Pinewood Derby

Graydon had his Pinewood Derby about a week and a half ago.  His car is the green #7 on the left.  Curtis and Bella also made cars for the 'friends and family' race.


Each car raced eight times.


Graydon's car came in first for each race!


He received a medal and a small trophy.


After his den raced, the older dens got their turn. At the end of all that, it was the championship race among all of the winners.








Graydon took 3rd place out of the whole pack and won another trophy!


Now he's heading to the District Pinewood Derby this Saturday!


Getting Bella's car ready for the friends & family race.




Who's gonna be the winner?


Curtis!!


And Curtis again!






Curtis really hoping that he'll get another win.


He did!


His shirt even matched his car. (Not planned.)


Curtis was the big winner of the friends and family race! (And if we compare average times, his car was actually a tad faster than Graydon's!)  I think he might want to race at the District Friends & Family race.


Busy Saturday for this family!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We knocked out our Valentines on the weekend before Valentine's Day since our weeknights can get crazy!


I had the kids make the same Valentines this year.  So much easier.


They signed their names on the back.  I didn't leave room for those in the design.  Oops.


Sporting their pink thumbs!


I couldn't decide on one Valentine treat for our family, so I made three.





We got some cake balls at a dessert auction and devoured them.  So I decided to make some more.  They're kind of a pain to make, but definitely worth it.






Bella made cards for everyone.  She made Graydon a toolbox with little coupons inside saying things like: "I will play with you." "I will help you with something." Super sweet.


She made Curtis a heart-kitty card.  I don't think I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but Curtis kind of has a thing for "kitties".  And he likes to pretend that he is one.  It all started last summer when Graydon was pretending to be a dog.  He played the part of "kitty".  They both drank from bowls that Bella placed on the floor.  And I guess it kind of stuck.  He brings up "kitties" SO MUCH and likes to refer to himself as one.  He has since earned the nickname "Curtis-Kitty".  It only made sense for Bella to make him a kitty card.


And she made one for me and Andy too. :)


We surprised the kids with little gifts.  Graydon has been enjoying the show Lion Guard, and specifically the character, Bunga.  Back in January, he said that he wanted to get a Bunga toy.  Christmas and his birthday had just passed, so I told him that he could buy it with his own money, but that he'd have to wait.  He chose a date and then put "Graydon Bunga toy" on the calendar.  He was quite surprised and excited to get his Bunga toy early and as a gift.  Bunga is a Honey Badger and he stinks like a skunk (on the show).  Thankfully, our Bunga doesn't stink!  


Whenever we take long trips in the car, Bella gets headaches and often complains that the boys are making too much noise.  So we got her some ear muffs.  She'll still hear noise, but hopefully it won't be as bad.


Curtis got a voice changer.  This one is a bit louder than I realized, but he's having a lot of fun with it!


Andy got me some flowers and I bought him a bleacher seat for when we go to basketball games.


And he surprised me by telling me that we're going to get a fireplace in the living room! I've always wanted a fireplace and it is the only thing that our house is missing.  I'm so excited!

My Cousin's Wedding. . . and other Kilps happenings

Our kids have kept the tooth fairy very busy during these past few weeks.  Graydon lost two teeth and Curtis and Bella each lost one!

Graydon's second top tooth looking oh so loose!


Curtis was so fearful of losing a tooth that he never tried, even with its replacement already halfway grown in.  Then during our drive up to Wisconsin, he sipped on a milkshake and the straw put enough pressure on this super loose tooth that it just came out.  No pain and no blood.  Just the way he wanted it.  But if he continues at this rate, he may still have baby teeth when he heads off to college!

I tried to take a photo of him later that evening, but you can hardly tell that he lost a tooth since his adult tooth was already mostly grown in.


Nora and Grandma relaxing together on a Saturday morning.


The two first-graders and their missing top teeth.


The main reason we went up to Wisconsin at the end of January was for my cousin, Bridget's, wedding.  Here are three of my sisters at the wedding.


Andy officiated


Introducing Brett & Bridget Bjorn!


Their wedding took place at a museum that overlooked Lake Michigan. (By the way, this happy couple right here just got engaged last night in Chicago!  Another family wedding to look forward to!)


Aaron wasn't feeling very well this day, but he was a trooper!


My new favorite picture of us.


Mary and our parents. :)


Hanging out with the fam at the reception.  I love our family!


















Congratulations Bjorns!!!


Bella received another American Girl doll and a Bitty Baby from Gaga recently.  One Saturday morning, I found her and Curtis the dolls, and Curtis's kitty enjoying a special breakfast.


I found them snuggling together a different morning.  I love witnessing the friendships develop between the kids.


We accidentally locked ourself out of our house and had to break in. The only window that wasn't locked was the one over our sink. Bella took one for the team (and then Graydon followed her in because he wanted to break in too).


Graydon lost his other top tooth! Andy pulled it out at Cracker Barrel on our last morning in Wisconsin.  

Graydon and I enjoyed lunch in my classroom at school one day.  Bella (and some of her friends) usually join me at least once a week.  Seeing them throughout the day is one of the greatest perks of my job. Also, Graydon gave himself a haircut, which is why his bangs are SO short!