IncrediPowells 13: Thug Life

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM 

THE INCREDIPOWELLS 2021: Thug Life

Year 13 for the IncrediPowell’s Christmas card marks the much-anticipated triumphant return of the IncrediPowell’s.....again. We took the last couple of years off after everyone involved felt their ideas were better than mine on what to do for our annual tradition, and we simply know that is not true. After finally realizing that the only idea that matters is mine, I am happy to report WE’RE BACK! Since this is Addison’s senior year, I wanted to send her off in style, so let’s catch up with the resident Thugs from Sherrylynn Blvd.

Emmerson is 12, attends Spring Creek(6th grade center) and this is her first year not being in the same building as Mom. Much to everyone's surprise, we have yet to receive a call or email about her behavior. Emmy remains very active in sports with soccer, softball, basketball and when I can fit it in, the occasional track meet. She is currently attending volleyball camp, because why not add one more thing for Mom and Dad to figure out. Emmy is also a big fan of social media, trying her best to stay connected at all times. Often telling us that her account has been banned, because one of her “friends” reported her...she fails to see the humor in that. It’s hard for us to believe that we are less than a year away from our youngest hitting Junior High, man Kim is getting old!

Ellie will be 14 in January, and this year she is in 8th grade, which rules the Junior High....according to her. This past spring was Ellie’s first on the Track, and what a spring it turned out to be! Ellie and her teammates won EVERY track meet they entered and finished the season off as 7th Grade 4A State Champs! Ellie has developed into quite the long jumper and 400 meter runner, and I know I am a little biased, but man is she a blast to watch on the track! Ellie continues to play competitive soccer with Iowa United FC and this year was their first in the states top division. In order to stay active this winter, Ellie has decided to give basketball a try for the first time....ever. So far, she seems to be enjoying it, but I think maybe she is just there for the social aspect along with a new pair of shoes. Unfortunately, due to a nagging groin injury, basketball was over as soon as it started. Ellie is also what I would refer to as “Queen of the Air Fryer.” If it can be made or reheated in the air fryer, Ellie has done it, and done it at all hours of the evening. I often find myself putting it away most mornings and I know it wasn’t out when I went to bed.

Addison is 17, a senior at Southeast Polk, and the clock is winding down on her High School career. She made the tough decision not to rejoin the SEP RhythAMetteS(Cha-ching) this fall in order to concentrate more on track and also become a varsity football manager. This past spring was a very successful one for Addison on the track as well. She qualified for multiple events at the State Track Meet and finally earned herself that elusive state medal. I can’t wait to see what her senior season on the track has in store. We are also happy to announce that Addison has verbally committed to continue her athletic and educational career at Grandview University, where she will run track and study athletic training. We are very excited for her to begin this next chapter in life and also, move out of the house.

Kim is in her 18th year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary and her first year in the last 13 riding to work solo. She seems to be getting to work earlier than ever this year, as if the kids were the ones slowing her down in the morning. Kim also, whenever free time allows, continues her quest to maintain the title belt for levels attained on Fishdom. For those of you who don’t know, Fishdom is an app/game that closely resembles Candy Crush, but for 5 year olds. Rarely is she on this quest alone, as there is no place that Schumi would rather be, than in Kim’s back pocket, so to speak. If you have ever seen my Snap’s, in Schumi’s mind, there is always room next to Kim, wherever she is sitting or laying.

After nearly 10 years at Titan, this July I made the difficult decision to leave and take a position with Katecho. As with anything new, it took me a little while to get to know people and understand things, mainly due to my quiet, shy demeanor. However, after I started to get a feel for things, I think it’ll be a good fit. We still enjoy having the garage living room and hosting friends and neighbors for whatever sporting event we may be watching, or whatever excuse we need to have a few cool ones. Please feel free to stop by anytime and help deplete the inventory in the garage fridge, and remember.....GO CHIEFS!!!

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season. We wish you all the best in 2022 and we hope to see you soon!

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi, Roxy and Eddie IncrediPowell.

IncrediPowells 2019

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS 12: Peace on Earth

Year 12 for the IncrediPowell’s Christmas card marks the much-anticipated return of the IncrediPowell’s. We took last year off after everyone involved felt their ideas were better than mine, on what to do for our annual tradition. That notion is simply ridiculous and I finally got to an eff it point and called the whole deal off. After receiving a lot of negative feedback on not doing anything, I had no trouble telling those people exactly who was to blame for the absence of the IncrediPowell’s……it was the P3. So, without further to do, let us get on with the chlorophyll and see how the year unfolded for the Sherrylynn Hooligans.

