Thanks

or maybe that should be 'No Thanks' as the post title... that's what you'll be thinking once you view the following pics...

These pics are some of my worst due to most of them being taken at night with no flash. The first pics were taken on Thanksgiving at Michael's brother's house, the other pics were taken the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

I liked the look of the fence with the contrast of the dark ground and the interesting lighting in the first two pics... the girls were in their Uncle's backyard playing with a dog through a hole at the bottom of the double gate.

Later on the girls went on the other side of the double gate to play with the dogs. Caitie is crazy about this dog...

it looks like the feeling is mutual. :)

Looking over their Uncle's RV. We might try it out soon.

Preparing for a game of pool... her version of it, anyway.

Dirt bike riding followed... first with Uncle David...

then with her daddy.

Then it was Bailey's turn.

Then my turn. Yes, I let someone else touch my camera... someone holding a beer in one hand and my camera in the other... that didn't know how to use my camera and just had five seconds of instructions on how my camera works... and as you can see, his (david's) pic came out better than my pics. um, yeah...

Caitie's in line again for another ride...

While riding, Caitie felt warmth in her right shoe... as you can see here, her shoe got burned; it was from a hot pipe on the dirt bike, her foot was against it on the ride.

The next night (friday) we went to The Fresh Beat Band Concert.

I took this pic a few days after Caitie's birthday; the tickets were one of her birthday presents. I made these tickets to put in her birthday card; the actual tickets were at will-call, which we picked up the night of the concert. I think the tickets came out kinda cute and colorful, if I do say so myself. um, yeah...

These pics are from the night of the concert. My DSLR camera wasn't allowed, but I did take in my point and shoot camera. I took these pics towards the end of the concert... with flash (shocking, i know). The band is on the stage with confetti coming down.

I wanted to get the girls in the pic... even if it does show just the back of their heads. ha Caitie sulked for most of the concert because we wouldn't get her a glow-in-the-dark toy being sold at the concert (the price for the toy was ridiculous). It didn't help that the girl in front of us, along with many other kids, were waving them during the concert. Bailey kept trying to get to the stage. She wanted to be in the band, I guess. It was a lovely evening. ha :)

To make up for the glow-in-the-dark toy disappointment, Michael suggested we go to IHOP for dinner. The toy was soon forgotten. I think we all had more fun at IHOP than at the concert. Bailey was enjoying some of my caramel hot chocolate. It was yummy.

We had breakfast for dinner. I love when that happens.

Can you find Caitie in this pic?

The next night (saturday) we went to grandma and grandpa's house to help decorate one of their Christmas trees. I should say that Michael and Caitie helped... I just took pics. Caitie loves decorating Christmas trees. She now has one of her own in her room. It's pink. um, yeah...

Bailey relaxed on the couch with some Christmas bears.

She eventually went to sleep.

Thanks for making it to the end and viewing all my low-quality pics. I really need to give in and start using the flash on my DSLR camera. Maybe someday...

  

   

  

  

  

  

  

   

 

Caitie; Conference; Charlie; Caring; Class; Crazy; Cute

I attended parent/teacher conference on Thursday, October 25th. I was the first one scheduled... bright and early at 8am.

Here's how Caitie's report card works for the first quarter:

Academic Subjects Grades

E = 90% - 100% (excellent)

S = 70% - 89% (satisfactory)

N = 60% - 69% (needs improvement)

U = 0% - 59% (unsatisfactory)

Performance Level
Refer to Common Code Standards

4 = Exceeds (independently performs above grade level)

3 = Meets (performs at grade level)

2 = Approaches (performs below grade level with support)

1 = Fails Far Below (below grade level with little progress)

Caitie got E+ and 3 in all subjects (reading, english, math, science, social studies), and E+ in art, music, and PE (physical education). She got S in Student Effort and Penmanship. Her teacher, Mrs. L, said Caitie is reading at a third grade level; she's one of the highest in her class. Caitie's the first one to finish the word lists for the year, she can't go any higher; she did her last one yesterday. I hope she keeps up the good work. :)

