Our little Mia Hamm....

That's right! It is official...Emma Kasparek has now entered into the realm of Youth Sports...With Daddy looking on, Emma enjoyed her first soccer practice...She really loves her new uniform and who can blame her when she has number "6" Any true Iowa fan will recognize that this is a great number...NO NOT Christiansen, DWIGHT...

Ok, Ok, I am Iowa crazy.....I admit it....and I do not want to brag, but I think Emma may be the next great USA Player....Lighten up folks...I am NOT going to be that psycho Soccer Dad....at least I hope not....

Snow Angels and Sledding

Wow, what a day....Emma, Claire and their Daddy's had a day to themselves on the mountains. The girls enjoyed cruising down on the sleds as Chris and Chris let them ride on their backs each time getting faster and faster.

Here is a three picture sequence of a really good stunt by Emma....Look close...On Daddy's Back, Off of his back, now five feet behind...

SNOWANGELS......

Wow...This Stuff is Deep....Uhhhhhhhhhhh...

Get Him.......Get Him.....Get Him......

After a fun filled day....Gotta Love the Rosy Cheeks...

You can take the girl out of Japan...

But you can't take Japan out of the girl! Emma kept us entertained at dinner last night when she insisted on using chopsticks. :)

"Come on chicken," was my favorite quote of the evening. Coaxing your food into your chopsticks always works!

Yummy seaweed! She reminded us that she ate seaweed with Gavin. :)

Camden's feet were more entertaining than watching us eat dinner.

Eventually Emma told us, "These are too tricky," and used her fork to shovel in the rest of her rice. :)

This button, Mom?

We have a budding photographer in our house. Maybe it's all the pictures we've been taking of her recently... Emma is always pretending to take our picture with anything that she thinks resembles a camera. She was in heaven when we moved and she inherited my Japanese cell phone. She snaps pictures with it all the time. This morning she asked to take a whirl at our camera...

Ooops! Cut mom's head off....Then Camden wouldn't sit still...

This one's pretty good!

Mom's turn behind the lens....

Emma thinks that Camden is at the playground when he's swinging. She was getting frustrated that he wouldn't go higher in the swing. He just laughs with delight when she pushes him. I think it's time to retire the swing... :)

The Next Big Goal.....

That's right folks...It's time for a new goal...First came the 60 pounds, then the half-marathon...Now after gaining a few pounds back, which means for someone that has lost a lot....a travesty....So whats next....The Eugene Marathon in Eugene, Oregon. The race is taking place on May 4th. Training started Monday, almost two weeks after finishing the half-marathon.

I really have not talked to a whole lot about the half-marathon....., so in brief let's just say it was one of my biggest accomplishments personally. Found myself at one time almost breaking down as I reflected on the last 9 months of working out, running and changing my lifestyle. Crossing the finish line was amazing, and I can only imagine what the feeling will be crossing the finish line in Eugene.

Granted the hours after the race will be brutal....but it will all be worth it. So for now the journey has began, and I encourage all to ask frequently how the training is going. That keeps me motivated along with knowing that I will be running in some of the footsteps of my heroes at this race....Primarily Steve Prefontaine.

"We take these risks not to escape life but to keep life from escaping us."

Christmas Picture 2007

It is complete and you should be seeing it in the mail sometime in the next two weeks. That's right the Kasparek Family Christmas Photo 2007 is done. With the help of a tripod and a little bit of luck, you should all have a nice photo of us to hang on your fridge. That is if you make the mailing list.....and we like you....Of course Christmas photos cannot be complete without the bloopers and extras from the kiddies...ENJOY and look for the photo and our annual letter soon...Happy Holidays....

The Kasparek House Lighting Party

The holiday season is official now! Last night was the 5th Annual Kasparek House Lighting Party. It was a small, but festive group and we cheered for Chris when he flipped the switch on his masterpiece.










I went a little overboard making food so all our guest were stuffed at then end of the night. We even had wrapped pickles left over!




Camden was thrilled to have more feet to explore as he belly crawled around the table visiting everyone. He also loved having Grace feed him dinner!
















Emma was a great little hostess making sure everyone knew exactly where the gingerbread cookies and candy canes were. She got a package from Japan earlier in the day and was excited to play dress up with Claire. :)