second skin

a few weeks before halloween, koa announced that he would like a skeleton shirt. we hadn't seen any anywhere (that i could recall), he just decided he wanted one. a week later, we found this gem at target (the most perfect store in bowling green... and sponsored by bess). he was so excited to wear this with his pirate costume! i figured the newness would wear off and this shirt would become like any other. boy, was i wrong. koa LOVES this shirt. thankfully, it's not the i'm-wearing-this-shirt-no-matter-the-filth-level-and-you-will-have-to-wrestle-it-off-me-to-wash-it kind of infatuation. koa will just happily wear it as quickly as it can be washed. i love this boy and his.... determination? independent mind? stubbornness? whatever it is, it's koa.

fall foliage

our maples in the back have a brief burst of color before they turn a nasty mustardy-brown color, so i tried to capture their autumn glory. the kids were all for it - any excuse to play outside is a good excuse! happy fall! (or winter, i guess, for you northern and/or mountain types.)

halloween happenings

the anticipation built up around halloween was almost a tangible thing by the time friday rolled around. the kids were so incredibly excited about their costumes - kalei was super cat (of course), koa was a pirate (with a cape - kalei had one, so he needed one, too. sure, why not?), and kawelo was a moth (a moth, i tell you! see the brown wings?! okay, so it might look a teensy bit like a girl's butterfly costume, but the brownness we added obviously makes it a moth. obviously. this is what we'll tell him when we bust these pictures out during his dates.). here are our attempts at getting pictures with the three of them:

kawelo was a tad uncooperative, but adorable.

here are my favorite photos:

(thanks again, malia, for linking the cape tutorial!)

needless to say, candy was given away, candy was collected in, and the kids rode the sugar high all the way till koa feel asleep on the ride home. good times!

grand opening!

drumroll, please! i am pleased to announce that i now have an etsy shop! for those who don't know, etsy is an online forum where people can buy and sell handmade items. so, i've posted a few of the pincushions similar to the ones i will be selling at a few craft fairs next month. i have a linky thing at the bottom of the sidebar on the right side of our blog, and i'll be updating it from time to time with stuff that i put in the shop. the web address of the shop is:

http://simplybess.etsy.com
feel free to check it out and let me know what you think!

punkinheads

the long-awaited day finally arrived on monday: the kids were able to carve their pumpkins! (seriously - there's been a countdown for at least a week.) they had a ton of fun and were thoroughly and deliciously grossed out by the pumpkin innards. don't let their faces fool you - they took utter delight in the slimyness. the kids drew the best faces - they were a lot of fun to carve. (a bit of a challenge for james, who carved kalei's cat face. how he followed her exact drawing with just kitchen knives, i'll never know. silly man let me choose which face i wanted to carve first. ummmm... i'll take the less detailed but equally charming one, thank you!) now we have two beautiful pumpkins that totally match the personality of their creators. happy halloween!

Parent-Teacher Conference

This past week we met with Kalei's 1st grade teacher, Miss Cindy Baker. To be honest, this school year has made a whole lot of difference as to how we view her school (and by extension, her schooling). Speaking as a parent, last year's kindergarden experience left something to be desired (from the fact that her name was spelled wrong on the bulletin board since orientation ... and was only "corrected" midway through the semester, to assuming that Kalei spoke Spanish and needed help with her English ...).

This year's experience has been a nice change. In meeting with Miss Baker, it is apparent that she knows Kalei and her strengths and places that could use improvement. Miss Baker noted that she enjoys reading Kalei's journal entries and said that Kalei would draw all day if she would let her, also that Kalei gets math easily some days, and not others (which she assured us is perfectly normal), but Kalei tries hard every day. These may seem like small things, but they certainly left us feeling that our daughter is known and appreciated. We don't expect her to be the head of the class, but we want her to do her best - this teacher is dedicated and positive and seems to inspire joy in Kalei. We love our sweet girl and are so pleased that her teacher has taken the time to get to know her, as well as teach her the required curriculum.

saturday night lights

we were able to go to the western football game last night and had a great time. koa talks a good game about wanting to see the football players, field, game, etc., but then he had his hands over his ears before we were even in the stadium. he's such a funny guy. sometimes, he would forget himself (especially when the band was playing) and would just dance or play without the ear covers, but once he stilled, he would remember and protect himself from hearing damage. we took sandwiches and snacks and the kids enjoyed their football picnic. the top left picture is the new side of the stadium. now that western's division one, they needed some high priced skyboxes, and seats with backs. nothin' but the best, baby! (notice that we are still in the $5 seats.... and we even got those for free.) just goes to show, you don't need to spend a lot to have a great time - and if you get the tickets for free, you don't feel bad leaving at half-time. words to live by.