I wasn't sure what to expect as far as math went... they're using a new math cirriculum this year, one I'm not too happy with so far. When Caitie first brought math worksheets home, it seemed like typical first grade stuff... from what I could remember, anyway, it's been a few years since I was in first grade. ha But it wasn't long before she brought home math worksheets that looked more like what fourth graders, or above, would be doing. I thought it was just me, but when I asked Michael to look at them, he couldn't figure them out either. I was terrible at math, still am, so helping Caitie with her math homework has been quite a challenge, especially since she's already being introduced to concepts of algebra and geometry. The 'basics' I can deal with, but algebra and geometry... ummm, not so much. ha I'm having to learn right along with her. Caitie doesn't know what to do when it comes to her math homework, so I'm having to figure it out and then teach it to her. Her teacher said she's doing good in math, so I guess I have no reason to worry.

Caitie did a book report on 'Charlie the Ranch Dog'. As you can see, she had to make a 'visual' to go along with the book. It was to be made with a plastic pumpkin. This was in mid-October when pumpkins were popular. She turned it in on conference day. She has since gotten it back; she got a 100 on the project. For those of you who follow the Pioneer Woman's Blog, she wrote this book. She's written several in the last few years; mainly cookbooks and a couple of children's books, along with one book about her rancher, now husband, romance. She also has a cooking show on the Food Network Channel. She's quite the success story. Caitie wants to be her... or a rancher's wife, anyway... um, yeah. More on that in another post... maybe. ha (just in case you're wondering why caitie looks a bit out of it in the pic below... it's because we had to get up extra early that morning for the conference and she was still sleepy)

Here are the girls outside of Caitie's classroom after the conference; we had just left the room. Caitie wore red that day for Character Counts week. It wasn't schoolwide this time, only some classes did it, and they only wore the colors for each character trait instead of dressing 'goofy' as they did the last two years. I dressed Bailey in red as well. Red represented 'caring'.

The conferences were held on Thursday and Friday of that week; both were half days. It was around lunchtime when I picked Caitie up from school on that Thursday, so we went to a park for a picnic and then playground time.

Later that day it was homework time.

Caitie was given her class picture and school portrait that day. Here is her class picture, minus one or two students that weren't at school on picture day. Caitie is the second one from the left in the first row. The pic is kinda dark, so it's hard to see everyone.

Caitie enjoys art, and does very well. She usually gets A+ on her art projects. Here she's holding a pic she got an A+ on; it's of two birds in a tree. When I first saw it, I thought she just colored it, I didn't realize she had drawn it as well. It's hard to see here, but the detail on it is impressive. She doesn't take much time and isn't as detailed on drawings she does at home.

Here is Caitie's school portrait...

She said school portraits are cheesy... 

and undignified...

and just plain silly...

she wanted to be incognito...

but finally settled on chic...

Not really, but it sure was fun being indecisive. (i got the school portrait CD package; it comes with a fun editing feature. that's what i used to do the school pics above)

Here's the actual pic with a blue/gray background... not my favorite choice for a background color...

I'm glad I went with the brown background. Even though Caitie looks a bit uneasy, it's still a nice pic, don't you think? :)    

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
    

At least we all got stickers

A breath of fresh air would have been nice, but instead the air is heavy and stagnant. Another four years of the same. As you can tell, I'm not happy with last night's presidential election results. Even though I'm not happy about the same man being in office, I know it's best to pray for him and our country.

1 Timothy 2:1-2
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity."

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We voted last evening... not that it mattered. At least we all got stickers. Always look for the positive... ha :)

  
  
   
   
   
   
   
    

Pumpkins and sweet treats

Most of the pics in this post are of poor quality due to lighting issues, etc., but decided to display them anyway.

The first two pics were taken at Fry's Marketplace; that's where we got our pumpkins for carvin'.

Bailey loved climbing into the pumpkin bins.



Caitie looks thrilled. ha She's getting tired of posing for pics. Whoever heard of a pumpkin/halloween tree?!? So silly. But I used it as a background anyway. I was in a hurry to get a pic of both girls together, which wasn't easy; all they wanted to do was play in the pumpkin area.



