Homework?

Today we had our normal Saturday morning. I made pancakes for breakfast and the kids played most of the morning. Kristin had skating lessons this morning, so Aaron took her to that. While Kellen was napping and Kristin and Aaron were out I got to cleaning the kitchen cabinets. What fun! They look a lot beter though... I almost don't recognize the kitchen. Once Kristin was home and had a late lunch, she worked on some homework. Yep, homework. She has an outline of Oregon she gets to decorate and write about. Oregon's birthday is on Valentine's Day and turns 150 this year. Her school is celebrating the State's birthday with this project and a party on the 12th.

Tonight Aaron had a hockey game at 5:25pm. After a little early dinner the kids and I headed down to Sherwood to watch Aaron play. Unfortunately his team lost. The kids had fun watching and playing in the stands.

Star Student Crescendo

Kristin finished off her week of being the Star Student by showing off a talent to the class. After much discussion throughout the week, Kristin decided to show off one of the crafts that she has been enjoying - weaving with a loom. She showed her classmates a purse she made and then demonstrated the over-under-over-ender of the weaving. Both Danelle and I were able to make it to watch. It was great. The cat got her tongue a bit but she did keep right on weaving. Today was also pajama day at Kindergarten. Two in one week for Kristin - Monday it was pajama day at daycare.

Both kids played well together for a little while, then Kellen wanted Danelle to read to him, and Kristin and I watched a hockey game. she was sad that the Penguins lost in overtime. I think she was more sad that she didn't get to see the shootout that would have followed the overtime if noone had scored. Oh well.

After bath, Danelle discovered that Kellen's last baby tooth is poking through! There is still a ways to go with pushing the molars down, but the end of teething is in sight!... Kellen had taken to hiding in the tube tunnel right before bedtime so he doesn't have to go to bed right away. :-)

Linoleum Hockey

Kristin is really enjoying her gig as Star Student at kindergarten this week. Today she got to share her favorite book with the class. She picked Curious George Goes to the Hospital. It's actually one of the longer Curious George stories, and her kindergarten teacher read the whole story to the class. Kristin was thrilled, since she had brought along a back up Curious George book that was much shorter in case her favorite was too long. Her kindergarten friends also made her a book. Each student did one page. We haven't seen it yet, I think she gets to bring it home tomorrow.

The kids did real well playing together tonight. They played with the tube tunnel and Kellen also got out the floor hockey sticks. They played with the tunnel while Danelle and I talked to yet another flooring contractor. I think we must have talked to seven or eight by now. I think we're pretty close to a decision - hopefully we'll have a new floor within the next few weeks.

Last night Danelle went to a focus group meeting that the Beaverton School District organized. They are floating some pretty unconventional ideas about changes, so Danelle went with a couple other mothers so our voice could be heard. It had been quite awhile since I did the bedtime routine solo. The kids were good but the evening was over before I knew it.

Star Student

Today was Kristin's first day as Star Student at Kindergarten. She gets to be the special helper to her teacher this week which means she gets to help with the calendar and weather. She also got to have her poster about her put up and read to the class and pictures of her put up with it. Kristin also got to have the teacher read Mr. Bear's journal from his time with Kristin. Kristin was very sad this morning as Mr. Bear was leaving. She still is a little sad tonight, but I think she will bounce back.

Kellen had a good day and is learning about lizards, snakes and turtles this week. He painted a snake yesterday and they are hanging from the ceiling at daycare. I am not a fan of snakes, so that is a little creepy to me. The kids enjoy it though.

Oh, I almost forgot...we got snow this morning. AGAIN! It started sleeting as the kids and I left the house this morning. By the time I left daycare it was changing to snow. It snowed most of the morning. Kristin got to have recess out in the snow, but pretty much had to stay under the roof on the playground. She said she caught a snowflake on her tongue at recess. It warmed up later in the day and the snow turned into rain and so no snow is left. At least there was no cancelled school today. :)

Handyman Kellen

We're still interviewing contractors for the floor. The guy that came over tonight had his tape measure clasped to his pants pocket. By now Kellen knows what a tape measure is and loves to see them in action. He followed the guy around trying to get that tape measure. After the contractor left, I took Kellen and Kristin into the garage to grab one of my tape measures. I thought if put the slide lock on it that Kellen wouldn't be able to get the tape out. I was wrong. He had the lock figured out in no time flat and was having a grand time with the tape. I didn't want him to get bit by the tape retracting so we had to take it away from him. Maybe well find a toy one for him to play with.

