Playing Part 1

I got home after performing our last Opera matinee, and the sun was still up; it was warm; and the kids were ready to play after not seeing me hardly for 3 weeks!  So we hiked it on over to the grassy area (we don't call it a "park" because then Matthew expects a play area).

We brought along the football, playground ball, and the hand toss game.  The boys were happy to kick the ball back and forth with Daddy, hoping he'd show them some of his mad head bumping skills.  He obliged, of course.

We stayed until sunset, then some of us walked, Andrew rode his rip stick, and Joey rode his scooter home.  Fun!

Billy Casper

We had the pleasure of spending the day with famous golfer, Billy Casper. His golfing glory days are long over, but he had many interesting and funny stories to tell, especially about Arnold Palmer.  He is incredibly accomplished, has something like 11 children, and (who knew?) is an area seventy!  He was one of the most gracious, kind people I've ever met, especially because it was a VERY long day for him (plus, he's 80).  And he had entertained people the previous night. And it was pouring rain the entire time. He gave a great clinic, and even spoke at the dinner that night. I was thoroughly exhausted, so I can't imagine how tired he must have been.

While waiting for dinner to begin, Grace sat with Grandpa Fred, and later entertained guests during the cocktail hour before dinner.  She was waiting for Grandma Jane to pick her up for a sleepover.  Grandma was picking up Andrew from football practice and running him out to the country club so that he could lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  He was pretty excited to do it, and did a fantastic job!

Sam came to talk with Billy and joined us for dinner.  It was a terrific evening!

Church Picnic

We had a fun church picnic in the middle of September to celebrate the return of two soldiers in our ward from active duty in Iraq. It turned out to be a really nice night, even though it was threatening rain.  We had to leave a little early because Andrew had to be picked up from football practice, but we had a nice time enjoying our friends at the park.  Matt played with Avery, a little friend from nursery. Those two have a lot of fun together!  He also REALLY enjoyed his chicken. He must get that from his older brother, Mister Meat-a-tarian himself, Joey.

Haley had fun pretending to be mad. She didn't do a great job, though. I didn't believe it for a second.

Catching Up/ Lunch with Grace

The last couple of months have been busier than ever, with music, sports, photography, and just everyday life.  In fact, it's been a zoo around here, and the state of my house is enough to prove it.  But I'm going back through my pictures to try and catch up with this blog!

***

Grace started Kindergarten this year, and was doing fine (or so I thought), until I got a phone call from her teacher one afternoon.  She said, "I don't know if Grace has told you, but she cries everyday at school, usually during recess and after lunch. Today she cried so hard she was heaving, and I just held her until she stopped."  I told her that, no, Grace hadn't told me, but that I'd talk to her about it.  Her teacher said that she didn't think anything had happened, but that she just missed me.

When I asked her about it, she thought she was in trouble.  But I told her it was normal to be homesick, and we thought of some ways to keep her mind off me when she got sad.  We decided that she should start making up stories if she was sad, and that would occupy her mind a little.  The first few days, she came home with 3 long stories each day, and told me about them when I picked her up.

I also made her a deal, that if she could go the whole week without crying, I'd take her to lunch on Friday.  It took a couple of weeks, but she did it!  We usually go to Wendy's.  We take Joey, too, because he has almost the same lunchtime as Grace.  We usually bring something from the restaurant for Andrew to eat, since his lunch is later.

One week, I decided to come eat in the lunchroom with her.  She sat by her new friend, Kali (making some new friends also helped stop the crying!), and had a great time.  And no more tears!  Which is good, because she is eighth overall in her class of 23, even though she is the youngest student.  Glad we made it through that one!

Where's Matthew?

Today, we had a pretty big scare.  Luckily, it only lasted about 30 seconds.

After my friend Melissa O. left, I looked at Ben and asked where Matt was.  We had been chatting for about a half hour, and in that amount of time Matthew could have been halfway out of town.  Grace looked outside, I called and called, but still no answer.  I was starting to get really panicky, because if you can't find Matt, it means that he is either long gone or he's asleep somewhere.

Luckily, I tripped over something in the hallway.  I didn't see him because I had placed their old toybox in the hallway because we're getting rid of it.

He was drooling and everything.  He woke up not long after this, and was in a really bad mood for an hour and a half.

Andrew's Birthday Party

We went to Steep World for Andrew's birthday party, just like we did for Joey's last one. One of Joey's friends from school owns it (well, his dad owns it), and it is one of the funnest places ever.  I love to just let their awesome staff take over and entertain the kids for two hours.  And the kids love it!  So does Haley, because the cute young guys that work there keep her entertained for the entire time, too.

Andrew has always been a good climber, and he's usually the first to the very top.  He's just a natural athlete.

