The Knechts

Want to see something precious...

2012-01-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

My sweet pants. Hello 1988.

Bells

2011-12-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

A special treat for one and all. It's tradition.

Imparting of Knowledge

2011-12-12T20:02:00.001-08:00

I learned a few things tonight so I thought I'd pass them along to you, because I care.

1 -- Pyrex is not meant to be set on an open flame.
2 -- When Pyrex explodes, it shatters into over a million pieces.
3 -- Nothing is worse than looking at an entire pan of brownies with glass shards in it, knowing it's unedible.*

*This in no way compares to the Great Ganache Spill of '08. At least we could still like the ganache off the floor, cupboards and walls.

A LITTLE TASTE OF HEAVEN

2011-12-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a little taste of Heaven. 4 day old Levi.

MORE HOME IMPROVEMENTS

2011-12-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

I was uploading my pictures from my camera so that I could have lots of room for pictures of our new grandson, Levi, who we are going to meet tomorrow night. Congratulations to Chris and Gina. It has been a long, emotional journey but it is now so worth it.

Back to the pictures. . .

Dad, once again, has improved our home. He put a ceiling light in the living room to give it more light. Jesu Vega suggested it, we did it, and she was right. It really adds light and warmth to the room. Thanks Jesu!

39 and Counting!

2011-12-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary to the best parents a girl could ask for. 39 years! Thank you for being the people you are, and for loving us unconditionally and forever! You should probably go out and celebrate tonight, but you probably won't because you love being home. :) Enjoy the day!

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

2011-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Sam suggested we post pictures of our updated Living Room and the new cupboards/drawer in the hallway, so here you go. . .

Notice the darker color walls. It makes the white accents pop. Also, notice that we got rid of the blue rocker and moved an end table and lamp to between the chairs. (The rocker went to Katie's bedroom) We still need to put a plant or something in the vacant corner. We are going to install a ceiling light in the next couple of weeks.

Nice work, Dad! This is so much more functional and is more pleasing to the eye.

Happy Birthday, Gina!

2011-11-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful wife! I love it when Gina's birthday comes around because:

1. Gina's only 5 years younger than me instead of 6. For some reason I feel so old when I'm 6 years older than her.

2. We get to go to Caraba's! Yum.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2011-10-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, Rachel that was a really good blog post. If I may, I'd like to add a few things.
61. She's the best mother-in-law ever. Hands down. No competition.
62. She's never judgmental of anyone. Which contributes greatly to #61.
63. She treats her children-in-law like her own children. It totally makes us feel wanted and appreciated.
64. She's as easy to talk to as my own mom. That says a lot about her.
65. She's the kind of grandmother that a mother dreams of having for her children.
66. If there's something she needs to tell you, she'll say it. But it's never crazy mother-in-law stuff. It's always "I love you and want to help you" stuff.

Happy Birthday Ginger! I hope I can be like you when I grow up.

PS. Be like Ginger, and don't judge how crusty we all look. It was early this morning when we filmed this video.

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

2011-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our beautiful, funny, wonderful Mom. We love you. And we're going to tell the world why:

1. She makes the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

2. Seriously, you think your mom wins here, but she doesn’t

3. And popcorn, she wins at popcorn

4. Even now that all of us have had years of experience at making the Sunday night popcorn, Mom’s is still heads above the rest

5. Right now she is saying to herself, “I know it is.”

6. She is very modest, but knows when she’s good at something

7. And sassy. Holy Cats, is she sassy

8. She wasn’t always this sassy, she’s aged into it

9. She has the best smile

10. With dimples

11. She laughs at everything

12. Including her own jokes

13. She even laughs when she’s not sure why she’s laughing

14. If her kids are laughing she is laughing

15. Except she doesn’t laugh with us at George Costanza

16. She has standards

17. She is always thinking of others way more than she thinks of herself

18. She once requested a picnic in the park and batting cages for her birthday because she thought that would be fun for all of us, even though she doesn’t do the batting cages

19. She loves it when her family is all together

20. When we are she’ll just sit back and glory in it

21. She recognizes blessings

22. She’s kind

23. If she needs to tell you hard things she will do it with love

24. And tears

25. She doesn’t think that crying is a good thing but crying is how she shows love

26. Her faith is steadfast

27. We have never seen her waiver in it

28. And she is faithful

29. If there is a job to do she will do it

30. She loves the Lord

31. She loves the Gospel

32. She loves the Book of Mormon and has read it every single day for who knows how many years

33. She has the most beautiful voice

34. She makes every song sound better

35. She even has a trophy to prove it

36. When she was in college she was part of a singing group and the stories that have come from that time are priceless

37. She loves Dad

38. We have never heard her say an unkind thing toward him

39. She knows that Dad will give her whatever she wants but she never abuses that

40. She has always supported him through everything

41. Including decades of church service that took him away from home a lot

42. But she always greeted him with a hug and a kiss and a sandwich

43. And sent him off again with a freshly ironed shirt

44. Let’s talk about laundry for a sec. She’s done a lot of it.

45. And cooking and cleaning and making sack lunches

46. She has given birth 8 times. EIGHT TIMES!!!

47. Without drugs

48. But she never holds that over us like some mothers do

49. She does hard things, even when she doesn’t want to

50. She signs all of her emails “Love, MOM” like you better not forget it

51. She is our biggest cheerleader

52. She is helpful

53. She gives practical advice but never pushes it on us

54. She has always taken being a mother very seriously but has done it without hovering, smothering or pushing.
55. She has always let us learn our own lessons

56. She is always happy and eager to see us

57. She sees things that we can’t see with her super powered Mom Eyes, both physical and spiritual

58. She has raised us by example and taught us how to be good

59. We have never doubted what Mom would want us to do because we have seen her do it herself

60. She’s our MOM

The Pensive Elder

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

Probably one of my favorite pictures ever.

Joao Pessoa, Brazil, circa 1970 (with Maria, the maid)

TOGETHER FOR ETERNITY

2011-08-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

As promised...here is the grave marker for Howard and LaRue. Sorry it is so dirty. It must have rained really hard because the gounds were very swampy and dad tried to get most of the water off but couldn't get it all. Anyway, at least you can read it. We are very happy with it.

I'm tempted to vaccuum the street now...

2011-07-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,
I was home alone yesterday afternoon when the phone rang. Normally I don't like picking it up because it's generally telemarketers at that time but lucky for me I answered it. I would say guess who it was, but I don't think you would ever guess so I will just tell you. Suzy!! Yes, that Suzy. Tweety bird pajama's, sweeping the street, hiding behind the motor home to spy Suzy. I was in shock. Well, she called to let the parents know that her dad passed away a few weeks ago. Very sad, but she even seemed happy to know that her parents are in Heaven together again (her words). It just brought back all these memories of my childhood. We had a nice little chat. She still thinks Casey is 6. It was just so random. Thought I would fill you in and let you enjoy some old school 17th Street memories.
Happy Saturday,
McNelch

Chicago, Chicago

2011-07-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

Hello Family and Friends! Dad, Rachel, Heather and I returned from our fabulous trip to Chicago. And let me just say that the train ride alone was worth it! I know that Rachel will go into details on her blog, so I'll just give you some highlights (and by highlights I mean a LOT of pictures).

Dad on the train in our "roomette". Translation -- small box.

Grants, New Mexico. Magical because it's my birth place!

Loads of Boy Scouts boarding our train in New Mexico after 2 weeks of camping. There was no way that odor could be hid.

Miles and miles of corn and soy fields. Mesmerizing.

The Mighty Mississippi. Dad and I appropriately had Mark Twain with us while we crossed it.

Fountain in Millenium Park. We were ready to jump in when it was 117 degrees on Wednesday.

Can you find us in the Cloud Statue, otherwise known as The Bean?

Yummy deep dish pizza. General concensus was that we'd keep our good old California kind, though.

A visit to the Art Institute. A fantastic museum.

Sears Tower -- in a plexiglass box that stuck out 4 feet at 103 stories up. Pretty terrifying.

Then I forgot to charge my camera and missed an entire day, but we saw Buckingham fountain, went to a Cubs game (stinkin' Phillies slaughtered them), and dipped our toes in Lake Michigan.

Michigan welcomed me. (Sing the song, Chris. You know you want to.)

Other highlights included:

-the amazing staff on the train,

-kind Chicagoans who directed us to where we needed to go,

-then being mistaken for a native and being able to direct someone where he needed to go,

-eating some of the best popcorn of my life (second only to our Sunday night treat),

-a fantastic architecture tour on the river,

-Navy Pier and the ferris wheel on a foggy day,

-Chicago hot dogs,

-frozen custard and

-the best filet mignon I've ever had (also the only, but it will still stand up to it, I'm sure!),

-the beginning of Route 66

-a visit with my dear friend Mary

-and the overall adventure of trying new things!

Thanks Dad, Rachel and Heather -- it was an amazing trip!

A Numbered Streets 4th

2011-07-04T23:31:00.001-07:00

While the rest of the family was living it up in Utah for the 4th, Rachel, Lindsay and I made the best of our 4th of July. Actually, it was spectacular. Here's a run down...

A delicious brunch

Swimming, with a rock slide

Grilled hot dogs, corn, and peaches. And a bunch of sides.

The Sandlot

Homemade boysenberry ice cream

Illegal fireworks all up and down the numbered streets...$1000 times YES!!

Sparkler art, seen below

We started out simple

A big Whatever

No need for explanation.

Can you say Harry Potter?

And then we got fancy shmancy with our art

Impressed?

As much as we wish we were with the rest of the family in Utah, we had a pretty kickin 4th of July.

