8, actually.....100 things

My cousin-in-law Lisa recently "tagged" me with a task to post 8 things/habits about myself. My friend Courtney has a list of 100 things about her on her blog & I thought both of their lists were so interesting that I decided to combine the "tag" and the 100 things list. I hope you are not bored to death reading it........

1. I hate birds.

2. Actually, I don't like anything that flutters - moths, butterflies, bats, birds...

3. I have the best husband in the world.

4. I do the USA Today daily crossword at least 3 times a week.

5. I love it when the sky is that great color in-between being black & blue.

6. I miss Saskatchewan, especially around Christmas.

7. If I could have it my way, I would have my entire family live within 10 minutes of me.

8. That includes my in-laws.

9. I have been a bridesmaid in 9 weddings.

10. I love to sing with my brother Jeff. Once we were travelling from Arkansas to Saskatchewan which is about a 26 hour car ride, and we sang for at least 10 of those hours.

11. I am somewhat fascinated by those gross medical mystery shows on T.V. Like the one I watched a while ago with Ryan & Linda - The Man Who's Arms Exploded. It was so gross, yet, we just couldn't turn away.

12. I love having a hot drink during the day.

13. I love looking at pictures. I like all types of photos, but ones with people in them are my favorite.

14. The longer that I am married, the more sports I am beginning to like.

15. I loved my job teaching. I am so happy to be at home now, but I could not have asked for a better job while I was working. I was really nervous to teach the 6th grade. I didn't really like kids who were that age when I started, but I loved them by the end of it. And my co-workers....they were the best!

16. I always cross my legs when I sit down. It is such a habit that I don't even think about it.

17. One of my pet peeves is when I am driving, and I have the sun visor to the side to block the sun, then I turn a corner and the visor comes and hits me in the head. SO annoying.

18. The sound of Larson deep-belly laughing is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Secily has yet to make it to the belly laughs.

19. I love summer camp. I loved it when I was a kid as a camper, and I loved it when I was older and was a counselor. I can't wait to send my kids to summer camp.

20. I love to be on the lake. It is so calming.

21. I like to cook.

22. I don't like to bake.

23. I am terrible at being confrontational.

24. My favorite pair of shoes are a pair of boots that I got while I was in college. I still wear them.

25. At the moment my favorite color is chocolate brown.

26. I like to play board games. We play a lot of them with Ryan's family & it is always a good time. On the whole, I think they are underrated.

27. I wish I was more organized.

28. I have been in these countries: Canada, USA, Mexico & Honduras

29. I LOVE monster cookies - the gooey ones with M&M's, peanut butter, and oatmeal. ymm.

30. I never buy CD's. The last CD I bought was Jack Johnson - that was about a year ago, and the one before that....I can't even remember that long ago.

31. I always wear a black shirt when I get my hair cut.

32. I wish I was more adventurous.

33. I love getting pedicures.

34. I never shop online for clothes.

35. I love sharpie markers.

35. I hate scary movies, scary TV shows, scary commercials, anything scary.

36. My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice.

37. The movies that I can watch over and over again are: Sound of Music, You've Got Mail, While you Were Sleeping, & My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

38. I am a routine person. I like them.

39. I dyed my hair blond once - platinum blond, the summer after I graduated High School.

40. If I had a closet full of gold, I would treat myself and hire a full time masseuse.

41. My favorite clothing store is Banana Republic.

42. I buy almost all of my clothes at Old Navy, Marshalls, or TJMaxx.

43. I would rather be really cold than really hot.

44. I like black furniture.

46. I carry around and use a day timer.

47. I love Old Dutch Ketchup Flavored potato chips. They only sell them in Canada and I get some every time I go home.

48. I never remember how to spell definitely - I have to spell check it every time. I'm not sure I spelled it correctly just now.

49. I have 5 holes in my ears.

50. I only wear earrings in 2 of them.

51. I like almonds, peanuts, macadamias, and pecans....I do not like walnuts.

52. I listen to talk radio when I am in my car.

53. I had a car in high school that was named "the embarrassment". Looking back, I think it is good for a high schooler to have a car like that.

54. I once offered a friend a paper bag to wear over her head while she rode in "the embarrassment" with me.

55. My sixth grade Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Armstrong, was great. She gave the devotional at one of my wedding showers.

56. I don't have an ipod. I am so very "behind-the-times."

57. I worry too much.

58. I love the way it smells after it rains. Especially in Saskatchewan, because it always cools down with the rain, so it is a great, cool, crisp smell.

