this is your brain...

This is a brain. This is not my brain. It is a REAL HUMAN brain! EEEWWWWW! At the Puyallup Fair, they had an exhibit called Al's Brain. We got to see a 3D movie, learn some interesting facts, and touch a real human brain. It was pretty neat.

On the far left is a vertabre. The long skinny rope in the middle is your spinal cord. On the right is your cerebral cortex (the under part of your brain).

This picture has all three of my girls touching (with plastic gloves!) the BRAIN!

We are getting ready to watch the 3D movie. I don't think Alexandra or McKenzie has ever seen a 3D movie before. It was a lot of fun. They kept saying ,"It came right at ME!"

Alexandra says, "It was WIERD!!"

McKenzie said, "It was totally WIERD!"

We rode more rides. I don't ride the rides usually. I just take the pictures. I am happy doing that. I like to take pictures. I don't like to ride rides. But, with them giving us each 7 free rides, I did ride some rides. Now I remember why I like to take pictures.
I went on the Wind runner with McKenzie and Alexandra. McKenzie went on this ride on the Lynden Fair, Alexandra is a pro at this ride, she doesn't even hang on! McKenzie and I have a death grip on the bar. (I think my grip was tighter!) Alyssa took my place on the ground with my camera. Next time, I am taking my spot back :)

I'll be back later with more of the Fair.

Do the Puyallup...

This is Alyssa with our 4 winning tickets! Yeah Alyssa!

We did a lot of walking! Lots and lots of walking. We were very tired at the end of the day!

This was our hand stamp to get back in the fair. It said DO THE PUYALLUP

Part one....

It all started last week.....Kendy called me and told me to listen to Spirit 105.3 and play the name game. At 1:00 the name was Alyssa, and if you were the 5th caller and were either Alyssa, or Alyssa's parent (that was me!) then you win. What did you win? I didn't know. I didn't really care...I didn't really think I would win.

So.....I wait untill 1:00 and hear...Alyssa, be the fifth caller right now....And I dialed that phone......"you are caller number 1."

"OK BYE!"

Quick hang up and try again! ......

"Good afternoon...what is your name?"

WHHOOOOO! I WON! I was caller number 5!

"My name is Kellie....(Silence on the other end)....but I am Alyssa's mom!

"Congratulations! You just won 4 tickets to the Puyallup Fair with 7 rides each!

And that is how we ended up going to the Puyallup Fair.....on a Sunday....really far away!

But we had ssooooooo much fun!

This is the Sky Ride. I forget what they call it. You get to go in this little bucket and travel 70 feet in the air and ride all the way to the other side of the fair. And you get to pay for it...one ticket for one way...two tickets if you want to come back...we didn't go back :) We rode it all the way across the fair, got off, and started our travels from that end.

This is us 70 feet in the air! No one looks terrified....we also aren't looking down either! :) We had a great day! (Thanks Alyssa for the great photo!)

More later on the brain! :)

Fall soccer...here we go again!

I love this picture of Alexandra...when she saw it she said, "I LOVE that picture of me, although is does look like I am not wearing a shirt!" She's right....it looks like she is not wearing a shirt! She was though....I have about 200 other pictures to prove it :)

This was such an awesome play! Alexandra is in red on the right. The goalie did a drop kick and the ball went super high in the air...the girls were all watching it ready for it to drop. Alexandra moved up and HEADED the ball!! You should have heard all the OOOHHHH's and AAAAHHHH's. It was pretty cool. At the beginning of the game Lynden scored 4 goals...not good...at half time, they had a pep talk....and they ended up coming back and tying the game 4-4! Way to GOAL girls! I think Alexandra got two goals and Logan got the other two...

Go Alexandra! Beat that stinky Lynden team! :)

I love this picture of McKenzie. She was sitting in my shade, trying to stay cool while she waited for her turn back in the game.

And of course....what is a soccer game without.....AIRPLANES!!! These planes and a couple other ones were flying over the field most of McKenzie's game. I absolutely LOVE how this picture turned out! The beautiful blue sky and the cool planes.....WOW!! I should be a professional :)

Run McKenzie! Score a goal! She didn't actually get a goal today, but she tried!

Today was the first day of Fall soccer....but with temps in the mid 80's it sure felt like summer! The girls were so hot! Alexandra played first with a 9:15 game and then McKenzie had a Jamboree at 2:00. She played three 20min games. Then they match up the teams for the final schedule so they can hopefully play an evenly matched team. It was a hot day, but fun!

While we were at the soccer field for most of the day....Alyssa went fishing! (see previous post for her day. (She even helped write it!))

