New Glasses and Hair

The boys all got new glasses when we moved to Texas... instead of the rimless they have the more retro looking ones now. I really like them.....

And Katee got a new hair color.. I like this too. She is so grown up!

Halloween

Well, this was a great Halloween for the Knittles.

We had alot of fun decorating the house... we had trees in the dining room, inflateables in the frontyard and fun decorations everywhere. Harrison really did a good job in making the house festive.

We also had alot of activities.

Our Ward family came over the Friday before and watched movies in the Backyard with us.

Disney Halloween videos. Fun times and fun friends!

Saturday our Texas family came over to watch Sleepy Hollow... Scary!!

The Friday Halloween the kids went to Katee's friend Aubria's Birthday Party. It was a costume party and they played fun games and eat gross food.Chris and I went to a Halloween party and had fun before we picked up the kids.

Halloween Day was awesome!!!

We passed out sooo much candy. We easily had a couple hundred kids and they loved our house decorations. Chris even had to do a candy run because we ran outta candy.

Katee had Aubria come over....

Harrison and Dalton played X-box 360 with Travis, Jason, Teddie and Alex.

They also had a couple of friends from church come over.

All in all it was a great night.

Dalton's throne!!

If you wonder where Dalton can be found when he is not in school or sleeping.... Here it is! On his Movie Theatre Recliner playing his X-Box 360 with his friends.

And really... He is there ALL the time!

A wonderful meal from a wonderful friend!!

I pick up a delightful little guy from school everyday. His name is Richard and he is a bit of sunshine in the lives of those who know him. Richard's Grandma Dorothy has adopted our Family! She is great. As a thanks for bringing Richrd home for her, she made us a wonderful home cooked chicken dinner. A whole chicken with carrots and potatos with a fabulous broth.

Dinner came with home-made Mac and Cheese... Yumm-o! She also sent a green salad with no dressing because Dalton does not like salad dressing....

Dinner was so good we used out Sunday dishes and our Coke glasses from Grandma Lightbourn.

See how happy we all are!!

We are a well loved family. Thank you Dorothy! We ate well that day.

The Beatles invaded our home!!

Beatles Rock Band Has invaded The Knittle Home!!

September 9, 2009 (9-09-09)

Beatle's rock Band was released....

Can you guess what Katee did for the next few days any minute that she was not in school or sleeping??

D&D with Uncle Shawn

The kids played Dungeouns and Dragons on Sunday night with Uncle Shawn. Uncle Shawn had never played before, but I think he learned alot and rather enjoyed himself. It was only supposed to be one hour.... but turned into almost 4! A fun night by all.

Happy Birthday Jana!!

It is my Birthday! Yeah.....

Happy Birthday to me.

What a fun time I had ushering in my 37th year. Chris took the day off and we had breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.. fab! I had yummy Apple Crumble French Toast. Taco Bell for dinner and watched a movie with the family.

Friday we had the "Texas Family" over for dinner and a movie. They brought cake... yummy! We visited and watched "Clash of the Titans together.

We then went to Grandpa and Grandma Knittle's house for the weekend. We went swimming and had a BBQ. Grandpa make bugers and Daddy made beans and delicious egg salad.

Uncle Rich and Renee came. Aunt Michelle and Uncle Shawn came too.

I got a new Camera, a fun Halloween Tree and a Steam Cleaner.

Mom and Dad sent me a card and Chris and I are off to red Lobster... yummy!

It was a great 5 days of fun and celebration!

Thank you to all who thought of me.

Love you all!!

I know.... cliche..

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!!!

It is back to school time!

Harrison is a senior.... how did that happen.

Dalton is a sophmore... and in Marching Band.

Katee is starting High School... a freshman... Nutz!

This is how Mom and Dad felt about being alone in the house after we dropped the kids off to school......

Yeah!

Peace and Quiet...

It stays clean and straightened for a while....

I know the electricity meter is getting a break!!

They are now officially......

Hutto Hippos

Attending Hutto High School. Home of the Hustlin Hippos.

Will let you all know how things went.....

Jana

Goings on......

Hi family and friends...

Life in Texas is moving along. Summer has been fun but casual.

Chris has been working, doing well at his job and loving the weekends with the family. I am adjusting to my new life. I cook dinner (I know.. gasp!), do the housework (... although I am not very good at it), and attemptint to take care of things. Chris and I are gald to be together again and vow to NEVER be apart for so long again!

The kids are enjoying their rooms and their computors. Harrison spends the majority of his days listening to music, either on his laptop or the record player/tape player that Grandpa K gave him. He LOVES his room and is quite contect to live there. Dalton is permanantly attahed it would seem to the recliner upstaris in fron of the X-Box 360. He sleeps, plays games and eats.... (I cannot wait for him to start Band Camp!) Katee spends most of her time in her ginormous rooms. She loves it and enjoy listening to music and chatting and texting her friends.

