Happy Halloween!

Wow, busy day. We started this morning at 9am in line for a H1N1 flu shot at a clinic in Sherwood. We got there right when it opened, but unfortunately about 1000 people got there before we did. They had 700 shots. But of course we had to wait in line about and hour and a half to figure that out. Oh well. The kid have been healthy and now we know how early to be next week. I'll probably camp out real early and hold a spot in line.

From there it was off for a quick snack/lunch at home and then she and I were back out the door to Kristin's last soccer game of the fall season. Her team played really well. Kristin had a couple goals and has really figured out the 'assist' thing too.


After the game we headed to a pizza place for the end of the season party. Kristin got another medal and is very proud of it. Her coaches were really great all season long and the head coach said something about each child while he handed out the medals.

We went trick or treating with Kristin's freind Morgan and Morgan's mom, grandma, and little brother. We went to one of the neighborhoods by their elementary school that has lots of kids. There were some pretty elaborate decorations and the kids had a blast.

Back to School

Kristin and Kellen both woke up this morning without fevers. So, they were off to daycare and school this morning and I headed to work for my 1 day of the week. Kristin had a good day. She had a substitute today... evidently her teacher doesn't feel well now. Hmmm..... I wonder why. Kristin also "walked" 3 more laps today at the first recess. She said she walked these, which she probably did, but we discussed she shouldn't run today as she still needed to let her body rest after being sick. Her 3 laps got her to the 20 lap club (20 laps = 5 miles). Way to go Kristin! She was very excited and was very determined to get to this goal. Kristin did get a ribbon and a prize (some little trinket toy) for her accomplishment today. She is now after the 40 lap club.

Kellen had an okay day at daycare. He is having a hard time with drop-offs these days since it is only once a week. He would rather be at home. He generally has a good day though after I leave. Today he was pretty whiny... we think he might be getting sick with a sore throat. Hard for a 2 year old to tell you what is bothering them. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Knock Wood

Kristin rebounded very well today. She went to bed with a fever last night but slept all night and woke up fever free. She had a fever-free day today and went to be hopeful of going to school tomorrow. Danelle said she asked to go to school today and when Danelle said no then she asked if she could go to daycare instead.

We carved a pumpkin this evening. Kristin did about half of the carving I'd say. The little serated knives they make for pumpkin carving work pretty well. We told Kellen that we'd carve a pumpkin for him, but after he saw us open and gut Kristin's pumpkin, he changed his mind. 'Don't open! Paint!' So he painted his pumpkin instead.

Not sure what Danelle did with the camera to get that special effect, but it's pretty cool.

First to Fall Sick

Kristin gets the title first sick in our house... likely the flu. She has a fever, headache and alternates between being hot and cold. Poor thing! She is handling it pretty well though. It is tough with Kellen home as he was not sick today and was his normal bouncy 2 year old self. It was pretty hard for him to understand that sister was sick and didn't want to play. Kristin will be home again tomorrow and we hope for a better day. The other bummer is that we had her scheduled to get her H1N1 shot on Thursday. What timing!

On the bright side we can watch "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" tomorrow, since it is recording right now. :)

Monday Monday

Kristin was up early today. About 4:30am to use the potty. Then she got up at 5:20am when I was eating breakfast. She said she hadn't been back to sleep and was complaining of a sore throat. She didn't have a fever but I gave her some tylenol for her sore throat. She went to school today, but did have a slight fever early this evening so it's looking like tomorrow might be a sick day. She's been in good spirits though.
Kellen has been full of energy this evening despite only taking a 45 minute nap. Kristin said he was out of control and probably had too much sugar and was unbalanced. Not sure about any of that but it was cause for a chuckle.

A couple photos from the weekend.

