Turkeybowl '10

It was the 5th annual Turkeybowl! What a BOWL!! The boys woke up to SNOW SNOW SNOW!! They were so excited!! It was amazing! The fathers vs. sons match up was at 11:00am this year. We had to do some hard core bundling...and they were off!! There was a great turnout...Of course the Dad's brought in some 'ringers'....to no avail, I'm afraid!
I braved the elements with the help of an English Toffee latte' and a splash of Kahlua!! ;)

The abominable Taiji!!

Just a couple of good ole action shots!

I think that we had close to 30 turnout to fight for the title of Turkeybowl champs...it ended in a tie!

Then they all got to enjoy a little warming agent...aka Hot Chocolate!

The Fellas...and Tess!

The 5th annual Turkeybowl in the books....and a success!!

Halloween '10

This was the year of..."Whatcha wanna be?"...."I don't know??" It went right up to the last minute...but we got'er figured out and the kids had a great night!
Jake as a giant Pepsi can, Taiji as a Zombie Football player, and Kali my little Princess Pirate!

After several stops to all the Grandparents and Friends...

We ended up at Steve and Bec's for her Haunted Nurse's Station! It was a hoot! I realize that I'm running out of years as my kids start to peel off and go with friends instead...but it was fun none the less.

NCCTK also did their 'tent and treat' the next night so we pulled out the reserve costume and braved the lines! Kal and I had a good time....I'm just glad Halloween only comes one time a year! ;)

The King Ranch Pumpkin Patch

Dean and Linda came up with a great idea last spring and planted a little pumpkin patch. So this fall we reaped the benefit and had a great pumpkin adventure. The whole King Clan came together to share in a meal go on a hayride, pick some pumpkins and then ended it with some carving. Demi, Bree and Kali
The VanDalen Clan

Kali Faith

Carving fun

The kiddos with their finished products

Ballet Queen

It think I've had like 4 posts without a picture of Kali...so this is a my ode to Kali. She Started Ballet in September and just LOVES it!! Now she is preparing for her recital in December! I Can't wait!!

Canning some Salsa and bagging some Apple Sauce

We were happy to be graced with cousin LD's presence mid October. Soooo what did we do...we put him to work. On a fun and sunny Saturday afternoon, LD, Shane, mom and I canned 20 jars of Salsa and 20+ bags of Applesauce. It was a hoot. Lots of chopping, stirring and cooking. It was a success and a ton of fun! The official Choppers
The apple sauce queen.

A poser!!

We all channeled our inner 'buddy' and got it done!

So pretty!!

The poser with the salsa!! The salsa looks better! HAHA!!

The 30 year old contraption that makes apple sauce a breeze!

Even a cave man could do it! (or a pig)

Our beautiful mess!! What a great day!

NY Life Trip to Boca Raton Florida

Every year Shane has the opportunity through work to earn a trip. This year it was to Boca Raton Florida. We had a really great time. I didn't get the camera out very much...but we didn't really do a whole lot. There was some beach time, some pool time and some bar time....mixed in of course with NY Life meetings and dinners! We were excited our Friends from OR, were going to be there and for the 3rd year in a row spent the whole time hanging out with them! So thanks again to Rory and Mandy for a great time!

We finished the trip with some Sushi at Morimoto's Restaurant in our Hotel...It was good, but it doesn't touch our Sushi her in Lynden. Sending some love to U-mi!

My First (ONLY) Marathon

Been there done that, don't ever need to do it again! 9 months of training...100's of miles run. I feel very accomplished...not enough to want to do it again! But I am proud! Not the greatest weather day
Running running running...it seemed like forever!!

Finished in 4 hours and 21 mins....Note that's the same as my number!

Un-key Steve, sporting one of my hats. I had a great support team!

My own personal Massage therapist...Thanks Jess!

The Amy's!

My piggy! He came with his Dad to watch Tanya run the half...but the bonus for me was that he was there at the finish to support me!

And and can't forget to thank Shane...she had to endure the 9months of long runs and soreness. He was very supportive, finding me at 7 different spots on the course. I could not have done this with out him!!

Football Season '10

In an effort to get caught up on the blog...I'm going to keep the writing to a minimum and get the pictures loaded up.

Truman playing varsity football this year for Lynden Christian. He had a great year. He worked very hard and it showed. The team didn't end up with a winning season...but I think that this year really developed a passion for Football. He can't wait for next year!! I didn't get a ton of pictures...He's #88 on the far side of the picture. Wide reciever and on defense, a defensive back.

Jake and Taiji had their first experience with School ball. They both went out for and made the 7th grade Football team. They had a fantastic year, going undefeated and Taiji had at least 5 TD's on the year.

Taiji was also the defensive Captain running all the plays in.

Jake's role had a little less glamour...he was the Center...his claim to fame however was that he got to touch the ball every play.

Couple more shots

Jake Playing a little defense

The boys

The team

oh my

NO POSTS IN OCTOBER!! I'M AWFUL, I WILL TRY TO CATCH UP!

Kali's first day!!

My baby started Kindergarten this year! We chose to go with the full time class. It was the right decision!! She's in love with her teachers, her friends, the activities and her new best pal chuck chuck (aka Chestnut the class hamster) She was sooo excited! Up at the crack of dawn and all set and ready to go!!
The classic heading out the door shot...of course I had her go back in and through the house so we could get in the garage!! ;)

Posing for the first time in front of the school sign!

A shot with her new favorite Teacher Mrs. Thomas! She is fantastic! What a blessing to know that when Kali walks into the classroom she is loved and cared for!! Awesome!

No tears...she hugged me a few times a couple of kisses and blown kisses and she was off and running! I have to admit I got a touch teary on my walk back to the car...but it was raining, maybe it was rain! My baby is growing up!!