Aren't they precious??

2011-06-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

I "hired" them to be my models for 5 minutes while I tried out a new lens. They're naturals.

Dancing Queen

2011-06-08T22:27:00.001-07:00

Even at the tender age of 16 days old, this girl's got moves. Look at her bustin' out the sprinkler. There wasn't even music on which means Little Miss Eliza has got soul. You make your aunt proud.

What Up, Fluff? and Other Thoughts

2011-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Thought #1: I'm generally not the type of person to listen to classical music in the car. Sure, every once in a while when I need something to soothe the road rage right out of me, but it's not my typical go-to music. But this week I was listening to KUSC because it's Pledge Time, and everyone knows that Pledge Time is the best time to listen to any classical music station because they play the popular fun songs. For example, today was filled with the Star Wars music, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and La Boheme -- all fantastic pieces. In between the songs the 'hosts' read off the names of people who have recently pledged and their reasons why. On my way to work I heard this, "Sally from La Crescenta has pledged in honor of her cat, Fluffy. Fluffy just loves our station. Sally leaves the radio on all day long so that Fluffy can enjoy the music while she's home alone." I could not stop laughing. And this didn't just happen once, but five times during my 20-minute commute. Five Times! This is why I could never have a pet. I would not ever think to leave classical music on all day long for my dog. How would I know if my turtle loved it? What if I totally messed up my gerbil by playing ACDC, when he really wanted the Carpenters? Would I need to hire a pet whisperer? It's all in the realm of ridiculousness to me. Am I heartless or just using common-sense? You be the judge.

Thought #2: It was so good to have so many of you here in lovely California last weekend. We missed you Sam, Stacy and fam. And Camille -- fantastic photos!

Thought #3: Last night for book club we discussed a book about writing a biography and so our food theme was Food That Would Make It Into Your Biography. What would you have showed up with? Mine first thoughts were Mom's cookies, triple chocolate cake, and Sunday night popcorn.

Don't Deny the Power of the Cookies

2011-04-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Do you think if we ask really nicely, and throw in a batch of Mom's chocolate chip cookies, Bud Selig will turn the Dodgers over to the Knechts?

Aunts Dance Party

2011-04-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we were skyping with SSB&T and had the following conversation with Ben --

Ben: How about you guys come out here and visit?

Us: What would we do?

Ben: Um, have a dance party.

So when Sam & Ben made an impromptu visit back to the homeland we did just that.

Camille and Ben decorated the house with balloons and signs, we all wore plastic leis and basically had the biggest and best Ben & Aunts Dance Party ever.

We taught Ben how to play Blongo:

He's pretty awesome

We lounged on the grass and taught him how to do the wave

And then the dancing began when Ben proclaimed, "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

We shut the club down and capped the night off with some games and silly pictures.

You really know how to throw a party Ben. Thanks for hanging out with your awesome aunts. And thanks to Sam for coming too. And to Stacy for letting them.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

2011-04-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year I was given some out-of-the-box gifts -- and I loved them! Mom and Dad surprised me with tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters, and that was fantastic. I would definitely recommend seeing them at least once.

Rachel, Lindsay and Camille got me a cooking class at Williams Sonoma. Now you all know my love for cooking, baking, gadgets, and cookbooks. This was such a great gift! I went last Tuesday to my "Easter Brunch" class. There were ten people in the class, right there in the store. People were shopping and they'd smell the yummy food and linger around us until the workers would move them along. Honestly, I would be a lingerer too, if I hadn't already been in the class. We had amazing food! It was more of a cooking demonstration then a cooking class, we just sat there and watched Anita cook. We each got a copy of the recipes and I took so many notes with all the tips the chef gave us. She made Frittata with Shallots and Pancetta, Puffy Apple Oven Pancake, Corned Beef Hash Patties, and Berry Crisp. She also served a salad with a dill vinaigrette -- so good. For drinks she served Vanilla Bean Lemonade -- oh, my, that was divine. I made it on Thursday for our book group and it was a hit! It was so much fun to sit and learn and eat. I was so in my element. It would have been fun to be a part of the actual cooking process, but it was still so fun to ask tons of questions, see new techniques and eat the delicious results. Thanks so much gals for a great gift! Let's have a brunch so I can try all the new recipes -- who's in?

Here we have the main dish -- the top is the frittata, left is the apple pancake and on the salad is the corn beef hash patty.

This is the dessert -- berry crisp with a honey yogart glaze -- so good!

And here I am enjoying it all!

"Stick with me and you'll be wearing radishes as big as diamonds"

2011-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

In a weekend that already included a lot of really big things such as General Conference, the triumphal return of Lindsay and Camille, multiple pans of cinnamon rolls, Kylea winning the family bracketology trophy in her rookie year, a move, and an epic best-of-3 Popomatic Trouble match, the biggest thing of all was Grandpa's 90th birthday.

He made sure to point out that shirt was not a coincidence.

We headed down for a visit, arms loaded with his favorite foods - Taco Bell nachos, a large Pepsi, and chocolate pie. I think he was more excited to see the food than to see all of us. And he was in rare form - funny and just a little feisty. While he was eating his pie Katie asked if he was enjoying it. Without looking up and with a complete dead-pan he said, "Don't bother me."

We love you, Grandpa!! 90 looks good on you.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

2011-03-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

I thought I would give our Utah folks a bit of hope for Spring to come. I hope you are seeing signs of it every day. I just went around the yard documenting that Spring has indeed sprung in Chino, CA. Enjoy, and feel free to come to Chino to take in the sights and smells. You are always welcome.

And, last but not least, we must bid a fond farwell to several of our fish. With spring comes the predators and some bird/beast had a tasty treat which included a large and several small fish from our beloved pond. We are down to just 3 large fish who are so frightened that they won't leave the bottom of the pond, so dad brought 3 new babies to hopefully bring some new life to our pond. Welcome and "Live long and prosper!"

Happy Spring!

2011-03-13T22:11:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday to Benjamin Spence Knecht. He has brought a lot of joy into our family. Let's all post our favorite moments with Ben. The one memory that comes to mind is on the day we finished our family room. I was sitting on the window seat and the back door opened and there was Benjamin standing there saying "Hi Grandma". That moment makes my heart happy. Ben, I hope you have a wonderful year! I love you!

Ode to Stacy

2011-02-17T10:58:00.001-08:00

To the birthday girl
Bomb dot com backslash awesome
A haiku blog post

It's been 10 years plus
You made a very wise choice
A Knecht you are

Your arm in motion
Raised up high from back to front
Bring on the back hoe

Ben and Tom, blessed
A lil' girly on the way
Happiness for all

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACY !!!

Everyone reading, feel free to write your own Stacy Haiku.

Have A Look

2011-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures from my camera and thought I'd share a few with all of you. Enjoy!

Aren't we all just adorable!

Here's A Beauty

2011-01-01T10:07:00.001-08:00

Chris is prone to singing random songs he learned as a boy in Michigan. One of them caught my attention and it's awesome...particularly when Chris sings along (too bad you can't see it in person). We did a search on the song and luckily found a recording! Whoo-hoo! Please enjoy!

http://oursongoftheweek.blogspot.com/

You're going to love it!

Forever...

2010-12-26T19:38:00.001-08:00

by Calvin Klein

You asked...We delivered

2010-12-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

Tis the season for the Knecht Family Christmas Party. Among all the food, laughter, family and delicious treats is the much anticipated Knecht Sister Spectacular! Our gift to you....Merry Christmas! (You can thank us in monetary donations)

Please excuse the poor video quality. (editor's note: I swapped out the bad lighting for the good. Thanks K.) And a big shout out to Chris for the bedazzled gauntlets. (editor's note: I bet Chris never dreamed he would marry into a family who would appreciate his talents so much.)

California, here we come!

2010-12-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's the day when we leave the frozen Utah tundra for the warm California coast. The forcast calls for snow, so pray for mild weather and clear roads. We can't wait to see you all.

Hands on hips. Smiles on lips.

2010-11-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

Flo's for breakfast. Parade in the afternoon. Field show at night. I love Chino. Enjoy a few pictures from the Chino Band Invitational....(You will notice a certain Mao Bowden is missing. Someone decided not to make his usual appearance during the parade. It was hard to take, but the parade continued)

Opening Lines

2010-11-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Ever notice how a good opening line gets the conversation going. Sometimes I will say "When I worked at Disneyland....." and that will have people's attention. Think of all the good sentence starters that Rachel will come home with. I don't think we'll be able to keep up with her. For example:
- "The last time I swam in the Mediterranean Sea....."
- "Remember I told you about the date farmer that kept hitting on me...."
- "This thing tastes just like a shwarma"
- "A camel's saddle has to be cinched real tight..."
- "The flight from Tunis to Rome is not that bad compared with Paris to Tunis....."
- "...and he kept reminding me how beautiful my eyes are."
- "The dunes in the Sahara are so different than the dunes in the Mojave"
- "...at at the embassy bunco night..."
- "...and I was just able to pantomime my way through all of the outdoor markets"
- "You simply must see the coliseum at El Jem - far superior to the more pedestrian Roman coliseum"

Are there others to add to this list?

Behold

2010-10-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Cheese Cave.

Free samples of any type of cheese you could imagine. In a word -- Heaven!

Just Call Me Your Fry Guy!

2010-10-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Or Gal, that's probably more fitting.

Tonight was my school's fundraising night at our local McDonalds. We did it last year, but they only let us walk around selling fruit pies and parfaits. I did occasionally get to serve a miniature sized ice cream cone to lucky students who came up and talked with me. I threw in a few M&Ms at the bottom for those I really liked. Nope, no favorites here!

