How to Make a Turkey

according to Kendall...

Thanksgiving

This year Thanksgiving was pretty low key. My mom cooked almost everything and Kendall had an absolute blast "helping" her with the turkey. Kendall really does have a love for cooking - I wonder if she'll get a show on the Food Network one day?

Kendall's class hosted Thanksgiving lunch for the parents. They dressed up in little american indian costumes and sang songs. Afterward, we all ate lunch together. Kendall and her friends are a riot. They think everything is funny. I didn't get a picture, but at one point they all put their rolls on the forks and laughed hysterically about it. I'm still not sure what was so funny, but their laughter is infectious so I laughed too. Now we're gearing up for Christmas! This year has gone by rapid fast and I cannot believe I will have a FIVE year old in April. Time is going by way too fast.

Halloween 2008

Kendall wanted to be Tigger, and then she wanted to be Super Girl, and then she decided to be a turtle! And what a cute little turtle she made! We started the festivities with Harvest Day at her school on Friday afternoon. The kids did a parade around the parking lot in all their costumes. And then Friday night we went to my friend McKenzie's house to trick or treat with her daughter Kalista and about 7 other neighborhood kids! We walked for hours (it seems) and collected lots and lots of goodies. Kendall got a full size Hershey bar! I'm a Reese's/Milk Duds person myself, and we got lots of those too. Next week will be Kendall's last week of tennis. She has had so much fun playing that I think we'll sign up for spring. Now I just have to find a winter activity for her. Its been so great having a 30 minute activity every week that requires nothing for me to do!

The FACE

OK, so let's discuss how ridculous it is that I can't even keep up with a blog! All of my memories of Kendall will remain stored in my mind I guess. Actually, there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I've just started fall quarter of school after grueling summer classes. I'm taking Business Law and Accounting (boring), but luckily the Busienss Law class is pretty easy. Kendall is settling into Pre-k pretty well. She's having fun learning her letter sounds and how to write a legible 'K'. Mostly, I think she enjoys socializing. When I pick her up all the kids do their round of goodbye's - hugging and waving - as if they won't see one another in 12 hours. Its cute, though.

About this picture - this is the FACE Kendall makes when something just doesn't sit well with her. She usually makes the FACE when I'm telling her to do something she doesn't want to do. I've tried to capture it on camera about 100 times and finally got a pretty good one. The FACE cracks me up, so I don't even follow through with whatever it is I'm telling her to do because I'm too busy laughing. And that's all she does, she just makes the FACE. I'll say brush your teeth or put on your socks and she'll just look at me, not say one word and all I get is the FACE. It is absolutely hysterical. And now that she realizes it is funny, she does it non-stop, so I'm trying not to laugh so much, but its really hard. The rest of the pictures are from tennis which she started on Monday. So far it is going over better than soccer did. And the best part is that I get 30 minutes every Monday afternoon to do homework!

on the road again...or for the first time actually

I was scared out of my mind to take Kendall on a 10 hour car ride to the Middle of Nowhere, IN, but in true Julia fashion she was a champ! She had great fun looking at corn field after corn field (is that all there is in that state?). We traveled through Nashville, and stopped in Kentucky for some yummy White Castles (the way better version of Krystals). While in the Middle of Nowhere, IN we attended 2 days of a family reunion full of people we'd never met before, and Kendall quickly made friends with all 100 of her 2nd cousins, once removed. The Comfort Inn was not very comfortable, but there was a make your own waffles continental breakfast every morning which made it a little better, oh and the indoor pool too. Kendall happily went from room to room on the 3rd floor visiting with her 1st cousins, not once removed, from St. Louis. The car ride home was full of more Thomas the Train on the DVD player, and we stopped at a Starbucks in some other part of Indiana that didn't have a drive-thru - what?!? You mean, I have to get out of my car for my Light Mocha Frapp - what kind of state is this? Well, the trip was long, but Kendall was an angel and full of wild-eyed excitement, my grandpa had a great time, and so all was well. Hmm, wonder where we should road trip to next?

Kendall, and her cousin Natalynn

A really blurry picture of Kendall, and her cousin Mya

Kendall in a tree in Kentucky

Need I type anything?

No Super Target for miles and miles...I would never survive in this town!

It's Official - We're Water People

So for round 2 of our water exploration this week, Kendall & I spent the weekend @ the lake. It was a great weekend. We had 5 kids under the age of 4 by the end of the weekend, so they kept each other plenty entertained, and all of us busy chasing them. Two is better than one, but 5 is way too many!

Beautiful View!!

Kendall, Jake & Maggie on the dock to get a snack - all that swimming is exhasting!

Kendall & Maggie having fun with party blowers, as they call them.

Our little swimmer jumped right in the water again. She's becoming a pro!

Kendall & I on a boat ride. She munched on pistachio's the whole time while people did some water sports. Every time someone fell off their water skis or knee board, Kendall would shout 'Are you ok?'

Beach Party!

Kendall and I met up with the mom group today and went to the beach. Kendall has hated the water for so long, but apparently that fear is gone now. She took off into the water before I could put her life jacket on!

Photo Albums and Baby Books...

My little actress arrived four years ago and I don't have any photo albums or baby books completed. I did buy a scrapbook, but it lives under a pile of clothes in my closet. So, I'm going to try a blog. I live on my laptop, so this method should work out a lot better. I hope you enjoy a peep into Kendall's little life...