KMS Auction

Tonight Grandma and Pop Pop babysat the kids so we could go to the KMS Auction. This is the yearly fundraising event held by the kids' preschool. We were pretty excited to get dressed up and go out together!

The event was held at the VFW post in our town, which was a very nice venue. We hit the cash bar as soon as we arrived.There were lots of great donated items ready to be auctioned off.We stopped by the Teachers' Table to chat--that's Emily's teacher Julie on the left, Kate's teachers Mary Lou and Tabitha in the middle, and our friend Hilary (also a teacher at the school) on the right.We were quite surprised to see Emily's assistant teacher Maureen belting out some tunes with the live band. We had no idea she was a singer!Chris really enjoyed the hors d'oeuvres.Once the auction actually started we all got real serious.......except for our friend Amy, who had volunteered to be "Vanna White" for the evening, and had to hold up each item that was being auctioned.We sat with our friends Tina and John, who bid on and won these lovely handmade wooden ducks (notice that John is so pleased about his duck that he's actually petting it). It was real nice to spend time with our friends without all of our kids around.In the end, we bid on a few things (and were successful on a couple), and the auction raised more money for the school than last year's event. It was definitely a success!

School Pictures

We got the girls' official school pictures today, and, well, we think they are beautiful.

Here are our little preschoolers:

Emily at 3 years, 10 months old.

Kate at 2 years, 8 months old.

Snow Day

The official "forecast" predicted little to no accumulation, but we woke up this morning to a 6" blanket of snow! It was a really beautiful morning.

Mom got a few pictures while going out to get the newspaper.When the kids woke up for school, they were thrilled to see the snow. They insisted on going out right after breakfast. Luckily, we had just pulled out all the snow pants and jackets a few days ago, so everything was close at hand.It was kind of hard to walk in, but they still managed to get around and check things out.After school they came home and made a snowmom!All moms deserve a kiss.It sure was a nice surprise to have a snow day today!

First Snow!

Yep, today was our very first snow of the season. Hello winter!

Connor loves the snow! He had a great time playing in it.He's getting pretty old, but snow seems to make him feel like a puppy again.It snowed most of the day today and the forecast said it would turn to rain eventually, but it hasn't yet.

We'll probably be sick of it by January, but for now the snow is pretty cool.

After dinner the kids wanted to run outside and play in it. We kept them on the deck since it was already dark outside.Emily really liked making footprints, and also sliding her feet across the deck like she was skating.Meanwhile, Kate took the opportunity to make her very first snowball of the year.

Bum Padding

Well, by now most of you have heard that the election didn't go our way. As much as we'd like to sit around and mope, we have little kids depending on us so life must go on.

Last weekend Mom took Emily skating down in Augusta, and Em had the bad experience of falling hard on her bum. Mom promised her we'd get some "bum padding", so tonight we went over to the pro shop at Sukee to see if they had any.

Emily found what she wanted right away.......and she figured out how to squirm into them too.Meanwhile, Kate was checking out the goalie gear.The hockey pants fit, so now Emily's bum will be all set next time we go skating.As we were leaving the pro shop, Kate found what is now her favorite hockey item: Pink stick tape!Mom was ready to go home, but the girls wanted to stay and watch some hockey (there was a little kids' practice going on).They checked it out from a few different angles.And then they found the coolest thing ever--a race car video game! With two seats!This entertained them for about ten minutes without Mom having to put any quarters in (they didn't understand that they could actually play the game).Then it was time to go home for bedtime. The kids always like to walk on this low wall whenever we visit Sukee.When we got home Emily showed Mama her new hockey pants. They look great!

Waiting.....

Today is election day, and we are all anxiously awaiting the outcome. To pass the time after dinner, the girls did some crafts.

Kate, of course, brought her Concentration Face to the table.Then it was bathtime, and time for their new favorite activity: playing "Circle". This is an imitation of their Circle time at preschool, when the teacher takes attendance. The girls like to line up all their toys on the edge of the tub and then Mom asks if each toy (and kid) is here today, and they answer "Bon jour!".Of course, by the time Mom got the video camera going, the game was just about over.

Hunting Season

Ah, November. The end of warm weather, and the start of Hunting Season here in Maine. Since we live right next to the woods, November means that every time the kids play outside they need to be wearing blaze orange, preferably a hat AND a vest. (Except for Sunday, which is the one day of the week when hunting is illegal). As you can see, we still need to get some stuff that actually fits them.

Kate kind of likes the fact that her vest fits her like a tiny orange dress!