Happy Birthday Linds

Lindsay has been one of my best friends for the past twenty years. She is my oldest friend meaning I have not been friends with anyone longer than her. When I was in sixth grade I moved from SLC to San Diego and we instantly became friends that summer. Too many memories to log but, I must say she is one of the most creative people I know. One summer we decided we wanted to buy these dressy black shoes with a bow on top that looked like a cob web for the upcoming school year. Lindsay and I made scrunchies day after day to sell so we could go and buy these silly shoes that we thought were so cool. We were very into fashion since day one. I think Lindsay really was the one with the fashion sense and I got all my fashion education from her.

We continued to be friends through junior high and high school. My junior year in high school I left a private school in La Jolla to attend the same public school Lindsay went to just to find out the following summer before Senior year my family would be moving back to SLC. That summer I stayed behind with Lindsay when my family moved. I quite my job early and we played all summer. I remember her family driving me up to Utah and stopping at Brick Oven in Provo, Utah for lunch. This was 1995 and every girl in this restaurant was still wearing overalls and long permed hair with "THE CLAW" for bangs. I started to cry and Lindsay said, "Don't worry I can send you pictures out of catalogs and magazines with the real style since they might not sell up to date catalogs and magazines here."

The following year Lindsay moved to Utah to attend BYU while I attended the University of Utah. Even though we attended different Universities we still made time to see each other every few weeks whether we were setting each other up on dates, or I was getting my hair or nails done at the salon she worked at, or just to hang out. One summer in college we took off to New York for a few weeks to visit one of my friends doing his internship there. We were there over the 4th of July and even though Lindsay and I had spent many 4th of July's together we both agreed this was the best yet.

Upon getting married we were each others bridesmaids and have continued to be good friends throughout the past however many years.

Lindsay you have been such a great friend to me through the good and the bad times. I can't imagine how different my life would be if you had not been apart of it. I hope you have the best thirtieth birthday ever!!

Love, Aly

FAO Schwartz Toy Store, New York, 1999

New Bunk Mates

For the past I don't know how many years the boys have been begging us to get them bunk beds. At first we said absolutely not. When we built our home we built enough bedrooms thinking they would always have their own rooms. After listening to them for the past year we finally broke down and agreed if they could follow the #1 rule "to not stay up all night" we would let them try it out.

Kai asked me to get a picture of him pretending to sleep in his new bed.

Kai Robert Walker

A couple of months ago my little Kai turned three. I was finally able to get his pictures taken this week after waiting a couple of months for two black eyes (separate incidences) to heal. There are a few things I wanted to say about him:

Kai,

Oh where to start...you definitely are a free spirit which keeps us on our toes constantly.

• 
  
  I must say that you are probably the most inquisitive person I know. You have a question for everything and need it answered immediately. Every morning as we are driving you start with your questions, "Mommy, who made the trees?" "Mommy, who made HEB?" "Mommy, who made our house?" And the best question that gets asked quite often and leads into another half an hour of questions, "Mommy, who made Heavenly Father?"


• 
  
  Kai, you definitely are not a follower. You want to do what you want when you want to regardless of what other kids are doing. I don't know if you are a leader either...you just obviously have enough confidence to not do what everyone else is doing whether you are alone or not.


• 
  
  You love to observe and I think this is how you learn. Since you were a little baby you got most satisfaction out of watching Jace. You still are like that today. You have no desire to play a video game you just want to watch Jace play it. You have no desire to play soccer even though you are really good you just want to watch it.


• 
  
  I must also say that you are probably the most stubborn little boy I have ever met. For the past two years or however long I have been concerned that you don't know your shapes. A week doesn't go by that we study shapes almost daily. Every time I ask what one is or to show me a circle you say, "I don't remember or, I forgot." Just the other morning you were eating breakfast on a SHAPES place mat. I asked you your shapes and you didn't know any of them. Out of frustration I said, "Kai, I will pay you a nickle for every shape you get right." Your eyes lit up and within seconds you had told me the name of all eight shapes on your mat and then looked at me and said, "How much money is that? Enough to buy a toy?"


• 
  
  You seek comfort from certain people in life. For one, if you are sad, tired, or want a song, you want your daddy. If you want attention or to play you want Jace and miss him greatly when he is at school. When you need a hug or a kiss you want your school teacher Miss. Mary. Sometimes I wonder if you need me at all. The other day you ran up to me several times and gave me a hug and a kiss. I was thrilled and when I said, "Thank you Kai, I love it when you hug and kiss me." You replied, "Mommy, I wasn't hugging and kissing you...I was hugging and kissing the baby."

