On 1/2/2008 2:31 PM, Amanda L. Kuhn wrote:

Hi Everyone!!

How was everyone's Christmas and New Year? Have you made all your new years resolutions of how to be GREAT in 2008?! I am really excited for the new year, a fresh start, new clubs to join and projects to start.

We have been so busy with the holidays I haven't been keeping track of our "Kuhn Update" so I will do my best to remember all the highlights of our holidays. Last month I took a few sewing classes, one with my mom which was a lot of fun and another in Wickenburg (which is about 45mins from us) both of those were lots of fun. I am enjoying learning new techniques and strengthening old ones. It is always fun to take classes and meet new people.

We have been spending lots of time with my brother and his family this past month. On December 4th my brother celebrated his 28th birthday!! We took over some pizza and played games with my brother and the boys. It was a blast and I hope to make it more of a weekly thing than a yearly thing! Also, we all went to zoo light and of course spent Christmas together.

Kenny took a trip to Vegas the week before Christmas to get a bunch of audits done, before the end of the year. He had a good trip, but I think he was pretty glad to be home-- although the dogs missed him they didn't complain too much about sleeping on his side of the bed while he was gone!!

The Monday before Christmas we had a nice meal with Barb, Dave, Sarah and Quint and exchanged our gifts. We had our annual luncheon here at work and got off early the Friday before Christmas (we also got Christmas Eve and Day off- spoiled I know). On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a nice lunch at Texas Road House with Barb, Dave, Sarah and Quint.  Afterwards we headed over to my Grandma's house to meet up with my parents, my brother and Crystal, Chrissy and the boys. We ate sandwiches and snacked on veggies (yeah Kenny skipped out on the veggies....) Christmas is so much fun with little kids. Brian and Crystal are always so great about letting Kenny and I hog Jacob- and we got to help him open his gifts. I think his favorite thing was the (shiny) gold ornament that grandma got for him. He is such a doll. We pulled out some old home movies and had fun watching videos of "Christmas past"

Christmas Day my parents came over in the morning and we did the whole gift thing and hung out for a while. Shortly after we headed to Nanette's to say hi to everyone there. Kenny wrapped Andy's present "special" for him-- using a whole roll of packing tape... Andy was a great sport and everyone got a kick out of him opening the gift. After that we headed over to Barb and Dave's house to spend some time with them.

New Year's Eve Kenny, mom and I went to a show called Living Illusions at our church. It was pretty awesome and a fun thing to do for the holiday. We did stay up to watch the ball drop... although I did have to nudge Kenny awake for my new year’s kiss! We had a nice day off and got to go over to Barb and Dave's and have ham and black eyed peas with Sarah and Quint too.

Well, that is pretty much it for us-- Friday we are taking off to see Joel Osteen in San Diego with my parents. Also, this Friday we will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary!

We hope to hear from everyone and see how your holidays went and keep in better touch in 2008!

Love,
Amanda and Kenny 

I haven't written in a while so I thought I would write to say hi. We have pretty much up to the same ol things just a different month and better weather! Our softball season ended and our team ranked 7/8. Our team had a pizza party to celebrate the season and our coaches handed out gag awards-- Kenny got TP that was "new and improved" like him and I got an oven mitt for "best baker" since I brought treats to lots of the games. We both really enjoyed the season and are looking forward to starting up again in January. We are actually starting up a second team with our co-workers and we will be playing on Tuesday nights too. I will be coaching the new team... scary thought but it should be a lot of fun too. 

Kenny and I have been keeping busy with some home projects. We painted the dining room, put up some shelving in the garage and finally hung some pictures in the living room. Kenny has taken up a new hobby of woodworking and so far has built a great work bench, the shelves for the garage and had plans to make some bread boxes.

Earlier this month we went to Vegas for a two day trip. There was a Quilt Shop Hop that I wanted to go to so Kenny made a bunch of appointments for work so we could go. There were 6 shops and each shop I got some free quilting thing (ie a ruler, travel scissors, fabric etc). It was so much fun.

