Double Word.....SCORE!!!!

Many of you may feel very sorry for me that I am now playing Scrabble with Mom. She has a reputation for being a very, very nasty sport when it comes to board games. Fortunately, I am cute so she goes easy on me. We've been running a little low on educational afternoon activities, so we thought this would be fun. I'm doing pretty well, I just don't quite understand why I can't build off the end of a word that is already started. Plus, 3 letter words don't exactly spread out the board too well. We'll have to look into getting Scrabble Jr. We don't keep advanced scores for now, just adding up the letter points. Bonus, good for the math skills too!

I've been working on tying my shoes. I don't actually have any tie shoes, other than my cleats, so we made this giant cardboard shoe which helps. I do really well up to until that whole part where I have to swoop the loop. What's wrong with Velcro shoes forevah?

My teacher has been sending home practice sheets for writing our names. They are really big on staying between the "sky" and the "ground" and doing the stroke order correctly. Big word of advice to anyone trying to teach a preschooler to write -- invest in a writing tablet that demonstrates the correct stroke order! Mom had unknowingly taught me "incorrect" stroke order for some letters and trying to reverse that in my wee little head has been tricky. It's the whole doing something over 21 times before you can correct the behavior. Top to bottom, left to right, top to bottom, left to right.....these are the words that play over in Mom's head while she sleeps. However, even with the changes AND the fact I have a snazzy "pencil pillow" on my pencil to correct my grip, my penmanship is coming along swimmingly. I made Mom write to 100 yesterday with the pencil pillow on and she's been complaining about her thumb hurting all day. You think my tripod grip is bad, you should see the way she lobster claws the pencil. The conformity of kindergarten and adherence to the "Kindergarten Way" makes Mom a little twitchy, but I suppose these teachers are just trying their best to prepare the kids for a lifetime of learning. But I'm still going to color my toast purple, so bleh.

Talk about some weather we're having here! We just took the canopy/tent/gazebo/giant lawn dart down and we could really use the shade right now! Oh well, enjoy it while it lasts. Soon we'll be whining just for a glimpse of the sun.

So there's my updates....judging by the blog lately, seems like all we do is party and crash weddings around here. Don't you worry, I'm keeping my nose to the grindstone.

Lates!
K

Bridal Bash Part 3: The Final Chapter

Unless anyone is planning a sneak attack wedding, I think it is safe to say the wedding season is wrapped up around here. I sure hope so, because my latest dress is full of grass stains, juice and is a little tattered to say the least. We had a lovely time at Tyler and Tori's beautiful outdoor wedding in Oregon this weekend. The whole Smith family chipped in and made the day so special -- from the decorations, to the music to the food -- everything was wonderful. The weather was amazing, the ambiance was to DIE for and the bride and groom were walking visions of marital bliss. And did I mention it was Cheese Days on top of it? That's right, family fun AND festival fun. On Friday, I walked in the Children's Parade and on Sunday, I saw THE parade. The 2.5 hour parade of local dignitaries who were frankly, quite stingy on the candy. Tough economic times prevail I guess. I also had fun just playing and being goofy with my even goofier family. Zach had a couple head injuries, including a nasty gash to the eye, but he survived and had fun. He napped for like 4 hours during the wedding, so Mom and Dad enjoyed the break of chasing him around.

I'm happy to be back at school this week. I should hopefully get to go to my soccer game this weekend as long as it doesn't rain or we don't have to go anywhere. I think Grandpa is itching for Dad to come and farm, so that's always a possibility.

HERE are some pics from this weekend. It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night and get some much needed rest.

Have a good summer-like week and happy fall to y'all!

Katherine

Bridal Bash

Hello. We had a great weekend and Cousin Carly's wedding. I did a fantastic job once again as flower girl. I made two great new friends named Jayden and Natalie. They were first-timers in the flower girl biz, so I showed them the ropes. The three of us made quite the cute trio. Carly and Koller's wedding went really well and they both looked so nice and happy. Carly was just beautiful and she was so calm and content on her special day. The reception was quite the shindig. It was very sophisticated and the food and dancing was great! Zach had crazy dancing skills. He was a maniac! He could really pop his little baby bootie. Our hotel was cool and we all had fun on the waterslide and in the pool. Unfortunately, Zach really does not like the water these days, so he didn't enjoy the pool as much. Mom and Dad took turns taking me down the slide and holding me up at the end so I didn't get my face wet! Considering Mom locked us out of the house Friday and then almost lost the diaper bag with her wallet in it Friday night, the weekend turned out really well! We made it back safe and sound today and were able to get in the house thanks to Nana's extra key! Whew! I had so much fun seeing my family and partying. I have one more wedding next weekend and I think I'll hang up my basket for awhile, this stuff is hard work! Here are some more pics.

