We Found Snow!

Yesterday Kristin had a friend over in the morning for a playdate. The girls really play well together. And while her friend was here we got to see it snow a few times, but it was too warm out to stick. Last night it dropped below freezing, but we only woke up to frost. We were hoping for a little snow on the ground.

This afternoon the kids both had a playdate at another friend's house. As we were driving up the big Wier Drive hill we found snow! This area is about at the 500 foot level and they got snow last night. Not too much snow... not even enough to cover the grass. After playing inside for awhile we got the kids outside to the little neighborhood park. The kids had fun making little snowballs, snow angels, and just playing around in the snow. Kellen had fun going down the 2 slides. He was wearing slick warm-up pants so on the frozen slides that made for some fast sliding! He loved it and every time he flew off the slide and landed in the bark chips... usually on his bum. He just laughed and got up and did it again. It was so nice to get the kids outside to play for a little bit.

Family Time

I suppose we're overdue for a blog post. hmm, what to write, what to write?

I've got the week off from work and have been really enjoying all the family time. Today, Danelle went to work and I had the kids. I took them to Chuck E Cheeses to celebrate Kellen's recent success on the potty. We had a really good time. Kristin has the games pretty well scoped out and knows which ones to play to maximize her tickets (which are redeemed for prizes). She was excited to see a few new games and managed to win a bag of cotton candy from one of them. Both of the kids were well behaved, which made it pretty easy for me. Kellen even used the potty there. Way to go Kellen!

Kristin has had a lot of fun playing with her new 'puppy'. It's a wired-remote control, with the wire cleverly disguised as a leash. She named the puppy Katie after her friend Parker's dog. So far, Katie is a champion battery-eater. I think actual dog food might be cheaper. :-)

Kellen has been busy bouncing from new toy to new toy. He has spent a lot of time playing with a couple new Thomas trains that are self-propelled. He loves yelling 'choo-choo', complete with the hand gesture you'd use to get a trucker to lay on his horn.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

What a wonderful Christmas! Not a white Christmas like so many of our family and friends had this year, but wonderful none the less. The kids were pleasantly surprised by Santa's gifts and had fun playing first thing this morning. After breakfast we had a marathon of opening gifts. We are very blessed! Uncle John came over and joined in watching the kids open gifts and playing with all the new toys. We all had a great time.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Danelle was busy baking bread, making cheddar chowder soup for dinner, and preparing a lasagna for tomorrow. She sure works hard for us!

After a wonderful dinner, we exchanged presents amongst the immediate family and then, after playing for a little while, we went for a drive in the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. No snow for us this year, but the lights still look nice.

Best get to bed. I sense Santa is on the way!

The Excitement Builds

The kids are getting more and more excited for Christmas and even tomorrow... Christmas Eve. Of course, that is when Santa comes. :)

Yesterday we had an inpromptu playdate with some friends. Kristin and Kellen had a pretty good time. Kellen says it wasn't so fun because the other little boy played with his toys. Oh Kellen... that is what happens when we have friends over.

Today Kristin had another friend over that was here all day. Mom and Dad had to work, so I volunteered to watch her. She is a good kid and she and Kristin played really well together all day. Kellen got in there... sometimes too much, but that is what little brothers do. I worked on making cinnamon rolls this afternoon too. I know what is for breakfast in the morning. YUM!

Christmas Mash-ups

So there is a trend lately on the radio to hear two songs mixed together and combined into one 'mash-up' song. It was probably invented by the same person who first muted the Wizard of Oz and cranked up Pink Floyd. Today, Kristin and Kellen treated Danelle to a Christmas-themed mash-up while they were in the car. Kellen sang 'Jingle Bells' while Kristin sang 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'. Both at the top of their lungs. All the while, 'Frosty the Snowman' played on the car's radio. Now that's entertainment.

So here are a couple pictures from Kristin's Holliday party last Friday. They played pin the carrot on the snowman. Kellen even got to play too.

Excitement is Building

The excitement ofr Christmas to arrive is building in the Isenhart household. Kellen keeps asking why Santa hasn't come yet... and we keep telling him it isn't Christmas yet. It is so hard to be patient when you are 3 years old! Kristin had her winter holiday party at school on Friday. We all made it for the party and the kids really had fun. They got to make their own gingerbread house with graham crackers, frosting and candy and then there were games and a cookie and hot chocolate snack.

I finished baking cookies today!!! Whew. Made Aaron's favorite, peanut blossoms today. Now to finish wrapping up the presents.

The Ever-Changing Christmas Wish List

If you ask Kellen what he wants for Christmas, he'll pretty much say the same thing everytime: 'Elefun!' Kristin, on the other hand... wow. She's definitely keeping Santa on his toes.

The girls had girl scouts last night and Kellen and I stayed home and had a good time playing Bingo, Tic-Tac-Toe, rolly-polly, and other games. At girls scouts, there activity was learning about other Countries. Kristin got Sweden, and used an encyclopedia to learn that the people of Sweden enjoy playing ice hockey and skiing. Go figure she found a fact about sports. :-)

Kristin has a full two weeks off for Christmas break, starting next week. Tomorrow afternoon is her holiday party at school, which were all looking forward too.

Too Soggy

Well, the rain just keeps coming. I woke up last night to the sound of pouring rain and wind again. Some places evidently also had thunder. There was even a tornado in Oregon today... crazy! One we rarely ever get a tornado and two who hears of tornados in mid-December?! Sounds like no one was hurt, thankfully. The local news station has the Portland Metro area in flood warning. I would guess some of the local creeks are going to crest soon. Haven't seen anything to worry about around our place.

The kids are busy and getting more and more excited for Christmas to arrive. We now have some presents under the tree and so far no one has attempted to sneak a peak! :) Tonight we played rolly-polly with a ball and Aaron and Kristin were also playing keep the balloon in the air.

Warm Chex Mix

So I'm sitting at the computer, which is a laptop most often used at the the kitchen table, and I'm downloading some photos from our camera to use on the blog. Then, fresh from the oven, Danelle pours a whole batch of chex mix onto some wax paper on the table right next to me. There is something about warm chex mix that is just irresistable. Yum.

We made it to Zoo lights Friday evening during a break in the rain. Our timing was perfect. We strolled in just before dark, and got on the first train ride. After the train ride, we strolled around the zoo for a little while and enjoyed the lights. Every year, they add something new. This year it was some lights that were timed to look like rain and snow falling on some of the larger trees.

Yesterday both of the kids had their skating lessons in the morning. Then Kristin got to go to a cookie decorating party at one of her classmates' house. Each girl got to decorate a dozen sugar cookies. Kristin did a really great job decorating.

Danelle and I then went to my company's Christmas party at the Skamania Lodge in the Columbia River Gorge. We could have stayed the night, but that would have presented some childcare challenges so we just stayed for the dinner and presentations. It was still nice to get out though.

