The Black family

Kael Jon Black's Baptism, Jake Damon's Blessing

2011-10-30T18:48:00.003-06:00

On Oct 8th in front of family and friends, Kael Jon Black became an official member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints through baptism. Kael was baptized by his father Joshua Black and then confirmed soon after. The program was full of family members as Papa Ron conducted, Grandma DJ gave the talk on baptism and the holy Ghost, Kael's step dad gave a prayer, his Grandma Anderson played the piano, his Grandpa Warren said a prayer, and Kael's cousin was the chorister. Kael was so excited and the spirit was very strong at the meeting.
The next day on Sunday Oct 9th, Jake Damon was blessed by his father Josh. The circle included Papa Ron, Uncle Mike, Matt Smith, Bishop Day, and Brother Hunter. We feel so blessed to have had family here for the weekend to share in these two wonderful experiences.

Welcome Jake Damon Black

2011-07-17T17:09:00.003-06:00

On July 11, 2011 at 6:59am Jake Damon Black was born into our family at the St. Luke's hosptial in Meridian, Idaho. He weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and was 19 inches long. He has full head of black hair and his eyes are blue so far. Jake was born three weeks early so the hospital kept us a day later for observations. We feel so blessed to have another beautiful baby boy in our family. Kael and Jett are both so excited for their new little brother.

Savannah and Colton's Wedding

2011-05-22T10:20:00.002-06:00

My youngest sister Savannah finally tied the knot to Colton Bird! The wedding was beautiful and there was many family members and friends in attendance. We stayed in a hotel with the boys and had a great time. There was a pool, sofa bed, flat screen, huge shower, and awesome breakfast. Needless to say we all had a great time!

Jett Knows His Letters!

2011-03-28T21:32:00.001-06:00

We're having another boy!

2011-03-26T23:14:00.005-06:00

On March 10th we checked Kael out of school early and headed to the doctor to find out the sex of our baby. The doctors office had just bought a brand new ultra sound machine and Karyn was the first patient they used it on. The picture was really clear and it was very clear that we are having another boy! Karyn is really going to be outnumbered.

Teacher Rally, Boise, Idaho

2011-02-21T20:47:00.003-07:00

Today as a family we went to the Idaho State capital building to attend the teacher rally opposing Idaho State superintendent Tom Luna's education reform plan. A plan that would inplement many negative changes in education here in Idaho. The main changes I oppose are eliminatating teacher unions, increasing class sizes, and merit pay which teachers are paid based off students performance on standarized test. I am not sure if e-mailing my legislators and attending this rally will change anything but I want to be able to say that I did everything I could to oppose something I believe in my heart to be wrong.

Jett's First Trip To The Dentist

2011-02-02T22:24:00.003-07:00

Today was Jett's first trip to the dentist. He was spoiled with a new green tooth brush and a Blue's Clues sticker. Jett sat on Karyn's lap as the doctor checked his teeth. He wasn't very thrilled to have someone poking around in his mouth but we got through it.

Utah Trip

2011-01-05T20:35:00.003-07:00

For New Years we traveled down to Farmington Utah to spend time with Schindlers. We met my new niece Avery and spent time with rest of the family. One of the highlights was Farmington opened a In and Out Burger and my brother Brent works there! After Utah we headed back up to Eastern Idaho to see my Mom in Idaho Falls. It was -8 degrees when we got there!

Christmas! New digs

2010-12-27T20:37:00.003-07:00

For Christmas Jett and Kael both were spoiled with many wonderful gifts. Jett loves his new Elmo outfit and Kael his Camo beanie and long John PJ's.

BSU Gameday attire

2010-12-27T20:32:00.003-07:00

Boise State played University of Utah in the Las Vegas Macco Bowl. They of course dominated the game! Before the game we went to Wal Mart as a family to pick up some essentials for the game.

Dad's Suit Coat

2010-12-12T20:26:00.003-07:00

After church last Sunday I laid my coat on the table and when I came back a few min. later Jett had put my coat on and was standing on the table.

Kael is Wolverine

2010-10-31T21:31:00.002-06:00

Our Little Skeleton

2010-10-29T21:51:00.002-06:00

Jett's first haircut

2010-10-19T19:49:00.003-06:00

We finally gave in and decided to get Jett's first haircut! His fohawk was getting out of control so we didn't have much of a choice. I still want to grow it out, not a mullet but longer.

