Big events!

Whew!  We've had a lot happen in the last few weeks, and each of us has had something pretty special to share.

We'll start with Kari who had a weekend she's been waiting for, well, for a longgg time. She went to American Girl Doll store in Chicago for lunch with Grammy Pammy and Dale. It's a special birthday present that Grammy has had on the schedule since she took her other granddaughters years ago.

Needless to say, the reality lived up to the hype created by our daughter. She got "Kate" this lovely blonde doll who now seems to accompany us every where. Complete with hair accessories and earrings (yes, they were pierced that day on the doll), Kate is a staple in the Keckler house now.

Kari also took her birthday presents from friends to a local charity as a donation. Lafayette Urban Ministry was thrilled to receive a clothes basket full of towels and homemade blankets to help out in this extended cold winter we've had. We're quite proud that Kari continues to come up with ideas like this instead of getting presents.

Bryce has had a loose tooth now for many weeks, but refused to let anyone so much as touch it. Daddy tried numerous times to pop it out like the first one, but it was a lost cause. Until this past week. I was gone on a brief overnight work trip when B said I could pull it out when I got home. Little did any of us know that chance would never occur.

As I went to pull it out the next morning before school, it was already out. He lost it in his sleep, which led us to believe he pushed it out while sucking his thumb - or even worse he might have just swallowed it in his sleep?

We looked everywhere before we had to leave to get to school, and found nothing. We looked again when we got home and nothing. We were then brushing teeth before bed and he felt something sharp in his tooth brush. What do you know? When he brushed his teeth before bed the night prior, it was stuck in the bristles!

Before you criticize, we have a second toothbrush he uses in the morning in the downstairs bathroom, thus he didn't truly find it for 24 hours. Anyway, we've got a two-gap space in the middle of this guy's mouth now!

One of the many fringe benefits I receive through my work relationship with Coach K's camp is tickets to a home game each year. I was specifically told 5 years ago to never ask or even hope for tickets to the game vs. UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium... that even former players get turned down for requests.

Well, the request was never made, rather it was offered to me. The idea probably stemmed from me mentioning I wanted to bring Holly with me this year instead of a guy friend. To say we were beyond grateful and fortunate is an understatement.

The game was amazing. It started with a memorable moment of silence for the legendary UNC coach Dean Smith who recently passed away. Coach K and Roy Williams planned it before the game - both teams would gather at center court arm-in-arm and show that the rivalry will never be bigger than those who helped make it just that.

Once the game started, Duke went up by 10-plus points in the first half and the stadium was rockin. Carolina battled back and was similarly ahead in the second half. In fact, Cameron Indoor was rather sullen as the Blue Devils were trailing by 7 with just 90 seconds left.

But all of a sudden the home team stormed back, somehow forced overtime and ultimately came out on top in the extra session. It was an unbelievable game, experience and time with good friends/clients.

 Campus unusually covered in snow

Can you believe we were only feet away from the famous "Towel Guy"?

A Rockin' Birthday Party

Bryce and Daddy just got home from one of the most unique birthday parties I've ever heard of.  One of the little boys in Bryce's class invited everyone to a musically-themed party at Elliott Hall.  A drum presentation and Purdue Pete topped off the event.

The kids were all jaw-droppingly mesmerized!

Grandparent visit

This past weekend we headed up to Fort Wayne for an impromptu visit to see the great grandparents. We're not sure who was more surprised!

A Frozen Birthday Surprise

I totally forgot to post about this!  The last weekend in January Kari and I went up to Chicago with Amy and Taylor to go to Disney Frozen on Ice.  Taylor's birthday is only four days away from Kari's, and Amy and I had been planning this surprise weekend since this summer.

We decided to make a full day of it and drove up shortly after breakfast.  A brand new skating ribbon at the new Maggie Daley Park had just opened.  Because we arrived before lunchtime, we beat the crowds and were able to get right on.  The skating ribbon is a unique skating experience.  Unlike a traditional rink where you go around and around in a circle, this was truly a winding ribbon of a path, probably 20 feet wide.  Additionally, it had two places where there were small, but noticeable graded inclines and declines.

