Lunceford Update

Well, the summer is almost over, and at least one of us is a little happy about that. Jace and Kala have been out of daycare for most of the summer, and it's been fun, but exhausting. Chad and I have been busy and tired. Chad is still doing research at ASU and is there all day. We were a little worried about graduate school for awhile, and Chad was even having second thoughts about going, but after a lot of thought and some reassurance from his professor and his dad, he's feeling much better about it. We would be very surprised if ASU didn't accept Chad into graduate school. Needless to say, we're feeling much better about it. We're not worried about having to leave Arizona quite yet. :)

I am still working evenings at a good job and was planning on signing up for fall semester there at the community college, but then when it came down to it, they wouldn't let me. Financial Aid didn't like the idea of me having already graduated and spending more time at PV. They didn't want me wasting "their" money and - to make the long story short - the only way for me to get "their" money for PV was to take only one class in the fall. So, at last minute, we decided it would be better to enroll at ASU after all. We knew the process was long and tedious so knowing that we had a month to do it all in was frustrating and stressful. Not until this week was I accepted and my "to do" list has doubled. I'm a little worried about getting all the left-over classes, but at least I'll be able to take more than one class and there seemed to be a few online options which I am hoping are still there on Monday (when I'm going to talk to an advisor). We'll see what happens!

Kala and Jace are still doing good... they play a lot together and are still crazy about each other, but they still tend to fight a lot. They fight over the stupid toys that normally don't get attention. All it takes is one of them picking it up and it becomes the ultimate favorite toy... ever! :) They also play a lot at night, when they're supposed to be sleeping. We finally got Kala out of our room and into hers. The only problem is that at night, Jacer thinks it's play time because Kala's in there. Then, because Jace is awake and talking, it makes Kala get up and entertain him or "help" him go to sleep. It was a rough week or two, but they've gotten a little better. The morning's are a little rough, too, for the same reason. Jace has been waking up early these days and notices no one else is up to share it with... so he wakes up his big sister. In fact, just this morning, I heard him awake around 6:30 and he was in his crib, happy as a clam, singing loudly. He went on for a long while - it was adorable!!

Also, with Kala, we found out that the kindergarten thing won't be happening. We had decided to try it and have her take the test, but when I called, they said all the testing appointments had been filled and that there already was a long waiting list. The lady I spoke to said that a lot of kids will sign up for it and very few kids will actually pass because they have to be at the developmental stage of a 5 year old (I actually think it was 5 1/2 or so) and so technically Kala would have been months behind and therefore having a smaller chance of passing the test. So, that was a little comforting, given the situation, and it saved us $75!! So... next year. 

All in all, everyone here at the Lunceford house is doing pretty ok.  :) 

Watermelon Gum

Ah. The good ol' story of gum in the hair. I've always heard about this happening, but I just assumed that it was told more than it was actually experienced. Lucky us - we got to experience it. Little Miss Mykala Jo got gum in her long, beautiful, blonde hair. And not on the bottom - oh no - it was at the very tippy top - which meant that a horrible hair cut would have to happen if everything else failed!

So... the remedy? Oil. I considered peanut butter, but decided to go straight to the source. :) I put olive oil on the spot, waited 2-3 minutes, applied some more, waited another 3 minutes, and then took a comb and went through it piece by piece and.... voila!! Good as new. :) There was a little patience involved, as well as a few tears, but everyone made it out fine and no haircut was required. :)

Kala's Dance Recital

For those of you who are interested, I posted the video of Kala's dance dress rehearsal on the dance post. :) :)

Kala's Rainbow

Playing

Cherishing the good moments while they last!! :)

The Park

Yes... we went to the park in the middle of the day and in the middle of July. Yes, it was a very stupid thing to do. But when you are desperate, you are desperate!! (We were itching to get out.) But the kids and I had a lot of fun - as long as we stayed in the shade. :)

 

This bridge made Jacer a little uneasy... he watched his every step!

Kala's Quotes of the Week

(When we told her to do something (I think)...)

"My body's just not very good at standing up right now."

"When I grow up, I want to be a mom - just like you!"

"But I don't know who I'm going to marry, cause there are a lot of people who have married each other. Hmm...  maybe I'll marry my dad." (Electra complex...perhaps that Freud fellow was right.)

"Blacias, Jace! Blacias means no and goodbye."

