St. Patty's and other stuff!

This is all out of order but oh well! Karston's new favorite thing to do with anyone is to have them write letters on his little doodle pad so that he can tell you what they are! He LOVES to pick out letters. The other day when we went to BIG LOTS he would not let me get him out of his seat until he said EVERY letter. He was is gets so proud of himself, and I would have to say that I as well am VERY VERY proud of him to! So Doug and Karston were having "bonding" time locked in Karston's room doing his letters. It was soo cute. Sorry about the glare though I was looking through the glass doors trying to get a picture! I was cleaning the back half of my house the other day when I came out I found Karston passed out on the bunny. Apparently eating Fruit Loops and singing his hymns while trying to do up the zipper on his jacket just plain wore the boy out. Silly baby!

So Karston had a little St. Patricks day party with some of his best friends. We had Kaecen, Brodey, Kevin, Tippy, and (so tippy wasn't the ONLY girl) we invited Raegan to come over. It was fun. CRAZY but lots of fun!

All of the kiddos eating their green lunch!

Beautiful decorations colored by Tippy and Raegan. These were all around the living room but I didn't want to bore you with the same pics.

Our Fabulous lunch which consisted of Green pancakes in the shape of a Leprechaun, the other one was supposed to be a gold coin, but I didn't realize I didn't have yellow food coloring so it ended up being a green coin! Golden coin eggs, and a very VERY Yummy pear! All but one kid thought the green stuff was delicious and fun! Kaecen however had a hard time with the green!

Karston's little girl friend gets to come over every once in awhile to hang out and play. They loved the little bike. Nina likes to drive it and I think Mr. Karston just likes to hang on to Nina! :) They are to stinkin cute! I love them!

So that is what we have kind of been up to lately! Sorry it is SOOOOOO late!

I was carded!

So I have to write and tell you of my funny experience tonight! If you already read it on facebook sorry I am going to repeat it again! So I went to my swim aerobics and on my way home I stopped at the grocery store to get some milk. I put my milk up there and the guy said "Before I can let you purchase this I need to see your ID." I then said " I think I am old enough to purchase 2 gallons of milk, but whatever." The man then felt very dumb, but I did show him my ID and found out that YES I am legal to purchase milk!!!! To be fair though I have to say that there were 3 younger people ahead of me that were purchasing alcohol so really I think he was just on a roll! Oh well gave me a good laugh!!!!

My silly silly Baby... oh I mean BIG BOY!!!

As I have said before Karston D. Purcell is my PRIDE and Joy! He ALWAYS makes me laugh. And NEVER ceases to amaze me with his amazingness. He is 23 months knows his ABC's, he even can point out the letter and tell you what it is! He can count to 13 and is saying little phrases here and there. He is starting to throw 2 year old temper tantrums which you know are my personal favorite :P but all in all he is just an overall good tempered, kind hearted little boy! He takes good care of his momma too! He loves to help me clean, set the table, unload the dishwasher, draw pretty pictures on my white cabinets, and LOVES to push the clothes into the dryer that I set on the door! Here are some pics Doug found and sent to me and I just couldn't not post them! I love this silly baby! Okay I know he is growing up, but he is and always will be my silly little baby!

Helping Grandma Purcell out with some cleaning! To bad it really doesn't work huh! Gotta love the fact he is cleaning in Dad's shoes as well!

You may be thinking that mom did this, but NO dad did! They were cooking so dad made sure he had an apron on!

Apparently Karston got in trouble with dad because he was playing behind the T.V. Karston I guess (I wasn't home) sulked and went into his room. Doug hadn't heard anything coming out of his room so he peeked and this is what he found. Doug said it made him feel bad, but look how cute this picture is! I remember when he was so tiny you could barely see him in that swing!

Karston obviously had a bath and while I was getting his clothes he wanted dad to put on his cool safety glasses. We couldn't stop laughing! Silly kid!

Loves those safety glasses! Got my PJ'S on, got my coat, my hat AND my safety glasses! Let's roll!

Of coloring and walls!!!

Okay so I know you all thought that with the title of my post you probably assumed that Karston colored all over the walls right! Well I am happy to report that this is not the case! Karston is now REALLY into coloring especially when it comes to tracing his hands and stuff. He thinks its so fun to have you trace one finger then lift it up so he can see what it looks like. Needless to say I find LOTS of little hand print pictures all over which I LOVE LOVE LOVE! He has colored on my couch, table, or counter a couple times (luckily I have magic potion to get it all out) but other than that he pretty much knows and is getting better that you only color on paper!