But tonight fulfilled every "work at McDonalds" dream I ever had as a child. The dreams kind of ended by the time I was 5, that's when bigger and better dreams kicked in, such as own my own ice-cream truck. You know the kind. But tonight, tonight they let us run the place! They first threw me at all things ice cream (raise your hand if you're craving a cone right now). I was making cones, chocolate dipped ones even, McFlurry's, shakes, sundaes, you name it. I failed many-a-time, and the cones may not have been pretty, but I sure filled them deep and wide. Then I was on the clean up crew, which wasn't too bad, I just had to wash trays, and by wash I mean run a rag over them. We had our principal cooking the nuggets, a 5th grade teacher laying on the pickles and lettuce, they even let a teacher run the drive-thru window.

I had been there about an hour when the true magic happened. I was put on fry detail. And it was just me running the whole fry show. I was loading the fry baskets with frozen fries that magically appear when you place the basket under a secret box. I was popping it in the fryer, setting the timer, shaking it when the beeper beeped, letting all that great oil drip off, dumping them under the heat lamp, salting them up and filling those bags as fast as I could. Wash, rinse, repeat. I pretty much made a dance out of it. I wasn't even close to being good at it. Someone in the Drive-Thru even returned the fries saying I didn't put enough in the bag. Would you ever do that? There are clearly marked instructions at the top of the fry contraption that says, "What Customers Expect: 1 -- hot fries, 2 -- evenly salted fries, and 3 -- a full bag/box." I pretty much failed.

But -- we raised a ton of money for our school, which is a huge bonus in a year they told us we could only get pencils and paper for our classrooms and that was it. Everything else is off-limits. I now know some of the secrets of McDonalds. I may never eat there again, but I sure had fun!

ps -- did anyone catch the Vanilla Ice Project on DIY tonight? Oh, it was too much. The jingle into commercial . . . Alright stop, collaborate and listen!

32 Years Ago Today . . .

2010-10-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

. . . I was probably a little bitter you came in the world to take attention away from me. But, the good news is I got over that.

Happy Birthday Sam!

You are a fantastic brother. What we do without the high laugh, really?

I want a pony...

2010-09-27T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. Get excited!

Chris --> Camille
Gina --> Lindsay
Rachel --> Sam
Katie --> Stacy
Sam --> Rachel
Stacy --> Kylea
Lindsay --> Gina
Camille --> Casey
Casey --> Chris
Kylea --> Katie

Ancient Member of the Two Foot Club

2010-09-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Fam,

This guy made me think of you all.

Love, Rachel

Just so everyone is clear...

2010-09-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

I have the most amazing sisters...

WHERE'S LINDSAY?

2010-09-15T22:49:00.001-07:00

SEE NEXT POST...

ONE WAY TO LURE UTAH FOLK BACK TO CA

2010-09-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

How about a few sunset shots taken at So. Carlsbad State Beach.

Can you hear the waves, smell the campfires, feel the ocean breeze. Oh, the happy days of camping at So. Carlsbad State Beach. Lindsay and Boe spent the week camping and invited us to come visit. I decided to take her up on it so I drove down after work and brought dinner for us to enjoy. We ate, talked and watched the pelicans dive into the ocean and then we witnessed the beautiful sunset. It was a long drive for my 2 hour stay but it was well worth it. Camille is going down tomorrow and will spend the night. Then Friday night we girls are going to our last Dodger Game of the season (Dad is in Atlanta). Is this enough to lure you to come to California? If not, we still have our wonderful memories. I love you all! MOM

Childhood Dream Realized

2010-09-14T20:56:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night, Lindsay, Camille and I went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Pink Martini. Now, I only know 3 songs of theirs, and Camille and Lindsay only knew one -- the ever popular "Hey, Eugene". But Rachel has been to a few of their shows and says they're pretty amazing. So we decided to go. Poor Rachel is the fan, but seeing as she is in Far Far Away Land, we attended without her.

We entered the concert not really know what to expect. The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra opened with a great number, and then the band came out. First of all, there's a gazillion of them. It seemed like they just kept coming out. But once they started, and everyone was playing, backed up by the orchestra, it was pretty magical. They sang songs in French, Japanese, Spanish, and occasionally English. They were pretty good, to say the least. Thomas Lauderdale, the band leader, was amazing on the piano. Watching him play was almost as great as hearing him play. And the lead singer, China Forbes, had such a clear voice, it was beautiful.

And if they weren't good enough, out came the special guests. And boy they did not dissapoint. First came Ari Shapiro, NPR White House Correspondant, who surprisingly has a pretty good voice. Then came Rufus Wainwright who sang a number from his recently debuted Opera. I'm not going to lie, it was really weird, but kind of cool at the same time. Then half-time came, and then they brought out Jane Powell -- Millie from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It was kind of hilarious. She is now 81, and while she claims to be a soprano, it probably was stretching it a bit. There were times we thought she was going to fall over, and we were very nervous anticipating the high-notes, but it was fun to watch her, just the same. The highlight of her time on stage was when she sang "It's A Most Unusual Day" We couldn't stop laughing no matter how hard we tried. Poise!

But now for the true moment of the night. Thomas Lauderdale announces their final guests -- Alan Maraoka, Bob McGrath, Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly, Roscoe Orman, Loretta Long, Emilio Delgado, and Sonia Manzano. We were clueless until out walked Alan, Bob, Gina, Gordon, Susan, Luis and Maria -- the live actors from Sesame Street. You know we were extatic! Who does not love Sesame Street, I ask you?

They sang all the greats with the band -- I Love Trash, Rubber Ducky, Who are the People In Your Neighborhood, One of These Things is Not Like the Other, Sing, and my personal favorite, Ma Nah Ma Nah. It was seriously a childhood dream come true.

If it can even get any better, they ended the night with fireworks. Magical. We had such a great time. We left so happy, walking with the crowds down through the exit, past Mr. Puppet, down into the tunnel passing Mr. Saxaphone, walked by some drummers beating buckets, smelled the oh-so-yummy smell of giant sausages being cooked with peppers and onions (you know you're dying to try one but are a little scared of the diseases you could catch), and into our car in the middle of stacked parking with a clear path to the exit. Again, magical!

A big thanks to Rachel for the suggestion, and Gina and Chris for the gift card!

Repasent

2010-09-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting at the computer when dad walks in and all he says is "repasent" (you know how he says it).

'Nuff said.

Dot, Dot, Dot

2010-08-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

So Mom and Dad just returned from an amazing (if you could only imagine) trip to see Uncle Wayne on the face of the Sun. Darryl and Kathy happened to be there as well and brought with them a box that belonged to Grandma Crenshaw. It had some amazing pictures and documents from her life, including her Queen for a Day stuff. There was a hilarious letter from someone that saw her on that show and wrote to propose. It was awesome.

As a favor to you all I'm including some pretty cool pictures. I've scanned a bunch in and so if you want copies I can email them to you. It's been so fun to look through her life in pictures and it made me so grateful for the amazing woman she was.

And yes, the rumors are true . . . we've found the highly coveted music and lyrics to The Crenshaw Family Song! Oh the memories of singing that at Thanksgiving! Maybe one day they'll make an appearance here, if we want to let all the skeletons out of the closet (dot, dot, dot).

This is one of my favorites of Grandma and Grandpa. Was it there engagement picture?

Here's a rare find -- Grandpa, baby Wayne and Grandpa's dad John in 1943. Doesn't Grandpa look like a cool stud! Wish we knew him.

Oh the talented sisters. This is at the cabin we now know as Uncle Kim's cabin, but I guess mom used to go there a lot (?). Here are Aunt Linda, Aunt Kathy and mom playing their hearts out. Look how focused they are! (1963)

All the siblings with Grandma (minus Wayne who was in the armed forces) in 1967. The woman we don't recognize is Charlie . . .

Okay this is the day after mom and dad got married. The woman we don't recognize is Betty . . . with William Jr. Mom made that outfit herself -- isn't she a fox? Of course she can pull off polka dots on lavendar!

Oh, Grandma on a camel. Does it get any better than that? She truly was an amazing woman!

From your men....

2010-08-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

...and the rest of us:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!

It's The Top of the World, Ma!

2010-08-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically just the top of Mt. Baldy, but I swear it felt like the top of the world!
Today Dad, Lindsay and I made the trek up the mountain. This has been months in the planning, with lots of date changes, but today was finally the day. We took the ski lift up to the notch (don't judge, totally worth it), and then started the trail. We passed through all the ski areas, then hit devil's backbone, which really was amazing. You could see both sides of the mountain -- the high desert and our beloved I.E.

We came to the fake out spot where you think you see the top, and then around a bend . . . the peak! And boy, was that the complete worst part of the trip. The picture does not even do it justice!

It was straight up incline the entire way, and it was so decieving! Just when you thought you reached the top, another turn and another peak. Again and again, decieved! But after lots of walking, lots of stopping, and lots of panting, we finally made it! And yes, there were tears (we're Knecht's - what do you expect?)

The view was amazing, even though overcast. There were tons of people up at the top just hanging out and eating lunch. It was pretty cool to be up there. Going down is always so much easier, but the first part was trecherous. So steep! But we made it down in half the time it took to get up. We made it to the ski lift and rode down. They stopped us mid-way, which was so scary. We just sat in our little chair, which didn't seem all that sturdy, bobbing up and down, up and down. Lindsay kept saying, "We're okay. We're okay!"