Superman Family Pics

2010-10-19T19:41:00.000-06:00

Trip to California

2010-10-19T19:21:00.005-06:00

Once again for the what felt like hundreth time we made the drive back home to California. Yes Idaho is happpily our home but Galt and California will always been home too us. Galt Alumni was playing Amador alumni in a football game at Galt High School so I tried to act like I was still young and played. Next time I will just stick with offense since I was hurt and out of breath by the end of the 2nd quarter. We made our usual stops to the Galt taco truck, In and Out Burger, and Spanns cookies. It was so wonderful to spend time with friends and family. It's hard not being able to hang out whenever we want. Everyones kids are getting so big! While we were in Galt I of course sported Boise State attire and I flew my car flag around town. I recieved both good and bad honks from other drivers. Kael and I went snail hunting in Uncle Craig's front yard and of course we took them home as pets to Idaho. The trip back home was of course just as long as the trip down except this time Kael threw up in the back seat of the car not even halfway through the trip. I finally got the smell out of my Honda. All in all it was a wonderful trip! Thank you to the Skinners for putting us up for our few days! We love you!

Grant's Sealing Day

2010-06-15T23:20:00.002-06:00

We traveled down to Salt Lake to be apart of my little sister Savannah's high school graduation, my nephew Grant's baby blessing and his temple sealing at the Bountiful Utah Temple with my other sister Kira and my brother in law Mike. It was a very exciting and eventful week-end!

Graduation Day 2010 E.d.S.

2010-05-10T21:05:00.004-06:00

On Sat. May 8th, 2010 one year after recieving my M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction I recieved my E.d.S educational specialist degree! There were five of us that recieved this degree and it is currently the highest degree that N.N.U offers until the doctorate program is approved and implemented into the universiy. Karyn, Kael, Jett, and my Mom were all in attendance. I never thought I would complete this much school and yes I decided to start my doctorate next year. More student loans, yes! I will only have around 15 more credits and the biggest part will be my research. Thank you to all my family for all your support and encouragement!

Galt High Alumni Football Game

2010-03-28T13:01:00.002-06:00

In Jan. we traveled back to my hometown of Galt,Ca which is about 30 min south of Sacramento, Ca. It was great to play football on Ca soil for the first time since 1995. The odd graduate years played the even graduates. Needless to say we lost big time and my shoulders were killing me for a month or so after but it was worth it. There were around 2,000 people in attendance and it was like a really big reunion. I saw people that I hadn't seen in years. Can't wait to play next year!

Kael and Jett. Go BSU!

2009-10-10T18:45:00.000-06:00

Jett's Baby Blessing

2009-09-07T09:01:00.003-06:00

On Sept. 6th along with family and friends standing in a circle, I gave our son a name and a blessing, Jett Ammon Black. Afterwards we held a luncheon back at our home. Thanks everyone for coming and being apart of our special day.

Jett's first photo shoot! 6 weeks old.

2009-08-25T22:47:00.001-06:00

A Brothers Love

2009-08-19T10:47:00.002-06:00

Kael is a really good big brother. He loves to kiss, hug, and talk to his baby brother. He recently helped by feeding Jett his bottle. We took the picture of Kael and Jett first meeting and blew it up. Kael and Jett both have one in their rooms hanging on their walls.

Bringing Jett home

2009-07-12T01:06:00.001-06:00

He is finally here!

2009-07-09T13:02:00.002-06:00

He is here! After Karyn literally pushing for three hours, Jett Ammon Black was born around 8:30 pm on 7/8/9 in Meridian Idaho at the St. Lukes hospital. He weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. When Kael first saw him he was squealing with excitement. Welcome to the world and our family little guy.

Jett's Nursery is done! Now we just need the baby!

2009-06-18T21:37:00.003-06:00

Kael Kindergarten Graduation!

2009-06-05T00:28:00.003-06:00

Kael is officially done with Kindergarten! His school held a graduation Wed. morning. It was so cute watching Kael sing and to see his excitement and pride in his accomplishment. I'm sure high school graduation will come quicker than we realize.

