Merry Christmas 2011

Wakey, wakey children. Up and at 'em! Time to unwrap gifts! Christmas is here!Christmas was fun and exciting as usual this year. The girls got mostly everything their little hearts desired. Hey, even Andy and I got what we wanted, too! Amazing. :o)

Merry Christmas from The Happy Ketter Family!

Twas' the night before Christmas 2011...

And look what mommy did!

...Um, maybe that's not how it goes...

Oh well, look what I did!

Nighty night, children. Sleep tight.

Fun times happen in the morning!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Above is a photo of our 2011 Christmas Tree Cutting Adventure. We spent the rest of today decorating it. Kassie picked it out for us this year. She did a great job! We decided to go against our normal blue spruce tree this year. Instead, we opted for a nordic fir. They are a tad more pricey, but they don't shed their needles like the spruce does. It has a different look to it, as the branches on the spruce are more to *my* liking. It smells great, which is a plus. I can say overall, I am pretty pleased with the tree. Even our cat seems to like it. Dexter keeps chewing on the branches! Here are a few pictures of the girls decorating the tree.

And below is the picture of it decorated in all its glory.

Now we can't wait for Christmas!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Or at least to the local mall. :o)

The girls and their annual picture with Santa. Pretty soon they'll be too old to to enjoy this so I gotta take advantage of it while I can. They love it. Too bad Santa won't be getting them all their requests. (Ahem. No live hamsters...) Hee hee.

Halloween 2011

Fun times this year!

Andy and I did not dress up this time. We just didn't feel like it. But, of course the girls did!

Madeline as Tinkerbell

Kassie as Sailor Girl

Sydney as Tickle Me Elmo

(She did not get away with dressing up like that without me tickling her! I got her good!!! :)

This was taken at my parent's house when we first started to go Trick or Treating.

They got so much candy. I see a trip to the dentist in our near future....

Happy Halloween 2011!

Cowgirl Madeline

Madeline decided to play dress up as a cowgirl and use Sydney as her horse. Sad thing was, Sydney actually let her do it!

Just proves the fact more and more that I have goofball children...

School Pictures 2011

They're here!!! Hot off the presses. Enjoy.

Sydney - 7th Grade

Kassandra - 4th Grade

Madeline - 2nd Grade

_______

Yes, they are all wearing the same shirt. This year when they went shopping for back to school with my parents, Sydney made the suggestion to dress in the same shirt. So, they searched for one they all liked and this is what they chose. Then, they surprised me with it when they got home.

I thought it was cute. :o)

Happy 10th Birthday Kassandra!

So I'm sitting here, planning which pictures I'm going to put on the blog of Kassie's Birthday, when my daughter comes up to me and says, "Mom... are you going to put the pictures on the blog?" Now you'd think it was the birthday girl asking me this, but no. It was Madeline. I'm not sure why she cared so much, I mean it's not her birthday. I'd like to think it's because she just loves her sister so much.... (crickets) :o)

Kassie says she can't believe she is 10 now. Neither can I. It's yet another case of time flying by. Ugh... Anyways, much to her (and her sisters) delight, here are some pictures of the birthday girl opening her presents.

And blowing out the candles...

Happy 10th Birthday Kassie!

Doin' the Puyallup

Today we took the girls to the Puyallup Fair. Fun times! We saw animals, rode lots of rides, stuffed ourselves with "fair foods" (aka deep fried treats), play lots of games, and walked about 5 miles. Ya know, typical fair stuff. :o) Madeline was so excited because she was actually tall enough this year to ride most of the rides. Here's some of the pictures I captured. Enjoy.

First Day of School 2011

Another year... yay!

Today Sydney enters the 7th and her first year of Junior High. Kassie enters 4th grade and Madeline enters 2nd grade. I have 3 super excited and semi-tired girls. Here are their first day of school pictures. Enjoy.

I'm kinda bummed because my camera wasn't working, so I had to use my cell phone camera. At least I got pictures, though. Something is always better than nothing. :o)

Sun Lakes Birthday Getaway

Most. Beautiful. Place.

That is, here in Washington State. My word, this place was awesome.

On Monday, Andy, me, the girls, Jamie, Sarah, Brian and Ben packed up and headed out to Sun Lakes State Park, in Eastern Washington for my birthday. The temperature was, well... hot every day we were there. Perfect for swimming, sun bathing, and Water Wars. What's that you ask? Well, they have this thing there called Water Wars where there are 2 stations/sides that compete by pelting water balloons at each other.... all to get soaked. It was awesome. You were a winner if you successfully got another person wet. That's it. Totally fun, especially when it's a solid 95 degrees outside. And, no matter how much sunscreen you put on, it really didn't matter. The sun shined constantly.

We rented cabins. Ours was right on the lake. The picture below is our cabin, with views looking off the porch to the lake.

We also rented paddle boats and paddle trikes. They were so much fun. We paddled out to the island in the middle of the lake and then let the current and wind take us back in.