Busy Weekend

We started off the weekend with Kristin's soccer game on Saturday. We got lucky and had great weather, but the fields were a muddy mess. Kristin had fun and did a great job at passing to her teamate that ended up with 5 goals. Kristin didn't have any goals, but that is okay. In the afternoon I continued work on the new bathroom door and then took Kristin to the store and to the library. Aaron ended up taking Kellen to Home Depot later to get a door knob for the new door. While they were gone I worked in the yard since it wasn't raining. I was able to get most of the work done that needs to be done for fall. Just a little left.

Today we had church and CCD for Kristin. Kristin was a little bummed her friend Elizabeth was not at CCD today. We are hoping she is not sick. Kristin was however happy to see her other friend Bella. This afternoon I finished the door!!! Aaron helped get the hinges on and put the door knob in. Now we have to get tehe old door out. :) Aaron had hockey this afternoon. The kids and I stayed home as we all seem to be fighting something. We are doing our best to keep us all healthy.

Eating Out

Kristin got a coupon for a free kids dinner at Olive Garden for participating in the jogathon. I think she gets a few other things as well, but she hasn't gotten them yet. Anyway, we went to Olive Garden tonight for dinner. The kids both got spaghetti, and both had a circle of red around their mouths by the time they were done eating. Kristin decided she really likes the breadsticks and the after dinner mint (Andes). Kellen was all about the spaghetti, but he liked the mint too.

On Fridays, the first graders can sit anywhere they want for lunch. Every other day, they have to sit at tables designated for their class (there are 4 first grade class rooms at her school). She's been wanting to sit by her friend Elizabeth for a couple of fridays now, but it hasn't worked out because Kristin's class is usually the last class to arrive for lunch and so most of the seats are already taken. But today, Elizabeth's mom was there for lunch and saved Kristin a seat. Kristin got a big kick out of that.

Kellen went to tumble bus today and had a good time with that. He loves Jake and Ike.

After we got home from dinner, we watched a bit of the hockey game. Kellen actually sat through a bit of it with me. He even joined in singing a Penguins-themed song. He would sing 'Great Day, Hockey'. Kristin saw that FLA was playing PIT and asked if FLA meant the Philadelphia Flyers. While she wasn't right, it's still pretty cool that a 6 year old girl knows that the Philadelphia Flyers are a hockey team.

Zoo

Kellen and I headed to the zoo today after we took Kristin to school. Great non-rainy day thing to do. It was quite foggy and cold. Kellen even wore his winter coat. It was nice because there were very few people at the zoo, so it was quiet. The animals tend to be more active when it is cooler out, so we got to see a lot. The elephants were of course Kellen's favorite. All the animals were "talking" today too. We heard the wolves, eagle, elephant, sea lion, and rooster!

This afternoon I made popcorn for the kids' snack. That is always a hit. :) Kristin had a good day at school and ran 4 laps at recess (a mile!). She is determined to get into the 20 lap club ASAP... much like her determination last year to get across the monkey bars 100 times. She has 3 laps to go to get in the 20 lap club... and her name in the Tuesday newsletter. Go Kristin!

'Extreme' PE

Kristin started an after school program today called Extreme PE. It's being coordinated by the PTA. She'll go after school on Wednesday for 6 weeks or something like that. I wasn't able to get her talking about it too much today other thann they warmed up with stretching exercises and a game of duck duck goose. She did tell me that she learned how to hang upside down by her knees from one of the horizontal bars on the playground.

Kellen was busy being my helper this evening. He helped me bring the trash cans to the curb, and then he helped my fix the license plate on the front of Danelle's car. It was leaning forward at the top because the top of the frame (an ISU alumni frame) didn't have any holes in it for screws. So I drilled a couple holes in it and let Kellen use the battery-powered screwdriver to screw the plate back on. He got the biggest kick out of that. I let him play with the screwdriver for a few minutes after that and it was a challenge to keep him away from the car. He wanted to 'fix it more'.

More pictures from the weekend.

