October 2015

Soccer has concluded for the season, relieving Kathryn of her angst.  She was gung ho in the beginning.  Soccer was her decision to try, and apparently not her thing.  By the end of the season the power struggle was on and I heard "You made me do this!" Along with other negative statements.  Sadly the coaching was not all that great, making it a somewhat unstructured 8 weeks for her.  She did make one goal in the second to last game, making it worth it, or so she says.

 Pumpkin patch field trip with the first graders. 

 Nice face, Miss Kathryn

 We bought a new in October, 2015.

2009 Ford Escape with 19k (ish) miles.

Hopefully this one lasts a while.

 We tried a new version of pumpkin decorating this year.

Pumpkin drilling!  

Out with the pumpkin carving, in with the power tools.

I've never been a fan of knives and pumpkins. 

 It's just begging for someone to lose a finger.

Drilling seems much safer - truly!

 The final results..........

 This years Halloween costumes.

Kathryn wearing a Kelsey hand-me-down!

Kelsey wore this in 2001

 Ryan as my fearless Ninja Turtle.  He borrowed this from his friend Cooper.

 This picture makes me giggle.

And of course, the haul.

6 full size candy bars - even one king size candy bar!

What kid needs that?!

 November 6, 2015 the Peanuts movie premiered.

Being the Snoopy fan I am, of course we had to see it. Even sprung for 3D

* (ok - that was $52 for the 4 of us - ummm, ouch.  3D was not worth it........ but I am glad I did it because  a) I have never seen a 3D movie before and   b) I would always have wondered if I should of spent the extra on 3D when I had the chance.  So I did.  And I learned.  Not worth it.)*

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  The movie is quite good, very fun to watch and was a joy to watch with my kids.

25 years and counting of being a Snoopy collector.  I still get giddy when I find a treasure.  Snoopy still makes me smile. 

And because of that Peanuts gang I found a life long friend.... even though we are miles away.  : )

This kid!   

He looks extremely grown  up here!

A school year update. 

 Ryan's interim teacher, Mrs. Rossiter is now done. Having her leave was emotional, yet a positive experience for the kids.  She did an outstanding job filling in on such tragic circumstances.  The search for a permanent 2nd grade teacher was unsuccessful - but the school's music teacher has 5 years of 2nd grade teaching experience in Canada and she agreed to take on this class for the remainder of the year.  She went from part time to full time instantly and as a Mom herself, that's quite a feat.  This was an easy transition for the class (and parents) as Mrs. Bakker is well liked and the rest of the school year should be great.

The search will be on for a replacement teacher for next year, when Kathryn's class moves up.