Tacoma

We visited Andrew and Maria over in Tacoma last weekend and had a great time. The best part, (in my opinion) is when the girls are asleep at the end of the day and we stay up late playing games. That's when our true personalities come out, Rhett and Andrew become experts on everything, and Maria and I lose at Pictionary (every time).

While we were there, we visited the Puget Sound. Here are some pictures of it.




Thanks Andrew and Maria. We had such a great time!

And here's a clip I took today of Summer. Before I recorded her, every time I asked her what her name was, she would say, "Wendy" (from Peter Pan). But she got it right for the video clip. It's a long one--she sings her ABC's, and I wanted to get a bit of her talking.



Here is a clip of Claire today during lunch. She had eaten almost a quarter of a turban squash, a half a cup of yogurt, and about ten grapes (sliced, of course). So for a little dessert today, she got some mini M&M's. (Notice the mess of hair caused by yogurt-y fingers. Love it.)

Happy Halloween! (And a bit of Claire)

Claire and Summer love playing in their "boat." Summer will push Claire all over the apartment in it. A few days ago, I ran some errands and when I came back, Heather had taken this picture. I don't know how far they got, or if they even budged, but looks like they were having fun!
Sailing away together.
I don't know what Claire was doing in this picture, but it makes her look like such a big girl. I can't believe this is our sweet little Claire!
When Grandma K came to visit, she bought Summer some head bands. Claire had to try them on too.

For Halloween this year, we were a crew from Kung Fu Panda. From left to right: Po (Kung Fu Panda), Master Shifu, Po's dad (the noodle seller--love the noodle hat!), and Tai Lung (the bad guy). Once again, this was a last minute, Goodwill shopping trip, though it wasn't as stress-free as the past years. It was a little more intense and used a little more hot glue too! But way to go dad! You're amazing!

What's been going on . . .

Here are some of the things we've been doing lately . . .

The pumpkin patch at Greenbluff:



Dad's new running stroller for his birthday:

The Corn Maze at Greenbluff:

Peach picking at Greenbluff:



Pony riding downtown at Riverfront Park:

Just playing:

Check out my book blog for the holiday sale.

For Dad: While He's in Class

Answered Prayers

A few nights ago, we were saying prayers, and I was helping Summer. I was helping her say, "Please help us to sleep good," and this is how it went:

I said "Please," she said "please"
Me "help," her "help"
Me "us," her "us,"
And then she hurried and cut me off and said, "to have candy."

I stopped. I heard Rhett stifle a laugh, and I tried not laughing too. When I was finally under control, we hurried and finished, and then laughed so hard afterward.

We got this in the mail today from Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner:

Boy were the girls excited!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

It's been so long . . .

So now we have to play catch up . . .

I had Heather Harris watch Summer for me one day while I took Claire to a doctor's appointment. When I got home, Heather had double french braided Summer's hair! I couldn't believe it! Since then, I've tried and tried, but her hair is so fine and I still can't do it. Way to go Heather!
Partners in Crime--Summer opens it and holds the door open while Claire jets across the room to get there too. Then they browse. For what? I have no idea.

Last weekend while Katelyn and Tanner visited, we went to a friend's cabin. Kate and Tanner rode the canoe down the river from where the cabin was to where we were swimming.
The girls really enjoyed playing in the sand. I don't know where this little smirk came from, but sometimes she pulls it when she's trying not to smile, but she's just too happy to not.




And sweet little Claire loved the sand too! We actually didn't have a suit her size, so this is Summer's other 18 month suit that we tied up in the back for Claire. It worked great.


Also while Kate and Tanner where here, we toured a bit of Manito Park. Here's Claire having a good time.
And Summer chowing down on a brick of cheese. She pulled it out of the fridge and began taking bites. I'm sure Claire's mouth is just watering.
Cute closeup of Summer.
I've seen the underwear as a hat before--she can get it on there pretty good--but this is the first time she got one of the leg holes to surround her face. I thought it was hilarious. Claire just woke up, and I'm sure she's just getting a kick out of Summer's space-ship face mask.
A few weekends ago, Andy Day and Rhett planned a surprise getaway to Sandpoint, Idaho. They were able to cheaply reserve two hotel rooms, right next to each other, and we stayed the night there. We had dinner at this "Family Restaurant" where the girls played lots of games.

We had a fun time. Especially because we put the kids to bed in one room, turned on the baby monitor, and then stayed up super-late playing games in the other room. We all had a great time.

A little bit of everything

Since my computer has been down, it's been difficult to stay updated on the blog. So here's a bunch of randomness from over the past month.

Summer skiffed the top of her lip a while ago, doing who knows what, and insisted she needed a bandaid. I thought it looked hilarious.

I had my second piano recital here in Spokane. The theme was "Name That Tune." Two contestants were picked out of the audience to come up and ring the bell when they could identify the correct tune name of the song my students (and other performers) played. The last song was a grand finale of me, Rhett, Heather, Andy, and Julie called "Basketball Bounce" while Jen dribbled the basketball around. It was a lot of fun. (PS--My two youngest students, the boys in the front, did EXCELLENT! I was so proud of them for their first recital.)

Remember this game? I loved it when I was little and found the mini travel version of it. Summer loves it too and is pretty good at catching those fish!

Claire sporting Summer's glasses.

The two girls looking out the window, waiting for dad to come home.

A few weeks ago, we went to Manito park. My favorite section was the Japanese gardens. They were beautiful!

Us at the pond by the ducks.

Summer's favorite part was the ducks.

This is Claire in my parents' back yard while we were setting up for my sister's wedding reception. Love that smile!