my blog is moving too!

for technical reasons i don't feel like explaining (or really understand), i'm moving my blog to www.kcjane.wordpress.com. sorry to give you one more address to change, but it ended up being the only way i could get my pictures out there, so i knew you'd understand. my compulsive need to blog needed to be met TODAY or i was going to freak out. will try to get more on there tomorrow, and hopefully by the end of the week i'll be all caught up. i think anybody can comment on the other blog, too, so i'll be expecting to see you all there. :)

There goes the neighborhood...

the froehlichs have arrived in KCK! i have a TON of pictures to blog from our trip up, but i can't find my USB cord (agggh!) which is about to make me cry. but i will find a way to get some pictures on here tomorrow. just at least wanted to say that we made it and so far love our little house here. definitely weird to be away from everyone. right now it just sort of feels like we're on a vacation. things seem pretty laid back here. jack already found a bunch of boys across the street to play with who run around shirtless and kill worms and do other boy stuff, so he's in heaven. the weather has been wonderful-cool in the mornings & evenings, allowing me to leave the windows open a lot. haven't been to the big city yet-am guessing we'll do that sometime this week. i get lost plenty around our neighborhood, though. :) miss you all! come visit soon.

Girls' Night Out

Jen, Liette, Janel & Sunny (from left to right-all girls from my old hometeam) took me out for a good-bye dinner last night. It was so much fun to relax for HOURS and talk and laugh and laugh. And then Sunny started the "Say what you like about Mariah" game, which I both loved (Yes, keep talking! I want to hear more! More!) and hated (I'm so embarrassed I'm going to die). Mostly I just left feeling like one blessed little girl; humbled & a little speechless. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Lunch Bunch

We took a mini-road trip to Refugio (an hour away) to meet my Aunt Linda (usually MANY hours away in Hawaii), Granny, Johnny, and Ginger for lunch. It was great to see everybody again, even if it was just for a short visit.

We took a break from packing today to play a round of mini-golf. The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure they're naturals. I mean, take a look at their amazing form! Mia would hit the ball once each hole, pick it up and place it 1 cm from the hole so she could tap it in. Jack played more of a hockey style of golf, not letting the ball come to a stop before he'd herd it into the hole. He absolutely went crazy at the last hole when the ball disappeared down the tunnel. Total shocker for him. And he kept asking the poor 15 year-old kid at the counter (who did NOT want to be there) where the ball ended up. He was like, "In a bucket." Jack was totally dissatisfied with this answer, but since I didn't see anyone else to ask, we went home. I guess it will remain a mystery for now.

The Office Lounge

Friday night we got a sitter (WOO HOO!) and hit a couple of beachy hot spots that sunny & kirby recommended. First we headed to Laguna Reef-a little hidden restaurant on the water with some yummy seafood. Then we went for drinks to The Office Lounge, where partitions are set up so you can have some privacy and, i guess, do some work if you want to while you sip on your martini. So, here we are pretending to do some office work. After a lovely evening, we went home, and Bekah & I did what we do best-we stole my bed for a slumber party and left the boys to sleep in the living room together. Good thing they love us lots. :)

Yee Haw!

Day 2. We woke up early to go horseback riding on the beach. It was AMAZING! And i was SO proud of the kids for being brave. Especially Mia, who i sort of expected to FREAK OUT on me once we were on that huge animal. But they did great. Okay, 30 minutes into it, they were pretty much bored, but they were troopers and hung on for the rest of the hour. Then (after a memorable gas station stop where bekah took the two kids to the bathroom by herself. hee hee!) we met stephen & the dogs at the beach for a little fun in the sun.

We are Fa-mi-ly!

bekah, stephen, jimmy & bailey (their two great danes!) came down this week for a little spring break. they brought a whirlwind of activity and i loved every minute of it! day one. first stop: sunny's so bekah could finally meet her & the kids, and swing on their awesome rope swing, of course. the next pics are of jack snuggling with bailey and then us. his new thing now, as you can see, is to go shirtless to bed. cracks me up. he is such a little man! we also took the kids to the seawall to ride bikes that day, and bekah helped me pick out some new clothes at target (she is such a fashionista!) and then we took the kids to gattis where jack got to ride bumper cars for the first time. i think that's all of day 1.

