Let's Go Fly a Kite…Maybe

Near the end of our summer, we found a really cheap kite and thought it would be fun to get. On the first breezy day, my mom and I took Katie to the local school to fly it. It was harder than we remembered.

I couldn't wait to get my kite into the sky! 

Unfortunately, this is what the kite looked like most of the time. We had it up one time for a few minutes. Even though we weren't good kite fliers, we still had fun!

I've got to get this running thing down!

Going to the County Fair with Kai

Katie was so excited to have Kai and Kathy meet us at the fair this year. Even though it happened to be one of the hottest days of the summer, they had a good time together!

Kai and I liked to walk through all of the misting stations to try to stay cool in the hot weather! 

One of the first things we did was to find the cows. I was happy to see the calf behind us! 

This is how Kai and I spent most of the day together! 

The baby chicks were so cute! 

We thought the rainbow sheep was pretty funny! 

After we saw the Demolition Derby last year, Kathy really wanted to see it, so we went to watch part of it. Even in the shade, it was boiling hot. 

One of my requests was to ride the ponies. 

Kai and I had fun jumping in the hot bounce house for a bit. 

I loved these bubbles last year. Kai didn't want to try them, but I did it again! 

We spent some time building with these blocks and… 

…riding on this pretend bus. 

While Kathy went to get Kai some food, we tried to rest in the shade. 

Afterward, we played some games. Kai was good at catching ducks!

We both also liked fishing. 

Then we had to discuss what rides we should go on. 

We found the carousel, and I chose the zebra. 

Then we went through this jungle gym. 

We also rode the giant strawberries. Each time we came around, we had a different expression on our faces from happy to exhausted to overheated. 

Our last ride was this little train. With the heat, we didn't have to wait in lines. 

Kai and I knew we could get ice cream before we left. On the way there, we got to spend time with this llama. It loved Kai's hat! 

The ice cream tasted good when we were so hot! 

Bye, Kai! I'm so happy you spent the day with me!

Carpet Shopping

We went out to look at some carpet samples, and it didn't take long for Katie to choose the perfect carpet for any room!

This beautiful pink would look spectacular anywhere!

A Sad Good-Bye

At the end of summer, my mom's dog, Max, got sick and passed away. Katie has, unfortunately, had to experience the loss of too many pets over the past couple of years. Between our dog, Chloe, my mom's two dogs, Garyldine's dog, and Aunt Jody's dog, we had a lot of elderly dogs that we had to say good-bye to during that time.

With the loss of each dog, Katie has gained a deeper understanding of what death means. When she asked me how Max was, and I had to explain he was gone, the tears came silently down her face and she was very sad knowing that gone meant forever.

To deal with her grief, she went straight for her paper and pencil box and drew a picture for Max. She wanted to put it in a field, so the wind would take it straight to him. It made her feel better to know that Max would know how much she loved him!

When Max would visit, I'd teach him about princesses!

When I found out he died, I sent him this picture full of hearts and hugs and kisses, so he'd know how much I loved him.

It's hard to say good-bye to pets.

I loved you, Max!

Ready for Kindergarten

Last week was Katie's first day of kindergarten. Leading up to the day was a mix of emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness, which I imagine is pretty normal. Her first day went great, in part because one of her friends from pre-kindergarten was in her class. That night when she went to bed, she wanted nothing more than to go back the next day!

The night before I started school, we read a special bedtime story! 

In the morning, I was mostly excited to go to school! 

I can't believe I'm a big kindergartner!

A Find from the Zoo

Since we were at the zoo to celebrate Katie's birthday, I let her choose something from the gift shop to take home, and I loved what she chose. She chose an activity kit. It was a sandstone paw print that came with excavating tools, and she was able to dig a surprise animal out of the paw print. She was very entertained by it, and it took lots of patience to find her animal. It was fun to watch her persistence pay off!

I couldn't wait to see what animal was hiding in my paw print! 

I really wanted to find a giraffe or a zebra. 

I saw a small piece of the animal peeking out, but I still didn't know what it was. 

I was excited to find the animal but also excited to play with the sand that I was chipping off the paw print. 

I kept working and working until it got too hot on the deck to work. 

I got a bit more uncovered inside and guessed that it might be a rhinoceros. Then I took a little break. 

When I went back later, I found a rhinoceros! 

I had guessed right!

A Zoo Celebration

As I mentioned, Katie wanted to celebrate her 6th birthday at the zoo, so my mom, sister, and I drove her there yesterday and met Garyldine and Aunt Jody there. She loves to wander through and visit all of her favorite animals. It was a nice way to celebrate being six.

I was so excited to go to the zoo. I picked out my dress just so I could blend in with the animals. I was pretty sure when the animals saw me, they would want a dress like mine! 

I saw one of the black bears right away. 

We got to watch him being fed. He didn't like his food very much though. 

I was really happy to see the bobcat moving around. They are usually hard to spot! 

The polar bear was taking a nap, but I still wanted a picture with her even though she's hard to see! 

Garyldine and I like to hang out in this bubble to look for the animals. 

When I sat in the jeep looking for the cheetah, I thought I should take off my jacket. That way the cheetah could see my dress if it showed up. 

I found two of them when I left the jeep. I liked matching them! 

Garyldine took a picture of us before we went to see the lions. 

These statues are usually crowded with kids. I was glad to have them all to myself! 

They reminded me of seeing The Lion King the night before. 

I liked the two sleeping lions on the rock behind me. 

I absolutely cannot pass this cave without going in it! Who would pass up that opportunity? 

Of course, I had to stop to see my favorite giraffes! 

There weren't any flamingos when we got to their enclosure, but one finally made an appearance. 

The snow leopard was very happy to see my dress. I wish I could always match the animals! 

I can never leave the zoo without visiting my good friend, Squirrel!

Thanks for coming with us, Garyldine and Aunt Jody. You make my heart happy!