I'm so glad we went. Even though we were so slow, it was totally worth it. We saw a man pass us once, then pass us on his way down as we were still going up, and then pass us again going up as we were going down -- crazy! Dad joked with him as he passed us the third time, "There's a one-a-day limit on this mountain." And I thought to myself -- one-a-lifetime limit for me!

The kiss of the 5

2010-07-25T22:02:00.001-07:00

It was a regular Sunday night. We were eating our popcorn (2nd batch for me, of course) and watching 60 minutes. 8 o'clock rolls around and we land on some lame documentary about the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Something to do with sending pigs flying through pipes to the shark tank. Or so we thought but it was just about kelp, blah blah. Someone suggested we play the dice game, so 7 of us gather around the table and start rolling the dice. Mom takes an early lead and is making her way quickly to 10,000. The rest of us start to catch up. Suddenly dad emerges as the one to beat. He is within 2,000, then 1,000. Now he only needs 100 left to win. The dice pass from person to person. A 300 here, a 450 there. Dad can't seem to get his 100 to win. Out of the blue I start to see the finish line. All I need is a 900 but dad is bound to get his 100 before I can get a 900. He takes another turn and gets 700 on one roll. Overshot. Too bad. It gets to Lindsay who is having a horrible streak but she magically rolls an 850 and finally decides to keep it. There is one dice left for me to roll off. If I roll a 5 the game is mine, or I could just roll all of the dice and try to get the 900 on my own. The odds are not so much in my favor but why not? I give it a go. I pick up the dice, see the five dots and plant a gentle kiss on it, for kicks. It rolls out of my hand in what seems to be the slowest roll ever. We are all watching intently. A few bounces and twists and as it stops....5 dots on top. I jump from my chair, hands in the air as I do a lap around the island. Victorious!

And that, my friends, is how it's done.

Oh, Pioneer

2010-07-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

So I just returned from our stake Youth Conference which happened to be a pioneer trek through the wilds of Yucaipa. I dressed the part and pulled that handcart through the hills and valleys as best as I could. Here’s a recap of Trek by the numbers:

3 fun filled days
14 muscle aching filled miles
8 pioneer handcarts making the journey
9 amazing youth in my family
1 foot-long rip up the backside of my skirt on the first night – very grateful for bloomers and aprons!
17 spots of proof on my body that mosquitoes think I’m the sweetest thing around
5 on my face alone
7 pounds of dirt I stole from Riley’s farm and hid on my shoes, legs, skirt and apron
2 teams that chose the name “Gryffindor” (although we called it out first) – We opted to call the other team the “Reorganized Gryffindors” but had a truce by day 3 and teamed up together.
4 different people playing Brigham Young along the way
5 youth who finished 30 minutes before us and came down the hill to help us up the hardest part

1 fantastic hoe-down with a Scottish caller -- I do a mean promenade!
0 blisters on my feet – thank goodness for moleskin!
1 water jug on our handcart that broke on the final and hardest day, but gratefully we had . . .
2 neighboring carts that were willing to share theirs with us
8 hours of sleep total for the two nights due to a mixture of giggling girls, wrestling boys, uncomfortable hammocks, early morning sunrises and mosquitoes buzzing around my head
45 degree angle hill (called the Widow-Maker) the women had to pull the handcarts up by themselves
5 minutes of crying after the men were taken away with the Mormon Battalion and we had to sing God Be With You Till We Meet Again -- torture
1 tasting of buffalo jerky, and it was actually good!
5 tries at the tomahawk throw and I still couldn’t make the target
10 steep switchbacks to make it up Testimony Hill
1000 cheers of ‘Huzzah’ throughout the 3 days
20 beautiful testimonies shared after we entered “the valley”
70 youth in total that had an experience that helped them grow in ways they could never imagine

All in all it was a great trip. It was so hard at times I was ready to give up, but knew that these youth needed to see strength; physically, emotionally and spiritually. But I’ll be alright if I never have to wear a bonnet, neckerchief, apron, floor-length skirt, and bloomers again!

FHE

2010-07-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Rachel,

What happened to the Monday Night FHE Memories?

Love, MOM

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

2010-06-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

For your 60th birthday we came up with 60 reasons why we love you. We could have gone on, if only you were older.

1. Sunday Night Dad

2. He taught us to love the Dodgers

3. He’s a sports fan but not a Crazy Sports Fan

4. He has the ability to make anything you do fun

5. He’s curious like a cat

6. How many of us have been somewhere with Dad and he starts rummaging through drawers and closets and going into rooms marked “Employees Only”

7. “We’ll just tell them we’re not from here.”

8. “Let’s get out a map!”
9. “There’s a scripture for that.”
10. His mad dance skillz
11. His enormous head

12. “Hey kids, have I ever told you how much I love your mother?”
13. He loves to give Mom what she wants
14. For example, he gave her an addition on the house
15. And he built it himself
16. “You don’t hurt like I hurt.”
17. He’s always up for an adventure

18. He can turn anything into a teaching moment
19. And it’s always a good teaching moment, not one of those boring ones where you start passing notes.
20. He’s goofy
21. Who’s on the Lord Side, Who?
22. He is.
23. He loves the Lord
24. And he has consistently shown it to us

25. He treats everyone with respect

26. He remembers everyone’s name
27. He’s friendly. Maybe almost too friendly.
28. If you need a bookcase or shelf or desk, he’ll build one for you

29. He likes to change the oil in your car
30. He gives good advice
31. He gets excited when you ask him for some
32. He can fix anything
33. But if he can’t he’s not ashamed to say it
34. You always want him on your team for Trivial Pursuit
35. He will occasionally surprise us with his pop culture knowledge
36. When you get the Final Jeopardy question wrong and he gets it right he doesn’t hold if over you
37. When you get the Final Jeopardy question right and he doesn’t he’s happy for you
38. He is a master teacher

39. He knows how to make you feel better even when times are bad
40. Dad loves Mom and has regularly told us that if we were all in a boat that was sinking he would shove us out to save her. That’s love.
41. He makes her laugh every day
42. He loves us and is always concerned for our well being (unless we’re on a sinking boat)
43. Dad is the hardest worker we know
44. He honors the priesthood
45. He loves the temple and goes often
46. He is humble enough to admit mistakes
47. He’s a great missionary and is not afraid to talk to anyone about the gospel
48. Even when he was busy and away from the house all those years we were growing up he always made time for us. It never felt like we came second to his responsibilities.

49. He reads a lot. And not just books about the sea.
50. Which makes it appear as if he knows everything about everything
51. “The buoy!”
52. His vast library of Seinfeld quotes.
53. He is always up for a Slurpee or ice cream cone.
54. Sometimes he’ll pay for yours

55. He has never won a single trophy but hasn’t let that ruin his life
56. He always gets the joke.
57. He's usually making them
58. He has really amazing children who love him and who hope he has a really great birthday.
59. Even though he is officially Not Young (but Not Disabled)
60. He’s the Greatest Dad Ever. (We couldn’t find a trophy big enough to match our love and admiration. Sorry.)

Family Home Evening Minutes - Grandma Edition

2010-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

It will be 15 years on Wednesday since Grandma died. Last night we were talking about it and Dad asked what our favorite memory about her was. We all agreed that spending the night at her house was the best. There was always a routine. You would hear her footsteps coming down the hallway before she would get you out of bed and tell you to wash your face. Then you'd have breakfast, always cereal and toast, then you'd run errands with her, and you'd be home in time to watch the People's Court. In the afternoon she would play games with you, King Leonardo usually, until Grandpa came home and then dinner. Later in the evening she would take a shower and then come out and lotions up (you can smell it, can't you) and put her hair up in those hard rollers. If you were lucky it would be on a night that Knight Rider was on and you could watch her swoon over the Hoff.

I thought I'd put up a short but very Grandma entry from the FHE minutes. Let's all celebrate her on Wednesday by eating a bowl of ice cream and wearing muumuus.

Monday February 1, 1965

Daddy presided
Kim conducted
Opening prayer offered by Pam
"A Mighty Fortress" was the opening song
The minutes were read and stood approved as read
Scott says he wants someone else to dry dishes for him. Mom said we'll watch and give him another chance.
We had an evening of activities
Our closing song was "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet"
Lynn offered our closing prayer
Refreshments were served

Family Home Evening Minutes

2010-06-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

More fun with the Family Home Evening Minutes

Wednesday, March 22, 1961

Daddy presided
Daddy Conducted
Opening Prayer: Kim
Opening Song: "Come, Come ye Saints"

Family Business:
Scott said Daddy points with his middle finger at the table.
Mother said we shouldn't fight in the morning.
Daddy agreed with Mommy.

Minutes were approved as read.

Pam: Played two songs on the piano. the first one was "Lazy Mary will You Get Up." The second one was "Betty and Bill."
Kim: did tricks with Scott called wheelbarrow one.
Scott: told a story called "The Enormous Egg."
Lynn: Read a poem "The Dual"
Mother: Tried to help us remember the President of our Church and his counselors.
Daddy: Helped us remember the Standard Works of the church and what each book means.
We weren't able to finish our Family night as we had company come in from Salt Lake, Aunt Dorothy's neighbor.
We had cookies for refreshments.
Read and Approved April 5, 1961

I'm In It To Win It!

2010-06-10T21:16:00.001-07:00

Who's ready for a little World Cup action? In the last family competition I came in second place (don't worry, Mom, we haven't forgotten who the Master Bracketologist is) but this go-round I'm ready for a little victory! Let the games begin!

Family Home Evening Minutes

2010-06-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

More from the Family Home Evening Minutes. This one's a sad one. No refreshments.

