"Momma, it's Finally Winter Time"

That was the first thing Emily said when she woke up this morning and looked out the window.  Yes, SNOW.  Emily and I went out and played in the snow...snow angels, building a snowgirl and a snowball fight with Chase.  Emily named the snowgirl Riley.

The Luke Man

I know I'm bias but isn't he the cutest little dude around?  That's our favorite nephew!

Busted

With her paw in the fish bowl.  In the minute it took me to switch out the laundry from the washer to the dryer, Peaches found Barnacles on the counter and was 'playing' with him.  I'm sure if fish could have heart attacks, Barnacles would have had a massive one.

Chelan in November

We had the opportunity to head to Chelan this last weekend.  Emily did not have school on Monday so it made for a nice long weekend.  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend. 

Swimming + putt putt golf + shopping + more swimming + bowling + enjoying the sun + cozy fires in the fireplace at night + rock hunting and painting  =  GREAT memories with Papa and Grammy Sandy.

A Flapper, A Firefighter and A Kitty

It turned out to be a perfect Halloween.  We celebrated with the Moser's, Krause's and Pederson's. 


The Flapper




The runaway Firefighter




And the Kitty who loves treats!

Luckily the weather held out and was quite pleasant without rain.  This was the first time trick-or-treating for Kaitlyn and Luke.  Emily is an old pro and immediately ran to join her friends who were all so excited to fill up there treat bags.


Luke wasn't so sure what to do with the pumpkin...
he liked rolling it down the street.



Emily, Navy and Taylor

Katilyn and Jack (aka Kaitlyn's future boyfriend)

Then the most important part of the night....assessing the loot.

Ms. Stella

Last night we visited the Hopkins family.  We got to see Stella and play with Koldyn.  Stella was a perfect angel, not one peep out of her the entire visit.  Emily loved holding her and it was so sweet to see how gentle she was with Stella.

It's the Great Pumpkin

As in 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'.  Most Friday evenings we have a tradition of family movie night.  We have dinner, pop popcorn, watch a movie (usually Emily's choice) and then have a sleepover in the living room.  We do have a pretty nice blow-up bed but Chris and I both agree we are getting too old for that...our own bed is really, really comfortable.  But Emily loves the doing 'blow-up bed' thing.  So last night we settled in for the night and decided to watch 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'.  As the show came on, Emily's asked 'is this an old school cartoon?'.  This made me laugh.  When I looked up the show details I found that it first aired in 1966.  So depending on your perspective, it could very well be old school.

Pumpkins Part I

As I'm getting older I'm appreciating traditions more and more.  My dad, aka Papa Dirt started growing pumpkins for Emily each year for Halloween.  And now he grows them for Kaitlyn and Emily.  We got our Papa Dirt pumpkins on Saturday.  We haven't carved them yet but they are really cool shaped.  Thanks Dad!  The carved pumpkins are the ones from the pumpkin patch.

A Lazy Sunday

Yesterday was the best day.  It was Sunday and rainy outside.  Here's what made it great:

1. Sleeping in late
2. My whole family stayed in our PJ's all day.  I finally had to get dressed about 5:00 for my book club.
3. Easy baking with Emily
4. Baking pumpkin bars for book club
5. Taking a nap with Emily
6. Skype'ing with my sister who's on a business trip in Florida
7. Emily loosing her 2nd tooth

Forty and Fabulous

Saturday was my very dear friend's 40th birthday.  We celebrated with a surprise birthday party dinner at CI Shenanigans.  It was perfect.  Jamee came up from Portland and Jen flew in from San Diego. It's been a long time since all five of us peeps have been together.   My friend was totally shocked and surprised.  I hope you had a great day....happy birthday!

The Big Event

October 17th, 2010 and Emily lost her first tooth.  It's also Scott's birthday so it's a great day all around.  Emily is so excited.  I love it when she smiles now with the toothless gap but it also makes me realize how fast my baby is growing up.

 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins and More Pumpkins

Going to the pumpkin patch isn't just about the pumpkins anymore.  These days the pumpkin patch experience takes a full day.  We headed to Maris Farms yesterday to check out the activities.  Pumpkins, corn maze, corn room, face painting, bouncy house, slides, hay rides, kettle corn, pony rides and much more.  It was a great day.


Pumpkin Patch 2010



Wanted: An Appointment with the Tooth Fairy

According to Emily today is her favorite day.  It's her 'first loose tooth' day.  Yes, we finally have a loose tooth.  I wasn't sure this was going to happen given the fact that it took so long for her to get her teeth and that the dentist told me after looking at her last x-ray that he might have to 'help' loosen some of her baby teeth.  Emily is so excited.  Chris and I are taking bets when the big event will happen.  Stay tuned and by the way, what's the going rate for the Tooth Fairy?

