The Adventures of the Nomadic Kerby Clan

We are now in Week 5 of our California Adventure. So far, it has gone pretty well. It has been full of family, friends, and activity with everyone in good health for the most part- yeah! The first week we spent at Jake's parents for Thanksgiving. Ben became quite attached to one of those stupid singing fish things. It started out as down right terror and quickly moved to obsession. As soon as he walks in their house, he asks for the fish and walks around swaying and saying, "Be happy". Jake and I are wondering if "Don't Worry, Be Happy" will ever leave our heads.

The second week Jake and I spent in Mexico while the boys stayed with my parents. We had an amazing time, filled with lots of relaxing and lots of reading for me. If you haven't read, The Kindness of Strangers yet, and are looking for a good (but very intesnse) read, pick it up! It is a good one.

The boys also had a great week, including two sleep overs with their cousins. Kudos to my parents and Paul and Amy for braving those! They say the kids were great and very easy so I am thankful. The third week, we bounced back and forth between our parents, ending the week with a trip to Disneyland. Jake's uncle is a volunteer fire fighter there and they get free passes and invited us. It was a very fun (and cheap) day. One mistake we made, though, was taking Lucas on Mr Toad's Wild Ride early in the day. As adults, Jake and I forgot how scary that ride can be and lucas flipped- total sensory overload. I am still wondering why these rides need to be so stinking loud. Not only is it a lot to see, but man you are seeing and hearing everything so intensely, it is totally overwhelming. Needless to say, after that, anytime we went indoors for anything, Lucas freaked. He didn't want to get himslef trapped in another scary situation, and obviously felt he couldn't trust us anymore, when we said it wouldn't be scary. He bolted out of the Tiki Room before the show even started and had to be talked down before riding the boat for "It's A Small World". I know I am making this out to be an awful day, but besides a few moment of terror for Lucas, it was really fun. We took in a parade, then went over to CA Adventure for another parade and some outdoor, kid friendly rides...and Tower of Terror. :) No we didn't take the kids on that one.

This week we have been at my parent's house enjoying some time with all the cousins. My sister came into town with her two boys so it has been a zoo around here- very fun! Ben LOVES the babies and is a great entertainer for them. It has been so fun to have them all together.

This past weekend, we spent in Carlsbad with some old friends. It was so nice to just relax and catch up. We had an amazing weekend and couldn't have asked for better weather.


Ben and Max building sand castles:

Nick, Cope, and Ben:
Ben enjoying a nice day on the deck:
Lucas was here too but due to constipation, was not available for pictures. Poor guy! :(

Hola from Mexico!

Jake and I are currently enjoying a much needed vacation in Merida Mexico! It has been so nice to just relax, explore a new city, eat, eat some more, and read. I kept telling Jake before we left that I was just giddy about being able to be on a plane and read the entire time, and not The Hungry Caterpillar or Brown Bear, Brown Bear, but an actual book! Of course we get on the plane and my seat is next to this girl whose expression reads, "I am looking for a new friend and I choose you!" I have to say that I was more than happy to switch seats when a new mom wanted a window seat. Bye Bye Chatty Cathy!! 

Yesterday was our first day here and it was so fun to just walk around and figure this new place out. We got lucky and found some amazing places to eat (I love food!)) for lunch and dinner- real Mexican food!!! As you can possibly imagine, South Dakota is lacking in the Mexican food department. Anyway, today's plan includes me, a book, and poolside as  Jake will be in meetings most of the morning. I am loving this sunshine!!!

It's never too early to develop a strong work ethic

I say, start them when they are young...Could you make straighter lines please?
Ben, you get started too.

Work hard, Play Hard...

The things we learn...

Today I learned a few more tings about my son Lucas. At preschool today, they talked about what makes them happy and what makes them sad. What makes Lucas happy? Apparently when we give him crackers, that makes him happy. And sad? When we don't give him crackers (Most of you know that crackers are a treat for Lucas since he rarely has them due to constipation issues). It is a tough life isn't it? Oh how simple life can be. I miss that. I think I will go give my son some crackers.

