Snow Day!

Well, this is what our street looks like at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and the snow is still following steadily. So, we have been spending our day playing, watching Cinderella doing crafts (which for Owen means putting as much glue as he can in one spot) and playing dress up.

Aren't they cute?

Family Fun!

Before I talk about the fun we have been having over the last couple weeks I have to say that Owen knocked out his other front tooth yesterday. When he hit his mouth this summer and shattered the right front tooth, his left incisor (I think) pushed back a bit. Well, that really exposed his left front tooth and he caught it on something when he was falling and it came out. So, apparently things come in twos right? Emma had two broken arms this year and now Owen knocked out two teeth. I am going to write our Christmas letter today, hope I can fit it all on one page!

Today is a snow day and no school for us. It is nice to not have to go to work but this is the third day Emma has missed and we will have to make up these days later. But for now...fun. So, I struggled through what seemed like the easiest recipe for gingerbread cookies. I must have used 6-7 cups of flour just to keep them from sticking to me and the cutting board. But they turned out surprisingly good, so the kids decorated them before nap today and get to chow down after nap. Owen had a lot of the fun with the sprinkles, can you tell which is his? This is a picture of our gingerbread house we made on Sunday. The kids keep asking when we can eat it.

We went and played in the snow a little on Sunday also. Kylie likes the snow but like playing with passing dogs much better. She looks like she is smiling a little in this picture.

Our lovely Christmas tree. I had to reorganize the decorations because the kids put them all on the bottom or in one spot.

This was taken right before we went tree hunting. It was a fun time and it didn't take very long to find out tree for Scott to cut down. Last year we had snow but as you can see in the picture it was a pretty clear day.

Our smart girl!

As prove that Emma really loves school she has hit two awesome milestones in the last week. She made ready reader level one which means that she is reading some and able to answer questions, getting most correct. She was fifth in her class to reach this level. And she got Tiger Club which means that she is ready to learn everyday, nice to others, respectful of adults, etc. She was only the third in her class to get this. We are way too proud!!

Party Time!!

Emma was invited to her first party for a friend that she met at Kindergarten. We went to the Family Fun Center and had a fun time. Owen tagged along also and enjoyed throwing money away on video games he didn't know how to play but liked pushing buttons anyway.

Emma is quite the daredevil. She loves roller coasters, the ferris wheel and the frog hopper. Her friend Karissa next to her laughed but held on to the bar for dear life the entire time.

Can you tell they have been playing hard?

Happy Halloween!!

We had a fun party. I made green eyeballs and punch and we ate pizza before passing out nearly 300 pieces of candy. Emma and Owen had their friends there to help and both had a lot of fun trick or treating.
Buzzlightyear to the rescue.

Becca, Morgan, Emma (wonder woman or watermelon as Owen calls her), and Philip.

Enough said...

Luke was moonlighting as Superman.

Too fun!!!

Backyardigans are here!

Last year we decided to take Emma to see Go Diego Go at the Paramount for her Christmas present from us. She absolutely loved it and we had a fun time. There were tons of kids and it was loud and crazy and fun. So this year, we took both Owen and Emma to see the Backyardigans, which are a group of kids who go on adventures in their backyards and their imaginations run wild. It's a very fun show to watch. The kids were awesome and they loved the show, although Scott and I thought the plot was a little boring. The singing was fun and it's the perfect length for wee ones. Owen got crazy before the show even started.

Emma got to wear her pretty princess dress. She even walked the streets of Seattle like a princess, one hand holding up her skirt allowing it to sway side to side. Too funny!

Also, this Friday, Emma got another 9/10 on a spelling test. She is still loving school and read me a book the other day Biscuit Goes to School. She is learning a lot very quickly. What an amazing treat as a parent...and teacher.

Go Eagles!!

It was our homecoming game on Friday the 24th and the kids and I went to the game. This was the highlight of Emma's night, getting a picture taken with the cheerleaders. If you ask her what her favorite thing is about going to the football game with us it's the cheerleaders. And don't get in her way when they are doing a cheer, she might bite!

Remlinger Farms

This was Emma and Owen after the long day. I forget I have to put these in opposite order when downloading so you can start from the bottom and get it in chronological order. They were pooped after the long and fun day. Both fell asleep on the way home so we drove extra slow. Both kids road the canoe ride and thankfully Owen didn't try to play in the water.

Another fun ride...I was a little scared though...really!