Thursday 14 December 1961 (Minutes taken by Mother)

Daddy presided
Lynn conducted
Opening prayer: Scott
Opening Song: "Silent Night"
The minutes were read and corrected

Family Business:
Pam presented to us that Kim has been acting up on the way to school
Scott brought up that Pam has been whining too much
Lynn let us know that she is going to give her first talk in Sacrament Sunday night
Mother reminded us about Mother and Dad going to a Christmas party tomorrow night. Also she explained about working in the Bishop's storehouse and some on the Welfare Program
Daddy told us that he and Mother spoke with the school teachers at PTA last night and they are all pleased with each of the children. Also he corrected Kim on spitting, throwing things and sniffing so much.

Kim sang a "Halloween Song"
Pam played the "Harvest Song" on the piano
Scott played three songs on his saxophone "Silent Night" "Jingle Bells" and "Away in the Manger"
Lynn played "Jolly Old St. Nick" on the piano and we sang with her
Mother read a Christmas Story "How Mrs. Santa saved Christmas"
Daddy had us do some exercises before he read Chapter 5 of the Book of Mormon
Closing Song "Jingle Bells" accompanied by Scott and led by Lynn
Closing Prayer: Pamela
No games or refreshments as it was late

FHE Minutes

2010-05-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

More excerpts from the Family Home Evening Minutes:

Minutes of Family Night
October 13, 1964

Presiding: Dad
Conducting: Dad
Opening Song: "Come, Come Ye Saints"
Opening Prayer: Kim
The minutes were read and corrected. Then they stood approved as corrected.

Family Business:
Lynn said that all the kids were doing real good in school.
Mom said we're all doing very good in school, and that as we grow up the family stays the same. Sometimes we do things on Kim's level or anyone else's. Also, that the notes we wrote before she went to conference, that we should all start doing what we said.
Dad said we should use "Sweet Hour or Prayer" as prelude music to call us together for family night. Also, we should have family night more regularly. We are going to have it every Tuesday night from now on.
Scott said he thinks Mom and Dad are carrying this family togetherness too far.

Pam read a story out of the Children's Friend entitled "The Hair Cut"
Scott read a poem out of the Children's Friend entitled "The Hole Story"
Lynn played "Bercluse" (from Jocelyn) on the piano.
Mother - to conduct game after prayer.
Dad read from Exodus 20:3-17 and Matthew 5:3-12 from the Bible. He compared them, as Exodus was negative and Matthew was positive.
Closing Song: "Give Said the Little Stream"
Closing Prayer: Scott
Games were played and we popped popcorn for refreshments. Plans were changed and we enjoyed a scoop of ice cream instead of popcorn. Bro. and Sis. George Pearson (our home teachers) visited during family night.

Family Home Evening Minutes

2010-05-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

I got my hands on the treasured "Family Home Evening Minutes" that Grandma Knecht kept and I thought it would be fun (and funny) to put up excerpts each Monday night.

December 5, 1963

Presiding: Dad
Conducting: Scott
Opening Song: "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"
The minutes were read and approved.
Family Business:
Lynn said Scott should stop his continual nagging. He should also stop thinking he is "KING".
Mom said we (us kids) should help keep our house neat. We should learn to pick up our own messes. We have all got to take a responsibility.
Dad said he is going to get calendars for each room. We should tell Mom and Dad when we want to go somewhere so they will know.
Mom said we should gain more consideration for each other.
Kim played an original composition on his harmonica. It was very, very good.
Lynn told a story of the "Two Time Christmas Tree" about a Mexican family and twin children, Juanita and Juan.
Pam played two piano pieces called "Stepping Stones" and "The Chord Frolic". Both of them were very excellent. We really enjoyed them.
"Hot Lips" Scott played a piece on his saxophone, called "My Grandfather Clock". It was very good and was played beautifully, although a few mistakes were made!
Mom told us different customs for Christmas in different lands. She told about Mexico, Scandinavia, the Island of Malta, Holland.
Dad read a poem called "Judgement", a very good poem which was full of knowledge. Dad read a talk on truth by John A. Widtsoe.
Closing Song: "Silent Night"
Closing Prayer: Kim
We made a Christmas tree for Mom and had refreshments, Ice Cream.

Who got a surprise in their closet?

2010-05-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

We pulled in from wedfest '010 with just 20 minutes to get ready for church. Hmmm, what to wear? I decided on a go-to outfit and grabbed my black jacket. Look what was under it...

Somebody has some explaining to do! Oh my gosh, we laughed so hard. Good trick. Can't wait until next Christmas.

Thanks!

2010-05-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Since Rachel so kindly invited me to contribute in the family blog I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks you to all of you. First, thank you so much first for approving me, because Casey told me in no uncertain terms that if you hadn't, he would have stopped dating me. I'm glad he told me after I'd met you, because I probably would have had a heart attack if he'd told me before I made that drive to Chino. Second thank you so much for already making me feel like such a part of the family- I loved seeing you all last week, and I'm so grateful you all came to the temple with me. I'm so excited to be part of such an awesome family, and I love you all already. Can't wait to see you all in a couple days- May 15th, it's a great day to be a Knecht.

News from the Numbered Streets

2010-05-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today's edition of the Chino Champion had this piece of news: the new charter school in Chino - The Oxford Preparatory Academy - has officially accepted the offer of the school board to use the El Rancho Elementary School site as the site of the new school, starting this fall. So once again there will be children at the school. I can forsee one big difference, however. Instead of mothers and fathers and grandmothers walking their children to the school it will now be an SUV convention morning and afternoon; a cavalcade of Escalades; an inspiration of Infinitis juxtaposed with Jaguars. It will be automotive excess on parade everyday. I doubt that anyone driving a pick-up will be allowed to enroll their child in this school. This will be a twice daily traffic jam. And where will this all occur? To quote the Champion: "El Rancho, on C Street, between Benson and Oaks avenues, was designed for elementary students and was built in 1952. It is surrounded by a working class neighborhood of primarily Hispanic families." Ah, the numbered streets. This is home.

Happy Birthday Chris!!!!!

2010-05-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Chris!!!!!!! You already have a Snuggie so it looks like you have all that you need.

Remember the Day

2010-04-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

Look at these pictures. Where are we? I will tell you. They were taken as we sat on the "Y" on the mountain above the BYU campus. Casey, Katie and I climbed to this spot on Tuesday afternoon, about 6pm. It was a short, steep hike, but we conquered. However, that is not all. Prior to the hike, while Casey was working at the census office counting all Americans, Katie and I were working putting in insulation and hanging drywall for a friend. We worked all day in an attic and it was a good workout. Katie was amazing - she never quit and was willing to do anything necessary.
It was a little overcast and cool as we hiked, which made it nice weather for us. On the hike down we encountered 8 deer all walking together downhill, just hanging out and nibbling their dinner. They were only about 50 yards from us, across a little ravine. It was nice to have them as company and they didn't seem to mind us at all.
I must end with a little apology: while Casey looks good in that top picture, Katie and I beg for fogiveness for our appearance.

(written by Dad)

Master Bracketologist

2010-04-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

When it comes to basketball, we just don't get that into it. When it comes to competition and the potential for a prize, oh boy do we get into it. So we have found a new way to enjoy college basketball here in the Knecht home: A March Madness competition. The prize: A TROPHY!!!! Who wouldn't want to win a shiny new trophy? I know dad would love to win one, probably because he never has in his life. As we all felt a little sad for him, we came up with the March Madness Bracket contest. Well he'll have to wait another year because the Knecht Family Master Bracketologist 2010 is Mrs. V. I. Knecht (as dad sometimes refers to her) or MOM!!!! She wiped us all with her points, even though Katie was a close second. Here are the pictures to prove it...

ALL RISE FOR THE GRADUATE!

2010-04-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

It's true! Lindsay received her "Bachelor's Degree" in Kinesiology from Cal State Fullerton. She received it in the mail this week. She also acheived "Cum Laude" status. I thnk that means she is smart. I always knew that but she doubted. I do know that she worked really hard and I am so "proud" of her.

As I was driving to work the morning after she called me with the news, I happened to hear "Pomp and Circumstance" (the graduation song) on the radio. I had a little graduation ceremony for her in my mind. You were all there and we all got a little misty. We were a bit irreverant but oh so proud. (Did my mind get it right?)

How shall we celebrate? Jack in the Box, Thrifty Ice Cream,.....

We all love you, Lindsay

(Talk about smarts...I had to use the dictionary for this post. There were a lot of BIG words.)

Are my lips still blue??

2010-04-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Down here in the Southern Contingency, our Easter was a little unorthodox. It started out with some fabulous General Conference. Afterwards, we sat around for a few hours and enjoyed each others company and a relaxing afternoon, which was interrupted by a 7.2 earthquake (cue dramatic music). And instead of doing the normal procedures of diving in the safety triangle (thank you school teacher Katie), we sat on the couch, watched in awe and enjoyed the ride for 45 anxiety-ridden seconds.

Breaking out of tradition, dinner was not the normal Sunday night hamburgers. Oh no my friends, we went fancy with delicious fondue. Not just any fancy fondue, Gruyere bacon smoked Gouda cheese fondue aaannnddd melted chocolate frosting. Do I like chocolate frosting? Yum!

Then we busted out the Robin's eggs. Oh yummy Robin's eggs. Easter isn't complete without them. And as tradition would go, we painted our lips.

Top that Northern Contingency!!!!

Ben knows how to wash a spoon

2010-03-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ben and I made a cake when I was visiting a few weeks ago. He was very helpful in cleaning up.

