We three love to be...

Hanging Out Before the Game

2012-02-12T10:01:00.001-06:00

-Posted by Kathryn

The Game

2012-02-11T23:42:00.001-06:00

WSU beat Creighton by 21 points today in Omaha. We had great seats and we were happy to be cheering by ourselves.

Two happy people!

Halftime Acrobats

2012-02-10T08:57:00.000-06:00

The halftime show at the Shockers game this week was 5 guys doing acrobats while shooting hoops. They were awesome! I think they missed 2 baskets but for all the stuff they did, that's ok. I hope we see them again soon.

L's Classroom

2012-02-09T20:54:00.000-06:00

L's classroom. It's a cool room with it's own smartboard.

Lunch With L

2012-02-08T22:12:00.001-06:00

Monday Smiles

2012-02-06T20:40:00.001-06:00

This is too cute. I love their little noses. And everyone needs a smile on a Monday.

Super Bowl Fun

2012-02-05T21:37:00.000-06:00

The Konda's came over for supper and to watch the game. Kelly had a great time with the kids.

Movie Reviews

2012-02-04T08:48:00.002-06:00

Last night, Jeff, T and I went to the movies. I can't tell you how long it's been since we've had movie night, but I had a great time. We saw 'The Grey' and 'Contraband'. Here's my review:

The Grey: stars Liam Neeson. Wow is the first word that comes to my mind. A group of oil rig men are flying home when a blizzard tears up their plane. Eight men survive. A pack of wolves tries to eat them and the men try to outsmart them. There's lots of cussing (they're men!). But I can't think of the last movie where I laughed so hard at their crude humor (survival will do that to ya), cried when someone died and felt scared at the same time. I will say this: if you go, watch all the credits. You need to see the very end. *** 1/2 stars.

Contraband: stars Marky Mark. Set in the East, I don't know why but I love those kind of movies. Mark used to bring contraband (drugs, money) from South America to US but got out of it when he had a family. His brother in law decides to try a run, gets caught, dumps the drugs, and ends up in trouble with the thugs. So Mark goes on a run to make it right. The scenery was cool. I love to see all the trouble they get themselves into. Not a stellar movie, but nice to relax and enjoy. *** stars.

It's a Dog Burrito

2012-02-04T08:47:00.001-06:00

Rain and more rain. Lucy needs to be dried off. She loves the burrito.

Book Time!

2012-02-02T20:29:00.001-06:00

Tonight was parent/teacher conferences for L. She got a glowing report so she loaded up at the book fair. We're off to read!

Why Holding a Pole While Sliding is a Bad Idea

2012-02-01T22:26:00.001-06:00

The good news is she's ok. Boy, is she lucky.

Chubby Hubby Bars

2012-02-01T17:00:00.000-06:00

Yum-o! I made these bars for the teacher meal tonight. Cookie dough bottom, topped with crushed pretzels and Reese's, topped with caramel and then a layer of chocolate. I tasted a bite (and recorded it!). They are as good as they look.

Move More, Eat Less: Month 3

2012-02-01T07:44:00.002-06:00

+4.

Ugh.
Well, there are a couple of things I've learned this month. I really like to exercise. I exercised 14 times in January, including a 5K run and an indoor triathlon. This is the third month I have consistently exercised so I feel I have good handle on this aspect of my life.

Eating...not so much. I live to eat. I really need to turn that around. I thought last night how I'm doing and where my pitfalls are. Breakfast is good and simple (greek yogurt, toast, fruit). I make it to lunch without a snack and most days eat a decent lunch. I've tried to simplify lunch. Monday and Tuesday are salads, Wednesday is frozen meal, Thursday is a sandwich, Friday: frozen meal or hospital food (if I'm at a lecture). My afternoon snack is a protein shake and a piece of fruit. I try to make it easy so there's no emotion in it. I'm concentrating on nutrition.

Then evening hits and I let my guard down. I test food to make sure it's good before serving it. I eat my portion, sometimes seconds, pick off L's plate. Then have dessert. And a cup of apple cider or chai. Yeah....that's definitely where the problem starts.

So February's goals:

1. Keep a food journal: my iPhone has Dragon Dictation so I'm going to keep track of everything I eat. Hopefully, that will help deter me and figure out my problems.

2. No eating off of L's plate. There's no reason to and I need to stop this bad habit.

3. Exercise 15 times this month.

At Least My Lab Turned Out Better Than My Arm

2012-01-31T22:09:00.001-06:00

-Posted by Kathryn

Lucy's New Bed

2012-01-30T17:48:00.000-06:00

This is where you sleep when your mama takes the "good" blanket...in the box with the rest of the blankies.

it's Kansas' Birthday

2012-01-29T22:16:00.001-06:00

Sorry the picture is tilted. For Kansas birthday, the kids made their state out of a Graham cracker and then added treats for parts of the state. Pretty cool craft and it's edible.

