictures of that too!

Happy Friday!
a

I would try to point Nick out, but really... all that matters is that he's down there!

Pat (my stepdad), me, Susan (Nick's mom), Lindsey (Nick's sis), Barb (Nick's stepmom), Virgil (Nick's dad)
I thought it was funny that they asked people to turn off phones and pagers... who has a pager?

At the back of the stage, btw the two flags are Obama and the President of ASU

Obama speaking

Obama comissioned the ROTC graduates, which I thought was really neat. Gore spoke and comissioned Nick when he graduated from West Point. You can see all of the ROTC grads in from of the stage. Such brave men and women!

My graduate!

Maroon and Gold...

Today is such a special day for us; one that we have been looking forward to for two long years... today Nick graduates with his MBA from The WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University!

Nick has always wanted to get his MBA, (I remember talking about it with him before he even graduated from West Point!) and two and a half years ago we made the decision that the time was right for our family. The kids were young and the two nights a week in class were "do-able" for us with little activities such as sports and school events. We knew that it would be really difficult at times and that there was no turning back and no giving up once we started... we were in it for the long haul.

I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am. Nick gave up so many things that he wanted or wanted to do because of school and he had the best attitude the entire time. There were countless days that he had to skip family funtions, stay up until midnight or later (on top of working full time and the four hours in class two nights a week), so many weekends given up for group projects and meetings, electives that he was in for four hours four nights a week and then eight hours on Saturday (during the holidays), and he would sit at the table or lock himself in our office when the only thing he wanted to do was play with the kids or sit back and relax. There was a week that he had to be in Tucson for a training session for work, but he also had to be at school in Phoenix on Tuesday and Thursday. He worked all day, drove the two hours to Phx for class then drove back to Tucson after class for training the next day. He made up classes when he traveled, which sometimes had him away every night of the week and he studied while on business trips instead of enjoying time to himself or with his associates.

He walked a fine line with a smile on his face and I could write all day about all of the sacrifices that he made for this dream, but I can't tell you what this has meant for our family and I will never be able to put into words how proud I am of him for this!

Go Devils!
a

happy monday!

i'm kind of a monday girl. i like the start to a new work (or not) and school week. i like that it feels like a fresh start with so many things to do throughout the week and i'm ready to begin! so many great opportunities to laugh, have fun, be kind, take pictures, smile, play, show the love of Jesus to others, smile, give thanks, read, plant flowers, smell flowers...

my cuties on easter

i love my flowers

happy monday!
a

wordless wednesday

i've been playing around with photoshop and i like the brightness of this picture!
also, this is my 123rd post... one. two. three. is significant in our family, thanks to kevin!

happy wednesday!

a (123)

happy birthday honey!

31 things that i love about nick (because 7 just isn't enough!)...

1. he would rather spend time with me and the kids than do anything else

2. he is courageous

3. he has the ability to step back and look at situations as an outsider

4. he never loses his temper

5. he doesn't make fun of me for taking a glass of water to our room every night, even though i never drink any of it

6. he doesn't mind if i misplace his chapstick

7. he's smarter than all get out

8. he has more motivation than anybody i know

9. he puts his dirty clothes in the laundry room

10. he loves his mom

11. he tears up when the kids do something cute, or when em writes him the sweetest notes

12. he notices when i get new clothes

13. he can make me laugh even if i don't feel like it

14. he responds, he doesn't react

15. stucco

16. he bought me a great camera when i said that i was tired of my pictures not being "scrap-worthy"

17. if i were to ever accidentally hit somebody's car in the parking garage and he had to take the guy a load of cash to cover the repairs, i'm sure he wouldn't get upset with me (this is just a hypothetical, i have never done such a thing)

18. he likes disneyland as much as i do

19. he thinks i'm a great cook

20. he wants to be on the amazing race with me

21. he's super handy

22. he tears it up on rockband

23.he took me to get my nose pierced last may and he went in with me for support, but then said that he couldn't believe that the guy was going to stick a needle that big in my nose ;)

24. he gives really good back massages

25. he proposed to me at the same place that we first kissed

26. he fought for our country

27. he makes the world's best burgers and i'm not the only one that thinks so

28. he loves my mom

29. he doesn't make fun of me for repainting a room for the fifth time

30. he always has something fun planned to do with the kids

31. he just loves me...

happy birthday babe!

a

i finally added pictures to em's birthday post! yes, it's 1am. no, i can't sleep.

happy thursday!
a

trip to the zoo

ethan and i took a trip to the zoo with some friends today. it was so beautiful outside and we had a great time! i wish that emily would have been with us. i gave her the choice... zoo or school... what second grader choses school over the zoo? mine.

happy tuesday!
a

although i'm more of a daisy girl, i had to get a picture of him in the rose garden

he wasn't so happy about standing with the farmer
enough pictures, mom

Jesus HAS overcome...

Happy Easter!
The Kahler Family

Remember to pause the music at the bottom of the page

seven on the seventh...

today is our seventh wedding anniversary! in honor of seven years, i decided to write seven things that i love about nick, although i could write for days about how much i love him...

1. he is the best dad on the planet.

2. he is selfless.

3. he stands right beside me no matter what.

4. he listens to me vent

5. he has a hard time going to sleep if i'm not in bed with him; we have gone to bed at the same time almost every night that we have been married.

6. he wakes me up every morning to kiss me before he goes to work.

7. he shined my kitchen sink before i got home from vegas sunday... those are really two... he wants me to have my girl time and he values the things that are important to me.

my dad was right... i couldn't have done any better ;)

happy anniversary honey!

a

us, of course

yes... 21 people!

my flower girls... look how little em was!

he was singing to me... couldn't get any sweeter than that!