So why does Briggs's hand look like this?



Because he got 5 stitches in his little right hand Saturday night.

Here's what happened in a nut shell:

Brian and I thought it was ok to give Briggs a dresser that is taller than him. We also thought it was ok to make him get his socks, undies and PJ's out of a drawer that he can't see into.
So what does the little squirrel do? He improvises. For months now, he has been climbing up the end of his bunk bed, then turning around and leaning on the knob of his dresser in order to get things out of the top drawer.
I also thought it would be really stylish years ago to get glass knobs to put on his dresser - pink for Ashlynn and blue for Briggs.
We thought all of this was a really good idea until Saturday when the knob sheered off while Briggs had his whole weight on it. The knob basically turned into an obsidian knife.



To make it brief, he was a trooper in the ER. They made us wait about an hour. During this time he fell asleep (thank-you for the inspiration to brink his blankie at the last minute.) From then on, he didn't cry. Not during the x-ray, the numbing shots or the stitches. We kept saying all night, "It's a good thing he is left handed. At least he can still write."
His response to that: Yes. But I can't say the pledge of allegiance.


As soon as the nurse had put the last bandage on, he whipped his right hand to his heart and said, "Oh! Phew! I can still say the pledge of allegiance. I just can't feel my heart beating. "

He has been to school and taken the bandage off and cleaned it and he's been fine. Not even any Tylenol. Looking back, we are lucky he still has his thumb or none of the nerves were damaged.

Can you tell this is my first real emergency with my children. I'm sure many of you have been through this and worse. (V, certainly there have been stitches in your family.)

I would love to hear your list of casualties so I can put mine into perspective.

P.S. The glass knobs were off of the dressers before I even made it to the ER. I will certainly think twice about glass knobs in the future.

Happy Birthday, Ty.

This is the best way to describe how life with Ty is on the day he turns 3.


Ty and the pot from Kate Rober on Vimeo.

Villa Toscana

Lisa (the other one), I hope you can tell from the title that this one is for you.

My sister in law is well known in the family for her mad culinary skills. My children have written school papers about how yummy Auntie Lisa's cooking is. Briggs said something along the lines of "Mom. Auntie Lisa is the best chef in the world, but I still love you."

So my imaginary boat load of money is taking Lisa (and John by default) to Italy!

Here's how it works:

You will be staying at this awesome villa with your sweetheart while you take an Italian cookery course.

While you are having a romantic time in Italy, your cute brood of boys will be staying with us! Because we've done it before and it will be fun (remember, this is all pretend...)!

Once you have mastered the art of Mediterranean cuisine, your boys will be magically and safely transported to you in Italy where you will be staying in your very own private villa, Villa Orcia. The boys can swim and explore the grounds all day, while you explore the properties of olive oil!



Sogni dolci!

Alooooooha!

This one is for my Mom and Dad.

At little background, 'cause that's how we Hallows's roll...

My mom doesn't like to travel. I don't blame her. It is too upsetting to her system.

My dad does like to travel.

Luckily they have found a place that they both like to travel to: HAWAII!

My parents have discovered that not only is the Hawaiian culture intoxicating, but it is rich in history, which they love. My dad's grandfather was a missionary in the islands in 1908. Their first trip there together allowed them to encounter an unforgettable moment for family history.

I'll give you the good parts version:

A son of a ward member of mine works in the Historical archives of BYU Hawaii. They call the guy and set up a meeting once in the islands. No prior info was exchanged. As they were hanging up the phone after setting up a meeting time, the BYU guy says "By the way, what was your Grandfather's name?"
Dad: James Kirby Allen.
silence.
BYU guy: You are not going to believe it, but I am looking at a picture of your grandfather as we speak.
Chills...

So... here is my gift.

This is your new vacation home to relax in while in the islands. (Don't forget to click on the link to view more details of the house.)

It is located in the upcountry of the Big Island. I chose this location because it is lush and beautiful and peaceful. It also is in close proximity to Parker Ranch - a cattle ranch open to the public (I'm thinking photo ops, Dad) and rich with history.
The house (in my imagination and yours) contains a state of the art computer system equipped with all of the latest photo editing equipment and software. For you, Dad.
You will also have the luxory of driving this car around whenever you visit your vacation home.

And Mom, there is a library in the near-by town of Kamuela.

Mom, an exact replica of your bed and pillows is set up in one of the 5 bedrooms. Sweet Dreams and Aloha!

Ty's prayer last night.

We said, "Ty please think about what you are saying and be reverent."

