Snow Day!

We woke up Monday morning to snow on the ground! This was especially a treat because we usually don't get snow before Christmas, and because the one time we got snow last year, Amanda and I were out of town, so she didn't get to enjoy it.

It was cold, but we scrounged up some snow clothes and headed outside after breakfast. It was so cold and the snow was so dry, we couldn't even make a snowball! But we made snow angels and played around, and just enjoyed the snow. We then went back inside to defrost and have some hot cocoa!

We ventured outside again after lunch - it was warming up enough that the snow was a little wetter and heavier, and we were able to make a very sad looking snowman! (See Lisa's blog for a picture.)

We did end up missing a couple of days of school... and then we woke up to snow again Friday morning and missed another day. It can be a challenge to entertain 2 little ones when you're stuck at home, but we were creative and messy and had a great time! I just love the peace and quiet that comes with new snow!!

It's not always easy to find ways to entertain the kids when we're stuck at home, but I do I love the way everything is so peaceful and quiet when it snows...

A Veggie Tales Birthday!

Okay, so Andrew's birthday was more than 2 weeks ago... but here are some pictures from his party. He is obsessed with Veggie Tales and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, so we had an all out Veggie Tales party! Since Veggie Tales is not a "mainstream" cartoon... good luck finding a cake and party supplies... so we had to be creative.

I baked a strawberry cake, and Lisa & Aaron helped me decorate it to look like Bob the Tomato. We thought it turned out pretty good, for amatures!

We went to one of our favorite pizza/play places, Putters, and much of our family joined us, along with the Fosters.

Andrew got lots of Veggie Tales related toys, and a fire truck which kept all the boys entertained!

Look at that big 3-year-old boy... what a handsome little man!

Dancing Adventures!

Amanda as a butterfly for Adventures in Narnia!

I am finally getting caught up on some blogging... so get ready!

Last weekend Amanda had the honor of being a part of her dance school's annual Adventures in Narnia production. For those of you who aren't familiar, the Adventures of Narnia is a series of books written by C.S. Lewis full of fantasy and mythical creatures, which portray the message of Christ and His sacrifice for humanity - very fitting for a Christmas production.

Amanda was a butterfly - their dance was part of the change happening in Narnia when Lady Winter was finally freed and spring returned to Narnia. Overall the production was impressive and well done, considering the majority of the performers/dancers were under the age of 16!! It was a very busy week leading up to it, with rehearsals every night except Wednesday. Friday night Amanda & I stayed to watch the entire rehearsal, since it would be her only chance to see it.

There were 2 performances on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. We were a little worried because they were starting to forecast snow, but thankfully the bad weather held off until Monday. Grandma McCone, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Zack came all the way down from Washington just for Amanda's performance, and Grandpa and Miss Pennie also attended.

It was busy and exhausting, but Amanda loved it and is ready to start practicing for next year!

Anyway, here are a few pictures from Amanda's performance. (I tried uploading the video but it's too big, so I'll figure out another way to do it!)

Butterfly rehearsal ... look at those extensions!

The Narnia Cast

Celebrating My Dad

Today I honor my dad in memory of his birthday (Dec 10). He was a man full of energy and ideas, and was never afraid to try anything new! He loved living in a place where you could see deer all around as you drove through the neighborhood... he and Andrew bonded over this shared love the last time we visited. I am proud to be his daughter.

My dad lost his battle with cancer last March, right before Easter. Amanda and I decided that, while he is not here to celebrate his birthday with us, even better, he is celebrating with Jesus!

Our hearts go out to our family in Texas who feel the loss even more profoundly than we do, each and every day. We pray for moments of peace and joy, as you honor him and share the happy memories. We love you guys, and we miss you, Dad!

Our Little Man Turns 3!!

