Halloween

I know I've been a blog-slacker lately.  Maybe I'll catch up some, maybe I won't.  For now, we'll get to the current events!  

We went to a pumpkin patch on my birthday.  The girls had fun finding their way to the different check points in the corn maze.  They also enjoyed all of the pumpkins and the hay ride.

The girls had a fun Halloween.  Lauren is almost 3, so she was really able to get into it this year.  It helped that she had a big sister to prep her for it too.

Lauren the butterfly and Kaylin the bunny

I thought Lauren would want to be a fairy, but when she put on the tutu and wings she declared she was a butterfly.  She had a butterfly shirt that matched and I made some pipe cleaner antennas on a headband.  She was thrilled.  Eric overheard her telling her baby that she can fly too if she wears a tutu and wings.

Kaylin is wearing the bunny costume my mom made for me when I was little!  She refused to wear the bow tie, but she loved the rest of it.  I wore it in first and second grade, Kaylin is in kindergarten and I highly doubt it will fit next year.  I was on the taller side, so that gives you an idea of tall she is.

Last weekend was our trunk-or-treat at church.  The girls had a great time playing all of the games and the craft table was a hit and kept them busy for quite awhile.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't take any pictures of the most exciting part.  The fog machine in the spook alley set off the fire alarm and we had to evacuate.  Luckily, the activity had been going on for an hour and we were in the process of moving on to the trick-or-treat portion anyway.  It was pouring rain outside so the trick-or-treating went quickly.  The kids loved seeing the ambulance, fire truck, and the firemen.

I wasn't into carving pumpkins this year, so I let the girls paint the little pumpkins they got at the pumpkin patch.  They loved it and took it very seriously.  Kaylin entered her pumpkin into the school's contest.  She was very excited when she came home with a participation prize.

Dressed up again, we were ready to go trick-or-treating!

The girls had so much fun and did a great job of being polite :-).  They both have a bucketful of candy.  We're going to be in the "can I have more candy????" stage for quite awhile.

While the girls loved Halloween, Kaylin is already looking forward to what's next.  In her prayer last night she said, "we're excited for Christmas".  

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July.  In the morning, Eric went golfing with his dad and brother.  That evening we had a BBQ at Eric's parents.  For fireworks we tagged along with the Greens to their friends' (who we've met a few times) parents' house on Lake Lucerne in Maple Valley. 

 Before it was dark enough for us to enjoy the fireworks, Lauren tried out karaoke.  She didn't want to hold a microphone or sing, but she enjoyed standing on the stage.

 Kaylin and the boys had front row seats for the show.  Yes, this is the best shot I could get.

Lauren liked the fireworks too, but she wanted to stay farther away from where they were lighting them off.  Like mother, like daughter.

While she enjoyed looking at the fireworks, she didn't enjoy hearing them so close up.  They were loud!  She pulled her hood over her face a few times when they lit off the big aerials.

The girls were exhausted.  I had to wake them up the next day so we could take Kaylin to her swimming lessons.

I'm so grateful for our country and for all of those who help keep us free!

Christmas 2011

I really am trying to catch up! Here's what some of our Christmas activities were:

The girls and I went to a gingerbread house party. I haven't decorated a gingerbread house before and I had to ask what I was supposed to bring. At the party I realized I should have bought the kit at Costco because the house comes assembled. Next year. I was too overwhelmed by the kids and the food and the visiting with people at the party, so I opted not to put my house together at the party. I put it together later and Kaylin had a great time decorating it.

Kaylin and her gingerbread house. I'm not sure if this is first thing in the morning or if it was later in the day and I hadn't combed her hair or made her change out of her pajamas. I'm assuming the latter.

Kaylin's preschool had a sign-up for ringing the salvation army bell at a grocery store down the street from our house. I thought it was a great service opportunity for us and the girls had a fun time. Lauren had to be on a leash so that she didn't run into the store or into the parking lot.