A couple pictures from Zoo Lights. We found someone to take a photo of all of us, but Kellen of course had other ideas.

Rain Rain Go Away

... the Oregon Isenhart's want to play! We've been looking for a dry evening to go see the zoo lights, but there haven't been any. We may have to see the zoo lights in the rain this year!

Not much news so far this week. Just counting the days until Christmas break now. I've got the whole week off between Christmas and New Years!

St. Nick's Day

The kids had a good St. Nick's Day on Monday with fun gifts to open from Oma and Poppa and Nana and Papa. After opening the gifts they both headed to the table to paint in their new water color paint books. :) Oh, before that they each got a chocolate candy out of their new advent calendars! Kristin and Kellen both love the Jacob's Ladder Kristin got. They also got jumbo pencils. They love these and it is fun to watch Kristin do her homework with a giant pencil. :) Thanks all for the gifts!

The rain is coming in buckets today and did last night too. We are supposed to get quite a bit of rain for here in the next couple of days. The radar was red this morning shortly after Kellen and I got home from dropping Kristin off at school. We are to get inches of rain. JOY! Now to find a break in the rain to clean out the gutters as they are full of leaves and can't keep up with this rain.

The Fish Came Back

Well, to the surprise of no one, we came home with Frankie the Fish. I was holding out some hope when the house rules for the white elephant gift exhange were to draw numbers instead of going oldest to youngest, but Kellen manage to draw the highest number and got to pick last! After that, it was inevitable.

Aunother busy weekend for us. We went to the mall Friday night and stood in line for about an hour to see Santa. Kellen ha been melting throughout the day so we weren't sure how he was going to do. He ended up sitting on Santa's lap just fine, but he would only flash his 'I'm faking it' smile. Kristin gave Santa a candy cane that she made from beads and a pipe cleaner. Santa thought that was pretty cool and told Kristin that she was on his 'good' list. I think that made her day.

Yesterday morning the kids started a new session of skating lessons. Kristin's lessons are right after Kellen's, so Kellen was exciting that Kristin and Danelle got to watch him skate. He also seemed to get a kick out of watching Kristin during her lessons.

We had a nice, mostly sunny weekend. Kellen and I raked the last of the leaves this afternoon. Then we buried 'treasure' in the leaf pile. The 'treasure' was a broom that Kellen had gotten out of the garage. He would go rummaging through the pile until he found it and then hold it over his head gloriously and say 'I found the treaure!'

I guess the big news for the weeked is that Kristin had her first reconcilliation on Saturday afternoon. She'll have her first communion next spring. She's growing up so fast!

All Kinds of Wonderful

Over the weekend, the kids and I were out shopping and we happened upon one of those singing fish on a clearance rack. This particular fish plays a catchy little tune from a McDonalds commercial that came out a year or so ago. If you are not familiar with this commercial, you can catch it on youtube at this link.

Well we didn't buy the fish, but we found ourselves singing the song all day. Then yesterday Danelle and I were talking about a white elephant give exchange that our friends are hosting this weekend. We decided it would be a great gift for that. So, Kellen and I trekked out this evening while the girls were at Girl Scouts. To my surprise (should I have really been surprised?), the fish was still at the store on the clearance rack. Kellen grabbed it and immediately pushed the button and started dancing along. The pictures here don't do it justice.

Now it's only been an hour, and I'm already having buyer's remorse. At a minimum, I have to listen to ths fish until Saturday night. And it just occured to me that we might end up with it back, especially if one of our kids has the last turn during the gift exchange...

Xmas Decorating

We started the Christmas decorating last night. The tree is up with help from two little elves... Kristin and Kellen. Kristin also put the angel on the top of the tree. After the kids went to bed I got the lights on the tree. Now we need to get out the ornaments. A task for another evening. The decorating has just begun. :)

We have another busy week to keep us on our toes. Tomorrow night is Girl Scouts. Maybe we can make it to see Santa this week. ;)

Weekend

We had a quiet day today. The kids helped me run a few errands. Yesterday, Kristin had a playdate with her friend Ella. They had been talking via email during the week (through their moms' email) about what they were going to do, so they had it all planned out. Kristin brought a whole backpack full of toys with her. Soounds like they had a good time.

After Kristin got back home, we went to a public skate in the afternoon. I think it had been 9 or 10 months since she last skated, so I was surprised that her skates still fit. She did have to really push to get her feet in there though. After a few laps, she had her sea legs back and skated well. Both she and Kellen start 2 months of lessons next Saturday morning. Speaking of Kellen, he was stuck at home since he is battling a cold. He had a good day today though and seems to be getting back to his normal self.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving and got to spend part of the day with Uncle John. The kids enjoy having him around and playing with him. Kristin was excited to show him her recorder and how she knows how to play "Hot Cross Buns." She says that next week she will get the music sheet to learn "Happy Birthday." What fun! Kristin is super excited for that on Monday afternoon. As for the weather, the rain came back and it warmed up some. We are all pretty glad to have the moisture back in the air. We were all having a hard time with the cold dry air. Sad, but true, we like the rain in the winter... I guess.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thankgiving Everyone!

Here are a couple photos from the past week or so:

That's Kristin's tent turned sideways. In the photo, she was pretending it was a ticket booth and was taking Kellen's tickets.

Here, I was giving the kids 'elephant rides'. Funny that Kellen calls it an elephant ride, but as soon as he climbs on, he grabs the back of my shirt by the collar, yanks back hard, and says "Go Horsey!"

No School Day

Yes, school was closed today due to icy roads. It was all hipe about snow for two days and that we would get 1-3". That didn't pan out. Instead the rain from earlier yesterday froze and we got icy roads. We did get a little snow and Kellen's first thought this morning was to look out the window for snow and then immediately wanted to go outside and play. We did make it out to "play" in the snow for a few minutes this morning before I took the kids to daycare. Lots of black ice on the roads this morning, but now the roads are dry. Kristin should have school tomorrow. Now the temps are supposed to drop into the teens tonight. BRRRR!

Catch UP

We've had a busy week. Kristin's girl scout troop distributed bags around the neighborhood for a food drive on Thursday evening, and then went around Saturday morning and picked them up and took them to a local food bank. Kristin's school had a dance on Friday evening and sock-hop theme. A pun for the type of music and also an effort to collect socks for a local charity. I missed the Thursday and Friday event as I was travelling for work. It was a short trip; I flew to Medford during the day on Thursday and was home Friday evening just in time to help put the kids in bed. So Danelle was a trooper and had both the kids for the bag distribution and the dance.

Kellen and I skated Saturday morning while the girls were collecting the food donations. He is getting more and more comfortable in his skates, but I think the highlight for him is still the trip to Quiznos afterwards.

I had a game yesterday evening and it as early enough that Danelle was able to bring the kids. My team didn't win, but it seemed like the kids had a good time.