Emmerson is 10, in the fourth grade and well on her way to becoming a social media icon. Whether she is live on Instagram, making a TikTok, posting on Snapchat or simply scrolling one of our Facebook feeds, this girl stays connected. If you ever see a comment or reply that does not quite make sense, there is a chance we have been “hacked.” She is still very active with sports, playing soccer, Rams Club Softball and Rams Club Basketball. The soccer team was undefeated again this spring and fall, the softball team had a VERY good spring season and basketball is yet to be determined as she took last year off.

Ellie will be 12 in January, and this year she is at Spring Creek or for those of you not in the know, the 6th grade center. Her building is across the street from the High School, which means she catches a ride to school with Addison. So far this arrangement seems to be working and has made Ellie a little more of a morning person, since I told her Addison would not hesitate for a minute to leave her behind. This fall was also her first playing select soccer with the Iowa Storm and her team had a good season, with a great group of girls. We have traveled a bit and had some very sketchy weather, but overall, I would say we made the right decision with her joining that team/program. Ellie also continues to pursue her creative side with whatever media she can get her hands on, which in turn, allows me to pursue my clean up side. She grew almost 3 inches this last year, which also has her eating us out of house and home. So, if there are ever a bag of chips, pretzels, cookies or any other snack missing, check her room, because Ellie is the Queen of the after bedtime snack/buffet.

Addison is 15, a sophomore at Southeast Polk, and is on the go like no other. I often question if she really even lives with us anymore (Not that I am complaining). She also continues to be very active in…..I guess we will call them athletics. As a freshman last spring in track, she ran varsity all season and earned a trip to the state meet in the shuttle hurdle relay. This year is her first as part of the SEP RhythAMetteS (dance team) and she could not be more excited about it. I thought we were past this, but I was clearly wrong. As part of the Elite Kick team, she will be making another trip to Fort Worth this spring to compete and perform. Addison has been driving for about a year with her school permit, which has made our lives a little easier, but more stressful at the same time. There have been a couple of “boyfriends”, nothing serious thank God, but her sisters seem to have the most fun with it…..especially when I come up with a nickname for said boy.

Kim is in her 16th year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary and has now completed the full on teacher look, since having to get glasses this school year. Another big change for Kim was switching from Ultra to White Claw, because you know what they say, “There are no laws, when you are drinking the claws!” She will also be joining Addison on her trip to Fort Worth this spring with dance team, which should almost all but guarantee her spot in the Dance Mom Hall of Fame, which is something she has been striving for!

This January I will begin my 9th year at Titan Tire and my fourth as a member of the management team. The manufacturing environment is a completely different kind of monster and one that I truly enjoy being part of. This past spring was my last in the realm of coaching and now, happy to say, I am just your ordinary spectator/fan of my kids’ activities. If you know me, there is a good chance that it will not take you very long to figure out if I’m in attendance at one of those activities……although, I’m working on it. We still enjoy having the garage living room and hosting the neighbors for whatever sporting event we may be watching, or whatever excuse we need to have a few cool ones. Please feel free to stop by anytime and help deplete the inventory in the garage fridge, and remember…..GO CHIEFS!!!

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season. We wish you all the best in 2020 and we hope to see you soon!



KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi, Roxy and new this year…….Eddie IncrediPowell.

History of THE IncrediPowells

I hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas!  With this year being the 10th Anniversary of THE IncrediPowells, I thought I would share the brief photo history of our Christmas cards, so without further to do.... 

2008  Original IncrediPowells, the year it all started, and the last year without you know who....man, those were the days!

2009 East Side Undercover...both of our Mom's were not very impressed with this one, but it is hands down the funniest one yet.....man those are short shorts!

2010 Masters of Disguise was the first Christmas in our new/current house. 

2011 Lucha Libre, we tried to do a Mexican wrestling theme...it was not a fan favorite

2012  The Apocalypse is probably my favorite yet to date, we did a zombie theme since the world was supposed to end according to the Myan calendar, news flash, that did not happen.

2013 The Abby Lee Wannabe's...we probably spent more money that year in dance lessons than we paid for my last car.

2014 Parents of Anarchy was another one of my favorites, since S.O.A. is the best television show of all time!

2015 Nerd Alert...the funny thing about this card, when we took the picture at the P-Hill Library, nobody even batted an eye at us being dressed like this.

2016 We Double Dog Dare You is probably one of the most fun Christmas card photo shoots we have done with Shots by Abbey, and it is also the best looking photo yet to date.

2017 An Average Day in the Life is just a reflection of how I feel our every day chaos plays out, rainbows and butterflies.

