You know your son is obsessed with football when...Part II

He is asked to write an essay on someone he admires (2/3/09) and this is what he writes (using his spelling):

"My essay is about tomlinson. He is one of the best NFL players. He won the most vailuble player award. I admire him because he went to Texas for college and I want to go to Texas for college. I like tomlinson because he is so good. He can't play because he broke his leg."

Well, LT didn't really break his leg but it sounded good. Kairee is comedy!

You know your son is obsessed with football when...

He refers to a pacifier as a mouthpiece.

Oprah and the Tooth Fairy can solve California's financial woes...

Today on the way to school we were listening to the radio and they were talking about how the State is going to cut 11 billion dollars from the public school system...Teachers were going to get pink slips, etc. I figured this would be a good topic to discuss with Kaliya and Kairee. Both kids listened intently to my thoughts and opinions. When I was done Kaliya said frankly, "Does Oprah know about this? Why doesn't she just give the school some money?" and Kairee quickly added "Or the tooth fairy." It took everything in me to stifle a laugh...I'm sure the tooth fairy wouldn't mind kickin' in a billion or two :-)

I suck as a blogger...

I've come to the conclusion that I suck as a blogger. My sister-in-law recently pointed out to me that there is no reason why I shouldn't be updating my blog especially since I am home from work for the next couple of months. But, for some reason I just don't seem to be able to get ANYTHING done EVER! Maybe it's because I have a 1 month old that consumes ALL of my time - which I don't mind at all. Actually, I allow my beautiful baby Kassai to consume all of my time because I love her so much. I have to say that this 3rd child has really slowed me down. I literally want to hold her in my arms the entire day. I've had the same pile of clean clothes on the floor of my room for 5 days now and I have now desire to pick them up - well I actually have no time - he he he :-) Kairee had colic as a baby and didn't leave me with fond memories of the newborn stage. When Kassai starts whining I just giggle and think "is that all?!" Where I once was able to accomplish 50 things in 1 day I now accomplish 1 and I'm fine with it. Today I took Kassai to the portrait studio to take 1 month pics. I finally gave up when she kept on fussing and decided to change her diaper. She proceeded to pee all over my pants - luckily newborn pee doesn't smell too bad :-) Instead of getting frustrated and upset I called Kiko and laughed and told him he probably wished he could trade places with me - Right! Anyhow, I've decided that I need to find some time in every day to write and share pics and once I figure out this new camera I will upload some more recent pics! Here's to my precious child Kassai Rose Griffin!

Happy Holiday's from our Family to Yours!!!

Wow – What a year! 2008 definitely brought its share of joy, pain, fun, sadness, craziness – blah blah blah... We began the year finding out that we were pregnant…With twins!!! We soon learned however that God would take them home. While the entire family experienced a great deal of sadness we understood that God had a larger plan for all of our lives and He would soon provide clarity. One month later we were thrilled to find out that we were pregnant again! Needless to say we are overjoyed to be welcoming a new baby girl into the world in January.

This year like all years past has been a crazy one for the Griffin family. Kaliya and Kairee continue to grow – and grow up and Kiko and I revel daily at how blessed we are to have them in our lives. They both have very unique personalities and talents and it’s been so much fun watching them grow and develop. We have enjoyed coaching their basketball and football teams even though we get a bit competitive at times…Ok, VERY competitive ALL the time! We can’t help it, we’re both athletes at the core!

Kaliya (11) is turning into quite a ‘Tween’ and is very interested in fashion and music and of course the very latest that the electronic world has to offer. She’s become a very fashionable young girl her latest style being skinny jeans and vans. But please don’t get her confused with a ‘girly girl’, she’s an athlete and she’ll let you know! This year she continued with soccer, basketball and tennis. Her NJB basketball team qualified for the National tournament in April and secured 3rd place overall. She played for two AAU teams and is currently playing NJB for the winter. She made a competitive soccer team and has been playing with them since the spring. She did have a slight setback as she injured her foot and had to be in a cast for 5 weeks. She loves to sing and is in her school choir and the Honors Chorus for her school district. She sang her first solo in the school concert last month! She is also learning to play the guitar.

Kairee (7) is our feisty child. I cannot begin to imagine where he got that from! He is in love with football and just finished his first season with Oak Grove Pop Warner. He was the quarterback who you could always count on for a first down! He can think of nothing better than running routes, playing catch, watching college or NFL football or playing Madden on the Xbox. Needless to say, he’s pretty easy to buy gifts for. He also played basketball, baseball and tennis this year and enjoyed them all. He told Kiko and I recently that he wants to learn how to play the violin…Interesting coming from him!

In these uncertain times Kiko and I continuously thank God for keeping our family healthy and happy, keeping us employed (!) and allowing us to be optimistic towards the future. I am still working at Google and Kiko is working at Applied Signal Technology. We are excited to continue to grow our family and know that if we trust in God, He will provide. He’s never let us down! Let us always remember to be thankful each day for all of the blessings in our lives no matter how large or small they are.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

The KG's

Pay the price...

"There is a price tag on everything worthwhile, but it is seldom a monetary one. The price is more often one of dedication, deprivation, extra effort, loneliness. Each person decides whether he or she wants to pay the price. Those who do, achieve beyond other people."

- Jim McKay, Sports Broadcaster

The Good 'Ol College Days...

CP Homecoming weekend...Good times :-) Was fun to be back in SLO spending time with old friends, coaches and Gold medal winners! SLO remains unchanged and as peaceful as ever. Firestone still has the best tri-tip and Farmers Market, memorable. It's hard to believe that it has been 9 years since I lived there and 11 years since I gave birth to Kaliya! She was thrilled visit the city that she calls her place of birth and now insists that she is going to play basketball at Cal Poly for Coach Faith...Only if she keeps the '80's suit with the big gold buttons...What happened to playing at Stanford and becoming liked C Wiggins??? I love that girl! The football stadium received a facelift and it looks like there is finally sufficient housing on campus. There's nothing in the world like college life! Fun, carefree....Ah, I'll just have to live vicariously through my children...

Yes, that's a picture of me with Beijing Olympic Gold winner Stephanie Brown-Trafton. My former college teammate has come a long way from the days of breaking the nose of our point guard accidentally during practice and surviving pre-season conditioning during which I would yell at her for not finishing her sprints fast enough and making inexcusable sounds while running. College, the good 'ol days!