Today Kellen got to go to a birthday party at Big Al's. He got to go bowling and even won his game! After bowling the kids got to play in a game area that is like Chuck E Cheeses. Kellen used his tickets to buy a star wars-type light saber. While he is having fun with it, it has already been put away for the day for using it on his sister.

Thank goodness it's a short week at work this week. I'm looking forward to the four day weekend.

The Rain Cometh in Buckets

Holy rain Batman! Okay, I should be done with the silly sentences. That is what you get when you have been running around all day. Whew! Busy day today and the rest of the week as Aaron mentioned with Girl Scouts and other activities. This morning, Kellen got to tag along with me to a mom's get together. He got to play with a boy named Mason that is about a year older. They got along great and had fun playing with some construction toys and a toy vacuum. Later this afternoon, Kellen and I volunteered at Kristin's school. While I was grading/checking math homework he was working on cheese and crackers. Such a new favorite snack.

Tonight it has been pouring. So much rain that the street gutters are overflowing in a lot of areas, partly due to leaves. Joy! Kristin and I had our Girl Scout meeting tonight. All 10 girls were there. :) We were busy getting the fliers and bags ready to distribute tomorrow after school. Hopefully it won't be raining so hard... rain boots are in order tomorrow! We have a packed rest of the week, but it proves to be fun and rewarding. We even have a sock hop to go to Friday night at Kristin's school.

Puppet Show

Kellen like cheese spread on crackers. It has served as incentive for him to finish dinner for several nights in a row now. Must be his midwestern heritage.

The kids got out Kristin's princess 'tent' this weekend. Half of the top is designed to be open, so if you stand it on its end, which the kids figured out, it serves as a good theatre for a puppet show. Or a ticket booth, depending on the moment. I'll try to catch a picture and post it. Kellen talked me into getting in the ticket booth yesterday. Then he and Kristin both climbed in too. It was fn, but I was definitely stuck in there with them crawling all over me!

This week is shaping up to be a busy one for Girl Scouts. They're putting together empty food donation packets on Wednesday, distributing them on Thursday, and collecting them on Saturday. Danelle and Kristin will sure be busy!

Weekend Update

Another relatively quiet weekend for us. Kellen and I went to his skating lessons Saturday morning. This week we had him in hockey skates. We had them in storage so last week he was in the rental skates. The rental skates have longer blades on them, so we spent most of this class getting used to the hockey skates. Kellen did well though and afterwards we went to Quiznos together for lunch. Before we left the arena for lunch, Kellen talked me into playing the 'claw game' where you try to pick up stuffed animals with a claw. By design, the claw doesn't exactly have a lobster's grip. We managed to pick up a turtle stuffy, but the claw dropped it.

While Kellen and I were skating, Kristin and Danelle were at Lowe's. They have projects for kids from time to time there. This time they made periscopes. Kristin's turned out well and she and Kellen have been having fun playing with it. Kristin and Danelle ended up going to a different Quiznos together. Great minds think alike.

In the afternoon, we all went to an animated movie called Dispicable Me. It was pretty good. We went to the same movie plex as the last movie we went to, but we sat in a different theatre room this time. This one was a bit smaller, but you got to walk up to your seats from the entrance and the stairs had little red lights like the aisles in airplanes so the kids thought that was pretty cool.

Today was a pretty low key day. Danelle and I took turns running a couple errands and the kids stayed home and for the most part played pretty well together. I think Kristin is ready to get back to school after a long 4 day weekend for her.

Two Milestones

First, this is our 600th blog post! Wow! Second, today is Kellen's half birthday. When we told him that it was his half birthday and that he was 3 1/2 he asked about a cake and when were his friends coming over! At least he didn't ask for presents too!!!

We had a pretty normal Friday with Tumble Bus and getting groceries. Kristin was home yesterday and today due to the holiday and a teacher grading day. The kids even helped me get the leaves raked up in the front yard. There are more to come, but it was a dry day and the sun was out this afternoon. Perfect opportunity to get the leaves picked up and get some other quick yard work done.

Kristin's Idea

I asked Kristin for the blog idea tonight. She asked if I'd written about her last soccer game yet. And the trophy. I thought I had, but upon review it looks like I didn't. So here goes:

Kristin's team pulled out a come from behind win for her last game. They were behind 3-2 at halftime and came back for a 6-4 win. There is no official score of course, but all the girls new what the score was. Kristin had a really good goal in the second half where she dribbled the length of the field and even around one apponent for the goal. She is quite the competitor. Here is picture from her game and another of her with her trophy later that day at the end of season party. In the picture, you can kind of tell that Kristin is trying not to laugh. During the 'trophy presentation', her coach talked about about a memory he has of each of the girls. For Kristin, he talked about two games where you could tell that a girl on the other was used to going around apponents but couldn't ever make it around Kristin. One of them even got so frustrated that she took a swing at Kristin.

In other news, the kids have had fun tackling me in the living room the last several evenings. They are pretty good at knocking me over from a sitting position if they gang up on me. They've also enjoyed airplane rides from Daddy too.

It is starting to feel like Oregon fall/winter around here. Highs in the 40s and rainy. Just feels really cold, especially since we had 70 degree weather last week. Oh well, it is November.

Kristin has a short week at school this week with Veteran's Day on Thursday and a teacher grading day on Friday. She had a good day today and even got to see her soccer coach at lunch. Her soccer coach and his wife just had their 3rd child on Saturday night. Coach was in having lunch with his daughter, Kaia, also in 2nd grade.

Kellen is coming along on the potty training! He even told me once today when he had to go. Little steps in the right direction. Whew!

A Saturday Without Soccer?

Wow, a weekend without soccer. We didn't have a whole lot on the weekend agenda, but it still flew by pretty fast. Instead of soccer on Saturday, Kellen and I went to the Sherwood Ice Arena for a parent-n-me class. For not having skated since last winter, Kellen did a great job. He wasn't too bothered by falling down and he was able to get right back up most times.

While we were skating, the girls had some mother-daughter time at Big Al's family fun center. Sounds like they had a good time there too. Later on in the afternoon, I helped a friend take a bunch of stuff to Goodwill with my truck. While I did that, the kids had a play date with the other family's kids.

Not much on going on today. It was sunny in the morning, but by the time we got home from mass and Kristin's sunday school, the clouds had rolled in. Since it looks like they'll be sticking around for the near future, I went ahead and mowed the backyard / mulched the leaves in between showers.

A Real Leaf Pile

We got another nice day today so we made it outside this afternoon. Kellen helped me put away some Halloween decorations and we saw a little snake while we were out. Scared both of us a little! After we cleaned up the front yard we headed to the back yard to make a leaf pile. Kristin joined in for this. :) Once we got the pile big enough... Kellen was the judge of this, the kids took turns jumping in the leafs. The game was Red Light, Green Light... Kellen wanted to play. It was nice to spend some time outside in November without getting wet! In the second picture, Kellen is getting ready to throw the leaves in his hands at me while I am taking pictures.