Let's Hear it for Honesty!

2010-02-22T18:52:00.000-08:00

A real conversation held in my class just the other day:

Kasandra: Miss Knecht, David hit Alyssa.
David (very adamantly): No I didn't!
Kasandra: Yes he did. He hit her hard, too.
Me: David, why on earth would you hit Alyssa?
David: Miss Knecht I promise I didn't hit Alyssa.
Kasandra: He did, I saw him with my own eyes.

**Now, Kasandra is usually right on with the accusations. She knows what's going on, so I really am believing her. And David, while adorable, is widely known to hit on a whim.**

Me: David I'm going to ask you one more time. Why did you hit Alyssa?
David: I told you, I didn't hit Alyssa. I promise. I hit Kimberly.

Yep, honesty won out here. I just started laughing, but held it in long enough to give the dutiful teacher talk about hitting and the consequences that follow. In the land of Kindergarten, tattling is all the rage. And since I've never really been one to follow the latest fads it annoys me almost as much as headbands across the forehead. But this kind of tattling I can handle. Anything for a laugh, right?

I love crazy co-workers!

2010-02-19T14:31:00.001-08:00

Well folks, it finally happened. After 6 months of searching (yeah, 6 months) I finally got a job! Let the choirs sing hallelujah!! So first of all, thank you family for all of your prayers. Now our job-finding prayers can be solely focused on Rachel. This economy is a jokeland! I work at Walton Electric in Upland, about 2.5 seconds from Rachel and Katie's place. It's owned by members of the church which is nice. After a week, I am really liking it. And if I had even an ounce of writing ability as Rachel does when it comes to giving an insider into her co-workers lives, you would see frequent posts here about my co-worker Barbara. I want to start calling her Babs but we aren't at that point in our co-working relationship yet. My day is filled with odd surprises from Babs due to her zany personality. She makes up her own words and uses silly phrases. For example: goo gobs, as in "I have goo gobs of paperclips in my desk drawer." Or if she is shocked by something she will say "well isn't that a jigger!" But the gift of creative writing passed me by so just know that I will never be bored at work with Babs around. It's nice to have structure in my life again *sigh*.

In an Effort to Overshadow Nearby Birthdays...

2010-02-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

May 15, 2010. St. George, Utah.

That is the time and place of the wedding, or as it shall now be known: WedFest '010 (pronounced oh-ten). For those who are unaware, I am getting married. The bride-to-be is Kylea McMurray. She is 20 and is from Logandale, NV, which is near Mesquite. We've known each other for almost a year. We lived in the same apartment complex during Spring and Summer and started dating thereafter. I'm very happy and I feel very blessed. I hope everyone else is happy too! Because if you're not, there's not really much I can do about it now!

A New Adventure

2010-02-03T20:38:00.001-08:00

Chris and I officially signed up to be adoptive parents today. We are very excited about this new adventure and feel grateful for the opportunity to add to our little family. Hooray!

From Homes of Saints Glad Songs Arise! (Hymn 297)

2010-01-29T17:06:00.000-08:00

The wait is over. We have a piano again. All are welcome to come see and play.

Come "Gently Raise the Sacred Strain" with us. (Hymn 146)

It took "The Strength of the Hills" to move it in the house (Hymn 35), but we just kept saying "Come Along, Come Along, (everyone clapping?) (Hymn 241).

When it was in we could all say "I Stand All Amazed!" (Hymn 193) and I'm glad that our house is "Not on the Mountain Height" (Hymn 270).

Behold! The Bookcases

2010-01-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

I know you have all been waiting for me to post pictures of the beautiful bookcases. Well, here you go....

We declutterized the old bookcase, painted, and added pictures

The view from the family room entrance.

Up close and personal. We attempted to make it "artsy". Chris, where were you when we needed you?!?!

Dad did a great job. I'm sure when you come visit us you will be even more impressed!

The Perfect Job for Us

2010-01-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

So, my partner teacher, Anna, is from China. She came to America with her family when she was 15 (I think). She chose the American name Anna because it was at the top of the list of names her cousin showed her and it was short. I find that hilarious. Anyways, she was telling me today of a funeral she went to in China. According to Anna it is Chinese belief that you only truly show you are mourning for the loss of a loved one by crying . . . and not just any crying. There must be bucket-loads of tears. She said that most people now hire professional criers to sit among the funeral-goers to show that the person that passed away will be truly missed. Did you catch that -- Professional Criers! If that's not the job for us, I don't know what is! She said that as she got older she could tell the hired criers from the real mourners because they were totally fake-crying. If there's one thing us Knecht women are good at, it's crying. I think we'd be very marketable in China. Let's come up with a catchy title and catch phrase, and maybe even a jingle -- you know we're good at that! (some can't, I can)

Introducing...

2010-01-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is so new for me but I thought I would spread the word somehow. I started my own blog. It's never been my thing. This family blog is just right for me. I post when something is funny or I have some info to share. I was talking to dad this afternoon and just expressing my strong desire and passion for photography (as mentioned in the post below). Lydia continues to encourage me to go for it. So with pressure (not really pressure just a nice push) from her, I started a photography blog. Just to post my pictures and get more excited and confident about it. So I introduce you to Camille Ann Photography. Remember, I'm an amateur. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm on my way to figuring it out. Enjoy!

You're so vain...

2009-12-21T15:25:00.000-08:00

Okay really, I hesitated doing this post, because I don't want to appear in anyway as a vain person. It's just so hard when you are this beautiful...hahaha! So I was talking with a fabulous friend of the family, Lydia (you can check out her work here) about photography, which has become one of my passions. She is an incredible photographer. She suggested we should do a photo shoot swap so that I could learn some techniques. Me in front of the camera? Sure I guess. Me behind the camera? OKAY!!! So this morning the swap went down. I was so pleased with how everything turned out and I can't thank Lydia enough. Here are a few of the images we took that Lydia edited...

With her cute cute son Max...

Seasonal Fine Arts

2009-12-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

The title of this post only refers to the accompanying video. First, however, are pictures of the new, "real" (as opposed to "loaner") furniture in the family room. First, take a look at this beauty: The model name of this chair is "The Atlas" and I suppose it is large enough to hold up the earth. It is soft leather and envelopes you in luxuriousness. And, it belongs to V.I. Knecht, so others may use it only when she is not. Next is the big couch: You can see also the ottoman and the persian rug. Finally you can take a look at the new bookcase. It is the first of 5, the other 4 will be placed two on each side, and will only be the height of the window bottom. It will eventually be a wall of books. How exciting. Now for the grand finale - last night was the annual Knecht Family Christmas Party and of course Rachel, Katie, Lindsay and Camille performed a song that many will not recognize as a Christmas song just from the title, but once you hear it (and experience it via this video) you will know that it is Christmas, for sure.

Why Did The _______ Cross the Road?

2009-12-14T22:27:00.000-08:00

Since working in Fontana, I've seen a lot of random things in the road. For the entire first year I was at my school, which as we all know is in the heart of the ghetto, there was a bed in the shape of a car on the side of the road by this empty lot. Random. Then replacing that was a couch. It was kind of like a community couch, people would just go sit on it and chat. Random and disgusting. There's yard sales every day with the most bizarre things you could imagine.

But lets talk about the live animals I've seen. Generally about once a week I see a pack of dogs roaming together. And it's usually the same dogs. I've also seen my fair share of chickens in the road. Sometimes in groups, little street chickens marking their territory, and sometimes alone, rebels without a cause. But today was a first for me. I was driving north along Cherry just past Arrow, going a different way than normal, when I see something blue dart in front of me. Were my eyes decieving me? Could it really be? When I got to the crosswalk, and yes, it was crossing at the bike path crosswalk, I saw none other than a peacock crossing the street. A peacock! Completely following the laws crossing at a proper place. I tried to get my camera out, but the big girl was moving so fast I couldn't capture the moment. I'm telling you, only in Fontana!

So, the answer to the question, Why did the peacock cross the road? Isn't it obvious? She was getting her afternoon excercise by speed walking the bike path from Fontana to Rancho.

ps -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!

WE'RE IN

2009-12-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

As of Saturday, November 21, 2009, we are officially in our new family "rumpus" room. Scott still has book cases and an entertainment center to build, but we have moved in. We are still awaiting the arrival of our new furniture but the loaner couch and our living room chairs are meeting our immediate needs.

The whole family was here for Thanksgiving and gave their stamp of approval. We also had many extended family members drop by to visit. We are all very happy and feel so incredibly blessed to have this room. Thanks to all who helped with this project. Thank you, Scott, for making my/our dream come true. I love you! G

Disneyland with the Boys

2009-11-25T09:27:00.000-08:00

Camille, Lindsay and I took the boys to Disneyland yesterday. They were pretty quiet in the beginning, just taking it all in. When Ben saw the train pull in at Main Street he got excited but when we asked him if he wanted to ride it he said, "No thanks. It's too big." Nice fat joke, Ben.

We got in line for the Jungle Cruise and they were both mesmerized by the river and all the trees. Ben was a little skeptical of the boat but you could see that his desire to see all the animals we kept talking about was overpowering him so he gave it a shot and loved it.

We decided to head over to Pooh's Corner to see if any of the characters were over there. On the way we saw a parade in New Orleans Square and introduced the boys to churros. I tried getting pictures of them actually holding the pieces of churro but as soon as they would get one they'd shove it in their mouths.

So basically, the churros were a hit!

And what else was a hit?

