1st Sleep-over

Crazy Divas - Logan, Gracie and Kathleen

The whole crew - Kathleen, Logan, Gracie, Luke and Jax

Dressed-up for church and backpack-prepared for sleep-over

Gracie and Jaxon had their 1st sleep-overs this weekend. They stayed with Logan and Luke (our friends, the Sparrows). Not only did the Sparrow house have the 2 Sparrow children and the 2 Kenworthy children, but they also had another friend, Kathleen. The amazing part of the story is that Renai hosted all 5 kids BY HERSELF! Her husband, Kenny, is in Texas on business, but she still wanted everyone to spend the night. We're not sure if she's crazy or just an angel (probably a little of both).

Another 1st was going to church on Saturday night. We all went together since we knew the kids wouldn't get up on time Sunday morning. Our Saturday night service is called 'Denim at Dusk', and it is a very informal service (the exact same service as Sunday morning only with casual attire). Jaxon cries almost every Sunday morning because he doesn't want to wear 'church clothes'. It is a constant battle, and it leaves everyone unhappy. Wouldn't you know it...when we told him to get dressed for church Saturday night, he insisted on wearing his sports jacket (he also picked-out his shirt, shorts that didn't match so well and his nice shoes). Maybe his motivation was knowing his best friend, Luke, would be joining him at church. Gracie also dressed beautifully and even wore hose. They got several comments when we arrived at church (needless to say, they were a bit overdressed).

Kev and I got to sleep-in on Sunday morning and relieved Renae at about noon. By the time we got home, both kids were crying. They went straight to their beds without even eating lunch. Jax slept for 2 hours, and Gracie was out for about 3. After their huge naps, we all went out for a little exercise. Jax rode his scooter and his bike, I ran 1 mile, Kev ran 1 1/4 miles, and Gracie outdid us all by riding her bike 2 miles. Unfortunately, we probably negated all the work by heading to Working Cow for homemade ice cream after the work-out. Oh well, at least we all had fun!

Gracie Scores!!!

Gracie's soccer team has struggled a little this year. They have some talent, but they had yet to win a game (in fact, they have yet to score a goal). In defense of the team, there are several kindergartners, and there are only 3 boys (and, yes, there is already a difference in athletic ability between boys and girls in 1st grade).

Today was a whole new game, though! GRACIE MAE scored her team's 1st goal of the season (and her 1st goal ever), and her team went on to win the game!!! Gracie was so excited when she scored, and the other mothers on the sidelines teared-up (everyone loves Gracie, and we were so happy we finally scored). The dads and the rest of the team were screaming like crazy. Gracie immediately wanted to know if she got a treat for scoring (...of course, we went to get ice cream right after the game). Anyway, Gracie's goal ignited her team, and Sierra went on to score twice. A little in-team competition is sometimes nice. Hopefully this is the start of something good (even though we all know winning isn't everything...but it sure is nice) for the Wiles Wildcats.

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter! We started the morning with an Easter egg hunt (the kids think Santa told the Easter bunny to use the fireplace; the eggs were hidden throughout the house instead of outside), and the kids then had candy for breakfast (breakfast of champions). We followed the healthy meal with church, and then we went out to lunch (for real food). After lunch, we visited Gloria who is recuperating from her knee replacement. We topped-off the afternoon at the pool; it was our 1st swim this year. The children fell asleep very early; we are all pretty tired. We hope everyone had as beautiful of a day as we did!

Future Beckham?

Gracie and Jaxon are both playing soccer this spring, so I am officially a minivan driving soccer mom (and I wouldn't want it any other way!).

Gracie's 1st game was Wednesday, and she played very well. Unfortunately, she had been sick all week and just diagnosed with bronchitis (on top of her asthma). Therefore, she didn't play with her usual zest (between being tired, having to use her inhaler, and just starting antibiotics, we are surprised she even made it out on the field). Being the trooper that she is, she managed to play in each of her rotations.

Jax had his 2nd game today. Of course, we were out a little late last night, so everyone was a little sleepy this morning (luckily Kev awoke at 8:00, or Jax would have missed his game). I had a little headache, so I asked Kev to let me sleep an extra 15 minutes while he got the children out of bed. He quickly came back to inform me that Gracie wanted to stay home and sleep. I'm not one to argue (yeah, right), so I gladly said I would make the sacrifice and stay home with her. Needless to say, the girls got to sleep-in; Gracie came in at 10:00 and said that she was hungry. I still can't believe I got to sleep that late. Anyway, there was a great commotion when 'Beckham' and daddy returned. They ran into the house with Jax yelling, "I scored 5 goals!!!" Much to my chagrin (for being absent), Kev gave me the details of the game. Apparently, we have quite a soccer player on our hands. Not only did he score 5 goals (and several assists), but he was also a good little defender; the other team was scoreless! Kev said that he actually got a little embarrassed because Jax was being such the star.

Taking out the other team:

Jax scores!!!

All business:

Gracie Sings

Gracie and her children's choir sang 2 songs at church Sunday morning. As you can see by the video clip, she obviously gets her rhythm from her father (do you think she is trying to clap EXACTLY the opposite of everyone else?) (: In case you can't recognize her (the one clapping completely off-beat), she is the 2nd from the left on the front row (wearing a cream dress with a little sweater).