We got registered for school this past week. The school is huge. Katee says she will be living in the Library at school. It is brand new, has couches and low table for studying and relaxing. Dalton is going to be in Marching Band and hopefully in the Piano class. Harrison is taking a work experience class and giving the Broadcasting class a shot. Seminary will start the day after shool and lets hope it workd for us...

We have decided that we all LOVE Rudy's BBQ, are so-so with Sonic, and like Johny Carinos. Food is big out here, there are alot of resteraunts so many places to try and explore.

Love from Texas to all......

Jana

Happy Birthday Chris!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

We had dinner on Saturday with Chris' Mom, Dad, brother Rich and his family.

We had Chris' favorite Beef Stroganoff, green beans with almonds, croissants, fruit salad and for the cake... Lemon Parfet!!!!

(Thanks Mom L. for all the recipies)

Chris felt love with all the thoughtful gifts that he recieved. He got 2 weedwackers and some stuff for his lawn.

(He thnks we are all trying t0 tell him something....lol)

He also got some cash and a gift card... We are going to Red Lobster!! Yumm-o!

Happy Day Chris!

Harrison the Eagle Scout

HARRISON JAMES KNITTLE is an EAGLE SCOUT!!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 a Board of Review including Brother Burdick, Brother Horton and Brother Bradbury determined that Harrison indeed meet the requirement for this Prestigious Rank.

(His Mother had no doubt!)

Friday June 26, 2009 Harrison and his friend Jason Peterson were presented with their awards.

Grandpa David Lightbourn was the speaker for the evening.

He spoke about the EAGLE RANK and the enormity of the honor. Brother Chris Canihan presented the boys with their awards.

Brother Horton, Brother Sardoni and Brother Roberts, former Scout Leaders all took part in the ceremony.

Uncle David Lightbourn escorted Harrison to the Eagles Nest.

It was a great might. Lots of our ward family and friends were there to support Harrison and Jason. The boys were recognized for their achievements and the family got to say goodbye. (We left for Texas the next morning.)

Jana's Foot... DUMB!

Any one who knows me at all knows that I LOVE High Heel Shoes. I would marry them if I could. I love them all: spike heels, wedges, black ones, pink ones, you name it... if they have a heel... I want them.

Well, 2 1/2 years back, I broke my foot at work. To sum up.... I worked on a broken foot for almost 6 weeks and it really messed up my big toe joint. NO MORE HIGH HEELS!!! Nooooooooooooooo....... Two years ago, I had surgery to try and fix the issue. Unfortunatly I did not work. I could wear small heels, but not for long periods of time and my foot hurt constantly.

Anyway.... We decided to give it one more try. I went under the knife again. This time for a expansive joint replacement surgery. Nutz. One little Titanium screw that cost $2400. Crazy! Here is a pic of the x-ray. Can you see that expensive little device?

This is right after surgery... it was still bleeding. Yucky.

The surgery was only supposed to be about an hour but it took almost 2 1/2 hours. There was way more scar tissue and bone spurs and chips floating around than the Doctor thought. That is part of why the healing process is taking so long. The muscles are still damaged from the cleaning.

This is how I got around for almost 1 month. No shower, no bath... GROSS!! Wanna see the scar... I know everyone does...





Before the shower.....

Gross!!!!!

..... After. Yeah!

Well.. I am working hard to keep it moving and get back into those shoes. Wish me luck!!!!

Jana

BBQ

I want to officially go on record that I LOVE Redd's BBQ in Simi.
I am however realizing that while Redd's is quite good..great even, that real barbecue is east. 1442 mile east to be exact. There are so many barbecue's out here it is not funny. The guys have made it a quest to try every one of them..good luck with that! I have tried 4 different one's and surprising find that I love each one. There is not better out here, just different. Everyone does things a little different, has different sides and especially has different sauces. So far Redd's is still my favorite sauce. Out here the sauces are more smokey in flavor and little peppery. The difference here is the meat. They do not have tri-tip per se. The tri-tip cut is part of what is called brisket. The specialties out here are brisket, ribs (beef and pork), and of all things sausage. There is a huge European community out here(Germans). That is why all of the towns have German names. Getting back to the meat. The secret out here is that they cook the meat all day. The flavors and especially the texture is just beyond words. The meat just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. The brisket is the same. What they do is that they make a certain amount of meat in a day. When they run out.. they run out. This is because the meat needs to slow cook all day. I would have to say my favorite so far is RUDY's..the sign say "Worst BBQ in Texas". Yeah right!! Rudy's is behind a route 66 gas station and is so far what I would say is the best BBQ I have ever had. They have every drink you can imagine in bottle form. You get your meal in a tray(see picture above) and no plates. They give you your meat on butcher paper. What puts this one over the top is their creamed corn. Oh and they give you about a quarter loaf of fresh, soft sliced white bread with every order. The best I have ever had!! Dalton will be so happy with the creamed corn!!!
I cannot wait to take everyone to Rudy's, the Worst BBQ in Texas!!

