Winter Party at School

Thursday was Michael and Katie's last day of school before the looooong Winter Break. Seriously, they are out, like, 18 days!! The class had their Holiday Party with crafts, balloons, snacks, games and a book trade. The kids had a wonderful time!

They played one game called "Shaving Santa." All the kids got shaving cream beards then they shaved each other using a popsicle stick. You can tell by Michael's face that shaving cream tastes pretty yucky.

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

Last night we finally put up our Christmas tree. The kiddos helped bring the branches from downstairs and provided directions/assistance assembling the tree until they were kicked out of the room for driving me crazy. Once the tree was up and the lights were on, Michael and Katie added the ornaments. Katie really wanted to stand on a chair to put up her ornaments, so there is a cluster of bulbs in one spot about 5 feet off the ground. I am trying (very hard!) to resist the urge to rearrange everything after they've gone to bed. Sometimes I have to sit on my hands to keep from moving the decorations.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

I picked up an Operation game at Target and I can tell you it certainly was a hit at our house. It's simple enough that the kids can set it up and play all by themselves. My kind of game! Michael doesn't do very well with boardgames and tends to want to quit as soon as he gets behind. So if he isn't ahead on the first move in Candyland, he's out!! This is very frustrating for Katie and I often have to step in and finish the game with her. It's frustrating for me to when the break I was hoping for never materializes. Fortunately, Michael played two full games of Operation before moving on to something else. Yay!

Since I had the camera out to capture some pics of their game, Katie felt compelled to ham it up for me. Seriously, you can only capture a candid shot of that kid if she's not looking. I blame a certain camera-happy Grandmother for that.

Curly Girly

Katie wanted to put her hair in curlers just like mom. Of course, she told me this 15 minutes before we had to leave for school. I didn't get any pictures of the end result. Basically, her hair was just a little wavier and fuller than normal. She felt (and acted) like a supermodel all day!

Sudoku Katie

Katie has been doing Sudoku puzzles with her Dad and loves them! Here she is working on one herself.

Trip to St. Louis

We all drove into St. Louis for Thanksgiving. It was great to see family and the kids had a blast! Even with the DVD player, Michael gets a little bored during the 4-hour drive. That led to this exchange:

Michael: Are we in St. Louis yet?
Me: We're still in our driveway, Michael.

Seriously, I thought we'd get out of the driveway before they started with the whole "Are we there yet?" routine.

Photo Contest Winners!

I just found out we won the Women's Day Back-to-School photo contest! And I will soon be the owner of a cool new digital camera. Yay! Photo credits go to Steven who had the great idea to get a picture from behind of the kids walking down the porch.

This is the winning photo with the caption "Take good care of your sister."

And here is a link to the contest results.

Imelda Marcos, Watch Out!

When I was a kid, we had two pairs of shoes - tennis shoes that you wore every day and dress shoes that you wore on special occasions. Oh, and you got in trouble (!) if you grew out of them too quickly.

Here is Katie's current collection of shoes. One pair of light pink crocs is not pictured, bringing the count to 16. Because she NEEDS them!

In my defense, many of these shoes were purchased for less than $2/pair. How can you pass that up??

50's Day

To celebrate the 50th day of school, Cedar Hills Elementary held a 50's themed party. Students were encouraged to dress up and they had crafts and activities related to the number 50. Here are Michael and Katie in their outfits. Katie's "Poodle Skirt" is actually a tutu that I made for her. I figured she could wear it again for dress up and it was way easier than making a real poodle skirt!!

Halloween

The kiddos had a blast on Halloween. Katie dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Michael was Batman. These are some pictures from their class Halloween party. Both kids had a great time Trick or Treating. They went out for about an hour, then stopped at home to dump off some candy because Katie's bucket was full. Katie went back out for more Trick or Treating and Michael stayed in and watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special. Later that night, Katie snacked on her candy and watched E.T. with dad.

Marathon Man

On Saturday, October 18th, Steve ran in the Kansas City Marathon! His official time was 4:29:38, under his goal of 4:30. Steve trained for months and we are all very proud of him!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We spent Saturday at a local Pumpkin Patch. The kids had so much fun! They both loved the rip cord the best!! After enjoying all the attractions, we took a hayride out to the fields to pick our pumpkins. The rule was that you had to be able to lift your pumpkin, so don't pick one too heavy. Thanks to Miss Stubborn (I CAN lift it!!), we had to modify that rule to carrying your pumpkin 20 feet. Eventually, she chose an appropriate pumpkin.

Who am I?

Michael loves to play a game he invented called "Who am I?" To play the game, one person gives clues, then another tries to guess who they are. So, you might say, "I like to grow things and I have a barn." Then the other person would guess "Are you a farmer?" Pretty simple, right? A few days ago, Michael gave me these clues:

Michael: I'm really, really handsome and awesome.

Me: Um, is it ...you??

Michael: YES!! How did you know!?!?!?!

Me: Well, those were some pretty good clues.

Every night I check in on the kiddos before I go to bed. This is why.

Katie Gets Her Ears Pierced!

Katie got her ears pierced earlier this month! She was very brave and didn't make a peep!

Fun Weekend

Steven had to work all weekend, so the kiddos and I hit the town! We went to a local block party with tons of booths and prizes, then hit the rides at Foozles, a small indoor amusement park. The kids had a blast!

First Day of Kindergarten

Michael and Katie had their first day of Kindergarten last Monday!! Michael reported that school is "both awesome and great!" Katie had a wonderful time as well!

We started the day with breakfast at McDonalds then came home to get ready for school. Michael and Katie are in afternoon Kindergarten in Mrs. Chaffee's class.

Katie Reaches the Top!!

After a few visits to the rock climbing wall, Katie has reached the top of the wall!!! For reference, the wall is about 30 feet high! There are 7 routes kids can take up the wall. Katie has mastered one route and can get about 4 feet from the top on her second route.

Michael can get about as high as i can reach :) He mostly enjoys the trip down