That's it, I hope you enjoyed....we are already hard at work making memories to share with everybody next year!

IncrediPowells 2017

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS 10.0:  Just a Normal Day In the Life

    This year marks the 10th installment of the annual IncrediPowell’s Christmas Card and I hope it doesn’t disappoint, as I wanted this one to be bigger and better than ever.  When I started doing this, it was to poke fun at the serious Christmas letters that we used to get from time to time.  I never really had the intention of doing it every year, but then it became a sort of what can we do to top last year’s theme?  So, without any further to do……Another year has come and gone and our schedules don’t seem to be getting any lighter, which means the chance for your entertainment is at an all-time high.  So let’s see how the year unfolded for the resident thugs of the Sherrylynn Hood.

    Emmerson is 8, in second grade and has a competitive drive like nothing I have ever seen.  She would challenge you in anything from a foot race to picking boogers.  It’s that type of fire that is great on the playing fields, but gets her in a little trouble on the home front.  She continues to play soccer, basketball and tournament softball, which gives her absolutely no break from sports, and I don’t think she would want it any other way.  She managed to score quite a few goals this fall while being one of the youngest on her U10 soccer team.  We are also really excited for the spring softball season to roll around and see what this year’s team can bring to the table….GO RAMS!

    Ellie will be 10 in January and is in fourth grade and has the biggest heart of all….probably gets that from me.  She decided that select soccer was not for her and opted to play on her younger sister’s rec team this season.  I was shocked that she wanted to play for me as a coach again, since we don’t really seem to have the same “competitive spirit” to say it nicely.  While I think Ellie loves to play the game, she realizes it is just that, a game, which is something I struggle with. (Does the movie Kicking and Screaming mean anything?) She absolutely loves to craft, create and experiment, which falls directly at the feet of Kim’s cousin Abbey, who loves to spend time with our girls and Ellie absolutely idolizes…for some reason.  When she is busy not getting her Martha Stewart on and destroying the kitchen, she can be found trying to watch EVERY video on YouTube.  From making slime to watching Logan Paul’s every move….whoever the hell that is?

    Addison is 13, in eighth grade and she thinks that makes her one of the big fish at the Junior High.  She will be able to get her driving permit in May, so we have done some driving from time to time, which is way more than enough for me already.  Addison also believes that we have an endless supply of money, even though she says she rarely asks for it, and she would follow that up by asking for it.  She continues to play soccer and has really come into her own as a defender, she is on a great team with great coaches and parents.  She also got her referee’s license and tried to earn a little extra money doing something she enjoys….texting at half time.  Last spring she went out for track and was instantly hooked on the high jump, just like mom.  To her chagrin, she was also on the 4x400 team, but it didn’t take her long to figure out why I kept telling her that it’s the most exciting race in track and field, and that she wasn’t actually going to die when she finished a 400.  In her off seasons she has been going to CrossFit with me and really seems to enjoy putting it to the old man in the cardio department.

    Kim is in her fourteenth year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary and I think she is really starting to get the hang of this whole teaching thing.  She has also tried her hand at booking spring break vacations, but that usually only happens after a few margs at Fiesta, and is followed up the next day with a trip cancellation.  We did actually go to Clearwater the week of the 4th of July with a large group of friends and neighbors and I am quite sure the Beachview Hotel will never be the same.  She has also dedicated one night of the week that belongs to her, and it is affectionately known as Thirsty Thursday.  It is the one night of the week that Kim tries to keep up with our neighbor Kat on beer consumption, even though Kat usually has an 8 beer lead by the time Kim joins in.  Needless to say, Friday is movie day in Mrs. Powell’s classroom.

    This January will begin my seventh year at Titan Tire and I will have just wrapped up my first full year as a member of the management team.  I think the manufacturing environment is something everyone should experience, if for nothing else, to learn the curse words of every language imaginable.  This fall I coached Ellie and Emmy’s soccer team and while they fight like cats and dogs at practice, when they are on the same page in a game, it is a thing of beauty.  With the addition of a couple of couches and a new TV, we have turned the garage into a neighborhood gathering spot and when that train horn sounds….there is no doubt that one of my teams has just scored!  Feel free to stop by the Sherrylynn Hood anytime, the garage fridge is always stocked with cool ones, a game on the TV and new this winter….HEAT, or as Kim likes to call it, my new girlfriend.

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  We wish you all the best in 2018 and we hope to see you soon!

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi and Roxy IncrediPowell.