Graduation 2009

2009-06-05T00:26:00.003-06:00

Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa Idaho
MA Curriculum and Instruction

Bee-autiful Yellow Flowers

2009-05-16T21:48:00.003-06:00

We live across the street from a field that has the prettiest yellow flowers and of course a lot of bees. Kael wanted to go look at bees and I wanted the picture of him in the field with the flowers. We both got what we wanted.

7 months today! The baby bump!

2009-04-20T12:35:00.001-06:00

Spring Break California 09

2009-03-26T12:05:00.004-06:00

This last week we drove down to California for Spring Break. The Ogas family was nice enough to open their home to us for like the hundreth time, (Thanks George and Sandy!). We went to California to spend time with family and friends, as well as for Karyn's baby shower at the Farren's house, (Thanks Janine and Kevin!). We also delivered Hailey Ogas' new puppy, Princess, and picked up a car seat and stroller from Craig and Gina Skinner, (Thanks guys!). Our last item of business in CA was to help Karyn's little sister move to Idaho to start work and college. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who are so generous. We could barely squeeze everything into the car to get home. It was an awesome trip and we miss everyone already!

Baby Jett's Crib

2009-03-26T11:56:00.002-06:00

Kael is so excited about his baby brother Jett. Whenever I ask him to help me with something for his brother he jumps at the opportunity to help. For our latest project Kael helped me put Jett's crib together. He helped hold the sides as well as tightening the screws. He is already such a great big brother!

Grandma McGrath's 80th B-day Party!

2009-03-01T23:07:00.003-07:00

This last week-end we headed down to Utah for my Grandma McGrath's 80th surprise birthday party. My Grandma was very suprised, she shed tears of happiness and cried out " Oh my gosh" on several occasions. It was wonderful to see and spend time with family we don't get see as often as we would like to.

Jett Ammon Black is Coming in July!

2009-02-26T20:14:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, along with Karyn’s sister Mariah, who flew in from Ca, we went to the Dr. to find out the sex of our baby. Its official it’s a boy! We are so excited for Jett Ammon Black to come! We showed Kael the ultra sound and told him that he will have a new baby brother shortly after his b-day, what an awesome present! He squealed with excitement. Now to get ready! We quickly went out and bought a crib and changing table. I spent last night putting together the changing table and we will soon be registering at Baby’s are Us and Target.

News Flash!

2009-01-21T23:17:00.003-07:00

Kael has recently been accepted into the most prestigious school of wizards, Hogwarts academy! LOL

Just kidding Mom...Kael loves the new church outfit!

The puppies have arrived!

2009-01-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Cookie Marie gave birth to 2 healthy puppies on January 14th. She had a boy and girl. They are both black and white just like their mom and dad. Mom and pups are doing great, other than Cookie being a little cranky.

Our trip to CA, December 2008!

2008-12-16T22:58:00.001-07:00

Halloween with the Givens!

2008-12-13T23:16:00.004-07:00

Christopherson's Halloween party!

2008-12-13T23:11:00.001-07:00

Our first annual Halloween kids party!

2008-12-13T18:01:00.005-07:00

On Thursday, October 30th, we decided to host our first annual kids Halloween party. This party was especially for Kael this year, as we wanted him to be able to celebrate with his little buddies and not have to miss out on the Halloween festivities. It was a fun-filled evening that included games, prizes, YUMMY pizza and snacks, and even a dance competition to our favorite spooky tunes. We will definately be continuing the tradition in the years to come! :D

Below, we've posted pics and a video clip of the dance-off...

Our first annual Halloween kids party!

2008-12-13T17:18:00.001-07:00

Kael loves Star Wars!

2008-11-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

Kael has become obsessed with Star Wars. Not only does he he enjoy watching the movies and playing with his figurines, and has Star Wars underwear and Under-roos; he also loves to have light saber fights with Darth Vader, aka Dad.