Kellen also got out his superman outfit from Halloween and asked for help putting it on. I picked him up and showed him how to stick his arms out and fly. He loved it and didn't want to quit. I didn't really think it through, since of course Kristin wanted a turn. It was a little harder keeping Kristin in the air, and Kellen wasn't thrilled about taking turns.

Tonight we helped Kristin with Mr. Bear's Journal. She took Mr. Bear to the dentist and to pajama day at daycare. Kristin really got into the spirit of the activity and now does not want to let Mr. Bear go back to Kindergarten; she'll be a little sad to say goodbye to him tomorrow.

Beaverton Still Has a Library

Funny how all things are relative. Today we managed church, errands at Fred Meyer, and a trip to the library. Oh, and Danelle made a big batch of enchiladas for the freezer and made a great new soup for dinner. But for whatever reason today felt much more restful that yesterday. Probably because I snuck in a 20 minute nap in the afternoon. I guess it was just more restful for me.

It had been ages since we'd been to the library. Since Kristin's kindergarten started the program in October that she basically brings home a new book to read everyday, we'd been lax about getting to the library. We we're driving past there on the way home from our errand and Kristin asked to go. We had milk in the car so we went home first, but then she and I made the trip back.

Kristin is still in her glory with Mr. Bear. He tagged along with us on all our trips today. She's even been great about making sure his teeth are brushed every night with the toothbrush that came with him in his backpack. We started the Bear's journal tonight that Kristin will take to school on Tuesday (no kinder tomorrow) and share with her class. We got to read the journal from the kids in the class who've already been the star student (it's alphabetical). Some of them are quite entertaining!

Kellen was happy and playful today. He really likes playing with his big sister. He usually wants to do the same thing she is doing. On the occasions he doesn't, then it's the other way around and Kristin will follow him around. Kellen has a three wheeled plastic scooter with two wheels in the front and one big fat wheel in the back. Actually, it used to be Kristin's. Anyway, today Kellen's inner Knievel took over and he had both of his feet up on the seat with his hands still on the handlebars and was wiggling the trike backwards and forwards. His balance was remarkable but we finally got too nervous watching him and picked him up off the trike. He was very proud.

Mr. Bear Goes to Sherwood

Kristin brought Mr. Bear with her to ice skating lessons at Sherwood Ice Arena. She had me sit him up on the bleachers next to me during her lesson so he could watch. After the lesson I handed Mr. Bear to her for the quick photo op. Kristin had another good week with behavior so for her reward we had another lunch at Quiznos followed by a trip back to the ice arena for public skate. It was really busy today, hardly any room to move, but Kristin still did well. She's getting more and more comfortable on the ice all the time.

Kellen palled around with Danelle most of the day. They headed outside for a walk as Kristin and I were leaving for skating. He was in good spirits all day. He had two huge servings of spaghetti for dinner and was still asking for more. We had three different contractors over today giving us quotes for a new kitchen floor, and Kellen just had to be in the middle of it each time. He wasn't satisfied until he got a 'hi' out of each of them. Kristin was pretty curious during the first appointment, but lost interest after that.

Not much on the agenda for tomorrow. It'll be a nice day to catch up on some rest. We'll have to figure out something though for Kristin to do with the bear.

Mr. Bear

Tonight we got a visit from Mr. Bear. You might ask, "who is Mr. Bear?" Mr. Bear is the stuffed animal that goes home with the child from Kindergarten that will be the star student the following week. So, Kristin is so excited to be the start student next week. Mr. Bear gets to hang out with us for the weekend... he is kind of like the traveling gnome. He even comes with his toothbrush. What a well prepared bear for a few nights over at the Isenhart household. We get to write about Mr. Bear's adventures with Kristin this weekend in Mr. Bear's journal.

Kellen had a good day and had a much better disposition tonight. Hooray! He was busy having daddy read to him while Kristin worked on her star student poster for next week. Kellen's new favorite book is Snappy Jungle which is a pop-up book... always a hit.

Kristin also got to have a Chinese New Year parade today at school. They got to parade through every classroom with thier masks. After the parade they got to try some Chinese food... basically lunch if they would have eaten everything on thier plates. The tricky part is they were given chopsticks. How fun to watch them figure that out!!!

