Day 275

First snow of the season. Kaitlyn was very excited to run out in it and try to catch some flakes on her tongue.

Day 274

His loader and some dirt - that's all it takes to keep Tyler happy for long periods of time. He only recently discovered that the dirt in the open space next to us is softer and easier to use than the rocks in the driveway but has spent every day out in it since his discovery.

Parent/teacher conference was today. Kaitlyn got a glowing report. Her teacher says she is very focused on her school work, stays on task, has no problems, etc. She talks when it's appropriate, in class discussions or quietly to her deskmates. And she did great on her most recent assessments. We're so proud of our Kate!

Day 273

Kaitlyn's MO is to fixate on one thing for a few days and play with it over and over again. Her latest fixation is her Princess game on the Wii. Ty is content to watch or pretend he is playing along with her.

Day 272

Kaitlyn loves horses and was very excited to ride with Wyatt. She ended up spending most of the day with him. She didn't protest at all when he asked her to change into her boots or to wear her bike helmet. She is turning it to a pretty good rider too. She was a bit scared at first and wanted him to hold the lead rope. Then when she got to the arena at Karen's she rode all by herself. Tyler got a short ride before they left the barn, then deserted the horse to play on the old backhoe.

Day 271

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese today. The kids loved it. Arcades are definitely Ty's thing. The whole first half hour he was SO excited and you could just see him thinking "whatnext?whatnext?whatnext!" as he ran from one game to another. He was even pretty good at a few of them. Kaitlyn had a blast too and was so happy that we earned enough tickets to get her a set of Blendy Pens. She spent the rest of the day coloring. Ty just wanted candy so he ended up with 3 mini tootsipops and shared one with his sister. The only downfall was of course the food - it wasn't very good (as expected) and the kids didn't want to eat it. The whole experience was still worth it though. Next time we'll eat first so we can spend the whole time there playing games.

After naptime we took the kids down to the barn for a photo session.

Day 270

This is what Ty does every day after school. He spots the bus coming and runs out to the end of the driveway so he can give his sister a hug.

Day 269

Project Day with Audrey! Ty had so much fun playing with Michael and the boys let us get a lot done. Kaitlyn got to spend the afternoon with grandma, who had picked her up from school so I could leave in the morning. We crafted as long as we could, but the witch's hat centerpiece was the only thing we finished. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun.

Day 268

Ty likes to decontruct his train table.

Day 267

Fall has hit. We've been seeing lots of great color on the mountains for a couple weeks now. Very pleasant temperatures. And the air has that crisp feel. It's been a really mild fall and I love that.

Day 266

Today was the last day of the State Fair so we decided to take the kids. The kids loooooooved it. They were so excited to see and do everything they could. Kaitlyn made a bee-line for the jewelry at the first booth - my little girl is really into earrings right now. We let her buy a pair before we left (silver butterflies), but made her wait until she had seen everything so that she was sure to get her favorite.

It was a bit hard to talk them out of riding the carnival rides, but we managed it. Those things are just too expensive. But we did let them talk us into riding a pony. I know, strange when they can ride one of the horses whenever they want, but they had a lot of fun. They loved seeing all the rest of the animals, and didn't even notice that most of them were gone. One or two pigs is the same as a whole barn, right? :) Kaitlyn was the more daring of the two. She wanted to have her picture taken with each type of animal and wanted to pet most of them. Tyler loved seeing them (except the noisy goat scared him) but preferred to keep his distance. The little farm thing the FFA had set up was a bit hit with the kids too.

Day 265

One of Kaitlyn's favorite things to do - watching TV in my room.

Day 264

Day 263

Ty loves his pjs. It's a struggle to get him to change most mornings. Can't say I blame him.
And yes, we went back to diapers for a bit. It was just to frustrating. We still encourage him to go potty but I just couldn't handle cleaning up all those accidents every day. Will go back to full swing potty training in a couple months.

Day 262

Took the photo yesterday but it's too cute not to share :)

Day 261

Day 260

The day Kaitlyn has been anticipating for 6 weeks - she got to change her earrings! She picked out these pink kitties the day we got her ears pierced and has been so excited to get to wear them. She had to wear her new shirt today too, so she went to school not matching. But the happiness on her face was worth not making a big deal about that little detail.

Day 259

I was very sick today. It was building up for a few days but today was the worst. Sam was at the base, but Mom was able to take the kids to her house for most of the day. Guess what they brought home? Yup another caterpillar. Grandma loves to encourage Kaitlyn's interest, even with the creepy crawlies. At least they let the snake go (tiny garden snake Mom found a day or two ago. Kaitlyn loved it, wasn't afraid of it at all. She'd pick it up and twirl it by the tail).
*update: caterpillar formed a coccoon overnight. Doesn't take them long does it? Now I guess we see if this one turns into a butterfly/moth and how long it takes. We've had pretty good luck with the last few.

Day 258

Day 257

Day 256

Grandma and Grandpa went to visit Bonnie. The kids were really excited about the the shirts Grandma brought back for them.

Day 255

Day 254

Sam and the kids playing Mr Wolf. (in our nightly attempt to try to wear them out and keep them entertained until bedtime)

Day 253

Labor Day. We took advantage of the extra day off (so welcome since Sam had to work Sat) and saw a few more houses in the Parade of Homes. The kids like looking at them at much as we do (though we have to remind Ty continually not to touch anything or run around).

Day 252

Baby Xzavier was blessed today. We got all dressed up (so glad we don't have to do that every week) and went to see it - then like the naughy heathens we are, we slipped out as soon as it was done. Then went to Sam's mom's house to help set up for brunch.
Colette also asked me to take some photos of Xzavier and the boys. This is one of my favorites.

Day 251

What?! No photo??

Day 250

Sam got a new truck! He's so happy about it - Perm-a-grin on his face the whole day.

Day 249

Day 248

My mom got the project bug this week and for the first time in years we decided to make some jam. Raspberry freezer jam - mmmmm. We did 8 batches yesterday then got another flat of berries and made 3 more today. Kaitlyn was right in there helping the entire time - she mashed all the berries for us and helped portion out the finished product (that's her sweet little hand in the photo). Ty helped a little bit but was happier playing with the toys or grandpa. And they both loved eating it - dinner ended up being toast and jam.

Day 247

Today's pic was going to be of Ty and baby Emma. Dari came over this morning for some project time and Ty is enamored with the baby and had so much fun watching her, talking to her, and trying to feed her goldfish crackers.
But then my little cuties decided to sit on each other's laps tonight and the photo was too sweet not to post. I just love those brother/sister moments.