Teacher Steffeny, Kaylin, and our pet Lauren.
Please notice that I somehow convinced Kaylin to wear pants since it was so cold out. I was surprised that we even owned pants that fit her. Someone gave her this pair for her birthday last year. She wore the pants for maybe an hour total. I think the total time spent in pants for 2011 was 2 hours. This girl will still ONLY wear dresses.

No Christmas season would be complete without attempted pictures with Santa.

We go to the Santa House in downtown Renton. It's not all that pretty, but it's free and this year we got the "good" Santa. I was surprised and happy that both girls sat with Santa. It took Lauren awhile. She watched Kaylin and finally decided that it was okay. Santa was really nice and was even able to get them both to smile. This is the first time Kaylin has ever willingly sat with Santa. Last year we didn't even try because she was so against it, we just let her stand outside the Santa House. One more thing... I was crazy and made Kaylin's dress.

We spent Christmas with my parents. My sister and her family and my brother and his wife were also there. The kids had so much fun together!

Here are Lauren and Miles (2 weeks apart in age) playing Just Dance on the Wii:

Kaylin and Macey (1 month apart in age) had lots of fun helping Nana make treats:

I wasn't in a picture taking mood over Christmas (weird?), but my mom and sister both took a lot. I was planning on them sending me their pictures, but they haven't (hint... hint...).

And that, my friends, concludes my posts for 2011.

The rest of October

We took a preschool field trip to a pumpkin patch in Black Diamond. They had a lot of fun activities for the kids: a hay maze, a corn box (like a big sand box with corn), cute baby animals, fun playground, a hay ride, and more. Each kid got to bring home a pumpkin.

Kaylin and her friend on the hay ride.

Lauren with her pumpkin. I don't remember how she got the black eye.

Kaylin made me super happy when she wanted to be Ariel again for Halloween. I was really glad to not have to make any costumes this year. I was even more happy that the costume from last year still fit.

We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat at the church. There were a lot of princesses there:

Snow White, Ariel, and Rapunzel (to give you an idea of Kaylin's height, Snow White is 4 and is a couple of months younger than her and Rapunzel is 6 and in 1st grade).

The girls LOVED the trick-or-treating. They were so excited when they got to go again in the neighborhood.

Lauren refused to wear her costume, so she's wearing a Halloween shirt instead.

This is the only time Lauren wore her costume, it was for about 5 seconds while she knocked on the door at Grammy and Grandpa's house.

I was surprised by how much Lauren loved Halloween, except for the costume part. She excitedly went up and knocked on each door and even said "trick-or-treat" and "thank you". She wouldn't let anyone touch her candy bucket. She asked for candy multiple times a day by saying, "Bucket! Bucket!"

Fall Garland

While at Target today I found some glittery pumpkins and leaves in the dollar section. They were $1 for a pack of 5. I wanted to buy them, but I needed a use for them. I decided that I could make a fun fall garland for our fireplace.

I like how the pumpkins match my glittered pumpkins and the leaves match my red vases and chair.

Kaylin loves it. When she saw it hung up she said, "Look, Mom, a pattern! Leaf, pumpkin, leaf pumpkin..." She also thinks that I need one more pumpkin on the end to finish the pattern. I then explained the symmetry of the garland to her. I was happy to have an opportunity to talk math :-).

In case you're curious, here's how I made the garland:

I punched two small holes at the top of each pumpkin/leaf, I think I used a 1/8" punch. I wove hemp twine in the left hole, around the back, and then through the right hole so that the twine will be behind the pumpkin/leaf. {Side note... I have hemp twine leftover from when I used to make hemp necklaces in high school. They were so cool. Did anyone else make those or was that just cool at my school? It's come in handy for many craft projects, it's thin and sturdy and I love it.} That's it. It took me around 5 minutes and cost $2.

4th of July

Eric's parents' neighborhood had a little parade (1st annual?) in the afternoon and we thought it would be fun to decorate Gordon's yard wagon and pull the girls in it. They weren't too sure about it, but they went along with it.

Eric pulling the girls. Carolyn is walking with the dogs, they got dressed up in their 4th of July bandanas from the groomer. Notice that one dog is walking and the other is being carried.