Field Trips

We jumped back in to shopping for a new kitchen floor yesterday. After we got home from work we all jumped back into the car for a special trip to McDonald's on the way to a flooring store. The one we went to has a huge play area. Kristin flew through her dinner of chicken nuggets and apple slices and went to work conquering the play structure. Kellen was still too little for it, but he really enjoyed watching all the action while he ate. The happy meals came with little plush puppies. They're too small for Kellen, so Kristin was pretty excited to get two.

The flooring store was huge, and Kristin was off and running with Kellen right behind. Danelle and I took turns looking at options and chasing the kids. They were both pretty good though. No tantrums, just bored with it all.

Tonight Kellen was teething and ornery again. He had an early bath and bedtime. Hopefully that tooth will quit bugging him soon.

Kristin got to go on a field trip to a fire station today with daycare. She brought home a plastic fireman's hat and a coloring/activity book about fire safety. She was pretty excited about the trip and told us about it. Tomorrow her kindergarten is celebrating Chinese New Year. Kristin told us she made a mask and they'll have a parade of some sort. Danelle is excited because it is her day to volunteer so she'll get to be there for the celebration.

New President

Today, of course, there was a lot of excitement around Obama becoming President. Kristin got to watch the inauguration at school. I watched it at work and Aaron stayed home to watch and get some things done around the house. A well deserved day off after a major deadline.

Tonight I popped popcorn and the kids lined up waiting for it. HA! Aaron just had to take pictures of that. Other than that the night was pretty uneventful.

100 and Counting

Well, our blog is not so new anymore, as Aaron wrote our 100th blog entry on this site last night! Wow! We love sharing what happens with our family almost everday.

Kellen is learning about opposites this week. He had a pretty good day too. He got to dance inside a square taped on the floor and tomorrow they will dance outside the square. Fun ways to explore opposites!

Kristin didn't have Kindergarten today of course due to the holiday. However, she got to go to Pump It Up Jr. with her daycare class and play for a couple of hours. Amazily when I went to pick up the kids Kristin's class was outside playing running around more. I can't believe how much energy these kids have some days. She should sleep pretty good tonight though.

Tonight we played with bubbles upon Kellen's request. Kristin worked on a Hello Kitty magic ink book that had games and activities to do. Aaron helped her with this. Kellen of course wanted the marker she was using, so I did my best to keep him occupied in the living room with books and toys. He had fun tackling me too. He was in a better mood today, maybe because his upper right molar finally showed itself!

Oh yeah, Aaron fixed the 'Sunny Day' link from the previous post. :-)

Sweeping the Clouds Away

It was another Sunny Day for us here in Beaverton today. Lot's of wind too. Lot's of people on the east side of the Portland Metro had no electricity due to downed trees. Thankfully that was not the case for us.

We managed a wagon ride to the elementary school playground today. Kellen went down the spiral slide all by himself. About five times. He'd climb off the slide at the bottom and then run back over to the stairs on the play structure. Kristin had fun on the swings and the monkey bars.

Danelle and Kristin also made it out and about for a trip to Target while Kellen was napping and I worked on some things I brought home from work. Danelle made a nice stir fry for dinner and afterwards there was more crafts for the kids.

I think the sun is supposed to stay with us for at least another day. Hooray for that!

Piano Group

Tonight we had Parker, Megan and Steve over for dinner. Kellen had fun playing with Parker. At one point the keyboard/piano came out and all three were playing it (see picture). They had a lot of fun tonight and not much for arguments or tears. Megan brought over chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Kellen loved that! However, when he says cookie it sounds more like hockey.

Kristin got to go with Aaron to Quiznos and to public skate today. It sounds like she is working on skating on one foot, like a flamingo. I was home while Kellen took his nap. The weather was finally nice enough for me to get the Christmas lights down from the roof line. It was also just nice enough for me to open up the house a little bit to get some fresh air. After Kellen's nap we all headed out to get Kristin some soccer gear. We are going to take her to a soccer time at her school in a couple weeks to introduce soccer to her. She wasn't too excited until she got the cleats on. She was having fun running around the store and kicking a small soccer ball. Should be fun... this is a sport neither Aaron or I know much about.

TGIF

Another busy work week for Danelle and I comes to a close. The kids were good this evening. Kristin is excited because she did well enough on her reward chart that she get's to go to Quizno's with me after skating lessons tomorrow, and then back to the rink for open skate after our lunch out.