Kael Jon Black Kindergarten picture and new glasses

2008-11-09T17:19:00.005-07:00

Too much time on our hands? ;)

2008-10-18T19:21:00.006-06:00

Okay...so we recently discovered a new website in which we were able to upload our faces onto a variety of hairstyles from different time periods. Not only did we get a good laugh, but were able to reminisce a little about some of our not so attractive hairstyles of the past. After wasting much time trying on new do's and then giving our friends and family new hairstyles, we decided that we needed to get off the computer and do something productive. Here's a link to the site and some pics we decided to share... careful though, it's addicting!

www.yearbookyourself.com

P.S. Doesn't Josh look a little like Peter Parker in the first one? ;)

Josh's school carnival

2008-10-10T20:30:00.000-06:00

Tonight we picked up Kael's "bestest buddy" Ethan and headed off to Josh's school carnival. Excited about his costume, Kael insisted on wearing it to the event. Kael was dressed as Luke Skywalker and Ethan as a skeleton; however, they both turned into vampires after winning a pair of fangs. Among the many games, there was also yummy food, a dunk tank and jumpy houses. The boys both won trays of cupcakes in the cake walk, and ended up with a bunch of candy and other prizes. Karyn also did not leave empty handed, as she won her own tray of cupcakes from the cake walk and a 2-liter bottle of A &W rootbeer from the ring toss game. What a fun evening!

We are sealed for eternity!

2008-09-21T19:27:00.003-06:00

Finally! :)

Surrounded by friends and family, we were sealed to one another for time and eternity on Saturday, September 20th at the Boise, Idaho LDS temple! Although there were some who could not make it, we were fortunate enough to have many of our closest friends and family members there to share this special day with us. The morning started out rainy and windy, however, the weather turned absolutely beautiful just in time for pictures. (As soon as our pictures had been taken, the wind and rain started up again...it was as if it had stopped, just for us)! We have been blessed in so many ways, and could not be happier! We want to give a special thanks to all of those that were able to come and be a part of this important day!

Check out our pictures...

Sealed for Eternity!

2008-09-21T19:26:00.001-06:00

Sara Evans Concert!

2008-09-18T15:00:00.001-06:00

Sara Evans concert!

2008-09-18T13:53:00.001-06:00

On Friday, September 12th, we went to see Sara Evans play live in Nampa! In addition to getting to watch her perform, we were also able to see One Flew South and James Otto as opening acts. We had amazing seats, thanks to Aaron Christopherson, and were able to see every detail of these talented performers! Thanks again to Guy and Amy Givens for the tickets! We had such a blast! Check out the video and pics!

Kael started Kindergarten!

2008-08-20T13:53:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, August 20th, Kael started his first day of Kindergarten! He is adjusting well to his new classroom and is loving school so far. He loves to tell us about what he is learning, and sings us the new songs that he has learned. Being the social butterfly that he is, Kael is working hard on paying attention to the teacher during lesson time and staying in his seat. He is doing great and is improving every day! We can't believe how quickly our little boy is growing up and that he is already in school!

Going Western at the Western Idaho Fair!

2008-08-19T13:53:00.001-06:00

While visiting the Western Idaho Fair on August 19th; we were able to go Western, thanks to our good friends, the Christophersons! Aaron and his helpers dressed us up and cowboy-ed us out...it was a lot of fun! Thanks again, guys!

Visit to the Schindlers and Lagoon!

2008-08-18T13:53:00.000-06:00

For our last vacation of the summer, we decided to head up to Utah to visit the Schindlers and to go to Lagoon. We love road trips, and the weather was great, so the drive up wasn't bad. We had originally planned to go to the Lagoon on Friday, however, Kael got sick while we were standing in the ticket line. We ended up making our Lagoon trip on Saturday, and had a great time! The weather ended up being even better than the day before and we didn't have to wait too long in line for any of the rides. Our very first ride was Wicked...it was Kael's very first roller coaster ride, EVER! He insisted on riding it with the rest of us, and was very brave. He definately takes after his father with his love for roller coasters! Between the rides and the water park, we ended up being there for 10 hours. We had such a fun weekend with the Schindlers, and hope to make this trip a Summer tradition!

I'm graduating!

2008-07-18T20:39:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago Josh took his comprehensive exams for his Masters degree. This was his final exam to graduate from the program, so needless to say the pressure was on! The test had six essay questions, the first two were required and he was able to pick the last one. They were not able to use notes or resources of any kind. For the first question, he had to describe how he would design a district curriculum, the second question was how he would conduct a quantitative and qualitative project. He had to describe how he would gather the data, and what tools he would use to draw conclusion from the data gathered. Josh went into the test at 9:00am and four hours, and almost 15 pages later, he was finally finished! Yesterday he received his test scores in the mail and to our great joy, he passed! In the next few days, Josh will turn in his research paper and his degree will post in a few weeks after he finishes his last round of classes. It has been a long, tough 14 months, but it was well worth it! Josh has learned things that he will use the rest of his career and has made friends whom he will never forget.

