Wet and Messy...

Is Kellen's theme this week in his daycare class. I don't envy those teachers. When I picked him up today he wasn't messy, so they must have done their thing in the morning. He did want to show me how he was playing with the pegs, so we hung out for a few minutes and did that. Then we went to get Kristin from her room. While Kristin was bouncing around collecting her things to go home, Kellen just bellied up to the table that the bigger kids were at and joined them with their art project. He used to be a little shy when he went into Kristin's room but now he walks in like he owns the place.

The kids love ketchup. Tonight they both had ketchup with their scrambled eggs. Well, OK, so did I. They both finished their meals so whatever works I guess.

I mowed the lawn this evening since we've got things planned the next three evenings and it's supposed to rain starting Friday and then into the weekend. Kellen watched from the window and waved a bunch.

Tomorrow it is soccer practice, Wednesday is a BBQ at daycare, and Thursday is ice cream social at Kristin's elementary school. It'll be the weekend before we know it.

Zoo

We headed to the zoo today. It was a nice day to be outside, so it sounded like a good idea. The kids had fun and we got to see lots of animals up and about. We even got to see one of the new lions. This new area of the zoo will not be opening until Sept 12, but one of the girl lions was up on a tall rock so you could see her from another part of the zoo. The only bummer is that we missed riding the train by about 1 minute. :( That made Kellen pretty upset, but the next train wasn't for another 45 minutes and we needed to eat lunch and head home.


The first picture is Kellen at snack break. The next picture is the elephants of course and shows toddler "Sam" who is now 1 year old. Then there is Kellen and I, we were watching the loin. Yes, that is a tiger behind Kellen, Kristin and I. You can even see Aaron if you look in the glass. :)

The afternoon was spent taking out the air conditioners, cleaning windows, and getting a new/used tv to replace our barely working tv.

Busy Weekend

We've had a busy weekend so far. Yesterday, my company had our annual client appreciation/charity golf tournament. We get to take off work and golf with our clients and raise money for the Ronald McDonald House at the same time. We had some pretty good weather for the day. One brief rainstorm blew through for a couple holes but we stayed dry most of the day. My team came finished middle of the pack, but I did somehow win the random drawing for a $200 gift certificate from the course we played at. Maybe I'll put it towards a set of clubs that was made after I was born.

Danelle spent her Friday around golf too. She attended the Safeway Golf Classic, which is an event on the LPGA Tour. Sounds like she had a great time and even got some autographs.

Today was the kids' last day of swim class for this session. They both enjoyed going down the water slide a few times. They have a little consessions table set up in the entry way at the swim center and Kristin managed to remember that I told her earlier in the session that she could get a treat after her last class if she did well. So she snacked on some Oreos while Kellen had his class.

This afternoon Kristin had her friend Kylie come over for a playdate. Sounds like they had a good time.

After dinner we took a quick trip to the store to check out TV's. Our TV is on its last legs, but we've been trying to nurse it along since we really want to get a flat screen but we think Kellen is still a little too young and rambunctious for us to pull that off. So we figure that if we have to replace it, we'll get a cheap CRT for the time being.

1st Grade Teacher

Exciting mail today! Kristin got to find out who her 1st Grade teacher will be. It is Ms. Cunningham. She is excited for school and is looking forward to her own desk. "Just like in Oma's classroom," said Kristin. What a good memory. Kristin and Aaron also got another fun piece of mail... hockey shirts. These are the shirts Aaron wanted awhile ago, but they went away. He saw them the other day and ordered them. Stanley Cup shirts from the Penguins win this year. :)

Kellen had a good day and is doing better at trying to go potty on the potty. No luck yet, but he is gaining patience for it. Kellen was very whiny tonight, which wore on both Aaron and I. I hope he wakes up in a better mood tomorrow. However, I believe we have entered the "terrible 2's" with him and are just going to have to work on the no whining and use your words.

Swish!

We headed up to the schoolyard this evening after dinner. Kristin brought her new basketball that she got for her birthday. She practiced dribbling and shooting granny style. She got the hang of how high she needed to throw the ball but she was way too far from the net. So I had her move up closer to the basket and wouldn't you know it, she made a perfect basket on her first shot. She was pretty excited and it was a good note to end on. We continued our walk and found another baseball. I'm surprised that there is any left.