IncrediPowells 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS edition 9.0: We Triple-Dog Dare You

    The old adage about how fast time flies and if you don’t take a minute to look around you may miss it is right…especially when you live in this house.  The girls and their never ending list of activities, sports and projects has our heads spinning and looking to the garage fridge for relief.  So, as Christmas time approaches it is time to look back and reflect, good and bad, on the year that was for THE IncrediPowells.

    Emmerson is 7 and hit the ground running in first grade this year, and she has no signs of slowing down.  She is our most active when it comes to sports participation, but she tries to balance that out with being our most challenging at home.  She is both familiar with the athletic fields she plays on, and the inside of her bedroom where she spends a fair amount of time.  This summer, much to the delight of Kim, Emmy played her first season of softball and was instantly hooked.  It’s funny how when it’s a sport that Kim is interested in, there is no issue when it comes to buying new gear.  She also played fall softball, U8 soccer(another undefeated season), basketball, and made the U8 Rams Softball Club team….which I am pretty sure is going to become a year round deal.  She will also be entering the State Fair armpit farting competition, which she also recently discovered could be done with the back of her knee…..what talent!

    Ellie will be 9 in January, she is in third grade, and for the second year in a row she has a Hawk fan for a teacher…I am pretty sure there is a conspiracy at Four Mile.  We are also working on breaking her of the habit of taking snacks to her room at night, I mean she has more choices in there than the Golden Corral Buffet.  She continues to play soccer on a select team of sorts, which had us taking trips to Minneapolis and Kansas City this year.  Due to the lack of participation in our age group at the Minneapolis tournament we were forced to play up to U11 as a U8 team and just got absolutely man-handled, which in turn almost got a couple of referee’s man handled.  On the other hand, in Kansas City, playing in the correct age group, they finished second.  This was a big boost to their confidence, being able to hang with big money club teams like that!  Ellie also continues to take art classes at Studio Virtu, which I absolutely love and she would tell you that it’s just one more reason that she is my favorite.

    Addison is 12, in 7th grade and this is her first year at the Junior High!  I have already heard way too many stories about her friends’ boyfriends, sneaking out at night, kissing at Adventureland and just being secretive.  She swears she has no interest in boys (at this point) and unless they find messy hair, sweatpants, and t-shirts attractive, I am just fine with her school clothes selection.  This was also the last year of dance, as Foster Powell decided to close the doors after this year’s recital.  She did go out with a bang though, having another high energy acrobatic solo and participating in countless other group dances.  Addison has also stuck with soccer and really found her niche while playing defender.  She is on a great team with great coaches and continues to impress the hell out of me with her skill set.  Her team won the Kohl’s Cup Tournament this fall and finished the season undefeated, and let me tell you, ringing the cowbell and blowing the vuvuzela when they score a goal NEVER gets old for me!

    Kim is in her thirteenth year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary and is well on her way to becoming one of the “senior” teachers in the building.  I always love going to school on open house night and telling her students and their parents sorry about their bad luck in getting her as a teacher…while I stand outside of her classroom door.  Kim also made a big life change this year as she slowed down on the consumption of Ultra and switched to sweet tea vodka and water.  “This way you can continue to drink all day and stay hydrated,” spoken like a true professional.  We also spent spring break in Mexico this year, which was an absolute blast and made us realize we NEVER want to take our kids on vacation again!  On a side note, Kim is also the reigning arm wrestling champion at the original Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago.

    This January I will begin my sixth year at Titan Tire and my first as part of the management team.  This past spring was my last coaching Ellie in soccer, which I believe we both feel is for the better.  Emmy is not so lucky, I continue to coach her soccer team and don’t think there is any doubt who she belongs to with her antics on and off the field…..she’s Kim’s.  I am sure if she thought she could get away with giving me the middle finger on the sidelines, she would.  This year I also got myself what was first diagnosed as gout, and then correctly changed to staph and strep infection.  Along with this, I had a knee hot enough to cook an egg on, kankles, a short hospital stay with a minor procedure, two months of pic line antibiotics and one bitchin’ scar!  However, Kim would tell you that it just got us another bill in the mail for a few months.

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  We wish you all the best in 2017 and we hope to see you soon.  

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi and Roxy IncrediPowell.

IncrediPowells 2015

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS edition 8:  Nerd Alert

     It is that time of year again to fill you in on the adventures and misadventures of the IncrediPowells over the last year.  As you can imagine, the last year has been an absolute blur when you live with these crazies, but I will do my best to let you know what we have been up to.  So, get your popcorn ready and let's see how the last year has unfolded for the resident Nerds of the Sherrylynn Hood.