Future Crafters / Artist

Emily had Taylor over for a play date on Saturday.  It was rainy and cold outside.  So I suggested making some crafts.  These girls were hard at work and made some great Halloween decorations.  We traced Halloween cookie cutters and made paper chains.  A fun morning activity.

7-UP

I was out running errands yesterday.  I got thirsty in the grocery store so I grabbed a bottle of soda, 7-UP.  It was ice cold and so good.  I took the first drink and it immediately brought back a childhood memory.  My grandma Krause's house.  She always had a two liter of 7-UP in the refrigerator.  It was like I was standing in her house....the smell of her chicken-n-rice dinner and the creak of the back screen door as you walked through the laundry room came back to me.  It made me smile.  I wish Emily could have met her.   

Thinking Pink

Pink is everywhere and I'm sure most of you know why.  October is breast Cancer awareness month.  One of my favorite websites for jewelry came out with this necklace.  Check it out, it's from The Vintage Pearl and some of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen fund.  This post is dedicated to Linda, Krista's mom who is fighting breast cancer and winning the battle.  On a side note, Emily really liked the NFL players pink shoes and pink chin straps from the Monday night football game.

KP Giggle Fest 2010

A Great Open House

The East Pierce Fire & Rescue had their annual open house.  It's a great event with a ton of fun activities and educational opportunities.  We headed to the open house with Kaitlyn, Taylor, Logan and Mandy.  Face painting, watching the helicopter land, bouncy house, all sorts of free goodies and the fire safety house were just a few favorites.  I can't wait to go again next year. 

The Next American Idol?

Emily loves baths. Emily loves to sing but only when she thinks you aren't listening. So singing in the bath tub for Emily is great fun. I don't think Chris and I can quit our jobs yet but maybe a world tour is in our future? Here's the debut of her current song, actually I think it's one from Camp Rock, but who cares about copyrighting.

Stella Has Arrived

We finally met Stella.  She arrived yesterday morning.  She is such a cutie and slept the entire visit.  Emily loved holding her new cousin.  Congratulations Joey and Christie.  Enjoy every minute!

My Favorite Jewelry

I found this great website, The Vintage Pearl.  I love their stuff.  I have a necklace and earrings so far.  For part of my birthday gift my sister, Ryan, Kaitlyn, Mom and Dad got me a gift certificate.  Thank you for a great birthday gift!  Here's what I got.  Seven is our lucky number for our family.  Chris and I were married on the 7th, Chris's birthday is the 17th, my birthday is the 27th and Emily's birthday is the 7th.  Check out the The Vintage Pearl.

The bracelet says" My Favorite Sevens 7 17 27 7"

Better Late Than Never

Papa Dirt gave Emily some sunflower seeds to plant.  I let her pick where she would like to plant them.  We planted them late and I wasn't sure if or where they were going to grow.  The result is below.

 

Wednesday

Wednesday is the day I'm volunteering at Emily's school.  I go after lunch and start in the library and then head to Emily's classroom.  I have learned a couple things while volunteering.  One, teachers are NOT paid enough.  Two, a classroom of six year old kids is fun, crazy, sweet and full of learning.  And third, the questions that come from a classroom of six year old kids is very entertaining.  My favorite last week was from a little boy that asked "Mrs. Epperson, my tooth is really loose, can you please pull it out?"  I can't wait to see what this Wednesday will bring!

The River of Milk

This morning Emily and I were ready and headed out the door with two minutes to spare.  This doesn't happen alot.  Usually we are running late.  Anyway, Emily picked up her backpack and all I heard was "Mom, my backpack is leaking".  I turned around to see milk running out the bottom.  Yes, you guessed it the milk container either had a leak or I didn't tighten the lid.  Needless to say all the contents in the backpack were ruined.  So I scrambled to find her backpack and lunchbox from last year to use.  We missed the bus at our stop but thankfully the bus stops three places in our neighborhood.  Emily's comment "it's O.K. Mom I can buy milk at school".  On these mornings you just have to laugh.

Do the Puyallup

The Puyallup Fair.  Face painting, rides, elephant ears, crusty pups, scones, cotton candy and checking out the animals.  What more can you ask for at the fair?  My favorite part was riding the Scrambler with Taylor and Emily.  We laughed the entire ride!  Thanks to Grammy Jill for the free tickets. 

It's a Happy Day

Bring out the marching band, shoot up some fireworks and sing along.  Why?  Because it's Chris's birthday.  Happy Birthday Chris!  I hope you enjoy your special day.  At Chris's request, the truck is getting new exhaust and we are headed to Mama Stortini's tonight for dinner to celebrate.

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Chris,
Happy birthday to you!