One of Karston's very favorite things to do is to throw a blanket over his head and act like a ghost. He will walk up to us reveal his face and yell BOO! Pretty cute really, but the other night he was doing this and tripped over his blanket and BAM hit the wall! Doug and I for sure thought he would have some sort of concussion or bruise, or blood from his lip because after he hit the wall he hit the baseboard heater. Well I am happy to report none of that happened. The blanket must have protected his little face! Anyway then after we calmed down Doug and I looked at the wall only to find this lovely little mark. Karston had dented our wall with his head. He did this and there is no battle wound on his face to prove it! Which I am in no way complaining, but how can you do this and not have a single mark on your head to show for it? So needless to say Karston definitely has a HARD head!

The mark is in the middle kind of looks like a guitar pick!

Oh Karston you keep our lives so exciting!!!!

Ohh Karston.... How I love you!

Well first of all we have happy news to report.... We are very glad that our dad is HOME!!!! I do however have to tell about Doug and Karston's reunion. It was TENDER!!! The best way to describe it is to have you think of the movies. You know how very dramatic they all are when 2 people are being reunited with each other. The picture slows WAY down they slowly run into each others arms tears rolling down their faces only to finally embrace. Well that.... yes I know many of you won't believe me, but honestly and truly that is exactly what happened. Karston and I were standing there with our BEAUTIFUL sign when Karston saw Doug pointed at him and said my dadda and began running towards him while his little eyes beamed with utter happiness. Then there was Doug... Doug was the one actually that had the most tears running down his little face. They embraced and have yet to be separated. Now you may be asking yourself what our reunion was like..... Well the best way I can describe that one is by saying you know how the boys are when they come off the plane from their mission.... Well yah that was about how you would describe our reunion. I would have preferred Karston's but oh well. I did eventually get a little arm around the shoulder action.... No really I am not bitter about it I actually laugh... I figure you can get mad or just laugh. I choose to laugh! I love my funny hubby!
(Okay maybe just a little bitter, but I do love him oodles and I am VERY glad he is home!)
After picking Doug up we went to OBrady's for some yummy lunch !
This my dear friends would be the mini burger on the kids menu. You can't really tell due to the fact that my computer won't let me rotate the picture, but it is basically a normal sized burger! Not a burger for a 1 year old!

So Karston if and when he sees me give another baby any attention in his swing he immediately (after I take the other baby out) climbs in and begins to play with the mobile as if he were the teeny baby that was in there seconds before. Ya think I am in trouble.... I think so!

Hahaha okay sometime I feel bad for my kids. I was running me a bath the other night and I guess Karston wanted to get in as well, because not long after I started my bath water I hear this thud in the bathroom. I ran in there only to find this little sight..... Being the great mom that I am do I run and save my child? No, but I do run and get the camera... After making sure he was okay of course. He had a little red mark on his forehead but all in all was just a little shaken up and INCREDIBLY mad that he was in the tub with his clothes on sopping wet.... I don't blame him I wouldn't like it either!

What on earth just Happened?

This is my handsome boy after church. Apparently he had a church meeting to attend! He is a busy boy after all! Okay meeting over time to watch me some Mickey Mouse!!!!

Monday morning I heard my busy little man playing with the clean dishes in the dishwasher. I knew there wasn't anything dangerous in there and I figured he can't break them so I let him play. Well when I came out I found this little sight.... My little munchkin set the table for breakfast! How sweet is that. He had 2 plates, 2 spoons, 2 forks, 2 glasses and a bowl for him. How smart is he! Oh how I love him!!!!

My new Weakness!

So I never thought I would ever say this my entire life, but the time has come that I am now going to reveal to whomever reads this I guess my new found weakness......Ready here it goes.... Deep breath..... Okay I guess I am not so independent after all! :) No Really I am, but I am missing Doug. However, if you had to pick between Karston and myself I would have to say that Karston is missing him TONS and TONS more. Probably because he doesn't really understand why Doug is gone where I do so of course he keeps giving me this horribly sad face much like this....

Which to me says Why? Why Mom did you send my dad away? In fact he literally pulled out my heart strings the other night when I heard little whisperings going on in his room. So naturally being the nosy mother that I am I peeked. Only to find Karston laying there on the floor with the book "Who Loves Baby" has it open to his dad's page and is whispering in his dads ears all those horribly secrets... Tattle tailing on me I am sure... Then with the most sweetest and cutest little voice... Lays down on Doug's picture and says Wuv you dad. Mom needless to say lost it. Yes Completely 100% all the way lost it. Anyway... on with the post.

