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.

THE BIG DAY!

KINDERGARTEN!
The big day we were all waiting for came - and we survived!

There's a lot of new things to figure out when entering a new school system; bus, lunch, snack, online cash accounts, dismissal routines, take home Monday folders, recess, bathroom breaks, the immediate request for 5 year olds to fundraise (that makes me crazy, but I digress)...

Both Nate and I were very impressed with how Kevin handled the adjustment to his new school.  We tried very hard not to overwhelm him with thousands of questions when he came home, but slowly, he has shared some details.  Kevin did not know anyone from preschool, knew no one on the bus, but he has quickly made friends. Friendships seem so simple at this age, his two new best buddies are the kids that sit at his table.  Yesterday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet his teacher again and have a quick conference to check in on Kevin's adjustment to school.  The teacher shared with us that Kevin is great fun to have in class, he's very social and always involved in the lessons.  Needless to say - we are two very proud parents!

Kevin chose this new super hero shirt for his fancy back to school outfit!  There was just no way I could convince him to wear a preppy striped polo shirt, he was just way to happy to show off his Captain America shirt.  (I prefer to save my strength for the dinnertime battles that have come up lately).

 Of course Tiger went to school with Kevin, so cute :)

 No worries - he climbed right on the bus and gave us a HUGE wave out the window.  (Yes, I was wearing sunglasses at 7:45 in the morning so he couldn't see my tears.  It's a mom thing...)

While I am so proud of Kevin's adjustment to school, I am not so happy with how tired & cranky it has made him.  We will continue with earlier bedtimes and I hope things will improve.  I was told by many friends to be prepared for a cranky kid - they use up all their happiness & pleasantries at school and unleash it all at home.  Just like the newborn phase, the hours of 4-7PM are not too pretty around here!

In an attempt to keep things calmer at home, Kevin isn't enrolled in any sports or activities this fall.  We'll wait and see if he wants to try something this winter or spring.