Happy Birthday Marc!

Today (the 25th) is Marc's birthday. He turned a whopping 34 today!

To celebrate, we all three went out to "Red Robin" last night (Marc's pick). He has some gifts to open tonight. Though they won't be any big surprise because he knew exactly what he wanted, he'll actually get to open them tonight.

Luke gave his Daddy his first card this morning! I'm sure Luke will remember this day forever (Ha Ha).

So, Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and father -- the very best!

Ouch....

If you've been following our blog, you'll know that, last January, Marc started taking taekwondo. He's really enjoyed it, and he's met some great people in the process.

Yesterday (Monday), he came home to tell me that he received his first "visible" injury (he's been injured "non-visibly" -- such as a broken toe).

Yep, he got kicked hard in the shin. The funny thing is that he even had shin pads on. When I asked him if the guy who kicked him apologized and felt bad, he said, "No Sarah, it just goes with the sport."

I guess I'm not "cut out" to just get hurt.

It's a fairly nice bump :)

Two Months Already....

Now, I've caught up somewhat....Yesterday (September 21), Luke celebrated (by eating, sleeping, smiling, being held, and pooping) his two-month birthday. Yep, it's been two months already. The time sure has gone quickly.

This first photo was taken yesterday (for two months).

This second photo was taken one month ago. He sure has grown a lot.

Luke's Dedication....

This post is to continue on with our big weekend (last weekend -- remember, I'm a bit behind on blog posts). Anyways, on Sunday, September 14, Luke was dedicated at church. He did fairly well on stage; however, toward the end, he started to fuss a bit. Since Luke doesn't like to take a pacifier very much (he prefers sucking on one of our fingers), I had to have him suck on my finger for about a minute or two to get him through the dedication without crying.

Both sets of grandparents were able to come to Luke's dedication. Afterwards, Marc insisted that Luke told him he wanted to go out for pizza. So, we all went out for pizza -- Marc's favorite and apparently, Luke's favorite as well.

Luke was dedicated with two other little boys whose parents are in our sunday school class. So, Luke, Mason, and Ryan were all dedicated during the same church service. Here's a photo of the photos of the three boys.

Playing Catch Up....

I am way behind on this blog...So, we'll play catch up a bit.

Last Saturday, September 13, Luke attended (and watched his Dad run) his first running race. This was the annual "Horsethief Canyon Trail Run." The distance is somewhere between 6 and seven miles, and almost all of it is on trail. The race also crosses several creeks (one went up to Marc's chest). So, needless to say, Marc was "messy" when he finished. I have done this race several times in the past, and while most of you who know me well would find it hard to believe that I'd want to cross water and get that dirty, I actually do enjoy this race. Obviously, Luke prevented me from being in proper shape this year to complete this race. Perhaps next year, I'll do it again.

Here is a photo of Marc coming in toward the finish line.


Here is a photo of Marc right after he finished -- of course with a can of Pepsi in hand. You really can't tell from this photo that Marc was quite filthy, but he was.

After Marc was cleaned up, he held Luke for awhile for everybody to meet. Luke is barely awake here. Unfortunately, Luke did sleep while Marc was finishing the race, so Luke didn't even witness Marc finishing. That's a baby for you. Luke is here, posing in his borrowed hat. Thank Ollie for letting him borrow your hat :)

After the race, we stopped by one of my Dairy Queens to eat, see a remodeled DQ, and of course, visit with Karen and Roger (friends and owners of this DQ). Karen fed Luke, and Roger tried to offer Luke his first DQ cone. He wasn't quite interested just yet. Perhaps very soon....

But, at least we got this photo of Luke eating with the cone in front of him.

The Best Smile Ever....

We know every parent loves to see their child smile. Well, we can join that club. Over the last couple of weeks or so, Luke has been very periodically flashing a smile at us. It's always short-lived, and we've never caught it on camera.

However, this past Monday, I did catch this great smile on camera. It will be treasured forever.

Ten Years and Counting....

Last Monday, the 8th of September, I actually had my 10th (yep, 10th) anniversary as an employee of International Dairy Queen. I wasn't sure I ever would see the day. It has, in all seriousness, gone pretty quick.

When I first took the position right out of college, I was very excited. It was my first "real job" out of college. Plus, it presented the opportunity to travel.

In the last 10 years, I have changed and grown a great deal. This job has allowed me the opportunity to meet many people from MANY walks of life. It has taken me to the west coast, the east coast, many places in between, and even Hawaii.

I have learned a great deal, and it's difficult to even mention everything I have learned. However, I wish to share at least seven of the key principles I have learned about running your own business. Most of these items come directly from small business owners, or the Dairy Queen owners I have worked with...

1) Keep your priorities in line. God, Family, Business -- in that order.