Like a Leaf Pile

Kellen and I got to hang out this evening while Kristin and Danelle were at Girl Scouts. We played Bingo. Kellen knows how to identify the squares that are called, though I think he is doing it by the color and character on the sqaure instead of the number and letter. Hasn't quite figured out what constitutes 'Bingo' quite yet either. It doesn't help that for three games in a row it was the same square on the board was the one he needed in order to complete his Bingo. Now he thinks he just has to get that one square. :-)

After Bingo, Kellen was in a wrestling mood. He told me he was going to jump on me like a leaf pile. He then took a running start and did just that! He came down with his knees. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Here's a picture of the kids at the daycare Halloween party last Friday.

Happy Halloween

OK, a day late with this post...

The kids had an absolute blast with Halloween this year. The package from Ellie arrived on Saturday, and the kids were excited to get the Alabama costumes that she sent. Thanks Ellie!

Kristin was so excited over the cheerleader costume that she chose to wear it out trick-or-treating on Sunday. She had planned to go as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, so that explains the red shoes. :-)

Kellen went as Bob the Builder. He had been asking to go trick-or-treating for so many days that I don't think he believed us at first when we told him it was the big day.

Both of the kids made out big time. We don't have a scale, but I'd guess that they each came home with over 4 pounds of candy! I suppose they may need a little help eating the chocolate. :-)

Pumpkin Carving

Thursday night we carved/painted pumpkins. Kristin helped Aaron get the goop out of the pumpkins, Kellen painted his pumpkin and I carved Kristin and my pumpkin. Kristin picked out her pumpkin design.

The first picture is Kristin gutting my pumpking, while I am carving her's. Next is Kristin's pumpkin, Kellen's pumpkin and then my pumpkin. It was a fun family event. Now Kellen wants to know when we will cut his pumpkin. :)

Answer: It's a...

Kristin's answer: "A patch of grass growing on a giant cucumber with brown sprinkles."

Kellens' answer: "Spongebob's house"

And the winner is...

Question: What is it?

Kellen made this at his daycare school on Tuesday. I asked him what it was. I got answers from both him and Kristin. Check back tomorrow for the answers. :)

Countdown to Trick-Or-Treat

Kellen asks to go trick-or-treating every day. At least several times. He's going to have a blast this year...

...Monday's soccer practice was cancelled because of pouring rain, high winds, and occassional thunder. Practice is usually from 5:45 - 7pm (or whenever it gets dark). At 5:25, we were sitting at the dinner table and Kristin says, 'Dad, this is when we would be leaving for soccer.' At 5:45, she says, 'Dad, this is when practice would be starting.' At 5:55, she says, 'We would have been at practice for 10 minutes.' I'd say she likes soccer. This is the last week of the fall season - I don't know what we'll do next week!

...Kellen let Kristin and I in on a little secret tonight at dinner time. He told Danelle that he wanted candy for desert. 'The yellow and pink ones. Like when Daddy goed to work and Kristin goed to school.' Ahhh, the Halloween candy came out a little early! In all fairness, if I knew where she kept it, it wouldn't last until Halloween. :)

Looking forward to going to Kristin's parent-teacher conference this Thursday!

Weekend Update

On Friday evening we got to go to the Winterhawks game in my company suite at the Rose Garden. It seemed like the game was able to hold more of Kristin's attention this season. Kellen still likes to run around the suite. He calls them the 'Winnerhawks' and he corrects me when I say Winterhawks. They are having a great season so far and won the game in an exciting shootout.

Yesterday Kristin had her penultimate soccer game for the fall season. I got to coach her team again. I felt a little more comfortable on the sidelines and even did a better job telling the identical twins apart. Kristin played very well and had a goal and an assist. The whole team played very well. The other team's only goal came when a player on Kristin's team tried to clear the ball on the defensive end and accidentally shanked it into the goal.

Yesterday evening I got to hang out with a few of the other 'soccer dads' and watch baseball and football. I was excited to see the Cyclones beat Texas and Iowa lose to Wisconsin, but the Phillies losing to the Giants certainly stung.

We had a much more low key today. After mass and Kristin's Sunday school, we stayed around the house during the afternoon.

Bring on Hockey Season

It is hockey season at the Isenhart's! Hockey on TV, going to a Winterhawks game tomorrow night, and Kristin even got into the spirit by bringing home a special book from the school library. A book about the Penguins! She said it was the only hockey book at school that she saw and how lucky that it is about the team we cheer for. :) She was reading facts out of it to Aaron during the car ride to soccer practice last night. Super cute!

Girl Scout season is starting too! Tonight was busy for me with 2 Girl Scout meetings. One with the parents from the troop and one for me as a volunteer. Looks like we will have 10 girls in the troop and it should be a lot of fun. I have a great group of parents behind me ready to help in whatever I need.

Day Off

Happy Birthday Ellie! (Last Friday)

I took the day off today since this is a 'use it or lose it' week for comp time at work. Our run of great weather continues - high 60s and sun today. I dropped Kristin off at school this morning and this afternoon Kellen and I took his wagon up and met Kristin aftershcool. Kellen and I brough't Kristin's scooter with us in the wagon so she could use it on the way home. While Kristin was at school, the rest of us ran some errands and spent some time in the back yard.


This evening we all went to Kristin's soccer practice. Kellen played well with the other little boys so I got to spend most of the time watching the practice and chatting with the other dads.


Here's a couple pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch last Saturday.

Coach Dad

Kristin's team of 13 girls breaks into 2 squads on game days and they play games on adjacent fields. One of the team's coaches is on vacation and the normal backup coach was unavailable today. So the backup-backup filled in. That would be me. It was fun and I got to coach Kristin's squad. And by 'coach', I mean that I spread out the playing time and tried to remember all the girls names. We have identical twins on the team! Kristin played well on defense and made several goal-line saves when the other team was making rushes.

Kellen had fun too since there was a playground really close to the game fields at this particular park. The games are at different parks every week.

This afternoon we went to the pumpkin patch. They take you on a hay wagon to the pumpkin 'patch' to pick out your pumpkins. It's really just a flat field where they truck in alreay-picked pumpkins. But it's a fun atmosphere and we had an absolutely perfect day for it today.

Cold Season

Yuck! It is officially cold season in the Isenhart household... unfortuneately! Aaron has had a sinus cold for the past week or so. Now Kellen has a cold and I now have a little cough. Kristin is the only one surviving... so far. Here's hoping that Kellen sleeps better tonight.

Otherwise the week has been good and busy as always. It is starting to be pretty dark outside at the end of soccer practice. We have been blessed with another dry week, except for a little rain last night. This weekend is supposed to be nice which will be good for soccer and a trip to the pumpkin patch.

