Ice Fishing

Kalleigh got her first real ice fishing experience on Saturday. She left the house with Dad around 8:30 and we didn't see the whites of her eyes until about 4:30. From what I understand about the trip "She" caught all of the fish, however Dad tells another story... So much for trying to help your daughter experience the trill of the catch!! She is a little ego maniac and was telling everyone at church that she caught 30 fish, and her Dad caught none! I guess everyone has the desire to embellish their fish stories! 5 year old girls are not exempt!! They had a fantasic adventure and were joined by Grandpa Carr, Dylan, Casey, Uncle Kelly... which made for 2 really full fish houses!! Kalleigh had a blast and I only hope that Wes isn't too frustrated with her to take her again!!

It's Official!

The Carr Family Grows to 5~ Our family must have a thing with July Babies! Baby number three will be added this summer. :) We are all very excited!! We can't wait to meet the newest member of our family. Kalleigh is beyond excited... She can't wait for the baby to come so she can help feed and bathe the baby. I am sure she will be the world best helper... Abigail on the other hand will be the one to take a permanent marker to the baby and make it beautiful! My that girl is good at making a mess out of her body with markers, mascara and basically whatever she can find lying around that mom hasn't put away. Usually the end result is nothing short of fabulous, however it does require some elbow grease in it's removal!!

We are so thankful for our family and excited to watch it grow! I am officially 11 weeks pregnant and am scheduled for my first doctor's appointment this Friday, which is our last day of school before xmas break.

Hot Tubbin'

The girls LOVE to go Hot Tubbin'... They beg Weston to take them swimming every night--They don't get to go as often as they like- but they do enjoy every minute of their swimming adventures...Abigail MUST wear floaties becasue that little rascal has NO FEAR... She will jump into the pool without a care in the world and when she comes up for air. she is giggling like mad. She is quite the little water bug! I am amazed how fearless she is when it comes to anything that involves jumping, being crazy and wild! When we invested in the hot tub a year ago- we were not quite sure how much we would use it... I think we have seen the benefits the hot tub can bring-even if I am unable to undulge for a few more months...Good bonding time for Wes and the girls!~

Visiting with Santa

What is Christmas without a visit from the old guy in a red suit? The girls got a chance to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus in Russell at the ECFE Family Fun Night. Crafts, games and frosting cookies...Life doesn't get much better than those Christmas Delights!
As the xmas season draws nearer, plans are being made for xmas eve, flying in the big airplane, trying to figure out what the weather will be like in Phoenix in a few weeks...I think Abigail is the most excited out of everyone... Every day she asks if it is time to fly on the big airplane... She thinks it is an everyday occurance and she is excited to fly once again back to 'Zona! Kalleigh is just waiting to spend countless hours with her Tan Tan! (Grethe). Today Wes and Kalleigh took off ice fishing. Poor Abigail had to stay home with mom... What a bummer....Life is not fair!!

Raking Leaves

Wes spent some time on Sunday afternoon raking up leaves with the girls. I know they had more fun than he did-hands down! They rode in the trailer with the leaves, screaming and having a blast. As the temperature dropped, Mom moved the party inside-what a party pooper! The girls both love to work with their Dad, it doesn't matter what he is doing, they want to be elbow deep "helping." He is so lucky to share in the helpfullness of our young ladies...

Halloween has Come and Gone...

The girls spent time carving pumpkins and preparing for the big event! Kalleigh was complaining of a sore throat and headache and didn't get a chance to trick-or-treat...which is so not fair in the world of a five year old... Abigail had a blast shouting trick-or-treat to everyone and grabbing candy and shouting tank you. This was her first chance to trick-or-treat b/c last year she had the pukes... I think our house is cursed come halloween time...cursed with the sick bug...oh, well, life goes on. Good thing we don't have to spend a lot of money on costumes! (With Auntie Missy's garage sale abilities...costumes are in abundance!!)
After visiting the neighbors up and down Grandma Carr's street, we gathered enough candy for a truckload of girls.
Halloween was huge success in Abigail's eyes and a complete disaster through Kalleigh's. Hopefully next year, both girls will be able to enjoy the festivities.

Midori

In September, Kalleigh started Suzuki violin lessons. Her teacher's name is Yuko Saito. Every Wednesday, Kalleigh makes the journey with her little pretend violin to practice the rhythms, learn new beats and songs. Soon she will be upgrading to an actual violin! It is fun to watch her learn, grow and develop her skills and we can't wait until she has a "real violin" to practice on!

Last night (Friday-October 26th) we traveled to Dawson, MN to see Midori, a famous violinist. She was in concert with Robert McDonald who played the piano. Talk about an amazing adventure. Midori was amazing, she spent about 2 1/2 hours exhibiting her talent which left us breathless. Kalleigh was amazed at the skill she demonstrated and couldn't stop talking about her moves and the music. It was a great date night for mom and Kalleigh and we had a wonderful time! Midori spent time after her concert signing autographs for the future violinists. Kalleigh was able to get Midori to sign her violin. What a perfect ending to a wonderful night of adventures and fun!

