The Latest...

It has been way too long since I've posted anything, and now, here it is October 2nd, and I have a lot to catch you up on.  Here are a few highlights:

-Leah is now a 2nd grader and is at the top of her class in all areas.  We had Parent-Teacher conferences last week, and I wasn't surprised about what the teacher had to say.  Mrs. Gibbs is a great teacher and has really figured out Leah, and how to make her the best student she can be.  The best part of 2nd grade is that I get to be a room-mom every Monday for a few hours.  Her teacher knows that I used to teach 2nd grade, so she has decided to utilize my talents and have me work one-on-one with kids who need a little extra attention.  It is good to be back in that role as "teacher".

-Leah and I also started Awana at our church.  Awana is a group at our church that helps kids grow up spiritually and become closer with God.  It is for kids who are 3 all the way through High School.  Leah is a Spark, and gets to memorize verses each week to earn badges and points for her group.  So far she is loving it and gets very excited about going each week.  While she is in her class, I somehow managed to become a table leader for the Cubbies, the 3 year olds!!  Holy Moly!!  They are a blast, but keep me on my toes.  Needless to stay, our Monday nights are busy, but so rewarding!

-Ever since I met Leah, I've always wanted to go apple picking in Julian or Oak Glen.  Every fall, I plan on going but run out of time.  So this year, we picked what ended up being the hottest weekend and headed to Bakersfield, to Murray Family Farms where we went to a U-Pick Orchard.  We picked pluots, a cross between apricots and plums, peaches, nectarines, pears and pomegranates.  It was great!!  No apples in the bunch but in my minds eyes, I picture it being chilly while picking apples and then sipping hot apple cider, so maybe next year we'll head to Oak Glen after all.  Here are few pictures of our day:

Leah, 4 feet tall

Me and Michael...a new favorite picture

Our Leah Love Bug

Beautiful Flowers

On a hay ride, ready to pick

Waiting for the hay ride to take us to the next orchard

The BIGGEST peaches I've ever seen, about a pound each!!

Pomegranates

Our Loot!!

-A couple months ago, Leah told Michael that she wanted to have a business to earn money.  After a week or so of thinking about it, she decided that she wanted to buy chips and sodas and then take them to a local park and sell them to kids playing there.  She and Michael went to Smart and Final where Michael invested $24 in the goods.  She sold chips and sodas for a $1 a piece, or $1.50 for one of each.  After she found the perfect spot she easily raked in $25.  She was all set to go and spend it until Michale reminded her that he had invested $24 that she would have to pay back to him.  Not to go home without a profit, she stuck it out and sold the rest for a profit of about $15.  She was so excited that her idea paid off.  And combined with allowance she was able to buy a Pillow Pet!!  A purple unicorn she's been wanting for a long time.  Now every time she gets allowance she thinks about what she can save for instead of blowing through it at the $1 bins at Target.  We are so proud of her for setting out to make a buck all on her own!!  Can you say future CEO!!

Hopefully the next post will come a bit sooner!!

AV Fair, 2010

The Antelope Valley Fair is here yet again. This is the 4th year I've gone, but the 7th that Michael and Leah have gone. Leah has gone every year of her life. It is a highlight for us and the best way to end the summer. We went with some friends, too, and it was great to spend the day with them. Here are some pictures of the day...sorry for the bad quality, the camera I lugged out there had dead batteries, so there are from my phone!

Me and Michael in a Silly House

Michael with all of Leah's winnings from the games

A House of Mirrors!!

The end of the day entertainment for the Koontz Clan!

Bumper Cars!!

Leah and the climbing wall, the first time she made it to the top!!

On the Ferris Wheel!

Our pretty lady, having a blast!!

The love of our lives, so happy to be there!