October- The Month for Visitors!

We have had the pleasure of welcoming three sets of visitors over the last week and a half. First, was my good friend from college, Coleen.

She flew out and we took a road trip to see another good friend of ours, Lisa who is now living in Iowa. It was so wonderful to be together again.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We definitely need to make our reunions an annual event!

Lisa decided to take us to one of the "hot spots" of Davenport, IA. She took us to this piano bar that was... hopping! I know I do not get out much, but this was hilarious and strange. First of all, there was quite an age range. From middle aged women and older donning their pumpkin embroidered vests and candy corn earrings to the, "Are you sure you are old enough to be here?' College students. If that weren't enough to make us stay for a few drinks, there were the dueling, yes I said dueling, pianos singing everything from Elton John's, "Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza I mean Private Dancer" to "The Devil Goes Down to Georgia" by ...Garth Brooks? My favorite, of course was the beat box included version of "I like Big Butts" by Sir Mix A Lot.

I was actually pretty amazed at how many opportunities they found to throw in a little beat box. Needless to say, it was a night I won't soon forget. I have to say, I was impressed with Davenport. It is a cute little city with a lot of charm.

After Coleen flew out on Monday, Jake's friend John arrived Wednesday night on his road trip to his parents in Iowa. It was fun to visit with him and hear how things back in Pullman are going. Then, on Friday, my parents arrived and were here until the 4th. We had a great time. We drove out to where my dad lived until he was 11 (about 2 hours from here). It was so amazing to walk around my great grandparents' farm and put all the stories I have grown up hearing into context.

My dad was able to walk around and tell us things like, this is where we had family parties, one of which, when he was 7, he and his cousins got a hold of the keg and became intoxicated for the first time.

We also met many relatives still living in the area, like my Dad's cousin, who was the first to escape from the town jail. He and his friends hit a police officer with water balloons and once thrown in jail, found that they could just pick up the wall of bars and move it to get out. We are talking some serious lives of crime. We saw my dad's old school house, where my grandpa also went. The old outhouse is still original, even after my grandpa and some friends knocked it over with a security guard inside. No, my family is not a bunch of hoodlums, but these were the stories that made me laugh the most. All of this to say, it was a very special trip for all of us. Even though it isn't his side of the family, Jake said that it was so amazing to watch our kids play around on their Great Great Grandfather's farm. Very cool.
My mom and I also took the boys on a walk through this park down the road from us. It was a beautiful day and the trails were covered in leaves. We just had to take some pictures...



I will stop there and post Halloween stuff another time. We have had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and look forward to future visitors as well! Come on out everybody! South Dakota- Great Places. Great Faces. That's our motto.

Jingle Jangle

I don't know what it is about this place, but there is an obsession of sorts with jingles. Remember when we were kids and you would get a commercial stuck in your head? Well, those days are back. Even the news has a jingle..."Get in on the action with Action News!" Oh, if you could only here the music! Maybe I should just watch less tv. Probably, but until Project Runway and the whole network of Bravo go under, that is going to be a challenge... I know, judge me, I am a tv watcher. What a waste of time, right? But those darn jingles, I can not get enough!

Updated Home Project Pictures and others

I thought I would update the blog with some pictures of projects we have been working on. I was waiting until I had finished things, but let's face it, it is going to take too long to finish it all.

This is a dark picture but here is our green kitchen. We just did one wall but I am entertaining the idea of painting one more. I love this color, it is called Happy Camper. :)

Here is our bedroom. I still need to put up some art on the wall above our bed, but I am happy with the way the color turned out.
I started on a garden this weekend. All I need to do now is plant some seeds and hope i can get them to grow. I am going to plant asparagus and some herbs I think. Apparently, they can take the cold so it is a good time to plant them (don't I sound like I know what I am talking about?). If it weren't for my neighbors, I would not be doing this. They are teaching me everything I know.
Here is my red room! It is our office and although it is a small room, it doesn't seem to dark to us. We really like it.
We refinished our deck this past week. I think it looks so much better than it did. It had a paint-like stain on it before that was totally peeling off. I like that you can now see the wood.

