The Dare!

We took the kids to the Belagio yesterday to look at their conservatory and to watch a water show. As any one that has lived in or visited Vegas before knows, it attracts all kinds. While we were at the conservatory, we saw this guy that had on... well just look at the picture. His hair was shaven about three to four inches up all the way around. But to top it off, it came to a point in the back. He was clearly happy with the way he looked and it was almost as though he wanted the attention. So we gave it to him!! I dared Raegan to ask him if she could have a picture with him and I'd give her $5. To my suprise she said ok. It was quite funny. Anything for a buck I guess.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADE!!!

Monday was Cade's birthday!! He turned 5. He also shares his birthdate with Papa Kempton and his Aunt Randa. So a big Happy Birthday to them also!! We had a little party for Cade, a pirate party, the previous Friday. There was balloon swordfighting(don't look at them to close because mom was a first timer)
, pin the flag on the pirate ship, cupcake decorating, a treasure hunt, and of course the gifts. There was a mean crew of pirates when all was through. But everyone had a fun time.

Thankful Thursday

Well call me a copy cat because I love the idea of Thankful Thursday, for those of you that do that. Let the list begin: I'm thankful that...
~ Cade didn't wet through his pull up last night. I am so sick of washing bedding!
~ Lani's mom did playgroup today. I finally have some peace and quiet in the house until the rest of the kids start trickling in. THANK YOU!
~ I am on the last few Christmas cards. The mailman has got to hate the holidays.
~ I was actually able to shower at 7am instead of 2pm or later.
~ Kennedi's poem reading at the school program this morning was first and only lasted 2 minutes so I snuck out and finished some shopping.
~ I get to hear Raegan play the violin tonight(she is in the Chamber Orchestra at school)
~ I get to hear Halli and Kendal play the violin(Halli)and viola(Kendal) tonight, which should be tricky since they are scheduled to start 30 min. after Raegans.
I'm thankful for a warm home and loving family.

Our little MONKEY, growing so fast!

Briggs 2nd Birthday!!

Yippee! Brigg is two years old today(that means one more year until he can start preschool! Not that I'm counting or anything). He started the day by sleeping in until 8:00. That was a first. What a good boy. But that didn't last long. The terrible twos have been in full swing for a while now. Just to give you an idea of everyday life at the Kempton home, we have to keep all doors that can lock, locked-especially the bathroom and front door. If not locked he can often be found on the bathroom counter with water running full blast or giving himself a swirly in the toilet(so far it has always been flushed beforehand), filling the toilet with the entire roll of toilet paper(did you know that you can unroll an entire roll in only a matter of seconds?), or filling it with other misc. items he can quickly get ahold of. Or we might find him on top of the washing machine filling it with laundry soap, or inside the dryer at 11:30 p.m.(therefore we had to purchase the "crib tent", which was the best puchase of my life!). If we hear the front door and can't locate Brigg immediately then he can be found running down the street to his best friend Grayson's house or knocking on the door of our elderly neighbors house hoping they will give him a popsicle(which they always do). His nickname is MONKEY. And today on his birthday he learned another trick. He scales the front door just enough to be able to unlock it. What next!?

Brigg loves brownies so that was what he got in place of a cake.

Although Brigg is extremely busy and keeps mom from getting a whole lot done, he has brought so much love and joy into our home.

"Red Breakfast"

Today is December 1. It's one of the days my kids look forward to every year because we have our traditional "Red Breakfast". To those of you who are wondering what exactly that means well let me give you a quick overview. This is a tradition that we carried on from Rich's family.
It is one that helps us start the Christmas season off thinking about Christ. We set our table with red place settings(tablecloth, plates, goblets). The kids love it because this is the only time we break out the red goblets and also the only time we make ebelskivers. Ebelskivers is somewhat like a pancake but you must use a special pan that transforms them into a complete ball. You can fill them with jellies or creams or chocolate while you are cooking them. These are significant because they are a Danish food and Rich's ancestry is from Denmark. Along with these we have fruit, hash browns, eggs, bacon, and even pull out doughnuts to top it off. As we eat we talk about the signifiance of the color red (the first color of Christmas~symbolizing the Saviors sacrifice for all), and other things that signify the true meaning of Christmas. My kids love this tradition!! And no matter what day of the week it falls on we still wake up early enough to do it before everyone has to be off to school or whatever else.

We would love to hear of any fun Christmas traditions anyone has.