icreate...

For a math project, Jonathan created this GIANT iphone. It took him forever one night, but it turned out super cute! And he got 40 points of extra credit for his creativity!

Welcome to my newest niece!

Welcome to the world, Meadow Elleanna Miller!

By little brother is a daddy! I'm so excited for him and wish him the best of luck.

No relief in sight?!?

It has been so incredibly hot here lately. Every day this week reached over 100 - not to mention the heat index. It has been too hot for much more than sitting inside in the air conditioning. I came across this funny weather forecast...

Sammy and I laughed for a while after seeing this one. I think it isn't too far off, actually.

Caught on film...

Isn't this picture cool? One of the students in Jon's photography class took this of him holding a preying mantis. I love the way it turned out!

"Stuffed" in a locker...

Okay.
So we went to the high school open house tonight and Abbie came with us. When we went to see where Jonathan's locker was at, it was clear that Abbie was small enough to fit right into it - even though it isn't even a full size locker!

So, of course, I had her climb inside so I could take a picture.
Too funny that she fit quite comfortably and there was still probably enough room to fit Derek inside too!

Finding love in the strangest of places...

Lamar and I went for a walk tonight down by the river. I looked down and saw this heart-shaped leaf on the sidewalk. I called it our "love leaf".

I know, I'm pretty cheesy, right?

Another Bad Hair Day

Not much I can say here....

YIKES!

Panic Attack

This morning when I walked into Sammy's room I discovered her bed a mess. Her explanation?
"I think I had a panic attack last night!"

Her blankets were all twisted up and her pillow was crammed down the side of her bed. I couldn't stop laughing at her comment, though. What a silly thing Sammy can be sometimes.

Bulging Biceps

Funny story...
Lamar went to the dentist today. That isn't the funny part - although it has been forever since he went to the dentist. When he got back home, he told me they couldn't take his blood pressure. I was momentarily confused...until he explained that it was because his biceps were too big around!

Needless to say, he was pretty excited about that.

Duct Tape

He asked for it...really.
Tonight Jonathan and Danny were bored. They came upstairs and asked me permission to have Lamar duct tape Jonathan upside down to the pole in the basement. Of course, I agreed, but only if I could take the pictures.

Lamar swears that duct tape is the solution to all misbehavior. Too much talking/whining? Duct tape. Can't keep their hands to themselves? Duct tape. Arguing or fighting? Duct tape! And apparently if the kids are bored - just use duct tape!

Jonathan lasted about a minute upside down before he realized it might not have been the best idea. His ankles hurt and all the blood had rushed to his head. At least he has a great story to tell now!

Animal Shelter Visit

Today we took Derek and Abbie with us to the animal shelter. It was too wet outside to take any of the dogs outside, but they had a good time anyway.

As excited as they were, I honestly doubt they would have enjoyed having the dogs jumping all over them and licking them if we had taken some out of their cages. Sammy is used to the crazy behavior of the shelter dogs, but Derek and Abbie seemed pretty skittish.

I DO

It was an unusual day for a wedding.
I woke up and went for a run. Took a shower. Did some laundry and went grocery shopping.
I vacuumed the floor and then realized that it was almost 3:00 pm. Since the wedding was scheduled for 4:00 pm, I figured that I should go ahead and get showered and ready to go.

We had a simple, casual ceremony. Just the six of us.

We wore jeans and customized t-shirts.

No big fuss.

Perfect for us.

And now I am Kim Coker.

Married to Lamar Coker.

Children include Jonathan and Sammy Bunton and Derek and Abbie Coker.

It's gonna be a wild ride...

Our cute little "plaid family"

When Derek and Abbie came downstairs today, I noticed that they were both wearing plaid shorts. Then Sammy walked into the kitchen wearing them as well (although she pretty much wears plaid shorts daily). It was so funny. Next Lamar came out dressed in his plaid shorts as well. Of course I had to take a picture...

If Jonathan had been home, I know he would have pulled on one of his plaid shorts as well. I guess I'm the oddball out since I have no plaid shorts. But aren't they so cute???

I know what you did last summer...

This summer consisted of soooo much! A lot of it was either traveling or work "stuff".
Here's a run-down of what I can remember...