We did a little something different this year for Thanksgiving. Since Barb has to work the afternoon/evenings Kenny didn't want to miss out a Thanksgiving with her so we had a Thanksgiving breakfast. Kenny made us biscuits and gravy with sausage and Bacon and Eggs. We played some Pictionary and just enjoyed our time together. Later we headed out to my brothers house for a more traditional Thanksgiving feast. Crystal and Brian did such a great job and everything was just delicious.

Happenings

We were lucky enough to get a chance to attend Game 2- Diamond Backs vs. Colorado Rockies on 10/12 with our friends Beverly and Lloyd--- although they lost it was a great game! It is so much fun when the fans are pumped up and we can scream and cheer on our D-backs. At the gate they gave out white towels to waive in the stands- it was pretty cool seeing all the white in the stands and the cheering fans! The row in front of us won a contest and since they were on the "big screen" and I got on too and was delighted- Kenny thought it was funny how excited I got to be on "TV".  Before the game we went with Bev and Lloyd to Bill Johnson's Big Apple for dinner- yum!

Last Sunday my brother and his boys came out to visit with my parents and us. My dad got out his remote control cars and Little Brian loved them! Even Jacob did! He was doing everything he could to get out of my arms-- he wanted to crawl on the street to watch the cars! It was a great afternoon and we always enjoy spending time with them.

This past week Kenny and I celebrated our 8th "dating" anniversary at the AZ State Fair. One of our first dates was at the fair and of course that was where Kenny proposed so we like to go back and celebrate there. We ate some good ol' fair food- Indian Fry bread. We thought about trying out a deep fried snickers or a frozen Dr. Pepper- but just couldn't do it :-)  We walked through and looked at all the vendors, road the Farris Wheel and walked through the petting zoo.It was a great night and a fun way to celebrate our relationship.

This past weekend we went on our trip up to Kingman for March of Dime Walk America! Thanks to all of you Kenny and I exceed our goals of $150 each and raised $365 for babies!! Kenny picked up the trailer on Thursday and we headed out on Friday afternoon. We stayed at a great RV park up there and the weather was beautiful on Friday night. Kenny BBQed some chicken and we watched a movie (yes the RV Park had cable-- we really ruff it huh?). Saturday morning was chilly, but we were pumped up for the 7.5 mile walk. We did pretty good considering 1/2 the walk was up hill and against the wind! The last stretch of the walk was downhill and the wind was pushing up-- that was awesome. We completed the walk in just over 2 hours and we were soar -later : ) After the walk we drove into Laughlin. Kenny tried his luck at a black jack table and was going great until the switched the deal and she took all his winnings and $9. He decided to quit and we went to see Heartbreak Kid at Riverside. Afterwards we fed our extra popcorn to the ducks and headed back to camp. Saturday night Kenny grilled up some steak and potatoes- delicious. Saturday night we froze! It got down to 49 degrees inside the trailer! We came home Sunday morning, took the trailer back and went to Softball.

We are nearing the end of the softball season, but will continue with our team starting up again in January. Our "tournament" is this next Sunday. We are in 7th place (out of 8 teams), but our team has really improved and we just enjoy being out there fellowshipping and getting some exercise.

Parties and Vacation

On 9/17/2007 12:33 PM, Amanda L. Kuhn wrote:

Hi All!

Another busy month has come and gone for us. Hope everyone is doing well and keeping busy too.

 We just got home from an action packed weekend in Forest Lakes celebrating Kenny's grandpa's 80th B-day. Almost all of the family was able to make it up for the party and Bubba had some good days and was able to enjoy his family and friends. They had karaoke set up - which was pretty fun. Believe it or not Kenny and I both attempted it! I have to say though knowing the words to a song doesn't make you a good singer! But hey we had some fun at that.

As I mentioned before we are playing softball with our Church and really enjoying it! We have only won 1/4 games so far, but it is so much fun just to be out there playing. Kenny is doing SO awesome!! He is now playing 1st base most of the game and I am playing catcher. Neither of us have ever played slow pitch so there was a lot of rules to learn and some getting used to the pitching. 

Also, this past month we went to our first Cardinals game at the new stadium, to Suzannah Brewer's bridal shower, to Hannah and Matthew 's (Blair's kids) b-day party, babysat our Nephew Jacob and celebrated grandparents day.

