Dance, Baby, Dance

This week we were finally able to get KK to a dance class! I had signed her up for several sessions a few months ago, but, for various reasons, we kept having to cancel. I was so excited that I was finally going to get some girly pictures of our little dancing queen. I was totally unprepared, however, for Miss Dance Instructor. She wouldn't even let me (or any parent) step one foot into the studio! WHA'????! Does she not understand my obsession to document every single moment of this child's life through photographs???? I will have NO PICTURES of her FIRST DANCE CLASS????? GAAAAAH!!!! As I nearly began to hyperventilate, Miss Dance Instructor shooed me off to the "magic window" on the side of the room.

The "magic window" consists of a window completely covered in colored paper, except for three less-than-two-inch holes to peek through. None of these holes happen to be at eye-level. I'm a little sore from the squat/balance/stretch/shoot routine that I had to do, but I'll be damned if I was leaving without any pictures!!! You know you're in Colorado when the dance studio has more rock climbing walls than mirrors.
Pick me! Pick me!
Checking out her heinie in the mirror!
Uh-oh! She spotted the lens! Actually I don't think she did - I'm pretty sure she just heard it thump against the magic window!Still checking herself out in the mirror. She has Daddy's concentration technique...the tongue always helps!
The magic window didn't turn out to be so bad. I was able to avoid the "red frame" for most of the shots, and except for a close call or two, K didn't even know I was there. Best of all, I was completely impressed by Miss Dance Instructor. She held the kids' attention for the entire class and every single one of them participated happily! There was a method to her madness after all. : )

Happy Sixty Years

We hope you have a very special and happy birthday, Grandma Paula...we're looking forward to celebrating next week!!!

Facelift

Yep I could use one, but it wasn't me that got one. It was our bathroom's turn first! Buh-bye yucky carpet and tiles falling off the walls! (I'm not posting detailed "before" pictures of the yucky tiles - way to gross!) We got some pretty new tiles and added a splash of color here and there. We like it, and best of all I am no longer worried about mold growing in the walls or water leaking to who-knows-where. Glad this project is done!

Ninety!

The week before Halloween, KK and I took a little trip to the midwest because we had a very special event to celebrate...Great-grandma's 90th birthday! It was an honor for both KK and I to be there to enjoy her day, and to watch her bask in all of the birthday attention.
She is quite a lady.

The Birthday Girl

Four Generations One of the more special moments from the trip was KK and I styling Great-grandma's hair for her party. She was so happy with it, when she got tired just before the party she refused to take a nap. Instead, she sat dozing in her chair holding her head up with her hand so she wouldn't "mess it up." KK got a special gift from Great-grandma - a pretty doll to bring home. A mere blog post could never capture the personality and character of this amazing woman. I can only hope that when I am 90, I am still spunky enough to wear jammies like this! After a few days with Great-grandma, we headed to Minneapolis. We got to meet a very special girl, and the most recent addition to our family...meet Ruby - Uncle Rod's & Auntie Shawna's new puppy! KK loved to play with her, and Ruby was so good and tolerant. She wasn't quite sure of Grandma's halloween decorations though.


Of course there was a lot of playing and spoiling that occured, as always. Both KK and I felt like princesses in the new room (my old room) that Grandma remodeled and redecorated. Uncle Rod and KK playing with the dollhouse Grandma kept from her childhood.
Having fun with Auntie Shawna.KK missed the day that the firetruck visited her preschool, so we went to the firestation a few blocks from Grandma's and Grandpa's house for a visit. She thought it was the coolest thing ever! Checking out Grandma's witch with Grandpa (she was fascinated).
Visiting Grandma's office.
Fall in Minnesota = LEAVES! My camera battery died before the trip was over, so we missed pictures with Auntie Sunshine and Mac...and we didn't even get to see JBoy this trip. We'll catch him on the next one, and hopefully it will be soon!

Fairy Dust...Peee-ewww!

**Sniff sniff. Do you smell something? Hmmm. Maybe I'm just imagining it.**

Halloween felt more like the Fourth of July around these parts. Growing up in Minnesota, I never had the luxury of going trick-or-treating in flip-flops. KK was able to enjoy that luxury, at least this year, and I was glad because I wasn't sure how cute the fairy princess costume would look with a jacket, sweatpants and snowboots.

Last year we managed to squeeze in a few too many Halloween activities. This year, I was not quite as ambitious. Since we just returned from a great trip to MN/SD on Thursday (more on that in a few days) we had a much quieter and more sane Halloween this year.

**SERIOUSLY! Don't you smell something??? Goodness gracious!**

I had to work on Friday so KK wore her costume to the club and apparantly had a lovely time. Then we went to Daddy's office where she got to trick-or-treat with Fancy Nancy and a Chef Frog.

Later that afternoon, we carved a jack-o-lantern.

After it got dark, KK and Daddy went on their traditional-trick-or-treating-trek through the neighborhood.


**OKAY, you MUST smell that!!!! EWWW!!!**

It stayed warm late into the evening, and after collecting her sugar loot KK got to stay outside to play with her neighborhood friends. This picture cracks me up.
**Sniff sniff sniff. A-HA! I knew that I smelled something stinky!!!**

We hope you had a safe, fun, and happy Halloween!