Fall Outing

Last weekend it was an amazingly beautiful weekend here in our town. The warmth and sunshine was a pleasant surprise after a dreary, cold, and rainy week. None of us wanted to be cooped up indoors, so we headed out to the park. The perfect afternoon.

Hope loves to climb up the big jungle gym type equipement. She's fearless! She mastered the "fireman's tube" ladder on her first shot too. I don't think dad and mom are ready for that yet though. She also loves the slides and swings. I think papa Keith got her hooked on the swings.

Kiyah's favorite equipment is the diggers. Except she can't stand it when she gets even one grain of sand in her shoe...it's a meltdown.

Mom had a great time playing with different settings on her camera. Trying to get caught up on pictures of Hope. It seems as though we have a million of Kiyah, but not Hope.

Enjoy the pictures.

Kiyah's 4th Birthday

Yes, I know the date on the calendar says October 20th. And yes, I also realize that Kiyah's birthday WAS October 5th, but hey, better late than never. We celebrated Kiyah's 4th birthday on October 3rd at our house. We have a few people over for cake and ice cream. Kiyah even invited a friend from Sunday School...she was so excited. Kiyah recieved a new backpack for preschool, some clothes, and a ton of craft supplies. We seem to go through craft supplies rather quickly around here. Thank goodness for WASHABLE Crayola.

And yes, I also made the birthday cake! It took me about 3 hours to decorate the cake, but seeing Kiyah's reaction to it was well worth the effort!

Is it Summer or Fall?

My goodness, the calendar says it's August 29th but the thermometer says it's October. It read 59 degree's in our living room. Terry woke up and told me to shut the air conditioner off :) We are enjoying the cool temps though this summer. Lower gas and electricity costs for us new homeowners.

With the cool temps, we've been working on lots of little projects around the house today. Kiyah has been dad's little helper. It's so cute...she is right there along side him with her own screwdriver or whatever tool they happen to need. Funny thing, sometimes she knows more than she should about taking things apart.

I can't believe that summer is almost over. Kiyah will start preschool on Sept. 15th. She'll go two days a week for 2 hours a day. She is so excited... I will start daycare again in a week or two also. It will be nice to get back into that routine...we have lots going on in September and October. We are participating in the Brainerd Area 1st Annual Memory Walk to raise funds for Alzheimer's research. My uncle was diagnoised about 6 months ago. I'm holding a Pampered Chef party in October while planning Kiyah's 4th birthday and attending a friends wedding too! Jeepers!

I suppose that my groceries will not put themselves away, so I had better. Until later...

New Blog

Well, Terry and I have always talked about having a family blog to share pictures and keep the rest of the family updated. I think we've finally found a good site to keep a blog, especially since there are other family members here. :) I can't promise that we'll always be on top of updating, but I can promise to give it our best try.

It's been a little over a month since we've been in our new home. Wow, it's been an amazingly crazy, yet satisfing month. To be able to call this our own...to be able to paint a wall without having to ask permission (other than from your spouse) is wonderful. I've attached some pictures of our house before we moved in or made any repairs whatsoever. I'll try to get some after shots taken just as soon as the laundry gets off the living room floor :)

ps. If you know of any friends/family that would be interested in following along with the MN Mikesells, let me know :)