Andrew Paul Walter Arrives 12/5/05

8 lbs. 8 oz. 20 1/2 in. long

I can't believe it's been 3 years since the arrival of our little man. And what an adventerous 3 years it has been!! Any of you with boys & girls know how different they are... from the time they are born. He is more active, more emphatic (NO!), and more destructive (not on purpose) than Amanda has even been, but we have enjoyed every minute of it (mostly!). His personality, charm, and wit ... he has become quite a comedian ... isn't that "hi-waw-ee-ous" - and of course the Grandpa-like good looks! We are very blessed, and thrilled that just in time for his third birthday, we have eliminated diapers from the household!

Amanda is a proud and wonderful big sister!!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers, support, and love as we became a family of 4 and have grown together. We love you all!

Andrew at 3 years... full of fun and energy!

A Quick Update

Hello all our friends and family... I apologize that I haven't been very good at keeping up the blog. Since our trip to Hawaii we were home for 2 weeks - long enough to get caught up with laundry, groceries, and bills - then Mark and I headed out for a few days to LA. Mark had a conference there, and I tagged along! The hotel was amazing, right in the middle of downtown LA. I spent the day exploring and shopping while Mark learned about the exciting world of nonprofit accounting.

We are now back, and I promise to get some pictures up soon. I have uploaded some pix from our Hawaii trip to my Facebook page if you want to check those out. I will post some here soon too.

The most exciting news is... we have a new nephew! Finnegan Ramsey Walter arrived Tuesday, Nov 17th just before 10 pm. Check out the link to Phil's blog for some pictures. In my unbiased opinion... he is adorable!! And we can't wait to meet him. Congrats to the new parents, we'll be praying for you!

We're Back!

Hi everyone... well, Mark and I are back from our amazing trip to Hawaii, and are finally getting back into our regular routine. I haven't downloaded our pictures yet, but can tell you all about what we did, where we went, etc.

Most days started with a run, as we are now officially training for our half marathon coming up in January. Let's just say Mark is a much better runner than me and in much better shape, but he did a great job of waiting for me and not getting impatient with my slowness! It was also much hillier there than it is here, so it was that much harder.

We hit our usual shopping places - Windward Mall, Ala Moana, and the Swap Meet - all in the first couple of days. We then spent 2 amazing nights at Turtle Bay (we have never stayed in a hotel during our Oahu visits!) - great views of the ocean, great weather, it really was like a second honeymoon!!

Saturday we went on a Kayak trip from Kailua beach out to the Mokolua Islands. It's about 1 1/4 miles, and took us an hour to get to... in the ocean! It wasn't quite as easy as we thought it would be, and almost asked for a refund after the training video. But no one got injured (at least not too bad) and we can say that we did it!

Sunday was our first long training run. 8.5 miles. It's a challenge to find a stretch of flat land in Hawaii that goes for that long. We decided to go through Waikiki, starting at Ala Moana, down the strip, and up to the lighthouse just below Diamond Head... and then back! It took almost 2 hours, so you can probably guess that we didn't run the whole way. Although I think Mark could have! Suffice it to say we need to cut some time off in order to start with the runners in January, since we need to be able to run 13 miles in less than 2 1/2 hours.

Monday we did a good hike up to the bunkers in Kailua so we could see how far we had actually kayaked, and got some amazing pictures from the best view on the Windward side! It was also a little scary, as it's not a popular hike and so there aren't any extra supports or steps or anything - although it was shorter than the Diamond Head hike, I think it was more difficult. Monday night we had dinner and relaxed in Waikiki for our last night.

Overall it was a fabulous trip - a little long to be gone from the kids, and we did miss them, but it was fun being adventerous and doing all those things you can't do when you have the kids. Next time we go the kids will be older, and hopefully we'll be able to recreate some of the magic with them! Another HUGE thank you to my mom for putting her life on hold and staying with the kids so we could have some time off together, and to Lisa for her major supporting role!!

I'll work on posting pictures this weekend... it really has been nonstop since we got back. But it was well worth it :)

Aloha!