    Emmerson is 6 and started Kindergarten this year and I think Kim and I are both still holding our breath and waiting for that one phone call.  You know, the one where the teacher calls and says Emmy had a bad day and told the whole class to kiss her *ss.  Thank God that call will go straight to Kim since she is in the same building.  She wrapped up her 3rd season in U6 soccer with her team being undefeated, and in the spring she will be trying to set the scoring record for that league.  She is also in the middle of her first season of basketball and has the same opinion about practice as Allen Iverson.  But when it comes to games, it is a whole other story.  She is calling for the ball and looking to fast break after a rebound.  She also told Kim that she wants to play softball this year because she loves trying to crush the ball while taking BP.  It has taken to child number 3, but I think we finally have our “sports” child….thank god!

    Ellie will turn 8 in January and is in second grade this year where she has the worst thing for a teacher you could ask for….a Hawk fan.  She decided that one year in dance was enough for her, getting the cool costumes was not enough to outweigh having to perform on stage in front of a lot of people.  So, Ellie will just stick with soccer where she is really starting to come into her own as a defender.  This fall she was part of a tournament team that went to Kansas City to play, and there, she played in goal every minute of every game.  She told me that it was boring in goal and I told her that was a good thing, you don’t want to be busy back there. This year was her third season in U8 girls soccer and we finished the season undefeated.  This spring will be her last at that level and then we will move up to U10 where we actually keep score and there is a winner and loser…...what a thought!

    Addison is 11 and this year she proved to us that dreams DO really come true, as she decided to quit competitive dance!  She gave soccer a try this fall, but after 3 games was diagnosed with mono and had to sit out the rest of the season, but she is signed up for indoor and is excited to play.  She does continue to dance at Foster Powell which is only 2 nights a week instead of the 6 or 7 that she was doing.  She did her first solo last year for Foster Powell, which went well, so she decided to enter into the Bill Riley Talent Search at the Iowa State Fair.  She ended up advancing to the semifinal round, where she was beat out by some dork dressed up as a horrible Peter Pan, singing “I Don’t Want To Grow Up.”  It was probably the worst act in the semifinal round, but I guess that is what the judges were looking for.  As you can tell, I am not bitter at all…..Peter effing Pan!  This school year, Addison moved on to the 6th grade center, which means out from the protective clutches of mom, and due to her bout with mono, she is working on 50% attendance.

    Kim is in her twelfth year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary, which has required her to start an extensive collection of cardigan sweaters and high waisted jeans.  This summer she was able to take her drinking game to the next level, by convincing the local Ultra distributor to make deliveries directly to the house.  So in turn, she has cut out the middle man and continued to stay hydrated all summer long.  She also retired as the reigning champion dance mom(belt included) and happily returned to her role as dance taxi driver, since Addison quit competition dance.  Also, she planned a week long trip to Clearwater, FL for the family in June and then booked my ticket home 3 days into the trip, so she could enjoy herself for the remaining 4 days.  She could also be found at the Fair for the majority of the days it was open this year and most of the beer vendors knew her by name….weird.  

    This January I will be starting my fifth year at Titan Tire and I am now on day shift, which Kim said was life changing.  I can only assume she is referring to the amount of beer she can consume and not feel guilty now that I am home in the evenings.  I have also taken a position in the Product Engineering department, which means I can now go OUT to lunch on Friday’s!  This past spring and fall soccer seasons I coached Ellie and Emmy’s soccer teams, and thank god both teams were blessed with talent.  Ellie’s tournament trip to Kansas City was the first time that I have not coached her soccer team and her first playing a new position.  With being the goalie comes a lot of responsibility, and I have never been so nervous for that kid in my life, but of course, she handled it like a champ and I was fine after a few beers and a throat lozenge.  I have also been in the crossfit cult for about a year now, and I have never enjoyed getting my ass kicked so much on a regular basis….except for that time Kim brought handcuffs home.

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  We wish you all the best in 2016 and we hope to see you soon.  

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi and Roxy IncrediPowell.

IncrediPowell's Christmas 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS 7:  Parents of Anarchy

    It is that time of year again to fill you in on the shamrocks and shenanigans of the IncrediPowells over the last year.  The last year has flown by and I hope to bring you just a snippet of what the chaotic life is like in a female dominated household.  So, lets see how the last year has unfolded for the resident thugs of the Sherrylynn Hood.

