Aaron and Kim's Murder Mystery Train Trip

It was a dark and stormy night in 1942. Gramma and Papa took care of Kara for the evening while we went on a murder mystery dinner train. We had an amazing time! The food was delicious and the period actors were witty and funny. It was such a fun experience that we're doing it again in February, compliments of Mike and Myra (our Christmas present). The next theme? 70's love train!

All packed for a trip to Gramma and Papa's!

We had a good time getting to know our table mates. Ginger was one of our favorite actors. The Life magazine that Kim's holding? An actual copy from 1942! Mike ordered it for us so we could read it on the train.

Dance Class

Kara had some dance studio pictures taken just after her birthday. Our little dancing bug :)

And, bow. Kara bows at the end of every performance, even if she's just listening to a song on the radio. Our next major dance move: curtsying.

Christmas Tree Train

The day after Kara's birthday celebration, we rode on the Christmas Tree Train! Kara loves trains and has even been to the Metrolink station twice with Papa and Gramma to watch the big, loud, scary train pull into the station. Every time she sees pictures of a train or we even mention the word "train," Kara says, "Toot! Toot!"

Papa and Grandma drove with us and Dan, Krishawn, and Keira met us at the station. We all had a great time riding the train, cutting down Papa and Grandma's Christmas tree, meeting Santa on the train, and taking hundreds of pictures.

Kara and Keira were more interested in the dirt than the trees.

Papa and Grandma gave Kara one of her birthday presents on the train. Guess what it was? A wooden train! So Kara got to play with her new train while riding on a train. Cool, huh?

Kara Turns Two!

If you ask Kara how old she is, she smiles and holds up two index fingers. Edit: I just asked her while I was typing this post and she correctly held up two fingers on one hand. Wow, she learns so quickly! She had such good time at her birthday, despite throwing up all night with the stomach flu. She put on a brave face until everybody left, then her cupcake decided it would rather be on our kitchen floor rather than in her tummy. I think a few of our guests left the party with their own viral gift (sorry Nicole), but I think everybody had a good time. This year's theme: Little People! (Kara calls them "Baby People" because she can't say "little" yet). What to do with all this plastic, batteries, and cloth? She's getting close to the age where she'll need an entire room for all of her toys. We're also thinking about getting her some outdoor climbing toys and a little plastic slide for the living room. Man, I should have bought stock in Fisher Price before Kara was born.

Thanksgiving

We are lucky enough to have both of our parents nearby so we had one Thanksgiving on Thurs. with Aaron's family and then another amazing dinner at my parents' house on Friday. Aaron's mom is leading a preschool from her house so it is a wonderland for Kara. She has all the best toys and books for Kara to play with when she comes over. Kara loves it.

Early November

Here's the first of three or four posts covering our November adventures!

I celebrated my birthday at an indoor kart racing track. Kara kept saying, "Go fast! Go fast!"


Poor Kara. Since she's too small to go on the track, Grandma and Papa let her race in the arcade.


Grandma, Papa, and GranJan took Kara to The Gentle Barn, an animal rescue. Kara loved brushing Buttercup.


Kara loves to watch our home movies. I've even converted a few of them onto my PSP, so she can watch her favorite moments anywhere.

Sick

We have had so much fun stuff going on that it has been hard to keep up since Kara and I got the stomach flu. We didn't realize it but Kara got the stomach flu on the day of her birthday party. That day we called all of our friends and family who have kids that were coming to her birthday party to let them know that she had a stuffy nose. She threw up that morning but we thought it was because of a post-nasal drip and a way too sensitive gag reflex that she has. When I got the stomach flu on Monday we realized that is what Kara had and we probably exposed everybody at the party to it! Aunt Nicole was next...and Papa...and maybe now Gramma. Somehow Aaron has escaped the germ...so far. Anyway, we do have amazing pics and great stories to tell but haven't and still don't (at the moment) have time to show them and tell them. They are coming though. So sorry!