The highlight of our month was of course the trip to Colorado. We spend 7 days up in the lush, beautiful green area of Durango. We took our dogs with us and although they were a handful we were both glad we brought them along. I attached a few pictures from the trip. I think my favorite thing was our drive up to Silverton, Co. The views were unbelievable and it snowed up there!! It was a great trip.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Love, Amanda and Kenny 

March of Dimes

On 9/11/2007 7:57 AM, Amanda L. Kuhn wrote:

Hi Everyone!

Kenny and I are doing the March of Dimes Walk America this year in Kingman, AZ on 10/20/07. We have each set a goal to raise $150 to help save babies! The money we raise goes directly to research to find the causes of premature birth and how it can be prevented, to support families whose babies must spend time in neonatal intensive care units and to provide women with the latest information on having a healthy pregnancy. We think this is an excellent cause and hope you will help support us in our venture. Please visit our webpages at www.walkamerica.org/kkuhn for Kenny and www.walkamerica.org/alkuhn for me to track our progress or to make a donation.

Thanks! Amanda 

July

It is that time again for the more exciting than the newspaper, longer than a chain letter e-mail - the long anticipated... Kuhn Update!
Yep it has been a month (actually longer) and here is what we have been up to--

Fourth of July week Kenny and I went to Flagstaff to camp in our new trailer.

Beautiful temperatures, a little rain, a nice forest trail for hiking and 3 great dogs- who could ask for more! My parents came up for the weekend and we all drove up to the snow bowl to ride the ski lift. It was so neat- the views were amazing and the it was so cool-even a little cold- at the top of the mountain.

Lately we have found ourselves at the movies often. It was one of our favorite things to do when we were dating and somehow fell off the list of importance as daily activities consume our lives. The last few "flicks" we have seen are The Transformers, Evan Almighty and License to Wed- all really great and enjoyable movies.

Also, Kenny and I have started to frequent the Tempe Improv. There are a few of us here at the office who meet before the show for dinner and then we head over to the show. We saw Pablo Fransico and Norm Mac Donald this month. It is nice to just go and laugh and hang out with our friends.

Thanks to my mom, Kenny and I have started to be regulars at Church again. We attend Radiant Church in Surprise. www.radiantchurch.com We really enjoy Radiant mostly because it is laid back in the atmosphere, but as pastor Lee will tell you serious about the Bible and it's teachings. Oh! Also, we signed up for the Church softball team! I am super excited about that- although I haven't played for almost 8 years. We are excited about meeting new people and getting out there to have some fun. Our first practice is this Saturday.

The church has also inspired us to become more active in our community. We have signed up to volunteer twice a month at our local food bank. In addition, we are in the process of applying to be BREAD drivers. Basically what that is - is you pick up a box of food and deliver it to an elderly person or couple who cannot drive or is otherwise home bound. It will be something good for us to do together and maybe help out others.

A friend of mine is walking in the Breast Cancer 3 day this year and has to raise $2200 for the walk. To help her out I made a quilt and sold raffle tickets here and work. We raised $145 for the quilt that she was able to put toward her goal.

One more thing on that same note- I donated my hair! I have been growing it out for a while and finally decided it was time to chop it all off. I donated it to locks of love.

Let’s see what else- Oh Kenny had a few appointments down in Tucson on my Friday off and asked me to tag along with him. The drive can be long by yourself so he said if I came he would take me to some quilt shops- little did he know I would have went anyway : ) He did his audits then we had the whole afternoon to explore Tucson. We went to several quilt shops and Twice as Nice shops. Twice is Nice is a resale shop that buys and sells clothing for the whole family. I used to work at the Phoenix location and had to drive to Tucson for our managers' meetings. It was a lot of fun to check out the shops and of course I came away with lots of crafty inspiration from the quilt shops. Also, we ate breakfast at The Waffle House for the first time on that trip and - yummy!!