Tornado

The day after we arrived in our new home here in Hutto my mom and dad went to the store and returned with a housewarming gift. It was a little radio that plugs into the wall that also requires batteries. My dad went on the set up this radio and said it was a severe weather radio that will go off when there is severe weather in the area. I thought OK, everyone out here doesn't seem the think that the weather is a problem so I thought what the heck.
Well, early Monday morning the alarm off at about 3:30 AM and proceeded to alert me that there was severe thunderstorms in the area. Cool!! I love thunderstorms!! 3:45 there is a large and close lightning bolt.. power goes out. seconds later the alarm goes off again. This time it alerts me to a tornado warning in the county. I am a little nervous but I have to get back to sleep as I work in the morning. 3:55 am the alarm goes off again...the county is now under a tornado watch. This is more serious. I get up and get out the lamp. I start to pace the house just looking around when the alarm goes off again.... a tornado has formed 8 miles east, southeast of Georgetown, Texas. I pause...wait a second.. WE are 8 mile east, southeast of Georgetown. Now I panic and start looking out the windows. There is so much lightning that it was like daytime. The alarm continues to go off giving instruction as to what to do. I remember it saying that if you are driving in your car to stop and get out and look for the nearest ditch. If you are in a mobile home to evacuate. and if you are in your home to find the closet and cover yourself with a mattress. I really didn't feel like doing that so I just watched out of the window. after about 10 minutes the alarms stopped and the weather started to calm down. It took me awhile to settle down and get a few minutes of sleep before work. The next morning I was shocked to here how close the tornado came to us. Now let's be clear, this was a smaller end tornado that did little damage. At the time I am thinking a tornado out of the movie Twister. I guess tornado's rarely make it this far south and when they do they are of the smaller variety. I was able to get a couple of pictures off of the local new website:

A trailer that was overturned

Some downed trees

A map of where our house is in relation the the tornado. The little blue circle is where our house is, the red one where the tornado touched down.

Let's hope this was the once in 10 years tornado that they say it was. By the way the next town over received 12 inches of rain in one day. We received a modest 6 inches.

Time is Movin On....

Wow... I cannot believe that it has been a month since we left our Dad and kitties in Texas. The kids and I are staying with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle David. Time is moving and it will only be two more months until Chris comes out to get us. Yeah!!!

Harrison, Dalton and Katee are busy with Star Testing and school. Chris is busy with his new position at Farmers. I am just working on keepin the peace and healing my foot (that is a story all in itself).

We are all just working on counting down the days until our Dad comes to see us... only 9 to go.

Jana, the Mom

Spring Break!

Well, we were all certainly busy this year. Katee went to Girl's Camp, and it snowed. It still turned out to be the best camp she ever attended. Dalton and Harrison stayed home, helped Mom and Grandma and Uncle David and hung out. Harrison went quite a few places with his friends also. We stayed real busy. Jana was just starting the journey back from foot surgery. Crazy stuff... a $2400 screw in the big toe. Nutz! Chris started training for the new position he has a work now. A bit boring for him, he knows so much already.

It has been 3 weeks that we have all been seperated. Only 10 more to go....... here is to hoping time goes fast these next 10 weeks.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

What a crazy Easter this has been. Chris is in Texas enjoying the holiday with his Mom, Dad, Grandma, brother Rich and his family. Jana and the kids are in California at her Mom and Dad's.

The kids had the Easter Egg hunt and Grandpa and Uncle David were really tricky in hiding the special egg. They used packing tape and put it under the slide in the backyard. It was HARD to find. Eventually Harrison won out!! Dalton was not a happy boy.

The kids all got at least $20.00. They feel rich! It was a nice day, but we missed our Dad!

TEXAS!!!

Yes, it's true. The Knittle Clan is moving to Austin Texas!!

Chris' department at Farmers Insurance is closing and moving to a brand new facility in Round Rock, Texas. Round Rock is roughly 15 miles north of Austin.

This move has turned out to be a true blessing. We were able to purchase a brand new home in Hutto, Texas.

Hutto borders east of Round Rock and north of Pflugerville.

Chris will move out to Texas first in early April. The rest of the family will move out in mid to late June when school lets out for summer. As of this writing Chris is already out in Texas as he has to report to work at the service center on April 6th. Jana was able to drive out with Chris and the kitties and help unpack all of our stuff. Everyone should be very proud of Jana. She flew back to California all by herself. The flight was harrowing as told by her!! Now we just have to get through the next couple of months.

First Post

We want to welcome everyone to our family blog!!

This is where you will read about the adventures of Chris, Jana, Harrison, Dalton and Katee.... and of course Frodo, Obiwan and Padme.

We want everyone to check back often. We certainly have a busy family. Updates will be done at least weekly.