-Posted by Kathryn

For a Good Cause

2012-01-28T15:02:00.004-06:00

Today Jeff went from this...
...to this.

One of his teacher friends has cancer and is going through chemo. He said "the worst thing about cancer is losing my hair". So several teachers and administrators shaved their heads. He looks very handsome if you ask me :).

Stupid Dog

2012-01-27T22:36:00.001-06:00

Oreo thought it would be cool to chew up L's Girl Scout cookie order form. Luckily, he just ate the addresses and phone numbers...the names and number of cookies were saved. And so was he.

Girls Night Out

2012-01-26T22:46:00.002-06:00

Tonight I went to the Via Christi Womens Connection Event. We had fruit, spring rolls and wine (yes, wine). I got a chair masssage, skin tips and makeup consultation. I found some pretty lip gloss. Great night to relax.

Growing Up...

2012-01-25T22:31:00.000-06:00

She used to be in pigtails and a cheer girl outfit. Now her hair is dyed and she wears G. Stutz's jersey. She's still a big fan.

Way To Go!

2012-01-24T21:55:00.002-06:00

L won the spelling bee for her class last week so she got to participate in the K-2 spelling bee yesterday. She took third. Here she is with her trophy. Pretty cute!
Here she is at the bee. She spelled several words correctly, but got bumped out on "washer". Good job L!!

Whiner

2012-01-23T08:32:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of my cat
Who whines a lot
She tells me she's always hungry
Even when she's NOT!

Derby Tri

2012-01-22T20:29:00.002-06:00

Today I did an indoor triathlon. It's the second time I've done this type of race. Swim 10 laps (500 yards), 6 mile bike ride and 2 mile run. My time was 61:10. I was happy with this time, especially since I sucked in water twice while swimming and had to stop to catch my breath.

Well, Pink is Her Favorite Color

2012-01-21T22:44:00.004-06:00

We went down to the salon today to get Jeff's hair cut and colored. And L talked us into dying a part of her hair pink. First the bleach (what a real woman...reading a magazine while being pampered).
Then came the pink dye...
...and the finished product!! We think it looks very nice. Not too flashy, but colorful.

Girl Scout Cookie Kick Off

2012-01-20T23:03:00.001-06:00

Don't forget to buy cookies from your favorite Daisy/Brownie/Girl Scout!

Pillow Fort

2012-01-19T22:00:00.000-06:00

When you want to keep the monsters away, you make a pillow blockade. Pretty smart (if you ask me).

A Little Bit of Winter

2012-01-19T09:49:00.000-06:00

It has been cold a few days, but not really any snow. So here's my snowman to make me smile.

Way to Go!

2012-01-18T21:47:00.001-06:00

L won the spelling bee for her class. She was so excited! Now on to the K-2 grade spelling bee. I'm very proud of her.

Path of Destruction

2012-01-17T21:36:00.002-06:00

This morning I spent a few minutes reading a book and relaxing. When I looked up, I found the puppies' toys all over the living room floor in bits and pieces...
...and stuffing on the floor from a ripped up toy.

Good gracious. At least they are having fun.

My Favorite Lunch

2012-01-16T21:12:00.001-06:00

I love making and eating salads. I add lots of extras. Today's salad included carrots, corn, Brussels sprouts, cheese, pork....lots of yum. The bonus today? A Great Harvest sesame bagel. A satisfying lunch.

Lucy and her Crazy Ear

2012-01-15T19:12:00.001-06:00

Lucy has a crazy right ear. When she was about 6 months old, her right ear would occasionally stick up. Now it's up almost all of the time. I'm not sure why, but it's pretty cute.

Two Guard Dogs

2012-01-14T20:31:00.001-06:00

I know Christmas is over and the lighted trees and lights on the house will go soon. But I love my front porch right now. When I come home it's dark outside and everything is lit up. I feel like a princess.

Goofy guy

2012-01-13T23:21:00.002-06:00

I love Jeff to pieces. The WSU game was a blow out tonight (WSU won by 30+ points). So I thought we could take some festive pictures. And Jeff loves these pictures because he acts so goofy.

He makes me smile....