Crisp Soccer Practice

After work today, we all rushed home for a quick dinner and then off to Kristin's covert soccer practice. It was a cool crisp autumn evening and was pretty dark by 6:30pm when practice ended. Aaron ended up not having to help coach. Kellen had fun playing at the park since it was new to him. New play structure, swings and even lots of fallen leaves to stomp through. Aaron was sweet enough to watch him most of the time. I watched Kristin and got to chat with some of the other parents. Kristin did well and was happy with her 2 goals.

A couple little things to report over the last few days. Kristin got a Little Professor calculator in the mail from Nana that does math facts. Kristin LOVES it. I guess it used to belong to Danelle when she was a kid. We had one too when I was a kid. Anyway, Kristin was asking me about the multiplication symbol. So I showed her what multiplication is with piles of legos. She picked it right up and was quizing me.

Kellen has been talking up a storm lately. Lots of complete sentences. Of course, most of them start with "I wanna" as in "I wanna watch Dora" and "I wanna go outside".

The pictures are from Sunday. The kids were playing in Kristin's room while I was mowing the lawn. Kellen was watching me from the window.

'Covert' soccer practice tomorrow. No official fields from the league so the team decided to meet at a public park. Kristin is ready to go after last week's practice was cancelled and she got rained out on Saturday.

The kids got a treat out of a local news story about Tumble Bus (click link for the video), which they both love. Kristin is too old for it now, but Danelle still takes Kellen when it goes to the daycare. We've been hearing about Jake and Ike for years.

Yet Another Busy Weekend Day

Aren't weekend days supposed to be restful?! Never seems to be the case around here. Kristin had a birthday party today around lunch time, as Aaron mentioned yesterday. She had a blast and the theme was pink pirates. The parents are "saints"... they had 12 girls over at their house for the party. They all had a good time and the party went well. I dropped Kristin off and made it home in time for lunch. After Kellen went down for nap I got started on staining the new door. Aaron brought home some work and did that during nap time.

After Kellen's nap Aaron made it out to mow, seed and fertilize. Wow! Tonight was a little more relaxed... I think more because Aaron and I were too tired to take the kids outside. Kristin and Kellen actually played pretty well together tonight, even in a different room from Aaron and I. Now if that was only the norm. :)

Rained Out in Oregon?

Kristin's soccer game was scheduled for noon today (Saturday). At 9am, the sun was shining, 70 degrees with a pleasant breeze. At 10am, the storm rolled in midwestern style. Rolling thunder with lightning. by 11am, the thunder and lightning had passed and we were back in a more Oregon style drizzle. So I was surprised when we got to the park where Kristin plays her game and the parking lot was nearly deserted. Kristin's coach was there, telling all the parents as they arrived that the game had been cancelled. Apparently it rained hard enough that there was standing water on the fields. Skunked again. Oh well. 2pm, the sun was back out so we did manage to get the kids outside for awhile. Danelle raked the thatch so I can put down seed and fertilizer when the weather accomodates. Danelle also sanded down the prehung door we bought last weekend. She sure stays busy for someone not feeling well!

Kristin is looking forward to a birthday party tomorrow for her friend Courtney who will turn 6.

FRIDAY!

This morning was pretty busy for Kellen and I. After we dropped off Kristin at school, Kellen had Tumble Bus (at daycare). It is always fun to watch the kids. Kellen's favorite was definately the trampoline today. After that we went to get groceries.

It was supposed to rain a lot today, but it missed us to the north. Fine by me. After a snack in the afternoon I got the kids outside to play. We raked and played until Aaron came home. We headed back out for about 30 minutes after dinner.

We hope the Isenhart clan has a lot of fun on the hike this weekend!!!

Long Day

Had a public meeting for one of my projects tonight, so I didn't get home until a few minutes before bedtime for the kids. Both of the kids were in good spirits. Kellen was just getting tucked in when I got home and wanted a hug before he went to sleep. Then he told that his bed was a trampoline. Kristin was happy and bubbly and showed me her new yo-yo. We bought it for her through some fundraiser or something through her school. She said that there is a special 'yo-yo zone' now at recess for the kids to play their yo-yos. Kristin decided to bring her 'old' yo-yo to school tomorrow so she can share it with her friend Elizabeth so Elizabeth can be in the yo-yo zone with her. What a sweetheart.