June 7-11: Sammy and I traveled to Virginia to visit Lamar and Grandma Miller while Jonathan was at scout camp.
June 14-18: Sammy went to girls' camp while Jonathan and I carpeted the basement and moved his furniture downstairs.
June 18: Jonathan and Sammy flew to see their dad in Nebraska for a month.
June 20-24: I spent a week at Austin Peay for the UMATH Summer Institute.
June 24: I left for Virginia (driving all night) to see Lamar.
June 25: After a short nap, Lamar and I drove to Richmond to have dinner with Paul and Scarlett. Then we drove all night to Princeton, West Virginia to meet/visit his brother, Stephen.
June 27: Next we headed to Lewisburg, West Virginia to visit Dad. Unfortunately, Christy wasn't there when we dropped in.
June 28: Lamar and I headed back to Virginia to get him packed up for the big move to Tennessee.
July 3: We drove (separately) to Tennessee with both cars totally loaded down with Lamar's things.
July 4: We unpacked the cars and headed to Atlanta, Georgia to meet Lamar's father, stepmother and brother.
July 5: After having dinner with Belen's family, we drove back to Tennessee.
July 7: I attended a half-day STEM training at Clarksville High School.
July 8-11: Lamar and I drove to Hilliard, Ohio to visit April's family.
July 11: We left Ohio and drove back to Tennessee - but wait! On the way home we stopped at Lamar's friend's house in Kentucky for dinner.
July 13-15: I spent two nights in Falls Creek Falls at another UMATH Conference. THis one was awful because I got totally car sick on the way there, there was no cell phone service, and I ended up getting very little sleep.
July 17: Jonathan and Sammy flew back home - finally!
July 20-21: I attended a two day STEM training. Productive, but tiring.
July 21: Lamar drove all night to get to Virginia to clear up some school issues, finish moving his things, and attend court for the kids' custody hearing.
July 25: Jonathan and Sammy leave to go to Nauvoo for Youth Conference.
July 26: Lamar drove to Pennsylvania to pick up Derek and Abbie form their mom's house. On his way back to Tennessee, he stopped at Dad's house (once again missing Christy) and Stephen's house.
July 27: Lamar, Derek and Abbie get home.
July 28: Jonathan and Sammy get back from Youth Conference.

Holey moley!
It didn't seem as bad while we were doing it. Now, looking back and listing it makes me realize how out of control all that traveling was! Never again...

Sweet Rewards

Abbie ate all of her lunch, so she got rewarded with a trip to Steak-N-Shake for milkshakes with me today. Okay, I admit that I was the one who really wanted milk shakes, but we did have a fun time. She was so silly sipping her shake, coloring and wearing that silly hat!

By the end of our time there, she was tunring into a little stinker and wouldn't cooperate for pictures anymore. She found that to be really funny...

Youth Conference 2011

This summer, Jonathan and Sammy both got to attend Youth Conference in Nauvoo. Since I wasn't there, I don't have a lot of pictures, but I do have a few that were shared by others.

Sammy and the other girls stayed in the hotel in Nauvoo. Jonathan and the boys stayed in the Nauvoo House. They did a bunch of sightseeing and even watched the Nauvoo Pageant. What an incredible experience for both of them!

New Room Decorations

Since Lamar, Derek and Abbie moved in, we needed to rearrange some things. Take a look at the results!
Jonathan took the basement and set it up as his bedroom.

That freed up his old room for Derek and Abbie.

Sammy kept her old room, but got a few new decorations and Jon's old desk.

And Lamar is sharing my room - of course.

It's gonna be a little scrunchy for a while - especially as we get used to having twice the number of people in our family, but at least everyone has a space to call their own.

The BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER!!!

Today I baked.
And baked.
And then I baked some more!
You see, I have an amazing recipe for chocolate chip cookies that has become more and more popular lately. Today I figured I would bake several batches of cookies and send them out to Lamar's brothers as a surprise. Little did I know that I would be baking for almost SIX HOURS today.

My oven is not a great one. I mean, come on, I live in a little rental house, so what do you expect? But because my oven refuses to cook evenly unless I bake one tray at a time, it took me FOREVER to cook all the dough I made.

But the results were lovely. And YUM-MY!