Chobani Addiction

2012-01-12T20:17:00.002-06:00

I think I may have an addiction to Chobani. It took me a couple months to get used to the taste and texture of greek yogurt, but now I can't even taste regular yogurt. Chobani is by far my favorite brand. It's a good mix of yogurt and fruit. Last week, I was rounding the corner in dairy at Target and BEHOLD! new Chobani flavors!!! Blood orange, apple cinnamon, orange vanilla, and *shudder* passionfruit. I love them all, except passionfruit. They put the seeds in it...so gross. I eat the regular size Chobani for breakfast and the minis for an afternoon snack.

Snow

2012-01-11T21:43:00.002-06:00

Snow. Why is it such a magical thing? It's just rain, but cold. Maybe it's the white or we don't see it very often. Or too much of it leads to snowmen, forts and days off from school. Whatever....it causes a lot of excitement. I'll take it.

Half Time Show

2012-01-10T22:12:00.001-06:00

The WSU dance team was our half time show tonight. They have cute costumes.

Lilly

2012-01-09T22:58:00.001-06:00

Fun loving, sweet, spoiled Lilly. She is the regal cat at Pat and Linda's house.

A New Adventure

2012-01-08T18:44:00.001-06:00

A little known fact in the Welch household. We now own a scrapbook store. Yep, you can call us crazy or super smart, but we did it. We bought a huge inventory from a person and are trying to organize and put it on the shelves to sell. Hopefully, we'll be open within a month. Today, I worked on the stamp section. It was fun! Lots of stamps I haven't seen before.
We're showcasing the stamps in two cubbies that were already part of the store.

Saturday Playdate

2012-01-07T16:32:00.002-06:00

L had her friend, B, over for a playdate. These girls have a great time together. They love to play and never argued. The day was gorgeous and I was more than happy to take them to the park.
Sliding down the slide "choo-choo" style.
Then they went swinging and tried to see who could go the highest. I love the windblown effect.

It's Quitting Time

2012-01-06T17:08:00.001-06:00

Friday at 5 pm....time to go home and enjoy the weekend.

L's New Art

2012-01-05T21:04:00.001-06:00

I love L's homemade gifts. Today, I got an ornament of her hand with designs she made with pencil. Her art teacher is pretty cool.
She was proud to show off her ornament to everyone!

My Happy Place

2012-01-04T20:35:00.003-06:00

Ahhhh... I love Target. Especially on crazy days like today. I walk in those doors and feel secure and ready to unwind. I know I'm weird. I'm okay with that.

Time to Get Back to Work

2012-01-03T20:54:00.002-06:00

Yep, Christmas vacation is over. Back to work I go.

Tea Party With L

2012-01-02T10:49:00.001-06:00

I started my last day of vacation off with L. We had a tea party, complete with english breakfast tea, sugar, milk and Ritz crackers (for our biscuits). Delish! L loves tea when she mixes milk and (3 little spoons) of sugar with it. What fun!

Move More, Eat Less: Month 2

2012-01-01T17:30:00.001-06:00

Well, I am at +2, which means I lost a pound from Dec. 1. While it's not great, with the holidays I'm pretty happy about it. I had two goals: exercise 15 days in the month of December and eat only two handfuls of chips when at a Mexican restaurant.

I exercised 16 days...sometimes walking 4 miles in my daily exercise routine. And we ate Mexican twice. At both events I walked out of there NOT stuffed. I think I may have eaten 3-4 handfuls of chips (darn you salty, crunchy goodness), but not 3/4 of a bowl.

My reward was going to get a massage. But since then, I have changed my mind and I'm going to buy some new makeup.

Month 2:

1. Exercise 17 days in January
2. Eat 5 fruits and vegetables per day (a combination)
3. Refrain from eating junk food at the basketball games

My reward: a massage or a new book.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T12:27:00.002-06:00

Well, 2012 has shaped up nicely. I started off the morning by running in the Frosty 5K. My time was 35 minutes, which is a little less than an 11 minute/mile pace. I was happy with my run. I included in this picture my inhaler, because without it, I would have had to walk the entire way. I haven't been running outside because I've been going to the Y and my lungs were not appreciating the cold and wind. Oh well....first race of the year, DONE!

Happy New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T21:37:00.001-06:00

Hope you have a great night. Stay safe!

-Posted by Kathryn

2012 Word: Discipline

2011-12-28T09:20:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking about my 2012 word for the past few weeks. 2011 was balance and I'm not sure how I did. My life was CRAZY this year. So while thinking of a word, discipline came to my mind and I thought, YES. Now some people say, "excuse me. You are very disciplined". And in some areas (like work), I do very well. But in other areas, like chores, daily tasks and misc...I lack focus. I'd rather waste my time and then I have so many things to do that I feel overwhelmed. So this year I will work on discipline.