Danelle hasn't been feeling well, so it was a long day for her too. Hopefully she feels better soon!

Girl Scouts

Last night I attended a meeting and got Kristin signed up to start Girl Scouts. I am really excited for this and she is looking forward to it as well. The Daisy program is new to me, since that was not around when I was a kid. I have fond memories of Girl Scouts, so I am hoping it will be as fun for Kristin. Now we wait for troops to be set up.

Today was pretty rainy at times. Kellen and I did manage to get outside this morning to run out some energy between rain showers. Kellen found a puddle and had lots of fun jumping in it and getting all wet. That is what puddles are for I guess.

Happy early birthday to Ellie!!!

Whooped Cream

After dinner tonight I was having Danelle's apple crisp with ice cream and whipped cream for dessert. Kristin provided the commentary: Wow dad, you're having apple crisp AND ice cream, AND whooped cream?! I told her I wasn't technically having any whooped cream, but the whipped cream was good!

Kellen was his usual character self tonight too. Danelle and Kristin went winter coat shopping so Kellen and I hung out in the yard. Kellen got out his shoveled and made for the neihbors rocks. Our neighbor put in some colorful river rocks in the planter strip in between the sidwalk and the curb. They might as well be magnets. Anyway, we had made our way to the corner and Kellen saw a cat across the street. From the distance Kellen thought it looked like a bunny rabbit. He kept calling for the bunny rabbit to come say hi. The cat obliged, but when it got close enough for Kellen to see that it was a cat, he changed his mind. He wanted me to pick him up and hold him while the cat was saying hello. After the cat went back across the street, Kellen said he wanted to give it a hug.

The pictures are from Danelle's trip to the zoo last Friday.

Crisp Day

It was a beautiful crisp fall day. Maybe that is why Kellen wouldn't take a nap. Ugh! Oh well, he did rest for awhile and did pretty well the rest of the day. Aaron and Kristin went out at nap time to get a new door for the master bathroom. New project for Aaron and I. I need to get going on the staining part. Aaron also got the yard edged and mowed.

We grilled for dinner and I made an apple crisp with apples we got at the pumpkin farm yesterday. It was all very yummy. We played outside for awhile tonight. It was cool but we all had fun. Kellen wanted to try riding his actual bicycle (needs to be like sister). He almost fits. He just doesn't quite reach the pedal if the pedal is all the way down near the ground. Aaron pulled the bike with a rope and Kellen seemed to enjoy it for a little bit. Kristin ended up riding her bike around the block with Aaron.

Happy birthday Uncle Tom and Uncle John!!!

Pumpkin Farm

We had an absolutely gorgeous fall day today. Temperatures in the 60s with a gentle breeze. Kristin had a soccer game in the morning and we all went. Danelle and I took turns chasing Kellen while the other person watched Kristin's game. She played well again today - 2 goals! Her coach also had her playing defense for a good portion of the game. She's pretty good at challenging the ball and kicking it back the other way. Her team wears black jerseys - as did the team they were playing, so Kristin's team wore yellow pennys. Kellen had fun wandering between the swings and a landscape fountain and an open field that had lots of rocks in it for him to inspect.

After nap we went to Baggenstos Farm to pick out some pumpkins. We got to go on a hay ride to a field to pick out our pumpkins, which were pre-picked and kid-ready. The kids each picked out a pumpkin. Kellen tested his out by sitting on various pumpkins until he found the one he liked.