The Zoo, through the eyes of a 7 yr old

Leah started school last week, on Thursday, and since I was working all summer I felt like I wanted to do something special with her before she was a 2nd grader. This is the first summer I've worked in a long, long time and since she was in child care all summer, I felt like it would be a good idea to take a day off and do something fun. So we headed to the LA Zoo. We went right after Michael and I got married one time, but this time, I let her use an old camera so she could take pictures of whatever she wanted. She felt that it was a very important job for her to take a good picture of every animal we saw. I helped with the pictures of her and the self portraits of us, but all the animals are courtesy of the munchkin!! Enjoy!!

The Flamingo's...her favorite!!

Tried to get a legit smile...but this works, I guess!

There are lots of hill at the zoo, this is at the end of the day!

Enjoying an ice cream cone!!

We finally found the Koalas!!

A Prairie Dog!, who knew they were sooo little!

The Hippo!

The Zebra's

Some Sea Lions

One of the many Monkey's

The Many Faces of Leah

Leah is a silly, silly girl who keeps us on our toes, for sure!! We love this little girl more than we can imagine and here are a few reasons why!!

Must of seen something exciting!

Pucker Up!!

Sweetness!!

Annoyed, maybe? But glamorous with her peals!!

Her impersonation of Escargot!! Too Cute!!

Lounging, waiting for the fun of the day to begin!! (note: the holes in the jeans, are "in style, right?" says Leah)

Future super model?? She's got the attitude down!!


Love those baby-blues!!



This one just makes me laugh!!

Leah is the biggest ham I have ever met!! She is constantly asking me to take a picture of her and her antics. Then she asks to see it and retake it if necessary. I don't know how she'd manage if we still had film cameras that she'd have to wait for! Anyway, there were a few of the funny pics from this summer. I am sure you can imagine how much fun we have with her!!

Fourth of July

Like we have for the past few years, we went to the cabin for the 4th of July! The Koontz clan (me, Michael, Leah and our pups), my parents and my cousins Amanda and fam were there. Leah was very excited to spend time with her "real" cousins!! They were inseparable the whole weekend, and it was great to hang with the family. The best part was the fireworks show over the lake on the 4th. We all got out on the boat and it felt like the fireworks were going to land on us!! Here are some highlights, in no particular order!!

Leah and I waiting for the fireworks to start!!

Silly Grandpa Dan!!

Charley and Moses, best doggie friends!!

Leah ready to go!!

Jack taking in the view of the lake!

Leah on the boat waiting to go tubing! The Cousins, Leah, Gunner and Allison

She is at home on the water!!

Moses checking out the scenery along the way!

Fireworks over the lake!!

Hawaii!!!!

The very first week of Summer the Koontz Clan embarked to Kauai, and had a ton of fun. With the trip also brought Leah's first plane ride, and first trip to Hawaii!! It was the perfect way to start the summer, we even took Leah out of school early on the last day of school. We arrived in Lihue Kauai on Friday evening and stayed at the Kauai Beach Resort. The next day, up at 4:30 because of the time change, we viewed the sunrise and headed off to the south part of the island, Poipu and Waimea. We hung out at the beach and checked out Waimea Canyon. Saturday evening, we picked up my parents from the airport and we all headed out to the north part of the island, Princeville and checked into my parents time-share/condo. It was so great to have a condo to stay in with a kitchen and the comforts of home, even the Wii, thanks to grandma Carol and grandpa Dan!

Thoughout the week, we went to many beaches and had lots of fun in the sun. Leah could not get over all the critters the island of Kauai had to offer with chickens, doves, geckos and toads everywhere, she was an animal chasing machine. Leah has now become fearless in the ocean and has pretty much mastered boogie boarding and sand castle making. She had a blast and was a joy to be with, as usual. My parents were happy to have a week with Leah as well, and it was great to have them share their time share with us.

It was a fantastic trip and the memories we have we will cherish forever! Below are some pictures for the trip, and here you can check out of few more here: Hawaii pictures

Here we are at the Smith Family Luau!!

At the Kiluea Lighthouse

At the Spouting Horn, near Poipu

And my favorite picture!! Leah showing me a little critter she found at some tide pools at Poipu!