Catching up

Hold on - not fair - time is moving way too fast!  I think Halloween was yesterday!

Despite the look on Kevin's face, we all had a great time trick-or-treating with the Spradlings.

 Here's a photo of Katie during her preschool class party:

 2 Year Olds - preschool class:

We just attended Kevin's first parent/teacher conference.  His teacher said he is really progressing in reading and math.  Kevin has begged me to take him to Build-A-Bear Workshop for several years.  I told him it's a very special place and you have to do something extra special to go there.  We agreed that when he learned to read I would take him there to pick out a bear.  Kevin is still at the age where he LOVES stuffed animals (**** disclaimer - please do NOT take that to mean he needs more stuffed animals for Christmas!  Seriously, we might actually lose Katie in the house if we bring in anymore stuffed animals). A few weekends ago, Kevin and I had a date at the mall and this is his bear.  He named it "Smart Bear".  Why is Smart Bear in a wheelchair, you may ask?  I have no idea, he just really wanted the wheel chair and I caved.  He loves the bear and we are really proud of his reading.

We fit in a lot last weekend!

 Somehow Blogger jumbled these pictures up a bit - but you can see we had a busy weekend.  My parents came for a visit.  The kids got lots of treats and we all had fun.

Nate and I escaped for a trip to Iowa City on Saturday.  Neither of us had ever been to night game at Kinnick Stadium - I guess we were bad luck!  It was a lousy game, but a great day spent with Hawkeyes.  We visited some our our favorite bars & tailgated with friends.  The best part of the day was the Iowa Marching Band - that's how lousy the football part was!  While we were gone, the kids played with Grandmom & PopPop.  Everyone was in bed when we made it home at midnight :)

On Sunday afternoon we visited Living History Farms for their annual Old Fashioned Halloween.  The kids roasted marshmallows, listen to ghost stories, trick or treated and enjoyed lots of candy!

Darth Vadar and Hello Kitty are all set for next week's Halloween festivities!

The latest with Kevin

Kindergarten is going great!  Kevin really likes his teacher and he has started to read!  He is memorizing more and more "sight/popcorn" words each day.  If you ask him, he will say his favorite parts of the day are the bus ride with his new buddy Grant, lunch with is new best friend Pailey and recess.  I know there is some learning happening somewhere during the day, but he isn't too good about  sharing those details.  For now, we are so pleased that he's happy and adjusting well to being in school all day long.  That said, I feel a bit sad for him that he doesn't have much time to play at home.  Once Nate is home from work we have dinner then start the bedtime process much earlier than we did during preschool.  The kids are in bed before 8:00 (love that!)

Kevin's Top 5 Favorite things right now:

1.  Anything Star Wars related

2.  Chapter books such as A to Z Mysteries or Magic Tree House

3.  TV show:  still Wild Kratts and Curious George

4.  Food:  Spaghetti & Meatball soup and Pigs in a Blanket are requested a lot!

5.  Legos & iPad

The latest with Katie

Katie:
Katie and I are getting used to our daily routine without Kevin around the house.  When Kevin first started Kindergarten, Katie did not believe me when I told her he wasn't home.  She would wake up and look all over the house for him.  One day she even crawled into his bed to look for him, it was very sweet.

Katie's Top 5 favorite things right now:
1.  Games: Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles!
2.  TV:  Curious George
3.  Food:  Cheeseburger, popcorn, pears, apples, carrots & hummus
4.  Song:  Wheels on the Bus
5.  Book:  Lady and the Tramp (and she just saw the movie)

We enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo last week:

Katie agreed to pose in her new red coat (thanks Grandmom!)

My little punkin' 

 Preview of her Hello Kitty Halloween costume (before she smeared the face paint)

Weekend FUN!

We love this place - we've spent the past two Saturdays enjoying the apple orchard.  They have everything set up for the kids to have so much fun.  The orchard it big enough that it can be crowded, but we never feel like there's too many people there to relax and have a great day together.

  We did it all - corn maze (took Kevin & Nate an hour, but they completed it), apple orchard, pumpkin patch, barnyard, jumping pillow, giant slide, apple sling shot, corn pool, duck races, spider rope, pedal tractors, and a hay ride.  Are you exhausted just reading this list?  We were dusty, filthy and tired when we left, but it was well worth it.  We have been coming to this orchard for a few years, every year we have more fun.  As the kids get older they are able to explore more and more.

Katie's 1st day too!

With all the excitement of Kevin starting Kindergarten, Katie's first day of 2 year old preschool just crept up on us.  Today was her first day in the Purple Cat's class.  She was very excited to see her teacher and play babies.  She told me that they have red finger paint  and asked why we don't have any at home!  I was very proud that Katie did not cry and was able to give me a big hug and join the other kids in the classroom.  I continue to look forward to Katie's time at our amazing preschool!

Road trip

Thanks Tanya for sharing this collage picture of our trip to Branson, MO.

We spent Labor Day weekend in Branson, MO with the Prinz family.  It was great for the kids to swim & play together.  We don't have a chance to get together too often, so this was worth the drive.