Kellen loved the wagon ride to and from the pumpkin field. They had three wagons being pulled by tractors - it was a pretty efficient operation. After we paid for the pumpkins, the kids had fun in the hay maze and playing on the playground equipment. They also each took a turn bowling with pumpkins. Based on seeing a bunch of kids with their faces painted, we guessed that they had a booth for that too, but we couldn't find it. Even so we had a great time. Kellen didn't want to leave. He kept running over to the line to get on the wagon - he wanted to go on another ride.

Zoo Trip

Kristin had her first day out of school this year... furlough day for the teachers. The Beaverton School District teachers took 2 unpaid days this year, this was the first. So this morning the kids and I got groceries and then headed to the zoo. The zoo was a zoo! But, we managed to have lots of fun and since it was cool out the animals were pretty active.

The polar bear just had this look on his face like a puppy dog... you just wanted to give him a hug... not really though.

We also rode the zoo train. The train is on the small loop this time of year, so the ride is only about 15 minutes. How can you tell this little boy no to the train!?

Tonight after dinner we headed outside to ride bikes again. Kellen rode with me and Kristin followed us around the block.

Jog A Thon!

Kristin had her jog-a-thon this morning at elementary school. I took the morning off and we all went to root Kristin on. She did five laps in 20 minutes, roughly the equivalent of a mile and a quarter. She had two speeds; sprint and walk. It was a beautiful day for it and all the kids seemed to have a good time. It started off on the chilly side, but by the time we were done Kristin was down to her Tshirt. Kellen had fun alternating between wacthing Kristin and trying to get close to the birds that were hanging out on the soccer fields.

This evening we had a good time outside. Kristin was on her bike and Kellen on his tricycle. Danelle even got her bike out with the toddler seat and took Kellen for a spin around the block. Kellen thought that was pretty cool. I took a couple pictures of that but had a setting on the camera messed up so they didn't turn out. We'll try again tomorrow evening.

Danelle took Kellen in this afternoon for his seasonal flu shot. Now we've all got that taken care of. Next up is shots for the H1N1 virus - we'll get that taken care of as shots become available.

Photos

Here is Kristin all dressed up and ready for 2 birthday parties last Saturday.

And here is Kellen after eating some chocolate pudding as a treat a couple nights ago. Mmmm.... chocolate pudding.

Perfect Weather

We spent the evening at Kristin's elementary school, where Kristin has soccer practice. It was Danelle's turn to watch practice, so I chased Kellen on the playground. Danelle said Kristin was well behaved during practice (we had Kristin write an apology note to the coach for her behavior the week before). They played fox and the chicken again and Danelle said Kristin was a good fox.

Kellen and I played on the playground equipment. He can actually do quite a bit of it without much help. There is one particular slide that he likes to go on. Kellen also found some sand and we spent a good amount of time playing in it. He had me draw trains in the sand and then he'd mess them up and have me draw another. Then it was on to the swings. And we threw in a couple different dogs to pet as well.

We're supposed to have good weather the rest of the week. We're thinking about finding a pumpkin farm this weekend.

Monday

This morning both Kellen and Kristin slept in until 7am! Hooray for mommy! I got to spend a little time waking up before they got up... this is not unusual for Kristin to sleep in, but for Kellen it is. Kellen is usually up around 6:30am.

Kellen and I took Kristin to school and then headed to the church to retrieve Kristin's water bottle that she left yesterday. We got it, but after dealing with a not so happy secretary. I hope she just had a case of the Mondays because she was not in a great mood. Anyway, Kellen and I then headed to the bagel shop and then home to play for a little while. Then we went to go get Kellen's hair cut. After nap, we picked up Kristin and headed to daycare for school pictures there.

The night was nice so we went up to the school and played at the playground. Kristin rode her bike and we brought along Kellen's tricycle. He rode that around quite a bit on the playground. He is just starting to get the hang of pedaling.