Pooh, Eeyor, and Tigger:

Tom could not give hugs fast enough. The group ahead of us had those autograph books that the characters can sign and had to take dozens of pictures and Tom was like, "Listen people, my dream is about to come true and you're getting in my way."

We did end up taking the train around the park and the boys loved it, especially waving to all the people down below. They also loved the ride back to the car. It was practically the highlight of their day. It was so crowded that we had to park in a lot about a mile down Harbor and be bussed in and on the way back Ben asked if the bus was Disneyland. He seemed so happy that I said yes.

Trip Down Memory Lane

2009-11-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

Let us take a little trip back in time. Do you remember dancing throughout the kitchen and living room to this classic album?

(Lindsay, notice the great disco floor on the cover -- one day your dream may come true!)

I got lost in a fabulous childhood memory when something made me think of this, so I looked online to see if I could maybe buy the CD so that one day my kids could boogie down as much as we did. Unfortunately, it's now a collectors item, and no longer in print so prices were like $50. No thanks. But, I did find this awesome website that let me listen to the entire album for free. Oh yeah, just imagine me rocking out in my room to these classic hits: Disco Mickey Mouse, Welcome to Rio, Mousetrap, The Greatest Band, Macho Duck, Watch Out for Goofy. And who can forget the disco-funky versions of It's a Small World, ChimChim Cheree, and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah! I know, the memories are flooding back.

So, as an early Christmas gift, please enjoy a little listen. Get out those dancing shoes, because once the first synthesizer notes start playing, you will be in heaven!

http://www.last.fm/music/Disneyland+Records/Disco+Mickey+Mouse

Sewing and Moving

2009-11-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

Mom and I had dueling sewing machines on Saturday making the cushions for the bench.

Do you know why we look so happy? Because we made the decision to not do the piping which would have added approximately a year and a half onto the project. No swearing was involved in the making of these cushions.

In other news:

We said a tearful good-bye to the old piano.

It's moving to its new home today. Katie and I had one last go around with it and called Gina to break the news. We were sad you weren't here, Gina, to play the Beer Barrell Polka one last time for us.

So long, Old Faithful. You served us well for 30 years. 25 of which with broken pedals.

We're Back From Paradise!

2009-11-13T10:43:00.000-08:00

Camille and I have made our triumphant return from Hawaii -- and it truly was paradise. We filled the week up with anything and everything we could think of, or find in our handy-dandy travel book! We covered tons of the island and saw as much as we could. The entire trip was perfect -- even though we did spend two hours stuck in a parking lot waiting for Triple A to help us get our keys out of the trunk. We took a gazillion pictures, but I thought I'd just give you a highlight of things we did. So here it goes:

We went to Pali Lookout, which had an amazing view of the southern coast of Oahu, although probably the windiest place I've ever been in my life.

We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and had an amazing time! The shows were great, the luau was so fun and the night show was spectacular. I'm so glad we went.

We saw the sunset from Sunset Beach on the North Shore.

We went to the Valley of the Temples which is actually part of a cemetery. It was beautiful. It had a koi pond with the biggest koi I've ever seen -- it made me miss our little pond.

Camille took this amazing picture of Waikiki on our last night there. Isn't it perfect? Yep- paradise.

We hiked this insane hike to Manao Falls. It was so steep and muddy. The first picture was taken after we rested a bit and could actually smile. The hike up was amazingly beautiful, and the falls were gorgeous, but wow, it was some hike!

We visited the temple in Laie. It's being renovated, and they had just painted it white earlier in the week. It was beautiful (I know, I use that word too much, but it's the best way to describe things).

This is the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore. The waves weren't huge like I wanted them to be, but there were so many surfers out there, I don't get how they're not constantly running into each other.

Th is is the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. This was a pretty amazing place. We watched a movie and then took a boat over the the memorial (thanks for the miraculous ear patches!). The diagram above shows how the memorial is sitting on top of the ship. It was a little eerie to think of all the men that are actually buried in the ship right below us. But I learned a lot about what happened that day and I'm grateful we went. They also had a submarine memorial next to it that had a plaque for each of the 52 submarines lost at sea during WWII. The plaque had the information for the submarine and then listed all the crew underneath the heading "On Eternal Patrol." It was pretty touching.

We also visited Ko'Olina beach on the west side, drove this amazing road through the "jungle" of Oahu, went to Laie Point, drove through a mile-long tunnel in a mountain that looked straight out of "Lost" (it could have been, we were right near the filming area), had the famous Hawaiian Shave Ice (we can't figure out why the just say shave ice, not shaved), swam at Turtle Bay, attended church during an adorable Primary program -- those Polynesian kids can belt it out!, we spent 3 hours talking with Jacob -- it was so good to see him, went to Krazy Karaoke with the Purcell family and sang our hearts out for 3 hours, and just had a marvelous time! Now we're back to reality, but have enough pictures to keep the memories alive. Aloha and Mahalo!

**If you'd like to see the rest of our 200 pics, we'll be doing a fireside this Sunday night where we've prepared a slide show of our travels, or just come here our testimony travel-log next Fast Sunday!

THE FLOOR IS IN

2009-11-08T15:08:00.001-08:00

Dad worked long and hard to get the floors in and they look great! He just has the finish work left on it but the back-breaking part is done.

Really???

2009-11-02T19:44:00.001-08:00

For all of your fat joke needs....

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-10-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the best mom ever! I've made a top 10 list of things I adore about mom.

10. She always knows what she's getting for her b-day and mother's day before we do.
9. She's the most kick back mom (but not with the gospel, thank goodness).
8. She loved us more as teenagers (which other mom could say that?)
7. Slimepits - pronounced slim-a-pits (hands down, my favorite scripture moment with mom)
6. Conversations around the island (you could always have a good one with mom)
5. Brief reenactments of the "Grand Land Singer performances"
4. Sassy mom (always catches me off guard, because she hasn't always been sassy)
3. Laughing in the NY van and not knowing why (hands down my favorite NY moment)
2. Always on her knees (or standing these days) praying for us
1. Her genuine, consistent love for us

Thanks for being wonderful, mom. We love you!
Dad, we know your thinking that something wonderful should be written about you right now, but it's not your birthday. :)

Autumn in Utah

2009-10-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Lindsay and I flew to Utah last weekend to visit with the northern half of the family. What a delighful weekend. We visited Salt Lake City and saw the Joseph Smith Movie. Lindsay had the treat of waking up to the cutest faces on the planet (no, not Sam and Stacy, but they are cute, too), Ben and Tom. She filled up on fun times with the nephews. I took Casey to Costco to fill up on goods. I saw his apartment and where his classes are and where he works. We saw Chris and Gina's new home which is delightful and very homey. We had good food and wonderful conversation and lots of laughs. It was a great trip on a beautiful autumn weekend in Utah.

Grandma and Ben with their finished art project.

Lindsay and Ben admiring the beautiful clouds. Ben says "The clouds are so beautiful".

The fam chillin' in Chris and Gina's back yard.

The attack of the fall leaves.

Casey and Lindsay's pick at the pumpkin patch.

Ben and Tom's picks at the pumpkin patch.

A beautiful Autumn day in Provo, Utah.

Thanks to Chris, Gina, Sam, Stacy, Ben, Tom & Casey for a wonderful time and to Lindsay for sharing it with me. I love you all!

OUTSIDE PAINT - CHECK CHECK

2009-10-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

The eaves are painted. Yeah! As the pictures show, Dad really takes his painting seriously. He loves his new paint sprayer.

This week we work on the kitchen back splash, door & window casings and the window seat.

Next week - the floors.

Paint, check!

2009-10-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

While the rest of the fam spent the weekend eating bon bons in exotic places like Phoenix and Provo Dad and I painted the rumpus room. In between conference sessions we finished up the molding on the grid, which looks great (admit it, you were skeptical)

and then after the second session we went to town on the walls. The color is kind of magical because it looks beigey in some lights and greyish in others. The perfect Neutral! We both really like it. The true test will be when Mom sees it in a few hours.

As you can tell by this picture, I decided to change my hand out for a paint roller, like Captain Hook. And I have grown a goiter on my neck.

The Other Side of Construction

2009-10-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Mom, Camille and others post pictures of the expanding beauty of the addition. I thought that in an attempt at balance I should post the other side of it - the outside where all the mess is kept. These pictures were taken after we had hauled out 5 dumpster loads of trash last week. The first picture is of our garden during construction. The others are probably self explanatory. Notice that the Camp Sink is set up. It was for the 3 weeks we did not have use of our kitchen sink. Good memories. After the addition is done, you can see what the next project will be. As I told Rachel last night, it will be another month or so until we can be considered for the Mayor's Home Beautification Award.

Tradition stands

2009-09-28T07:48:00.001-07:00

After some talk of changing a solid family tradition from a drawing to a rotation, tradition stayed standing. Yes a rotation sounds more adult and formal, but who needs that. Pulling names out of a hat/bowl is so much more thrilling. So, after the exciting drawing last night, here is the official list of who gives to who...

Gina --> Sam

Rachel --> Casey

Katie --> Camille

Sam --> Rachel

Lindsay --> Chris

Camille --> Lindsay

Casey --> Stacy

Stacy --> Gina

Chris --> Katie

THE WATER IS FLOWING

2009-09-26T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest photos of work complete as of 9/25/09.

Here's a close up of the counter tops. We are pleased.

Here are our choices for paint. Dark on walls light on ceiling.

The ceiling grid is coming along.

Our new sink & faucet. Also, a new garbage disposal & dishwasher.

The "bar"

The smaller topped island. It will eventually be the same color as the cabinets.

Dah, Dah!