Mud Bath!

WARNING: these images might be disturbing to clean freaks or maybe even just normal people who don't think children should play in filthy mud holes in their backyard.

I love my MOMMA!

had plenty of great girl time with mom this weekend while the kids enjoyed pestering pancho. we got a lot done, too. that's what it's like being with my mom. she's extremely productive. :) we ate out, shopped, went to church, watched some movies, surfed the web and went to jack's soccer game all in a day and a half. oh, and here's the soccer update: our team hasn't won a game since my last blog. jack did score a goal last week and he's playing hard and having fun out there, so that's what counts, right? HA! nehoo, thought this was a cute picture of the team "stretching." don't know that it's doing any good b/c they keep their legs bent the whole time, but it is hilarious.

Random Shots

3 Going on 30

Go Mia. It's Your Birthday.

We already partied like it's your birthday. These are pics from Mia's Little Mermaid party on Sunday. The family pic is courtesy of Gwen, which is why Dave's head is cut off. :)

A Sweet Reward

Jack earned a new bike by being suck-free! No more callouses on that cute little thumb of his. And now he can keep up with Gwen on her 16" bike without having to pedal twice as fast on his Big Wheel. Those races were pretty fun to watch, though. Until, of course, Mr. Competitive would start crying b/c Gwen wouldn't let him win. It's so great when you get a glimpse of yourself in your kids. :)

Happy Birthday to Crissy...

This is the week of birthday parties @ the Froehlich house. The first was Jack's, then came a surprise (to all of us, sort of) party for Crissy & Mia's is coming up. Crissy's was great b/c last night Dustin brought over the cake, pizza & beer and we just had to open our door to all the crazy McArthurs & Reeds. Too much fun and waaaay too easy.

WE WON!!!

I know this isn't supposed to matter, but it does. Jack's team won his first soccer game! It was thrilling, especially after his no win/no goal season last year. We were really proud mommas and pappas, screaming and cheering as he ran out there and scored the first two goals of the game right away. Then he played the rest of the game without pooping out, and his team won 4-2. WOO HOO! Technically the league doesn't keep score at the 4-5 year old level, but in my book, it counts. Our team KICKED BOOTY. And even if it doesn't happen again, I will savor this moment for a while. :)

Ash Wednesday

Got ashed today. Okay, I know you can't see them b/c they've already been smudged and are too faint for the camera, but they're there! Quick Confession of a Blogger Chick: When I realized you couldn't see the ashes I briefly (and sickly!) considered re-crossing myself with ashes from my fireplace but then decided that that would be WRONG, and I didn't do it. So, back to Ash Wednesday. It is absolutely my favorite day of the year. It beats my birthday, Christmas, and yes, even Halloween. Here's why: nothing feels better than coming clean with God. I know repentance is a dirty word and nobody wants to be told to do it, but after some quiet time in church, confessing every ugly thing I've said or thought or done, I am truly free, and I can accept the gift that Christ gave to me when he died for my sins. That is a cool feeling.

A Shock of Grey (or Gray)

I found my very first grey hair today. Or is it gray? I've never learned the difference, but I have a hunch one of the Wallaces can tell me. It was shocking and oddly exciting. It may have been there a while, but since I've been dying my hair for so many years, who knew? feels like: BAM. you're thirty. BAM. you have a five year old kid. BAM. Grey hair. It all sort of hits at once.

Oprah Pics

Here are the annual pics from our "Jack in Daddy's Shirt" photo shoot. This year I got a total of one of Jack standing. He decided he wanted to pose on one knee (WHY???) and refused to do it any other way. Crazy kid. I guess at age 5 he's all about asserting his independence. Can kindergarten start already so he can assert it somewhere else? :)