Get Out Yo' Seat and Jump Around...Jump, Jump!

Finally, Zach took off his chicken pants and got in the bouncy house. We had a couple friends over on Sunday and that was what it took for him to get up the nerve to try it. Needless to say, he liked it. A lot. The video isn't really necessary, but it is proof for years to come that he had a blast. Poor Z has had a nasty fever for 2 days now, but he seems to be on the upside of things.

So, speaking of FUN, I'm taking standardized tests at school this week. What's that you say? Standardized assessment tests in kindergarten? Yup. Mom was curious last week when my she noticed my worksheets involved lots of answers where you fill in the circle with pencil. She had a hunch they were prepping us up, all SAT style. Sure enough, we're testing all week in that manner. I came home yesterday, sad to tell Mom that I got ONE wrong. One out of thirty four for crying out loud! She proceeded to lash me with a wet noodle, 34 times. No, Mom was very pleased and told me that it is OK to get a few wrong, as long as I try my best. So I've been going off to bed early each night and eating a giant bowl of dinosaur oatmeal each morning to fuel me up. Mom thinks this all is a bit crazy and strange, but she doesn't really know the details, that's to come next conference.

The art show is at school this week, whoopee! We'll be going up to view Les Galleries sometime this week. I can't wait to show off my creativity.

Have a hoppin' good day.

K.

Father Daughter Dance

Hi! Dad and I had so much fun tonight. We danced and partied with a whole bunch of other kids. I had a very special night. I'll post the photo they took up at school when I get it.

Katherine

Pirates? Arghhhh you kidding me?

Hello friends. If you are waiting for circus pictures, you'll have to wait a bit longer. We decided to skip the weeknight circus and wait for the Ringling Bros circus that is coming in May. I was upset at first, but I realized it would be way cooler. Dad had a nice birthday. Mom and Z met him for lunch and then we had his favorite for dinner, ribs! No cake though, Mom was out of eggs and the ribs were in the oven all day, so we're having cake this weekend. In honor of Earth Day, Mom and I planted some flower and pepper seeds in some cute, little pots. Hopefully they will grow well and can go in our garden. Dad is going to expand it out this year. Mom just got done tilling it up and cleaning it out. Bad news is our tree and 3 of our bushes are dead. Hopefully we can get them replaced soon and for FREE.

Zach and I had a blasty blast playing pirate in the laundry basket the other day. Mom was busy making Dad's birthday treats, so she threw a couple wooden spoons at us and stuck us in the laundry basket. We lasted for an hour before things got violent. I think Zach got a bad case of the scurvy and was trying to swipe me treasures. I told him he got bit by a shark and he was convinced that he had a boo boo on his leg, which he cried about for 10 minutes.

Oh, and a BIG thanks from Mom to Nana for the entertaining card she sent Dad. If you ever want to see me and Zach fight, just take the card out and watch us argue over who gets to open it. Zach has found his new theme song.

I'm off to enjoy the weather! Later!

Say Cheese. Chuck E, Cheese, that is.

Hello! Long time no write. Mom's been a slacker lately. Last week was pretty normal and we spent tons of time outside, awesome! This past weekend was fun. We went to the farm and I got to play with my cousins on Saturday while Mom and Dad went out. Zach did lots of helping on the farm and hung out with the guys all day. On Sunday, we packed up and headed to cousin Ben's 1st Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheese. It was pretty fun! The place was nicely sectioned off into big kid/little kid areas. Zach was a little freaked out by the robots at first, but he got used to them and was clapping and singing a long. Ben had loads of fun and was the perfect birthday boy. The pizza and rides were fun for all. We left out a bit early, since it was a 2hr drive back home on a school night.

This week is going really well. Mrs Miller has been sending home short reading books with us every day. I practice mine on the bus on the way home and then read it to both Mom and Dad at night. We're already wrapping up our "letter friends" for the year and moving on to writing groups and reading study groups.

It's Dad's birthday tomorrow and I'm taking him to a circus. Isn't that so nice of me??

Dad and I are going to a father & daughter dance on Saturday, should be fun.

Zach's been super silly lately. He has a new ride-on Thomas toy that he practically lives on. You can see his antics in the video below.

And here are some Chuck E photos as well.

Chow Mein!

K.

Gettin' off my Keaster...

...and having a great Easter! We had a nice, but quiet Easter day today. Started off with finding all those stinky eggs that the bunny hid. They were tricky this year! I helped Zach out. He colored his first eggs yesterday. He loved his little eggs so much, a little too much. He broke most of them from squeezing them too tight. He had fun putting stickers on them. I cried when we peeled them today, I always do. After we found our baskets, Mom and Dad let us gorge on candy before breakfast, that was fun! We went out on a letterboxing mission after that. We spent most of the time, driving around trying to find the right park. We never found the two parks we were looking for, but we did find one box off of a road that overlooked the river. We tried another one down by the river, but the area was too flooded to access it. At least we got one good one! Maybe soon, Mom and I will try planting our own box for people to find. We came home and had a late lunch. The lamb Mom made was horrendous -- very gamey tasting and nasty -- nothing like the lamb we used to love in France. Good thing we didn't have company, because dinner was a bust. After lunch, Dad hid some eggs for us outside. We came back in, watched a movie and chilled out for the rest of the day. I was sad that I didn't get to see any extended family today, but I did say that we had a very eggcellent day.

