Raking Leaves and Other Fun Activities

We came up with all kinds of activities to keep Katherine busy. Below, we're coloring on paper plates. Katherine was thrilled--it was the first time anyone had let her color on a plate!

Katherine and Deedee are painting a ladybug. (Check out the big bird mug. That was Tasha's cup from when she was a kid...thanks to Nancy for saving it!)

Katherine made the mistake of telling Uncle Matt that she LOVES raking leaves. He had her in our backyard raking immediately, although we didn't have too many leaves for her to rake. In the pic below, she is demonstrating her mummy pose.

Somebody needs to tell Uncle Matt that these gloves and the rake are way too big!

Christmas Lights!

On Thanksgiving day, we put up the lights on the bushes and on our sidewalk, but we waited for Kla and Tony to arrive on Saturday for help with the stars.

Tony is reading the label on the extension cord package, letting us know that it is for "indoor use only." Pshaw! (ok, we used a different cord...only b/c Tasha didn't belive in Kla's rationale that most of the cord would be under the porch.)

Clearly, Tasha is in charge. Or, at least she's the one having the most fun!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Kla, Katherine, Donna & Tony came to College Station for a late Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. We put up our Christmas tree, and Katherine helped us put on the ornaments. Below, the finished tree. Note that the majority of the ornaments are clustered on the bottom half of the tree :)

Katherine wins the award for the cutest 5 year old. (The white dot on her cheek is a small sticker of a radio. She called it her "beauty mark." It stayed on all day.)

San Diego, Part 2

Wendy and I spent Sunday afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. (Really, we were all working hard at the convention. Really.)

I'm afraid I have no pics of us looking at the animals, but the above pics are just a few of our favorite animals. We probably spent the most time with the gorillas (at one point, two gorillas approached each other and hugged....so cute).

San Diego, Part 1

I (Tasha) was in San Diego for five days for a convention. Great place--will definitely go back.

Above, the view from our hotel room. Yep, it's a tough life. Thanks to Wendy for making our reservations again, and scoring such a great view!!

Kristy and I spent most of Sunday at Balboa Park. This pic is of the roots of a HUGE tree. Amazing.

Me in the Japanese friendship garden. The garden was a disappointment--very small, not much to see, except for the Koi (see below).