Next step is to finish the grid. Primer the walls and ceiling. Paint the walls & ceiling. Paint the grid molding. Put up the grid molding. Put up molding above cabinets. Find and install tile for space between cupboards. Dad is amazing! Also, a shout out to Reed Pickett for helping with the plumbing.

THE COUNTERS ARE COMING, THE COUNTERS ARE COMING!

2009-09-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

The counters are being installed Tuesday! Yeah! That means I will get my sink back! Yeah! Sorry for all the exclaimation points but I am really excited to get my new sink in. It is amazing how many times you need to use running water in the kitchen. The carpet is wearing thin in the hallway for as many times I have to go wash my hands in the bathroom.

The girls and I picked out some paint colors yesterday and I bought little sample to paint swatches on the wall to see how they look in the light. I also went to the flooring store to get samples of what we picked out earlier. Dad is hooking up the new dishwasher and is taking off the old "faithful" island top. It has served us well. Oh, the fun conversations we have had around that island top. Farewell. Out with the old...In with the new. I hope I like the counter tops. I hate buyer's remorse. It is so hard to tell what a counter will look like from a little 2x3 chip.

I'll take pictures tomorrow when everything is done for the day.

Any Discolorations on Your Lip?

2009-09-14T22:50:00.001-07:00

Walking through a building on campus, I did a little double take as I passed by this sign:I bet the whole study is that you have to put on makeup, walk in, and ask if the slight discoloration on your upper lip is cancer. The doctor-to-be will then respond, "Cancer?! Get outta here!"

It Was a Good Day at the Fair

2009-09-12T21:03:00.001-07:00

Well, it's that time again, folks! Rachel, Camille, Heather, Liz, Laura and I headed out to the fair today, and boy was it a blast! We started out with the normal: look at the animals then drink delicious chocolate milk! Why does it taste so good? Oh, wait, it's because it's whole milk, and super cold. Man, it's divine.

Then we happened across the pig races. Oh, boy, were we in for a treat! We were the blue team, cheering those adorable pigs around the track. Their treat at the end of the race was Oreos and milk. I would run around a track for that! We watched 3 or 4 pig races, and then they surprised us with duck races. Okay, even funnier than the pigs.

Yep, our blue duck won. That was after they stopped mid-race to check out the audience, and then turned around to go back to the start. Finally the farmer had to get onto the track and nudge them into the gate. It was hysterical.

We took some silly pictures and tried chocolate covered bacon.

We shopped and ate and shopped and ate. You've got to love fair food. But then came the moment I had been waiting for. . . the craft exhibits. You see, Rachel and I both entered crafts into the fair this year. It was pretty exciting, even if we did feel like old ladies doing it. So we walked into the main area, and instead of leisurely walking around, checking out the tablescapes and all the delicious baked goods, we headed straight to where our crafts would be. We found mine first, and this is what we saw:

You better believe I got third place! I was jumping up and down. I got a ribbon at the fair. Here's shots of me by the award winning stocking, and the stocking itself (don't mind the second place one, right next to it -- show off!).

And then we had to run and find Rachel's afghan. This is what we found next to hers . . .

Third place for her, too! It was too good to be true. Pretty amazing!

We finished off the day with a horse race, the big yellow slide, and chocolate covered cotton candy (just as sweet as it sounds). All in all it was a great day at the fair!

Good News - Bad News

2009-09-09T19:52:00.001-07:00

First, the GOOD NEWS... The Kitchen Cabinets are installed thanks to Scott, Camille and Katie. I helped when needed but pretty much stayed out of the way, took pictures and used my "MOMMIE EYES" to make sure everything looked good.

BEFORE AFTER

The Demolition

The Installation

As you can see we still have a lot of work to do but at least the cabinets are in. YEAH!!!

Now for the BAD NEWS...

The counter tops will not be ready for installation for 2 weeks :(

Oh well! For we hearty campers - that's nothing. We are doing pretty good using our barbeque, electric skillet, and our camp sink. We are surviving in the wild just fine. Sunday night popcorn was made on the little burner on the barbeque and using our camp lantern for light. 2 Weeks will be here before you know it. Don't I have a good attitude.

Feel free to drop in any time....bring Subway!

Fun in the San Diego Sun

2009-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post pictures from our fabulous Knecht Party at Mission Bay, San Diego. Here are an assortment of pictures of the cast of "characters" who attended. Thanks to Aunt Pam and Ruth for hosting the successful event. We missed our "North Country" family.

Yet another Knecht Blog

2009-09-05T19:50:00.001-07:00

Chris and I have started up our own blog. It is by invite only because we have very smart students who will work their way into our world, and we don't want that. However, we'd love to have visitors, so send us an e-mail and we'll open the door for you. You can find us at www.thewittfactor.blogspot.com. (Pictures of our new house are there.)

Guess Where We Were

2009-08-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

Update 9/2/09 -- Alright, I know you're all dying for the answers. Here's the scoop: We parked the car across the street from Union Station and went from there. We started at Phillipes (yum), went through Olvera Street (ole), down Main Street crossing the 101. We made a right on Temple and went up a gigantic hill to Grand, rested in the Cathedral, the proceeded down Grand all the way to 5th street, making stops along the way. We went a little west on 5th, just to go to the library, then back east on 5th down to Hill Street. We then went back north on Hill to the Subway station, which is maybe at Hill and 3rd? Which took us back to Union Station. From there we drove through China Town, waved at Dodger Stadium (my blue heaven), and then headed home. For a really cool map of all that's amazing downtown, check out this link I found.

http://college.usc.edu/geography/la_walking_tour/

On Tuesday Casey and I did an amazing walking tour of downtown LA. It was such a great adventure. We parked the car and walked for about 3 hours all through downtown. We saw places I had only heard about and always wondered where they were. We found new things, visited old favorites and really had a great time. The 100 degree temperature didn't even put a damper on things, although I was much damper by the time we ended. So, to include you in our fun, we decided to make a little game out of our adventure. Below I've included pictures of some of the places we visited. You now get to guess what they are. Fun, huh! They might be super easy, they might be hard, I have no idea. But, go ahead, have a look. It could be a lot of fun!

a. b. c. d.

a: bottom of the library -- 5 stories down
b: top of the library
c: Federal Court House
d: best taquito place in Olvera Street

e. f. g. h.

e: China town
f: Grand Central Market
g: Subway station on Hill Street
h: Angel's Flight

i. j. k. l.

i: the Bonaventure Hotel
j: Casey at Union Station (sorry Dad)
k: Phillipes -- great French Dip
l: City Hall

m. n. o.

m: Disney Concert Hall
n: I really don't remember where this is, except it's in between the county and federal court house, and across Grand Street from the Music Center. There was a sign that said, "El Paseo de los Pobladores", and it's not the Department of Water and Power. Sorry.
o: The Museum of Contemporary Art

How did you all do? If anyone's game for a guided tour, now that I'm an expert, I'm game

ps. putting these pictures on is a lot harder than I thought. Anyone have a "Blogging for Dummies" book?

Did You Know?

2009-08-21T19:05:00.001-07:00

This week I was introducing the letter A to my students. Daniel raised his hand and said, "I know A. A is for Mario." This threw me a bit and so I asked him what he meant. He just kept saying over and over again, "A is for Mario." I was more than confused. Most Preschool kids come in saying A is for apple, or even calling the letter A an apple. And I don't even have a Mario in my class. But then, miraculously, I figured it out. So to confirm my guess I asked him, "What is B for?" His reply . . . Luigi. Oh, the things I learn in Kindergarten.

On a similar note, I teach one of my coworkers daughters. She came into my room yesterday and here's the conversation we had:
Coworker: Well, it's official -- Isabella worships the ground you walk on.
Me: Well, that's pretty normal for a 5 year old.
Coworker: She won't do anything unless she thinks you'd be happy with it. She even tells me I'm doing things wrong and that Miss Knecht does everything right.
Me: Again, that's pretty common.
Coworker: I know, but to top it all off she informed me that you were way prettier than me!

Yep -- that's right, I train my students well.

FAMILY ROOM UPDATE!

2009-08-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

Well, I thought it was about time for an update on our family room. The drywall is in. The taping has begun, and the outside walls have been "scratched" and "browned". It is really looking like a room now. It has a huge "echo" affect in the kitchen. After the taping, it is on to the kitchen redo. The cabinets should be delivered the beginning of next week so we will take advantage of Casey being in town. He will help take the old cabinets out. We are buying a dishwasher this weekend. No more door falling to the ground! We have also been looking at kitchen sinks and faucets. So many decisions!!!! You know my love for decision making. All in all, we are staying within budget and getting ideas in place for the bookcases and entertainment center.

Love to all, MOM

Random pics

2009-08-19T18:40:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics I've taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Death Comes Unexpectedly...tomorrow morning

2009-08-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have made an all-out assault on the wasps this week. We have been through about 15 cans of wasp killer. Let's just say there's a great nest in the sky that being built this week.

Tomorrow is the big day. Plan Pollyanna Preacher. We're arriving at the house at 8:00 a.m. with a trash bag, box, packing tape, wasp killer, and a prayer. We'll approach the birdhouse, which inhabits the largest nest you've ever seen. We'll slowly raise the trash bag, which has been previously soaked in wasp killer, over the house and tie it off and wrap that sucker in packing tape. Then we'll stealthily slide said house off the branch and lower it into the box. Next, we'll quickly tape the box up and begin praying. After the box has been taped up, Chris will place the box in his car, drive to the nearest gas station and dump the box into the dumpster. You might even hear the screech of his wheels as he pulls away.

Stay tuned for the debrief.