Kristin played quitely on the computer this evening. She was exploring some pages on scholastic.com that Oma shared with us earlier in the week. One of the pages has a read along with a fill-in-the-blank. It's got a little sound icon to hear the narrator say the sentence, but Kristin didn't need too much help. She's doing really well with her reading skills. The book she brought home today from kindergarten is called The Fog. Kristin read it all the way through with no mistakes! Then I read her a story from her Princess collection.

Kellen got out the Play Doh and had fun with than tonight. He also brought both Danelle and I a few books for us to read to him. His favorite of late seems to be Peek-A-Boo Zoo.

Were looking forward to the nice wether this weekend. Hopefully we'll find an opportunity to get out and enjoy it.

We've Got Sunshine

Another sunny day! Aaron and I were talking about how we both liked the cold, crisp morning today. The sun was rising and there was frost on the ground, but there was the cold crisp air. We are enjoying our rare sunny days of January. The weekend looks good too! We will have to play outside... what a concept.

Tonight Kellen's stubborn side came out. He was upset very easily tonight. He was good if he was occupied with something new every few minutes. He really enjoys reading at night and right now his favorite book seems to be Peek-A-Boo Zoo. He likes to name all the animals.

Kristin had a good day at Kindergarten. Her teacher was back today. She also got to go to PE class for the first time. They got to run an obstacle course. She said she had a lot of fun.

Kristin is showing some interest in watching basketball on TV. We had the OSU vs WSU game on this evening and Kristin likes to see who is winning. She always wants to know who is going to win so she knows who to root for.

Kristin and I (Aaron) had the globe out this evening. She likes to play a game where you spin the globe and close your eyes and put your finger on the globe to stop the spinning. Then we talk about where our finger stops.

Tonight this blog was bought to you by both Aaron and I.

Substitute

Kristin had a substitute teacher today at Kindergarten. Kristin says her name was Ms. B. She said she had a good day at school. At daycare they are learning about the letter G and the number 5 and the theme is Under the Sea. Kellen is learning about frogs and the color green this week. He got to paint with his feet today. What fun! And how brave the daycare teachers are. I am glad I don't have that clean up!

Today was sunny, which was nice for a change. Sun in January here is a rare thing, so we won't complain one bit. Tonight the kids played with the tunnel again. They also played with stickers... mainly sticking them on paper. Kellen had fun sticking them on his hands and giving some to daddy.

Couch Fort

This evening the kids played with their favorites of late, Play-Doh and the 'nunnel'. There was a lot of giggling going on in the tube tunnel.

Kristin asked if we could use the couch cushions to make a fort, so we did that too. Kristin enjoyed popping her head up between the cushions and more or les playing peekabo with Kellen that way. Kellen thought it was great fun too. Even more fun when he figured out he could push the cushions around and make the fort fall down on top of Kristin. Kellen was still a bit clingy this evening, but he was in a better mood than last night by far.

Danelle got a kick out of me trying to put the tunnel away. It retracts accordian style for storage, and then has a velcro system for latching. Every time I got one side latched, it would come undone on the other side.

Crabby Kellen

Kristin is back to her normal self today. She slept last night from about 6pm to 6:30am! We checked on her throughout the night. She woke up one of the times I went in to check on her. I asked her if she felt better and she just nodded her head yes and closed her eyes again. This morning she woke up feeling lot's better.

Danelle and Kristin ran an errand to Michaels Crafts this evening to pick up a few items for Kristin's next craft project. Kellen stayed home with me. He was crabby all evening. When Danelle and Kristin left for their little errand, he stood at the door and cried with great stamina. I managed to temporarily distract him with some books, but then it was right back to crying and waiting at the door. He was putting absolutely everything in his mouth, so I'm pretty sure he's pushing those back molars on the top.

Kristin spent a few minutes playing her Dragon Tales game while Kellen was getting his bath. At bedtime we read a funny book Kristin brought home from the Kindergarten library about a kid who 'retired' from being a kid and moved to a retirement home in Florida. Of sourse it ended with the kid coming out of retirement and going back to his job of being a kid.

Skate and Play

Today was a very busy day for Kristin. After lunch she and Aaron went down to Sherwood Ice Arena for public skate. That was her reward for having a good week this past week. She had fun and saw two of the girls in her kindergarten class. That was exciting! Once she got home she had about 10 minutes before her friend Courtney came over for a playdate. Kellen calls Courtney "nee". Kristin and Courtney had fun playing with Barbie's and ponies. Then they had a snack and Courtney worked on making a necklace. Kristin wasn't as interested in stringing beads today, but sat at the table with Courtney.

