Family Bio

The week after LaVar and Kimberly were married, Kimberly sold her wedding dress and a used car so they could buy an old piano. Now, nine children later, the investment couldn’t have brought a greater return. “Music is a gift from God, given to enrich our lives,” says LaVar “and if it is used for good, it can unite us and move us to do great things.”

Kimberly started writing music and singing as a child. She explains: “Both of my parents are teachers; my mom is a multi-talented musician, and my dad is a gifted writer. I was blessed to inherit a piece of both.” Kimberly grew up taking lessons in voice, piano, and various other instruments and studied music in college. She says, “When I was a teen I thought that I wanted to be a professional singer. While I was on a voice scholarship during my first year of college I auditioned to be the female vocalist, bass player and keyboardist for a band. They were very talented and it was a great experience, but it was just enough that I realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life ... I wanted to be a mom!”

During this time she met LaVar. From the beginning, both of them felt that “it was meant to be” and soon thereafter were engaged. LaVar adds, “Kimberly and I both are the kind of people that don’t like to put things off when we decide something is right.” This quality became very apparent when Kylie, their oldest, was born 10 months after they were married. Kimberly explains; “LaVar had a lot of school ahead of him and we didn’t want to wait to start a family.” While LaVar was in optometry school they were blessed with four little girls. They both agreed that this was a wonderful time for their family: “We didn’t have much and we didn’t need much; life was simple and life was good.”

Once LaVar was done with optometry school they moved their family back to their home state of Idaho. At this time their oldest daughter Kylie was in kindergarten and Kimberly decided to start a children’s singing group. They sang and performed and this became both an opportunity to consistently teach her own children as well as give her a chance to share her love of music with other young children. For over 10 years Kimberly has continued to teach singing groups out of her home and has added more classes as her children have grown. She currently teaches ages pre-school to high school.

LaVar and Kimberly’s children have all been blessed with beautiful, strong voices and a love of music. Colette remarks; “Our house feels like a musical—we are always singing!” Over the years the Kofoed family has used the gift of music as a way to stay close and bring happiness into the lives of others. They feel that “in this season” of their lives there is an opportunity to share a message about family, faith, love and fun.

Kimberly concludes, “As a wife and a mother, writing music has provided an outlet for me and has given me a means to better understand my emotions and put life in perspective. The experiences of raising a family have added depth to the things I write about. I am so thankful to be married to someone who values family as much as I do; he is the greatest dad and husband our family could ever ask for. We feel like we have chosen a life of no regret to raise a family, and if we are given the opportunity to share this message through the gift of music, that is icing on the cake.”

Kylie & Shalese Bio

The home videos say it all—Kylie and Shalese have been singing since they started talking. The girls were born only 18 months apart, and if you asked them they would tell you they are “best friends.” Both girls are very talented singers and have gifted ears for harmony. Kylie explains: “Our voices are very unique from each other, but we seem to have a natural blend. We have been singing harmony since we were in grade school.” Although both girls would tell you that music is their passion they are very well rounded. “We love sports and playing all kinds of active games,” the girls say; “Our house is always open to friends. Our parents love to have fun and always feel like ‘the more the merrier.’ ” Kylie has started writing music and has written a couple of songs with her mom that will be on the album. Shalese says, “Anytime my mom, Kylie and I sing together, or we sing as a whole family, we have a ton of fun and it brings us closer together.” Kimberly, Kylie, & Shalese sing a few of the songs on the album as a trio, but they explain that as the other sisters and brothers are ready, those songs will be adapted to fit everyone.