Two weekends ago my brother invited Kenny and I over for dinner! We don't get together often enough so it was quite a treat to spend time with them. Brian BBQ some delicious stakes (I think you have some competition Dad!) and made mashed potatoes. They seem to really be enjoying their new house and all the space. Krissy (Crystal's daughter) has her own room and the boys share a room. Jacob is so adorable and is already crawling! He really wants to stand up and sticks his butt in the air, but then doesn't know quite what to do from there. We really enjoyed the time with them.

Last Friday we got Shelby (our black lab) fixed and she need the weekend to recover. Kenny had been itching to go up and see his grandparents so he went up there and tool Toby along with him. Kenny had such a great time up there. Nanette, Kim and Andy were also up spending the weekend at Nanette's cabin and they all played Andy's Nintendo wii- Kenny said it was such a blast. Sunday he came back early enough to take over babysitting Shelby (just that she was supposed to stay inside and we cannot trust them to be inside when we are not home) so I could go to my class. I took a rug hooking class at Quiltz. It was a lot of fun and will be a fun thing to take along camping.

Well, that is about it for us (I think). We are doing well just working and staying busy. Kenny still loves his job and I like mine. We are really looking forward to our trip to Durango, CO next month. Anyway, we would love to hear from you--

Love,
Amanda and Kenny 

June

Hi Everyone!!

I have changed the format of how I am doing the Kuhn updates so as not to bombard everyone with e-mails. I will just send out a monthly update now--- so they will probably be long... Anyway, here is what we have been up to in June-

Thursday (06/07) we went to my grandparent’s house for dinner. They ordered some Pizzas and we chatted for a few hours. It was a lot of fun and we need to do it more often. It always amazes me how different things were for them and it what really amazes me is how much things used to cost! I can’t fathom buying a house for less than a car costs now… amazing, but everyone made a whole lot less too so I guess it all works out.

Saturday (06/09) we took Andy out to Lake Pleasant on the boat. We had such a blast tubing! Andy is a riot and always up for more. He hit a huge wave and became airborne! He held on … until the tube hit the water again then he bounced out. I wish I had a video camera because it was awesome. We all got sun burned, but I think it was worth it.

On Tuesday (06/12) Kenny and I bought a travel trailer!! We had looked at a few and final narrowed it down to a Fun Finder. They actually had two- one new and one used of the same model. Being that I have never really camped in a trailer (or at all- for that matter) I wasn’t really sure what all we needed and good questions to ask. I was very glad Barb and Dave made the time to come out and give us some pointers. We ended up buying the new one and we just love it!!

On Wednesday (06/13) Beverly and I took a trip to Safford, AZ to visit a few agents down there. It is a long trip to make in a day but we were making good time, until we realized we had taken a wrong turn and ended up in New Mexico!! Ah man we had ourselves a good laugh --- later! We didn’t get back to the office until 7:30. Needless to say I missed my Tole class that night and Kenny fired me as his co-pilot (he he he).

On Saturday (06/16-06/17) we took the trailer up for a trial run. We (me, Kenny, our dog Hope and my parents) went up to Flagstaff just for over night. We stayed at an RV Park called Black Barts. The RV park was neat because it had a cool Stake house that had live performances.

We went over there for dessert Saturday night and had a good time listening to the NAU students perform various songs. It was a really neat place to stay and the weather was really great – although it was freezing at night!! We tried out everything on that trailer- from the AC and heater to the microwave and shower -- and of course all the beds. I think my favorite bed is the top bunk tucked in the back. My dad wanted it to be more of a camping experience and insisted on sleeping our under the stars in the bed of the truck in his sleeping bad. I don’t now how he did it because I was freezing inside the trailer! Sunday morning was Fathers day and Kenny made everyone pancakes. It was a great first trip and we cannot wait to take it out again.

On Wednesday (06/20) my dad celebrated his 50^th b-day! We helped him celebrate my TP’ing their house with black, red and white crate paper and a b-day sign! Also, we went out to Applebee’s that night. It was a lot of fun and of course we had the Applebee’s crew sing to my dad. He was a good sport and we all got a kick out of it.

Thursday (06/21) We went to Cabellas for the first time and let me tell you I was more than impressed! Kenny had been there before but never really looked around. We really enjoyed it and now want to check out the new Bass Pro shop I keep hearing about- who knew?!

