Halloween

What the crap am I supposed to do with all this candy? I wonder if the Food Bank would accept it.

October days

Yes, these are long overdue. I got a bad cold right after Halloween, so I am a little behind.


We had a very hard time putting Max to bed that night because he couldn't bear to stop painting his pumpkin.
This is my entire harvest from planting three watermelon vines. I didn't take great care of them, because they grew over the summer. But that one watermelon was so incredibly good, that I count it as a profit.

Ahhhh... a romantic canoeing date

Jason and I went on a canoeing date last Saturday, and we met a little friend. We were at a swampy creek, 20 minutes from our house. As we paddled along, I was chatting about how I wished we could see some turtles or even a snake because it seemed like the perfect environment for critters. Suddenly Jason said in a raised, warning voice "Katrine, back up!" I scanned the water ahead of me, looking for a log that I was about to run into, and he said more insistently "Katrine! paddle backwards!" Of course, I said "What? Why?" and very calmly paddled backwards, moving the canoe a couple of feet. I was a little confused at why he wouldn't tell me what was going on. After we had backtracked ten feet, he said "Look. There's an alligator!" Whoa. My stomach dropped to my feet when I saw Mr. 6 foot long alligator sunning himself an oar's reach from where I just was. He didn't seem to care much about us, so we sat and stared at him for a while. I wished I had brought the camera! Then Jason said he could at least take a crappy picture with his phone, so we paddled quickly back to the dock, grabbed his phone from the truck, and swiftly but silently made our way back, hoping he was still there. He was, and so we got as close as we dared to snap a few pictures. He raised his head up once and turned his head to look at us which gave me a start, but once again, he didn't seem to mind us there. So, anyway, Jason tried to circle his location and if you can't see him, his head is pointing left, peeking behind the large vertical tree limb. If you look closely at his tail on the right of the limb you might see the jaggedy scales/fringe, whatever you call it.

Jason is determined to go alligator "hunting" with our good camera, and his pal Eric Willett this week. I told him to go ahead without me, because even though it was cool, I don't want to meet his grumpy big brother.
Ironically, I still think that the most dangerous animal situation I've been in here in Texas is when I tried to pick up a snapping turtle that was in our church parking lot. We had only been living here for three months, and I had no idea that snapping turtles were around. He REALLY didn't like being picked up and his neck whipped around, making my hands jump from his shell. Yes, I was dumb and tried (then failed) once more to save him from a possible tire death. That's the last time I try to rescue a snapping turtle.

Happy 3rd birthday

Happy birthday, Max! He was pretending to enjoy his cupcake, but he has never enjoyed cake in any form. That's why we had ice cream for the back up. The cupcakes were basically candle holders (and treats for mom and dad).

For dinner, Max had Crazy Bread. This is the ONLY bread that he will eat, but ironically he can't get enough of them.


Our favorite toy that we bought for Max, and it was only $3 in the office section of Target. He LOOOOVES it.

I just love this video! I think I broke out the trick candles at the perfect age.



Max loves Super Why so much, we couldn't resist the little costume we found at Toys R Us. Notice that the more excited Max is, the higher his voice becomes. Oh, and don't worry if you can't understand a word that he says. We're only able to decipher "Sugar Why" and "Whoooaaa!"

Hula hoop

Probably not interesting to most people, but I think Mallory can hula hoop better than a lot of adults I know.

Labor Day

For Labor Day, we went to Lake Houston State Park, which surrounds Peach creek, a tributary. The water was very cool and clear, which was a great surprise, and it was shallow enough that the kids could wade the entire width of the river. Max had an awesome time with his paddle (above) and was very well behaved. Well, we did have to tie him to a nearby tree while we ate our lunch, because he kept wandering off into the venomous snake-infested brush. Other than that, it was awesome!
Here is Mallory (pink shorts) with Sarah, Olivia, and David Willett, who came with us.



I had to take a video of Mallory sliding with her friends, Lily and Emma Frost. They wanted to slide into the pool, but I had already filled it up, making it impossible to move, so they came up with their own solution. Lily is the middle one and she's my favorite!

Here is Jason's vacation wound. Notice, he is not very happy. I told him not to be too depressed now that he'll never be a teen model. It is healing up nicely now and has turned into a sexy war scar.

First day of school

Oh man, I love this girl, but I am so excited for her to be in Kindergarten! She will finally have new friends to talk to all day, instead of boring old mom. She is in one of ten kindergarten classes at her school. The area has been experiencing some rapid growth, to say the least. We had french toast for breakfast, and while I was packing her lunch box for the first time, I almost took a picture of the contents, it was so cute. I had the same feeling as when I made Jason dinner after he got home from work for the first time when we were newlyweds. "Awwww!" overload.