Hailey Marie

On Monday morning, October 15th, our niece Hailey will undergo another open heart surgery as her doctors have decided that it is time once again to repair her heart. Everyone in the family has spent countless hours praying and preparing for this moment. Most of us were thinking she would be a little older before she would have to go back to the cities and have heart surgery... However as much as we would like to control all of the aspects of our lives, that is not reality.
Putting your faith in the unknown is hard to put into words. Trusting others who have spent countless hours of their lives studying for this moment is unimaginable.
God has a plan for everyone regardless of their age...He loves all of us, especially little girls who love the movie 'Cars', love stuffed puppies, the red insides out of olives, reading Judy B. Jones, eating ice cream, and macaroni and cheese.

We love you Hailey Marie!

Holmberg Orchard

Saturday proved to be a beautiful day. We spent the day at Holmberg Orchard just outside of Vesta. Girls, girls and more girls as Jada, Kalleigh, Casey, Camry, Abigail, Missy and I headed out in our burb to pick the perfect pumpkin. After arriving at the orchard, we met the clowns, got our faces painted, played in the boats filled with corn... The girls all got a ride on the minature ponies and then it was time to take a ride on the hayrack out to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins came in all different sizes from big to small... The girls had a blast running around the field trying to find the perfect pumpkin. I think they were more facinated in the rotten ones that had gigantic holes! It was a fun and exciting day and has turned into a great fall tradition.

Zip Line

Ty and Tate bought a zip line with their rock picking money. Tim strug the line between two trees in their backyard and they boys fly through the air, upside down, backwards, sideways... and have a blast. Last friday night we were over at the Thooft Ranch and Kalleigh got a chance to practice her bat like flying skills as she flew through the air and gracefully crashed into the tree at the end of the line. Kalleigh and her "boyfriend" Tate took turns flying through the air. They always have fun when they play together!

Blessings

Everytime I look at this picture, I am reminded of how blessed our family is. We have two healthy, happy beautiful girls who provide us with unbelieveable entertainment day in and day out. Watching them grow each day is an amazing adventure... From Kalleigh's obsession with Finding Nemo when she was two- to Abigail's current fettish with the Wizard of Oz... the changes they have gone through, their likes and dislikes. Sometimes, it is hard to put things into perspective after having a particularly eventful week of with a 5 year old who knows everything... and is Miss Independent...However at the end of the day, we are blessed and I am thankful for our little ladies and can't wait to watch them grow!

The Great Fisherman!

This picture was taken after an evening of fishing with Mike and Terry at Woodlake last spring. I think it is amazing that with little or no effort, you can hook a monster fish, spend an evening of fun with your friends, and have an awesome picture to show for your efforts. I know Wes is excited to use our new boat and take the girls on fishing adventures. I can't imagine how excited they will be to catch anything with fins!

Big or small, it will not matter!

Riding the Bus!

Well, it is official. Our Kalleigh Joyce has survived her first bus experience! As I put our "little 5 year old" on the bus for her first ride to Ruthton for Learning Readiness... I was filled with a mixture of emotions. Excitement for her, worry for her (mostly me), and trust that she would end up in the right room! Will her lunch money be taken out of her backpack??...(which has since been taken back to Target becasue it was a piece of JuNk!) Will she remember to take her sharing item out of her backpack?? Putting your trust in others, when your children are involved is very hard... Her teacher is wonderful... Due to the fact she has a summer birthday, we made the grueling decision to NOT send her to kindergarten as a young 5 year old. Hoping that when she turns 18 she will thank us...Instead of being one of the youngest in her class, she will be one of the oldest. Hopefully making her one of the wisest! Working with high school students, I have watched too many young students struggle through school.
Hopefully by holding her back, we are helping her in the long run to be successful in school and prepare herself for life beyong the walls of the RTR school system.

Life with a two year old!

Well folks! For those of you are expecting, or waiting to be expecting, or currently parents... I just thought I would give you a little taste of parenthood and life in the Carr household. This is our Abigail Kathleen Carr at her finest. Those who know her best would call her a "MESSER"... This is not to be taken lightly... This little beauty is what some might call a "homewrecker"... She squeezes lotion bottles and smears them all over her body(focusing on her hair)... she climbs on everything... she pulls her clothes out of her drawers... she dumps her toys all over the house... I could go on and on forever with the different "tricks" she has been caught doing.
She is the ultimate two year old, and a crash course in babysitting! Just ask Kayla! She had the pleasure of watching her this summer and she managed to smear fingernail polish all over Janel's sheets... Needless to say she is not to be left alone in a room for an extended amount of time or for even a few seconds! Mom has developed Abby radar- which is quite astute!
We wouldn't trade her for the world... we have just grown to love her and all of her mess making abilities!!

Weekend in the Big City!

We spent last weekend in the cities at my cousin Elise's wedding in Inver Grove Heights. She was married on Friday night, and we spent Saturday watching the Twins get BLOWN AWAY... Needless to say, Abigail was more enthralled with watching the "bears" and their cubs go into their "cave"... We had a great time and a wonderful adventure in the BIG CITY!!
Next weekend we are celebrating the the "little city" of Lake Benton as Christina, Weston's cousin gets married... It should be fun as always to celebrate with Weston's massive family!