Ty: "Please bless the missionaries. So we can eat potatoes and cabbage. And so we can buy it at Costco. Namajscry - Amen.

Is it so wrong to start shaking and snickering with laughter during that prayer?

Welcome home to Pasadena!

This next one is for my lovely sister-in-law, L Ro. (Her husband and son get to enjoy the spoils by default!)

Congratulations! Welcome to your new home!

This lovely home is located in beautiful Pasadena, only 6.5 miles from JPL! That's right, it is only a 13 minute commute for your hubby, which means... more family time!

The home has 5 bedrooms, 5 full bathrooms, a finished basement ( which I will reveal my plans for later!), a pool ( with a gate around it for K Ro's safety) and over 3,000 sq feet of loveliness. Of course, a decorator is included at your disposal to make it your own.

There are plenty of rooms for family and guests to come and stay,or to create your very own craft/sewing room!

And the final surprise in your imaginary gift from me...

I am giving you... Amanda!



That's right! Because this is all in my head, I am gifting you my sister! Why? For days when you are not feeling like the rock star that you are, Amanda will step in and take care of K Ro for you! (You understand, right, Mae?) Consider her a guilt free nanny (that's what I do.) She loves children and they love her. She's great at giving advice when you need an outside perspective and she always makes you feel like the best parent in the world - and you, L Ro, deserve to be reminded of that frequently!

So there you have it, your 2009 Imaginary blog give-away! Enjoy dreaming!

This one's for you, Annessa!

So my mind started racing the other day. (mark, get set... oh no.)

I started thinking what I would do if I won a boat load of money. I quickly moved past all of the boring responsible stuff - mortgage, investing, college, etc. Then I started thinking fun.

This post will be the first in a series where I will gift extravagant, albeit imagninary, gifts upon my family and friends. Money and reality are no object. I can do whatever I want to do to make my loved ones happy! Remember, I'm thinking fun, not responsible.

If you are unhappy with your endowment, just let me know. 'Cause I can return it! (It doesn't really exist, right?)

So my first thoughts were with my sister Annessa and her family. I thought how I would love to send them to Ireland for a vacation. Annessa has always wanted to go there and I would be so excited if I could actually make that happen. Being a strawberry blonde beauty, doesn't she deserve to go to her ancestral homeland?


I would rent them a cottage in a beautiful scenic part of the "Emerald Isle". They could visit castles, the seaside and just take in the beautiful greenery. Here is the cottage you will be staying in. I went for traditional, rather than totally modern.

The Cottage, Glenview lodge.
Following are pictures of the kitchen and one of the bedrooms.
To view more of the cottages quaint surroundings, click here.

I hope you have as much fun imagining this vacation as I did!

Unsupervised

My kids are watching "Night at the Museum" while I am ignoring them. One of the characters in the movie is Sacagewea.

So they are annoying each other and yelling "Saca-ja-stop-it!"

I love and extra hour of light in the evening.

With the extra hour of light, we took the kids on a picnic at a local campground. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. Ate Doritos and watermelon. It was cool but not windy. It was peaceful and quiet at the lake. And I realized that our kids are finally an age where we could take them camping and I won't lose my mind (the part that is still remaining.)

There were great trees to climb.

Everyone was all smiles...

... some of us more than others...

... and the obligatory marshmallow roasting on the bbq. I'm still having a hard time with this one.

Equation:

marshmallows + sticks + rober kids= sticky messes in hair.

Lovely.

In a galaxy not so far away...

... a young Padawan find himself too tuckered out to carry on.

May the Force be with you... tomorrow.

Dr. Sheldon Cooper and I have this in common...

"Once again, you find yourself in between a rock and a crazy place."

Amen, and amen.

Where we stand with Star Wars

How do you know your children have fully captured the Star Wars spirit?

When , during your daily scripture reading, your 7 year old starts making Star Wars comparisons to the gospel.

I swear we have not influenced her in any way, other then to watch the movies. She just really has been bitten by the SW bug.

Hiking with the family

Sorry for the long absence. I've been feeling a little under the weather (what does that mean, anyway?)
So... I thought I'd post this picture of us hiking in our lovely town. It's a pretty good view of where we live, except the hills are a beautiful Irish green now because of the great rain we have had.

I also like this picture because if I were a famous movie star, there would be a big arrow pointing to my tummy with a caption reading "Baby bump???"

And then my publicist would have to issue a statement saying, "No, Kate is not with child."

Don't you just love how that tabloids think a celebrity is having a baby when their tummies look like they have eaten a sandwich?

Mine always looks like that...