4th of July

Once a year we go downtown to watch the fireworks... it seemed shorter this year, which was kind of a disappointment, but we had fun nonetheless. :) There was quite a wait for the fireworks, so there are a lot of pictures!! Kala had a blast with the glow sticks that Grampa brought and Jace had fun running around. Once the fireworks started, Jace stared in amazement and did so until they ended. Kala, like the previous 3 years, became bored and wanted to blow bubbles instead. But not surprisingly, they both crashed on the way home. :)

This picture is a bit funky...

Kala LOVED the glow sticks

Talking to Grama on the phone

Grampa decorated with glow sticks

Silly Faces

Jacer was hard to keep up with for the first half hour or so...
While he was running around like a maniac, one of the gentlemen we were sitting by said, "He's just celebrating his independence!" It was cheesy, but it certainly fitted my little wild child. :)

Hawaii

Grama Jensen was lucky enough to go to Hawaii this month and brought back a cute little hula skirt for Mykala!

Baby Videos

Lately my hobby has been playing with home videos. Blogger is really picky and slow when it comes to video files, so I had to chop them up quite a bit to be able to share them. There are hundreds of them that I wanted to put on here, but I thought I'd start with these. The first two are our gorgeous newborn babies and the last one is just one of my personal favorites... :)

(Again, don't forget to pause the music!)

Enjoy!!

November 2005 - Our baby girl was born. :)

February 2009 - our baby boy!!

Kala at the hospital when Jace was born.

It makes me laugh every time...

Even Jacer knows it's time for Bear to take a bath...

Cookin' in the Kitchen!

Other news includes Kala's dance recital this past Sunday night. All those Monday nights at dance "lessings" have led up to this. :) She had two dress rehearsals this week where the parents were able to take pictures and videos, and then the recital was Sunday night (Yes, Father's Day... and we're not sure why.)

But our little girl was so cute! She looked so beautiful in her costume and it didn't bother her one bit being on stage in front of hundreds of people! I was so very impressed! I believe she is one of the younger ones in the class, so I don't think she caught on to the dance as well as some of the others, but she was still fantastic! :) We are so proud of her!

The theme of the recital was "525,600 Minutes" (from Rent) and all the dances were different events of the year. Kala's dance, Cookin' in the Kitchen, represented Thanksgiving. :)

Many many thanks to Grampa and Grama for all those nights at dance lessings and everything else that went into getting ready for the recital - you guys did so much and we are so grateful. Because of you, she was able to do all of this - thank you, thank you!!

Kala's Dress Rehearsal

 A lot has happened and is happening, so there's a lot to tell. I will start here.

My dad's headstone is up. I don't remember whether or not I knew about it being up, but it seems to me that seeing it on my uncle's Facebook page was the first time (thanks, Neil). I'm glad to see that it is there, though.

Seeing that it was up brought up different emotions. First, I think my reaction was happiness. I was glad to see that people were visiting and bringing him flowers. Especially with how empty the cemetery is - he could use the company!
It was also good to see familiar faces. That made me happy.

Shortly afterwards, though, sadness took a hit to the chest... a very hard hit. The reality of my dad being gone hasn't quite fully come I don't think, but I am afraid it's getting close. It still feels like a dream or as if we are all pretending. Kind of like a play rehearsal.... and any time now, dad will pop out from behind the curtain and say "Alright! Great practice, everyone!" And we'll all be glad to see him again and life will go back to normal.

That's when the reality of it hits the hardest, I think... knowing that it's not pretend or a dream to wake up from. It's such a horrible feeling.

But the stone is beautiful and huge; I like that. I'm  glad it's so noticeable.

I do wish I was there to see it in person and visit him myself. Being there would be nice so I could also take my own pictures instead of stealing them (sorry, uncle Neil.)

I had to put the picture of Ryan and Natalia on here. There are a lot of instances where Ryan reminds me of my dad and this picture is an example. That makes me happy, too. :)

We all love and miss you, Dad.

Ah... my cute little couch potatoes!  :)

(I love this picture. They were so relaxed and content.) 

Lately I've been spending a lot of time looking through some old family videos. It's been a lot of fun - there are so many things that I had forgotten we recorded and was very excited to see. I am all ready excited to get it all on DVD! There are tapes with Kala as a baby and I can't believe how tiny she was - she's so big now! Time flies maybe too fast sometimes...

I also hadn't realized the similarities between them, either. Like having the same laugh and waddling when they run. It's adorable! They look more alike than I thought, too - you can definitely tell the two are related!! 

I'm hoping to post a few on here when I get a few put together. :)

Swimming!!