Kellen has been on the cranky and whiny side the last couple of days. We're not sure if he's growing or what the deal is. We have settled in to a nice little routine after bath time where Kellen snacks on pretzels while watching Thomas the Tank Engine. This week he has been sharing his pretzels with me.

A couple pictures from Kristins soccer practice. Kristin is definitely one of the more engaged kids on the team and generally does a good job of paying attention and participating. In the first picture, she is preventing the other team from scoring a goal. That said, I did catch her taking a short brain break. :-)

Rained Out Water Fight

Kristin was supposed to have a water fight at daycare today... planned. However, it rained/drizzled most of the morning and therefore, did not warm up enough for the kids to be running around wet this afternoon. The good news is that it has just been postponed and they hope to get it in tomorrow.

Kristin had soccer practice tonight. Sounds like she did well. Aaron asked her if she likes to play defense or offense better and she picked defense. It is nice to see that she is enjoying the game. While Aaron and Kristin were at soccer, Kellen and I headed to the store to get a couple things. Kellen and I even made it up to the school to play for a little bit and got the garden watered.

Another Beautiful Day

I missed it a couple days ago, but the blog celebrated it's 300th post over the weekend. Wow.

We had another wonderful summer day today. After dinner we played with the trains sets for a little while. At least, Kellen, Danelle, and I played with the trains while Kristin finished her dinner and desert. She wasn't complaining about her meal or anything, just a slow eater tonight. Kellen has been enjoying a new round house and shed that Danelle found for the train set on ebay. After Kristin finished up her dinner, we all went outside for a walk to the school. There was lot's of soccer practices just finishing up. Kellen was all about the slide tonight, and Kristin was all about brushing off some sand that was on the slide.

Kristin is excited for tomorrow because she has a water-themed day at daycare (she even gets to bring in a squirt gun) and then she has soccer practice in the evening. I'm guessing she'll sleep well after that.

Here's Kristin showing offer an ecclectic mix of Littlest Pet Shop toys, a water botter, library card, accordian fan, and various other things she's collected over the past couple of weeks.

Beautiful Day

Today we had a wonderfully beautiful sunny day. Not too warm, not too cool. Tonight has even got a little chilly, but it feels nice to have the house open for the fresh air and to have been able to be outside to enjoy the weather.

Kristin had her second play date this weekend with another girl from Kindergarten. Kristin got to go over to her friend's house. They played outside and inside and evidently were very busy. Kristin also enjoyed playing with her friend's siblings (twin 4 year olds). After the play date Kristin and I headed to the library to return our books and find some new ones.

After dinner we all headed outside for some playtime and yard work. Aaron took out a rhododendron in the front yard that we decided we didn't want anymore. While he was doing that Kellen helped me pick up some pine cones in the back yard. Then Kristin joined in and we moved on to watering. The kids were great helpers and getting some of my outside chores done! More importantly it kept them away from Aaron in the front yard while he was demolishing the rhody.

Play Date Weekend

The kids has their swim lessons this morning. That went pretty well, though I think thier interest is waning a bit. That's OK, just one more week left in this session and then they'll have a break from it for awhile. Kristin will transition right into her soccer games on Saturday mornings.

Kristin had a play date today with her friend Alison from her elementary school. Danelle took her while Kellen was napping. They met at the elementary school playground and played there for awhile. Tomorrow Kristin has another play date at a different friend's house.

We should find out soon what classroom Kristin will be in. School starts the week after Labor Day.

Danelle started a photography class tonight, so I got to do the bath and bedtime routine solo with the kids. They were good for me, and I'm glad to start returning the favor to Danelle for all of the hockey nights I've had during the bedtime routine.

Here's another picture from Kristin's practice last Tueday.

Cake-Bagel

What the heck is a "cake-bagel" you might ask? Well, I got out some cinnamon rolls from the freezer that I had made earlier this summer. Kellen saw Aaron eatting his dessert (cinnamon roll) and called it a cake-bagel. :) Once Kellen finally finished his dinner he got a cinnamon roll too. He now knows it is a cinnamon roll, but it was funny to hear him come up with what he thought it was!