It didn't take long for the ribbon to get torn up with all the skaters and the Zamboni was out resurfacing the rink for more than an hour!  By this point, the line to rent skates was some 50 people deep.  We skated a little bit more before our toes, ankles and legs were begging to stop.

Lunch/early dinner was at the original Lettuce Entertain You- RJ Grunts in Lincoln Park.  This is home to the first salad bar in the country.  The restaurant was tightly packed, but the salad bar was impressive so Kari and I both gave it a try.  She particularly liked the pocket-sized apples.

Afterwards we still had about 90 minutes to kill before heading over to the United Center.  We drove around a bit and ended up settling in nearby DePaul area and finding a dessert and cupcake shop. Even though we were still stuffed from RJ Grunts, we pushed through and each ordered some dessert. Kari and Taylor both ordered iced Valentine's cookies.

Finally it was time for the show.  We were thrilled to discover that parking was included in our tickets.  By luck of the draw, we ended up on the Blackhawks side and pulled right into a prime parking spot only yards away from the entrance.  We found a short line and had hardly any wait outside before the doors opened.  We were surprised once again to find that our seats just a few sections over from our point of entry.  This day was running almost TOO smoothly!  I caved and allowed Kari to pick a small something from the sucker, ahem, souvenir stand.  If you've ever worried that the economy has still not recovered from the housing crash of '08, let me assure you, the money was flowing like liquid gold at that place.  It was really quite overwhelming from that standpoint.

After the show, we hustled straight out to the car- no waiting- and hopped right onto the Eisenhower, just in time for the beginning of the big snowstorm.  We made it back to Glen Ellyn in no time and headed to bed.  We woke up Sunday morning to about 8" on the ground and more steadily falling. We knew we didn't have much time to waste before getting on the road, but we did make a few necessary stops and took our time heading back to West Lafayette.  A great weekend we will always remember!

Half Way To A Driver's License

We realized this scary thought yesterday morning over a birthday breakfast.  We kicked off Kari's #8 with opening presents and cards from grandparents and family.

 Shortly after breakfast we headed over to the Purdue Memorial Union for a bowling party.  Kari invited five of her closest friends from school, many of whom are in Brownies with her, too, and Bryce also invited a friend.

 Bowling was super casual- the bumpers were up and no one was concerned about keeping score.  The kids bowled a little and when the pizza arrived, they took a short break to eat before returning to the lanes.

 We wrapped up with the traditional star cake, thoroughly decorated by Kari.  We once again thank Aunt Laura for keeping Kari supremely stocked in all things cake decorating!

Kari once again chose to forego gifts from friends in lieu of collecting donations for those less fortunate in our community.  The last two years she had selected school supplies but went in a different direction this year and collected blankets and socks.  We'll plan a time in the next week or two to deliver them to Lafayette Urban Ministry.

The remainder of the afternoon included phone calls with grandparents and then settling in for a movie with carmel popcorn served with orange juice and sprite last night.  A very good day, indeed!

And out comes the tooth

It wasn't quite as bad as I anticipated. Bryce, being ever stubborn and steadfast in his own vision of how it would feel, finally relented and allowed me to carefully remove his first tooth. It had become quite wiggly of late and, well, tonight simply felt like the night.

The initial fight was strong, as he was convinced pain would ensue. However, his sister provided some tough love and told him he'd be fine. When the girls went out to work on homework, Bryce and I had a man-to-preschooler talk. I truly put the salesman in me to work and tried all conceivable angles.

"It won't hurt, I promise", "Let me see just how loose it really is...", "Your sister has had EIGHT teeth removed, surely you can do ONE"... Eventually, after talking a matter of 10 minutes, he caved and said he was willing to give it a try.

Sitting on my lap, I tried unsuccessfully with my first attempt. It was pretty slippery in there, and I told him it must not be in the cards tonight. But I tried again, this time with a kleenex as an aid, and with a quick shift back there was a pop.

