Holiday Magic 2019

We started the season with a trip to see Santa.  Kallie still loves going and insists on buying new outfit every year.  The rest of the season was full of fun activities like cookie decorating with Grammy and cousins, christmas carols with the Navarra's, writing a letter to Santa and getting up WAY too early on Christmas morning because she just can't hold back the excitement.  This year the big gift was a new bike.  We were out riding bikes by 10am!  

Holiday Chorus (3rd Grade)

Cougar Chorus is offered to students in the 3rd-5th grade at IVE. Kallie was hesitant at first because she does not like being in front of big crowds but ultimately decided to join. After day 1 of practice she said she loved it (we knew she would). Last week they put on a Holiday performance and it was great. All the kids did an amazing job - kudos to Mrs. Petry for all of her hard work.

Bates Family Christmas Tree

I must say Kallie picked out a darn good tree. We turned on the Christmas music and spent the evening decorating. We have so many ornaments we could barely fit them all but we did it and the tree looks great. I like to turn the tree lights on every night so we can enjoy it.

Christmas Tree Traditions

Last weekend we hit the road for our annual tree hunt. Our Bates family tradition for the last few years has been to visit Trinity Tree Farm to walk around the farm & drink hot apple cider by the bonfire. After the tree farm we go to our favorite tree lot on Issaquah Hobart Road to buy our tree. We have decided they have the best trees although this year they did not. SOOOOO . . . we went back to Trinity Tree Farm to find our tree . . . Kallie picked it out and it is perfect!

Turkey Day Fun!

We hosted our 7th annual Thanksgiving dinner this year with Eric's side of the family. It was a big group (24 people) but tons of fun. Bree and her family were able to join us from NY and Nana/Doug made the trek from Idaho. Thankfully the 24lb turkey turned out great . . . PHEW! This year Kallie decide she wanted to contribute to the dinner so she picked a recipe and made banana/choc chip muffins all by herself. She was so proud and they were a big hit!

As always I am thankful for my the love and support from my family . . . I feel like a very lucky girl!

Soccer Champs - ISC Gunners 10B

Kallie's soccer team had a great Fall Season winning their division! They worked hard all season and improved each week. Kallie exclusively played defense on her select team but moved to forward/midfield this year. She had a great season, worked hard and scored at least one goal in EVERY game. We are so proud of the team and Kallie for a successful season.

Halloween - Trick or Treat

The Halloween fun continued last week staring of with family pumpkin carving (technically Eric and Kallie). Kallie designed the pumpkin this year and cut most of it out herself with a bit of help here and there from dad.

Halloween day started with a fun class party with costumes, games, crafts and lots of snacks. This year Kallie dressed up at a cheerleader wearing my Kenmore Colts cheer leading outfit from the 9th great. It was so fun to see how excited she was to wear it and sort of shocking that it actually kinda fit! We went trick or treating with the neighbors and Kallie's friend Mackenzie. The kids had a blast and of course got WAY TOO MUCH candy!

October Fun

October is full of school activities and Kallie loves them all. We started the month with the Orange Ruler Fun Run. Ms. Fairbanks class came in 2nd place so the kids were very excited to earn a Jamba Juice party. This week her class had a writing celebration where the kids got to share their personal narrative writing. Kallie’s story was all about our trip to Sunriver and our horseback riding adventure. It was super cute and very clear that she loved that vacation.

Last night was the Cougar Club Halloween Family Night. Her school goes all out with pumpkin carving, bouncy houses, a photo booth and lots of food/candy. Eric usually does the pumpkin carving but I think Kallie and I did pretty darn well with our pumpkins. So far October has been a bit of a whirlwind but tons of fun. We are ready for you Halloween!

Salmon Days 2019

Another fun Issaquah Salmon Days in the books! This year I took Kallie with a few friends to carnival at her school on Friday night to avoid the crowds. There were not a ton of rides but the kids were able to go on the rides over and over so it was a big hit. Saturday we met a few friends downtown to watch the parade. Kallie loved being with her buddies and seeing so many kids from IVE. We took the shuttle to the festival for lunch and to check out the booths. Thankfully the weather cooperated and a good time was had by all.

3rd Grade Here She Comes!

Well it’s official, we have a 3rd Grader! Today was the first day of school and although we are sad to see summer go we are ready. Kallie was so excited she could barely sleep. She picked out her outfit days before (jean shorts, striped shirt and slip on shoes), got her new lunchbox out and added all of the necessary accessories to her backpack (puffball and a sparkle K). She walked out the door with confidence and walked in the door smiling from ear to ear. I would say day one was a huge success!

Here’s to another year of growth, happiness, friendships and fun!

Surprise tip to Sunriver

We planned a last minute family vacation in Sunriver Oregon and surprised Kallie on her birthday! She was over the moon and could not wait to go. I grew up going to Sunriver and the last time we went Kallie was only 2 so I was excited to show her all of the fun activities. We spent the trip bike riding, riding horses, exploring amazing lakes/waterfalls, swimming/water slides/lazy river at the Sharc, spending time with cousins, exploring the village and just spending time as a family away from our day to day. It was a great trip full of actives and relaxation. We can’t wait to go back!