    Emmerson is 5 and still holds the title belt at being the most difficult child ever...of all time….on the face of earth.  With that being said, she is also probably the biggest comedian of the 3, so I guess we will give her kudos for that.  I mean shouldn’t every 5 year old be able to repeat the beginning of “Baby Got Back” at a moments notice?  Emmy was also the first of our kids to have a broken bone, when she snapped her forearm after somersaulting down the slide at Chick-fil-A.   Having a cast however did not slow her down a bit, she got it around 11 pm and was playing soccer at noon the next day.  This was her first season in soccer and it turned out to be a good one.  Her team finished undefeated and she probably scored about 50 goals, which is not bad for an 8 game season.  This is also her first year in dance and she is dying to be just like Addison…..God help me.

    Ellie will be 7 in January and continues to be the calm amongst the storm, most of the time.  She is in 1st grade this year and has the meanest teacher at Four Mile Elementary, Mrs. Moore.  She is a good student and really enjoys school, which just seems to further the question of who does she really belong to.  This was her 3rd season in soccer and she moved up to U8 this year which is where the teams are no longer co-ed, which Ellie seemed to think was not as fun…...uh oh.  While she is not quite the prolific goal scorer that Emmy is, her team also finished the season undefeated, probably the coaching, and she continued to be mostly worried about who was bringing the post game treats that week.  Ellie is also back in the dance game after realizing that she was the only one not taking dance lessons and absolutely loves class with Uncle Richard.

    Addison is 10 and continues to suck the life out of us and our wallets.  Pretty much any free time that we have is spent chauffeuring her around West Des Moines from this dance lesson to that dance lesson.  Along with her solo, duet, jazz, hip hop, and pom routines this year, she has added a small group lyrical to the schedule.  This is her favorite routine to perform, and mine also because it is the easiest to make fun of.  If you are not familiar with this style of dance, think of an over dramatic soap opera (yes, I said over dramatic) set to dance.  Someday the other 2 will be able to look back on the fun that they had growing up in the van in dance studio parking lots.  Addison is in 5th grade this year and says she has the coolest teacher at Four Mile, Mr. Kayser.  That also means that they switch rooms for different subjects and that once a day, she has to go to the dreaded Mrs. Powell’s room…..da da da dummmm.

    Kim is in her eleventh year of teaching 5th grade at Four Mile Elementary, and her second year of being half of the self proclaimed Sherrylynn Hood flippy cup champions.  This year also marked a couple of milestones for Kim.  The first of which was her induction into the Simpson College Hall of Fame for her achievements in softball.  This has also netted her the nickname “The HOF” in the neighborhood, which ironically is the same thing she requires me to call her at home.  Secondly, this November Kim turned 40, which means she is pretty much circling the drain.  For her birthday a few of the Sherrylynn Hoodies and Kim took a much needed (LOL) trip to Clearwater, FL or as one neighbor called it, a bachelorette party.  On the trip they perfected the use of the selfie stick (Google it), which has quickly become a favorite in our household.  Other than Addison’s first dance competition of the year, this was the most relaxing 5 days I have had in a long time.

    This January I will be starting my fourth year at Titan Tire and the last half of my last year of being daddy daycare.  According to Kim, next school year will be the first time she has a full time housekeeper ….I don’t get it?  This past summer I tried my hand at fastpitch softball and it turns out that my extracurricular “athletic” activities may also be circling the drain, next year it may have to consist of walking the dogs, that’s right, dogs plural.  This past year after 13 great years we lost Katara and apparently it takes two dogs to replace her.  We now have Schumi, which is the male dog equivalent to Emmerson, and Roxy who is the female mirror image of Yellow Dog on the movie Funny Farm.  They couldn’t be more polar opposites, but don’t worry, Roxy can hold her own when it comes to putting up with Schumi’s BS.  I also coached Emmy and assistant coached Ellie in soccer this fall and as their records indicated, I am pretty good…..or they had great teammates, you can be the judge.  During a close and frustrating finale to Ellie’s season Kim had to remind me that they were not professionals and I needed to shut up…..apparently she thinks she is some sort of assistant coach.

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  We wish you all the best in 2015 and we hope to see you soon…….We Accept That!

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellie, Emmerson, Schumi and Roxy IncrediPowell.

Reclaimed

Here are few more projects that I have made from reclaimed wood.......since the price is right, I have been using it a lot.

Dinner Time

I have been doing a lot of projects out of reclaimed wood and this is probably one of my favorites.  As you can imagine, with 3 kids, the kitchen table sees a lot of action and not only from its intended use.  It seems that our kitchen table is a nail salon, an art studio, dance stage and just an overall spot of gathering for activities.  Needless to say it takes a lot of abuse and I thought it needed a little face-lift due to the chips and stains it has acquired over the years.  So I decided to cover the top with reclaimed fence pickets from one of the neighbors old re-do's.  I bought a couple different shades of stain and assembled the boards in a chevron pattern.  After a couple days of drying in between coats of poly her is what the before and after looked like.