59. I like houses with a lot of windows.

60. I only know 3 of my neighbors.

61. I am not an unfriendly person.

62. I am not very good at keeping in touch with people. I don't like that about myself.

63. I stick my foot in my mouth far more often than I would like to.

64. My husband can make me laugh at all times. I love that about him.

65. I get really nervous every time I go to the dentist.

66. I like all of my fingernails to be the same length. It drives me crazy to have all but one of them long. If I break one, I cut them all.

67. I like to sing hymns.

68. I like to paint - not pictures, but rooms in my house.

69. I don't mind cleaning my house, in fact, I kind of like it. (gasp.)

70. I cannot juggle.

71. I am really proud my family.

72. My favorite month is October.

73. I don't eat fish very often. I don't know why, I like fish, I just never order, or cook it.

74. I have never been to New York.

75. I am really glad that we found out the gender of our babies before we had them. It gave me time to fall in love with the idea of them before they arrived.

76. I have three junk drawers in my kitchen. Yes, three. (I'm sure my sister-in-law Eraina is cringing at that confession)

77. I am a fast reader.

78. I like amusement park rides and roller coasters.

79. Nothing flusters me more than getting lost.

80. And then being late, because I was lost.

81. I love to swim.

82. I have never sold anything on eBay.

83. I have had these jobs: babysitting, delivering papers/fliers, teaching piano, summer camp counselling, waitressing, teaching.

84. I really like teaching Sunday School at our church.

85. I am a big time procrastinator.

86. When I was in the 3rd and 4th grade I wished that my name was Janine. Now I am happy with the name Karin.

87. I have portaged a canoe.

88. I don't think I know how to spell "portage".

89. I hate having sticky hands. That is a bit of a challenge for me with a 2 & a 1 year old.

90. I don't like houses that have ivy growing all over them. I think it's creepy.

91. I would like to know how to grow flowers.

92. I would also like to have a garden. I would grow carrots, lettuce, tomatoes and peas.

93. I would not grow beets.

94. I really like to entertain people in our home.

95. I feel guilty whenever it is a nice day and I let the kids watch TV.

96. I love getting popcorn at the movies.

97. I seem to like the kind of candy that most other people find gross. For example, I love licorice (red & black), the buttered popcorn and coffee flavored jelly-bellies, & those Halloween candies that come in the orange and black wrappers, just to name a few.

98. I don't get my hair cut very often. I usually get it cut, and then let it grow for at least 4-5 months before I go back and cut it again.

99. I like to take long walks.

100. Making this list has made me wonder about what any of my friends, or family would put on their "100 things" list. If you have time, make one and send it to me. I'm so curious.

If She had the chance she'd ask the world to dance....

But, she was dancing with herself! In church no less!

Just Peachy

We are going out to North Carolina & getting together with Ryan's family for the 4th of July. We have been talking about it a lot lately, (we're getting very excited) and telling the kids that we are going to the beach. Larson woke up from his nap today and said to me "Mommy, I want to go to the peach."
Since we still have 2 weeks until we leave, we had to make a little "peach" of our own.

Pig-tails!

He Offered.....

I don't think Uncle Jeff will be offering to change a diaper again anytime soon!

Random Pictures

I was looking through some pictures the other day, saw these ones and thought, how have I never posted them!?

This is my in-laws dog doing her amazing tricks. Here she is jumping over Linda & Larson. Larson loved it.

Secily - she will hate me for this picture one day.


And, I saved the best for last........old school pictures! I love them! Top row is Elizabeth, Lesley, Natalie. Second row is me, Alan, and Preston. Both Lesley's & my picture are from the 2nd grade. Notice the great hairstyles (really, Liz has it too) we're modeling - both the straight & curly option of the classic chili-bowl. Don't try to tell us that we don't look good! :)

The count-down is on!

7 months, 3 days until......(drumroll please)..........

Baby #3 arrives at the Files house!

Yes, we are very excited! To help you out with the math - that puts us at a January 7th due date - Larson will be 3, Secily will be 18 months. Should make things even more interesting around here! The more the merrier right!? :)

Party Animals....

We have been so busy this past week. We had parties five days in a row! I think Larson thought that his world had turned into one big occasion to eat cake! He loved it!!

I haven't posted in awhile, so here are some catch-up pics:

One of Ryan's college friends got married this past weekend. It was so much fun because all of his Tech friends were there. There are 12 of them who have really kept in touch since college.. this is the crew (minus the bride & groom!) - Ryan has been at all of their weddings!