Kristin had a good day and got to got to another park for her field trip today. Yesterday her cooking club made bread. They learned how to knead the bread too. Her class got to eat the bread this morning as their snack. Kristin said they got to put butter and/or honey on the bread if they wanted. She did one of each.

Kellen had a good day as well. Friday's are always exciting when it is Tumble Bus day. He also got to have tomato soup for lunch, one of his favorites. The teachers had to stop him after 4 bowls (the bowls are pretty small and I think about 1 bowl is on his shirt)!

Trip to the Zoo

Kristin got to go to the zoo with her daycare class today. Sounds like they got to see most of the animals. They must have done a lot of walking. Kristin told me that that Penguin exhibit didn't smell anymore. I asked her if they cleaned it and she said no, but that there were tiny holes and cracks in the 'windows' that you couldn't see, so the put in new windows and it doesn't smell anymore. That's good, since it was pretty rank in there last time we went.

Danelle got a call from one of the daycare teachers while they were at the zoo. There was a photographer from the Oregonian taking pictures in advance of a story that they'll be doing on the baby elephant's first birthday. Apparently the photographer got a good photo of Kristin and wanted permission to run it. Danelle said yes, so we'll be on the look out for that. Of course they might decide not to use it, but it would be really neat if they did. You can follow the Oregonian online at www.oregonlive.com. The elephant, Samudra, will turn 1 on Sunday, so we should find out by then if they decide to use the photo.

Kellen had a good day too. He and I went to the grocery store for some milk this evening while Danelle and Kristin went shopping for some new school clothes for Kristin. The grocery store has a portable display that they keep bananas on. Whenever Kellen sees this, he MUST have a banana. Tonight was no different. He's figured out how to rip one banana from the bunch, and then he walks around the store carrying the banana. I guess that's a good thing for him to ask for at the store. When we got to the checkout line, he pointed to a Hershey's bar and said 'Daddy's treat'. I think I'll have to start eating more bananas.

Warm, No Hot Soccer Practice

Kristin had soccer practice tonight. We went from rainy and cool last week to 93 degrees tonight at soccer practice. What a change in weather. Kristin did well and had fun. She was red cheeked by the end of practice.

Kellen had a good day and his ear is on the mend. He is learning about the desert this week. Today they talked about plant life in the desert. Something about a cactus today... maybe an art project. Kellen had fun running around during Kristin's practice tonight. Once Aaron joined us (late work day) he chased Kellen so I could watch Kristin play and take pictures.

Tomorrow Kristin gets to go to the zoo. She is pretty excited for that trip.

More Baseball!

Kristin enjoyed an awesome field trip at daycare today. She and her class got to go to a Portland Beavers game. Sounds like Kristin enjoyed it from start to finish. There is a large screen above right field that Kristin got to appear on twice. It showed her waving to the camera man. She also said that the team mascot, Lucky, came up to her and gave her a high five. She gave him a hug too. To top it all off, the Beavers even won the game. Kristin reports the score as 7-0, but her class had to leave before the end of the game to get back in time for pick-up. I think I heard the final score was 8-1 or something close to that. Neither Danelle or I could get away from work for the afternoon, so we're hoping that one of the teachers took some pictures.

It's a bit on the warm side this evening - upper 80s. We spent part of the evening in the back yard with the water table. The kids had fun dumping water on each other and getting everyone wet with the squirt guns.

Kellen's ear seems to be doing much better. We still have a few days to go with the drops, but it at the current rate, he it should be all healthy again by the weekend. We're fortunate that the condition doesn't really seem to be uncomfortable for him. He'll rub it every now and then, but he's not pulling on it or telling us that it hurts.

Tomorrow is soccer practice for Kristin. She's pretty excited about that, too.

Nap Time for Both Kids

Yes, both Kellen and Kristin took a nap today. Kristin complained of a tummy ache at church and had a fit when we had to leave from playing on the playground. So we told her she needed to lay down at Kellen's nap time. She actually fell asleep and didn't read or pay quietly in her room! It is not often we have both kids sleeping.

Aaron had a hockey game this afternoon. They won! The kids and I ventured down to watch. We saw 1 1/2 periods. The kids got restless so we headed to one of the nearby farms to pick up some blueberries, raspberries and cucumbers. YUM!

Here is Kristin at the birthday party yesterday working on her first painting.

