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

Birthday, Trip and NEW TRUCK

How has everyone been these past few weeks? How was everyone's Easter?Since Kenny's b-day landed on Easter this year we celebrated them together with a Ham and an oreo ice cream cake from DQ. We had our parents, my grandparents and my brother, Crystal and their boys over for the afternoon. 

My brother and Crystal gave Kenny and acre of land...... ON THE MOON!  Now we were looking for an acre of land to buy, but we were thinking a little closer 8-) . It was just such a cute gift!

The next day I left of Des Moines for some training in our home office. The trip had a rocky start since US Airways over sold my flight and I was bummed off! I ended up having to wait 11 hours for the next flight that evening. Luckily Kenny was able to come get me so I did have to wait all day at the Airport. We went to a movie, ate some lunch and went miniature golfing! My flight ended up being delayed again that night and I finally made it to Des Moines and to my hotel about 2AM.  The training went well and we had the evenings free to do what we wanted. I wondered around the skywalk and has dinner with some colleges from other branches. Their skywalk is the neatest thing! It connects the buildings and you can walk inside there for miles! It was nice to watch the snow from inside the glass tunnels. While I was gone that week Kenny did a lot of traveling within Arizona- Yuma, Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott etc etc!

The weekend of 04/14 & 15 - My mom and I took up a new hobby - Cake decorating! Since Kenny was a professional cake decorator (when he was a manager for Frys) we elected him our teacher. I had no idea there was so much to it , but we are enjoying learning. Sunday we went out to Buckeye to help set up Barb and Dave's pool for the summer.

Last Friday (04/20) Kenny and I took Shelby (our black lab) out to the lake. It was a blast. She had never been around any body of water like that and was just so curious and wanted to investigate. We took her on a boat ride and he was all over the place checking out the waves and the water splashing. We got to an island and gave her time to play. Fetch with a stick was my favorite- she was just so eager to swim out and bring it back to us! I guess we found our boat dog!!! That night we took Barb and Dave out for Mexican food at Raul and Teresa's and headed over to their house to play cards.

Saturday morning my parents and Kenny went out to the desert to ride the dirt bike and the quads. There was a bit of an accident, but everyone is okay. My mom and dad flipped the quad going up a hill. The were a little banged up but are as tough as they come! That night we ate dinner with them and played more cards.

One last thing... Last Sunday we purchased  a new 2007 GMC Sierra

 We traded in our 2005 GMC Canyon. My favorite part of the new truck is that the seats fold up in the back to give the dogs lots of laying around room! I think Kenny's favorite part is he finally had the full size truck he wanted.

Anyway, that should get us caught up! We would love to hear from you all! Drop a line when you have time :)

Amanda

Boat and Birthday

Good Morning,

How is everyone? Things have been really busy and don't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Friday was my half day so I met up with my friend, Blair, for lunch at Olive Garden. We headed back to the house and watched Cinderella man. When Kenny got home we ordered some pizzas and watch Babel (bizarre movie).

Saturday we took the boat out on the lake for the first time this year. It is running a lot better since we got it back from the Marine shop. I am not sure the technical terms, but it basically it wouldn't start and they fixed it.... Anyway, my mom hadn't been to the lake in years and had a really great boat ride. We took Toby out for the first time too... he was terrified! He is definitely not a boat dog.

Sunday, we went to my parent’s house for stakes to celebrate Kenny's B-day (early, but since it falls on Easter this year they wanted him to have a special dinner).

It was a great weekend, but went tooooo fast! This week we have birthdays, a baby shower and Easter and next week I am off to Des Moines (our Home office) for four days.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Love,
Amanda and Kenny 

Update

Hi Everyone!

How is everything?  I hope everyone is doing well, but I know some of you are going through hard times right now and I hope you know we are thinking of you during these struggles. During sickness and hardship we should be able to lean on our family and friends and I hope you know we are here to help.

On to more positive things, I have been so busy lately I haven't been able to take the time to write the "updates", but Kenny did a fabulous job in my absence :) He is down in Tucson working today, but will be home tonight. Also, today is Andy's Birthday (Kenny's cousin). HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY!

As Kenny mentioned we headed to Vegas last Wednesday. I really enjoyed the road trip part of our mini vacation. We got to see the Hoover Dam at night -- it was amazingly beautiful. The hotel was really great too. We stayed at the Sunset Station in Henderson. They had half a dozen restaurants, a bowling ally, movie theater, ice cream shop, gift shop, pool, exercise room and of course casino all in the hotel. Thursday Kenny worked and later we went to a movie (Ghost Rider) and did some gambling. I usually don't gamble, but Kenny loves black jack. It was nerve racking to watch, but pretty fun.... he bet $75 on one hand and lost, but that is part of the game. I guess you have to bet big to win big...He ended up walking away with $140 in winnings. Friday before we left I was lucky enough to get a tour of the local quilt shops. It is always nice to see new ideas and get inspired.

