My Kind of Mountain Men

It wasn’t just about some swift twists and turns, it was much more than that. Try 85 mph head-first, face-down drops, 263 feet butterflies-in-your-stomach plunges, huge spirals, sharp dives, and near vertical 61 degree dives! My rollercoaster buff of a husband loved it all, on his first trip ever to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California with three buddies of his for a quick turn around “guys trip”. Any massive steel structure that was totally wacky extreme is what they were magnetized to, over and over again. I call it insane, Jon calls it exhilarating. But nonetheless, he loved redeeming his birthday gift from the kids and I and has made it as clear as water, that he wants to return annually for some serious thrills. I think I can agree to that, I wish to say because of my love to see Jon happy, but deep down I think it’s a little more than that. Subconsciously I would gladly gift him with a guys’ trip to that theme park for the mere fact that I would NEVER have to do it with him. I so am not a rollercoaster enthusiast as he is.

The lack of vocal ability, bent up eye glasses from all the rides' impact yet thrill written all over his face when Jon arrived home safely was reward itself, hearing the stories and reenactments of his favorite rides; x2, Tatsu, and Goliath.

(Click on the name of Jon's favorite rides and you can see its total craziness on You Tube, that is...if you have a strong enough stomach.)

Another Scouting Adventure Begins

Let it be known. I love a man in a uniform! I do! And that’s good news since Nathan and Jon now fit that category. Both are Scouts in Den 524 amongst many boys and families we adore. Despite Jon’s horrific work schedule, he’s showing Nathan just how important he is  by taking one of his three nights off a week to be Nathan’s Den leader. So our adventure of Scouting continues with me as Baylee’s Girl Scout Brownie leader (for the third year) and now a new chapter as Nathan is officially a Cub Scout in den 13 with his daddy (and Mr. Glazier) as his leader(s). We are ready for Nathan’s world to explode as he learns so many wonderful things, explores new horizons, and challenges himself with personal goals and service to his community. With promises to memorize, belt loops to earn, Derby’s to play in, field trips to take, parades to be in, and camping to conquer, Boy Scouts will be totally 110% fantastic, I just know it!

                                      ~
To keep up with the “latest” in the den, visit their personal blog at: http://awesomeden13.blogspot.com/

Happy Daddy's Day

Owen, Nathan, and Baylee are BLESSED beyond measure! They truly have the BEST DADDY it the WORLD! There is a mutual admiration between the foursome that I love to gaze at! Jon’s fun, kind, patient, forgiving, and gentle with them all, and most of all, he LOVES them! The kids are so thankful to have him for a DADDY.

(photos to come)

Rock 'n' Roll with Daddy

Being swung from side to side, thrown in the air, and feeling like the ‘princess in Daddy’s eyes’, were just some of the great things that came out of tonight for Baylee. The 2009 Daddy Daughter Dance (for Girl Scouts) was a blast, to say the least, and thankfully Cocoa and I were able to witness it from the sidelines as I was a helper and committee member. New for my troop this year, our girls preformed a dance for the rest of the 200 couples to Good Golly Miss Molly (thanks to Anissa and Emily) all wearing matching hot pink poodle skirts (thanks to April). They were fabulously precious! Oh how I wish I knew how to post videos on this blog! I think Baylee will be floating on cloud 9 for quite a while after tonight (and honestly…I think Jon will be too!)


(My favorite picture of the whole night!)


(Cocoa Kempiak didn't want to miss this important night either so he/she came dressed to blend in with the rest of our 'Pink Ladies'!)

(My amazing troop 228 and dads)

(April and I...we had so much fun serving and watching tonight all while we were playing dress up too. She's our faithful seamstress for the troop.)

Baylee and Daddy's Date

Jon and Baylee had a date today. They went on a Daddy Daughter picnic at Freestone Park and had a great time with a few other friends. I pray that Baylee will look back on her childhood and remember how much her daddy loved and admired her.

A Magical Time of Togetherness

As a recap…Baylee’s one “ask” to Santa this past CHRISTmas was a ticket to Disneyland (and she got ‘it’). And one BIG PERK of me taking the substitute position last Fall was to save money to go there as a family of five. Well, since Jon’s birthday was the 9th and because Disneyland graciously allows birthday people to get in for free on their special day in 2009, we thought we should take them up on their offer, using Baylee’s two day pass and the money we set aside. So basically, for day one we had to pay for 3 tickets only and then day two we paid for 4 tickets, and day three 5.



It seems so silly to me to sum up the trip as “Magical” but really…that’s what it was. We all are Disney lovers and I can cry just thinking about Owen’s reaction (and Baylee and Nathan too actually) to each site and character. (Okay, I am crying as I type this now!)

Thankfully we have two very special teachers for Baylee and Nathan who were so awesome to give us the ‘thumbs up’ to go the week before our Spring Break. It was great timing too, only 15 minute waits for the most part. Can we make this a family tradition???




We initially paid for a two day trip but as we were half way through day two, Jon called his boss for permission for another day off and then quickly headed to customer service to upgrade our tickets. As a submissive wife, I couldn’t disagree. (lol)
~Here are some favorite moments of our time away~
♥ Being together, holding hands, singing, and being carefree
♥ Owen meeting his very favorite character Goofy and asking him if he’s wearing pineapple underpants (from a movie he likes)
♥ Nathan being “tall enough” for Indiana Jones ride
♥ Owen on Dumbo (his favorite and first ride)
♥ Baylee on Splash Mountain (her favorite…that die hard)
♥ Nathan’s time on stage fighting Darth Vader!