The rest of the pictures are just some we have taken over the last few weeks.







Ben loves to read books. He often reads them with lots of passion and volume.

Sunday proved to be just too much for Ben. I think it is time for a nap.

Obviously, Ben is a fan of mashed potatoes.

This past week was an Open House at the fire station in town. Kids could try their hand at putting out a house fire if they wished. Here is Lucas' attempt. He actually moved the whole house in the process. Of course the flames were just wood painted to look like fire, but i am sure painted wood flames are pretty dangerous too.

crazy busy weekend!

I am writing this from my freshly painted red office (it still needs one more coat)! Yes, I finally have my red room. Of course I chose our smallest room to paint red but I really like it. I think once it is put together it will not be so shocking to those not so in to bold colors. My house (at least the main floor) now looks like a tree in autumn. You can stand in our living room and see a brown wall, a green kitchen, our pumpkin spice bedroom, the goldish tan walls of the halls and most of the living room, and now our red office! There is a them to my madness although the theme didn't come together until after I painted everything but the office. In my head this justifies the madness of all my painting. :) I will have to post pictures once things look more put together. I keep saying that and then I start another project.

Jake and I have started to move on to the outside of the house now. Yesterday, Jake spent most of the day power washing the paint/stain off our deck and then sanding it. We will be staining it once all these thunderstorms pass. Next weekend, we will be clearing some of our yard for my very first garden! Hopefully, I will have asparagus, some herbs, and maybe some onions this fall! I have very high hopes for someone who the only plant I have kept alive for longer than a month is a good luck plant! My neighbor is giving me some guidance in all this so hopefully I will have better luck!

We had dinner with our neighbors again last night. Lucas and their son seem to get along pretty well for the most part, which is nice. We are so thrilled to have such great people around us. We are definitely enjoying getting to know them.

This weekend was also the inaugural Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 5K in South Dakota. I dragged my larger than necessary behind out the door this morning to run in hopes of starting a running trend in my life again. For not running regularly for a few months now, I was able to run a personal best time for me (nothing impressive to anyone who runs), so I am now motivated for the moment to run again tomorrow. I must admit the fact that I have to wear a bathing suit in December when we go to Mexico is some motivation to keep running as well.

The Art of the Stand Up Pee

I just finished trying to teach Lucas how to try and pee standing up. I brought out books for him to stand on since he doesn't quite clear the seat and a stool is too high. I even put Cheerios in the toilet for him to aim at. I don't think he quite gets the mechanics of it all and all I have to offer is the hover method, not to be of good use to him. Let's start by saying I was not successful, I think this is one area Jake will have to cover. It brought a good laugh and I think Lucas is still wondering why I put his cereal in the toilet. He was very concerned.

Small Town Life

I am beginning to really like it here. I love that we have neighbors that we can do dinner with, neighbors who bring you fresh vegetables from their gardens, and who always seem to have time to chat for a minute. It is so different from our little street in Pullman with only 2 neighbors we rarely had a chance to talk with. I am already starting to read up on gardening so I can put one in next spring. We will see how many plants I can keep alive.

The boys seem to be enjoying this place as well. We can now consider going to the bank an event as our bank as one of those old tube things (technical term) where you put your deposit in a container and it shoots up into a tube and comes back with suckers. Nothing is better to Lucas than an outing that results in a treat. Also, only in a small town can you go to the post office and have the President of the university put you into your car seat! We were going back to our car and the President of USD was parking next to us. He heard me tell Lucas to wait on the curb a minute while this man gets out of his car. He then asks Lucas, "Why don't I help you open your door and get in?" Anywhere else this kind of question would have resulted in me wanting to beat the man down with a stick. Here, because I recognized who he was, it was just funny.