We got home late Friday night and boy were our muddy dogs glad to see us. I am not sure, but I think it is a law that is must rain when you leave town. My parents came and fed them and played with them while we were gone, but they are used to being inside at night so I am sure they weren't happy with us. In fact Hope ignored us until Sunday...

Saturday we cleaned the house, did laundry all that fun stuff. I sewed... a lot and my parents brought Pizza over for dinner and we played some cribbage. We tried parents vs the kids.... and the parents skunked us! Then we tried girls vs. boys and the girls won !

Sunday we went out to Buckeye to see Barb and Dave. Their little puppy Sally is getting so big and cuuuute! We brought our Toby with us since he really likes car rides. It was a nice day to end a nice long weekend.

Have a great week everyone!!

Amanda and Kenny 

OC

It looks like we have a request for the Kuhn update.  I feel as if it's my responsibility to carry this on until Amanda can free up some time.  She's been really busy with work, but is stuck taking some days off.  I know that the weekend was only a few days ago, but I just don't remember much of it.  I know that we continued watching the O.C.  We got use to cleaning, cooking, and folding cloths watching the O.C.  Yes... It's that good.  I don't remember what really happened on Friday, but I do remember a little of Saturday.  Scarlett and Amanda went to the girly store and got all prettied up.  They both had a pedicure and manicure.  As the girls were there, the boys took off to the man stores.  You know Lowe's and Bed Bath and Beyond.  Well at least Lowe's helps us seem macho.   Doug wanted to pick up a patio chair at Bed Bath and Beyond.  Then he got a portable cooler for their patio.  Their patio is now cooler then the house.  Apparently you can have a cooler, freezer, stereo, and a large fan on one plug.  I'm very impressed.  The girls ended up going to Jake and Betty's house for some pizza leaving the boys to play Cribbage.  Out of about 8 games I think I won once.  Sunday ended up being a normal Sunday for us.  Yes you guessed it, we watched some O.C.  But we actually did it with some company.  Blair came over and watched it with us.  She's the one that got us addicted.  After that I guess we cleaned a little house, made dinner, and that was it.  

I guess that's about it for now.  Amanda and I are leaving for Vegas tonight.  I have some work to do up there, and Amanda's going to keep me company.  Well be back in time to live the weekend at home, and to have more info for y'all next week.  I hope everybody has a great rest of the week!

THE Weekend

Good afternoon everybody.  Amanda's a little busy, so I'm going to try and do the "Kuhn Update".

Let's see... Lets go ahead and start on Friday.  Friday was a good day, but an expensive day.  Amanda was off on Friday as she is on every other Friday.  She hit the town.  She went to about 13 stores.  Surprisingly she didn't buy something at every store as usual.  She got the dogs some stuffed animals at the thrift store.  The dogs love stuffed animals with so many different smells.  On Friday night Amanda introduced me to the television show "The O.C."  It's quite addicting.  We rented the first season and pretty much watched it until about 4 a.m. Sunday morning.  We did take a small break on Saturday.

Saturday we (Scarlett, Amanda and I) went to some quilt store in down on 32st and Thunderbird.  There are about five stores between our house and that particular store, but I guess there just not good enough.  After the quilt store we went to some yard sales.  It's pretty amazing that people want so much money for their old crap.  Knowing Amanda she loaded the dogs up on more toys.  Now we have a garbage bag full of stuffed animals in the garage.  After the yard sales we went to Jody's house, Dave's sister, and picked up the beautiful quilt rack.  We didn't actually see Jody, but we were able to sit and talk with Oma and Opa (Dottie and Ray, Dave's parents).  Those are two people that will make your day better.  They're always in a good mood.  After visiting with them we ran to my Mom and Dave's and picked up the boat.  It's that time of year.  Nothing says summer as tubing behind an old fishing boat.  A couple of years ago Amanda was on the tube and hit a huge wave.  She flew, on the tube, about 6 feet in the air.  I think the boat may have left the water too.  The wave was coming from a house boat.  She road it the entire time.  My new goal is to get her about 10 feet in the air.  We ended Saturday with watching the O.C.  We ended staying up until 4 in the morning.  It's so addicting.

Sunday was nice.  It started around 11 with Doug and Scarlett knocking on the door.  Of course we just woke up.  We talked with them for awhile and then they left.  Amanda and I started working on the boat.  It had to be cleaned and running.  Amanda cleaned and I was suppose to get it running.  Having Amanda try and clean out a fishing boat was interesting.  She had to ask on every little thing before she could throw it away.  The little rubber worms were my favorite.  She had such a funny look on her face when she came to one of those.  She got the boat really cleaned, but I couldn't get it started.  I'm going to leave it to the professionals.  After getting sun burnt dealing with the boat we rode out bikes over to Doug and Scarlett's for some swimming.  It was fun.  We ended the day with BBQed hot dogs and a few games of cribbage.

I hope I did a satisfactory job.  I hope everybody enjoys their week.