Celebrating KATE!

Kate celebrated her SEVENTH birthday in October.  How is this possible??!

She requested a sleepover with Grandpa & Grandma for her birthday- instead of a party.  Did I get off easy or what?! 

On Kate's actual birthday, Grammy & Grandpa Mike came over to celebrate too.  Lots of loving grandparents for this girl!

If Kate scans enough groceries now, perhaps she will want to choose a different career path when she's older.  I still had the desire to scan groceries when I was 16 and could get a job.  After a summer at Kroger, however, I learned that it wasn't as glorious as I once envisioned.  Kate sure makes a friendly cashier though.  I would always choose her lane!

Kate is my only child who enjoys sleeping in.  If I tiptoe down the hallway, Scott and Natalie immediately wake up.  Not Kate though.  She requires a personal wake up shake.  When I wake her up, she is almost always cheerful though and will give me a sweet smile or funny wave.  One morning, I wiggled her awake and she said groggily, "I seriously just went to bed!"  Isn't this how we often feel?! 

Kate LOVES the clip chart at school.  I get the daily report as soon as she gets in the van.  Scott made her a clip chart that she can use at home with her dolls.  Kate had very specific guidelines for him, and he executed beautifully.  I was impressed with the end result.  "Clip up for being a great brother, Scott."

Kate is having a great year in first grade.  She has a tender heart, wants to do the right thing, and has a great sense of humor.  We are proud of her! 

Her teachers have told us how she is very sweet with their class pet, Nugget.  We hear about this big bunny a lot!  Kate made us laugh when she said, "Last year, in kindergarten, we had a plant for our class pet.  I mean, come on people, a plant?"   The teachers have really upped the ante this year!

Happy Belated Birthday, Kate!  We love you!

Fall Break- Tent Fell, My Parents Didn't

My parents recently took a trip to Utah and hiked in all of the state parks.  While there, they tackled one of their big goals which was to make it to the top of Angels' Landing.  I am very proud of them and very happy that they lived to tell about it!  :)  Some of their film footage makes me squirm.  It was a long way down.

Back at home, we were up to our own Fall Break adventures- a.k.a. backyard tent camping.  We made it until just past 1:00 a.m. when fierce winds and rain knocked down a wall to our tent.  Scout was scared and wanted to be as close to "mommy" as possible.  When she rested her head on my pillow, I threw in the towel, and we all made a beeline for the house. Jon would have totally toughed it out all night, but I guess I'm more of a millennial.  When the going gets tough...I sleep inside. 

We had a great day at a state park prior to camping.  The weather was beautiful!  (I've also discovered that the more times we stop for pictures along the trail, the less strenuous the hiking seems.  I'm not sure if Jon is onto my little trick or not, but let's just say, I captured many memories from our day!)

 Two out of three kids enjoyed the cave- can you spot the one with the fake smile? 

What Fall Break would be complete without a trip to the good old pumpkin patch? 

Grandpa Mike and Scott prepared for winter by stocking up on firewood.  Even Scout got in on the action and tried to assist, as pictured below!:)

And POOF it was over just like that.  After a couple of play dates, a little shopping, and family flu shots, our week ended, and we started the next countdown to Thanksgiving Break!

Pre-Fall Break (Random) Happenings

*Happy 88th Birthday to a very special lady!  She qualified for a free gator ride!

 *Mrs. Peacock, with the Wrench, in the Library- the kids have become big Clue fans!

 *The kids continue to have a good school year which is such a blessing!

 *Extra sweet teachers help!!!

 *Rapunzel...I mean, Natalie got a hunk of hair chopped.

*Home, home on the range...

*Scott was working his way through 10 long, multi-step math problems for homework.  I encouraged him to make it to number 7 and then take a break for awhile.  Once he made it to 7, I said, "You're so close now...why don't you just finish the rest?"  

He protested, "That's like running a 5K, and then saying, 'Why don't you just run one more mile'...I was really looking forward to stopping!"  

Good point, Scott!  Take a break.  What was I thinking??!

 *Super Hero Day in First Grade!  So much fun!

My boy is growing up!  He recently went with his class on a 2 night outdoor learning experience.  I was tempted to break the rules and slip a cell phone in his back pocket so that I could hear how he was doing.  I survived, however, and Scott did well.  He had a lot of stories to share upon his return and has a neat class!

Scott has a teacher who likes to use the line, "I'm not going to answer that."  When classmates ask questions that are obvious or unnecessary, Mr. D responds with his monotone line.  Scott has picked up on this, and now uses it on me sometimes when my mom questions become too much.  The other day, Natalie asked him, "Scott, if you had to have earrings, what kind would you get?"  To which Scott rightly replied,  "I'm not gonna answer that."   :)