Yesterday was a nice time for us as well. Mom took me to an outdoor egg hunt at the mall. It was mayhem, but I threw some elbows and scored quite a few eggs. They had an indoor carnival complete with rides and games. We're fortunate that we have activities like that around us to keep us busy. Dad and Zach got back in the afternoon. Zach had an awesome weekend farming with Dad and spent a lot of time in the tractor. He is SO happy to just run around out there and "help" Grandpa fix things. Because you know at the farm, things are always breaking, especially when Dad is around :)

I have one more day of Spring Break left then it is back to school on Tuesday. Mom keeps saying what a nice break it was. This was kind of our "test" week to see what summer break will be like. I wasn't bored at all and Zach and I got along really well. Mom says it is such a treat to have me home because I help out with him so much and keep her company in the afternoons. Hopefully this summer goes equally as well! I like feeling useful and loved around here :)

Hope you had a Hoppy day. I'm off to crash! HERE are some pics from the weekend.

K.

Giddy Up

Howdy ya'll. Spring break has flown by here. Mom had big plans for us, but the weather and Zach's daily 3 hour nap kind of put a kink in things. We did have fun though. Lots of reading, some baking, some projects and of course some generalized screwing-off. Mom bought me the Diego Dinosaur game for Wii. It is the only game other than bowling that I can actually play by myself, and I love it because the character never falls off of things or "loses". I don't like to lose. Who does?

Today, the stinky boys took off to go farming. It was a last minute decision, but a good one so that way we can each have some special time with each parent. From what we've heard, Zach helped chisel the fields for TWO HOURS today! He had a blasty-blast! They should be back by Sunday. I hope so, I'm going to need help finding all those eggs.

Mom and I had a crazy fun day today. First, I had a dentist appt. My most favorite thing ever -- mostly because of the prize box and the fact that I'm a toothbrush junkie. No cavities, hooray! And I have 2 loose teeth, wow! After that, we headed to a noon matinee of Monsters vs. Aliens, I won't tell you who won, but it was wicked funny and I think Mom laughed more than me. Then it was back to the house to eat cupcakes and play Wii. After we were hopped up on sugar, we headed out to go to the stables. Mom had contacted a lady that runs a private boarding stable and arranged for me to go see the horses. I LOVE horses. Almost as much as dinosaurs. Can you imagine if it was a dinosaur stable? Now that would be cool. Well, after getting lost and delayed by malfunctioning train track barricades, we finally got there. Come to find out the lady thought I wanted to ride and had a horse all ready for me. So with much persuasion, I got up on Gracie and went for a nice 10 minute gallop around the pen with the owner. My face was lit up like a Christmas tree. Sorry for the bad pics, but it was dark in there and the camera was kind of bugging the horse out. I had so much fun, I didn't want to leave. Mom still thinks I am too young and too distractable for formal lessons, but I did a good job persuading her today, we'll see. So back to the house we went for more Wii and more cupcakes. It was a very gluttonous, but fun day. Tomorrow we're hoping to do some letterboxing and decorate eggs.

I hope my peeps have a fabulous Easter. It's a shame we won't be celebrating with any extended family, but that's just the way it works out -- mostly thanks to farming. It worked out for the best though, the lamb roast we picked up today probably won't feed more than a couple people anyway.

Have an egg-cellent Easter!
Katherine

Car Show

We were so bored today we actually went to a car show. It was ok, we were really hoping Zach would be super-excited to see the big Dora walking around taking pictures, but he was terrified. The kids area was neat -- face painting, bouncy houses and such, even better it was all free! There were a lot of new cars there -- Mom and Dad got some fun ideas, but the price tags were pretty crazy since they bring the "fancy" cars there.

This weekend was kind of a bust. Mom and I are still on the mend. They were supposed to go out last night, but my friend (the one who's was going to be watching me) got a fever, so we canceled. It was probably all for the best since no one was really up to snuff yet. We went out for pizza instead and ran around the riverfront.

Spring break officially starts tomorrow! Mom has some cool plans lined up for us. Should be a fun week.

Baking with Baby

Today was the first time Mom attempted to bake something with Zach. It went fairly well. Zach did not like having to dump the bananas and applesauce in the bowl and he really did not like having to put the muffins in the oven. He has separation issues, and of course is too young to grasp the concept of baking something before you eat it. The muffins going in the oven resulted in a 2 minute long temper tantrum...complete with throwing himself on the floor and screaming. But that's ok. It's a starting point. Each time *should* get easier.

I had to be picked up at school this afternoon. Fever is back. Mom has it too. And now the muffins probably have it as well. Hopefully, I can get rid of it once and for all.

Being the second child, Zach doesn't get as much air time as me, so here's a little video of him just being Zach. It's a little long. As you surely can gather, he doesn't like babies, good thing there are no plans for anymore around here.

Oh! And a very happy April Fools Day to you today. Mom wasn't up to her usual pranks this year, but I had some fun at school!

Ciao!