And yes, here is Kristin jumping on a matress (under the tarp) with paint on her feet. She picked Cyclone colors (thats my girl!).

Really, see the Cyclone colors!

Big Trucks and Smelly Ear

This morning Kellen and I went to Big Truck Day. It's held in the parking lot of the rec center that the kids have their swimming lessons at this summer. Lot's of DOT trucks, utility trucks, emergency response vehicles, buses, semi trucks, and even a helicopter this year.


Kellen didn't know what to think at first, but he was plenty warmed up to the conept by the time we left. His favorite seems to have been the city bus, because the layout is similar to the MAX train that he likes to ride on. He kept calling it a train when we were inside it.

The helicopter was an emergency response unit called Life Flight. There was a huge long line, but that didn't seem to phase Kellen. He just ignored it. He ran ahead of me right past the front of the line. I snapped this picture as I was chasing him. He was trying to climb up on the running board by the time I caught him. Shortly after, the crew said they got a call and shoed everybod away so they could take off. They got the props started but never did take off. Perhaps their call was cancelled.

Kristin went to a birthday party for one of her friends from daycare while Kellen and I were at the truck event. She got to do some pretty outragous art projects, including 'flinging' paint on a T shirt and a canvass, and dip her paint in feet and jump on a mattress. Wild stuff.

After the birthday party and a quick lunch, the girls where able to head to the rec center for the end of big truck day. Kristin got to see a couple of her friends there it sounds like.

So, now for the smelly ear story... The last few days, Kellen's right ear has had an odor associated with it that I would have never associated with an ear. Let's just leave it at that. We had our own theory about how it was getting that way, but Danelle decided to go online and see if there might be anything that we needed to get him to the doctor for. Turns out, he has a form of 'swimmers ear' that is a fungal infection of the outer ear. The doctor gave us some drops and hopefully we'll be able to get rid of the fungus and the smell in a few days. Gross.

Fir Grove x2

Kristin had here park field trip today, but instead of going to Fir Grove park they ended up at Fir Grove Elementary (the school 2 blocks from our house). The teacher evidently didn't know where Fir Grove park was. They had fun though. Kristin said there was a soccer practice going on while they were there. There was a girl named Emily that wore the #4 and a boy that wore #8.

Kellen had a good day and got to go on Tumble Bus. This is always a hit with the kids and Kellen is always excited for Tumble Bus on Friday mornings. :)

Tonight we headed outside and up to Fir Grove Elementary (hence the title...thank you Aaron for the idea). The kids played for a little bit and then we continued our walk. Aaron found a baseball. I don't know how he sees them in all the foliage! We are looking forward to tomorrow, which will be busy in the morning. Fun activities though as Aaron mentioned yesterday. It will be good for the kids to be separated for awhile too.

August Rain

More rain today. We decided to go run an errand as a family after dinner rather than stay couped up inside.

Kristin had a tough day at daycare, kicking 4 different kids in 4 different incidents. Sounds like 2 of the kids had it coming, and the other two she could have handled a lot better. So hard to teach a six year old where that line is.

Kellen's annunciation continues to improve, though he still has his cute way of saying things. He has been asking for lolly pops for dessert lately. He calls them 'Daddy Pops'.

We're looking forward to the weekend. Kristin will attend a birthday party for one of her friends (one of the 4 mentioned above, ironically) and Kellen and I will go to Big Truck Day together while Kristin and Danelle are at the birthday party.

Here's Kellen enjoying some cake at Kristin's party.

Rocks and Minerals

Kristin had a field trip today to a museum of rocks and minerals. Sounds like they had a lot of fun. She got to pick a rock from this rock pile to keep. She also got a polished rock. Kristin bought a magnetic ring at the gift shop, but later dropped it and it broke in two. Not sure that I will be able to glue a magnet back together. She liked looking at all the displays and they even got to watch a video.

Kellen had a good day. He is working on his 1, 2, 3s. He was actually counting 1 2 3 in the car yesterday on the way to the store. Nice things to listen to while driving. :)

Tonight it was raining again so we stayed inside. Kristin did some emailing (thank yous) with the help of dad and Kellen helped me dust the floors. Oh, and Kellen did some playing with trains and hockey sticks.

Soccer Night!