I of course don't have any pictures of them smiling or looking at the camera. Oh well, at least they rode in the wagon.

After the parade there was a BBQ. Kaylin had lots of fun playing with the neighborhood kids and eating chips and hot dogs and drinking capri suns. Apparently all the fun and sun wore her out, she informed us she was ready to go and got in the wagon with a blanket. It was hot out, but she claimed she was cold.

We didn't have plans for the night time. I wasn't going to sit at home all night and I love the big fireworks shows, so I came up with a *brilliant* idea. I decided that we would load the girls in the car at bedtime and hope that at least Lauren fell asleep. Then we would find a spot overlooking Lake Union and watch the fireworks from the car while listening to the accompanying music on the radio.

Well... it didn't go as planned.

We drove to Seattle and started driving around the hills surrounding Lake Union. Every road with a view was blocked with barriers and a police car. We found a park that had a view of the Space Needle where people had set up chairs to watch the fireworks. Since Lauren was refusing to sleep, we got out of the car and set up some chairs.

My family is so photogenic.

Thankfully I brought Lauren's shoes so she could wear them over her pajamas. When the fireworks started they were directly behind some trees. Kaylin and Lauren didn't care, they thought they were amazing. We grabbed our stuff and rushed off with everyone else in search of a better viewing area. We got as close to the fireworks as we could while still in the park and watched them through some trees. The really big ones were high enough to clear the trees, but the rest were partially blocked. This is about the only time I am annoyed by trees in Seattle.

We still had fun and Kaylin loved the fireworks. She didn't even seem to realize that they were blocked by trees.

Next year we'll have to make different plans.

For any locals who are curious, while Volunteer Park has great views of the Space Needle, the lake, and downtown, it doesn't have great views of Gasworks and therefore the fireworks.

Easter fun

We had a fun Easter weekend. It started on Friday with an Easter themed birthday party.

hunting eggs at the park

bunny hop race wearing bunny hats (well, Kaylin isn't wearing hers)

Then we got an Easter package in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa B. They always send the girls the best packages for holidays and Kaylin is so excited to check the mail to see if it's here yet.

more candy!

Early Saturday morning was our church Easter breakfast and egg hunt.

The Easter bunny hid the girls' Easter baskets downstairs. Apparently Kaylin snuck downstairs before we were up because she knew right where to go to find hers.

I made the girls matching dresses and flower clips for their hair. Kaylin refused to wear the flower. But she wore the dress, so I was happy. I only got one picture of the girls together because Lauren wasn't happy--she has an ear infection so I didn't try to force any more.

After church, we had dinner at Eric's parents'. They hid jelly bellies around the living room for Kaylin and Ryanne to find. It was a ton of candy for two little girls. They loved it.

They each have a nearly full cup of jelly bellies.

Eric, his brother Chris, Lauren, and Christopher

Christmas Gift Tag Party

I hosted my 3rd (almost) annual Christmas gift tag exchange party. I say *almost* because I missed last year. Something about me having a baby last December.

Here is the tag I made this year:

I love that the bells jingle!

Four other ladies were able to come exchange tags, plus one more who came to hang out with us. It was lots of fun. Everyone brought a snack and we had yummy cider and just talked. It was great to have a relaxing and fun night!

Aren't they cute?

We each went home with three of each tag.

Some action shots:

Thanks ladies! The tags were awesome! I can't wait until next year!

Christmas, round 3

The day after Christmas, my parents came down. They brought presents from my sister and brother too. Kaylin and Lauren couldn't believe their good luck. I had to post these pictures of Lauren because she was so happy and cute.

A new purse! My girls can never seem to have enough purses. They both love them.

A princess plate! Kaylin currently uses both her and Lauren's plates and loves to tell me what food needs to cover which princess.

A fridge farm! Kaylin has a good time with this one too.

Belle! Kaylin also got the Beauty and the Beast DVD for Christmas, so this was a great addition.

Lauren enjoyed crawling on my presents.

Thank you Nana and Pop-Pop for coming down! And thanks to Aunt Kelsey, Uncle Christopher, et al for the great gifts!