Successful Hunt

Day three of Shane's Idaho mule deer hunt was successful. He filled his tag with a "massive" 3x4 mule deer. Not record book or anything, but big enough that he's planning on having it mounted. (Yay, gotta love a deer head hanging on the wall....) He missed a bigger buck on the first day, so when this one came along (actually, it didn't-it was bedded down) he took the opportunity. He and his friend will hike back in tomorrow to bring out the meat and he'll be home by Friday night, so for those interested (Durkee :-) check back later in the week for pictures.

Lost In Translation

Last Thursday our school had it's Open House. We kindergarten teachers thought it would be a great idea to help our little charges get familiar with the school, so wrote up a list of places to find. A Scavenger Hunt, if you will. The only problem was that about 65% of our population doesn't speak English and our translator quit last spring. I thought I was as clever as could be because I found a free translation service online. Plug in the Scavenger Hunt and ta-da! it pops out in Espanol! Luckily I thought to have a teacher (who speaks Spanish) look it over before we made copies. It was supposed to read, "....we encourage you to take your child on 'Scavenger Hunt' of the school. You will find a map of the school on the back of this page." The translation? "we encourage you to eat the carrion (meat) off the bones of your child. There is a map of the school on your back." Needless to say that fun little activity went in the trash!

A couple people have asked, so just a quick update on school...the kindergartners 'first' day was today. (I've officially been working since August 25). I have 19 kids. It was a fun day, but I always forget how teaching kindergarten (at least in September) closely resembles herding cats. My team is fabulous!! They're supportive, helpful, and most importantly-funny! I've also lucked out because I get to have a wonderful instructional assistant. She's in the class the whole time the kids are there-a priviledge I've never got to enjoy as a kindergarten teacher! I'll keep you posted as the year progresses-there are sure to be lots of funny stories coming.

Eli's First (And Second) Haircut

It was definitely time for a trim! Though Eli did look absolutely adorable with his surfer-dude locks, his hair was forever getting in his eyes...so off to the salon we went.

All geared up and ready to go!

Eli sat like still through the entire haircut! (I think the giant brush had something to do with it!)

Ta-da! Looks pretty good, right? That's what I thought too...until we got home and it dried out all the way....

No, this is not one of the Three Stooges. This is what our adorable baby boy looks like with a very bad haircut! So, we marched right down to Hairmasters the next day.

As you can see, the results were much better! I just can't believe how my sweet little Eli instantly looks like a little boy!
All smiles with his new do!

Count Down...

-9 Days until School Starts
(I've been doing the mad-scramble to get my class set up and materials ready. Maddy started full-time today with Eli. I am so thankful for her! It makes it so much easier to leave each day knowing he's in loving hands!)

-27 Days until Eli's FIRST birthday
(How can that be? He is the most adorable little guy ever! Currently he is learning to cruise, trying to stand alone, and really enjoying having stories read to him. The past few weeks his favorite book has been " Peekabo Baby." He actually lifts the flap for each page and turns the page-smart boy! I really will try to get pictures of him posted soon...)

-3 More Mondays until Shane's big hunt
(Shane drew a coveted mule deer tag for a unit in Idaho. It's known for producing trophy mulies, so he has high hopes! He'll be hunting with a colleague from work who knows the area really well. This year the deer won't be as lucky as he's going with a rifle instead of the trusty bow...I'll keep you posted on how that goes!)

- ??? Days until the remodel is finished
(I guess you could say we're about 75% complete. The project list still includes: finish bathroom floor, tile tub deck and shower surround, trim bathroom, tile laundry room floor, carpet installed in basement, trim basement, paint doors and trim, touch up paint....ok, maybe 75% is a stretch! The good news is we have a working toilet and sinks upstairs now!)

-7 hours
(The amount of sleep I will get if I go to bed right now (and if Eli sleeps through the night!)

Hunting Bats the Hard Way...by Shane

Check this out- last night I am sitting in the living room watching a mule deer hunting video, when all of the sudden I hear Deanna screaming upstairs. I put down the DVD player and holler up to her to see what is happening. Well, to our dismay, there is a bat hanging from the wall at the top of stairs, so me being the manly man (and also the great hunter) I slip into the basement and grab man's trusty hunting partner...the BROOM. With Deanna screaming and Eli crying I slip up the stairs, pause briefly to clear my thoughts and get in the zone. Now I am focused and quite deadly. Ahead of me I see a sleeping bat. To my left side is wall. To my right is another wall. Behind me my family huddles in fear, but now I know what I must do. I now stand a foot from the bat. Fear momentarily grips my throat. "This is no time to panic," I tell myself. "Your family is counting on you to be strong." It seems as though time stands still as I raise the broom and WHACK! I deliver the deafening blow. The said bat tumbles to the ground, Bailey leaps from her bed and hides behind the couch, Deanna lets out one last scream, and Eli falls back to a peaceful sleep. All is quite at the Kitchen Estate. The sun has set on another heroic day in the life of Shane Kitchen.

Little Mozart

Maybe Eli will have more musical talent than Shane and I after all! As you can see, it absolutely thrills him to be able to make such a racket! Maybe someday Tessa will be able to give him real lessons....

Back in Business..

Reasons (Not to be confused with excuses...) Why I Haven't Updated Our Blog in Over A Month....

1. Blogger wouldn't let me access our account and I finally figured out how to reset our password today.
2. No time!
3. Whenever I sit down at the computer, Eli crawls over to join me and pulls all the paper out of the printer. (He's mastered crawling on all fours now!)
4. No time!
5. We were living with Dan and Jeanne for 2 weeks while the house was under construction.
6. No time!
7. I was too busy cleaning up the mess the sheet rockers left for us.
8. No time!
9. It seems that every time I turn my back on Eli, he takes a spill (actually, I think he does it when I'm watching him too! He can pull up now and tries it out on everything!)
10. NO TIME!

To summarize, it's been a crazy busy summer! We're still trying to finish the remodel, I'm starting to get geared up for work (taking classes mostly) and Eli is now mobile. I will definitely try to find some time to post pictures here in the next week! Keep checking in on us! :-)