Kristin has a girlfriend on the soccer team who's mom is pregnant and we were talking about how she will soon be a big sister. She is currently the little sister (has an older brother). So, Kristin said "well, I guess since she will be both a big sister and little sister she is a medium sister." :) The funny things kids say.

Soccer, Homework, Repeat

After a rainy weekend, we've had some beautiful fall weather. We all trekked out to Kristin's soccer practice yesterday evening. Kellen and I had fun exploring the school grounds where the practices are held. He found one area that had a truck load or two of sand mixed in with the grass and had fun playing in that. He asked me to build him a sandcastle, but we were without a bucket or water, so he was out of luck. Usually we we on a short walk exploring and then head back to the area where the practice is held. By then, there are a numer of other little boys about Kellen's age, or maybe just a little bit older, for him to play with.

This evening was another nice night so I took advantage and edged and mowed the front yard. Danelle kept Kristin on task with her homework. Writing,spelling, and math. Kristin came home with a new folder today that is labelled 'Daily Math Homework'. So we've got that to look forward to. :-)
She is doing awesome on her spelling. She's got a set of words to learn for her grade level and then three 'challenge' words. So far she's gotten the challenge words figured out by the time she has her spelling test. This week the words are 'echolocation', 'nocturnal', and 'hibernation'. Wow!

Soccer in the Rain

Get out the umbrellas, tents, raincoats and rainboots! Oregon fall is here. Soccer game in the rain. The girls did great in the rain though. You could tell the ball was a little slippery with some misses, but they all had fun. It is fun to watch the girls grow together. They are starting to put together some good plays and are making some good passes. Go Cheetahs!!!

Kristin had a birthday party for a friend this afternoon at a brand new bowling alley/arcade. The party was in the arcade section and then in a party room for food and presents. The kids had fun playing games and then picking prizes. While Kristin and I were out the rain stopped and Aaron and Kellen got out for a walk/scooter ride.

Jog-A-Thon 2010

Kristin had her jog-a-thon fundraiser today at school. Boy, that snuck up on us again this year! Kristin ran 6 laps around the track, or about 1.5 miles, in 20 minutes. Way to go Kristin! Danelle said that she ran the first two by herself and then walked/ran with her friend Ella for the rest of the way.

Another busy weekend ahead, but tomorrow's Friday!

Here's a picture of Kellen sharing his digger at Kristin's soccer game last Saturday, and a couple photos from today.

Boo!

We got a surprise the other night on our doorstep around bedtime. A friend has boo'ed us. This neighborhood likes to have fun things for the kids to do... so this one seems to be like May Day when I was a kid. You leave a bag of treats on the doorstep an ring the door bell and run. The twist here is you do it at dark and it is Halloween related. You also get a paper with 2 ghosts on it to hang on your front door so others know you have been boo'ed. You can only be boo'ed once. So, tonight we boo'ed two of Kristin's friends. She had fun! Nothing like ringing the doorbell and running out of sight. ;) The second house had a nice twist as the sprinklers were on... you would almost think they knew we were coming! BOO!

First Communion!

Kristin started her Children's Faith Foundation classes for the new school year today. They used to call it CCD when we were growing up. Anyway, this is the school year that she will recieve her first communion. She is growing up so fast! Her class was after mass today. After her class, she and Danelle jetted off to a birthday party for one of her classmates. Kellen and I hung out while they were gone. Well, sort of. I had some work that I took home and he wanted to watch Cars, so I guess it worked out. One of the catch-phrases from the movie is 'KA-CHOW'. Kellen likes to add a little 'KA-CHOW, KA-CHOW, KA-CHOW' to his activities.

Danelle got the kids out for a walk/scooter riding later in the afternoon. Then she went out and got a new cell phone. She now has a texting plan, for those in the family that know who to do that. :-) Wow, when did I become a technology dinosaur?

Family Movie Date

This morning had soccer and they did well. Kristin didn't score today, however, she played some great defense. :) Go Kristin! It was a cool morning, but dry. Great for soccer.

This afternoon we all went to a movie, How to Train Your Dragon. Kristin's school in conjuction with a locally owned movie theater offer tickets for family matenees during the school year. You get 10 tickets for $8... and the parent go for free! Kristin and Kellen both seemed to like the movie, but there were a couple scary parts where both Aaron and I had a kid in our lap. Later on in the year we are looking forward to seeing Toy Story 3.

Yesterday the kids helped me decorate the house for Halloween. Now Kellen is asking to got trick-or-treating... a lot!!! The next four weeks are going to be long. ;)

Friday!

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa Jungblut!! (Thursday)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jungblut!! (Friday)

Yesterday evening was curriculum night at Kristin's school. Danelle went and listened to a presentation from Kristin's teacher about the various lesson plans and classroom rules. It sounds like this teacher is a great fit for Kristin. We're happy and thankfule for that.

It's nice to finally live in the neighborhood where Kristin goes to school. We went out for a walk this evening and ran into one of Kristin's classmates (and soccer teamate) and her family. So we all walked together for awhile. Kristin and Kellen had their scooters, the other kids had their bikes.

Another busy but low-key weekend ahead- soccer game, birthday party, maybe a family movie.

Kellen, Kellen, Everywhere a Kellen, Kellen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT!!!

The kids have been keeping busy this week and the weather has been nice enough to cooperate for outdoor activities. Mostly sunny this week with temps in the 70s. Quite nice. It was humid on Monday though, which is odd with 80 degree weather here. So, soccer practice was a bit sticky and also buggy. I ended up with a couple bug bites. Boo!

I got to volunteer today for Kristin's classroom today. Didn't get to be in the class, but got lots of copying done and met one of the other moms from the room. That was fun! We have a friend that graciously watched Kellen this morning while I volunteered. :) He had fun. This afternoon we played and met some of the neighbors while outside. Our only direct neighbor has a 5 year old grandson with the name Kellen! Funny. We never thought we would know so many Kellens!

A Busy Day and a Quiet Day

Saturday was busy. Kristin had her soccer game early in the morning. They don't keep score at this age, but Kristin will tell you that they lost. Her team played really well though. And depending on how you look at it, Kristin scored the first goal again. She put a hard shot off the cone (post) and it looked like it was going to trickle in, but one of her teammates was crashing for a rebound and may have gotten a piece of it before it crossed the line. Go Kristin!

After her game we made a quick stop at home and then Kristin and Danelle were back out the door for team pictures. After Danelle brought Kristin home, Danelle was right back out the door again to attend some training for being a Girl Scout Leader. While she was gone, the kids and I walked up to Kristin's elementary school. Kristin took her bike and I pulled Kellen in the wagon. Kristin needed some help on the big hills so I pushed her with one hand and pulled Kellen with the other.

