Harvest Moon Beach Bash

We attended our church's first annual Harvest Moon Beach Bash tonight at a local state park. The pavillion was on the beach, and we got to see lots of cool stuff like....



the full moon. We watched it rise over the clouds on the horizon, and it was absolutely beautiful. Then we saw...



this cruise ship leave port to head out to sea. I wouldn't mind taking a little vacate on this baby! It was so close to where we were I almost wanted to wave and yell 'Bon Voyage'. But the finale of the evening was...



watching the Endeavor launch from the Cape and fly through the night sky. Wow! I don't think I had seen this since I was in high school, and it was incredible!

The kids had a great time running around on the beach and playing in the sand. Matt got to smoke a cigar, and I got to lounge in a beach chair a stones throw from the waves. Lots of people showed up, and a good time was had by all.

Playing Catch Up-Part 3

Kenzie's party with the fam was great! Matt's parents were able to make it down, and it was nice to have everyone together. Another big event in October were the Fall Festivals-Ethan's, mine, and our church's. Here are some MORE pictures...























Make sure to see Part 2 below!

Playing Catch Up-Part 2

The last post I showed pictures of our second annual camping trip with the neighbors. We went to Disney to camp at Fort Wilderness and we attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Loads of fun!!! Here are some pictures of Mackenzie's birthday party with the fam.
















Make sure to check out Part 1 below!

Playing Catch Up-Part 1

I put too much pressure on myself-for no good reason. I have wanted to post pictures of the kids from Halloween, from our Disney trip, etc. To make this quicker for me, I'm just going to post pictures and you can make up captions amongst yourselves.

Friday Favorites: Most Memorable Halloween Costume

I have always loved dressing up for Halloween. Maybe it's because I started at an early age.


Even as an adult, I look forward to wearing a costume of some sort. Like today, for instance. My class had their Halloween party, and of course, everyone came in their Halloween costumes. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't show up in a costume, too? So I wore a poodle skirt. I even googled 1950's makeup and watched a few videos on how to apply makeup like they did in the good old days. (I said I liked to dress up, didn't I?) Side note-it didn't matter anyway because none of my students knew what I was. In fact, one of them thought I was a witch.?

In high school during Homecoming Week I had a blast dressing up in my leisure suit, and you better believe I made a fantastic nerd on Nerd Day! (Note the band shoes!)



So when I was thinking about what I would consider my most memorable Halloween costume, I went down the list of costumes I wore growing up. The list is miserably short because my memory is WEAK! Amongst the plastic masks were Cinderella and Strawberry Shortcake. There was a cheerleader, a doctor, a witch. There was also a punk rock star. That was a fun one. I got to spray my hair pink. Then there was that year I went trick or treating in college , and my friend and I took St. Petersburg by storm in our Marching Chiefs costumes. If only I had taken at least one picture of the look of disdain on the faces of those who opened their doors to the two 18 year old band geeks who were holding out their band hats for candy (and we weren't drunk.) Imagine seeing this at your doorstep...




FYI, the Goodwill is a great place to find some "vintage" clothing if you want to attend Disco Night at the hockey game. I held on to this glorious Goodwill find for awhile...


Now, I live vicariously through my children. And I google details when necessary.

Telling Stories

Ethan's teacher usually has a good laugh over things he shares with her and his classmates. This means: a)me being embarassed and b)me having to convince his teacher that what he has shared isn't true. Here are a few of the doozies he has shared so far...

Ethan is an adopted Jewish boy whose father works for DHL.

The Jewish part may come as a surprise to most. I guess he is expecting a visit from Hanukkah Harry this year. All I have to say is...this boy had better grow up to be an award winning writer who will take care of his elderly parents.

Sunset at the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend when Matt's parents came for a visit, we took a detour to the Pumpkin Patch. For Mack's birthday we usually go there to pick up a "birthday pumpkin" for her. The sun was beginning to set so we raced over there to pick out the perfect one and take some pictures. Here's what we got...


Our pumpkin is third from the middle, closer to the left, five in front of the camera... Just Kidding! All these pictures and no pics of the pumpkin we picked, so just use your imagination.


