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!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Amanda Katherine Walter arrives on 9/17/02 at 3:30 pm

Weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz. and measuring 21" long

I can't believe that after all the waiting, tears, joy, and stretch marks, that on this day 6 years ago our little angel arrived! We are very honored that God has blessed us with this little girl, and we pray that we will allow the Lord to use us as we raise her and teach her.

We started the Day of Celebration with chocolate chip scones - her new favorite breakfast food thanks to the Fosters - complete with candle and a song. She got to bring a special snack to school (M&M cookies), and one of her new little friends (Luke) made her a card. Uh oh, is it a budding romance??!! She wore her Birthday Girl shirt to school, and it is currently being washed as it ended up with some chocolate on it (act surprised!). She definitely plays the "Birthday Girl" role well!



We have a family dinner planned at a local pizza place tonight, and then her party with her little girlfriends will be on Saturday.


Thank you to everyone who has prayed for, supported, and walked with us on this journey. It has truly been a joy! Blessings to all of you, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Princess!!

Amanda continues to bring us joy each day, and we are very blessed to be her family!

Local Fun!

It's not Saturday here without a Duck's game! Our kids are all decked out to root for the home team - although we've realized that game time is great time to go shopping around here! Thanks to Grandpa, we look like real fans!!

Aaron has been working on the shelves for our open space in our living room wall, so Lisa and I took the kids to the park a few nights ago to get out of his way! Look how nice it still is here... in the 80's again today, too!

Next Saturday is Uncle Chris & Auntie Caitlin's wedding, and Amanda and Michelle (our niece) are going to be flower girls. We decided to practice on her hair (my technique needs some work!), and then she had to put on the dress, crown, and shoes to see how it all looked together. She is very excited, and says she feels like a princess!! (Don't worry, I'll do Michelle's hair too!!)

We leave Thursday for the wedding, so if I don't get another update in before then, we'll catch you up next week!

First Day of School!

As usual we're a few days behind... Wednesday was Amanda's first day of Kindergarten! Daddy went in late to work, so we could make it a full family event. Mommy got a little teary, mostly just because I'm so proud of her. So far she has really enjoyed school, and has lots of great things to say about her teacher. She says she would love to go to school every day!!

Anyway, here are some pictures...

Amanda outside her class, and hanging up her things.

At her table - she shares with 3 others.

Amanda and Lauren - all dressed up for the first day!

Amanda waits at the beginning of the line for mommy to pick her up!

Meet the Teacher!

Wednesday night was Meet the Teacher night at Amanda's new school. After much anticipation, we finally found out we got the time (AM) and the teacher we had asked for! And what do you know, Amanda & Lauren are in class together. We like that, because they are not exclusive - they both like to play with everyone - but it also makes it more convenient for drop off & pick up, plus it's nice to have a familiar face in a new school!





Check out Lisa's site for more pictures (I haven't downloaded mine yet), but here's a cute one of Amanda with her new teacher.

Kindergarten, here we come... looking forward to a great year!!