Off to bed now.....another busy day tomorrow!

Alyssa's Fish

This is a pink salmon. He is gross....and dead! Alyssa caught him (her?) today when she went fishing down near Burlington with Richard. Richard caught nothing but the guy's line next to them! :) Their day started out at Walmart where they went to pick up some last minute fishin supplies, they got a fishing pole, campin chairs, garbage bags (for dead fish), and fishing line. Then they went down to the fishing store down near Burlington to get Alyssa her very own fresh water fishing license! Go ALYSSA!!!! She finally got her license :) While they were there they also picked up some shrimp to use as bait, some neon wing bobbers, weights, and Richard's favorite water in the whole world. Now all that was left was to go and catch their fish! :)

Happy Birthday to Alyssa!

Happy Birthday to my little Bug!!! Alyssa turns 17 today! She is getting so grown up. I remember like it was yesterday....bringing her home from the hospital...potty training...first day of kindergarten...new sisters...first day of middle school....then high school....and now she is a junior in high shcool and a gorgeous young lady! I am so proud of her! She is responsible and caring. She is very smart! She's beautiful inside and out. She can set a goal and work very hard to achieve it....and she will make it! She is a great big sister. I am very, very proud of her!

On Sunday, 9-6, we went to Beachwood for a birthday party....we swam, soaked in the hot tub....

And made tie-dye!!! Lots of fun! The shirts turned out so cute! We were also going to make duct tape bags, but we ran out of time. We are going to get together another day to finish those up.

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!!!

First Day of School

McKenzie and Alexandra on the first day of school. September 2, 2009
McKenzie started second grade and has Mr. Yost as her teacher. I was very excited...Alexandra had him when she was in 2nd grade and he is a great teacher. McKenzie also has Emily in her class this year! They are so very excited!! This is the first time they have been in the same class since they were in preschool! They keep looking at each other and grinning :) Soooo Cute!
Alexandra is in the fourth grade with Mrs. VanVleck as her teacher. Another great teacher! I think Alexandra is going to have a great year. On Tuesdays, she will be going to Aiming High with Mrs. Robertson at Mt. View. This is probably the highlight of her week! She LOVES aiming high. This year they are studying architecture. Sounds like fun!

New clothes...new shoes...old backpack (she got a new one the next day...it's pink!)...new school year!

McKenzie and her new backpack that is twice her size! The good news is it is Jansport and comes with a lifetime warrenty! The bad news is she is stuck with a hot pink backpack for the rest of her life! :)

NEW SHOES!!! Alyssa LOVES new shoes! Alyssa is starting her Jr. year of high school this year! 11th grade! How time flies! I remember her first day of kindergarten....she was so cute....and she loved new shoes then too.....:)

New bag....new clothes....(soon...we are shopping for her tomorrow!) ...new haricut! And her favorite part about a new school year.....Her BIRTHDAY!!! My little bug will be 17 years old on Tuesday September 8!!! Since school started before labor day this year...she won't start school on her birthday again (she did that in 7th grade and was not happy about that!)

I think we are going to have a great new school year! Alexandra and McKenzie have great teachers this year (they have in past years too!) Alyssa seems pretty happy with her schedule (I will try to post it soon.) And she is starting the year off on the right foot...in new shoes :)

(and by being organized!) That really helped her last year when she got straight A's!

This is the first year Alexandra will be earning letter grades. I think it will be good for her. She is capable of great grades, but has never really had to try. Earning 3's and 4's (grade level and above) has always been frustrating to her...she has never had to try hard...it will be an interesting year, that's for sure!

Ferndale Football...Actually...Ferndale Guard

We went to the first Friday night Ferndale Football Game last night. We played Bellingham. We won! I think the final score was 28 to 13. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the game. I came to see the Ferndale Band and Guard play at halftime. More specifically...I came to watch this gorgeous girl twirl flags and throw rifles in the air!

Some times when it gets a little windy you can't see her very well. :) But she knows the routine pretty well and didn't mess up when she couldn't see where she is going!

Here is the beginning of the routine. All lined up in a sorta straight row! They did a great job and I am excited to see them get better each week....

I didn't even get one picture of the football team last night. It was crowded...there weren't any seats in the stands so we ended up standing the whole game. It was fun though...Alexandra and McKenzie enjoyed watching the cheerleaders and running around with friends. I chatted with Rebecca and people watched. Lesley, Dexter and Derek came also. (Thanks Lesley for pre buying the tickets so we could get in without waiting in that VEERRRYYY LOOOOONG Line!)

First day of school report to follow next time!