H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G!

from Pilgrim Kaylie and the rest of the family!

Kaylie enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast last week at her preschool with her pilgrim friends and indian friends. Daddy got to go visit and take a few pictures. This made Pilgrim Kaylie a very happy pilgrim.

They enjoyed some yummy fixins. It's a good thing Pilgrim Kaylie isn't as picky as her siblings and could enjoy "everything but the green beans. I don't really like those," said Pilgrim Kaylie with a squinched up nose, shaking her head no.

What did you love and not love so much on your Thanksgiving plate?



M I G H T Y H U N T E R S

Look what walked across our yard today? How odd, right? Well how odd is it that this crew hunted it down with fish nets and some bare hands to capture the poor guy and put him in a dog's crate for several hours as a pre-Thankgiving pet. Huy and the neighbors were trying to decide who should kill it and eat it for their Thanksgiving turkey, I mean, pheasant!

Killer Whales Rock

She is the cutest goalie on the fields!

Taylin had a great season with the Killer Whales. In her new age group, the field is bigger and they learn off-sides, and have a goalie. And that is what Taylin wanted to try and she practiced hard and learned to be a great one. She got good with her drop kicks and getting on the ground to stop those balls. She was still able to play forward some and she made several goals, and she was an awesome defender because she has a powerful kick.

The team played so well throughout the season that they took 2nd in their division and were invited to a tournament. That day was particularly cold day with a wind that chilled us all to the bones so I didn't get many pictures, but the following team ones. Although the team didn't advance to the finals, Taylin played her best ever!


These girls loved team hugs!

At the team party at Gattiland, the girls shared in a great celebration!

(Megan, Marisa, Gabby, Chloe, Grace, Taylin, Sydney, Olivia, and Daniela)

We are so proud of you Taylin! Keep with it and you will become an even better player!

Falling behind,

and catching up...

A quick one...

With no pictures... I'm not a fan of no pictures, but this time, I just had to do it without them...

• Taylin had her 3rd grade school musical, School House Rock. She was so cute up there on stage saying, "Math is great, now don't get me wrong, but what about science... perhaps the solar system" and singing Inner Space Janet Planet. (Hey Chelon, do you have a pictures of the girls you wouldn't mind sharing?)


• Tanner finished his "regular" flag football season, sad to say, losing in the Superbowl game against da Bears, ending the season with a 7-2 record. Not bad. (pics to come)


• Taylin finished her soccer season, placing 2nd in her division, which got the team an invitation to a BIG tournament in Georgetown. It was her first soccer tournament. They played three games, in the freezing cold wind (yes, even in Texas it gets cold), and although they didn't win, she played her best soccer of the season and she had a great time. (pics to come)


• The kids got their 1st nine week report cards with all A's, and a B or two. We are so proud of how hard they work and how smart they are!

And finally...

• Nike got his first report card. He went to an "evalutation" at a boarding/doggie day care. This is what it said... (it's too funny not to share it word-for-word)

"Daycare Report

Date: November 17, 2008

Name of Dog: Nike

I played with: Quinn, Travis, Magnum

My favorite thing is: Running around like crazy with the rest of the boys in my group! There was another lab puppy, named Quinn, who was just my size and he liked to play the same chase games that I love to play!

Nike is a very playful boy! He had no transition period at all, he was relaxed from the moment he first entered the playgroup! He loved to run around with Quinn and they played rough all day! Nike is a sweet boy and is welcome back anytime!"

Oh, that is good cuz he had to stay three nights over the weekend. (Emphasis added by me.)

Okay, one picture. This is Nike with his bestest friend, Ginger (the Clark's dog). I guess you could call her his "girlfriend" since I'm learning that dogs are considered humans to people who have dogs, love dogs, or care for dogs. I guess I am going to have to fit into this mold eventually, but not sure I'm there just yet. Anyway, the picture is to show you that Nike is definately getting big, but Ginger is small so that makes him look bigger than he really is.

Her first field trip

Here is Kaylie at the Pumpkin Patch. It was her first field trip with her preschool class,

AND,

it was her first time on a school bus. I think that was more fun for her than the pumpkin patch. At least she was more excited to be riding a bus and didn't seem to care much about the pumpkins.

The first steps.

She chose the very last seat. Odd?

My baby is growing up! Aaaaaaa!!

H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N . . .

from a crazed football fan, a sweet and beauitful little mermaid, and a playful, cute puppy!


Kaylie saw this costume in a magazine weeks before Halloween was even here. But, Mom delayed ordering it in hopes of finding something similar at a store. After not having any luck, Mom went to order it and, of course, her size wasn't available in the much coveted pink version so Kaylie was a good girl and consented to the blue one. She is a good sport that way. She loved wearing it and was the prettiest mermaid in all of Texas!


Taylin was our cute little puppy... again this year - three years running. She opted out of her Gabriella, High School Musical costume at the last minute so it was a good thing we still had everything for the puppy to return this year! She is definately getting better at the picture thing. I mean, look how cute! She wanted to bring Nike along, but Mom and Dad didn't want to have to deal with that. Maybe next year.

Tanner was too busy playing football with the neighbor boys to come for his picture. Maybe he thinks he's getting too old for that. I say not!

We, as a family, didn't have a chance to go to "the patch" this year, so we had to divide up the tasks to get our pumpkin. The girls and I picked out the pumpkin... at HEB (local grocery store). Not such a good selection, probably because we waited too long, but a good price. And then Huy helped the kids come up with our pumpkin design. Kaylie's requirement was a happy pumpkin, Taylin's requirement was crossed-eyes, and Tanner required teeth. Here is the result. Pretty darn cute.

And here is our family trademark!

Tanner was happy with his loot.

Taylin was exausted after collecting her loot. She couldn't even finish the candy in her hand. Ha!

"Happy Halloween" says Kaylie as she ditched the group early to get home to rest her feet!

On another note, we put a bowl of candy out at our front door. When returning home, we were expecting most of it to be gone, but I would venture a guess that only 5 pieces were gone. What to do with so much left-over candy?! My waistline surely doesn't need it.

Check her out!!



Notice anything different about this pretty lady? Isn't that a beautiful smile? Our Little Miss Taylin has had her braces and expander removed! Hurray! She was so excited leading up to the event, but when the time actually came, she was a bit nervous because she didn't know what to expect. And because I never had braces, I couldn't tell her if it was going to hurt or not, but I assured her things would be just fine. And things were. As always, she was a tough trooper and only scared the assistant once when Taylin wiggled and sort of yelled as the glue was being etched off her front teeth. She thought it would hurt before she was even touched. We had a good laugh about that.
Now you see them...
(this picture is of Taylin biting on a gauze as hard as she could while the assistant plucks the brackets off - she is lying down in the chair)

Now you don't!!

Instead of going back to school, I tried to be a fun mom and we went to lunch and to Walmart. I know, how fun is that?! We had a good time. Taylin said, "This is the best day of school ever!"



This is Taylin's first meal of choice to eat without braces! Yum! Her favorites, chicken sandwich, now she eats them with lettuce, fries, and an orange drink. Okay, we shared a rootbeer float too! We love a Wendy's float!