Unfortunately after Courtney left Kristin got a headache (Kellen hit her in the head) and was not feeling good. She fell asleep in the living room at about 5pm. When we woke her up at 5:30pm she still did not feel well. She tried to eat, but ended up going to bed early. We hope she wakes up feeling better. Otherwise the kids had a good day. Kellen was just Kellen and bounced around the house from one thing to the next all day. He was pretty concerned about Kristin tonight.

Skating

Kristin is doing well with her ice skating lessons. She really likes her new skates with pink laces. She practiced cross overs at her lesson today. Her reward for good behavior this last week will be going to public skate tomorrow after lunch.

After lessons this morning, we came home for a quick lunch and then Kristin and Danelle were back out the door again to a birthday party for Kristin's friend Emilie. The party was at Pump It Up, a place we know very well by now.

Kellen was on the crabby side today. He's been wanting Danelle to hold him all the time. Dad won't do, it has to be mom for him right now. He pinched his finger a little bit on one of his toys this afternoon and started crying. I went over to console and offer him a hug but he just got up and walked right by me to find Danelle. He's just getting over his cold and I suspect he's in a bit of a growth spurt as well. Hopefully he'll wake up a happier guy tomorrow.

Finally Friday

Finally it is Friday. It has been a long week for all of us getting back into the swing of the normal schedule. This morning I volunteered at Kristin's school. I got to spend most of the time in the room with the kids helping some of the kids with their center project. They are learning about China from now until the Chinese New Year on the 23rd. I was helping some of the kids write in their My Trip to China books. They took an imaginary flight to China earlier in the week, so this book talks about some of the things they saw. Kristin was at the next table over working on her January calendar and making snowflakes for the calendar. She was having fun.

Tonight Aaron unfortunately had to work late and got home at about 7:30pm. That made his long week even longer. The kids were good for me tonight. I made meatloaf and they both love that so dinner went well. Then the kids played with stickers and PlayDoh. Before I knew it, it was time for baths. Aaron was home in time to see the kids for a little bit and help with Kristin's bath and nighttime routine.

More B-I-N-G-O

The tube tnnel made another appearance tonight. Kellen is strong enought to get it out and carry it to Danelle and I to open up. It had to diferent types of velcro locking mechanisms, and Kellen that one kind, the straps, figured out. The other kind, which I don't really know how to describe, are tougher for him. Anyway, he brought it over to me saying 'nunnel, nunnel!'. Still learning the 't'.

Kristin and I played another game of Bingo tonight while Danelle was giving Kellen a bath. Kristin won. She also showed some interest in watching the Penguins game with me. Unfortunately, they didn't win, but Kristin had lots of questions about penalties.

The kids also had a little game of 'boo' going where they would basically chase each other and yell 'boo!'. Kellen would go into the corner of the living room and wait for Kristin to come find her. Then they'd both yell 'boo!' and giggle.

In the photo: Kellen enjoying his Little People airplane. It plays some short tunes when you press one of the buttons and Kellen was clapping along to the music.

Is It Really Only Wednesday?

Wednesday... boy this has been a long week already. I am pretty tired and Aaron is too. I also seem to be losing my battle with this cold and it is getting worse. :(

On a good note, Kellen and Kristin both had good days. Kellen actually didn't cry this morning when I dropped him off at daycare! He learned about carrots today, as they are learning about fruits and vegetables. He also got to play with mashed potatoes. I am so glad daycare had that mess to clean up... although I have a feeling that is why I have a dirty shirt in a bag to wash.

Kristin brought home a gift for Aaron and I that she made for us at Kindergarten. It is a votive candle holder that she painted snowmen on (with her fingerprints) and then decorated with permanent markers. She was so proud of it. We really like it too! We even lit the candle tonight and enjoyed it in the living room while playing.

Aaron played 3 games of DVD Bingo with Kristin tonight. Kellen and I read some books. Then there was a little time for playing with Elmo. I had to give Elmo some new batteries as he wasn't really working anymore.

Popcorn

A relaxing evening at that house. The kids played with PlayDoh for a bit, then Danelle made popcorn. Always a big hit with the kids.

