Too CUTE!

Today was beauty and princess day at school. Karsten was happy to wear a dress and her pink shoes to school. When I went to pick her up she was wearing her new crown and necklace and prancing around with her star wand. She kept telling us that she was the PRINCESS!

Karsten, you are indeed Mommy and Daddy's princess and always will be!

Patience and Playtime

We went downtown today to the park to cheer on a friend, Laura Taylor, who was participating in the Coeur d'Alene Triathlon. This is Mason's mommy, Karsten's best friend. So as the kids were waiting SO PATIENTLY for Laura to come to the finish line, the kids had some fun playtime together.
Miss Laura making her way thru the park to the finish line...with some much needed hugs from the family!

Elton, is that you?

Tonight was ladies night for drinks and laughter. We ventured to the Clark House, an old mansion out off of Hayden Lake that is a bed and breakfast now. The deck and lawn were filled with guests enjoying the piano bar and the the gorgeous weather. This picture was about 2 hours and a few drinks into the evening. Elton John came out and the place came unglued! People were singing, dancing, laughing, hooting and hollering-and you guessed it...our tables of 11 ladies were leading the pack :-) A fun time had by all and time with the girls is so good for the soul!

Dress Up Day

Today was dress up day and fashion show at school. Karsten wanted to wear her special outfit and hat from Abby.

First Ice Cream Cone!

Gaga took Karsten to get a treat which we realized was her first ice cream cone. It was everywhere, but oh so tasty! She chose peppermint, not chocolate...for the sprinkles, of course!

Mmmmm, now this is the life!

Special time with Gaga!

Makes Me Smile!

Fresh cut flowers from my yard just make me smile! I love that my hydrangeas bloom in mid-late summer shortly after my peonies have finished up blooming from the late spring early summer.

Raspberry Picking

A dear friend of mine from many years back came over to pick raspberries. We invited her to stay for dinner and hang out. She jumped at the opportunity to get to know Karsten and just hang out with our family. We had a lovely time catching up and Karsten made a new friend in the process!
Karsten showing her new friend Michele her "garden". Good thing Michele is not only a dog lover but a lab owner because Hannah made herself a new friend too!

Fresh Peas

As we harvest more from our garden today it was PEA PODS. Karsten was not too sure about these things, but quickly learned that popping the peas out of the pod was pretty fun. She did not like the raw texture, but sure devours them cooked!

Such concentration...

The Fly on the Wall

In the car this morning Karsten was talking the ENTIRE way to school about stop signs and stop lights. We talked about how green means go, red means stop and yellow means get ready to stop. She was VERY inquisitive and taking it all in. We discussed traffic patters and how traffic going one way has to wait its turn at the red light so the other traffic can go on the green light. Then they take turns and go the other way. I don't remember a 2 year old being curious about something complex like traffic patterns!

Then the conversation moved to the green and blue on top of the stop sign. I had no idea what she was talking about...there is nothing on top of a stop sign, right? But for a very inquisitive and observant child, there are street signs on top of the stop sign. Most are green, but at the end of our street we have one blue and one green street sign. Karsten you are exactly right and Mom totally got schooled this morning!

Moving On Up!

Today my baby moved up to an older classroom at school. She was SO PROUD that she was leaving the Waddlers (1&2 yr olds) to join the Cruisers (2&3 yr olds). Developmentally she could have been with the Cruisers for a while, but she had to wait for a slot to open. Thank goodness she gets to be back with all of her friends in the same classroom. Here she is proudly showing off her new cubbie!