2) Keep your business expenses and personal expenses completely separate -- in separate bank accounts.

3) Don't be afraid of stepping inside your competition -- to see what they're doing. Who cares if they see you do it? You MUST know what your competition is doing.

4) Keep in mind that your employees will treat your customers the same you're treating your employees. So, if you don't treat your employees well, your customers will not be treated well.

5) Two main ways to grow your business are to get your existing customers to return frequently and buy more and to attract new customers. Your business will grow faster by attracting new customers (it's hard to get existing customers to change their ways and buy more). So, each day, figure out how to get at least one more customer inside your business.

6) At the barest of minimums, put together and analyze (and make changes if necessary) the financial statements of your business. Don't wait until the end of the year to see where you are financially. It may be too late to make changes.

7) Teenagers today are not near as bad as everybody thinks. Every generation has complained about teenagers. Think back to the Cosbys, the Bradys, and the Cleavers. The adults in those sitcoms never seemed to understand teenagers. The same goes for today. If you think a teenager has an "issue," (for lack of a better term), look at his or her parents. Chances are, it's how that teenager is raised.

A Visit to Michelle and Jay's...

Yesterday, Luke and I went and visited friends Michelle and Jay. They hadn't seen Luke since he was less than 24 hours old in the hospital.

Michelle was actually my elementary music teacher from kindergarten through fourth grade. When I was in Jr. High, I used to walk over to the elementary school and help Michelle with "chores" in her classroom. Then, either in high school or college, we started routinely walking together. Now that I live a little further away, that doesn't happen anymore.

I also have taught Michelle's daughter clarinet and bassoon lessons. I have "edited" her son's English papers in high school, and before all of that, I think I even baby-sat her kids a time or two. Michelle also gave me both a bridal shower and a baby shower. The list of how I know Michelle could go on and on, but I can't even remember all of the connections.

Going on, though -- Michelle, Jay (her husband), and Luke are becoming buddies. I could tell that in our visit.

Here's a photo of Michelle feeding Luke (always a good way to get in good with Luke -- food).

Labor Day....

Our Labor Day was fairly uneventful. Marc was able to catch up on some yard work, and he grilled hamburgers in the evening for us.

I, however, did decide at the last minute to drive 30 minutes north of here to visit my grandparents (Luke's only set of great-grandparents).

Within the last year, they have moved out of their farm house to an assisted living. They sometimes need something positive in their lives, and Luke seems to be the positive thing -- for my grandmother, for sure.

This is the second time she's seen him. Fortunately, he was sleeping because then, she was able to hold him for awhile. She even told Luke, "You won't remember this, but I sure will."

So, it was a good visit for all.

On a little side note -- My grandmother is now 84 years old.

It's Always Interesting at the Koehn's, Continued....

To continue on (I had forgotten to add some photos to the last post)...

Once Luke was happy, his Uncle Joel (his only uncle) took him for awhile so that I could eat my carrot cake without a baby in my arms. Very nice to do...

Grace absolutely LOVES her new Cousin Luke (it's her first time to have a cousin). So, she probably held him and gave him his pacifier for at least 45 minutes. She's very gentle with him. In this photo, Grace is being "helped" by Luke's Aunt Amber (his only aunt).

Overall, it was a fun evening with quite a few laughs. Fairly soon, we'll be back there to celebrate Marc's and Amber's birthdays (they're close).

Also, fairly soon, we'll have to take Luke to his other grandparents' house.

It's Always Interesting at the Koehn's....

First, Amber, I hope you don't mind me copying the title of your post for this post (it's only fitting).

For the rest of you -- last Saturday evening, Luke took his first trip to one set of grandparents'. We went to my (Sarah) parents' house for my dad's birthday celebration.

As usual, it was interesting, and I mean that in a very good way. My dad chose steak fajitas, carrot cake, and of course, strawberry whip (a favorite in the Koehn household -- especially from the guys). The conversation was, as usual, entertaining (my family will know what I mean). Luke has two cousins, ages 3 and 1, and they are very active. We're sure that, once Luke's a bit older, he'll add to the activity and noise.

The evening started out with Luke sleeping -- started in the car ride to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Notice Marc put his "Texas Longhorns" had just above his head :)

Luke's cousin Natalie is a very good eater. Here she is demonstrating her eating abilities as well as her ability to make a mess (but what almost 15 month old wouldn't make a mess).

Natalie has recently learned to climb stairs (with supervision, of course). So, after eating, she entertained herself by climbing their stairs.

Grace had to blow out the candles with her "Papa Koehn."

Finally, after dinner, Luke decided to wake up. After a diaper change and a bottle, he was very happy and content (probably because he's on Grandma's shoulder in this photo).