The other day I had a particularly emotional day...(dumb hormones) and little Karston fell. Well when my little man gets hurt mom is okay, but his dad is ALWAYS better except for when he has the throw-ups than it is mom all the way. Of course right... Mom's always get the dirty jobs. Well obviously I couldn't wiggle my nose and BAM Doug would appear. SOOO I tried the Skype camera, and OF COURSE it wouldn't work for some reason so then my sweet baby due to the sole fact that he was sad and hurt and wanted his dad let the devil in him come out what a sight we were Karston doing this...

I also am doing that while trying to give my little man what I know he needs and let him see his dad and due to the large amounts of crazy hormones overtaking my body I am getting more and more and more frustrated. Doug isn't here and life as I knew it was over. Okay not really, but that was how it was at the moment.

So I called Doug and tell him to fix it... Doug is like the large size Handy Manny he can fix anything so he might as well be able to fix it from Texas right? WRONG... I was so wrong. So my good hearted hubby tries to help me, but everything he is telling me to do I already tried and my frustration is just growing and growing so I hang up with my large Handy Manny continue to listen to Karston scream and cry some more out of pure frustration and then out of NO WHERE....

WHACK... Karston hits me with a whisk. The little stinker... Luckily I didn't lose it and take my frustration out on him, but he did get a time out. Then I walked away took a little breather went back and did I have no idea what, turned the computer off and then on and Walla I had fixed the camera.
Called Doug back and told him it was time for him to grace us with his presence again!

Of course He said "NO" for some reason, and I said "FINE". Anyway I got Karston out of time out he gave me kisses and said sorry (Well Kind of) he talked to his Dad, my hormones settled down and life on the home front was just like this once again...

NICE, HAPPY and Peaceful! Just the way I like it!

Doug is still loving his job, although he is incredibly bored. He is learning lots and of course is just enjoying soaking up all the beautiful sun rays that are absent here in Idaho Falls . He is in the middle of no where and had to drive 80 miles to the nearest city. So far he has learned how to rescue people out of the windmills when they pass out, have a heart attack, die or whatever. And he has learned how to due a typical maintenance check. This week he will do 1 much harder maintenance check and learn some other stuff that I can't remember right at this moment. We are proud of him, and we know even though it is a little tough being apart this is where he is supposed to be and we support him in it, but we do MISS him tons and can't wait to see him on Saturday at 11:30 p.m.!!!!

So for now Douglas... We miss you and we hope you have a great week! And really Karston and I are doing great, but lets face it we all have moments where we just need Dad!

ISLAND PARK FUN!!!!

So before Doug left on his 2 week work vacation we decided to go up to Island Park to have some family time! Well it snowed in snowed A LOT! Doug was sad it, because he didn't take his Snowmobile and due to the lots and lots of snow the powder was BEAUTIFUL! Perfect for snowmobiling. Oh well we still had fun anyway! We mostly had to stay inside due to the cold temperatures well and the snow, but all in all it was great!

Karston loves to read now and his ALL TIME favorite book is "I'll Love You Forever!" It doesn't matter where we go we ALWAYS take that book and his favorite stuffed animal of course! So anyway it really doesn't matter where you are, how you are sitting, or if you seem busy Karston will hunt you down and climb on you, pull on you or whatever and say "READ" when he wants that book read! I think he has it memorized already because he knows exactly when to turn the page and if you say it wrong he gives you this funny look!


My two snuggle bugs! Told you this is how you are most likely to find them when they are together! Super cuuuute!

So one day it was somewhat nice so we attempted to go sledding! Karston is READY! Bring it on!!!

And we are sitting.... and sitting... and well we sunk! Tooo much powder no going down the hill today!

Told ya we sunk!!! There is a sled underneath that cute baby! I promise!

Alright I am all geared up PLEASE don't make me go back inside! I want to go sledding! Our three butt marks! From left to right Karston, Me (Kara), followed by Doug!

Then we went and had an INCREDIBLY YUMMY dinner at Philips Lodge! So yummy!

This is Karston eating his breakfast. This is however his very first time eating cereal with milk in it! He did surprisingly VERY well!

The next day we decided to go for a little dip in the pool! It was fun, but my little man is DEFINITELY not a swimmer. He would much rather be outside. He tolerated it though for mom!

What a so not flattering picture of me. Oh well gotta love baby bumps though, and the weight that comes with it!!!!

Karston likes to make new friends... ESPECIALLY if your a cute girl. This one is Sammy. She was 5!

Okay now back to sledding. The hill didn't work so we got creative and decided to use the road instead. So mom stood in the middle of the road when they were coming down so they wouldn't get hit, but I might. Luckily it wasn't that busy!

This is grampies sled. It was his growing up and he restored it for Karston and all the other kiddos that come into our family! Grampie sat down, but forgot he was sledding and missed the sled completely. Poor Grampie!