Sammy thought it would be funny to pretend that she was eating all the cookies we made, so I snapped a picture and we texted it to Stephen. He was quick to respond and warn her away from his box of cookies.

Several other family members asked for a batch of cookies to be sent to them, but by the time I was done cooking the ones I had already made I was pooped. I'm not sure when I will feel like making chocolate chip cookies again - if ever! (just kidding)

Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot...

The weather has been ridiculously hot lately. I know it's July, but COME ON!!! Over 100 degrees every day with no relief in sight. So, today I took the kids to Tie Breaker (a pool about 20 minutes away from our house). It has a couple water slides, a lazy river, and a wading pool.

Ususally when we go to a pool, I lay on the side and read a book while the kids play, but today was just TOO hot for that! I found myself in the lazy river most of the time. Eventually we gave up and headed home. Even with the water to cool us down, I felt like I was baking in the sun...

Today's Treat

Today we got cupcakes from The Sweetest Batch Cupcakery near our house. Oh, wow!!! They were so good!

 I got two cupcakes - of course. Wedding Cake - just because it's about that time - and Starry Night (strawberry flavored cake with strawberry buttercream icing).

Sammy chose "Minted Perfection" - a chocolate mint cupcake with mint frosting. I actually got her to share some of hers and I liked it even better than mine! Such a yummy combination of flavors.

Jon chose "Campfire Delight" - a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow filling topped with marshmallow buttercream icing and a mini chocolate bar and piece of a graham cracker. Whew! He was so nice and shared it with his friend, Hannah.

 

The only reason we even went there was because I had a coupon from school, but now I am afraid that I am hooked on them!

A Day Out on the Lake

Today April and Pete treated us to a day out at the lake. We rented a small pontoon boat and spent a couple hours in the sunshine. The weather was perfect and the company was excellent. The only part that wasn't wonderful was the speed (or lack thereof) of the boat...

Granted, we know it wasn't a speed boat, but seriously? Pete had the boat at full speed and it barely made a wave. He actually ended up calling to see what the deal was, and the boat rental people laughed at him because the boat had a tiny motor and that was as fast as it could possible go. It became the joke of the day. At least we had a nice time visiting and laughing without kids for the afternoon.

"Katie Bug"

She is a doll.
An absolute doll!
When we went ot visit April and Pete, Katie was so darn cute! She talks all the time and wants lots and lots of attention.

She was so fun to watch when she was playing - such an imagination! Here she is acting like a puppy dog... 

And driving a car at the grocery store...

And playing with her buddy, Maddie...

And pretending to take a nap with her new "Luncle Lamar".

I can't believe I actually posted that last picture with Lamar wearing that ridiculous shirt - he's "so fresh" huh?

Family Stickers

It's a little thing, but something that we were both so excited to do...
Get those silly family stick figures for the back of the Pacifica.
I found a website that let me pick from a bunch of different styles for each of our family members.

Isn't Lamar a cheeseball? One of the reasons I love him...

Trip to Atlanta

One of the trips that Lamar and I took this summer was to visit family in Atlanta, Georgia. We spent the fourth of July with Lamar's father and step-mother as well as his brother and his fiancee. Aaron might be much smaller than Lamar, but his attitude is just as big!

While we were there, we went out to eat at this great little diner. The breakfasts were HUGE and delicious!!!

It was so wonderful spending time with my new family. They made me feel welcome - and that is exactly what I needed. Can't wait to see everyone again really soon!

Cheap Thrills

After spending an absolute fortune on groceries at Giant over many months, Lamar and I decided to cash in our fuel points for money off our gasoline. The way it works is similar to Kroger...for every $100 spent on groceries, you earn $0.10 off per gallon of gasoline. You can even save up your discounts and use them all at once.

When we pulled in and tried to access our fuel points, something wasn't working properly on the machines so Lamar went ot get the attendant for help. He came out and helped us and his jaw dropped when he saw that we had earned $1.80 off per gallon. That meant we only had to pay $1.69 a gallon!!! I can't remember the last time I paid such a low price for gas!

We seriously laughed and took pictures while we filled up our cars with super cheap gas. In all we spent $50.97 to fill up two cars, but we got a whopping 30 gallons of gas!!!

I have to admit, I feel a little silly getting so thrilled over saving money. Luckily Lamar was just as excited....