The Kids Continue to Enjoy Their Summer Fun ...

The kids are still in Illinois, having a blast. Will has become quite the swimmer, swimming to the bottom of the pool to grab stuff and swimming across the pool without a problem. Xan loves to go feed Grandpa Bill's "moos" in the morning and No. 21 lets him pet her. Both boys enjoy chasing the kittens around Grandma Peggy's house. Rodney and I are looking forward to seeing them soon!

More pics of Brandon - awake!

August 8: Brandon spends every Wednesday night and Grandma Nancy's so his parents can get some sleep. I happened to stop by and, for once, Brandon was awake and happy when I was there. At least for a few minutes ... so I snapped some photos of him gazing around and "talking" to Grandma. He'll be two months old on the 18th.

www.Kits2Remember.com

Since being laid off three weeks ago, I have put my nose to the grindstone and my fingers to the laptop to create a scrap site: www.Kits2Remember.com. I invite you to cruise around and take a peek at what I have been up to. It just went live today!

Jessica's Cousin Marianne and family visit!

One of my cousins on my Dad's side of the family, Marianne, was vacationing from her home in South Carolina, visitng family, Disneyland, etc. and stopped by our house. She was accompanied by her husband, John, and daughters, Alyssa and Amanda. It was great to see them, since the last time we saw each other was at Rodney's and my wedding in 2000. Amdanda, pictured here trying to eat corn with no top front teeth, was just a baby then. Rodney and I are already making plans to visit, maybe next spring, so we can check out the 35-acre ranch they just bought to train and board horses on!

Brandon is 6 Weeks old ...

and is giving his parents a run for their money! He doesn;t rwally like to sleep through the night yet, so no one around him is getting enough sleep. Aunt Jessica loves seeing him during visits, but is truly enjoying the restful nights of sleep with Will and Xan kicking up their heels in Illinois!

Summertime

Will and Xan's Aunt Jilly sent us some picture of the (very tanned!) boys as they enjoy the family in Illinois. Both Jill and Uncle Jim celebrated birthdays on Saturday and it looks like the entire family was present for the festivities! Green beans are growing in abundance there right now - and apparently they are quite patriotic. Both Rodney and I are looking forward to visiting next month, too!

Now that I have some free time ...

Well, last Friday I was laid off from my job at NRPI ... my position was eliminated, which really wasn't a huge suprise to me since my supervisor and friend, Nan, had been laid off about 90 days prior. So, Friday I came home and applied for unemployment. Sunday night and Monday, I sent out some resumes and applied to a handful of jobs online.

We'll see what the future has in store, but for now, I am focusing on looking at the available jobs in the area online, scrapbooking and doing stuff that I didn't have time for. I did my regular shopping at Costco and Walmart on a Tuesday afternoon (no crowds!!), reorganized my very messy kitchen pantry and went to work on base with Rodney yesterday. I finally got to see where Rodney works and what a day there is like for him. He and his crew were good sports about me tagging along. The photo of us is in the radar room, in front of the arrival scope. Now I have a better understanding of what he is talking about when he comes home!

A Young Boy's Idea of Heaven ...

Will and Xan's Aunt Jill sent these photos to Rodney and I today. Both boys had a ball riding in their (Great-)Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda's combine as they cut the winter wheat. So much fun, in fact, they both crashed while they rode around! As for the pictures, that's Grandma Peggy packing Xan around. Xan is sitting in Aunt Brenda's lap, trying to drive, and Will is showing off his 5-year-old independence, climbing up the combine steps unaided. The boys have been in Illinois since Thursday. I've actually caught up on some sleep, gone through my scrap stuff from CKU three weeks ago and let Rodney know we'll be cleaning out the garage to celebrate 4th of July! Fun stuff for us!

Cool Dude

Xan was quite the cool little dude with his new shades he wore around the Spectrum. He left them on longer than I thought he would, especially when someone stopped to comment - the little ham!