Oh little Kai Bob you are so unique and special in your own way that I would not trade for anything in the world. I love that I can never quite figure you out and that you are full of surprise.

Happy Third Birthday!!

Love, Mommy

nine days old

Kai's Birthday

Kai's birthday was on a Sunday this year and no matter how many times I asked he did not decide to tell me until that day that he wanted a Superman Cake. Not being able to run to the store I threw one of his Superman toys in the dishwasher, put it on the cake, and called it good.

My birthday boy. :)

Yummy!!

Kai's Birthday Dinner

This year for Kai's birthday dinner he wanted to go to Rocket City. We played for several hours on the arcades...

the indoor playground...

ate dinner at the 100 ft. buffet...

and rode on many different rides...

Happy Birthday Kai Bob :-)

Ghosts live in our house??

On conference Sunday the boys and I decided to make a "haunted" gingerbread house. While we were making it Jace told me that all of the scary Halloween ghosts in our house can now live in this house.

working really hard

Kai was really concerned that the ghosts wouldn't be able to get in and out of the house so he was trying to blow down the door in the pic. up above. :)

You can't make a gingerbread house without eating part of it, right??

The Katy Rice Festival Parade

Each year Katy hosts its annual Katy Rice Festival to support the towns history. Rice farming began in Katy in 1898. Land in Katy is rich and flat making it the prime land for rice fields and at one point in Katy's history there were more than 300 rice farmers. Right away rice farming made a significant contribution to the towns economy and even though it has slowed down throughout the years the community still comes together each year to educate and celebrate the history of the towns rice fields.

The festival starts out with a parade early Saturday morning and continues throughout the rest of the weekend with booths, pageants, and carnivals.

Three years ago our good friends the Taggart's introduced us to the early morning parade and we have attended every year since.

My favorite part of the parade was when Wizard of Oz comes walking down the street
with a banner reading "There's No Place Like KATY. "

Plenty of advertisements and candy to go around

STAR WARS comes to Texas

Jace, Obi Wan Kenobi, Kai

A couple of weeks ago our local Pottery Barn Kids hosted a Star Wars event to kick off their new Star Wars bedding and to help launch the new "Clone Wars" movie. Clone Wars was first released in movie theatres to kick off the new "Clone Wars" animated series on Cartoon Network. This next Friday is the fourth episode including the one that was in the theatres and my boys (including Brandon) look forward all week to be able to see what's going to happen next.

As a child and having three younger brothers before a sister I always watched the Star War movies. When I was in college I remember going to one of the Star Wars releases at 2:30am with a bunch of friends (including cute guys). While standing in line at this release I realized how many crazy obsessed people of Star Wars were out there. I was shocked to see people in Star Wars t-shirts and costumes... I mean come on people it's just a movie, right?

Well, I now belong to a family of four that somehow seem to be as crazy and obsessed as all of these other Star Wars freaks. In a way I even support it and now, if you ask me about a character or any other Star Wars history I can more than likely answer and if not one of my three boys can. I don't know how this came about but somehow I am involved even though deep down inside I am the least bit obsessed with Star Wars.

Anyways, as we woke up early that Saturday morning to head to the "big" event. My boys started putting on their new "Clone Wars" t-shirts and grabbed all of the light sabers they could making sure to only bring green, blue, or purple (Jedi light sabers) letting the other kids know that they were on the Jedi side not the dark side. As we pulled up to the event my kids were definitely not alone. Everyone including some adults had Star Wars t-shirts on and every kid had a light saber (as I said before crazy and obsessed).

One of the two lines one hour before the event was to begin.

We had not even been waiting in line five minutes when Jace and Kai asked these older boys if the wanted to have a pretend light saber fight.

After waiting in line for an hour the boys and I left Brandon behind and went to see what the hold up was. This is where the true battle started and ended.

Once inside we finally had the once in a life time opportunity as Jace and Kai would say to meet the "REAL" Darth Vader, his storm trooper, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I will say after this event Jace had too many technical questions:

• Why are Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi standing near each other without fighting?


• How can Anakin already be Darth Vader if this event is for the Clone Wars movie?


• If Darth Vader is good and is still alive why is Obi-Wan Kenobi still alive (Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan before he turns good)?
  
  
  I guess the people putting on this event did not do their homework!! :-)