Kristin started Fall Soccer tonight with her first practice. Kind of ironic that we made it through the entire spring season without getting wet and then it rains during her first summer practice. Not typical Oregon weather in either case. Anyway, they'll practice on Tuesday evenings and games will start on Saturday mornings in September. Kristin did awesome. She scored a goal in a one-on-one drill and was just beaming. She also did very well at playing the defender in the one-on-one drill. Her team will wear black jerseys this year. She's wearing number 4. 'Dad, just like Bobby Orr!'

The kids have been much happier and better behaved yesterday and today than they were on Sunday. We had a pleasant evening inside yesterday evening after dinner and we didn't have to separate them once! What a deal.

Kristin had her 6 year old check up at the doctor on Monday. We had measured her height over the weekend and noted that she had grown an inch since the first week of May. While we thought that was impressive, we didn't know the half of it. The doctor's office had record of her height from early July when she went in to get a cough checked out, and she actually grew that inch since the beginning of July! No wonder she had been complaining of being sore and achy! She'd also had a stretch of clumsiness too that is much easier to understand now.

Our last recovery effort with photos was moderately successful. It turned up photos from dates that we thought had been total losses. Not 100% recovery by any means, but we'll take it! Here's one of the photos:

Pardon the Interuption

No blog last night. Decided to make one last attempt to recover the deleted photos we lost last week. The scan/recover process took more than 24hrs!

Hope to resume our 'normally scheduled programming' this evening.

Thanks for checking in!

Too Much Cake or Sugar?

Today was a trying day for us all. The kids both had a hard time listening today. They also had a hard time keeping their hands to themselves and not picking on one another. Maybe we all had a hard time coming down from the cake and sugar high of the past couple days. A bit of a bummer after the birthday days on Friday and Saturday. Not to help matters I haven't felt good today. Hopefully I am not getting sick.

One cute thing this morning was that Kellen wanted to shave like daddy. He watched Aaron shave this morning and he wanted to join in, so he got some shaving cream from Aaron. He came out in the hallway looking like he was ready to shave! A little too early Kellen, but very cute.

Happy to You!

Kristin had her birthday party today at Out of This World. The party went very well. Kristin was in her glory as the center of attention and we even made it through the whole party without any tears. We did a book exchange instead of gifts so all of the kids got to go home with a new book. That turned out very well for everyone, except for the parents of a prococious 6 year old that went home with a book called Seventeen Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore. Great stuff.

We had swim lessons for both kids in the morning, so it was a big day for both of them. Kellen is big enough for many of the activites at Out of This World, he just needs direct supervision. So he got as much excercise as Kristin and her friends did.

This evening Kellen started saying 'Happy to you, happy to you Kitten' in a sing-song voice. He was trying to sing Kristin Happy Birthday. It was very cute. He sure loves his big sister.

Happy Birthday Kristin!

A very Happy Birthday to Kristin today! Kristin had a great birthday. She got to wake up to Aaron singing "Happy Birthday" to her. At 10am we headed to Chuck E Cheese's for some fun and lunch. Aaron met us there. Kristin had a blast! She won a lot of tickets (with some help from mom and dad). She was able to turn her tickets in for 4 different prizes. She was excited. After lunch and a stop at home we took Kristin to daycare. She wanted to spend some time with her friends on her birthday. At 3pm they had a little party for her. We took in popsicles and her friends sang to her. A few of her friends even made her a happy birthday Kristin sign.

Tonight after dinner and cake Kristin got to open her presents. Kellen wasn't too thrilled that the gifts were not for him. Kristin had fun and really liked all her presents. Thank you all!

Step in the Right Direction

Kellen had some success on the potty today at daycare. Hopefully that will start a trend for him. He's had a spurt in development lately. He is stringing more and more words together and his anunciation is getting much better too. He's able to say the 'K' in Kristin now, so that has evolved to 'KIT-TEN!' He likes to say 'where'd mommy go?' and 'where'd Kitten go? He should have a good day tomorrow at daycare. They will be talking about elephants and he'll get to go on Tumble Bus. Both his favorites. He has two stuffed elephants that go to bed with him every night.

Kristin is super excited for her birthday. Danelle and I will told her we'd take her to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. Then she'll head in to daycare to celebrate her birthday with her friends there. She's going to bring Scooby Doo push-up pops. Saturday will be her big party at Out of This World.