Discipline in how I eat (when hungry, not bored/anxious/angry), tedious tasks (bill paying and misc business stuff), financial (not spending just because I want it). This means more lists to keep me on task and one evening a week to get the boring stuff done. It means spending 10 minutes in the evening to take out the trash, run the dishwasher and pick up our messes.

But I hope that it will turn into more free time to enjoy life as it comes and less time to be overwhelmed.

Reflection on 2011

2011-12-27T21:15:00.002-06:00

What a good year. It's been a busy one and exciting. Jeff and I have adventured into the land of owning a business. It's definitely a learning process. We acquired two new puppies. Wow...what a learning process. They are so sweet and loveable and so destructive and mischievous. We experienced lots of cold and snowy days and extremely hot and even hotter days. We learned how to manage buying a new (to us) car and three weeks after owning it, the engine blew out. That experience taught me a lot about patience so I could get what I needed.

I've spent the past couple weeks deciding my 2012 word. I'll reveal it in tomorrow's post.

I hope your 2011 has been a good one as well.

Lucy and Oreo

2011-12-05T08:13:00.000-06:00

We spent one evening playing video games, so the puppies got to join us downstairs. Lucy thinks the beanbag chair is the most awesome dog chair. When Oreo gets tired, he choses to lay down...by sitting on Lucy. Funny part is, she doesn't mind it and they always sleep like this.

My Favorite Ornaments

2011-12-04T08:08:00.003-06:00

The tree is up and decorated so I thought I would share a few of my favorite ornaments with you. I am blessed to have a mother who loves to needlepoint, so each year we get new ornaments. I think the tree has more than 25 hand made ornaments. I love these snowmen mittens. They are so sweet.
Jeff received a cute Dallas Cowboys ornament, complete with a clothes hanger.
This is my all time favorite. I think part of the reason I love it is because it's the first one I received from mom. And it plays music.
I have several Christopher Radko ornaments, again given by my mom and grandma. I have several Disney ones (Mickey, Pooh, etc) and two Muppets-Fozzie and Miss Piggy.

Ahhh....Sunshine

2011-12-02T08:28:00.000-06:00

on a lazy afternoon.

Move More Eat Less: Month 1

2011-12-01T22:09:00.001-06:00

Well, I am +3.

Oops. The bad part is I gained weight, the good news is I know how it happened. Lots of Mexican (I am horrible there), lots of snacking when I am bored/anxious/etc. Not much exercising. And lots of stress.

The other good news? I'm ready to implement goals. My goals this month are to exercise 15 times in December and take two handfuls of chips on my plate at a Mexican restaurant instead of eating 3/4 of the bowl. If I achieve my goal I will treat myself to a massage.

-Posted by Kathryn

This Face Always Makes Me Laugh

2011-12-01T08:27:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T20:22:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was a little quiet this year. My grandparents were ill with a viral illness so they skipped out as did my uncle. Jeff's parents were able to come up and we had a great time. I fixed it all...turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry salad, green bean casserole, rolls, and sweet potato casserole. My friend Mary made a wonderful apple pie.
The appetizer was a turkey that I found on Pinterest. It turned out nicely.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

Book Report: November Edition

2011-11-17T09:48:00.000-06:00

I've still been reading and I have read some good books.

1. Look Me in the Eye: John Elder Robison-excellent book. It's a memoir about a guy who has Asperger syndrome. It was well written and insightful. Some myths I have about Asperger adults were dismissed. He really lets you understand Asperger kids want to be liked and befriended. He talks a lot about his time working with the rock group KISS.

2. Housekeeper and the Professor: A quick read and good, but kind of depressing. The professor was in a car accident and his memory lasts 80 minutes. Every morning the housekeeper greets him, she is a stranger to him. It's a kind and tender book about how the professor helps the woman and her son connect better.

3. Love That Multiplies: Jim and Michelle Duggar-okay, I profess. I love the Duggar's. I would never want that many kids, but they fascinate me. And the book talks a lot about parenting. I found some really good tips. They are great writers. I am truly amazed at how simple their lives are despite having so many children.

4. Cross: James Patterson- I haven't read a Patterson book in years. Man, he is a great writer. This is another Alex Cross mystery. Nothing super special, but Patterson writes so well, I am hooked til the end.

5. The Tender Bar: J.R. Moehringer- I've had this book for years. Seriously. All of my friends told me how good it was. And I agree, it was good (although I think they were biased because he is a journalist). This memoir started a little slow, but quickly picked up in speed (my interest). Very interesting read.

6. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: Nina Sankovitch- Wow. This woman loses her sister to cancer (she was only 37) and for three years, she kept busy to hide from her sister's death. Then she decided to escape by reading a book a day for 1 year. And she did it. And wrote about each book. I'm impressed. Good read.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

2011-11-16T09:37:00.000-06:00

Lucy is an early morning riser...not something I want to do on weekend mornings. So I thought I'd be smart and stick them in the kennel in the hall. I slept in until 8:30 and felt sooooo good. I was so proud of myself for this idea. I opened the door to let them out and found.....
Yep, they let themselves out. No wonder they were quiet. So what do two puppies do when they are free with no adult supervision? They go to the basement and dig in the kitty litter box and MAKE A HUGE MESS!!!!
They piddle on the floor (oh and leave brown deposits too).
AHHH!! They were so excited, until they saw me. Oreo started cowering...he knew he was in trouble. Oh well...it's fixable. And it taught me a good lesson. Double check BOTH doors.

L's New Room

2011-11-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

L has been tired of her pale green room since we moved in two years ago. Finally, I set some time aside to paint her room. I thought it turned out nicely and didn't take too long to paint. We went hot pink and brown zebra stripes. The white is a dry erase board that I painted. It turned out cool.
View from her bed.
L is very proud of her new room. It matches her Bobby Jack bedding well. I need to put up some pink curtains and touch up and it will be finished.

Gingerbread Making

2011-11-14T21:23:00.002-06:00

On Sunday, L and I went to the annual gingerbread making festival. We've done this for several years and we have so much fun. We bring our leftover Halloween candy and create some cool looking houses. Maria and the boys join us in the fun. Here's L with her house.
My house: I like the butterscotch roof and gum logs.
The front door.
L's house. Cool red hot roof.
Her front door.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-11-02T21:29:00.003-05:00

Today I am 37. I had a great day. Consult with the endodontist was good-no root canal. I just need a filling. I had a wonderful red velvet cake made by my friend. I got to read while I waited for L to go to dance class. We stopped at the library and then to my favorite Mediterrean place. It was a good day. Ready to start tomorrow making good choices-healthy foods and exercise. Here's to another year!

The Night Before 37

2011-11-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

It's the day before my 37th birthday. Wow. And I've been reflecting on what I want to accomplish in the next year and in the next 3 years (before the big 4-0). One of my major goals is to redefine my eating habits. I recognize I am a good person and the scale does not reflect my self worth. On the other hand, I'm tired of eating because I'm bored/anxious/sad/scared/etc. I went on a great diet this summer and lost 15 pounds, but I didn't feel much had changed and my eating habits started to reflect this as I gained the weight back. But you know what? It did make a difference. When I was eating less, I had more energy and I enjoyed being active. So I decided one major goal I have is to make exercise and eating healthy my journey, not just a destination. I want to lose 25 pounds (2 pounds/month plus one to grow on :)) in the next year. And to do so, my goal is to hit 9,000 to 10,000 steps per day (with an exception if I swim or lift weights). I vow to eat when I'm hungry, to stop when I'm full and fill my body with good for me food. Because calories don't have emotions so I shouldn't treat them that way.
I'll post once a month (for accountability) on how I'm doing. Today I am at zero and from here on out, you'll see a +/- for the month.
I'm happy to be 37. I am a successful PA, a good mother and wife. I love being with my family, being with nature and being with a good book.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:30:00.003-05:00

When you are a kid, Halloween seems to last forever. When you're an adult, it seems to fly by so fast. We zip through dinner, go to a few houses to say hi, and then hit the neighbor's houses. L and Kam had a great time. They came home with tons of candy, which Jeff and I promptly checked out and picked out our one favorite (yep, got that from my dad). I love L's costume...grandma Linda made her cat costume. She loved it and was proud to be a kitty.

Pumpkin Patch with the Scouts

2011-10-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

L and her daisy scout troop went to the local pumpkin patch last week. It was a beautiful day. She hung out with S and they checked out everything.

L on the Zipline. They waited 20 minutes in line to ride it for 30 seconds and then go back in line to do it again.

The duck races. Pump water to race rubber duckies. Fun.

The huge slide.

Savannah!

2011-10-28T06:32:00.000-05:00

I've been in Savannah, Georgia for the past couple days for a child neurology conference. It's a beautiful city (from what I've seen-downtown). There's a river between the hotel and the convention center so we take a ferry, which is cool. The weather is nice and most of the roads are rock or pebbles. Very old school. I'll post more pictures later.