♥ Owen grabbing Nathan's hand proudly and not letting go for over an hour after Nathan went up against Darth Vader. "You're my hero!" he was saying.
♥ Our niece Kristen joining us on day two’s afternoon
♥ Running into our friends the Robert’s and Castronova’s
♥ Picking out our family mascot…Cocoa the monkey!
♥ HSM3 parade
♥ Watching Owen during the Playhouse Disney show, thinking all the characters are alive and able to hear him
♥ Finding hidden Mickey’s
♥ Seeing the “new” Small World…pretty!
♥ Having total strangers wishing Jon happy birthday (because of the pin they give him to wear)
♥ Running into Michelle Kohout after her “Shift” around midnight in downtown Disney and not even knowing she works there.
♥ The flowers, trees, and landscaping of Disneyland (and happiness of all the workers and most the guests)!
♥ The fireworks…wow. I cry every time!

Oh how I’d love to have season passes to Disneyland. Maybe sometime. Hmmm, I wonder how many sub positions I’d need to take to cover that one!






(For those wanting more information on how to get a free ticket on your birthday at Disneyland, click on the link above when I say, "Free on your special day")

Happy Birthday Sweetheart (and Daddy)

Today is my

sweetheart, Jon's

birthday!

&

Today is the kids'

phenominal Daddy's

birthday too!

(what a coincidence ☺)

Jon is a Godly man who takes great care of his family. We love him so much. And in honor of JON-DAY, the 9th of March, here are 9 of the reasons why he's simply AMAZING!

♥ He is faithful and loyal

♥ He is always positive (even with the hours he works and the lack of sleep he gets many nights)

♥ He's funny and silly...a great jokester (you want him on your side)

♥ He loves to be with his family and when he does...he gives 100% of himself (and when he's not around, he's a great texter, emailer, and caller to check in)!

♥ He loves Jesus and let's that show

♥ He's easy-going

♥ His singing voice can melt our hearts

♥ He is quick to say "I'm sorry, will you please forgive me?"

♥ He has a smile that's totally, 100% contagious!

We love you with all of our hearts...forever and always!

(Thanks for taking us to Disneyland on your birthday...wow, what a party!)

Happy Gratituesday!

I’d be foolish not to say on this Gratituesday that I will forever be grateful for Jon’s employer, SAP who gave everyone in his division 2 weeks off, paid vacation. So two of the three weeks the kids are off of school, Daddy will be home too! Isn’t that amazing! I feel like he’s a teacher all over again with this schedule.

Two Dates in a Row...Pinch Me!

Okay, Jon and I are really good at telling other couples that date nights are important however, we don’t take that advice for ourselves. If it wasn’t for his work schedule, I know we would…it’s just a season, right?

Well, it’s two days, or should I say two DATES in a row! Can someone pinch me? We’re still celebrating our 15th anniversary. So tonight, the Keller family took care of the kids while Jon and I went to a Christmas concert by my favorite artist in the whole world, Michael W. Smith! To top things off, on stage with him many times were Melinda Doolittle and George Huff from American Idol. We absolutely LOVED the concert!

Afterwards instead of heading home, we headed to the movies…an 11:30 showing! We’re really living it up when we can. Maybe we should call it, making up for lost time.

Tonight was wonderful. Thank you Jon for putting it all together! And thank you Tim and Lisa for watching our three kiddos! You are an awesome duo!

Where Were You 5,478 Days Ago?

5,478 days ago I was saying "I do" and being introduced to many as Mrs. Jonathan Kempiak. Today, my sweet husband and I are celebrating fifteen years of marriage, it's hard to believe! Has it really been that long?

I'm so glad he picked me out of all the girls who were after him all those years ago! (Yes, there were A LOT!!) I can't imagine being married to anyone else.
I’ve been asked what makes us happily married after 15 years, it's simple…it’s God! We both rely on Him daily and love Him more than each other (or ourselves).


Jon is my best friend; he has no ill wishes for me, and only wants me to succeed, thus when I am hurt by him or offended, I try to see his heart and remind myself that he too makes mistakes and isn’t intentionally trying to hurt me (nor can read my mind). He does the same when I hurt him.

Jon's the best husband and Daddy to our three precious blessings.

God knew how much I needed him, and I never cease thanking God every day for bringing him into my life and arms!

Happy Anniversary, Honey. Here's to many, many more! I love you babe!♥♥

Ahoy There Me Hearty!

What a fun-packed weekend! This late afternoon, Jon had the honor of playing Long Jon Silver Kempiak, the pirate, at Daniel and Benjamin Keller’s birthday party. The kids loved searching for treasures, sword fighting with Captain Keller (Tim), deck swabbing, the peg leg races, and much more! The Kellers always know how to throw a fantastically fun party!

All Because I Said YES!

If you were to flip your calendar open, eighteen years ago to this date (August 15th), you’d be looking the day Jon proposed to me. He totally caught me off guard, which was something I deeply desired seeing that most things in life, past or present, I come to figure out even though they are meant to be a secret. I don’t even “try.” I guess you’d say I have an extra “sense” and it’s one I don’t really like. For me, I’d prefer to be surprised. I like surprises! Especially the one eighteen years ago!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, we were on summer vacation from NAU living in Prescott where I was a nanny. Jon and I headed up to Flagstaff to go to a wedding and between reception 1 (the “formal” reception after the wedding) and reception 2 (just a fun time dancing with other collage friends outdoors in an alley “restaurant”), he told me to close my eyes that he had a surprise for me. He instructed me to lay out my hands and it was then that I felt a small velvety box. “Open your eyes,” his voice cracked and there I was, seeing Jon, the love of my life, on his knee and an engagement ring in my hands!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited and speechless all at the same time and cried happy tears right along with Jon, my now “fiancée!”

I am thankful for this memory and think how different my life would be without him. I am glad I said yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!