The Kelsey's

Our podcasts are getting a little longer, 21 minutes for this one, but we were able to knock it out in two sittings. One for recording and one for editing and post production. If you want to know what we’re up to – give it a listen!

Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment. Remember, it takes a while to have comments approved – so if they don’t show up right away, don’t sweat it … they will.

At the end of August, I got some tickets to go see Tim Hawkins (who’s that? Well go see and then come back here! ).

There was some confusion because there were no tickets per se.  I got them online and I was supposed to print out the receipt.  When the day came, I had no idea where the paper was or if I had even printed it out at all.  I called the church where he was going to perform and also the contact number from his web site and finally got a call back from Tim’s brother who said if I had a photo ID, I’d be fine.

I would show you some pictures – but I was having too much fun to bother to take any.  I took a short video of Tim’s big finale song – one of Caleb’s favorites: “Fire Ant.”  But it didn’t turn out very nice.  Here is a link to it inside of Facebook. << you may have to be logged into Facebook to access it.

When we got there we say about 20 kids playing in the parking lot.  I made my kids wear “business casual” attire.  I didn’t know that it would be anything goes.  So they felt over dressed, but they got over it.  We have just become a casual culture – what can you say.  Not that I mind, I’m not fashion maven, I’m just sayin’.

So we  got our tickets and lined up at the door to get in.  There were no assigned seats (although there could have been because the church sanctuary had theater seating with rows and numbers for seats), so we were behind about 15 people in three lines.  We waited at least 20-40 minutes for the doors to open.  And when they did, the lines to the right and left of us started moving way faster than ours.  Why is it that everybody always picks the slowest line to be in?  How’s that happen?

When we got in there, the first 8 or so rows in the middle section were taken.  The kids spotted the first row all the way to the left was open so we headed there.  Another family beat us to it, so we ended up in the 2nd row way off to the side.  Even so, we were about 20 feet from where all the action took place.  The only problem for me was that the sound wasn’t designed to hit the corners,  so when there was a lot of laughter you couldn’t hear the next line very well.  It was all good though (now come on, there was laughter – I just meant that I had to concentrate to hear… anyway).

The Burkett’s came and got the seats next to us, and the Kiernan’s arrived too.  But by then some boys had taken a few of our “reserved” seats and plus it was a challenge to decide to sit so far off center.  Emily came down and sat with us though.  Everybody said they could see and hear fine where the were.

Tim had another guy up first.  He did a good job.  I really appreciated his point that he felt bad for doctors and lawyers, because when they get to heaven (if they do – in the case of lawyers ), there won’t be much for them to do.   That probably applies to computer nerds too.  Maybe I should take up gardening (and not the Facebook variety).

Tim did a great job.  He even previewed his Candyman take off.  He’s kind of a home town version of Weird Al with his spoofs of popular songs.  It was a fun time.

Afterwards, we stopped off at Dairy Queen for a little dessert and then headed on home.  We’ll definitely keep an eye out for the next time he comes into town.  He’s lives around here, so I would think he’d do local shows more often – we’ll see.

It was a long time coming…

There were threats, counter threats, and promises made.  But it came down to this…

There would be a water gun showdown.  Dr. Eddie not only took all comers, but he also mixed it up personally.  It was a cloudy and rainy afternoon on July 12th when all sides gathered together.  After a “last meal,” everyone headed outside and commenced to fightin’.  Usually things were pretty spread out.  There was one instance where the wrestling got knotted up when Joshua challenged Eddie.

As you can see – there was only one slide at the beginning.  Here is some video from my phone – the quality is not too bad, but it’s not going to be shown at any film festivals this fall… (Umm, note – your sound is not broken – there was nothing to hear until the very end where Nathan comes inside. Although a few shouts and shrieks can be heard through the glass.)

If you watched the video to the end, you know that Nathan came in freezing (did you see how my camera made his little penguin walk just that much funnier? The camera got weirded out there at the end.). But I dried him off and we watched from inside for a while. I took more video, but I am only posting the best of the best so as not to bore y’all.

These shenanigans went on for quite some time. I was tired of standing and went off to sit down. During that time, Nathan could no longer stand it and headed back out in his dry clothes. He had been quietly watching, so I didn’t hear him slip out. In the mean time the fight had been reduced to trying out a “bigger, better” slip-N-slide.

And here is some final video of sliding folks. You can also see Nathan rolling his “bowling ball” all along the way. He does get a little peeved when “Kay Kay” jams up the traffic.

Thus ends our tale of Hydrogen Hydroxide induced destruction, for now.

There were many more fun and exciting happenings this summer, including VBS, the kids going to Tim Hawkins, and stuff like that. I’ll get to them soon (maybe post one more tonight when I get home from work ).

I know you’re starving for more scoop on the happenings around here – blame it on the chronicler. (Oh, and happy birthday, Mom! Hope to catch you some time today!)

It took us a while to get some audio together, but it’s here now.  This episode features the debut of Laura – she’s on the last segment, so you’ll have to listen all the way through.  This episode is a little longer than the others (17 minutes).

Let us know what you think by leaving us a comment.  Remember, it takes a while to have comments approved – so if they don’t show up right away, don’t sweat it … they will.

Life’s hard being the third boy. You get hand me, hand me downs! Earlier this month, Nathan faced the reality that boy’s clothes can be tough – but never tough enough.

We were sitting down for dinner and we heard a “riiiiipp”. Nathan looked around to see if something was behind him. But instead it was just the material next to the seam right around his back pocket giving way to his behind!

He walked around a little bit as he began to experience the new found freedom of movement, as well as a considerable draft.

As he made this discovery, he started to pull on the material in an effort to rectify the situation, but it was no use. He finally turned to mommy for help. After a moment of examination it was clear that these pants were done for. It took little or no effort to pull the material asunder.