Mark and I are off to Hawaii for 9 days - without the kids! I'll post when we get back, if not before. Aloha!

Tooth update...

I forgot to mention in my last post... Amanda had a dentist appointment yesterday. We actually went an entire 6 months this time!! Not injury-free, but not anything bad enough that I felt like I needed to take her back in. When your kid's dentist jokes that "we'll see you next week," you know you're a regular!



Anyway, we got another x-ray of those lovely front teeth. The front one on the left is definitely loose and moving down, but it's attached to enough bone that it could still be another 6 months before it comes out. Can I just say again what a miracle it is that the teeth have lasted this long??!!



She is so funny when we go to the dentist - she is so chatty and loves the ladies who work there and everything about going to the dentist. We made Andrew's first appointment for December, right after he turns 3 - I already warned them he would not be as much fun!!

Mommy's First Day...

Today I had the opportunity to volunteer in Amanda's class for the first time! It was a quick 2 1/2 hours of cutting out hundreds of pieces of black paper for the spider hats for their upcoming halloween party, and putting the final touches on the class scarecrow for the auction at tonight's Fall Festival. It was fun to see how the class works and to watch her amazing teacher in action!!

A few more fun things to mention...


We have started a new family devotional book, complete with Bible story and a project. Last week's topic was creation, and the activity was to cut pictures of things God made out of magazines and glue it onto a poster. Andrew & Amanda both loved it, and they both have their posters hanging in their room. Each day we thank God for all that He made!

Last week Lisa & I took the kids to the park for some fall pictures, with the promise that they could play if they were good. Colin did okay (he doesn't LOVE to cooperate), but the rest of them were had their smiles and were ready to pose! The pictures at the top of the blog are from that day... here are a few more cute ones. We were thankful for the beautiful weather and the opportunity to get outside!!

The photo shoot... aren't they cute??!!

Andrew and Colin running away from Lisa... and she's taking pictures!

Andrew discovers a fun hiding place at the park.

Nothing is quite as fun as spinning... and spinning... and spinning!

Loose Tooth, Pumpkin Patch, and Pinkeye!

Okay, I guess it's time for a real update, so this could be a long one!

First of all, Amanda has her first loose tooth! You may remember that almost a year ago, she whacked her teeth pretty well on Josh Price's head while they were here for a short visit, and we thought the two front teeth were goners. It's nothing short of a miracle they've lasted this long, because she's hit them multiple times since - but the one discolored tooth even returned to it's pearly white color. But now... finally... it is loose! Amanda loves showing people, and I encourage her to wiggle it every chance she gets. I'll keep you posted on it's progress!

Our next big event was Amanda's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch with her kindergarten class. With 26 kids and 20 parent volunteers (are all you teachers out there jealous??!!), we took up a whole bus by ourselves! (Amanda's first bus ride, since we live to close to the school for it to pick her up.) It was a cold day, but dry. We played on the playground for a bit, then headed off on a hayride to the pumpkins. Thank you to the wonderful people who tromped through the actual pumpkin patch, and brought the pumpkins for our kids to choose from to a small field, no vines, no mud - it was perfect! We ended with feeding the goats, and then headed back to school on the bus.

The whole class...

Amanda & Lauren show off their finds!

Amanda & Lauren enjoy the tire swing with a new friend!

Feeding the goats - probably how we got pinkeye!

And finally, we had our first "outbreak" of pinkeye. Not fun! It started with Amanda last Wednesday, and by that afternoon I knew we'd be making a visit to the doctor in the morning. She had to miss school and dance class! But she was happy she didn't get the eyedrops. Poor Mark - I left for the weekend with him in charge of not letting the pinkeye spread!

Of course, Monday I noticed Andrew's eyes getting a little runny, so made a quick call to the doctor and they called in a prescription without the visit.

They both are so much better now, although Andrew is scarred for life from ever getting eye drops! They're both troopers, and other than a few extra days at home, we did pretty well.