Our Own Version of American Bandstand

In honor of Chris' birthday, Kaitlyn, Luke and Emily had a dance party.  Boy do they have the moves!

A Week Long Celebration

Sunday evening kicked off a week long celebration for Chris' birthday.  His actual date of birth is September 17th.  We celebrated with dinner at Mazatlan followed by Chocolate Satin Pie dessert at our house.  Luke was making a run for the cantina so Karena and Luke are absent in the picture.  Chris, I hope you enjoyed your special day.

A Big Thank You

An unexpected package arrived in the mail on Thursday for Emily.  It was from my Aunt Nancy.  It was great for many reasons.

1.  Emily loves getting mail addressed to her
2.  It came from my Aunt....she's one of those cool hip Aunts
3.  Emily loved the books especially the ladybug book
4.  She included pictures of her family and of Emily's Grandma Sandy roller skating with my Uncle Dan which Emily thought was way cool

Thanks for the package Aunt Nancy that was very thoughtful!

Where is Green Sheep?

I had the wonderful experience of going to the Seattle Children's Theater today with Brandi and Kaitlyn to see 'Where is Green Sheep?'  The actors did an amazing job at bringing this picture book to stage.  This particular production was geared for ages 1-4.  It was so fun to see Kaitlyn's reaction to the play.   Afterwards we had lunch at Kaitlyn's choice, Red Robin.  Thank you Kaitlyn and Brandi for a special day!

Up, Up and Away

On Monday the gang went to the Museum of Flight.  Molli wants to be a pilot when she grows up so we thought what a great tour to do with our friends visiting from California.  It was great.  Something for kids of all ages and even us adult 'kids'.  We got to go into one of the Concorde airplanes and one of the retired Air Force One planes.  I would highly recommend a trip to this museum.

Molli, Emily and I

The gang coming off Air Force One

Bitter Sweet

This weekend was bitter sweet.  One with many emotions.  My very best friend Robin was up from California with her two kiddos.  The fact that I got to spend time with her and the kids was great.  The reason was not.  They came up to attend a memorial service for Dave, her stepdad.  Molli and Luke's Papa Dave.  He was a great, caring and compassionate person.  We will miss him greatly.   

First Grade...How Did that Happen?

My baby started First Grade today.  Emily would tell me "Mom, I'm not a baby, I'm a big girl now".  But she will always be my baby.  I'm not sure where the time has gone.  She did great and was excited.  She got on the bus, sat with Taylor and never looked back.  I think it helps that her good friend Taylor is in her class.  As for me, no tears this year but I did feel like another 'apron string' was clipped today.  Enjoy First Grade bugga, I love you all the much and beyond.

My Day Part II

Brandi, Ryan and Kaitlyn hosted my annual birthday party.  They are incredible and gracious hosts.  I know it's alot of work to host a party and I'm so thankful to you guys.  Thank you to all my friends and family who made the party so special.  A special shout out to Jamee, Marty and Max.  They drove up from Portland to attend and drove back the same day....with a fourteen month old baby!  I'm very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

My Day

I love birthdays and today is my special day.  What's not to love about being 29....again and again and again.  My day was great.  I came home to a decorated living room comments of Emily and Grandma Sandy. Thanks to all my great family and friends for the birthday wishes.

Our New Purchase

We got some new wheels and yes, we are a vehicle craze family!  Toyota gave us an offer we couldn't refuse.

Sad News

I received some sad news this morning.  My best friend's stepdad passed away last night.  My heart and prayers go out to Robin and her family.  I have known her and her family for almost 30 years.  Something like this reminds me to be thankful and count the blessings in my life each and every day.  Life is too short not to do this.  Robin, I love you and wish I could be with you right now. 

Fresh Flowers

There's something about fresh cut flowers in a vase that makes me smile. My favorite are tulips, hydrangeas and roses. When Emily and I returned from our trip to Spokane, Chris had a bouquet of roses waiting for me just because.

The hydrangeas are compliments of my wonderful mother-in-law. She has a couple hydrangea plants that produce an amazing color of blue/purple flower.  Thank you for brightening my day on Thursday.

The Town of the Looff Carrousel

Yes, that would be Spokane, WA. Emily, Brandi, Kaitlyn, Grammy Jill and I spent last weekend in Spokane. As kids, Brandi and I would spend alot of time in Spokane especially in the summer. My mom grew up there and we still have family in the area. One of our favorite memories is riding the carrousel at the Riverfront Park. Well that tradition has carried on to our girls. I think we rode the carrousel about six or seven times this weekend. Trying for the rings in hope of the golden one brought back fun times.

What Does the Animal Say?

Happy Birthday Papa Dirt!

August 17th was Papa Dirt's birthday. We hope you had a great birthday! Love ya!