The only thing missing in this small town is family and old friends. Hopefully, we can continue to develop great relationships with people here, but if anyone is interested the house behind us is for sale!!!! Any takers????

Night time prayers

Tonight was one of those moments I just had to stop and write about before I forget. Each night, we pray with Lucas before he goes to bed and we ask him who he wants to pray for. Well, tonight I gave him a few choices, "Do you want to pray for your cousins, your friends at preschool, or the people who were hurt in the train crash?" For those of you who don't know, there was a horrific train crash in Simi Valley on Friday. Lucas chose to pray for the train crash victims and their families. So we prayed and then Lucas got on all fours on his bed and looked down off his bed and said, "Did God do this Mommy?" I wasn't sure what he was doing so I asked him and he said, "Let me get down and show you." He crawled down onto the floor, go on his hands and knees again and pretended to look under his bed. He said, "Did God do this Mommy and look for the people under the train?" This, of course, broke my heart.
I told him, "Yes, God probably did and He probably used people to look for people who were hurt too."
He then asked, "Does God have a big arm, Mommy?" I said, "Yes, God is really big, bigger than our house! he can reach up to the moon."
Lucas then wanted to know, "Where is She (God)?" I think the idea of God being that big was a bit scary, he wanted to know where this big God was. :) I told him that God is everywhere.
"Is He at my church?" he asked. I told him that he was.
He then asked, "Whats one church?"
"He is at all the churches." He is even at our house, but we just can't see him." Keep in mind this is an on the fly conversation so I am trying to come up with answers I could never really explain if I had all the time in the world to think of answers. I told him, "He watches over us and takes care of us. He even made us. He put your ears on the side of your head and put Mommy's eyes on her face." He thought this was hilarious for some reason.
Lucas then asked, "Did God make my arms, Mommy?" I told him that He did.
I the said, "He made all of you really small and put you in Mommy's belly to grow (Great way to bypass a huge subject for the future). When you were big enough, you came out and God continues to help you grow every day to be big."
That about wrapped up the conversation and we moved on. It was the first time he has really asked questions about God, where he is, and how He helps people. It was so amazing to see his mind running. It reminded me of just how out there it all seems. When I try and explain it simply, it is still hard to wrap my mind around it all. Anyway, I had to share this moment as I know they are precious times.
So please take this picture of God on his hands and knees, looking for hurt people under the train and pray for those families hurt by this tragedy. Thank you Lucas for reminding me where God is in the midst of such a horrific event.

Window Well Critters

We have been having problems with little critters falling into our basement window wells. Up until today, it has been LOTS of frogs and toads. Normally, after a rain Jake will check to see if any have fallen in and throw them back up into the grass. He loves this "chore" and has stated this is another reason it is a perfect house for him (not one of my top 10 reasons I like living here, go figure). Anyway, after dinner tonight, Jake pulled up Lucas' shade for some reason and found our first furry creature. Lucas came running up stairs saying, "Mommy, there is a passa in my window!" Once I figured out he was saying possum, and swallowed the vomit in my mouth (not a fan of furry rat like creatures in the slightest), I headed down to see for myself. Sure enough, there he was, a baby possum curled up in the corner (who knows how long he was in there). He had COMPLETELY shredded Lucas' screen trying to get out. I am not sure how we didn't hear it. Gross! Jake rescued it and sent it on its way, although it was pretty sluggish. So, what will we be doing this weekend? Looking for window well covers, that's what. I can not risk another one falling in and discovering it when Jake is not around. The children would see their mother committed for sure. Not a pretty scene.

Church Hunt Complete!

