Most Recent Family Picture

My Wonderful Husband

Ryan did the sweetest thing last night when he came home from work...he cleaned the kitchen...putting the dishes from the dishwasher away and reloading it and wiping down the stove and cleaning the pan and pot that were on it as well. How sweet is that? I wake up at 3 am because I can't sleep and walk into the kitchen for a drink and see the dishes emptied out of the sink and the dishwasher unloaded and the reload begun...I was so excited I almost went in and woke him up to tell him how wonderful he is and to thank him but, I curved my excitement and decided to let him get his sleep.
I just wanted to share how wonderful this man is...

The Antics of Steff

Steffanie has some new things she's been up to. She's been quite the little stinker lately really. Her latest and most horrifying new trick is to cross the street to hang out with the neighbors or to follow the dog across the street. It completely scares the crap out of Ryan and I since we know she's not watching for cars. I read that kids don't really grasp that they even need to really pay attention to oncoming cars until they are 8 years old...so being 3, she's quite far off from that understanding. We've tried all the tricks to keep her from going into the street but to no avail. So, if you have any ideas please send us an email...

She has also gotten pretty brave and just goes downstairs anytime she pleases...which is of great fear for us since she always makes it into our office and she gets into everything. She keeps cutting up my calendar with the scissors and it's only a matter of time til she cuts herself...but I got smart and put them in drawer and she hasn't figured out where they are yet. Before I got smart and put the scissors out of sight she had cut her hair and my desk calendar all to pieces.

Oh...I Love My Daughter....

Steffanie Adventures

Our darling daughter did the funniest thing yesterday...see she has a new fetish with nail polish and she likes to paint her fingers, not just her nails but her whole finger. Well, she found a bottle of goldish brown polish on my vanity and decided she wanted to be pretty. So, she painted her nails or should I say, fingers and then she painted the dog...So, our dog now is a paint chihuahua. And, we can't figured out a safe way to get the paint off the dog. We've given him a bath with no success.

Our New Vehicle

Well, we did it...we bought a new car or should I say van...minivan that is. We made our purchase on the 14th through Enterprise car sales and we experienced a great car buying experience. They have been so great and so willing to completely satisfy us.
We bought a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan. It's a beautiful greenish, bluish, grey color and it's loaded with all the bells and whistles. It seats 7 and has automatic everything. Even the back doors are automatic and open by themselves. It's nice and roomy and gets great gas mileage to boot.
We are loving it more and more each day. We never thought we'd buy a minivan but we rented one and fell in love with all the room they have and how far they've come from the Econoline van. Besides, a van was the best thing for our family...So, don't tell us that we don't love our family.

Just the Latest

Well, it looks like we'll be car shopping this weekend. We've got our eyes set on a '07 Dodge Grand Caravan for now but things might change. We like how roomy the van is and Dodge has the "stow n go." We never thought we'd be van people but we rented one for a couple of days and absolutely loved it so we've changed our views. It was so roomy and big inside.
The kids are doing well. Kieran is loving Summer vacation and he hasn't seemed to get too bored yet either. His baseball team won "Grand Champs" for not losing a single game all season and they're in the playoffs. Hopefully they win the playoffs, they really deserve to. Their coach is constantly teaching them new things, for instance the last time Kieran got up to bat he placed the shoulder of his shirt in his mouth so that he'd keep his swing straight. It worked...he got a hit after having a dry spell.
Steff is doing well. She hasn't done anything too new but she's picked up "shush." If she doesn't like what we're saying she will shush us or if she's getting in trouble, the same thing, "shush." She also picked up some choice phrase that we can't be sure where she got from but it's annoying and we can't figure out how to tell her that certain words are not acceptable. OH...the joys of having a parrot...
Sadie is doing good...she has learned how to get up and down on furniture and she's working up the nerve for stairs. She gets really close to them and about scares her parents half to death. But as of yet she hasn't quite figured them out. She can go up and down them if she's already on them and crawling them but she hasn't figured out how to turn around and go down them yet. Still no talking but definitely getting more animated.
Ryan is doing well himself. He got a nice Spring bonus at work and he's building a new computer soon. So, he's a happy boy. I'm also excited because I get his "old" computer...the one he built about two years ago and then Kieran gets my "old" computer. New computers all around...
I'm doing okay...I have a bit of pain still but mostly in the mornings and evenings but things are getting better a lot faster than I thought they would. Or, maybe it's just been that long and I should be getting better..?
As you see things are going pretty well in the Krazy Kelstrom home...take care of yourselves because someone out there thinks the world of you...
Tricia

Gone Golfing

Ryan and Kieran took a day and spent time together golfing. They both had a blast and Ryan came home in a great mood and a proud papa. Ryan said Kieran was on top of his game and did a great job hitting the ball. He said he needs to work on chipping and putting but his long game is excellent. Kieran even out drove Ryan on a par 3. He was so excited that he said to Ryan's friend that was with them, "I hit it farther than my dad." He said it with such excitement Ryan said.
I'm sure glad they got out together and spent some father, son time together. They need that...and it's very good for their relationship too.

The rest of the family is doing pretty good. Steff has seemed to grow up to be a little helper lately. She loves doing things for us and she's so smart that she does them well.
Sadie has been a sweet heart but that's nothing unusual for her. She has been doing new and silly things and she's constantly got Ryan and I laughing. She's such a great addition to our family.
I am doing better and better each day. I feel a little rough in the evening after a long day of doing things but for the most part I feel pretty good. I can't wait to be able to go golfing though...
We still don't have a car but that's because we are waiting for some other money to come through so we can put a really nice down payment on a car and not have too much to finance.

Latest and Greatest

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. . .The kids are doing well. Kieran is enjoying his Summer vacation away from school and he hasn't gotten bored as of yet either. Steff is growing up but refuses to give up her blanket in spite of the fact that it literally looks like a rag. Sadie is just Sadie. She's animated and funny but she still won't talk.
Ryan is doing well. He will be building himself a new computer soon and thus I will get his old one. Which is a good thing since I somehow fried mine or it got a virus. He's been working very hard on our lawn and in the flower gardens. He keeps himself pretty busy with our half acre lawn.
I am getting better with each passing day. It still hurts to do some things but surprisingly enough, it has gotten better a lot faster than I thought it would. I haven't needed much in the way of pain management. Usually an Ibuprofen does me just fine.
The Jeep was totaled out and we got decent money for a down payment on a new vehicle. However, it will be another week or so before we are able to get to hunting for a car. Please say a prayer for us that we find a good vehicle and make a good purchase.
We all hope things are going well for everyone who reads our blog...
With Love,
Tricia