New Tile Floor - Finally

For the last week our house has been in dissaray as a man named Vic from NW Show and Tile (you can remember because it sounds a lot like Show and Tell) came to our house and re-tiled the entryway.  It looks wonderful, I hate to walk on it because it will get dirty.  Here it is:

Here comes Santa Claus

All of the girls loved meeting Santa: Alicia first

Then Tabatha

But Olivia was very apprehensive.

They all loved the manger scene, especially since Tabatha was Mary in the Nativity Scene this year.

These yearly Santa pictures are from our Ward Christmas party on December 12th.  It was well done, and Tabatha had plenty of ham and salad to keep her happy with not having all the other food.  It was a really nice evening.

Nutcracker

Clara, the Nutcracker, Herr Drosselmeyer, and the Mouse King came to life when we went to the Nutcracker December 10, 2009 in Seattle and the McCaw Hall.  A beautiful theater and a fantastic orchestra, plus amazing seats on the 1st balcony, third row, made this experience one to remember.  The girls thought so too.

Christmas Tree Decorating

The Christmas Carols are playing, the children are giddy, the ornaments are out, and our yearly Christmas decoration are going up. Having a fake tree makes the day after Thanksgiving ritual a reality, and the kids are so happy.

Odyssey 1

A few years ago Isaac had his birthday party at Odyssey 1.  It is like Chuck E. Cheese's, except the play structure to climb in is the largest I have ever seen.  Alicia and Olivia spent 2 1/2 hour climbing, running, and jumping throughout the mazes of tunnels, slides, ropes, ball pits, and trampolines.  They were both had red faces when we finished.  I am glad Birth to Three (where Olivia does speech therapy) had a playdate here because we had so much fun.  Well, the pictures tell the story.

Pacific Science Center

Tabatha and I went with her 2nd grade class to the Pacific Science center on November 18, 2009.  It was so much fun.  Here she is with two classmates.  The dinosaur animatronics were really exciting.

Here Tabatha learns how big a dinosaur footprint can be:

After the dinosaurs we went to the butterfly house. 

In case you can't tell, we had a great time.  With the bug exhibits, dinosaurs, real water cannons outside, a laser show with fun music (think Star Trek and Shrek) then an IMAX documentary movie on elephants, you couldn't ask for a better day.  We ended by making our own cartoon reels using cameras and video equipment.  We didn't even see the amazing Planetarium or the second IMAX documentary on dolphins.  I'd say we saw about half of what they have.  We will be coming back as a family, but next time we will spend the whole day there.

Trunk or Treat

I was in charge of our Wards Trunk or Treat this year.  As you can see, our daughters sure loved being part of the fun.  With a mix of costumes, SuperWoman, a purple dragon, and Raggedy Ann, our girls were as individual as ever and came home with plenty of treats to last for months.  I had so much help making this night a success, but most importantly all the kids had fun.  Halloween couldn't have been any better.

The Spooner Farms Pumpkin Patch

Here are my favorite pictures from our yearly Spooner Farm Pumpkin Patch excursion. Ken and Olivia missed it, Olivia was taking a nap while Ken took one too, he has been sick the last few days and was not fit to spend the day out in the rain. Although we missed him, staying home helped him feel a little bit better.

Here Tabatha and Alicia brave the large purple spider and her many pumpkin babies.

We went through the corn maze again this year.  The theme was "Honey, I shrunk the farm" and here you can see how large the chair had become once we were small.  Luckily we found all the clues to fix the machine and came out our normal sizes again.  Alicia still talks about the really large underwear on the clothesline though.  Sorry, I didn't take a picture of that one :)

Here Alicia and Isaac are racing to see who is the fastest.

Sleeping in the Frog!

I love my new camera.  This is Olivia sleeping at 10:30 at night.  Her room was pitch black, but with my camera on the night mode, it looks like it is in the middle of the day.  Olivia has decided to sleep in her frog.  She will go to her room by herself just to take a nap in her frog when she is tired.  She doesn't always take a nap, but when she does she is sleeping here in the "og" as she calls it.  Isn't she adorable?  We move her at night to her bed because we worry about her neck, but usually we just let her sleep away.  Goodnight sweet princess.