One year, we made it!

2008-07-18T19:56:00.000-06:00

On July 7th, Karyn and I celebrated our one year anniversary! We ate a piece of our wedding cake together and, surprisingly, it still tasted delicious! It’s hard to believe that at the end of March, we will have been together for three years. Time really does fly by when you’re happy! We feel truly blessed that Heavenly Father knew how perfect we would be for each other and brought us together.

Kael and Dad's hiking adventure!

2008-06-28T16:55:00.001-06:00

Kael and I decided to go on a hike up a mountain in Caldwell, near the lake. After using all of our energy climbing up and down the hill, we decided to take a swim in Lake Lowell.

Guess who turned five!

2008-06-28T15:00:00.000-06:00

Kael turned five years old on Friday, June 13th! A football birthday cake, jumpy house, and 20 plus pre-school aged kids made for quite an afternoon. Chelsea, Kael's cousin, was able to come over from Eastern Idaho to attend! It's hard to believe how fast Kael is growing up! It's a reminder to us how we need to cherish every moment with our little man.

Kael Jon Black pre-school graduation!

2008-05-31T11:59:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone, it's official Kael Jon Black is now an official graduate of Applecore Pre-school in Nampa, Idaho class of 2008! The ceremony was very cute, the kids marched in, sang songs, and were given little scrolls. They even got to wear caps and threw them in the air at the end of the very short ceremony. Afterwards we had cookies and punch. We gave Kael a bunch of balloons and told him how proud we are of him. He is ready for Kindergarten!

Kael's first report card!

2008-04-18T22:08:00.001-06:00

Kael got his first report card from Apple Core pre-school in Nampa Idaho! He did Awesome! He had to perform a variety of tasks, such as saying the alphabet, counting to 20, identifying colors, and saying his name. He missed the color black, go figure. When he was asked to say his name he responded, "Kael Grandpa Jon Black". We recently registered him for kindergarten starting in the fall. Our little man is growing up so fast!

We love you Sister Black!

2008-04-14T21:06:00.000-06:00

Today I did something I didn't think I would do until Kael Jon turned 19, took a family member to the M.T.C (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah. My mother, Sister Diana Black started her 18 month mission today as she entered the M.T.C. We took pictures, we laughed, and we said our good byes and watched as she walked confidently through the orientation doors. We are so excited for her and know that she will bless the lives of many people as she shares the gospel with them.

Kael's got the moves!

2008-01-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

So.... we've determined that, at a very young age, Kael is quite the dancer! The first glimpse we received of Kael's talent was when Karyn and Kael were practicing their moves for our wedding reception to Disney songs at the beginning of last summer. Kael not only perfectly mimicked all the classic moves like "the sprinkler", "the cabbage patch", and "the running man", but he added some of his own moves, naming them "Spiderman dance" and "Frankenstein dance".

Needless to say, he danced the night away at our wedding reception with his cousin, Michael. He spent the majority of the evening on the stage with the DJ, showing off his moves...we were able to get lots of pictures! At one moment, while onstage, Kael decided to take off his tuxedo jacket and swing it around over his head while shaking his bootie. He then proceeded to do what looked very similar to the "MC Hammer dance" from one end of the stage to the other...wow, what an evening! Dancing with Kael has become one of our favorite family activities and we have been lucky enough to capture a lot of it on camera or video clips. We have included a clip of Kael dancing last month in the kitchen... Karyn put on some music from her ipod and Kael decided to go to town! The use of the props in this clip was completely Kael's idea and took us both by surprise! We can't wait to see what the future holds for our "tiny dancer"! ;)

Jumping on the Blog-wagon!

2008-01-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we're finally jumping on the Blog-wagon! We're new at this, but making a family page has been in the back of our minds for awhile and we're excited about the possibilities! A big thanks to Brock and Tyra Williamson for having such a beautiful blogspot and for inspiring us to give it a try! :)

We are excited to have a special spot for all of our family pictures and silly video clips and to have a way to share our experiences with others at the push of a button. Hope that you all will enjoy and that you will have as much fun reading as we will have with creating!