Joey just loves to climb period.  He climbs everything, even light poles, swing set poles, trees, etc.  He looks like a Samoan half the time, shimmying his way up to the top of something with no handles or branches.  He defies gravity.  This time he took a really bad fall, but luckily the guy running the party had just told him to move a mat over so he would be safe.  Without that mat, we would have been at the hospital with some very severe injuries.  So the guy (too bad I can't remember his name) saved Joey for sure.  He recovered after a few days, but he was pretty sore.

Matt kept us entertained, and on our toes (as usual).

 The adults sat in our usual spot and enjoyed the show.

One of the really fun things they do at the party is hide Starburst all over the room.  The kids have to climb to find them, and it's definitely their favorite part.  Grandpa had fun helping the kids spot them.

Then, we sat at the party table and had cake and ice cream; and opened presents.  Andrew got some new legos, a basketball hoop, a rip stick (which he has already mastered), a new awesome light saber, some new under armour, and several other goodies.  Dad got him this little drawing pad for the computer, so that he can use the pencil to draw.  It's pretty awesome!

***

After the party, we took Grace to her friend's birthday party, and Dad took Andrew to football.  All afternoon.  He had pictures, then warm ups, then a game.  It was a loooonnnnngggg day.  But it is football season, and that's what we do!

(See if you can spot him)

Andrew is the center for his team.  I don't know why it's so exciting for me to watch him be in charge of that ball, but it is.  He is really good at snapping that ball.  I think he's awesome.

Andrew is 10!!

On Sunday, Andrew turned 10 years old, and now he's famous.  Our local paper did a news article on his birth for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.  He had a great time with the interview.  We've been getting comments from everybody, especially at the school.

We think that the picture is really funny.  I call it "We only let him inside on special occasions".  The photographer was having a hard time getting us all in the shot with the good light coming in from the front window.  So he told Ben to go outside, and stand right there.  I was just sure that they would crop the picture in really tight so you couldn't notice, but no. 

But we really loved the story, and we're so glad that Andrew was born that day.  I think it makes him even more special than he already is.  We knew he was born to be great.  Many important spirits both came and left that day.  I can't wait to see what he does in his life!

Here's a copy of the article:

Sept. 11 changed family's life

• By MARY PICKETT Of The Gazette StaffThe Billings Gazette | Posted: Sunday, September 11, 2011 12:00 am                                        

Andrew Kazmierski, at home in Billings with his parents Kristi and Ben, was born on Sept. 11, 2001.

Birthday child: Andrew Kazmierski.

Parents: Ben and Kristi Kazmierski.

School: Meadowlark fourth-grader.

Born: 5:01 p.m., Sept. 11, 2001.

Interests: Art, football, wrestling, golf and drums.

Siblings: Haley, 15; Joey, 6; Grace, 5; and Matthew, 3.

Kristi Kazmierski went into labor with her second child early on Sept. 11, 2001. When she got to St. Vincent Healthcare, she called her mother who told her she should turn on the television.

“What channel?” Kristi asked.

“Any channel,” her mother told her.

Not long after she and her husband, Ben, began watching, they saw a second plane go into the World Trade Center’s south tower.

She wondered when it all would stop.

Even with a major moment in history happening around the Kazmierskis, the birth of their son took precedence.

“It was a very emotional day and it was exciting to welcome him into the world,” Kristi said.

Still, they knew the world they brought their son into had changed.

Kristi’s father, Jerry Manley, was an air traffic controller at the Billings airport, but was off that day. His job would never be the same.

When she was growing up, Kristi and her siblings used to go to the tower to watch air shows, but after the terrorist attacks, guests to the tower were tightly restricted.

Ben knew that the terrorist attacks would mean that his siblings, all in the U.S. Air Force at one time or another, would be deployed.

His sister, a physician, and her husband, a pilot, both have been deployed at the same time. Their son lived with the Kazmierskis last year for a few months while his parents were serving in the Air Force.

Ben, who was 25 in 2001, even seriously considered joining the military himself after Sept. 11. But with two young children, an established career and a new house, he didn’t feel like he could.

Another thing that’s changed is the loss of a sense of security they once had about their lives, the couple said.

At the same time, they feel lucky to have the freedoms they have in the United States.

Andrew, who has short, dark hair, was dressed in long jean shorts, striped polo shirt and was barefoot on a warm summer day.

He took an interest in a visitor’s questions and was eager to talk about his special day.

He can tell you that terrorists hijacked planes Sept. 11, 2001, and flew them into the World Trade Center twin towers and into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. A fourth plane, which may have been headed toward the White House or the U.S. Capitol, was brought down by passengers in Pennsylvania.

Kristi and Ben have talked with Andrew a lot about what happened that day so he understands the reaction he gets when he tells people his birthday date.

“Usually it’s a gasp,” Kristi said.

“On his birthday, his teachers usually have asked him to talk about the day he was born as well as share treats with his classmates,” Kristi said.

While the day 10 years ago was horrific, “It’s good to remember that good things happened that day, too,” Kristi said looking at her son.