I wish I had Holly video recording the moment after it came out. NO tears, just a strangely quiet look. He had no idea if it was out fully and he was supposed to cry or whether I still didn't get it out. When I showed it to him he was in disbelief. I called the girls out to show them.

He smiled at Kari and she couldn't believe he said OK to me. Then Holly saw it and was so proud of her little boy. Just a minute later he was crying hysterically at his new situation.

Finally he calmed down after assurance that a bigger tooth would indeed one day grow in its place and he could rest easy. 30 minutes later he was pretty proud and requested Mommy leave the following note for the Tooth Fairy:

"Dear Tooth Fairy - my Dad took out my tooth and I was really strong. Have fun and good night!" - Bryce Keckler"

Seems like a proper way to end the evening.

The Dizzy: Post Christmas Blur

We've done our bit of traveling for the holidays was back in WL for New Years eve.  We shared Bruno's with the Clawsons and Bryce, Kevin and I were in bed by 9:30.  No fanfare here- just a perfect night to go to bed early and sleep in the next day.

Meanwhile, Kari stayed with Grandmo and Grandpo this week after we came home on Sunday.  She has thoroughly enjoyed having them all to herself and was not shy in asking us when we'd be heading home...without her.  She had good reason to get us out of her hair- she had places to go and things to do!  They saw a Broadway quality Mary Poppins production in Aurora on New Years eve.  The other big highlight of the week was finding a time to go swimming at the Y.

Prior to the Chicago visit, we had Christmas at home.  We managed to stave off the kids until about 7:30 AM, so we couldn't complain too much there.  First up, the obligatory picture on the stairs and a double check to see if Santa did indeed make a stop at our house.

And then as many of you know, the rest of the morning was pretty much a blur, as much as we tried to slow down and take our time.  Santa hit a home run for Kari with a new laptop, but it didn't hold a candle to the full rainbow array of Sharpies.  It was definitely a moment of where the box was cooler than contents inside!

Bryce finally upgraded to an off-road boys bike after riding around this summer and fall on Kari's hand-me-down pink princess bike.

Since then, we've been relaxing and catching up on sleep.

Merry Christmas

Special Lunch Date

At XXX

Happy Thanksgiving

Our after-Thanksgiving tradition of breakfast at Mary Lou Donuts continues! Grammy Pammy, a self-proclaimed donut connoisseur, approved.

Klondike Dance Performance

It wasn't that long ago that we were pulling teeth to get Kari through a one-on-one dance routine with Allie at church.  This week, though, everything has changed.  The Klondike Middle School dance team offered a one day clinic to the elementary students and culminated with a performance at halftime during the 8th grade boys basketball game tonight.  Kari had a great time and I had fun observing junior high behavior in preparation for what lies ahead.

The Long Awaited Combine Ride

Friday was a great day... It was the day Bryce has been looking forward to for months, literally. Back in August, we again won a silent auction prize that allowed our son to ride in a combine with a local farmer - Mr. Morehouse.

So, you can only imagine how eager he's been recently as we routinely pass fields in Indiana being cleaned of their corn stalks. "Daddy, when is Mr. Morehouse going to let me on his combine?" "Mommy, is that field one that Mr. Morehouse works in?" "I think Mr. Morehouse is in that combine out there." And on, and on and on it's gone.

But Friday afternoon we found the very field and combine in which Doug Morehouse occupied. It's one of his smaller fields measuring roughly 150 acres. In total, he and his staff farm nearly 2,000. And for a mere 30 minutes, Bryce and his father sat in a pretty fancy 2010 John Deere combine and made 4 "swipes" through this field.

It was a pretty awesome experience for both father AND son. Mr. Morehouse has one of those combines that is GPS driven, requires very little steering but plenty of attention to be paid to his iPad and other computers.

Once the combine was filled, a tractor appeared next to us with a giant trailer to get help lessen the load we were carrying. This was the highlight of the day as Bryce was allowed to push the yellow button that dispenses the corn into the trailer.

While it was very enjoyable for us, I think Mr. Morehouse also found the intrusion a welcome break in an otherwise predictable day of farming. With two trips in the combine under our "city belts", we have actually been invited back for a Spring planting, too!