-Posted by Kathryn

L's 1st grade picture

2011-10-27T21:26:00.001-05:00

She is looking grown up. This photo doesn't do the original one justice. You are a sweet girl, L.

-Posted by Kathryn

Halloween at Our House

2011-10-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

I did a little decorating out front this fall. I need to take a day off before each season to dedicate time to do it up big, but it's reality so that's not happening. Here's my beautiful pumpkins with purple mums that Jeff bought me.
The house got spider webbing. The basketball goal is done up.
The front porch.
Pumpkins in a row.

Happy Halloween!

Fur Babies

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oreo was being very calm Saturday morning (probably because Lucy was gone). Jeff came down the stairs with Oreo and saw Reggie and picked her up. She was not a happy camper. And to top it off, Oreo gave her kisses in her ear.
She looks happy, huh?
I can hear her saying, "Really? You are really letting him do this? What a horrible life I have?"
But the plus was she didn't hiss or growl at him.

Lucy Got Groomed

2011-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

If I could ever figure out how Blogger will load the pictures, I'd be a happy girl. As you all know, Lucy is challenging to photograph. She is so dark. Today, she went for another grooming session. They gave her the Schnauzer do. I didn't even recognized her. I like the face, but the fluff in the back will go next time. See the pink bows? They lasted less than 3 minutes.

This is her before look. Fluffy and dirty.

Another Friday Night

2011-10-22T08:15:00.005-05:00

This year, we've been to several South High football games. This one was important. They beat Campus 30-14 to be able to go to the playoffs. Yea! More football games.

Prairie Fire 1/2 Marathon 2011

2011-10-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

Last week, I joined many other runners to run the 1/2 marathon in Wichita. The weather was fair...there was "Pittsburgh rain" so at times it was refreshing and other times where it was icky. The route was really nice. My time was fair-it was a training run for me so I wasn't very fast. But I had a good time and that's what counts, right?

Fall is in the Air

2011-10-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

I picked up several gourds at the pumpkin patch. I found the perfect plate in the cabinet. They make our island so nice.

Beerfest 2011

2011-10-16T09:42:00.002-05:00

Jeff has been to Beerfest several times and I am generally the designated driver (I drop and pick them up). This year, I was asked to volunteer which I did and I had a wonderful time. I got a very cool purple shirt and poured beer for an hour. It was a busy place at Century II, but not so crowded that I wanted to run out.
Jeff had a great time. He and T sampled many, many beers and thought most of them were good. I tried a few drinks, but I still like girl beers better (and I did try all of the Mike's flavors).

Clouds

2011-10-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I love cool cloud pictures.

Family Portrait

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Pumpkins Plentiful

2011-10-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I think we got plenty of pumpkins. There weren't any big ones this year so we ended up picking more little ones.

Our Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-09T17:10:00.002-05:00

I know to some of you think driving 2 1/2 hours to go to the pumpkin patch seems crazy, but I love going to the Schaake pumpkin patch every year. We have a wonderful time visiting with the Shultz's, having lunch and dinner out (we had great BBQ and mexican) and fun looking for pumpkins. The day was beautiful. It was warm, but not too hot and a little dusty.
L picks her pumpkin out.
Jeff and I love the warty pumpkins. They are so cool!
Ah, country life!
Two sweet girls showing off the cats they got from two sucker moms.

Sleepy Babies

2011-10-03T09:32:00.000-05:00

Don't they look sweet and innocent? Just like real babies.

Beautiful Sunset

2011-10-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

Homecoming 2011

2011-10-01T11:28:00.002-05:00

L was invited to help crown the homecoming queen at South Friday night. She was soooo excited! We bought her a pretty hot pink dress and she got an updo with Erin before the game. She looked beautiful! (sorry about the out of order pictures)
Holding the crown before the go out on the field.
Posing near the salon. She feels like a princess.
Her updo. She was incredibly patient while Erin did her hair.
Patiently waiting with B who helped crown the homecoming king. They were so sweet together.

Polly Pockets

2011-09-29T09:28:00.000-05:00

Any of you who know my daughter knows that she loves toys for a few minutes, then they often get discarded. One day last month, we were playing Barbies and found some old Polly Pockets. She and I played with them for awhile so I decided to get more Pollys on ebay and I found a good deal. Now she has 15 dolls, tons of clothes and a store and a house. And she plays with them ALL the time. In fact, we get home and the first thing she asks is "Can we play Polly Pockets?" I tell her after supper and her homework is done, then yes. So that's what we've been up to.