Last Days of Summer

At the end of the summer, when fall is about to begin, September 22 brought us 92 degree weather and another day to lounge by the pool.

Olivia with her beautiful blue eyes did not want to leave after two hours straight of swimming.

It may be hard to tell, but she is above the pool in the middle of a jump right here. With her life jacket on she is invincible.

One last shot of Olivia jumping into the pool, off the diving board. I love to watch them swim, and I did get in for a lot of it, but thought some pictures to capture the moment would be nice too.

Tabatha was in school, so she missed out. Alicia and Olivia on the other hand had a blast with their friends from our ward at a members outdoor pool.

The Puyallup Fair

Alicia has become a wonderful reader. When she saw that this horse was named Kenny (see the small sign on top) she instantly thought of daddy. So here is one Kenny, a Ken, and two girls by their Belgian horse.

Olivia was too afraid to aim for the goats head. Instead she stayed near the back.

Alicia and Olivia "milked" a plastic cow named Mabel. The water that came out went straight into the bucket underneath. Very cute idea!

After a long day Alicia and Olivia needed to sit down, and found some strong hands to support them.

At the petting farm Alicia found a goat that stood still for a moment. They were constantly searching for food, this one nearly got the blue bag.

Gardening and Canning

The Topsy turvy I bought did not grow very good tomatoes, but it was fun to see a plant growing down instead of up. Still, there were a lot of little tomatoes to share.

The mini pumpkins are a big hit.

Here is Olivia lost on our very own corn maze.

And the sunflowers came out in many shades of red, orange, yellow, and maroon.

My proudest moment is all the canning I finished. Some pears were picked from a house down the road, but most were from a farm in Yakima. Here Olivia is excited to eat some of the canned (from left to right) pears, peaches, nectarines, harvest applesauce, and spaghetti sauce. Bon appetit.

Bank to Bay 1K Kids Run

For months Tabatha has wanted to run in a real "race." The oppurtunity came on September 13, 2009 when my mom invited me to walk a 5K in Tacoma called the Bank To Bay. When I went on the website I saw that the 1K kids run was free and came with free t-shirts. It was perfect. Ken went with Tabatha and I went 3 minutes later with Alicia and Olivia. Above is Tabatha after finishing and getting her finisher prize of her necklace.

Here are my parents before their walk.

Olivia was excited to pick up her necklace at the end. She walked most of it, but I did have to carry her a bit to keep her going.

All of my girls on their first race day. Congratulations.

September 4, 2009 First Day of Kindergarten

I have been looking forward to Tabatha and Alicia starting school. The calendar is full, soccer has started, and life is again on the fast lane, so I took a few moments to take some pictures of the start of another year of school.
With backpacks and lunch boxes ready, the kids are excited to get out the door.

Alicia danced all the way to the bus stop.

Our Five Year Old Soccer Player

Strike a pose!

Alicia is now a member of the Excalibur's. A soccer team of four boys and three girls. She plays three on three against other teams, and she is great. She has so much fun.

Here she is the day she received her soccer gear for her birthday (minus the team shirt).

Milton Parade

Yesterday we went to the Milton Parade and activity days. The parade is mosty neighbor kids walking for Little League (here are the neighbor for example), the fire department with their sirens blaring, and a few clowns and fancy cars. Ken liked the old-fashioned milk truck, and I enjoyed the mini tractors and bulldozers. No live animals like horses, but the kids enjoyed all the candy that was thrown their way from the various groups. The co-op preschool even handed out bottles of bubbles, who could ask for more.

After the parade we stayed at the park for free hot dogs and chips, the kids jumped on bouncy toys, and then Tabatha got to catch two fish in the live fishing pond (they were really small so we didn't keep them.) Alicia didn't want to wait for fish, so instead she decided to do the rope obstacle course. Olivia was happy to be on the swings at the park. All in all, it was a beautiful day and we saw a lot of the kids teachers, friends, neighbors, and community members. I only wish Ken would have signed up to be in the dunk tank for the Watch Dog Program, now that would have made for a great picture :)