Okay more snuggle time for the best buddies EVER!

Doug when he is working is ALWAYS dressed in black head to toe. Well Karston saw this man, and thought it was dad. So here he is trying to get his "Dad's" attention, but for some reason this man won't answer him. So Karston gets louder and Louder, and LOUDER! Still no answer so Karston gets mad and throws a little tantrum then goes sledding and is fine! Mean old man!

Karston in his Chariot! He is riding to get clean linens, Unfortunately his chariot fell over, but luckily Karston thought it was fun and climbed right back in!

Tooo much fun has been had! I am tooo tired to eat this lunch! I shall sleep, yes I think I will take a nice nap right here. It looks mighty comfortable don't you think?

Snoring away!

The day we were coming home I got Karston out of his Pak-N-Play and he promptly went and got his coat, put it on, and then got my boots and put them on then said "Go, Go" I think he was ready to go home. What do you think?

Cookies, Skype and Goodbyes!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!!! So I got a little creative itch and for some unknown reason REALLY wanted to make some Chocolate Chip cookies, but have them be heart shaped. Most people didn't think they were possible where your dough expands, but I thought my idea worked and they looked pretty good! So there is my creative cooking thing I did this month!!!

WHO HAD THE HARDER TIME KARSTON OR DADDY?

Well today we sent Doug off on a plane to Good Ol Texas! He is going to be there for a few weeks getting some training for his new job. I know I am okay to post this because Doug doesn't look at the blog so I am just gonna tell you how this whole thing went down! :)

DOUG: I need to snuggle with Karston this ENTIRE month (Or 14 days) So the picture above demonstrates how we slept for the last 14 days! So sweet huh! You see as soon as Doug walks in the door this is pretty much how these two are until it is time to go night night, and then depending on mom and dad sometimes it just stays that way! I LOVE it!!!
Doug is not a kisser or gushy by any means, but I think Karston has received more kisses in the last 14 days then he has since he was born!
This morning 5:45 A.M. YUCK.... We get up and get ready to go to the airport for a great adventure... Doug takes his stuff to the car, comes in and says is that all.. I said yes while holding our little bundle of joy... Doug IMMEDIATELY starts crying. Karston wakes up and IMMEDIATELY wants to be loved and snuggled by HIS best buddy. Doug SLOWLY and I mean SLOWLY walks to car and all grandpa like puts the little man safely in his car seat.... Karston looking half drunk is wondering what the heck is going on and why his wonderful slumber was being rudely bothered by some cold air hitting him in the face and then having to sit up and be buckled into his car seat eventually realized this is boring so he drifts back off to his wonderful slumber... Doug still cries (Poor Doug)
We pull up to the airport.. .Doug doesn't want us to walk him in so we say our goodbyes outside.... Doug walks away crying more than when we left home!
We walk in our house and Karston wakes up (OF COURSE) and we IMMEDIATELY have to call dad on our new favorite toy our Skype Camera and talk to dad who by this point is much better! Karston gets to tell daddy Wuv you in his sweet voice all is well and happy.

I am proud of Doug and all that he accomplishes every day! I know it was INCREDIBLY hard on him....okay okay I will now admit it.... I also fought the tears all morning, but I know it is something he has to do, and I know this is not the first time they will be sending him away, but maybe next time we will get to tag along. I don't think he could handle saying goodbye to 2 buddies!!!!

Good Luck Doug (Even though I know you won't be reading this) and remember how very much we love you, how very appreciative We are of you, and how much we will miss you while you are apart from us! Hope you enjoy your surprise presents, daily cards, and letter!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE ELSE! We love and appreciate you all!

Ohh Windmills How I love you!

Doug on top of a windmill 280 feet up!!! Doesn't he look proud?

So if you didn't know, which I am sure most of you do know, Doug started a new job. He is now an Operation and Maintenance Technician for a company called InvEnergy and LOVES it!

I personally never knew how much there is to know about windmills, but let me tell you there is A LOT to know!!! In fact these little hummers are his new found love! He has been there for about 5 weeks now, and just about every night he comes home and we talk about the BEAUTIFUL windmills for at least an hour if not longer! (Usually a lot longer :) Soon he just might start dating one he is getting to know them so well! :)

Anyway he is incredibly happy there and is going to be going to Texas here soon to become safety and technically trained so he can start doing the REAL thing when this other company that has been running them leaves. They really are nice people and really treat Doug well. Anyway we are so very grateful for this FANTASTIC blessing that has come into our lives. We truly have been greatly blessed this year and it is only FEBRUARY! !