So we let him parade around in his tattered jeans for a few moments. There was much laughter and he was pretty proud of the little comedian he had become. Since the camera was nearby I thought I’d take a few shots (nothing untoward) and post them up for you to see. Even the most rugged of dungarees can’t stand up to a few adventurous boys!

The End!

Here is the first episode done by the kelsey kids. They called the show “Puppy Pals.” If you don’t quite follow all the dialog – your aren’t alone. Why the show got the rating it did (Y7!) I’m not sure either, maybe I’m not mature enough to watch it myself.

I have the credits and the actual transcripts in my possession now. Here is the basic transcript:

Butterskotch (Butter): Hannah Kelsey
Bluerasberry (Blue): Joshua Kelsey
Sound (Foley Artist): Caleb Kelsey

Blue: Now, where have you been?!
Butter: Um, at school.
Blue: Ohhhh, school is for wackos.
Butter: (angrily) Are you calling me a WACKO?!
Blue: Your my girlfriend, and I have to be honest with you. So……. yes, I’m calling you a wacko.
Sound: “slap.”
Blue: Awww! That must have been a slap…. of love.
Sound: “Slap!”
Blue: Oww! You broke my cheek, baby!
Butter: Hey! What’s that?!
Sound: “Air plane sound”
Blue: And what’s that?!
Both: Uh-oh! We’ve got some funnies… coming out of our tummies!! (Barf sound)
End Credits.

Here is Hannah playing “We Three Kings” for the 13th Sabbath Program at Church last week.  I particularly like her use of tempo to add some drama to the piece.  See it for yourself.

We would appreciate it if you would let us know what you think about our videos. The filming was done by a family friend, Alex, on our tripod. That’s why it’s not so shaky as when ‘Dad records’.

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He will watch things on TV, he will watch video tapes, he will bring you a DVD and ask, “Wanna watch Boo Koo Mommy?” <> We have two TV’s in the house and sometimes they are being used. (Not so much since the X-Box caught fire… more on that real soon.) So we will put a DVD on the computer for him to watch.

He loves this and has figured out how to get the DVD in the tray (sometimes with some scratches, so technically he’s not allowed to do it himself). And to keep himself from being distracted he has found a perch from which to enjoy the show.

There isn’t anything nearly as exciting as having the action right up close and personal. It takes some doing to get up to that vantage point. He needs to get into the chair. And sometimes it is a good distance from the desktop. No matter. It’s not worth climbing down to readjust. Besides, that’s too many steps. Instead he will get on his tippy-toes on the edge of the chair and stretch out until he can reach the desk and some how manage to transfer his weight so he can get up on the desktop. Just off from his right knee there you can see one of the speakers. This often needs tweaking. You have to try it at full volume, then silent so you can know the range in order to get to the most comfortable place somewhere in the middle.

He has such good posture. As you can see below, it looks like he’s trying to emulate Junior’s tractor technique. These are scenes from one the the more recent Veggietales videos called The Wizard of Ha’s. Maybe you recognize it. I home I’m not violating any copyright laws by publishing these revealing photos. I did give credit, so I think I’m in the clear.

I’m not sure if you can get some perspective on how close he is, so here’s another angle.

At least it’s not a CRT monitor with all that harmful radiation bathing over his little body. And I’m sure somehow having to follow the action by moving your head around in all directions can only help his core strengthening and give him superior reaction times for his reflexes. Besides, you can only imagine the fit he throws if you try to pull him back down to the chair. He’s at the age where things have to be done his way, in his order, to his particulars, or there is a melt down. Ritual is very important and to disrupt it is a gross violation.

These pictures were shot back at the beginning of November, but I’m still catching up with my blogging.

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I try to go out with just one child from time to time.  We started this little tradition a few years back.  The first place we go is to the St. Louis Arch.

It would be embarrassing for them to have grown up here and not be able to tell people they’ve even visited our closest monument.  So here are some memories of that outing that happened last Sunday.

We started of taking the car to the train station.  Caleb’s got that GQ look going for him.

Then we took the train downtown (not that we needed to, it’s part of the fun).  After arriving, we walked along the Mississippi and then came to the stairs going up to the arch.

When we got there it was about 11:00 am.  The earliest we could go up in the arch was 1:10 pm.  So we spent time in the museum.  Caleb filled out the requirements to become a Junior Park Ranger.  We learned some great stuff about westward expansion and what things were like around here about 200 years ago.  We even saw what the pioneer’s cattle looked like, see?

The time finally came when we could go up.  The elevator looks like a regular clothes dryer, with chairs.  The place was so crowded that we couldn’t get a picture of Caleb in the actual car.  But they had a practice one next to the ticket counter and we took a picture in there so you could get a feel for the place.

And, of course, he finally made it to the top!  Up in the arch, Caleb had no fear.  He was climbing all around the tilted windows.  He would practically sit on the windows.  I had a hard time leaning out to look through them.

We were tired, but it was a fun day.  Then we topped it off with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (complete with ice cream!).

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I have always wanted to be older. When I was about 5, I wanted to be eight, when I was eight, I wanted to be ten, I was happy when I was ten. It was double digits, so, that made me feel a little older. But then, I wanted to be eleven. I thought being elven would be so cool! I thought it meant getting cell phones, laptop computers, and other stuff you get when you turn, like, fifteen. Now, I’m eleven, and I want to be sixteen. Thats because I really want a cell phone. I’m pretty sure when I get one, for a while it will be unbelievable and I’ll use it all the time. But when I get the bill, also the excitement will have worn off, I’ll probably think: Why did I want this so badly? It’s just phone I can take places. But, that’s just me!

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