I know what you are thinking, that wasn't much of a hunt! Despite the short search, we have found a new church home. I have NEVER been to a church as a visitor and had so many people welcome me, talk to me, ask me questions, tell about themselves, and EVERYONE raved at what an amazing community this town and church is. The pastor made a point to come over, introduce himself, meet our kids, and tell us about a children's/family program they have on Wednesday nights. I guess on Wednesday, all the families of kids preschool through 5th grade meet for dinner and they have activities/programs for the kids after dinner. The teacher of the preschoolers came up and introduced herself as well. Now this wouldn't be so surprising if we were the only visitors at a church of 15 or 20, but there were about 100 people and lots of new or newer people. I LOVED IT! The church? It is the Congregational United Church of Christ of Vermillion. Everyone I spoke with (newer people and some who have been there for decades) said it is a really friendly, community oriented church. It seems very focused on living life based on the teachings of Jesus. The pastor is a very high energy, personable, and well educated man. His wife leads the worship service with him as well. When he was talking to us, he was saying you will find people here who will do anything for you. If you need someone to watch your child, if you need a meal, someone to give you a ride- anything! Just call. Having no real family around, that was reassuring to hear. I am telling you, it was incredible. I think the most incredible part was just how down to earth everyone I spoke with was. it wasn't that creepy, "find the new people and hover" feeling. The people seemed geniunely happy to meet us (I know what you are all thinking- they don't know us yet. They will be pushing us back out the door after a couple of weeks, I am sure, but until then, we will enjoy this wonderful community. :))
Anyway, I just had to update you all as soon as we got home. I am very excited if you couldn't tell. :)

Labor Day Weekend Update

It was another busy weekend for us. We had a long to do list and completed just about all of it. I painted an accent wall in our living room, Jake finished the window casings and the baseboards in the bathroom in the basement, we hung some curtains, and took a marathon shopping trip. The boys were incredible as they endured a 2 hour Home Depot trip and then another couple hours at a furniture store. I couldn't believe there was no melting down until the final minutes. We were able to find a couch and chair we really like! I will have to take updated pictures once they arrive. My next project is to paint our bedroom. I keep thinking I will stop and take a break from painting, but then a couple days go by and I get inspired to paint another room. Our house is going to look like a circus with every wall a different color by the time I am done. This is what happens when you wait so long to paint your walls. :)

On another note, Lucas continues to enjoy preschool. It is so strange to see him with this life apart from us. People told me it would be this way, that being around other kids would encourage Lucas to do this or that, but I truly didn't imagine I would notice changes so soon. For example, most of you know that he has had serious constipation issues. Well, this weekend we had a three day poop hiatus. I was really worried sending him to school yesterday, and actually entertained the idea of keeping him home because he was pretty miserable. When Jake went to pick him up, the teacher told him that Lucas went to the bathroom (first time during preschool) all by himself and pooped! I was thrilled to say the least. He seems to really be making progress toward getting over the fear of pooping. Thank God!

I have gotten a few questions about our church hunt. We didn't get to church this week since we were trying to get so much done before Jake starts teaching this week. Jake did however, meet another new professor who was raving about the United Church of Christ, Congregational Church. This is the church our realtor recommended to us and the one we visited when we were here looking for a house. Jake was told it has an amazing community, which is high on our list. We are going to try it this weekend.

I am getting to a point where I am really missing friends and community so hopefully this weekend we will make some progress toward meeting people. Again, I feel I have to get back out into the "dating" pool. Obviously it isn't dating, but it is that same awkward feeling of putting yourself out there and hoping you get a phone number or a connection with someone who potentially could be someone you spend more time with. Does this sound as creepy as I think it does? Hopefully you get my point. The point? I need to make friends. :)

Grad School Here I Come...well if they will have me

I am writing it here so I can not back out. So here goes...
I am going to apply to get a Masters in Education as a Reading Specialist. I feel like learning to help students overcome any challenges they face in the reading process would be an extremely valuable tool for the classroom. It is an area that intrigues me and will help me become more effective when I go back to teach.
The first step will be to study and pass the GRE. This is probably the least important step, but for me, the scariest part. So here I go to study (or nap, last night was rough!)!

