We love Peanut(s)...

Peanuts...sometimes we work for them, some eat them and others love them. Kyle for the longest time has been our "Peanut". It started right after he was born and swaddled in the blanket, his big brother was so excited and wanted to be the first one to see him. When Justin (2 yrs old) walked into the hospital room bouncing at the end of my mom's hand filled with so much of anticipation of his little brother would bring to his days. He took one look at him and said "I thought I was getting a baby brother not a peanut." So there is the endearing story of how Kyle became known as Peanut. I guess I should one day tell him so he won't grimace and snap everytime we call him Peanut.



Kyle brings the laughter to our home and reminder to lighten up, life is short...do everything at 110% and find the joy in doing it. Justin is a very serious person and somewhere along the line Tom and I forgot how to get the most out of life as well. Kyle puts 110% in everything he does from school, sports, friends and his faith. He is also very serious but has that unique ability to be a complete goof ball.






He is 9 1/2 in 4th grade at Maple Grove. Kyle is loving, kind, generous, smart, athletic, adventureous, loyal, cute and I think I might have mentioned a goof ball. He has an enormous group of friends that he hangs out with but his core group and best buddies are Mitchell, Clayton and Rylee. These guys have been tight since kindergarten. Of course, his best friend is hands down his brother and only as a little brother should he does everything he can to keep up with him. He is our baby and I am one of those that loves that even though he is 9 going on 12 (like big brother) he is still a kid and acts like one. Above is his faithful companion, Jake the monkey, who he loves and treats like a little brother.



Kyle shockingly to us is extremely quiet at school and very studious. Hmmmm...where is that kid at home...he never stops talking and takes forever to do his homework. Thankfully he is one of those kids that with a little effort and work school comes relativiely easy to him.



He LOVES sports...playing, watching, listening, or reading about...it does not matter. His passion is tennis which he finally was able to learn last summer but has not been out since but hopefully this weekend. His other love is basketball. He struggles on those 10 ft baskets at 4'6 but what he lacks in height he makes up in aggression. He also loves and plays football (this year Tennessee Titans fan) and baseball (HUGE Yankees fan). A love he shares with Mitchell, Justin, Dylan and his mom. Baseball season is in full swing and the games have begun. He is playing all over which is great. He drafted into the majors as a 9 yr old which is rare and he won't have a ton a play time but he will gain so much from playing up.


He is also in Scouts. He just became a Webelos and is working towards his Arrow of Light. I am his leader and we have less than a year left before he transitions into Boy Scouts. I am very hopeful that he continues and earns his Eagle. I think the Scouting experience is so awesome for kids, boys or girls, and it is something that is completely underrated. We can't wait until both boys are going through the experience together. Not to mention they go on campouts almost every month and Tom and I will have adult time. Which we will probally spend catching up on sleep and missing the boys!

Kyle is great and like I said at the beginning he brings so much joy and laughter to our family. Tom and I are so proud of our little boy and the young man he is becoming. We are extremely blessed!

BOO

BOOO...yes, I am back....ok so I missed the holidays and it is now spring. I thought today would be a good time to get started again since tomorrow is April 1 and I don't want to joke about doing this blog. I need some creative outlet and a way to stay in touch.

We are now in full swing of baseball...yes we transitioned from football last fall to basketball this winter right on into baseball for both boys and track for Justin. The boys keep us busy taking them to their activities but it is worth it...we are so blessed they are truly AWESOME boys.

I will get what is happening in our life caught up....starting with Justin...aka Jay or Boo.

Justin is 12 and geez I almost forgot the 1/2. I can't believe he goes to junior high in the fall and becomes a teenager in December. He is in 6th grade at Maple Grove Elementary. He loves learning if it fits into his way of thinking. He really enjoys the hands on process, doing research and projects. He loves to read but gets bored quickly if the topic he is learning is strictly out of the book. Jay struggles a bit due to a hearing loss caused by we guess scar tissue from ear infections from when he was 3-5 years old. As he continues to grow it may get better but it may get worse it is one of those wait and see things. He pushes through it but it gets him down sometimes. He is really excited about junior high but worries that he might miss something. We are exploring the possibility of hearing aids but he is a proud kid and it is difficult for him to think of getting teased not to mention the cost of those puppies.

