What Every Good Witch Needs

KK had lots of Halloween fun this year! It didn't even matter that there was a foot of snow swirling around, because there is no problem getting from here to anywhere when you have a sparkly magic broom to fly on! The fun started with a playgroup party on Thursday where she hung out with a flower, the Wicked Witch of the West, a skeleton, Tinkerbell, a pirate, Dorothy, and a cowboy. They were all adorable. On Friday she celebrated with a big party at school. They made lots of crafts, trick-or-treated through the club, and generally consumed as much sugar as possible.
The preschool teachers were so much fun! The director, Miss Michelle, was Mother Nature and the teachers were Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.
KK's teachers, Miss Nicole and Miss Alisa. (Note K's pretty green fingernails. She was very excited about them!)

Then came the BEST part of all...Halloween Night!!! So, what is it that every Good Witch needs? Why, a loyal Black Cat of course!
Finally, off to trick-or-treat with Daddy!!!
We hope you had a very fun and Happy Halloween!

Almost just in time!

KK and I took a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch this afternoon. I'm so glad we went today because we'll probably have a foot of snow on the ground by tomorrow. Unfortunately, we were still too late for pumpkin picking. Thanks to the cold weather earlier this month they were all squishy and rotting. It didn't stop us from trying though...we grabbed a wagon and off we went! Sure enough, KK found herself the perfect pumpkin AND a ladybug. Success!!! There were also plenty of gourds to choose from, which are far more interesting and fun to play with anyway.
So, while we made it to the pumpkin patch and had a great time, we essentially headed for home pumpkinless. We were almost just in time! (With a side trip to the grocery store we brought home a jack-o-lantern-worthy pumpkin after all!)

The most important part of our visit was capturing the annual "farmer girl" picture for Grandpa K...our little KK just keeps getting more beautiful every year!
2009

2008

2007

2006

Time flies....especially 20 years!

The past few weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye...it certainly doesn't seem like 6 weeks since K started preschool again! Maybe because she has missed so much, between going to MN for 10 days in September and then being sick. She is in her 3rd week of on-again-off-again illness. She was tummy sick for two days, then fine for over a week, then tummy sick for two days again, then fine for 4 days, and now she has cold symptoms including a mild fever. I'm a little concerned that she would develop respiratory issues so quickly after having flu-like symptoms so we're watching her like a hawk. She is still in her typical happy mood though, we are grateful for that.

We HAVE had some special and exciting things happen recently, first of which being that we have a new cousin in the family! Baby A arrived on September 1 and he is absolutely beautiful! KK loved holding him and giving him lots of snuggles. Cousin C is a great and very happy big brother, too!
We also spent some time in MN to see family and friends. My to-do list never seems to get fully accomplished when I'm home, but we sure did enjoy this trip! Daddy even made it out for a couple of days; he was there for work, we just got lucky with the dates. He wasn't able to stay for long because he had to leave for Seattle to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday, but we managed to get a nice hike in with Grandma and Grandpa at The Falls.
Another reason we were in MN was for my 20 year high school class reunion (I'm still in denial over that statement). I do have to say that I have some of the best and most amazing friends anyone could hope for! We had a great time, and we won't be waiting another 5 or 10 years to get together again. Sharon, (Sha)Lisa, Shannon and Shanna....my friends since 7th grade! (We added a "Sha" in front of Lisa's name sometime during high school.)

Eric, Dave, Jason, and Tony. Four of the greatest men you'll ever meet.

The pre-party crowd.

Dave and his beautiful wife, Kathleen.

20 years later, we're still the best of friends! Love you guys!

Pre-school: Round 2

First day of 4 year old pre-school: 2009-2010 school year.

Sorry, I couldn't choose a favorite picture! Four years later, she still takes my breath away...no doubt, she always will. xoxo

Dribble dribble KICK!

Soccer is back, and what a difference a year makes!

Suited up for her first game, with her biggest fan by her side (well, maybe third biggest fan): The first play didn't go so well. As soon as the ball moved, she ran straight for Daddy crying. He gave her a little pep talk... ...as did Coach Tiffany Then something clicked and on the very next play, she took off with the ball... ...and SCORED!!!!
Then she ran straight into the arms of a very happy and proud Daddy! After that, there was no turning back! I had NO IDEA how competitive and really good four year olds could be! I thought it was going to be a free-for-all, but they really knew (for the most part) what they were supposed to do. It was awesome, and a morning that I will always remember. The game was pretty long, and toward the end KK got a little tired. (You can always tell when the hair twirling begins.) Tired or not, she played to the end and I'm pretty sure had fun too! We're very proud of you TLK!!!

We partied with Chuck E!

Expanding on the advertising thing, after repeatedly seeing the commercial that convinced KK there was only one place on Earth "where a kid can be a kid," she requested to have her playgroup birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. Then she said, "They have air conditioning, and you won't have to clean up!" Well, that sealed the deal. (Okay, maybe those were my ideas - but either way, I was convinced that this was a brilliant idea!) It was a fun party, in a place where even a grown up can be a kid!

The "Princess Rainbow" cake
Thanks for the fun party, Chuck E! We'll see you soon!

Silly Rabbit, Trix are for...Birthdays!

One of the bonuses of watching Noggin every morning while mommy and daddy get ready for work is you get all kinds of ideas. For example, Trix Swirls and Cocoa Puffs are a great and healthy way to start the day! And you really should have your birthday party "Where a kid can be a kid!" As far as I'm concerned, the money that these companies spend on their commercials is worth it, because KK fell for all of it...and convinced us grown-ups that these were good ideas, too!

Grandpa Kevin invited KK to his house for a birthday breakfast...


...and fulfilled her gift request for the yummiest breakfast food of all time:

Trix Swirls or Cocoa Puffs may become a birthday tradition, but they will not become a staple breakfast food in this house. It will, however, give KK a little something extra to look forward to every August! : )