Here are some pictures of our one and only family summer vacation that we took at the absolute last weekend before school. We went to galveston, and had a wonderful time at the Aquarium and the next day at the beach. Max did fairly well at not escaping down the beach, especially when he found a little bug that he could chase around and try to catch with a plastic spoon. He was also more brave at crashing into the waves with the rest of us.
The only down side was when Jason was playing shark at the hotel swimming pool and he ran his head into the wall. He had his eyes open and was carefully watching for the wall, but it just blended in too well with the water. It is a lovely gash, which I may or may not post because of viewers who are faint of heart. He says that now he looks like Frankenstein, but I like the Harry Potter comparison better.


Oh, I am such a sloucher.

Hair cut

Max and his friend, Ryan Flint eating yummy waffles

Mallory's picture skills

Mallory's new haircut! She and I had a 'girls day' and had our hair cut at the same time. The ladies at the salon wanted to keep her after hearing her chatter for an hour.



And here is a video of Max, the amazing picker-upper.

Still summer

Happy birthday to Ben on the 25th! We had sour dough pancakes and sausage for breakfast, his request. I could only find water balloons, so the decorations were a little skimpy. We made him a carrot cake, and homemade ice cream for dessert.


A little tempera paint goes a long way for Max.

One of our little lizard friends decided to pop in for lunch.

Hide and go seek

Max doesn't take naps much anymore, but after lunch he seemed tired, so I took him to his room and layed him down on his toddler bed. I didn't expect him to sleep, and I heard him making some noises for a while, but then he was quiet for a good 30 minutes. I had to take a peek.
At first, I was really scared because he seemed to have vanished into thin air! This is what I found after searching his room.
I love that little boy.

June

Grandma Brenda was a great help to us while Katrine was in Utah for Patrick's wedding. We had a lot of fun visiting after wards as well. We went to Incredible Pizza, played in the backyard kid-pool, and ate some good Texas barbecue. We can't wait to see you again, Dram-ma!




Mallory just finished her dance recital with the NHPA. They danced ballet to Celine Dion's Brahams lullaby, and I was very proud of Mallory for knowing all of the steps, and giving a big smile at the end.


Happy Father's Day, Jason! We loved a Sunday with no meetings, when we got to play with daddy all day long. I made him steak, zuchini and onions, scalloped potatoes, and chocolate chip cookies. Mallory and Max bought him a cool old model motorcycle to put on his desk (for his new office).

These last two pics show Max's favorite activities at the park. Hanging off of precipices and rooting in the garbage can. He is also wearing his favorite red shoes and one of his 5 red shirts. He bleeds red.

The Overspent American

This is isn't pictures, I know, but I feel the urge to rave about the book I have been reading. The Overspent American, by Juliet B. Shor. Risae recommended it to me (she has excellent taste!) and it's one of few books that I know I will be re-reading and underlining only slightly less than the Book of Mormon. If you're looking for a book that will tell you what you want to hear, don't read this. But if you're looking for reasons why you feel disatisfied with your pay, why you are in debt, and how to change, then read it! Read it now!

Though hard to admit, we are all subject to envy, and this book made me take a good hard look at myself. I love books like that. If I can learn and change even just a little bit after reading it, I expect it would feel as good as cleaning the garage. Hard to start, but twice as rewarding.

Thanks, Zae.

Dafoe, Crusoe, Canoe?

Jason is pleased to announce this addition to our garage. He says this will help me get over my loss of Utah mountain recreation, and I have to say that the first trip was a lot of fun! Amazingly, Max didn't jump out or tip us over. The best part for me was canoeing through a cool lake fountain, although the kids weren't as keen as I was for getting wet.

Here are my piano and harp students at my last recital. I held it outdoors, which turned out very nicely, especially since the weather was agreeable. As much as I love them, though, I am excited for a lighter summer schedule.

Grandma Clark

We loved having my mom visit us for two weeks. She was an incredible help to me, and the kids loved her. I didn't do any dishes the whole time! I'm not the best at taking pictures, but I did remember to snap a few at the airport. Very exciting place, I know.



Max's notebook is like his security blanket. He even sleeps with it next to him most nights.
Here are three little bears that Grandma made while she was here. They sit perfectly in our wall hanging, don't you think? Mallory was very enchanted by it all.

We love you Grandma Clark!!