On Friday (06/22) we went up to Forest Lakes to deliver a desk for Sarah and Quint (Kenny’s grandparents). We took Toby (our little wiener dog) up with us. I think that little boy was in Heaven! He really enjoyed Sarah and all her attention (and treats).

 They tried to get him to say but I think he would miss his sisters too much J   Also, that weekend my bother moved into a house! They are very excited about it and I hear Little Brian is really enjoying huge yard they have now.

Kenny went to Vegas for a few days (06/25-06/28) for work. He did a ton of audits this trip so he won’t have to go back for a few months. It is a fun place to visit and I love to tag a long, but I stayed home this time to save some vacation days for other trips. He did some gambling and got to see a few movies. He says it was a lot of fun but he was very glad to be home (and so was I!!)

On Friday (06/29/07) we went to the Tempe Improv with Blair. We saw Bobby Collins – he was a hoot! He is from New York and had a lot of jokes about “desert people” and the heat- very appropriate for this time of year. The opener was really good too although I cannot remember his name. Blair had never been there before and thought it was a really neat place.

Saturday (06/30/07) we took the trailer (which had been at the dealer for some minor repairs) over to Barb’s house. We are fortunate to have her place to store it for now since we cannot keep it at our house because of the homeowners association. On the way out to Buckeye I met up with a friend, Michelle, at Hobby Lobby in Avondale. She helped me pick out some brushes for our Tole painting class- since they were 50% we had to take advantage of the savings! Saturday night we went out to Beverly and Lloyd’s house and went out to dinner. Her place is so neat! She has 1.25 acres of horse property. It is out off of 27^th Ave (almost to Anthem). When she bought the property she was out in the middle of no where and now there are houses and stores all over the places which makes it difficult to ride the horses. We went to a really neat diner in Carefree. I love that little town – it looks like the old west or something. The four of us had a great time!

Sunday (07/01/07) we had the opportunity to go to a Brad Paisley concert! Dave had won some tickets, but he and Barb couldn’t go- so we did! It was a lot of fun- HOT- but fun. We originally had lawn seats, but since we were wearing Barb and Dave’s Camel Country T-shirt they upgraded our seats to the 200 section! I loved the 3 opening performers and Brad was great too. Thanks again Dave and Barb!

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July holiday!


Love,

Amanda and Kenny

Mothers Day and more

Hi Everyone-

How is everyone doing? It has been awhile since I have written. How was everyone's Mothers Day and Memorial Day? Any fun summer plans? Vacations or anything? Did everyone enjoy the excitement with the Suns in the playoffs? Too bad for this year, but there is always next year.

For Mothers Day we had an ice cream social for my mom and grandma. It was so nice that my brother came out with Baby Jacob! Crystal couldn't make it as she was spending time with her daughter and took Little Brian along with her. We had so much fun loading up our homemade ice cream with toppings and treats! Then Kenny got to take his Mom out on Monday night for dinner and they had a nice time too.

On the Thursday before Memorial weekend we got a call from Barb telling us Kenny's grandpa Quint was in the hospital. He had been cutting wood and a piece flew in his face. Well, they didn't think anything of it until the next day when he slept all day long. A friend of theirs, who is a paramedic, came over to visit and said that he might have tetanus and they should take him to Payson. At first the doctors could not identify what exactly it was and many of the tests had to be sent to Phoenix. It was a long week which turned into weeks for Sarah, but finally they confirmed he had tetanus. Although, he gave us all a scare he is on the rode to recovery and staying at 67th and Thunderbird for the next two weeks. Your positive thoughts and prayers for him are appreciated!

Kenny has been traveling a lot for work. Mostly day trips to Yuma, Tucson etc so the weekends are definitely a time to rest up! He is really enjoying his job and enjoys the freedom of planning his own days. He is really becoming a business man. Sometimes I go along with him on his trips (to Vegas, Kingman etc) and I got to see him in action at one of our insured's offices. I was really impressed how well he communicated with them and how professional he was. In our business dealing directly with the business owners can be very difficult since a lot of people don't always understand insurance and our need to review their books. He has adapted wonderfully- I am so proud!!

