The many moods of the Kasparek kids...

Life is never dull with our little angels. Camden decided the week Daddy is in Florida would be a terrific time to pop in his 2 front teeth. Poor kid has been a runny nosed Crabosaurus but a grilled cheese sandwich got us a few smiles at lunch time.

This morning Emma said, "Let's read picture books, Mom!"(translation: let's look at photo albums) After looking back at Emma as a baby I told her I missed all those smiles she used to flash in pictures. I grabbed the camera and in her typical 3 year-old fashion, this is what she gave me... With a little coaxing and a few tickles, I got my smile. :)

Dinner with the monkey and the pig

Last night Camden and I had the honor of dining with a very cute little monkey and pig (Emma and Claire) It was quite entertaining listening to 3 year-olds talk about their monkey and pig adventures. :)

Our favorite way to start the day

Camden has started welcoming us each morning babbling and standing up in his crib. The bright light was a bit much for him this morning. :)

Camden turned 8 months old yesterday. Here's a picture of Miss Emma at 8 months...those bald heads run in the family!

Hanging out at home

Just a few pictures to share... :)

Kasparek kids on the move

Emma has been itching to get outside and ride her bike so we took advantage of the blue sky yesterday. She prefers flat terrain to ride on. In our neighborhood that is about 20 feet of sidewalk along our house before she has to put a little muscle into it and go up hill. We've got some practicing to do. Let's hope for more sunny days!

Camden cheered on Emma riding her tricycle and his showing off his skills standing up. Since Sunday, the boy cannot stand up enough. Now he just needs to work on more graceful landings.

Hurricane Ridge

It was a GORGEOUS day in Washington today! We headed up to the Olympic Mountains for a day of fun and spectacular views at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Once we got over the initial cold shock of 20 degree temperatures (yes, these Iowa bred kids have become accustom to mild weather and aren't as tough in the cold weather as we used to be) we enjoyed being in the snow again. Camden loved his birds eye view from my back and Emma hitched a ride on Chris's shoulders when she got tired of the sled. .

Camden's first pool party

Swimming in January isn't something I am used to, but we had a great evening at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center with the Warthen family. Camden experienced the water with clenched fists, but gave us a few smiles when he got used to it. Emma was very convincing that she was NOT going down the water slide, but loved cruising around the lazy river with us.

It's Official

Well it is finally official....After 6 weeks of training I am officially registered for the Eugene Marathon on May 4th in Eugene Oregon. Chris Warthen and I will be gracing the city of Eugene with our amazing physique and prowess as we run the streets where many legends have run before us.

Training is going great..Our weeks are consistently starting to get more challenging, but as we challenge each other our endurance and our times are starting to improve....Oh and our waistlines are starting to improve as well..Every Sunday are our endurance runs..this week was 8 miles...

So if anyone is free the weekend of the 2nd-4th of May and you have nothing better to do than cheer a couple of men on in one of the biggest challenges of their lives...Meet us in Eugene.

I have attached a fun little survey on the blog...Don't worry about hurting my feelings...Be honest, and it will be interesting when it is all said and done how it adds up.

Finally...it is always nice to look back and remember where I do not want to be again....

Feliz Cumpleanos Emma!

Today we celebrated Emma's 3rd birthday! Since the day after Christmas all we've heard about is a Dora Birthday Party...Breakfast in bed...A Kasparek family tradition!

Camden and Emma are ready for the fiesta to begin!

Camden sported his Boots the Monkey outfit to go with our Dora theme. (What a nice brother!)

Sleeping Beauty(Emma) and Cinderella (Claire) joined the party just in time to open presents! Camden finds a card to chew on (imagine that!)

One of Chris's many talents: Making AWESOME birthday cakes! Following in his dad's footsteps, he's the official cake baker in our house.

Is this girl a pro at blowing out candles or what?! Here's to a wonderful year being 3! :)

Rub-a-dub-dub

Here are our angels in the tub :)

"Wow! I can stand!!!"

Camden has recently discovered there is an exciting world above him. He would like to help Emma put that puzzle together if he could just reach a bit higher...

He tries a different angle to get the puzzle...

Camden's surprised expression was priceless! He pulled himself to his feet for the first time! Unfortunately, Emma was not thrilled with Camden's new sense of liberation. Trying to put a puzzle together with your little brother yanking on the back of your chair is a little annoying.

The Iowa Caucus and Camden meets the Press...

Well it did not take long for us to meet the local media. Aimee let us know about a local paper that was looking for transplanted Iowans and their thoughts on the caucuses in Iowa. An interview and a few pictures later and we hit the big time.....Check it out....

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/03/iowa-transplants-have-special-perspective-on/

Trip to the mountains take 2...

Thanks to Aimee, there was more fun captured on film (well, digital pixels I guess) Saturday. Chris and I kind of had our hands full with the kids and couldn't get out camera out as quickly as we wanted to.

Camden's first run on the sled!

Here come Emma and Claire!!!!!

I wish we could have zoomed in on Emma's face. She didn't enjoy this run down the steep hill. That is a look of terror on her face and her reaction was to hold on to to poor Claire's face in front of her. Their pal, Logan, is having an awesome time riding shotgun! Those would be the dads at the top of the hill laughing at the kids as we moms were at the bottom to rescue them.

After recovering from that WILD ride, Emma was all smiles. :)

All the excitement watching the big kids sledding, wore Camden out. He fell asleep in the saucer sled.

Happy New Year!

Let's hear it for 2008! We hope you all have a wonderful year!