Museum of Flight

For Veteran's day we decided to go to the Museum of Flight.  The kids have never been there and Daddy and I haven't been there for a LONG time.  The day didn't start off great, Daddy woke up with a migraine, then when we got there we tried pumping up the tires on the stroller but the pump broke and one of the tires ended up flatter than when it started.  But we were determined.  The kids were really excited.  Carson had been all set and ready to go in the stroller (he loves that thing) but we also happy to walk.  

 There were several planes we could go up and walk through.  

 Dillon saw this engine of a 747 and said "Wow that's huge!"  Then he walked up to it to see it better.

 When I called him to join us he comes running yelling "That engine is so huge!!!"

 We couldn't go in this plane but Kayda wanted a picture with it anyway.  It's initials are TCA and she saw the T and the C and said "That's part of CTR!  Choose the right!"  So she HAD to have a picture with it!

 This is one of the reasons I love to go do these things with the kids.  I love that "WOW" face when they find something they think is amazing!

 Like Father like son.  Check out that facial expression!

 Kayda said this was her favorite part of the whole thing!  Kayda and Dillon have both been much more interested in Carson lately.  I guess he's finally getting old enough that he's fun to play with!

And to finish off a fun trip, the car was dead when we got done!  Fortunately some of the people who work there were willing to come out and give us a jump.  While we waited the kids finished their lunches.  

Kayda's last soccer game and end of season party

Kayda's last soccer game was on Saturday but there were some technical difficulties getting the trophies so the party was postponed until Monday.  Kayda is quite the runner but is very passive in soccer.  Occasionally she'll stop the ball or kick it but mostly she just runs.  It seems that defender is her favorite position, I think it may be because there is less time spent in the swarm of children all trying to kick the ball at the same time.  

 Carson found Grandma H again!

 This is Dillon's pal.  He's the older brother of one of the boys on Kayda's team.  They hung out during t-ball last spring and continues the tradition through the soccer season.

The tunnel!

There were some technical difficulties getting the trophies for Saturday so the end of season party was postponed until Monday night.  On Monday we went a little early so the kids could eat dinner and then hung out and played with the team at McD's.

 Trophy!

Here's the team!

 Kayda LOVES to pose for pictures!

Dillon's last soccer game and end of season party

Soccer season is now officially over.  Dillon got to play his last game today.  He made a goal!  Dillon is really fast, he has a tendency to be running along side whoever has the ball.  He can catch them from most anywhere and then he ever so kindly lets them keep the ball.  Coach Kelle told us "We may have a midfielder here" and that would be the PERFECT position for him!  

 Carson had a "following"

 Carson LOVES Grandma H.  Whenever he sees her somewhere he walks up to her and just waits for her to pick him up.

 Tunnel!  This is all the kids' favorite part of the game!

 Dillon and Coach Kelle!  

Halloween

Halloween was a great day.  No other way to put it.  We started by getting Dillon in his costume and packing Kayda's costume up.  Then I went in to Dillon's class to help with the center day.  I got to help them stamp treat bags and glitter pumpkins.  After that Dillon and I headed back home and spent some quality time together while Carson napped.  Then I was off to Kayda's class to help with their Halloween party.  There were a LOT of parents there and not enough jobs to go around but it was still fun!  My favorite part of both parties was how excited the kids were for me to be there!  It makes me feel like the world's best mom! After that we waited for Daddy to get home then headed off to visit Grandma and Papa H.  That was the first door they got to trick or treat at!

 "Hi Brett" Carson said shyly...

 Then off to Baba's.  We kept all our visits short so we could get back in time to trick or treat around our loop.

 We were the first trick or treaters at Grandma and Papa G's house!

We made it all the way around the loop which took about an hour and a half.  Carson was super interested.  Kayda and Dillon would get up to the door and take turns ringing the doorbell, each time Carson would wiggle his way right in front of them, ready to snatch another candy bar.  He is definitely NOT shy.  He even tried to run into people's houses on a couple of occasions.  It was a great, exhausting Halloween.  I can not wait until Halloween is on a Friday and we can sleep in the next day!

Kayda's Parent-Teacher Conference

On October 22nd we got to go in for Kayda's Parent-Teacher Conference.  I have a tendency to get very excited about these... last year for her preschool one I was all grins and  butterflies to go and hear about my little girl who I know to be all kinds of wonderful.  I love to hear other people say good things about my children just like every proud parent out there.  So Daddy got some time off work that day so that he could go in with me and hear all the wonderful things also!

Mrs. T told us that Kayda is quite the rule follower and likes to "report" when her table mates are doing something they shouldn't.  She wants people to follow the rules, we have a lot of discussions with her about letting other people make their own choices and that the only person she needs to worry about it herself.

Mrs. T went on to tell us about Kayda's test scores.  We already know this but it's always nice to hear it anyway... Kayda is a very bright little girl.  She has already met the goals for the entire year of kindergarten.  She counts past 100, identifies all her shapes, reads high numbers, is reading close to a first grade level.  We were especially impressed when shown an exercise they had to do.  They were told numbers and they had to write them down.  They were told "one hundred nine" and "one hundred fifteen".  Apparently most kids write 100 9 and 100 15.  She wrote the correctly, 109 and 115.  Mrs. T said that's the first time she's seen that this early in the year.  We were beaming of course.  Kayda is doing so well that Mrs. T had to write up new "end of year" goals for Kayda so that she would progress over the course of the year.

Mrs. T also shared with us that Kayda is an excellent reader.  She thought it was interesting that Kayda struggles with the smaller words and does well with the big words.  She wants to skip the sight words, so of course we've been working on those.

Kayda has been SO interested in reading lately.  She is doing incredibly well.  She is a joy in our lives and makes us happy in so many ways.  We love our sweet little girl!