When Danelle got home from her training, we all piled into the car to go to a BBQ a friends house. We had a great time there and then got home in time to give the kids late baths and tuck them in bed.

We made up for a busy Saturday by not doing much today. Ran a couple quick errands and went to an open house. We loved the floor plan but it's a short sale and needs to much work. Also had a storm sewer easement with a manhole in the back yard. We did really like the floor plan though and hope that something similar comes on the market soon.

Here's a couple pics from Kristin's soccer game. And yes, I know we need to take more photos of Kellen. :-)

It's Friday!

Kristin's game tomorrow is at the elementary school we used to live near. I can hear her telling her teammates all about it already. :-) Looks like it is shaping up to be a gorgeous day too. She has team pictures after her game so it's nice that the weather will cooperate.


Kellen is back into his Cars phase again. He has a bunch of the different characters from the movie and loves playing with them. He tells me which ones are the good ones and which ones are 'not nice'. He has also been enjoying doing various projects at the art table lately.


Kristin likes to sing along with songs on the radio or CD in the car. This evening she was singing along to BNL's Grade 9 (circa 1992), and Hello Dave's Golden (circa 1996). Warmed my heart. :-)

Fall is Upon Us

Lovely day outside today with a high of 70 degrees. It was actually sunny too!!! Kellen and I got outside to run a few errands and to play a little in the afternoon. Kristin had soccer practice tonight and since it was nice out we all went. Aaron followed Kellen around as he was zipping around on his scooter. He has gotten quite the hang of it lately and is really enjoying it. :) Kellen probably fell asleep super fast tonight.

Kristin has her first spelling test tomorrow. She has the words done without really any practice. The lists will get harder, but for now this will get her used to spelling tests and what they are like. Kristin is really having fun in 2nd grade and making new friends. We are thrilled to see her be such a happy kid.

Spiderman Scooter

Kellen is getting very good at riding his Spiderman scooter. Whenever it's not raining for Kristin's soccer practice, we make a family event out of it. We bring Kellen's scooter along to help keep him occupied. The practices are at a middle school, so there is plenty of space for him to scoot around and not be near traffic or the parking lot. He likes to lift one leg up and hold it up rather than putting his pushing foot on the scooter. Especially on downhill inclines.

We recently discovered that another girl on Kristin's team also has a little brother named Kellen. Kristin was lamenting to me yesterday that she doesn't know any other Kristins in her school. Who'd have thought that Kellen would be a more common name than Kristin?

Here's a few pictures from Kristin's last game. In the first picture, notice that she is getting her body in there with a taller girl on the other team. You can see in the next photo who got the better of the play. :-)

Soccer - 2nd Game

This morning was Kristin's second game of the season. The girls did well and won both games again. Kristin scored the first goal of her game!.... again. :) GO KRISTIN!!! The weather even cooperated for the most part. It sprinkled some, but in all it was a good day for soccer. Later came the rain. Kellen was busy with snack, finding and picking up worms, and trying to sneak away to the playground. :) Busy boy!

This afternoon was a mellow one at home. It was nice to not have to run around today. I think we all needed that break. However, it would have been nice to get outside, but Mother Nature had other plans... like rain. Boo!

Kristin brought home her first homework for 2nd grade. Pretty minimal this week with a spelling list and reading time. I tested her on the spelling words tonight to see what she needs to work on and she just missed one of the "challenge words"... habitat. She was close though and spelled it habatit.

Settled In

Last night Kristin had soccer practice in the rain. She doesn't phased by it though. Danelle said she wore her new raincoat the whole time so that's good. Kellen and I stayed home for some quality time out of the rain. He was in a rough-housing mood so mostly he practiced knocking me over from a sitting position and then trying to pin me. He ought to be a good tackler in a couple years. :-)

Tonight Danelle has an information meeting for Girl Scout troupe leaders, so I've got both kids tonight. So far they've been really good. Just sneaking in the blog between bath time and bed time.

We're pretty well settled in from the move at this point. Just a few minor loose ends to tie up. We had some things in a storage unit while we sold the house and we're trying to figure out if we can go to a smaller unit now or even take it all out of storage.

We're looking forward to a quieter weekend ahead. Just Kristin's Saturday soccer game on the agenda so far.

Nice Days

Today and yesterday have ended up being nice days outside, getting into the upper 70s. Yesterday, Uncle John came over to spend some time with the kids and watch Kristin at soccer practice. He even came over before Kristin got out of school. Kristin liked the suprise of Uncle John with Kellen and I to pick her up! She ran right to John and gave him a big hug. :) Soccer practice was fun and the girls even got popsicles afterwards... Kellen got one too!

Today was my work day, but the kids had good days at school. Kristin got mail today from her dentist. She won the monthly drawing this month for having "sparkling clean and cavity free" teeth. Her prize was two movie tickets. We will have to find a movie to take her too. She was super excited! We took a walk tonight to take some dishes back to a friend and to just get outside. What a nice night!

The Weekend

Another fun weekend for us. Kristin's soccer team started the fall season off with a bang. Her team is called the Cheetahs. Kristin got things rolling with the first goal of the game. I didn't even have the camera going yet.

After her game, Kristin and I went to a picnic at a Park in Portland near my work that my company put on. Kristin had a good time because there was a bouncehouse. She was hoping that a girl from her 2nd grade class would be there (I work with the girl's dad), but they must have had other plans. There were a couple other kids there that she had already met so she had a good time. While we were doing that, Danelle took Kellen to a birthday party for his friend Ari at Pump It Up Jr., so both of the kids got to have fun on bounce-houses.

Today we found some blue shelving for Kellen's room and retired his older and smaller brown two-shelf book case to the kitchen area. It was a good day for a BBQ, so we had some friend from the neighborhood over for dinner.

All in all a pretty fun and relaxing weekend. Here's Kristin celebrating a goal:

Good-Bye Portland Beavers

Forgot to mention that we went to a Portland Beavers baseball game last Saturday. It was there last homestand in Portland - they are leaving town after this year. A major league soccer team will be taking over the stadium so the Beavers have no place in town to call home. We enjoyed a family night at the game. They were selling the souvineers for pretty cheap so we loaded the kids up with wiffle ball bats, and ball cap for Kristin and a glove for Kellen. The kids each got their own team photo poster with the current team in the middle being framed by photos of teams gone bye. The Beavers have come and gone from Portland several times in the last 80 years. This last time they were hear ten years. We hope they'll come back, but I'm sure we'll have fun going to soccer games next year. They'll be called the Portland Timbers. I guess without the Beavers they'd just be the Trees.

Kristin had soccer practice in the rain tonight. She's used to it by now - it poured for her first 5 practices this summer. It was Danelle's first go with the rain though since I handled the summer practices. :) Kellen and I went to the grocery store for bananas and bread. After looking for a Car Kart (we didn't find one), Kellen settled for carrying the basket and walking. He carried the basket all the way through the store, even after it had bread and bananas in it. He was very proud of this accomplishment and told everyone that made eye contact with him what he was doing.