Buddy

I think Kellen may have an imaginary friend named Buddy. Early last week we were playing with his two toy lawnmowers and Kellen wanted 'Buddy' to push the other mower. 'No daddy, Buddy do it'. Then yesterday morning when we walked up to the park Kellen wanted Buddy to pull the wagon. Danelle hasn't heard any Buddy references yet, and those are the only two that I've heard. This evening Kellen cradled his stuffed elephant and his baby pooh bear that plays a music-box version of twinkle twinkle little star. Kellen said elephant was crying.

Kristin had her first day of CCD after mass today. She seemed to enjoy it. She said she knows two of the other kids from elementary school. She asked Danelle why the hour went by so fast. She did manage to leave her water bottle in the classroom, so hopefully we'll be able to get that back.

Kristin helped me with an errand to Home Depot for lawn seed and fertilier. It's that time of year again. Kellen helped Danelle with an errand to the grocery store. After dinner, I ran back to the grocery store, but it was worth it. Danelle made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Busy Day

Kristin ended up having back to back (overlapping really) birthday parties today. She got to go to Ceramicafe and Build-A-Bear. What a cool day... she got to paint a reindeer (we will pick up later in the week) and made a bear. She of course also had a cupcake. She had a blast at both parties.

Aaron kept Kellen busy by going up to the school playground and then having lunch. I guess the school was busy with soccer games, which Kellen likes to watch. The neighbor across the street also had a tree trimming crew over this morning and Kellen was really interested in the sounds (chainsaw) but he couldn't see them as they were in the backyard. He even wanted to know if they were still there when he woke up from nap (they had left).

Toe Jam

So Kellen's first words to Danelle yesterday morning were quite interesting. There were three words and Danelle knew that the first word was 'elephant'. The last two words were a bit hard to decipher, but turns out they were were 'toe jam'. Kellen was pretending that the elephant had toe jam. Quite a creative use of his imagination. He has been breaking in some new socks and I've been cleaning out the lint between his toes before bath every evening. It tickles him, but he enjoys it enough that he's now asking me to clean out his toe jam. And now the elephant's too!

Kristin's school started popcorn Friday's this week. She gets a bag of popcorn and a small hard candy or tootsie roll for a quarter. She's been excited for it since her kindergarten class didn't participate last year. I think because they do it in the afternoon and she was in the morning class.

This evening we played in the front yard. Kellen has two play lawnmowers, and the kids were racing them on the sidewalk. Kristin and I played a game with a plush soccer ball where she tried to kick the ball under the truck while I played goalie. She had a couple good shots where she faked me out pretty good by looking one way and kicking the ball the other.

Then Kellen wanted to get out the big broom for the sidewalk. I let him play with it, which was probably a mistake. He ended up falling down on the concrete while holding it and scraped a couple of his fingers pretty good.

The pictures are Danelle's handy-work. Kristin is showing off the purse that Nana made. Kristin bejeweled it recently. In Kellen's picture, the spider web almost looks like it is hovering. That or Kellen shot it from his eyes. Pretty cool.

Sewing Project

I am helping another mom with a sewing project for Kristin's first grade class... chair pockets for the backs of their chairs. Kristin's class has tables instead of desks. I worked on it some yesterday and the instructions were in "greek" so we met up this morning, since the other mother had made some pockets already. During Kellens nap time I was able to get one of the pockets made. Hooray!

Kellen helped me pull some plants out of the garden this morning and he played with his mowers too. After we picked up Kristin we went to JoAnn's for some more thread and some other little things we needed.

Tonight I got to go to Cirriculum Night at Kristin's school to learn about what she does everyday. Her math ciriculum is called Investigations in Number, Data, and Space. They work on their reading and writing everyday. The teacher will start doing reading assessments next week and then will break up the class in 4 groups or so, which will change as needed throughout the year. There was also great artwork to see (should have taken the camera). The class also did their first project. They had to bring in an object and then created a poster on that object. Kristin chose a penguin. Their 4/5 grade class buddies helped them get started on this project and they turned out great. They get to share them with their buddies tomorrow.