Weekend at the Cabin

A friend of mine reminded me that I needed to add a new post, since it's been a while. Thanks, Maricar!

In November, we took a trip out near Concordia to stay the weekend in a cabin. While there, we fought to stay warm, until the last day, when the temps turned quite pleasant. We saw deer, geese, ducks. And while driving around the lake, we discovered that we were minutes from a major Kansas tourist attraction -- The World's Largest Ball of Twine! It was big! Here are a few pictures from the weekend. I tried my best to take some portraits of the kids. These have been played with in my photo-editing software. And I couldn't resist trying for an Ansel Adams-like look with the trees.

Trick Or Treaters

Now for a short blurb about Halloween. Andrew, a.k.a "Ash Ketchum, a Pokemon Trainer" and Karsyn, a.k.a "Cute black kitty". The kids even insisted that their pumpkins match their costumes. Paul helped Andrew design carve a Pikachu (a pokemon character), and Karsyn picked out a black kitty stencil. And he got lots of practice carving pumpkins. Our first set rotted before Halloween, so he carved us new ones the day of.

Backyard Friends

The kids are always finding fun animals/creatures to play with in our yard. We have many caterpillars and butterflies every year. But this year, we discovered quite a few frogs and toads. And most recently, we have had some bunnies. The kids found one in our front flower bed! They're always full of smiles when they're playing with their creatures, so I thought I'd post some photos.

Off to School

Yesterday, we all headed off to school. It was our first day of what will be many chaotic, rush-out-the-door, run-to-the-bus stop days. The kids were both excited and nervous. I, myself, had a little anxiety (and yes, maybe a few tears) sending the baby off to Kindergarten. Waiting for the bus to get home, I paced with anticipation. I couldn't wait to see the kiddos!
Karsyn immediately announced that she had forgotten about her lunch that I had packed for her in the morning, so she ate hot lunch. (something Andrew wouldn't have done) She was very excited about her day, and shared lots of stories. Andrew had a few, but he's a boy of very few words.

As Summer Comes to a Close...

I thought I should recap our summer adventures....

June
I spent most of the month in physical therapy and visiting various doctors for the back issues. No resolution, but I'm optomistic!
The kids went to Zoo camp one week and learned about Apes.

July
We celebrated the fourth on July 1st -- also Paul's birthday. He put on quite the show (trust me, the photo does no justice!)

The very next day, the kids and I started off on our annual trek to Spokane. 3 days, many movies, many fast food drive-throughs, and VERY many rest stops later, we arrived at our destination. The highlight of the roadtrip had to be the motel in Montana with the giant water-slide that fed into a regular motel-sized swimming pool. The kids thought it was hysterical to try to swim up-stream in the pool. And they each shot out of that waterslide like rockets!

While in Spokane, we did our normal touristy stuff with the grandparents. Shopping. Hiking. Children's museum. Chuck E. Cheese. Silverwood. Riverfront Park. And we got lots of family time! We were busy EVERY day of our 2 weeks there. Karsyn even learned how to ride her bike, Thanks to Uncle Aaron -- he's a master at bike-riding instruction, seriously. It only took him 5 minutes to do something that I'd been trying to do for weeks. Here's a few snapshots from the Spokane visit:








We returned at the end of July. Since then, we've had swim lessons, and another Zoo class called "Poop Patrol" -- yes, all about Poo! Andrew even had to dig in some Elephant poo to look for interesting objects! Thankfully he's into science and found it interesting rather than disgusting!

And now, so early in August, we're gearing up for school. Andrew met his 2nd grade teacher this evening, and Karsyn met her Kindergarten teacher. I'm not ready for summer to be over -- but I guess all good things must come to an end.

ONE YEAR GONE!

Unbelievable. Once year gone. One year since I last posted to this here blog. A blog I set up to keep my family & friends updated on everyday life. The intention is always there...it's just the follow-through that I can't do.

So, in the last year, what happened?

Got a cat, Sparkle.
Andrew finished Kindergarten.
Spent some time in Spokane for the summer.
Andrew started first grade, and Karsyn started pre-K.
I went back to work part-time.
Headed up a fundraiser for Andrew's school.
Andrew was a race-car driver for Halloween; Karsyn was Cinderella.
Karsyn turned 5!
Spent the Xmas holidays in Spokane with family.
Andrew turned 7!
Got a dog, Star.
Paul had neck surgery.
Family came to visit.

Doesn't seem all that busy. I guess I could've made time. Or maybe there just wasn't much to write about.