Cat Kat

We've been taking more and more bike rides now that Kathryn can ride on the tag-along bike behind mine so we were in the market for a helmet for her. I couldn't resist this one when Lloyd told me about it. Here is my Kat, as a cat:-)

First Day of School 2011

Anika is ready for second-grade with Mrs. Veltkamp and Andrew couldn't be more excited to start school with Mrs. Huisken.
Andrew with Mrs. Huiksen:

Summer's Last Hurrah: Monterey Bay Aquarium

A great day in Monterey! On our last day before the start of school weekend, I took the kids (and our dear friend, Anne) and headed to the coast. We enjoyed another chance to look at the fish and creatures at the aquarium. The "outer bay" exhibit is open again so we enjoyed seeing the huge fish! I was proud of myself of going it alone but now I know that I could do it again. Anne was such a big help too. It was a great day to end our summer break!

Ocean Sunfish:

Playing in the touch pools!

Andrew's Open House

This year it was Andrew's turn head to school for a visit with Mrs. Huisken! He is SO excited school.

National Night Out 2011

This event is already two weeks old! Where does the time go???? Ripon hosted an amazing National Night Out, thanks to many churches and the police & fire departments. Everything was free so the kids couldn't get enough of the water slide, bounce houses, hula-hoops, face painting, balloon twisting, and of course, the FREE hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy. Great night --and we didn't even get to participate in the watermelon eating contest, karoke competition, tug-of-war, and MORE!

A boo-boo from the water slide:

Vacation part 5: Train Travel

Anika was so sad to leave Grandma & Grandpa that she had to have a picture to take with on the train. Yes, the TRAIN!!! We took Amtrak home from IL to CA - a 40+ hour trip. It was an adventure and not without its moments of insanity but overall I prefer it to air travel hands down.

Watching the trains come in:

Waiting at the station -- lots of waiting with train travel since they don't own the rails, they have to give right of way to freight trains. We were about 1 1/2 hours late leaving.

Still smiling:

On the platform as the train pulls in:

Our home for the next two days! One of my biggest concerns way having power (to recharge cell phones, laptops, etc. but each row had two outlets so we had plenty!!!) Here the three kids share two of the seats -- there was SO much room :-):

Day Two: Playing games, coloring and watching the amazing scenery in the observation car.

Denver, CO

No pictures of the dining car. We learned the hard way that the dinner hour get REALLY late since the sleeper car costumers get first reservations. We were on "last call" and our very tired and cranky kids weren't very interested in dinner at 9:30pm. In the future, we will have our dining car meal at breakfast or lunch NOT dinner! That being said, our breakfast the next day was wonderful and fun - now we know and so do you:-)

Donner Lake in California. Almost home!!!!

Near the center of this pictrue is a bald eagle sitting by his nest - you can't see the Mommy and baby but the conductor shared that they have been watching this family all season - so cool!

Vacation part 4: Morrison time

Time at Grandma & Grandpa's house always has to include cousins, costumes, tea parties, Wii time, outdoor adventures with Grandpa, and a movie on the big screen. This year was no different.!