Branson Weekend in November

The weekend of Dustin and Megan's birthdays we decided to all go to the Christmas shows in Branson. We had a fun filled, jam packed weekend and it was a ton of fun!! On Friday, we drove to Branson and had lunch at the Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill. Then we went to the Legends Concert and saw George Strait, Patsy Cline, Blues Brothers, Marilyn Monroe, The Temptations and Elvis. Kate did a very good job of listening and watching her first show! A couple of times, Daddy took her to the back of the theater to dance and let loose. She loved dancing and having plenty of room to do it.:) We had a few minutes in between this show and the Andy Williams Show at the Moon River Theater. I was a little nervous about how Kate would act, seeing as how there was not a nap and she is two years old and still needs one. Once the show started she did watch some of it but started to act up a little. Once again, Daddy took her for a walk to try to get her to sleep. Dustin is such a good daddy because when he came back, she was asleep! She slept for awhile and when she awoke was pretty well behaved for the rest of the show. All of this was on Friday!

{This is where her finger rests alot these days plus she didn't want me to take a picture. It's only on here to one day embarass her:)}

On Saturday, we went to our favorite place...Silver Dollar City!!! Everyone else had the same idea we had because it was so packed that day. Of course, it was the first day of Branson's Christmas season so it was to be expected. Since everybody and their brother were also there, we didn't get to see all of the shows we wanted but it was still fun. Kate did take a little nap while we were there in her stroller. It's hard work to stay awake all day when you're only two!! We also went to the kid area to see if Kate was tall enough to ride the rides there and she missed it by about a half inch. Darn it!!! Oh well, she'll definitely be able to ride them in the spring.:) One thing Kate did not enjoy was sitting on Santa's lap! She was fine waiting in the line. She was fine when a few kids in front of her sat on his lap. Then, all of sudden, she changed her mind and that was that. No sitting on Santa's lap for her! Santa was very nice and he did try to coax her on his lap with a candy cane but Kate wanted none of that! Next year, hopefully!! She did enjoy seeing a show with Frosty the Snowman! It kept her attention for almost the entire show...and this was before naptime too!

Happy Halloween!!!

Kate enjoyed dressing up for Halloween. She was the cutest little ladybug! We started off the night by eating at Chuck E. Cheese and playing some games first. Then we went off to trick-or-treat. This is the first year we tried trick-or-treating and Kate loved it. I may be somewhat biased but I think she is the cutest little ladybug ever!!

Rearranging the pumpkins on the porch:)

Mommy and her pretty lil ladybug:)
Kate's favorite place on Earth.....Chuck E. Cheese:)

Carving A Pumpkin

This year, Dustin and I thought it would be fun to carve a pumpkin with Kate. I remember watching my Daddy carve a pumpkin and then Megan and I would scoop the guts out with our hands. Of course, you know I was NOT a fan of this! Ha! Anyway, I'll let you decide whether Kate likes the "guts".

Before

Kate watching Daddy put the "guts" in a bowl for her to play with. Kate is thinking..."Um, what do I do with this Mom?" I think her face says it all....pumpkin guts are gross!
But it is fun to sit on the counter and pretend to play!
Daddy hard at work carving the masterpiece!
Ta-da! The after picture! I think Daddy did an awesome job!
PS....after this Dustin put tea lights in the pumpkin and we turned out the lights and videoed Kate's reaction. Let's just say she was NOT a fan of that!! Lights immediately went on and tea lights came out just as fast.:)

Picking a Punkin'

On Saturday, October 9, 2010 we went to McGarrah Farms to pick our pumpkin. As a kid I never remember going to a pumpkin patch although I knew what they were. I decided it would be a fun family tradition to have with Kate. We started it last year and Kate was in a much better mood this year. She was able to walk around the patch to pick her little pumpkins and ride along in her wagon to get some bigger pumpkins. Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Megs came along with us to join in the family fun! It was still quite warm that day, not like the year before. After walking around looking for the perfect pumpkins I was working up a sweat! It was a fun filled day of picking pumpkins, watching the Razorbacks and spending time with family!!

Daddy Time

After a football game, Kate wanted Daddy to color with her. I thought it was cute so I took some pictures of them coloring. The funny thing is when Dustin laid down in the floor, Kate stopped coloring and started handing him crayons. She chose the crayons he could use. She's really into that now, watching others color and handing them crayons to use on their masterpiece. She's trying even harder to color inside the lines and not scribble.

Game Day Fun

I love game days! Mostly I just love the gathering of my family and friends and eating. I love the atmosphere of football game days. Dustin worked all of the home games again this year so we went to Auntie Megs house to pig out and watch football!

Kate loving her new bed at Auntie Megs house!

Calling "China" from Mary Ann's phone. Sorry about those charges, Mary Ann!

Daddy's Little Helper

Now, I feel the need to preface this post by saying that on this particular day, August 16, 2010, I was in back to school workshops all day. It was a Monday. What you need to know about Mondays is that Dustin watches Kate all day because he is off work. Well, he watches her everyday, but anyway. Mondays are known as "Pajama Monday" at our house. This translates into, "Daddy doesn't know what to dress Kate in unless Mommy lays it out".:) Obviously, I didn't lay anything out because Kate is seen in her pajamas from the night before in this post.

Now, onto the reason for this post. Geesh, I get sidetracked! Dustin put in landscaping bricks around our trees in the backyard. I must say he does an excellent job as it was so hot and he was being a perfectionist about it. Kate loves to help her Daddy. She kept trying to take away his tools. He would patiently tell her which one he needed and wait for her to bring it to him. It was this job that she learned what a "mallet" was. It was fun to watch Kate help her Daddy. I think Dustin was the only one not having fun.:( However, it was a rough job but our trees look awesome now!!