Dog Days

I decided that the dogs bowls just being on the kitchen floor wasn't working out the best any more.  Since Schumi is still a puppy, he tends to drink his water and eat his food like it is a race.  This tends to have the water all over the floor and the food bowl half way across the kitchen.  So this is what I came up with to contain the problem.....it is amazing how many paint samples we tend to hang on to.

Sheds

I am not a big outdoors type of guy, but my daughter brought me these sheds and asked if i could make her something.  A quick trip to Lowe's to buy some spray paint and a couple pieces of pallets painted white and sanded back, and this is what I came up with.

2013 IncrediPowells Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS 6:  Abby Lee Wannabes

         

            It is that time of year again to see how the past year has unfolded for our resident dancing superheroes of the Sherrylynn Hood.  Still living the dream in a house dominated by females, which pretty much makes it one constant cat fight, with that being said, let’s see what happened in 2013 for the IncrediPowells.

Emmerson is now 4 and will hands down be our biggest challenge yet.  I know a lot of people say that one of their kids was that way too and then they grew out of it.  Hell, we’ve even said that out Addy and Ellie, but with this one, it’s just different. She has also developed quite the colorful vocabulary that every once in a while would make a trucker blush.  For instance when we go into the local Subway and there are a couple hefty short haired women working and she hollers, “Dad, is that a boy or a girl?”  Also, let’s just say this, if she could strike a match, we wouldn’t have a house and she would be laughing as it burnt to the ground.  With that being said there are some positives about Emmy, just none come to mind right now.

Ellie will be 6 in January and could not be more of a polar opposite of Emmerson, thank God.  She is the most kind hearted and compassionate of our children, which makes us wonder who she really belongs to?  Also, she started kindergarten this year and is soaking it in like a sponge.  Dance for Ellie was over about as soon as it started, my wallet thanks her.  Instead she has developed some soccer skills, I don’t want to tell you that she like it because she says she doesn’t, but also she never hesitates to go…….and Grandma J paying 5 dollars per goal never hurt either. 

Addison is 9 and is still living the motto: Life IS Dance!  With her continuing to take classes at D.D.C., Foster-Powell and being a member of the Iowa C.A.T.S., Friday is the ONE day of the week that you will not find us hauling her to West Des Moines.  In her free time when she is not at dance, she is at home…dancing, or trying to get her sisters to follow her lead in a dance she has made up or choreographing her friends in a dance.  So needless to say, for those of you who knew Kim at that age, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Addison is also doing her first solo routine at competitions this year as well as sucking the life blood from our bank account….who knew dance was so friggin’ expensive?

                Kim is in her tenth year of teaching 5^th grade at Four Mile Elementary (SEP), and in her second year of being dance mom extreme.  She is the Kittens team representative on the parent committee for the Iowa C.A.T.S. and consistently wears sweat pants with “DANCE MOM” printed on the ass.  Along with being a full time chauffer in the evenings she also co-chairs the Four Mile Spelling Challenge committee.  This is a fundraiser for the PTA which coincidently has its meetings at El Azteca……can you spell m-a-r-g-a-r-i-t-a?

                This January I will be starting my 3^rd year at Titan Tire.  I will also be starting my third year of daddy daycare, and by that I mean fall asleep on the couch and let Emmerson destroy the house.  My typical day consists of letting her do whatever until noon, while I hold down the couch and control the TV.  After a gourmet lunch usually consisting of chicken nuggets or Totinos, we both take a nap and I set my alarm to get up 15 minutes before Kim gets home, and then furiously pick up the house before she gets home.  I know she has no idea what the house really looks like before she gets home, and believe me, she would rather leave it that way. 

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  We wish you all the best in 2014 and we hope to see you soon!

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellerson, Emmerson and Katara IncrediPowell

Privacy Fence

For a couple of years now we have wanted to put up a privacy fence, but we didn't want the same old fence that everybody else had.  So we started searching Pinterest, Houzz, and many other web sites for ideas of what we could do to make our fence unique.  We decided that we would incorporate some vintage tin into the fence panels.  After some discussion and debate my wife decided that we would just incorporate the tin on the back side of the fence, because were not sure if the neighborhood was ready for the type of fence we wanted to put up.  Here are a couple photos of the almost completed project.

Another Letter

Here is another letter out of the same old tin.  This one was a little more involved since I wasn't under a timeline like the "S" project.  On this one I painted and distressed the backer boards to give the letter a little more pop.