We went to Remlinger Farms in Carnation for a Day of fun with Papa and Nana. We rode the pumpkin ride. Although it was not mommy's favorite, Owen and Emma enjoyed fighting over the bar that brought the pumpkin up and down and up and down. Fun... We rode the train and while it was not like Disneyland (which was pointed out by everyone) it was fun. It was a very cold day, but we snuggled up in one car and tried to keep each other warm. We fought over who could hold Owen for warmth.

Owen wanted to show his buzzlightyear impersonation...nice, huh? He's practicing for the real thing.

Both kids road ponies...two times. They had a really fun time, however we all got a workout dodging the mounds of horse droppings along the route.

Batman!!!!

I found these jammies and couldn't resist. The minute he put them on he was instantly transformed into Batman. With his batman sword no less.

Big boy on the potty

Owen had just gone peepee on the potty and I hadn't had the chance to put pants back on him so he was running around the house, doing the naked butt dance. Doesn't everyone? Anyway, a little while later I looked over at him and he had the "I'm going to poop" look on his face, so I encouraged him to sit on the potty. Well, the reward for pooping on the potty is a Spiderman video, which he can see from the toilet (it's up on the frig). So, he tried and tried to go poop always saying "It's too hard" after every push and grunt. Once Scott got home, he got his dinner and took my place on the "Stool of encouragement" (the pun was not intended) and I washed dishes. After about 10 minutes of sitting on the potty, I told Owen he could get up and get two stickers since he was trying so hard. But he was determined to get the movie so he sat and sat and sat and sat. Meanwhile, Emma decided to start reading, I guess she thought we were all sitting why not right?! We were all crowded into the bathroom for about 30 minutes. Even the dog wanted to come by and chill with the family. Emma read half of the book with minimal help. It was awesome! She was very excited.
Owen passed the time on the potty pulling a string off his sock.
Kylie wasn't sure why we were there, she just really wanted a belly rub.

A Day at the Ballpark

We had a fun weekend. Saturday we went out to breakfast, played at Celebration Park and then went to the farmer's market in Federal Way for some yummy rhasberry lemonade. Life is good. Today we went to the chruch and Emma started her Sunday school. She gets so excited about learning it doesn't really matter what it is. They were calling names and she nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement when hers was called. Then we went to the Mariner's last game of the season. The kids loved it; how can you not have fun at the ballpark when the sun is shining? Plus, I think Owen thought he was somehow going to be playing baseball not wathcing it. The stadium was cool and my friend Teri got us great seats right behind home plate. Then she brought the kids some hats and a toy, they were so excited. Both wore their hats almost the rest of the game even though they were too big.
This is the view from row 20 behind home plate...nice, huh?

I think I am the only looking at the camera and Owen has his hand in my face. Thanks dude!
We went to the playground area and a former student got us right in. It definitely pays to have connections! They got to play for 15 minutes and the kids loved it. On the way out we picked up some empty calories (cotton candy) and headed back to the car. Back to the hectic workday tomorrow but it always helps to have a fun weekend and take your mind off the crazy things at work.

Every week at school, one kid is the star of the week and Emma will be the star of the week this week. She was very excited about creating this poster and she made it look very colorful. She even wrote most of the answers to the questions (I wrote the lengthy ones). She is still loving school and most days is very good at school. This week she got her first yellow paw because she wrote on the desk ON PURPOSE! But we talked about it and it shouldn't happen again. She also wanted to show off her homework; she did most of the work and when I asked was letters made the th sound she knew right away and promptly spelled the work that. My cousin Jenny, a former kindergarten teacher, said the progress was generally quick and she was right. Emma is really doing great. Owen is sick, actually both are, but he seems to be getting the better of the cold this weekend. School is crazy and totally overwhelming but I am really impressed with the work and dedication all my students have to their work. That wasn't always the case when I was teaching 9th grade. Other than missing the sunshine and putting off the garden work, life is grand!

Husky Fan

Since I am still learning how to do this, when I looked at the postings about Emma's first day I didn't realized that the text would be last. Sorry. So I am trying something new. Today is the first Husky home game and Owen is ready with his new T-shirt and Husky football. When we got home from Target I asked, "Do you want to put on your Husky shirt?" He replied yes and promptly told me to wait one minute cause he had to get his football first. Then, he was sitting on the couch watching football and having a snack and I said, "You're pretty cute." He said, "You are pretty cute yourself." We had a nice laugh. Funny kid. Go Huskies!!