This has not been a good year for blogging thus far, so I plan on playing catch-up in the next few weeks. Both kids start soccer this week, so I will need to post pics of them in action. Jaxon also started karate 4 weeks ago, so I need to show him in his uniform.

As far as life, we are all surviving. UF is on spring break this week, so the students are away from Gainesville (which is very nice). Unfortunately, Kev doesn't get to break with them. Oh well, at least he isn't having to teach this week. Gracie and Jaxon have their spring breaks the 2nd week of April. We (Gracie, Jax and myself) are heading to Ft. Lauderdale with our friends, the Stalveys (just Carolyn, Ann and Jake); it's a no-dads-allowed trip. We will be visiting Carolyn's parents, and they already have lots of fun adventures planned for us. Kev and I then leave for Puerto Rico on May 1 (and we can't wait). Papa and ChaCha are coming to stay with the kids while we play. This has been a very rough semester for all of us. I think we are just now getting over the Texas trip at Christmas (there is no way I would ever survive doing it again!). Besides the stress of the trip, Kev immediately started teaching 2 classes when we returned - talk about insanity!!! Oh well, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?!?

Gloria (Gramma G) is having her knee replaced tomorrow. We are praying for you and your speedy recovery; the kids can't wait for you to start chasing them around again (enough with the orangutan). I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital, and we love you!

Christmas Letter

In lieu of attaching a letter to our Christmas cards, I am simply writing a blog note. First of all, we would like to wish everyone a safe and joyful holiday season. We will be traveling to Texas to see family, and we are very excited (except for the 17 hour drive).
It has been another busy year in our house, and we don't foresee it ever slowing. We added one family member and lost 2 this year. Lily, our labradoodle, was born in January and came to live with us in March. She is a red-chocolate color with a silver face. She is a bundle of energy, and she loves to play. Fred, our crazy cat, passed away in May from a blood clot to his lower body. He was joined in heaven today by Lady, our Australian Shepherd, She was suffering from severe arthritis, and her pain was too much to endure. We are saddened by our losses, but Lily will keep us on our toes!
Jaxon is in preschool at Country Day, and he has lots of friends. All of 'his boys' run up and hug him whenever he arrives. His teachers say he is quite popular, and there are many fights at lunch over who gets to sit by him. His Spanish teacher even said he is the class clown and most interactive one in the class. That's pretty amazing since he has always been so shy. He is currently only taking Spanish class, but he claims he wants to try soccer again this spring (and, of course, baseball in the summer). When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he replies, "A Gator football player." Who knows - he could be the next Tebow.
Gracie is in 1st grade and loves it. She is still very social and friendly to everyone. She is in the school chess club, and she takes Spanish class once a week. She also does tap and sings in our church children's choir. Last but not least, she is in Brownie Girl Scouts. If anyone is looking for Girl Scout cookies, she's your girl! She, too, wants to play soccer this spring and possibly softball this summer. She has an awesome memory, and she doesn't let us forget a thing!
Brandi left her job as a Nursing Coordinator at Shands this fall. Her decision to leave was based entirely on family. She took a role working at UFfor a pediatric endocrinologist (Dr. Stalvey is actually Gracie's endocrinologist, so we have known him for 3 years) as his Research Coordinator. She works part-time and is off when the kids get out of school. She gets to work and be Mom at the same time. She is busier than ever, but she is extremely happy. A portion of her salary comes from Gatorade royalties; therefore, drink more Gatorade!!!
Kevin is still the Turfgrass Breeder for UF. He considered a job offer from a seed company in Arizona, but he wasn't ready to leave academia. Tenure is in sight, and that's too much to leave. His first graduate student, Nick, received his Master's this fall. Brian will be finishing up his Ph.D. under Kevin sometime this year. We're not quite sure how we'll make it without Brian & Susan, but we're very proud of the opportunities that await their future as well as Nick's. Nick and Brian will both be missed - they were great guinea pigs for a brand new professor!
We hope you have a blessed 2008!

Love,
The Kenworthys

Lady

Today was absolutely horrible. We put Lady, our 14 year old Australian Shepherd, to sleep. Kev and I adopted her in 1999 from the Ft. Worth Humane Society; she was 6 at the time. She was a sweet, wonderful dog. She never played much, but she was the nicest pooch you could meet. She had been suffering from pretty severe arthritis in her hips and back legs for the past couple of years. Initially, we had been treating her with arthritis medicine. She was doing fairly well until this summer. At that point, the vet put her on pain medicine to keep her comfortable. She seemed to be okay until the last 2 weeks. She started looking miserable, and that isn't fair. We made the decision to end her pain before we leave for Texas (tomorrow). We brought her home and buried her beside the house. In Gracie's eulogy (this will make you smile), she basically said 'Lady, you were a great dog, we love you, and I'm sorry my parents did this to you.' It's okay if we're the bad guys; at least Lady isn't suffering anymore. She has surely found Fred by now (our cat we lost in May), and they are probably giving heaven a run for its money. She will be deeply and forever missed.