Letters Part 2

We were looking to create a little more "curb appeal" with the front door of our house.  We decided on painting it a deep red and adding the "P" to it, our last name initial.  I e-mailed my file to a local sign company and they CNC routed it out of 3/4" MDF.  It was sanded, primed, painted and then hung using a piece of burlap.  Thanks to Parker Signs and Graphics for the help.

Letters Part 1

I work a night shift, so when the rest of my family is up and around I am usually not.  Last weekend  I was trying to catch a nap before my wife left for her cousins birthday party.  I woke up about an hour before the party and my wife asked me if I could make something for her gift.  She new she wanted an "S" cut out of some old barn tin, but that is about as far as the direction went.....I also told her in an hour, she will have to take what she can get.  Here is what I came up with; the letter "S" cut out of the tin she requested and then mounted to some fence pieces I had laying around.  Sometimes it is nice to have a garage full of crap.

Re-Finishing Project

Here are a few before and after pics of some resent items that I have refinished for a customer.  She was quite possibly the most patient person that I have ever worked with, thanks for the opportunity Donia!

2012 IncrediPowells Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE

INCREDIPOWELLS 5:  Zombie Apocalypse

                With the end of the world quickly approaching on December 21^st, we thought we would give you one final update on the status of the IncrediPowells.  In a house dominated by females there is no shortage of yelling, tears or fingernail polish.  Let’s see how things unfolded for the IncrediPowells in 2012.

                Emmerson turned 3 this year and has become the definition of high maintenance.   If she has been well rested, fed, bathed and there are no sisters in sight, she is a complete sweetheart.  If one of these factors is out of the equation, you better be ready for a fight and be careful, because she aims for the face.  She has recently become potty trained, which was life changing for her as she is now eligible for dance!  She could not be more excited to be on the other side of the glass that she has had her face pressed against for so long.  Also, she may be entering rehab for an acute addiction to the iPad.

                Ellie will turn 5 in January, that is if the world lasts that long.  This was a pretty big year for Ellie as she started preschool this fall.  She has never hesitated once at going to school and has even told me that I don’t need to walk her in.  With Emmy joining dance, Ellie has decided that she would like to dance also, even though she has complained that her feet get hot in the shoes and the classes are too long.  I guess all that can be overlooked, when you are the only one not dancing.  Ellie is also quite the home body; she very rarely wants to spend a night away from home, even if it is at Grandpa and Grandma’s house.  On the rare occasion that she does, she makes it more than known that it will be, “just for one night only!”  At this rate, when you get this letter in 20 years, we will still be talking about Ellie living at home.

                Addison is 8 years old and she fully believes that she was put on the earth to do one thing….DANCE!  Between Iowa C.A.T.S., D.D.C., Foster-Powell, and a short stint with Des Moines Ballet, we had Friday night off from making a trip to a dance studio.  That’s right; we had one whole night that we were not running her here or there to make a lesson.   She also took the trip of a lifetime this year as my parents took her for two weeks to Hawaii!  While on the Big Island they attend a luau, went hiking, hung out on the beach, went kayaking and got hula lessons.  We pretty much did the same thing while she was gone.  I do know one thing though; Mom and Dad never asked me to go to Hawaii, the farthest I ever got from home at that age was Branson, Missouri.

                Kim is in her ninth year of teaching 5^th grade at Four Mile Elementary (SEP).  Last year she was a teacher representative for the PTA and did After School Assistance; this year she is a full time dance mom.  She has found time within this last year to develop a new hobby and it goes by the name of Flippy Cup.  She came home from the neighbors one night talking about how much fun she had playing this game.  The next day all the neighbors could talk about was how she was smashing cups and yelling “Suck It!”  If any of you were wondering if she had lost her competitive spirit, I believe the answer is a resounding no.   If you ever make it to the Sherrylynn Hood, you had better bring your “A” game, because there are no friends across the table.

                This year I started working nights at Titan Tire and watching Ellie and Emmy during the day, I am not sure which one entertains me more.   When I tell people where I work and I tell them Titan the usually ask where it is at, I tell them the only reason you would have ever seen Titan Tire is if you were specifically going there or you were lost.  It has been a huge adjustment, not only with the number of people I am supervising, but also with the wide variety of ethnicities.  I am not sure what I have spent more money on this year, food out of the vending machines (you name it, we have it in a vending machine and they take debit cards), or copies of Rosetta Stone.

We hope this letter finds you and yours doing well this Christmas season.  If there is a 2013 we wish you all the best and hope to see you soon but, if the Mayans happen to be correct…it has been nice knowing you.

KC, Kim, Addison, Ellerson, Emmerson, and Katara IncrediPowell