That's all for now... stay tuned for more from the Walter clan!

Happy Fall!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

Today is my amazing husband's birthday (I won't tell you how old he is!)... we started the day with some special birthday coffee cake, complete with a candle and singing. Well, technically Andrew & I started the day together at 5 am with him running a fever and trying to fight off the pink eye that he got from his sister... but that's another story!

Anyway, we don't have anything planned for tonight because he has his racquetball league game and I have my Moms in Touch group, so we wish him a fabulous day and the best of luck, and we'll celebrate soon in HAWAII!!

I'll update more later... for now, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK ... WE LOVE YOU!

Veggie Tales, Power Paws & Tap!

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Veggie Tales - Live! They were at our church for some special performances. We went with Grandpa, Miss Pennie, her son and his wife, and their daughters. Everyone had a great time!! (If you don't know about Veggie Tales, you must not have young kids!)

Andrew will tell you he sat in his own seat the whole time... which he did not. He was better than he was at the Wiggles, but still insisted on sitting with someone during the entire show. Amanda loved every minute of it, and was doing her best to dance even though we were in the middle of the row!!

Amanda has been talking about Power Paws from school lately. Apparently they are some sort of "award" (ie: piece of paper) you get for exhibiting the attributes of the "Life Skills" their school teaches. Amanda earned her first 2 yesterday during her reading group, and then came home with 4 today! I have a feeling we're going to have quite a collection by the end of the year.

Amanda is in dance again this year, and is in the Tap & Tumbling class. Here is a picture of her and her friends working on their fierce tap skills - Amanda is the third from the right in the pink (of course!) and braids.

Birthday Update!

We had lots of celebrations for Amanda's birthday - first she got to bring special snacks to share at school (M&M cookies), then we had dinner at a local pizza place... then last Saturday we had a birthday party for her girlfriends! She plays the Birthday Princess very well, and is enjoying being a 6-year-old. Thanks to all of you who sent cards and gifts... we are working on the Thank you cards as we speak! Enjoy the pictures (courtesy of Lisa!)...

Amanda celebrates with Great-Grandma Walter!

Ready, set, blow... what a great picture!

Riding on the carousel!

Thankful for our friends and family... Amanda with Emma, Lauren, and cousin Luke!

Girl time - we made princess wands,

then danced around the living room to Disney Princessess!

What's a party without dessert... have you figured out she likes pink??!!

To our Princess, may all your Birthday Wishes come true!!

Welcome to the Family!

Now presenting as husband and wife - Chris & Caitlin Kelln! (It brings tears of joy to my eyes to even type it!)


Last Saturday, we welcomed a new member to our crazy family - Caitlin and Chris were married in a beautiful ceremony in Bellingham. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid (the second tallest one, if you can believe that!) and Amanda shared Flower Girl duty with cousin Michelle.

Getting ready for the big moment! (One bridesmaid is missing...)

The girls (Grandma McCone, Jen, Grandma Shirley, Amanda, & Michelle)

and the boys (Daddy, Andrew, Uncle Chris... and Papa)...

All dressed up!! (Look at that tie!)

It was a quick weekend visit, but we got to go back to the Kangaroo Farm (we were the only ones there this time!). We stayed with Amy & Kyle in Bellingham (thanks again, guys!). The girls went for pedicures Saturday morning before the wedding. On our way out of town, we had a quick picnic lunch with the Smith's, Tracy Price & kids, and more. We didn't take many pictures - our camera isn't working quite right - but we got a few. Hopefully the photographer got some good ones, we'll pass them on when we get them.

At the rehearsal dinner, the siblings celebrate - from left, Ed, Jen, Chris, Zack, Nic, & Matt. Jen is still the shortest of them all!!

More fun at the Kangaroo Zoo - the cousins check out Baby Bella with Grandma, and Grandma Shirley gets friendly with the alpaca!

Congrats, Chris & Caitlin! (We'll send your present once you get home!)