Plus, the "cool" factor had already been put on display at Big Brother Will's graduation ceremony. Xan found Mom's calculator in her purse and immediately attempted to make a phone call. Since most of the people he would call were already in attendance, it is anyone's guess as to who he was trying to contact.

I got my new car!

I am very excited to say that I am the proud owner of a 2007 Ford Exploer Limited, in a lovely shade of black. It has all the bells and whistles a girl could ask for, as well as a soon-to-be-installed DVD player and headrest screens for the kids! Everyone seems to like it, including Will, who can't wait for the DVD to be installed (although he will probably be in Illinois for the summer by the time it is put in) and Xan, who just had to take it for a "test drive" himself!

The (Preschool) Graduate

Will graduated from Woodcrest Preschool on Friday, singing a number of songs, and marching proudly in to "Pomp and Circumstance." He recieved his diploma from his teacher, Ms. Lynette, but we made sure to get a shot of him with his other teacher, Ms. Eileen, as well. He got a cute little graduate stuffed bear, as well as his own red mortar board to keep. Mom, Dad, Xan, Gma and Gpa Kasal and Gma and Gpa Guthrie, as well as GG were all in attendance (sweating profusely in the afternoon heat on the playground asphault, I might add) to witness the achievement. Will is very excited about attending Kindergarten next year!

Backyard Wildlife

In preparation for Rodney's folks coming in to town, I decided I would clean up the backyard a bit, taking the boys with me to play. I headed around the back corner of the house, looking fir stay dog toys to pick up. One oddly-shaped toy stood out to me, and all of a sudden I took a quick step back: "Woo ... that's a snake!" Not only was it a snake, but it was a snake that was squeezing the life out of a small rodent. After my initial shock, I, of course, grabbed my camera and then then boys so they could take a look at our backyard wildlife. The good news: It was an interesting science lesson, watching the snake swallow the mouse/rat whole and then slither away. The bad news was that I now know I have snakes and rodents in my backyard. However, the snake did not appear dangerous as it did not have any rattles or fangs. In fact, it looked more like someone's 2-foot pet python who might have escaped. My Dad said I am to keep an eye out for it and then catch it as a pet for him. I don't think my snake-phobic mother would appreciate my gift much, considering she is known for running foot-long garder snakes over (and over and over and over) with a lawn mower.

Baby Brandon has Arrived!

Jessica is now an Aunt and Rodney is now an Uncle! All 9 pounds and 5 ounces, as well as 21 inches, of Brandon Han Kasal arrived at 11:59 a.m. June 18, healthy and perfect. Both Mom and baby are doing well, albeit a little tired. Gina, Joe and Grandma Nancy arrived at the hospital at 2:30 a.m., followed by Mrs. Lee and Katie at around 7 a.m. The boys visited their new cousin around 6 p.m. Will was very intrigued by Baby Brandon, checking out evry inch of him, patting his chubby cheeks and asking a lot of questions. Xan was more interested in the closet mirror in the room, but took time to glance at the baby once in a while. Gentle he wasn't when he patted the baby's head, but Brandon was a good sport and just grimaced a bit. With two older cousins, he better get used to a little abuse!

Jessica's back from CKU!

And boy, did she have fun! For more info and pics, visit Jessica's Scrap Happenings blog at www.jessicaguthrie.blogspot.com.

Gina's Mom is in town

Mrs. Lee, sister-in-law Gina's Mom, flew in from Korea on Saturday morning. She had supper with the very loud, animated Kasal Clan and managed not to go crazy! We like her already ... While all communication has to be translated though Gina, or her sister, Katie, we still managed to get the basic essentials across. Xan was tortured with a traditional Korean 1-year-birthday baby boy outfit. He hates having his clothes changed, so he was pretty tolerant, really. And the family resemblance is very strong, as you see mother and daughters seated together. Mrs. Lee (Gina's maiden name is Han, but in Korea, the wives keep their last names, while the children, as in America, take the father's name) is scheduled to remian in the States for 6 weeks, so she can meet her newest grandson. Gina's older brother, who lives in Korea with his wife, already has two children, a boy and girl.

'Sketti Face

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