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

This picture needs no comments ...

GG turns 86!

Happy Birthday GG! On May 24th, GG celebrated her 86th birthday, but the family celebrated on Memorial Day at Mom and Dad's house. We had a tasty steak dinner and GG got gift cards, lumbar supports for her office chair (where she checks and sends email daily) and a scrapbook album from the Guthrie Gang. The challenge of the day: Blowing out all those candles!

Not-so-beachy day

We took the boys, Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mark to the Del Mar beach on Camp Pendleton. While there was no Memorial Day crowd in sight, niether was the sun. A bummer for me, since I was hoping to work on my currently non-existant tan. The boys didn't seem to notice the chilly 64 degrees. Will got his fill of salt water and Xan was beside himself with all the opportunities the big sandbox offered. Rodney was his usual (at least lately) cheerful self. He still isn't too fond of sand, thanks to his trips to Iraq.

Sandbox weather

It's been quite nice here lately, with temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Will and Xan have been taking advantage of it at Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Mark's house, playing in their turtle sandbox.

Cousin Gerry Stops By

Grandma Ginia's cousin Gerry visited the family this week, pausing for a rambunctious dinner at my parents' house. The boys were quite busy and animated, but seemed to enjoy her company. Gerry is always fun to talk to, as she has traveled all over the world, frequently to Tibet, and most recently to the Panama Canal. I hope our evening was a pleasant end to her month-long vacation away from her Albuquerque home.

Popcorn Fan!

Like his Mommy, Xan is a big fan of popcorn. In fact he is quite serious about helping himself - and I DO mean HELP HIMSELF. Xan will not allow anyone help him with much of anything he thinks he can do for himself. (Gee, does this sound like someone you all know and love?) This includes: Choosing his own popcorn pieces (he will not accept the ones handed to him), spooning his own ice cream (he will turn his face away if you try to feed him) and opening as many front doors as possible (we will stand there for ages while he continues to try to twist the door knob open.) For now, I'm enjoying Xan's independent streak. When he's a teenager, I'm not so sure ...

We'll Miss You Guys!

Our "Marine Corps" friends Chris and Michi Stephenson are being transfered to Cherry Point in North Carolina. The good news is they have purchased a very cute 3-bedroom house and their payment will be just slightly higher than what they pay here for a one-bedroom apartment. The bad news is they are moving away from us. While we didn't get to see each other much more than every couple of months, we always managed to just pick up where we left off.

We all met in summer 2004 when Rodney and Chris were assigned to the same MEU (aircraft carrier trip to the Middle East) and had to train for it. Michi and I became fast friernds when we drove to Yuma, Az., to visit the boys while they were there training. Michi is Austrian, so I found her stories about growing up, becoming an au pair, and meeting Chris facsinating. She tolerated my stories about whatever happened to come to my mind at the time while we drove for four hours at a time.

We had our good-bye dinner last night at the Irvine Spectrum. As always, we had a good time. So good, in fact, that it didn't occur to me that I wouldn't see them for a long time until it was time to say good-bye for the night. It was such a bummer to realize that it wasn't just for the night, after all. Best wishes to you both and we are definitely planning to visit! Be sure to hold us to it!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day has been quite lovely so far. I got some much-needed sleep, sleeping in until noon. Rodney gave me a dozen roses and a gift card to Angels Scrapbook Garden. Will made me a heart-shaped box with candy in it. (Will helped himself to the single piece of chocolate, but that was fine - less for me to add to my butt.) Will took this picture of me with the card he made at preschool. All the boys got me a card and some tasty Ralphs cupcakes. After I upload these pictures to the blog, I am heading out to the scrap room to scrap the day away! Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Aunt Gina's Baby Shower

Mom and I hosted a baby shower at Mom;'s house for Gina, who is expecting Brandon Han Kasal at the end of June. There were about 14 ladies present to play games, eat and watch Gina open her gifts. The games we played were:
1: Everyone got a Lifesaver pacifier to wear around her neck. If she said the word "baby" (in English OR Korean!) the person who caught her, got her pacifier. The one with the most pacifiers at the end of the party won!
2: Using a ball of yarn, everyone estimated how big around Gina was. The one who cut their string the closest to Gina's circumference, won!
3: Mixed in with a bowl of uncooked rice was 250 mini safety pins. Each person was blindfolded, one at a time, and had to pull out as many safety pins as they could in 30 seconds!
4. There was a tray of baby items that everyone got to look at for 10 seconds, In two minutes, they had to write down all the items they could remember.

We ate a homemade baby carriage cake and watched Gina open all of her fabulous gifts. Everyone seemed to have a great time! A big thanks to everyone!