Kellen started slow with his dinner but then came on strong and finished everything. He's into an independance kick where he doesn't want us to do anything for him that he thinks he might be able to do. He wants his cheese slices whole (not pieces, thank you) and don't put him in the chair, he needs to climb up. So we must have slighted him somehow at the beginning of dinner without realizing it. After he got over it, he tore through his dinner. Kristin did a great job with her meal too. A Hersheys Kiss as the carrot for dessert does wonders.

Kristin made the spider/scorpion hat, or crown, headdress, whatever it is at daycare yesterday. She was prety proud of it. She also brought home a huge paper turkey that she painted at kindergarten.

Back to School

The snow from last night had melted by the time we woke up this morning. Hooray! Kristin got to go back to school today. She was excited to see her friends again. It sounds like they had a semi-normal day, but were also trying to catch up on a few things. She got to swing at recess, which she loves to do. She also got a book from her teacher as a gift for Christmas, The Little Penguin. (You would think that Mrs. Loumena knows me!) She was pretty excited about that.

Kellen is getting better. I think I only heard him cough once today. Kellen is really wanting to eat bowls of cereal the past few days. The fun thing is he likes to is drink the milk out of the bowl once the cereal is gone. He does a good job of not getting all over too. He is also doing good about drinking his milk from a cup... he made a bit of a mess with that tonight though.

Aaron and I are back to normal weeks at work.

Back to the Grind

It's snowing again as I write this! There's probably an inch in the street already. It's supposed to turn to rain (not the freezing kind) before midnight, and I'm hoping it does. Kristin is supposed to go back to kindergarten tomorrow. I can't imagine another snow day. I guess we'll see what it looks like in the morning. Kristin has already asked to make another snowman.

A fairly quite day for us today. Danelle and Kristin ran some errands in the afternoon while Kellen napped. Kristin came home with a little 12" Christmas tree made from rainbow colored tinsils. They found it on clearance.

Kellen has a cute little dance that he's been doing. The racecar he got from his uncle Brett has a button that plays some music. He likes to push the button and then dance to it. We haven't been successful getting video of it yet, but we'll share it if we do.


Kellen like to read a book he got for Christmas that is a about puppies. He likes to howl when he sees the picture of the hound dog. That's what's going on in the picture.

We had a pretty nice, quiet weekend. We all seem to be getting over our colds, knock wood. Back to work tomorrow for Danelle and I.

New Camera

Merry Christmas to us... we bought a new camera yesterday. That was about it for events yesterday other than the normal. Oh, we did wake up to snow AGAIN! It was enough to almost cover the grass. The streets were fine though with the temps quickly above freezing. Back to the camera... the pictures today are from the new camera. We have a lot of learning to do with all the buttons, settings and lenses! It will be fun though. Here is a picture of the kids playing with Elmo (dancing with Elmo)... it was one of the few shots that were not fuzzy on the first day. :)

Today Krisitn had ice skating lessons. The first lesson in her new skates from Santa. Aaron said she skated really well. She was beeming that she did really well on her cross-overs. This evening we all headed over to Out of This World Pizza and Play to play with Kristin's friends (families) Parker, Kylie, Morgan, and Dylan. The kids had a lot of fun running around. Aaron did a great job chasing Kellen most of the time. Kristin was very red in the cheeks by the end of the evening. Here is a picture of Kellen playing at Out of This World.

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the new year by going to the Porland Winterhawks game at the Rose Garden. My work has a share in one of the luxury suites there. For this game, the company gave away all the tickets to employees, and I ended up with a few extra so we were able to invite Parker, Steve, and Megan. We had a really good time. I had never been in the suite before; it was very nice. It was a good game too, the Winterhawks played well and won the game 4-2. Kellen and Kristin had a really good time too. Kristin now says that the 'Winnerhawks' are one of her favorites! Kellen had a good time exploring the suite and dancing to the music during stoppages of play. Toward the end of the game, TommyHawk, the mascot, came into our swuite for a bit to get all the kids cheering. We weren't quick enough to get a photo, but but of the kids thought it was very cool.

Kellen slept a lot better last night. Not much coughing at all. He went to sleep this evening without much trouble, so we think he's on his way to feeling better. He was clingy again today, but I think he's still catching up on his sleep.

We stayed near the house today, but Kristin wanted to go with me to an errand to Safeway so that she could wear her new 'Happy New Year' hat that she got last night at the hockey game. Sure enough, she got a couple compliments at the store so she was beaming.