School has been going really well. Mom is still amazed at the amount of material we're covering on a day-to-day basis. Looks like I'll probably go full days after December. There seems to be a lot of action going on and I don't want to miss out on a thing. We'll see what the teacher has to say come November. Speaking of November, Disney is just 6 short weeks away! We're all pretty excited. Ok, Dad isn't as excited as us girls, but he will be. Zach will be at his own personal Disney World on the farm, riding tractors and making Grandma entertain him.

My soccer matches have been rained out a lot. Hopefully all this rain will stop this week. We came home tonight to find our sump pump line outside had a crack in it and water was gushing out around the foundation, but Dad was able to fix it for us. Way to go, Dad!

I'm beat! I better rest up for a fun week of school. And then off to the great Cheese Festivities and Tyler's wedding this weekeend.

Later peeps!

C is for Cute

Our letter friend this week is "C", so how very appropriate that I just happened to have a C is for Cute shirt to show everyone that C is for Me! I was lookin' pretty darn spiffy if I do say so.

That's all! Just thought I'd share my cuteness. We're layin' low at home this weekend. I have a soccer match tomorrow and football to watch with Dad on Sunday!

Later taters!

The Bus Stops Here. Er, well, maybe...

Big hot topic around here lately is whether or not I should ride the bus. Mom has been walking me down the road every morning now and it has been going pretty well. Although the novelty has worn off and I am a little bored on the 35 minute ride to school. The 35 minute "ride" to the school that is less than a mile from my house. Plus, a big kid has been riding up front with us little ones and squishing us 3 to a seat. So after some whining, Mom agreed to try and drop me off at 8:30, right at the school doors. Dad's theory is that riding the bus is part of growing up and it is a right of passage for all kids. Mom's theory, having never ridden "the bus", is to do what makes the most sense for our family. Dad kinda agrees with that too. So today she dropped me off. It was a little hairy by the school, lots of cars and kids, but I seemed to like it better. And I really liked using that extra half hour at home to sleep in a bit and have time to play before school.

Mom and I did my dinosaur excavation kit yesterday. I took it VERY seriously, as a true paleontologist would. Imagine thousands of tiny little rocks flying around the kitchen. Duh, outside project Mom! We worked on it for a good hour, hammering and chiseling our way through ancient aggregate stone. We never did get to any bones yet. When they say hours of "fun", they mean it. Can you dig it???

Here are some misc pics from the past week. Enjoy my cuteness if you can handle it, I know it's a lot to take in ;)

Oh, and if you are wondering what Mom does with some of her free time, she likes to embarrass Dad and photoshop him to death. She could have HOURS of fun yearbooking many people, so be nice unless you want to be messed with.

Love
Katherine






Getting in the game
















Birthday poster my teacher made for me




















Thank God he wasn't a teenager of the 70's

Here I Am.

Betcha thought I was too cool for this blogging business now that I am 5, huh? Well, it was a busy couple of days, and then we were gone this weekend, so we finally just got a chance to sit down and take a breath.

Let's see....my friend party on Thursday was a blasty-blast! The weather was inclement, but we moved things in the basement and had just as much fun. We played Pin-the-Horn-on-the-Triceratops, Baby Dino-Egg Hunt and Bust the Dino Egg Pinata. Mom had to hold the pinata up and did good dodging the swings. My cake turned out awesome! It was gone in a flash, very tasty as well as cute. Instead of gifts, we had a coloring book exchange which went really well, everyone left with a gift. After my pals left, my Nana came around 5. We hung out here while Mom and Dad went to the school to hear about the Kindergarten program. On my actual birthday (Friday), I had a very special day at school. We made Dino Rice Krispie treats to take in and they all sang to me. My teacher gave me a very sweet keepsake to take home. She was so sweet as to bring it over in the evening after she finished it. Later we went to Old Chicago, one of my faves, where I was treated to a gianormous chocolate chip cookie. Plus, I was allowed to have all the jellybeans I wanted on my birthday. We opened presents as well....I got a few cool things from Nana in addition to the bike. I love my new Dino Webkinz. Mom and Dad got me lots of books for my LeapPad and a few little dino things. Dad gave me a beautiful bouquet of lavendar roses. I was just happy to have a fun time with my family.

Saturday morning, I had my very first soccer match. I did smashingly well! Our team name is the sharks, and we were on the attack! We didn't "keep score" so to say, but our team had a lot of goals! I did really well keeping in the game and having fun. It sure is hard to focus on the ball with all those kids running around. Right after my game, Nana had to leave and we took off to go to the farm. I helped Grandma and Grandpa D all day and fed the dogs for them. Zach took tractor rides all day. That is ALL he talks about from the moment he gets there until the moment we leave. Yesterday, we went to the cabin and did some boating. We just got back today and we're pretty wiped out from all that fun.

Enjoy this little slideshow of my birthday fun. More pictures are here. I will post some soccer pics later.

Later!
Katherine

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