I am keeping busy with my crafting hobbies. I just started Tole painting with a few ladies from the office here. The Shop is in down town Glendale in the historic district. The classes are one a week and we do one project per week.

 I am having a lot of fun with it, although it can be frustrating at times. Also, I am working on a quilt with another friend at work here, Carol. We are making a signature quilt for the claims manager that is retiring this month. There are 80 people in the office so it is quite a task, but we are having a lot of fun with it. I am still involved in many online groups. We just finished a "virtual quilt camp" It reminded me a lot of girl’s camp when I was 14! We had secret sisters that we exchanged camp survival kits with and there were door prizes, projects, bingo etc. I ended up winning a huge bag of fabric as a door prize.

My parents are doing well. You may already know this, but they work in the East Valley and live down the street from us in the West Valley. Their commute is about 45 mins to an hour depending on traffic. My mom has new hours so they aren't car pooling anymore, but she enjoys getting home in the early afternoon. When dad is not working he is keeping busy in his garden. Which is flourishing by the way! The man definably has a green thumb! My mom keeps busy with crafts and we are working on an appliqué project currently.

Well, everyone have a great week and hope to hear from you soon!

Amanda 

Busy Busy

Hi Everyone--

Wow May already huh? I know I say that every month but this year is just whizzing by! Unbelievable. Well, as usual we have been keeping ourselves busy- busy-

Friday (04/27/07) Kenny and I decided to drive out to Mesa. There is a great scrapbook store out there which I wanted to go to and Kenny wanted to drive the new truck (boys and there toys). Actually, we needed to get 500 miles on the engine before we can tow the boat so we thought we would make an evening of it. We ended up eating at Cici's pizza a new all you can eat buffet place. I think the location we went to was the only on in Arizona (?), but there are some in other states- if you have the opportunity to go to one you should!  It is decent Italian food for $4.99 and all you can eat!  It was a really great evening and I am so lucky to have a husband who will wait 45 minutes for me to browse through yet another craft store.

The next morning we picked up Crystal for our "girls day out" to Celebrate her birthday. My mom funded a mini shopping spree for Crystal and we had a great time picking things out. Afterwards we all went and had pedicures done. It was Crystals first pedicure ever (my second) and I think she really enjoyed it. My mom treated us to lunch and we enjoyed spending time doing girly things- can't wait to do it again!!

Sunday Kenny and I took our friend Blair to the D-backs game. Our company has season tickets so we occasionally get to go. They put our names in a pot and draw out the winners... the funny thing is Kenny and I both won the same week! We ended up letting someone else have the Thursday game to be fair- but how lucky was that!?

Tuesday (05/1/07) I got to spend some time with an old friend, Catherine. We had dinner with her family and chatted. I am always amazed at their family dynamics- always something going on with a large family. Definitely a change from our two person dinner at home.

Wednesday, after work, we headed to Vegas. Kenny had several appointments up there and I just tagged along for fun. We ended up seeing a few movies, getting some shopping done (baby shower and mothers day) and just relaxing while we were there. No great winning stories this time, but hey you can't win em all. We left Friday morning so Kenny could get to his appointment in Kingman and got home early Friday evening.

Saturday I got to see another old friend, Janesse. My mom and I went to her baby shower on Saturday morning. Her sisters planned the shower and came up with some really great games- never a dull moment! After the shower we headed over to my brothers house to pick up Jacob and Little Brian. My mom took Little Brian and Kenny and I took Jacob over night. Kenny did such a great job with Jacob and we had so much fun with him! He is almost 4 month now and really starting to coo and "talk". He is such a sweet baby.

Sunday we took the boys home and didn't do much else the rest of the day. Sunday night I woke up in the middle of the night with the flu! Then Monday night Kenny woke up with it too. We both went back to work on Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon Kenny took Dave and Ray to the D-backs game. They had a good time even though the D-back lost.

Now it is Friday and I am so ready for the weekend again! I hope everyone has a good one. We enjoy hearing back from you guys!

Shelby and I