Reunions and Blowouts!

What's new with BKIB? Ben is leaving for Chile in October. He has a great team put together of about six people and he is really looking forward to it. Work is good. I think he is really getting into the swing of things because we see him a little earlier in the evening then when he first started. We went to the Guatemala Reunion in Tyler, TX and he had a great time catching up with aunts and uncles. We were trying to explain to Isabella that she was going to be meeting a lot of aunts and uncles, but she couldn't understand why we were going to visit "ants"! We brought our camera but the only picture that I took was this one of Brooks having a staring contest with his cup!

Kristen has been very busy. I can't imagine what it will be like when Isabella and Brooks are old enough to be in extra curricular activities. I already feel like all I do is run from school to dance to the church. ESL started last week and it is a lot of fun. They have asked me to run the new class and though I was a little surprised, I gladly excepted! The ladies are so sweet, and they really want to learn English. I am trying to finish the last few things for Isabella's "Imagination Movers" birthday party tomorrow. I can't believe she will be three on Sunday! These pictures are of the family at the Tyler zoo.
Isabella will be THREE on Sunday. Time has really flown by! She is quickly losing her baby features and becoming a beautiful little girl. We went in for her 3 year old check up last Friday and she is exactly 3 feet tall. That puts her in the 25% for height, she is 50% for weight and thankfully that have stopped measuring her head! She still loves school, dance and choir and has learned all of the songs fast.
Brooks went to the doctor for his 15 month check up and was about 2 1/2 feet tall which is 75% for height, he is 75% in weight and his head went from 75% to 99%! He has that CAROTHERS head! It's funny, before Brooks came along, we thought Isabella was our strong willed child! BOY were we WRONG! Brooks does not pay us one bit of attention when we are telling him NO. He gets something in his head and he is going to do it no matter what you say! We are going to have to find out what really  gets his attention as far as punishment goes. We are trying to be patient!
That's all for now!
Funny Story: The kids and I went to lunch with some friends a couple of weeks ago and Brooks had a major BLOWOUT! I didn't have any of his stuff with me so I had to borrow. None of the moms that had boys there had an extra set of clothes, so we borrowed one of Meredith's outfits. We started calling Brook, Mooks for the rest of the afternoon. I needed to run into Target for a second and on the way our a lady driving by stuck her head out to comment on Isabella's outfit. When I turned around to thank her, she saw Brooks in my arms. She said "Woo that's a BIG girl!" Poor Mooks! :)

I can't believe I'm doing this!

So... Ben has been telling me that I should start a blog for our family for a while now. Why I am choosing to do it (now) when our life is so crazy busy I don't know! But, this is what's new with BKIB: BEN is the purchasing manager at the IP mill in Mansfield. He has had this job for a few months now and is really starting to get the hang of it. This new position should put us here in Shreveport for a couple of more years. Ben ran his first triathlon sprint last month. He did not like the swimming part of the race, but finished in the time he wanted to. The family is so proud of him! KRISTEN is teaching two year old Sunday school on Sunday mornings. I really feel like even at the age of two, these precious gifts from God can learn scripture, bible stories and songs. All they need is someone to teach them! On Wednesday nights, I teach three year old choir. I have high expectations but I know this will be a great year. The songs are easy and so sweet. On Thursdays, starting on the 10th, I will be teaching beginner ESL. I am taking a bigger role this year and I am looking forward to it. I am on the steering team this year in MOPS (mothers of preschoolers). We meet two Mondays a month. ISABELLA is growing up so fast! She will be three on the 27th and we are having an Imagination Movers party for her. She has three year old preschool on Tuesday's and Thursday's. She calls it "the white school" because the building that she goes to school in is white. It's only been one week, but she loves it. On Tuesdays, she also goes to ballet. She looks so sweet in her all pink ballerina uniform. She is almost old enough to be in the three year old choir on Wednesday nights at the church. She gets to go early because I know her teacher really well! It's me :). She has started cutting out her naps which is hard on me, but that just means she goes to bed earlier at night. BROOKS is a climber! He likes to climb on or in anything. I pull him of the kitchen table multiple times a day. It rally scares me because I know he is going to hurt himself one day, but he is a boy! It is fun to see the differences between him and Isabella at his age. He has the most beautiful dark red curls and big brown eyes. He gets all the women talking about him when we are out in public. He doesn't smile or laugh a lot but when he does, it is so genuine. My favorite is when I am able to catch it on camera. The pictures to the left are of Brooks in Isabella's shoe drawer, Isabella on the first day of preschool. Her shirt says "preschool rocks" and has her name on it, Isabella in her ballet uniform and the last one is of the family after Ben's triathlon.