A Frightful 2014 Halloween

Friday night's weather could have been one of the worst on record for a Halloween night.  20 MPH winds, blustery, and....SNOW!!!  Fortunately, we were in good company with our neighbors, and the Clawson's graciously hosted the Halloween party in their garage.

Bryce's costume this year, sadly, was straight out of the box from Amazon.  Kari, on the other hand, enjoyed helping me create her cupcake costume.  I found the idea here.

I was only able to get one short video.  Kari trick-or-treated down one side of the street and called it quits.  Bryce made it up and down both sides of the street, but we didn't venture beyond Windflower. Handing out candy was a much more desirable task Friday night than being outside even though we only had about five groups come to the house.

Here We Go Again

It doesn't seem that long ago that we were switching out baby seats for high back boosters for Kari. Now Bryce is upgrading to the high back and Kari is graduating to the backless.

Wow, there's suddenly a lot more room in the back seat of my car!

Happy Friday

I was inspired to make this shirt because Bri is going to take Bryce over to her sorority house this afternoon after school.

Kari's Family Tree

Kari made this during Reading Group Time today.

I've encountered numerous spelling variations of my maiden name over the years, but this one takes the cake.

Camping With The Presbyterians

We wrapped up Year 4 of Camping With The Presbyterians last weekend and called it a success!  This has turned into a really fun weekend for the kids and I to spend some quality time with Gran and Beep Beep at Turkey Run State Park.

The elder Kecklers arrived mid afternoon on Friday to set up the campsite, which had been carefully chosen right next to the playground and far enough away from the bath house to not get extra traffic and noise.  Ben and Cheryl upgraded to a pop-up camper this summer, so camping had an even greater appeal this year for the kids and me.  We arrived close to dinner time, which Cheryl had prepared an old favorite casserole recipe of Kevin's and heated it up on the campfire grates.  It was a simple yet delicious chicken and macaroni dish.  The kids gobbled it up too!  We anticipated a decent rainstorm coming in Friday night, although nothing compared to two years ago when the storm got so bad that we ended up staying a night in the lodge.  Regardless, this one was windy enough and noisy enough to rattle the kids; fortunately we were off the ground and safely stowed in the camper for the evening.

Dinner before the big storm rolled in

The rest of the weekend was perfect camping weather and allowed us to relax by the fire, visit with church friends, play on the playground and take a short hike.  Bryce's favorite part of the weekend, for sure, was riding his bike through all the mud puddles.  I brought four changes of clothes for him (2/day) and wouldn't you know he went through all four before the end of the weekend and we still had to "recycle" an outfit.  Here's why:

Ben would take Bryce over to the water spigot and literally hose off the mud, and clearly Bryce was not a huge fan of this process.

We took a short hike on Trail #7 before getting ready for dinner.  Saturday dinner is a potluck meal over at the tennis shelter.  The camping group as well as some additional church folks will drive in just for the meal.  Cheryl served one of my favorite dishes- Amish pickle salad.  Everyone really enjoyed it. simply because it's so unique.  Gran headed back to Indy for church the next morning.  Biscuits, gravy and a casual church service rounded out the weekend on Sunday morning.

We did a bit more exploring of the campsites again this year and are already eyeing site #36 for future camping.  Exceptionally shady and a bit more private, but I really think Gran and Beep Beep like its proximity to the bathrooms :)  Looking forward to camping again soon!

Take them off, take them off NOW!

It's the second time in the past few days when Bryce has come through the garage yelling for Holly or me to take his wheels off. The days of training wheels are officially behind us after some envy of his buddy Evan and his lack of training wheels.

So tonight Holly took them off Bryce's little bike. Of course, it's the hottest and most humid it's been all summer so we were REALLY looking forward to running up and down the street with him to make sure he didn't fall over.

Well, little did we know he'd get it with the very first try!



After Holly scooted down the street next to him, she quickly realized he got the hang of this much faster than anticipated.





So, we're officially finished with training wheels. Next up: pull ups!