He is an incredible person...kind, generous, funny, athletic, smart, good looking, extremely serious, intense and bordering on perfectionist but no ones perfect he is 12 and a boy need I say more. He loves doing anything outdoors, sports, camping, fishing, lives for hunting, snowboarding, movies, video games, travel and exploring, reading, animals, being with friends and us (still YAY). He has two dogs Buddy (3 yrs old) an independent Cocker Spaniel and Hailey (5 months old) his new addition a chocolate lab for hunting however she is not into fetching at the moment so hopefully she will realize she is a labrador retriever and that is what she is supposed to do. We had her retrieving beautifully but now she just watches us throw her ball or retrieving dummy and looks at us like ok go get it.

He is friends with everyone and hangs out with different groups at school depending on his mood. They all are good kids and junior high will change the dynamic quite a bit. I am proud to say Kyle is one of his best friends and his other brother/best friend is Dylan Eason. Dylan and Jay balance each other perfectly and will finally be at the same school together at West in the fall. Kyle and Dylan are there to remind Jay he is a kid.....relax, laugh, have fun and enjoy life.

He is one of the team captain's for his school's track team (he is very proud of this position) competing this year in the 400, either a boys or co-ed relay, and the softball toss which he is most excited about.

He is on the third and last year of Majors baseball in South Boise Little League on the Cardinals team and it is up in the air where he will be playing this year. The past couple of years he has been one of the youngest on a very estabished team and as he puts it "stuck in the outfield" but he has become a fanastic outfielder. He is tall and fast and not a afraid to do whatever is necessary to catch a ball. It is fun to watch him because at some point he is going to make on of those amazing catches that you see in the big league. This year he is one of the veterans and he of course wants a chance to play in the infield before moving up to Juniors, doesn't everyone. He has shown real skill at first, third, pitching and short stop so it will be interesting to see where he ends up. He loves the game and the challenge of hitting the ball. Last year he was pretty consistant on hitting the fence. He is taller and stronger this year so I feel an over the fence homerun in his future if not few this season.

Jay is also very active in Boy Scouts. He is very close to becoming 1st class and his goal is to achieve it by the end of April. If he is able to reach 1st class by May or the latest September, he will be on track to earn his Eagle by the time he is 15, another goal of his. He transitioned only a year ago from Cub Scouts, moved through 3 ranks and absolutely loves it. We are very proud of his work ethic and determination. We are amazed at what the boys learn and am really pleased I pushed for him to be involved in an organization like Scouting clear back in first grade.

Needless to say, Tom and I are extremely proud of our little Boo. He is 5'5 but he still shorter than me at 5'7 so I can still call him little. It is so amazing to watch him become a young man and I am blessed to be his mom.

Life!

Ok here it is...the Stern Hut is officially online to honor of a dear friend of mine that had to up and move to the other side of the USA. She is so good at keeping me up on what is happening in their lives through her blog and I am really bad about keeping in touch with her as everyone else I have lost touch with this year....thank you Tracie---I miss you and love ya!

I named our blog the "Stern Hut" since we live and breath football (you know 1, 32, Hut...quarterback thing) and there are days I would like to go live in a hut on the beach--wouldn't life be much simplier? Optimist and BSU are in practice and getting ready to kick off very soon so between the three games a week and I will talk to everyone again around the holidays (just joking) but just in case you can check to see what we are up to.

The second part "Our Garden" reflects my view of life...the plants and weeds grow but you work hard to keep the the weeds out and the beauty to remain. However no matter how hard you work the weeds will always be there you just have to accept, learn and deal with them; not focus on them but remember to treasure the beauty and blessings. Through gardening I have learned life is not a race, winning is not everything but to appreciate the journey, have patience and fun, continue to learn, grow, be flexible and take time to enjoy the beauty...just like a garden.

Tracie also reminded me of this with this posting....

LIFE

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wis h I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her en thusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day , I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.Now ...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi?"When you worry and hurry through your day, it i s like an unopened gift...Thrown away. ... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over."Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!"