Our big girl


The Cateseez


Mini Kim and Mini Matt


Posing with the Grandparents Cates

Friday Favorites

Today's topic: Kim's Favorite and Not-So-Favorite Gifts

I've gotten lots of gifts in my lifetime. Some big, some small. Some from the Dollar Tree and some from not the Dollar Tree. I admit. When asked, my mind shuts down and I can't, for the life of me, remember a favorite gift I have received. Except for when I turned 16 and my parents got me a brand new Mercedes. Hahahaha! My three readers are saying, 'yeah, kim. Lay off the MTV.' I think my favorite gift has been my Nikon D40 that my hubby Matt gave me for our anniversary last year. It was our 10th anniversary, and my camera at the time had just broken. Yes, I might have thrown in that he was going to be gone during said anniversary. No need to feel obligated to make up for it or anything. :) We purchased it together,and we've been taking happily-ever-after pictures since then.

My not-so-favorite gift. That's an easy one. I was a first grade teacher before I had Mack and E. It seemed that some years the gifts I received from the students went along with some unspoken teacher-gift theme. One year it was bath products. (I literally had enough bath gel and lotion to last me one whole year. No joke!) Another year it was candles. Then there was the year of the Dollar Tree. Don't get me wrong! I LOVE the DT. I spend alot of time roaming the aisles of the Dollar. Lots of good finds are hiding amongst the tree-scented car deodorizers and Little Debbie Cakes. But there are some items that should be super-glued to the shelves,
never to be removed. Like my not-so-favorite gift I like to lovingly call "Babies on a Couch". Listen, I remember my student giving it to me. He was so excited for me to open it, so I opened it before anything else. Needless to say, I was stunned. Speechless. "Wow. Thanks!" I feigned excitement. I know he went to the DT with his mom and he handpicked this gem out just for me. I get that. It was the thought that counted.

Shall I describe the "Babies on a Couch" masterpiece? Of course, I'd love to. This statue stood about 5 inches tall and was about 7 inches long. Made of resin. It was a couch with about 5 babies sitting on it. They were all crying. Except for the one token black baby. But this wasn't a dark skinned African American baby. He was literally black, and he had red lips. There you have it! Should I have "accidentally" forgotten it in the parking lot or dropped it "by accident" and then run it over with my Saturn? Maybe. But I decided to do something better, more productive. I gave it as a White Elephant gift. I'll have you know that it was a hot item. (Well, maybe not as hot as the 'It's My Potty' toilet seat cover, but it did give everyone a great laugh.)

Last item on the agenda. A gift that I really want this year for Christmas. It isn't something that I think I will necessarily get, but...I would love to see my BFF LeeAnn! We haven't seen each other in over a year, and now that I'm working my schedule is that much tighter. I wouldn't need to be gone long. Just enough time to catch up and see her familia. If that doesn't work, I'll be happy with a new pair of sunglasses.

Our Girl

Mackenzie turned 7 on Saturday. What a whirlwind of a weekend we had! Matt's parents were able to come down for a quick visit. We had the family over for dinner and cake. She said it was the best birthday ever!

We are so proud of our little Kenzie! She's not so little anymore. Age 7 seemed a lifetime away back when she was a baby. Now she's all legs, skinny and knobby-kneed. She loves gymnastics and reading. Hannah Montana and High School Musical get her singing and dancing. Kenzie is so loving, and she is such a pleaser. We are definitely proud of the little lady she is becoming and so thankful that God has blessed us with our Kenzie.

The Doors

My dear friend Stacey posted a number of pictures of paths she has come across while living overseas. That reminded me of the numerous pictures I took of doors while visiting the Hunters in Vienna. Why doors? Most of them were HUGE. Some had intricate carvings on them. Others had ornate iron works. And others, being quite ordinary, opened up to beautiful streets and common areas.

I wrote about our trip in March, and I might have mentioned briefly how the architecture took my breath away. I really could have stood in front of the St. Stephensdom Cathedral all day. And gawked. One of my college roommates laughed when she read about how I loved the buildings and architecture, and she promptly reminded me how I thought the awnings of the Capital Building were beautiful, too. Dork. (Me, not her.) Regardless, I found lots of beauty in the doorways we came across on our treks through the city. Here are some pictures of what I saw.