Then, Andy, the girls and I headed up the road to Dry Falls. This place was so awesome. It looked like a miniature Grand Canyon. I didn't know they had landscape like this in Washington State.Below, in the picture, is the story of Dry Falls. Amazing how it was formed. This place was truly spectacular.And finally, we hiked around to some of the other lakes in the area. Beautiful scenery everywhere we went. I enjoyed it so much.

Now, we are all sunburned and tired. Back to reality....

Horseback Riding Adventure

Last week we took the girls up to Leavenworth for a quick 2 day getaway. It was fun. We planned to go water rafting, but the river was still too high, so we didn't get to. We did, however, get to go horseback riding. The girls always beg me to take them riding, but we really never have time to. So... I made time. Oh, we had so much fun. Everyone got there own horse, even Madeline! The only thing was that she had our guide hold the lead rope on her horse. We all loved it. It was an awesome experience for the girls. Here are a few pictures of the outing.

Yeah, Andy even got a picture of me on the horse.

The trail was 5 miles long up and back down the mountainside.

And the last picture is the view from the top. Our car was but a tiny speck from way up there! All in all, it was a fun time, and I'd love to do it again soon. If you are ever up there, we rode at Eagle Creek Ranch in Leavenworth. They are fantastically priced, have awesome horses and have a very kind family that runs it. You should check them out.

Madeline's 7th Birthday

Presents....check.

Friends....check.

Party at Chuck E Cheese....check.

More presents when we get home....check.

One happy, happy 7 year old....priceless.

Happy 7th Birthday, my darling baby girl.

May this year bring you all the luck in the world!

My Not So, but Kinda, Extreme Coupon Shopping Trip

Okay... a couple months ago, I was told by my co-worker and my husband, at two completely separate times, that I would make a fantastic "extreme couponer." Whaaat!?! I had never heard of it before. Andy said I should watch the show. There's a SHOW!?! I was in complete and utter disbelief. No way had I never heard of this before.... He explained to me what these people do. Hmmm, I thought. I was kinda upset that they would think this way of me. No, no, no, they explained. It's a good thing. It's your, um, controlling, no, that's not the right word, um... anal personality that makes it a good thing. WHAAAT!!! Now I was really pissed. But alas I was curious, so I watched the show. Oh-em-gee... These people are NUTS! I could never, nor ever want to, devote that much time and effort into shopping. Un-uh. Not happening. Oh, just collect coupons and give it a try, Andy says. You never know.... Okay fine. I'll collect coupons. I'll shop "frugally." But I will not be THAT extreme, I said. So over the course of the next 2 months, I collected those coupons. Every Sunday, my darling mother brought me her coupons out of the Sunday paper. I went online and signed up for weekly coupons, from big name companies. I also kept all the ones from my mailbox without throwing them away. Then, I used my paper trimmer (yes, I already had one) to cut out those wonderful "money saving" pieces of paper. End result? Check out the picture below.

It might not look like it but that's $252.37 worth of items. 66 items to be exact. After coupons, my total came to $81.77. That's about $1.21 per item. In the end, the bottom line was I saved $170.60!!! Not too shabby. And thankfully not as "extreme" as those crazies I see on the show. I will actually use all of the items I purchased within the next few months. This is not some crazy stockpile (as you can see) like those guys. Uh huh. See, I'm sane... somewhat. :o)

3rd Annual Ketter 4th of July Party

As is our tradition, we hosted our annual 4th of July party again this year. This time, the weather actually cooperated! It was an awesome 80 degrees. Beautiful sunny skies. Perfect for family, friends, food and lots of fireworks! Everyone had a blast. We are so blessed with everything we have. It's good to celebrate and enjoy it with friends.

This is what happens when you give a short-armed person a camera and she wants to take a picture with everybody.

Lots of half-faces, lol....

We got a floating lantern this year (like the one from Tangled, which is Madelines favorite movie, so she was thrilled.) It was tricky to light, but the end result was awesome. I wish the pictures would have turned out better.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!

Sydney's 6th Grade Graduation

Time flies....

I am so super proud of you Sydney. You are growing up to be an incredible person. Don't ever let anyone stand in the way of your dreams. The future is bright, and ready for you!

Love,

Mom

Madeline and the Macarena

The pictures speak for themselves. :o)

Happy 12th Birthday, Sydney

Hard to believe. Another year has passed and sure enough, my oldest daughter is now 12. My, oh my. Lord, have mercy on my soul for the years to come. I've been told it's all downhill from here. :o)

Here are a few pics of the birthday girl opening her presents.

New shoes from Grandma and Grandpa

A new outdoor basketball.

A shirt she was "dying" for.

Cash... Look at her expression.

It's almost like she doesn't know what to do with it.

And lastly, the other Nike outfit we got her.

Happy Birthday, Sydney. Please quit growing up.

.....

She makes me feel old.