Kristin is looking forward to her first game of the fall season this Saturday, and Kellen gets to attend a birthday party of a friend from daycare, also a first.

First Day of 2nd Grade

Kristin was up on her own this morning and ready to head to school. She is excited to see her friends and so many are in her class. :)

Here is our 2nd grader! How time flies. In the last picture she is giving Sparky (school mascot) a hug. What a good way to start of the school year!

Busy, Fun Weekend

We've been keeping busy this weekend between unpacking, normal errands, birthday parties, and a BBQ. The kids have been good and are adjusting very well to the new place.

Tomorrow we'll wind down the weekend with more unpacking and Kristin has a playdate too. She is super excited to begin second grade on Tuesday.

Amongst all the unpacking and getting settled, Danelle took the kids to the zoo on Thursday and to the swimming pool on Friday. Friday was also Tumble Bus day. Kellen rated the swimming pool above Tumble Bus, which must mean that he really likes the water.

Thursday afternoon was Kristin's last swim lesson of the session. She showed remarkable progression from her last session. Having the pool at daycare has really helped her comfort level in the water. Before her swim lesson, we went to her school's Ice Cream Social to meet her teacher and a couple of her classmates who also showed up at the beginning of the event. Kristin was excited to see several familiar names in her classroom.

WOW, Second Grade!

Lunch with Daddy

After some morning errands and a trip to the chiropractor for me, the kids and I headed to see Aaron at work and go to lunch. Kristin had been wanting to do this all summer, so we got it in just before school starts back up. It was nice being able to have a family lunch. :) After that the kids and I went to Columbia Outfitters overstock store to look for raincoats for the kids. Got one for Kellen, but will continue the hunt for Kristin later this week. We also stopped by the Girl Scout store to get Kristin's Brownie vest. She is excited to get back to going to Girl Scout meetings.

More unpacking this afternoon. Getting closer to done. Mostly down to the kitchen. Whew! Tomorrow afternoon is a busy and exciting one for Kristin with an Ice Cream social at school to meet the new teahcer and her last swim lesson for this session. She is super excited!!!

Our New Home

We're slowly but surely settling in to the new place. Danelle and I have been focusing on calling it our 'new home' instead of a 'rental' since we're not sure how long it will be and we want the kids to feel like they are at home. Even though it's real cute to hear Kellen say 'wental howse'.

Kristin has been hitting wiffle balls in the back yard - she hit seven in a row with Danelle yesterday. Kellen like to play with his diggers at the sand table while Kristin is hitting balls.

We're looking forward to the weekend already. It'll be filled with fun stuff like kid's birthday parties, the last Portland Beavers homestand, and a BBQ. We'll still be tackling some unpacking vs storage issues, but it'll be a lot more relaxing weekend all the way around.

Kristin finishes up a session of swim lessons this week. She looks really comfortable in the water. I watched her do a good backstroke today. She also had her last daycare field trip of the summer. They went to Oaks Park, which is an amusement park really close to my work. I managed to stop in on her group and visit her during lunch. They hadn't gone on any rides yet, but she was pointing out all the ones she planned on going on. She must have had a blast because this evening she was all smiles recounting her adventures.

Off the Grid

We went off the grid yesterday. We have our cable, internet, and home phone through the same company. We called ahead to transfer our service. You'd think they would be kind and give us overlapping service. Instead, they gave us no service at either place! I think it was around 10pm last night that we finally had phone service. The best part is that they tried to charge a $30 'transfer' fee!

We did, however, have outstanding luck with the rest of our move. The movers showed up at nine, packed all the heavy stuff, and were unloaded at the new place by 1:30. It was a gorgeous day too. Low 70s, sun, and a pleasant breeze. We're still wrapping things up at the old house. Several more trips today. We hope to have everything cleaned up and be out of there by the end of the day on Sunday. But we have until 5pm on Tuesday if we need it.

The kids are taking the move pretty well. Kristin has said that she doesn't want to leave the old house, but she is also excited to be closer to her friends. She found out who her teacher for 2nd grade will be yesterday, so she's been calling (with Danelle's help) her friends to find out who else is in her class. Kellen has been pretty excited to explore the new house and seems to take everything in stride, though he did have a little trouble sleeping last night.

Kellen had his last swim lesson for this session this morning. They got coupons for free ice cream from DQ, so we went there this afternoon. Kristin also got to go to a birthday party today too. It was a 'rock-n-roll' theme. She wore a tie-dye bandana and brought a blow-up guitar. She painted her fingernails orange and black (for the OSU Beavers) at the party.

Another heat wave

We had a nice run of 70 degree weather and thought we might be past the real hot days of the summer... we were wrong. It got to the upper 90s at the house the last couple of days. It was a perfect opportunity for us to test out the central AC and the new house... it works! The heat is supposed to break sometime tonight. Should be nice weather for the rest of our move.

Kristin had soccer practice this evening. Danelle took her to that and Kellen and I stayed home. We played with an empty box. He would climb in and want me to tip it over. It's funny to hear the kids refer to the new place as the 'rental house'. I guess we should start calling it 'our house' so the kids can follow our lead. Kellen hasn't figured out the r sound at the begging words. He says 'wental'. :-)

3 More Sleeps

Only 3 more nights in this house... hard to believe really. The rental house is coming along. We get more and more stuff over there everyday. The For Sale sign was even removed from the yard today. Tonight I pulled apart the garden except for the one tomato plant. I didn't even plant any tomato plants! This was a volunteer from a seed from last year. :) At least I have gotten a handful of cherry tomatoes off of it. YUM!

Kids were at daycare today and will be there again tomorrow and Friday. Kristin got to go on a field trip today to a cinema and got to see Kung Fu Panda. She said it was fun. They even got to play at a park nearby too. I am glad she gets to do neat things with her friends. I had to peel her away from her friend Kennedy (she has known since they were babies) this afternoon, who was asking me to let Kristin stay for another half an hour. So cute! Kristin had swim lessons to get to though. But, Kennedy was excited to hear she will see her again tomorrow. :)

Moving moving moving

In addition to the soccer jamboree yesterday, Kristin had a play date this morning at the house and then attended a birthday party in the afternoon. Kellen also got to attend the birthday party - the birthday girl has a little brother too that Kellen has known from daycare, so it worked out great. And, oh yead, there was this whole moving thing that we started too. We probably took between 15 and 20 loads over to the new house this weekend. Got most of the garage taken care of - moved all four gorilla racks / shelve units, as well as their contents. Lots of boxes too from various parts of the house. The movers come Friday for the big stuff, and then we'll have the weekend to settle in and likely finish moving little odds and ends.

