Thanks Oprah!

My goodies from Payless Shoe Source!

I took full advantage of Oprah's coupon offer for half off your purchase at Payless on Thursday and Friday. I got all these shoes & accessories for the girls and I. List price would have been $292.75, but I only paid $84.75! I went to 4 different stores and had fun hunting deals!

Some other exciting shoe news:

I took Kathryn for her 5 year old checkup and her doctor asked if she knew how to tie her own shoes. We haven't been working on it at all, so I figured it was time to get her some shoes with laces. I hadn't gotten around to showing her how to do it until last night when she wanted to try the white tennis shoes (in the pic above) on. So, I showed her and gave her about 5 minutes of instruction, and then she just did it! Such a smart girl!

The first thing she did when she woke up this morning was to try on the shoes again and practice tying them.

St. Jude 5K (No I in Team)

Mike ran a 5K this morning at a local elementary. Here are some of our friends that ran it with him.

The chilly cheerleaders.

And they're off!

Mike won the race with a time of 19:09, although we're pretty sure the course was 3.25 miles instead of 3.1 miles. If it was, his actual 5K time would have been closer to 18:XX. The next finisher was our friend Devin (on the far left in the pic).

Sydney's First Day of Preschool!!!

Sydney is finally old enough and potty-trained, so she gets to attend preschool through the high school program that Kathryn has attended. Friday was her first day, and boy was it a rainy one!

Sydney loved playing with the dolls and reading books with her teacher. The first day is Open House when all the parents stay and the kids just play and get used to the classroom. The other days are more structured.

Snacktime!

Monkey Joe's

On Thursday, my friend and I took our kids to Monkey Joe's. It's an indoor inflateable play area. My girls have been wanting to go for a very long time. I told them that when we saved enough money from collecting cans (we earn about $1/month) that we could go. So, we've been saving for a while, and then I found out that you can get a B1G1Free coupon if you signed up for their e-mail list, so it was the perfect time to go! I (sadly) didn't take any pictures because I left my camera in the car and it was pouring down rain, but even if I had, I'm pretty sure I would have just gotten a bunch of blurry figures as they ran from one thing to another.

Halloweening

On Monday night we carved our pumpkin. After much deliberation, we chose a cute vampire face. The girls kept picking out really hard, detailed patterns, and we had to find a compromise since we'd be doing most of the carving. And then I didn't take a picture...but I will.

Here are the girls Trunk-or-Treating at church. (Sydney's antennae were bothering her, so she took them off.)

Trying to win a cupcake in the cake walk. Sydney was the only person who wanted a cupcake, so we played until Kathryn won and she gave hers to her sister. Then she just licked all the icing off.

The Magic House

Last Friday I took the girls and their friend to the Magic House. It is their 30th anniversary and they offered a free weekend to the public!

Here are the girls sliding down Curious George's spaceship.

Sydney really getting into driving that machine.

Cute posers.

Climbing the beanstalk that is three stories tall!

Fairy sighting...

I had a fairy sighting in my backyard today. Aren't they cute? Our sweet Aunt Kelly bought these beautiful costumes for the girls. It was a warm day today, but I'm expecting to have to put long johns underneath them for Trick-or-Treating.

Oh, how I love my big girls.

Kathryn had her 5 year old well check up today. She weighs 39 pounds and is 42 inches tall. She got 4 shots and took them like a champ! The only time she cried was when I told her the second two might burn. Silly me, believing in full disclosure with a 5 year old. I'm still learning.

More birthday...

This is a cute pic of Mike & Sydney...and proof that he was there!

When we got home we ate pizza and ate chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing. This hoppity ball was Kathryn's gift from us.

Sleeping with Freckles (her preschool mascot).

Kathryn's Birthday Fun

On Monday evening Mike brought Kathryn balloons and then we went to Playtime Party Center. Better known in our house at the Hippo place. Kathryn had been there before with her friend and was so excited to show us around.

Kathryn shooting some hoops.

Sydney winning the jackpot on a ticket machine! We couldn't believe it! She started getting nervous when the tickets didn't stop coming out! She won 83 tickets! In this picture she had just said, "Oh my goodness! I won!"

Kathryn loved playing air hockey, but still thinks that it's good when the puck goes in her goal.

Here we are saying, "Kathryn's 5!!!!!"

Kathryn's Birthday Eve

On Sunday night we let Kathryn open a couple of presents since we knew that Monday night would be busy. Here she is with her card from Grandma and Grandpa Daly. She and Sydney loved the sparkliness of it!

Here she is modeling her new outfit. She said, "How did they know I like hot chocolate?" She also got some money which we spent the next day!

Here are the girls opening her present from Grandma Karen. An Easy Bake Oven! She is so excited to use it! We are still waiting on getting to the store to get a 100W light bulb (or light bob as she calls them).

On Monday I took Kathryn to ToysRUs to spend her birthday money and to get a birthday balloon and crown. She picked out the Disney Princess Royal Drum Set. The trumpet was her favorite. It included a trumpet, a drum, maracas, cymbals, and a castanet. They came home and immediately had a parade! She also bought a small princess doll and a sucker for each of them.

Pumpkins Galore in Wright City

On Saturday morning (before General Conference), we took the girls to a pumpkin farm. It was windy and cold, but we still had a good time. Here are the girls playing in wheat. They also had large tubs of corn and beans.

Riding the mini-tractors.

Fighting over who gets to pull the wagon and beat up our pretty pumpkins.

St. Louis Zoo - ZOOmagination

I took the girls to the zoo the other day. We rode the train, rode the carousel, ate Kathryn's birthday lunch, and played in the ZOOmagination place.

Kathryn being a veterinarian to a sick elephant. I LOVE those glasses!

Sydney picking her nose and building a farm.