I Love Our Guineas

2011-09-28T21:23:00.002-05:00

Carrot and Squeakles are such funny pigs. They love to be social and sadly, they don't get played with enough. So on the rare times we do take them out of the cage, they are game for anything. Tonight we were playing Polly Pockets. Carrot was out first to check the PP out. L went to get Squeakles and I said "I can't watch both". She says, don't worry and promptly puts him in the school bus. And he stayed there for 20 MINUTES. Didn't move, didn't complain. Just happy to be out and hanging with us.

Girl Scouts

2011-09-20T12:46:00.000-05:00

I was in 4H when I was a kid and loved it. I wanted to have L be in a group. Last year, she was too shy so she didn't join. But this year, she wants to be in girl scouts. While it's not 4H, I'm okay with it. She knows some of the kids and the timing works great in my schedule (face it, that's gotta be part of the decision). She had so much fun tonight. They played games, learned the GS law and promise and had snacks. All in an hour. Great!

Here's the craft she made tonight. Very cute. It will be on the bulletin board at home.

Hold On to Your Hat Week

2011-09-19T23:45:00.001-05:00

When I was in HS swimming, we had one week with three swim meets. That was "hold on to your hat week" because it was going to be busy, crazy and fun.

So this is my HOTYHW. Tonight we had the first Girl Scout meeting (more on that tomorrow). Tuesday is my only free night. Wednesday, L has dance, Thursday-dance again and I have a jewelry party at my house. Friday is the school carnival and the 1st South High football game. Saturday-I get my hair done. Whew! I'm tired just typing it. But I know it will fly by and the craziness will slow down.

Another Crop is Over

2011-09-18T21:41:00.001-05:00

I had a great time with my girls at Crop a Ganza this time. I scrapbooked 100 pages in 3 days. I was so happy with myself for taking Friday off. I was up and scrapping by 10 am. We had lots of laughs, shared a ton of stories and caught up with each other. I met new people and spent lots of time with old friends. Here's a glimpse of today's pages:

One of my favorites: L and Ditto waving to everyone. And no, he didn't know how to wave. It was all by chance.

Sharing Twizzlers at the game.

A make and take Jill and I did yesterday. Pretty cute and easy to create.

I love using border pages. And lots of depth to the picture.

'Nuff said.

My 100th page. And one of my favorites.

That's all folks! Nite!

I'm a Scrapbookin' Fool

2011-09-17T23:45:00.001-05:00

Today has been a productive day. I've completed 39 pages (so 73 total for those of you counting). I've gotten a chair massage and made a CUTE Halloween make and take. We've had lots of laughs, food and rum punch (good rum punch). Here's some of my favorite pages from today.

This is crazy hair day at school. L wanted tons of ponytails. I obliged, well, because I AM her mother.

I love this page. Great color and the kids are so cute.

I'll still be scrapping for a couple more hours. Nite all!

My Favorite Page of the Day

2011-09-16T23:39:00.001-05:00

In 11 hours, I created 34 pages. I think my brain power has died, so I'm calling it quits for the night. My pages tonight consisted of Disneyland, baseball, ballerinas, Hawaii and bubbles. Here's my favorite page. Simple by so eye catching.

-Posted by Kathryn

All Packed and Ready to Go

2011-09-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

T minus 24 hours until I get three quiet days to scrapbook. Yea me!

Yummy Goodness

2011-09-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

I love our Keurig. The coffee is yummy and it takes just a second to make a delicious brew. My favorite coffee right now is Pumpkin Spice. It makes me feel like it's fall no matter when and where I drink it. A little cup of heaven.

The Marble Chart

2011-09-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

This summer, at the suggestion of a friend, we embarked on the marble chart. There are three categories: how to earn marbles, privileges to use marbles on and how you lose marbles. The goal is to teach children they are responsible and need to earn things without putting a money value on it. I have to say it worked really well. There was a lot of crying in the beginning, but after a few days, she caught on.

You can clearly see how you lose marbles :(.

Privileges included: watching tv, playing on the computer, getting a pop or dessert. The list goes on.

Earning marbles: feeding the dogs or guineas, brushing teeth, making bed, helping mom or dad around the house.

I've very happy we did it. We've stopped since school started. She's doing well and life is so busy that there's not much idle time. But I kept the lists and we'll do it again next summer.

Making Friends

2011-09-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

Monday night we went to the Loving's for chili and football. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Maria and Dan were kind enough to let us bring Oreo and Lucy over. Bo LOVED them. But he stood his ground and Oreo quickly found out that he's not the alpha dog there. The girls swung for almost an hour. The dogs played "Frogger" and amazingly enough, didn't get hit.

Bo and Oreo playing together. Or at least Bo was wanting to play. Oreo was still a little unsure.

