15 Years of Gearbox

On February 16th, 2014 Gearbox Software celebrated 15 successful years. The entire company celebrated at Medieval Times. What a blast! Let's toast to the next 15 years!
I can't imagine Erik being part of a better company!



The grand entrance of the knights.








What a beautiful little lady at the court!


Keira was happy to see many horses!


Kassidy enjoyed the chicken.


Keira and Erik eating Medieval style - with their fingers.


I love this photo of Kassidy and Kate!


The Doescher and Martel brood: They had so much fun together!


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Location:Gearbox Software - 15th Anniversary Celebration

Europe Trip Video

Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

Four weeks shrunk down into four minutes :)

Swinging into Soccer

The thermometer hits 70 this Saturday- must be time for Spring soccer!

Sorry for the lack of blog posts- I have been trying to catch up with cataloging all of the videos and photos that I took last year and over our trip (there should be a nice trip video coming soon).

In the meantime, here are the boys and the frousins practicing their kicks over last Thanksgiving.

Tua and the Elephant

We are reading "Tua and the Elephant ", so we have an accompanying art project with it.




This is a wonderful book. We already learned a few phrases in Thai, the geography, climate and culture of Thailand.


Step 1: draw an elephant with sharpie, then outline with hot glue or white glue. Let dry.
Step 2: cover with aluminum foil, rub gently and the glue lines will appear.
Step 3: paint with acrylic paint.











The finished art work:


Kassidy had some help:


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Happy Birthday, Katharine!

Katharine turned 11 years old today.

Katharine is an amazing kid, and we are so proud of everything she has become and accomplished.

We love her so much!

Katharine Facts:

Katharine is a voracious reader- she can finish off a 700 page book in a few days.

Katharine still loves to play with dolls ('Monster High', 'Frozen', and 'Equestria Girls' are her current favs)

Katharine has no interest in sports.

Katharine loves to use her Rainbow Loom.

Birthday dinner: Palio's Pizza

Dearest friends: Charlotte, Maya, Liam, Trinity and the "Roomies" (Claire, Emma, Katie)

Favorite food: pizza and strawberries

Favorite book that she recently read: 'Momo', 'James Potter', and 'Emily of New Moon'

Katharine loves to draw characters that she creates for stories and games, and fills up lots of sketchbooks.

Favorite subject in school: language arts and mythology

Least favorite subject in school: recorder and basic math (she likes fractions and decimals)

Favorite colors: teal and purple

Least favorite foods: meat and avocados

The one kid that can really get on Katharine's nerves is Lukas.

Favorite song: "Let it Go" from 'Frozen'

Katharine wants a marshmallow dog and a kitten when she grows up.

Favorite recent movies: 'Hobbit 2' and 'Frozen'

Katharine always says grace before eating.

Katharine has a gluten free diet.

Katharine says "ummm" a lot.

When Katharine grows up she wants to be a dancer or a singer or an artist for Disney.

Katharine loves to write poetry.

Katharine likes to play creative and video games with Lukas.

Katharine likes to play soccer with Lennon.

Katharine likes to play dolls with Keira.

Katharine likes to pick Kassidy up and spin her around in circles.

Katharine likes to go to the theater with Momma.

Katharine likes to go to the movies and draw with her Daddy.

Hours of dance classes and rehearsals every week: 20

Katharine just started doing sleepovers this year (she was never comfortable being away from home before).

Katharine watches 'Amazing Race' and 'Project Runway' with her parents.

Katharine is terrified of birds, especially geese and chickens.

Katharine listens to meditation tapes every night when she goes to bed.

Katharine typically falls asleep around 10 PM and wakes up around 7:30 AM.

Katharine doesn't like being cold.

This year Katharine is looking forward to improving at dance and spending more time with her friends.

Remembering Kara

This morning was our friend Kara's memorial service, who crossed over on January 10, 2014 after a courageous yet short battle with cancer.
Kara was one of the first people to open her heart, arms and home to us when we moved to Texas. I will never forget that.
Over the years, she has become a source of great inspiration, joy, love, and a wonderful friend.
Katharine spent many days and nights at the Cleckler house, as well as Charlotte at our house. Kara's daughter Charlotte is one of Katharine's closest friends. Our hearts and doors will always be open for Charlotte.
Kara left a mark in this world, she made a difference in many lives. She made a difference in our lives.
In the future, there will be no Kara bringing the girls over, or opening her front door for Katharine. Those drop offs and pick ups were something I looked forward to as much as Katharine, because it meant I got to see my friend, even for a short moment. But what will be there, is the memory of her smile, and the promise, that Katharine and Charlotte will keep having many wonderful days together.

Kara, I love you, hon. You rock, and love is the answer!






Meghan, thank you for taking these wonderful pictures today, and for being there.









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Paris: Disneyland

We had never taken our kids to a Disney theme park before, because there was always a baby in the group that was too young and then the budget bank began to break as we had more and more kids.

So we made sure to take advantage of Disney Paris while we were on this trip, and visited there for one of the days of our France excursion. The kids LOVED IT, and even the very skeptical Iria was won over in the end and put on the Minnie Mouse ears!

Paris: Candles in Notre Dame

The one tragic story-line of our trip was the death of our dear friend Kara, who discovered that she had terminal cancer just as we left and then passed away the day before we came home. Her husband Shane kept all of her friends and family up to date through his eloquently written journal, which is worth a read if you ever want/need to reset your priorities in life. I think that it started to go a little viral near the end, and it is currently up to over 35,000 page views.

http://www.caringbridge.org/profile/27708098

(If you read it keep clicking on the bottom until you get to his first entry on December 12th)

Anyways, we lit a candle for Kara at Notre Dame a few days before she passed. 

We will definitely miss her.

Paris: Young lovers along the Seine

Well not exactly, but young at heart!

Paris: The Louvre

I read a lot of horror stories about taking kids to the Louvre, but our kids managed it fine and for a few of them it was one of the highlights of the trip.

We didn't try and overwhelm them, so we stuck to a quick pass of the Mona Lisa and then went up to Napoleon's apartments (which isn't as crowded). After that we strolled through a number of the sculpture gardens and then left a little bit after lunch.

The outside of the Louvre is just as grand, so they got a little bit of culture in there as well :)

Germany: Ludwigsberg

Early on in the trip we visited the park across from the Ludwigsberg palace, which is only around one train stop from Iria's Mom's house. The building shown is the Duke's residence, and the grounds are his old hunting turf. Wild animals still roam the area.