Took a walk up to the park this evening. They've been sprucing up the school for the school year. Looks like mostly some new siding and paint. New bark chips for the playground too. On the way back we even managed to find a baseball in the ditch behind the backstop. I imagine they'll be mowing that soon - maybe we'll find a couple more that escape the blades of the lawnmower.

Zebras and Berries?

Kellen is learning about zoo animals this week, which is always a fun topic. Today they talked about zebras and also did a group lion painting (they painted the lion's mane with handprints). Kellen also took in a CD with zoo songs we have to share with his friends.

Kristin got to go to a farm today to go berry picking. It sounds like they had a lot of fun and that all the kids had berry smiles! I want to see pictures of that. They picked raspberries, blueberries, marionberries, blackberries and loganberries. Then they made jam with the berries when they got back. Kristin brought some home but we have not tried it yet. Kristin got to try it when they made it and she says it is good and sweet. :)

Kristin is super excited for her upcoming birthday. She has been counting down to it all week.

A Break in the Weather

No blog post last night. Had a minor computer issue to deal with. I managed to delete every photo we've ever taken with the new camera, and then some. Over 4000 photos. Don't ask me how, cause I have no idea. So we've been scrambling with some file recovery software. Looks like we might get most of the files back. Fingers crossed!

We've finally got a much needed break in the weather. Today was very nice - back to our normal Oregon summer. The kids were pretty good this evening. Kellen and I read another book from the Oh, David! series. It's about a mischevious little boy. Kellen really likes these books. I guess he can relate. :-) Kristin read to me tonight from a Scooby Doo book. There were some pretty advanced words in the book, and she did pretty good with it. We're so happy that she is excited about reading.

A couple more photos from our trip to the baseball game. In the photo of Danelle and the kids in front of the stadium, we couldn't get Kellen to look at the camera. There was a MAX train in the direction he was looking. I particularly like the photo of the kids enjoying the water fountain at the train stop. We got to take the train - Kellen was super excited about that and even got the driver to wave at him.

Record Heat

Today the Portland area broken a record for consecutive days above 90 degrees. The old record was ten days in a row. Today was number 11. Tomorrow looks to be number 12. After that, we'll get a welcomed break from the heat.

It was a fairly typical Sunday for us. Church in the morning, followed by donuts in the basement of the church. We met a family from Hawaii that didn't seem too bothered by the heat. :-)

Kellen took a short nap after lunch, and then we headed to the library. It was busy there since apparently it was the start and finish line for a community bike ride this afternoon. In addition, there was a free theater of some kind going on in the basement of the library. After we got the kids set up with some new books, we went to Dairy Queen. Kristin had a Dilly Bar and Kellen had a fudgecicle as you can see.

Later on, Danelle took the kids to get their hair cuts. Sounds like they did pretty well.

Towards bedtime, Kellen usually watches a few short clips of Thomas the Tank Engine, followed by bedtime reading. Well tonight he wasn't happy about Thomas being over so he pitched a minor tantrum on the couch. I gave him the choice of sitting up and reading stories or going to bed. He chose going to bed! I guess the short nap finally caught up with him.

Baseball and Swimming

Still hot here! Last night we headed into Portland for Aaron's company picnic. This year the picnic was held at PGE Park for a Portland Beavers baseball game. Portland Beavers are a AAA team. They even have an old time score board with a person or two behind it changing the numbers. Fun to watch! We all got to have hot dogs for dinner. The kids had fun playing and watching some of the game (more fun watching the entertaining mascots and such between innings).

Aaron's company rented out the family deck for 1 hour before the game which has a few games and bounce houses. Just as Kristin was getting out of the bounce house for the last time before the game she scraped her toe on the turf around the bounce house. This tore off some skin, so Aaron rushed her to the first aid station. The EMT there took good care of her and she even got a stuffed animal. After that we sat down to enjoy the game. We lasted until the end of the 5th inning, which is pretty good. The kids got to bed way late. Kristin slept in good. Kellen still got up pretty early.

This morning we had swim lessons. Both kids did great. The rest of the day was low key as it is once again too hot to be outside much. Kristin and I watched Shrek the Third during Kellen's nap time. This evening we went next door to our new neighbor's house warming party.