We went to The Bass Pro Shop last Friday evening. They had a costume parade, trick-or-treating, a carousel ride, coloring, and a free Peanuts Halloween pic. We went last year and had a good time, so decided to go again this year. It was fun. Here's Bailey in the toy area.

It looks like Bailey is having an identity crisis... cowgirl hat, sunglasses, costume... she couldn't decide what to go with... or maybe it was the price of the sunglasses that gave her that look of distress. 

 

Caitie on a moose on the carousel ride. Both girls love to go on the carousel.

 

Here is the free pic with the Peanut characters; this is the one the store personnel took. Half of Bailey's face is shaded by the netting on her hat.

I took this pic real quick. I think it turned out better than the one above; you can see more of Bailey's face.

 

We were late on the pumpkin carving this year. Something always came up or it was late when we thought about doing it, so just got around to it this last Sunday evening. Caitie was more into it this year, and Bailey enjoyed licking the top of the pumpkin and watching the carving being done.

 

Bailey did try to take part in the carving, but didn't stick around long, she was more interested in licking the top of the pumpkin.

 

Caitie picked out the white pumpkin to do on her own. She enjoyed helping carve it. She especially enjoyed taking out all the gooey innards on both pumpkins.

 

I took a pic of Bailey looking at the glowing candle in the pumpkin. I took a similar pic of Caitie at the same age. You can see it at PBase, click here.

 

Bailey looking in the glowing pumpkin.

 Happy pumpkins. (yes, i'm running out of pic captions) I gave the two pics below a faded, softer look due to the lighting being so bad for both pics.

Caitie was one of five names drawn in her class to take a pumpkin home. She was thrilled, but has yet to carve it, and it's already starting to smell (the top was cut and innards taken out before she brought it home). We had already carved our pumpkins, so there was no rush to carve another one. Since it's past Halloween, it's probably best to just paint whatever colors and design she wants on it before having to throw it out.

 



 

Bailey loves Mr. Jack-O-Lantern; she just had to give him a kiss. She's been kissin' on him the last few days.

 

Caitie had a Fall party at school yesterday. They had games, lots of sweets, crafts, and a movie.

 

We took the girls trick-or-treating around our neighborhood last night. Here they are in their costumes with their pumpkin pails in hand.

 



We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandma was sick with a cold. Grandpa was handing out candy and gave each grandgirl a bag of candy... Milky Way and Almond Joy. Yum! Thanks, Grandpa. :) It was pretty dark in the area I took this pic at, and bright in the other room, which made Caitie and her Grandpa almost impossible to see in the pic, so I made the pic a bit brighter so they would show up, and I also made it softer looking in order to hide some of the graininess, etc. I refuse to use flash; maybe I should rethink that. ha



 

Bailey loved this inflatable cat and pumpkin. She stood there for a while goin' on about it. The boy handing out candy was patient and stayed there to listen, Caitie, on the other hand, was gettin' tired of waitin'. ha

 

 

The girls got a lot of candy, but even with all those sweets, Caitie still insisted on a pumpkin shake from Jack in the Box. That's where we got dinner last night. We were out pretty late trick-or-treating, so decided fast food was the way to go. The whole day was sweets, so may as well end it with junk food, right? Right?!? um, yeah...

 

 

 

Regarding the post title above: The pumpkins part is obvious, as are sweets... that bein' candy... but I had to mention this... We stopped at Starbucks while we were out last night to try their Pumpkin Spice Latte, but I ended up getting their Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino. Oh. my. goodness... it was DELICIOUS!!! I love anything sweet and salty together. I'm talkin' major yummo here! If you decide to try one, be willing to fork over $4 and change. But I felt it was sooooo worth it... for a one time thing, anyway. I may make it a two or three, or more time thing... I gotta work on Michael a bit. If you decide to get one, make sure you say the whole name of the drink, they have another one like it that doesn't have the salt; you want the one with the salt.

And that sums up our Halloween festivities.
  
**Sorry about the lousy spacing in this post; I had a lot of problems when spacing between comments and pics. I'm not sure what's up with Blogger now. *sigh*