Jamboree

Kristin had her fall soccer jamboree today. It was an event at the Tualatin Hills Parks and Rec Centerto kick off the fall season where all of the teams in the Aloha Youth Soccer program had an hour a practice and then scrimmaged another team. Afterwarda, there was pizza. Kristin told me last night that she was going to score a goal for me and for the family and to help her team win. She also declared that she is a 'competitor'. I'll say.

Well, today she delivered on her promise. Her team won the scrimmage 5-1. They don't keep score, but Kristin told me. She got her goal. Afterward, when I congratulated her, she said 'yeah but it took me a long time to get it'. Wow, she has set the bar high for herself!

Kellen had fun too. He found a big pile of dirt to play in. And there were some other younger kids for him to play with. There was some older kids selling bottled water for a fundraiser. I got one for Kellen and he turned it into a fish bowl by shoving goldfish crackers inside. 'Why they not swimming Dad?'

Let the Moving Begin

Tomorrow we get the key to the rental house we will be in until we find our new house to buy. Time to start moving stuff. So, the next week will be a bit on the crazy side to say the least.

Kristin has been having fun at zoo camp and comes home telling us about what animals she saw for the day and what new games she has learned to play at camp. Kellen and I walked around the zoo yesterday and were able to see Kristin at lunch. She liked that! :) At least the heat broke around here so it has been nice to be outside. This afternoon Kellen and I played out in the yard for awhile. We even found a caterpillar which is now in the little bug house. Maybe we will have another moth like last year. We will have to wait and see.

Kristin also had swim lessons and soccer practice tonight, so she will sleep well. Soccer was fun for her and all the girls. Kristin also scored the only goal in the scrimmage game they played. She was beaming with that accomplishment.

Zoo Camp and Swimming

Kristin started zoo camp today. Sounds like she is having a good time. Today they learned about habitats, specifically lions and other cats I think. They spent the afternoon indoors because of the heat. Only one more day of this heat wave and then it's supposed to drop back into the 70s on Wednesday.

Danelle took Kellen to the YMCA swimming pool this morning. He had a blast and was able to use a noodle (a blue one!) to swim to Danelle. Go Kellen!

This evening was spent in the little backyard pool. The kids had a good time getting each other wet. After they were thoroughly soaked, they had a good time getting us wet.

Here's a few photos from the weekend.

Errand Day

Today was filled with errands... one way to stay out of the heat. Reached 104 here today! Yuk! Our toaster died after 11+ years of use today...bummer! Thanks for that wedding gift... it lasted a long time. So, we headed out as a family this morning to look for a new toaster and a 2-wheel hand truck for Aaron for the move(s). We also found Kristin a pair of tennis shoes to start school with. Later, after lunch, Kristin and I went to the mall. There we found a toaster and she got to go back to Build-A-Bear to spend a gift card she had gotten for her birthday. Then we stopped over to check out a Wii competition that was going on in the middle of the mall. Anyone could join in. We decided not to do the competition, but to play on the other side for fun. Get 5 stickers and you got a prize. Kristin picked out a little Mario key chain. She had fun and it was a nice way to spend some time out of the heat. While us girls were at the mall, Aaron and Kellen headed to Lowe's and Home Depot to find that hand truck and ultimately got one (at Home Depot). :)

Zoo Camp starts tomorrow for Kristin... she is super excited for that. What will Kellen and I do while Kristin is at camp? One needs to ponder that.

Soccer Tourny

Kristin's team wrapped up their summer program today with their last tournament game. The game results were much the same as last tournament (0-3), but her team showed tremendous improvement. They played one team 0-0 until the last 15 seconds... but then lost 1-0. Most of the girls on her team are 7 and 8, and they played in a U-10 tournament, meaning that most teams field 9 year olds.

It was quite warm yesterday and today for the games. Kristin suffered a bit of heat exhaustion and got sick on the way home today. We had planned to go downtown for a Beavers baseball game in the evening, but we scrapped that to be on the safe side. Kristin perked up in the evening after dinner but we didn't want to take any chances.

Kellen got to go to a birthday party today at Build-a-Bear. He picked another puppy and called it Freckles. He picked out a soccer outfit for it. That perked Kristin's interest. :-) While Kellen was at the party, Kristin and I went to Big Truck Day at the rec center where she has swim lessons. At this point, there are only a few trucks that she's interested in - the ones that give things away. :-) That and the SWAT truck for some reason. She like to climb up into the turret and look around. The humane society also had a van there today with two puppies, so she liked that of course. We also ran into a few friends. Unfortunately, Kellen didn't get to go this year because after the party he attended he and Danelle grabbed a quick lunch and met Kristin and I at the soccer tournament. Kristin was looking out for him though and brought home some of the free handouts for him.

Will try to post pictures soon.

Kellen the Builder

Kellen has gotten in to Bob the Builder of late. Even more so that when we were vacationing in Iowa. He has decided that he likes coming to Kristin's soccer practices because there is sand to play in from the long jump box, and dirt to play in at the baseball and softball fields. He brings along a digger and a shovel and builds roads. He has a blast. Tonight I had a late day at the office and as I was walking in the door, Kristin and Danelle were headed to practice. While I was eating my dinner, Kellen kept asking me if I was finished so we could go to 'soccer camp' as he calls it.

So Kristin had her first practice with her new fall team tonight. There are several girls on it from her summer program, as well as a few more from her 1st grade classroom. She even has one of the same coaches. Sounds like she will have a blast. Just one more practice for her summer team, and then the tournament this weekend. After that it'll 'just' be the fall team. Yikes! Life is accelerating again...

We heard about all the flooding back east - hope everyone is safe and dry!

Soccer Mania

Last week was busy with soccer camp and normal soccer practice. This week Kristin has soccer practice for her summer league and now her fall league. She also has a tournament on Friday and Saturday. So, from tomorrow to Saturday she has soccer at least once a day. :)

This morning the kids and I headed to the doctor's office for Kristin's 7 year old check up. All is well and she is 48 pounds. This afternoon we ran some errands to get ready for the move and for 3 upcoming birthday parties.

Golden

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY KRISTIN!!!

We sure had a fun day celebrating Kristin's birthday. Kristin opened gifts at home after lunch today, and then we headed over to Build-a-Bear for her party. A good time was had by all. Kristin enjoyed being the center of attention on her big day, Danelle played hostess, and I chased Kellen. :-)

Kristin got a puppy stuffy and named it Bailey. Kellen also got a puppy and named it Bow Wow Wow. After all of the festivities at Build-a-Bear, we went around the corner at the mall to Maggie Moo's for ice cream cake and presents. There was even a special appearance by Maggie Moo herself - a big cow. Maggie gave Kristin a little stuffed version of herself. So that made 3 new stuffies on the day for Kristin - forgot to mention that she got a stuffed bear at Build-a-Bear that was signed by all of her friends in attendence. It's even gold in color.