This is Larson & Secily with the Lowry kids. They had such a fun day playing together!

Larson & Secily are starting to team up - which can only mean one thing.....trouble! :)

Wedding Bells

So, I am a little late in posting this, (seems to be a pattern lately!) but last weekend my brother-in-law Preston got married! It was a beautiful wedding....seriously, a fairy tale! He & Katherine make a fantastic couple & we are so happy for them! Here are a few pics for those of you who are interested.
The rehearsal:
First Dance:


Mother/Son Dance:
The Larson's in attendance:


The Files Men (minus the groom!)

Ryan & I with Preston & Katherine:

In keeping with tradition...Lesley caught the bouquet! (She also caught mine, and Natalie's)

The departure:
Preston & Katherine went to Hawaii for their honeymoon, and I'm sure are having a fabulous time, but I have to say, the kids and I had our own little taste of "Hawaii" today at the Hawaiian Falls Water Park & had a fabulous time with Jeff & Chandra. Eat your heart out Honolulu!!

Jeff & Larson with "The Big Kahuna Waterfall"

Chandra & Secily on "the Beach"

Lazy Lake Days

My whole family got together the first weekend in May. We got a lakehouse on Cedar Creek Lake, took Bryan's boat out there and had a fabulous weekend. Larson is now very excited about wakeboarding and "surfining"...he practices daily in the backyard, making his uncles very proud.

These are pictures of the ideal Larson vacation...clear sky, calm water, & everyone in the boat!
Hard to get better than this....





That's right....that's my Dad. He's inland surfing. It's the new thing to do behind the boat....he's not afraid to keep up. Way to go Dad!! :)

Summer is Coming!

Larson, like Ryan, has really thick hair. So, Ryan thought the best thing he could do for Larson as we head into the summer months, is to give him buzz cut! He thinks Larson will be so much cooler without all of his mounds of hair. I can't believe how different he looks with the new 'do'.

before:


after:

Pronoun Puzzle.

Larson has always loved his Aunt Yuriko. He loves to play with her when she visits, and he loves the shark video that she made for him! But, he has never been able to say her name quite right. He has always just referred to her as "Riko". So recently, I tried to get him to say YURriko. Our conversation went like this:

Karin: "Larson, who made you your shark movie?"
Larson: "Riko"
Karin: "YURriko"
Larson: "MY Riko"

Karin: "Larson who made you your shark movie?"
Larson: "My Riko"

Here is Larson, "his Riko", and Uncle Erik.

Picture Catch-up

I have finally uploaded my pictures, so here is a brief recap of the past few weeks.

Here are the kids on Easter Sunday. I could not get them both to look at the camera at the same time - the Easter eggs were far too interesting.



Larson loved collecting eggs.



Larson has recently discovered the skateboard. He loves trying to ride it, and can stand up on it. I'm sure he is making his uncles very proud, but I am not sure that I am totally excited about it - I can just see teeth flying everywhere......



We - Ryan & I - have been to Houston the past 2 weekends to attend showers & parties for Preston and Katherine. (My wonderful brothers & sister-in-law's have kept the kids for us so we could go...they are seriously the best!) I am so disappointed with myself that I did not take more pictures, I am going to do a better job at the wedding next month. This is the one that I did take.



Secily has been crawling everywhere, and is starting to pull up on things, but she doesn't usually make it all the way up, so she winds up being more of
"Sneaky Spy Secily"

New Camera!

We got a new camera, and I am so excited about it! I now have pictures to post :)

Here is Secily on her 9 month birthday.

And here is Larson, enjoying the sprinklers.

Ohio - revisited.

One of our trips last month was to see Ryan's parents in Ohio. We had a great time, and Linda just sent me a CD of all of her pictures...so I have pictures to post - yeah!

We got to see Alan's apartment, which is the epitome of a college's guy's place.
Notice first of all the police tape....a nice, warm, welcoming touch...

then notice the sleeping bag....that's right...no need for a bed really, when a sleeping bag and carpet box will do...right?

We also went to the zoo. On our last trip to Ohio, we also went to the zoo - we went in the rain and had the whole place to ourselves. In keeping with tradition, we had the place to ourselves when we went in the snow! :)










We went to a very fun science center


Larson tried "horseback riding"


Here is Secily with her Aunt Lesley. I think they look so much alike.
Lesley was trying to get a nice picture with Secily,


and kept trying,

and finally thought, well, if you can't beat her, join her!