Church #1 and possible job!

I have to say, Church #1 was pretty good. There was no snake charming or angry preachers at least. People were friendly, at least the lady in front of me was. The sermon was biblically based and there were no off the wall ideas (well I guess the Bible can be seen as full of off the wall ideas, but there were no new ones). The only negative was that the service was long, mostly due to a 20 minute announcement about redoing their parking lot.
Next week, Jake or I will be hitting the Methodist church. I'll will let you know!

Today I called the school district to find out about subbing. The lady said they are always needing subs and that I can write on the application that I only want to sub on specific days. I will probably start by just subbing on Fridays since Jake said he can be home that day if need be. I have to say the possibility of working is making me really excited. Obviously, I can not do too much with no childcare, but this little bit is seeming huge to me!

The Church Hunt Begins

Today we start the official church hunt. It should be interesting. I am all for change in many ways, but finding a new church is never an easy change for me. I want who I know and what I know when it comes to church and as is obvious, that just can not be when you move so far away. So, here we go. Thanks to the advice of my ever so wise sister-in-law, we are going to divide and conquer. Finding a church is hard enough but add two children who are not going to sit through a service no matter how amazing the church, it is even tougher. So, we are going to start our search with one of going and the other staying home with children. We figure this way, not only will I actually be able to hear and pay attention to the service, but if it is obvious it isn't the church for us, I can make a more subtle escape.
My random and totally ridiculous thoughts right now are: Will I get to some of these churches and be totally inappropriately dressed (no prairie skirt and high collared blouse- I don't even own a blouse!)? Will I be one of 8 people in an EXTREMELY uncomfortably different service/ theology (Snake worshiping, fire eating, screaming red faced preachers- I am totally picturing a "Footloose" church)? :) I could go on being ridiculous and extreme, not because I really worry about these things but because I find it somewhat funny to imagine.
Todays Church? I will be going to Hillside Community Church. It is a Christian and Missionary Alliance church. I don't know anything about it, except for the little I read about online but who knows! It seems (obviously) very mission minded and pretty evangelistic, and not that I am against those things, but I have my hesitations. I don't need a perfect church though, just a group of people who can endure us and love us despite us. Well, maybe a bit more than that, but you get the idea.

California Dreamin'

I thought I would post just a few pics from our time in Southern California, but as you will see, I could not hold it to just a few. Here is Ben enjoying a little sand.
Mommy and her boys
Jake's mom works at this really cool art place for kids in Redondo Beach. Lucas had the place to himself for an hour, creating all kinds of masterpieces.
Grandma Sue and Benners
We couldn't drag Lucas from the water! Jake got a work out swinging him around.
Lucas takes a fishing trip with Papa Joe on his boat.
Jake and Lucas wait to catch a big one.
Lucas meets his new cousins!
Mr. Kaden gives his auntie a smile. Don't you just want to eat those cheeks?!!

The New and Improved Szarawarski Family!

Great Grandma enjoys some time with the boys.

What can I say about Mr. Vin? This little guy is just delicious!

Lucas and Kaden enjoy some gym time.

Sweet Baby James
James and his favorite Aunt Rachel. :)
James gives Nana a smile.

Lucas and Vin are two peas in a pod! They are definitely going to give us a run for our money!

The whole crew! Impressive right? Six kids three and under all contained on one blanket. Any guesses how long that lasted?

James entertains Uncle Jake with a smile.

Poor Rose had to put up with all the boys. You can bet she can hold her own.

Auntie Amy snuggles up to Kaden.

Master Paul and Doctor Jake- Celebrating Jake's new job and Paul finishing his Masters with their engraved mugs.

That about sums up our trip. It was the most chaotic California trip yet, but by far the most enjoyable! We can not wait to do it all again for the holidays.