The pups.

Here Comes the Bus...

2011-09-12T10:24:00.000-05:00

...another Monday morning.

Zoobilee 2011

2011-09-11T10:18:00.002-05:00

Jeff and I decided to participate in Zoobilee this year. It's an annual event as a fundraiser for the Sg. Co. Zoo. We went with our friends, Maria, Dan, Emily and Mike. We had a great time. There was tons of food and drinks. We stuffed ourselves silly. The weather was perfect so it gave us time to visit and see other friends.
Maria and Jeff took a quick break to pose for a picture.
Here's a quick glimpse of a booth. There was so much to do and see that I didn't stop to take pictures. There were about 5000 people at this event.
Jeff and Dan enjoying some good food, drinks and friendship.
We'll be back next year. We donated a couple baskets from the salon for the silent auction to help get new business.

It's Homework Time!

2011-09-08T22:03:00.002-05:00

Tonight's homework was a math assignment (see yellow paper in the corner), review the spelling words for tomorrow's test (which she knew last Friday) and read for 10 minutes. She's getting in the groove of doing homework every night and not complaining. She's growing up :).

Flowers

2011-09-07T07:57:00.000-05:00

I know we are heading into fall, but a little rainwater and the flowers are blooming in our backyard. So here's a quick tour. The red roses...
These shrubs were cut all the way to the nub two months ago. And with hardly any water, they grew and grew and bloomed! They are very pretty but they get out of hand in a hurry so they will be destroyed in a few weeks.
These flowers are beautiful. The only problem with them is they drop their blooms and the dogs love to eat them. Kind of gross if you ask me.
These are my FAVORITE flowers. I love this bush and have forbidden Jeff from destroying it.

Anyone Up for a Game of Pig Tails?

2011-09-06T19:53:00.002-05:00

We finished our holiday weekend playing a game called Pig Tails. I love that my mom and dad find all sorts of cool, educational games. And L really likes to play them. We had a good time playing and chatting.
With this roll, you have to turn in one blue pig card.
Sadly, I lost both games. And not on purpose. I am NOT that kind of mom.

Lucy: the Updated Do

2011-09-05T10:20:00.003-05:00

Before: hair all curly and you couldn't see her eyes.
After: look at that face! She has eyes! She looks and smells so good. In fact, she smells like strawberries so I've sniffed her enough times, she's been running from me. I have decent picture of her with her pink bows, but couldn't get Blogger to put the pictures in the right order. The bows lasted about 10 minutes. She's not a fan of the girly girl. Oh well.

Grandpa B. Turns 87

2011-09-04T15:05:00.003-05:00

We spent the day yesterday in Coffeyville. My uncle and great uncle also came to C-ville for the day. The weather was good. We got there a little before noon, met their neighbor, visited for a while, then hit the road to Grandpa's favorite place, Eggberts.
We came back to the house afterwards to coconut cream pie (another Gpa favorite). He opened our gifts. He got a really nice hoodie from Ken.
Grandpa and L share a nice moment.

Book Report: September Edition

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Since my last book report blog, I've read 6 books. Impressive, I say. So here's a quick review (hopefully it's not boring).

1. Dewey the Library Cat: great book. The history of the town was a little boring (I am not a history buff). Dewey was a great cat.

2. The Foremost Good Fortune: yawn. It's about a woman whose family moves to China for two years. She whines a lot, gets cancer, whines some more. I'd definitely pass.

3. Sisterhood-Everlasting: if you've read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, head over to the bookstore to pick up this gem. I LOVED it!!!

4. Belong to Me: another book that took forever to get to its point. And it's so good, I don't really remember much about it.

5. Run Your Butt Off: this book is written by Runners World. It was really good. It talked about nutrition, building up speed, the importance of running regularly to get better, etc. Great book.

6. Mennonite in the Little Black Dress: written by a woman whose husband leaves her for another man, she travels back home. It's interesting to understand the Mennonite culture. Her mom is hilarious. It was a quick read.

Until next time...I'll keep reading.

Titan Fest

2011-09-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last week, we spent an evening at South's TitanFest. Jeff was in charge of a couple tables so L and I checked out the games. She got to go on the inflatables. She even found a schoolmate to climb with. They also had a pie throwing and dunk tank that she took a turn at.
She was able to feed a cow water. He was very thirsty!!! He wouldn't let L pet him until she gave him a drink. Smart guy!
Then she got her face painted. We had a great time. She got to see all of Jeff's kids that she wanted to as well as the principal.

This is Why We Put the Toilet Paper Up

2011-09-01T21:30:00.000-05:00