SNOW

It snowed about .5 inches on Friday. There was no school, so the kids made a "mini" snowman and played outside for a couple of hours. The neighbor boy, Paul came over too for his first time playing in the Iowa snow (he is from North Carolina).



HOCKEY GAME

It was Scout night at the Black Hawks hockey game last night. The boys enjoyed watching the Waterloo Black Hawks beat the Des Moines Bucceneers 4 to 2. Jake's favorite part was when the players slammed up against the glass. The boys also got an earfull of yelling from the TRUE hockey fans...not always something nice came out of their mouths!! We had to explain to Jake the "You suck ref" isn't being a good sport!!

COLLEGE SQUARE

Jake & Allie each had a friend (Paul & Abbie) come to the mall yesterday for BK lunch, Santa's arrival, Fun Bunch art projects and mascot day. They loved meeting the mascots. There was Upper Iowa's fighting peacock, The Crash Test Dummies, the Sprint cell phone, UNI's TC, the Black Hawk (hockey) and the Texas Roadhouse Armadillio (Andy). The kids were ALL about meeting mascots!

CONFERENCE

Jake had his Fall conference last night. He is doing great in his subjects at school. He is reading above his grade level, does well in math & spelling and he really enjoys the science/social studies topics. However...he is a bit chatty!! I had to crack up at part of his comments on his report card..

"Jacob seems to have good leadership qualities and a large circle of friends. One thing he continues to work on is raising his hand and waiting his turn to talk. He likes to share and sometimes does a little too much talking with neighbors. Jacob is a neat kid. I enjoy having him in my class"

I don't know WHERE ON EARTH he gets talking too much from??? Mrs. Wyckoff told me that he has the "gift of gab"!! I think that is the nice way of saying that the kid talks WAY TOO MUCH!!

JAKE LOSES A TOOTH

Jake lost his first tooth at school this afternoon. He was eating his snack and it came out. He got a sticker that says "I lost a tooth today" and a small box in the shape of a tooth to keep his tooth in. He was VERY excited and had to tell every teacher he saw on the way out of the school.

Another busy night here. Allie has tumbling, Jake has his conference and both kids have swimming lessons. It's always something!!

SLEEPOVER

Jake went to his first sleepover last night at his friend Paul's house. Paul's birthday was a few weeks ago & he chose to invite 3 boys over to spend the night. They also got to go see "Santa Claus 3; The Escape Claus". Jake thought the movie was good, eating at McDonald's was good and spending the night with his best buds, Adam, Paul & Ben was GREAT!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN


Jake's school party and parade was this afternoon. His class enjoyed seeing each other's costumes, eating snacks & being goofy. Allie got to come along & march in the all school parade. She thought that was really cool! She's all ready for her Kindergarten party next year!

After school, we headed right down to Main Street in Cedar Falls to trick or treat. We met up with several of Jake's friends & bumped into a couple of Allie's buddies too. After Main Street, we ran to McDonald's for supper & headed on home to trick or treat in our neck of the woods. (the pic is of Paul, Jake, Mason, Sophie & Makenna who are all in Mrs. Wyckoff's class & Allie's friend Jordyn).

Jake had a great time trick or treating around the neighborhood with his friends Mason & Paul. We also bumped into his buddy Ben several times. Allie complained most of the night. Her feet hurt, she was cold & her bag was heavy...go figure!

GETTING READY FOR HALLOWEEN

We went to a Halloween party Saturday night. Jake dressed as a green skeleton & Allie was Belle from Beauty & the Beast. The kids went on a scavenger hunt, ate tons of junk food, made a pumpkin craft & watched the movie Monster House. They crashed right when we got home.

Sunday night we carved pumpkins. Allie chose a ghost & Jake chose a scary pumpkin face. They were pretty excited about the finished products.

HUMAN HOT DOG & STRAWBERRY SHAKE

We had a "money" drive at Hansen that lasted 9 days. When the final coins were counted, the Hansen families raised $20,795.49!! The kids are SO close to getting the first Phase of their playground installed this Spring. It was an exciting day at Hansen. The class that collected the most money got to douse their principal Dr. Reid with ketchup & mustard. Jake's class won by collecting $6547.95!! The 2nd place class (another first grade class) got to make the PE teacher into a strawberry shake!! We had an all school assembly that included a visit from TC, the Panther mascot! Check out the pictures!!


SCOUTS

The Cub Scouts went skating on Monday night. Both kids quickly caught on to skating. We also had a den meeting on Thursday night. The boys used some crafts to make funny faces...

LARRY THE CABLE GUY

We went to see Larry the Cable Guy's show on Sunday night. What a riot!! Kim got us tickets & back stage passes. We met Michael & Kim at Chili's and had dinner and drinks. Then we went over to the show, met Larry the Cable Guy (& his wife & baby son). We enjoyed 11th row seats and laughed until our stomachs hurt. Kim & I loved watching Michael & Scott laugh so hard!! A great night...thanks Kim.

WHAT A WEEK!!

It was a long week of running!! I spent every morning at Hansen counting money for their coin drive. Week 1 totals are in and they have raised $6193.03 in coins, bills, parent & business donations for their playground! Their goal is now raised to $10,000 by Friday the 27th. Their assembly on that day will have TC, UNI's mascot present. The class that raised the most money in the coin drive gets to spray ketchup & mustard on the principal making him into a human hot dog. The PE teacher agreed to be a strawberry shake to go with the hot dog! The kids will love it.

Next week I will finish up the coin drive & plan the assembly. I also start my weekly spelling tests with Jake's class and my weekly lunch room duty at Hansen. Never a moment of sitting still here!

Tomorrow night, Scott & I are meeting Kim & Michael to see Larry the Cable Guy. Kim's cousin got us tickets AND back stage passes. We can't wait. It should be awesome!! The kids are excited to have a babysitter...how sad is that??

Here's a picture of the kids from summer 2005...we are supposed to get snow tonight & I'd rather think about the heat!!

STUFF

Allie had her friend Hallie over yesterday for a playdate. They played GREAT together. Allie rarely gets friends over...there aren't girls her age in our neighborhood so she often gets stuck without a friend. Jake's just show up on our door step or in our back yard since they all live less than a block away. Allie was delighted to play yesterday.

Hansen is having a coin drive at school this week. Day 2 and the kids have collected $1994.00!! Each class is competing with the other classes for the chance to make the principal into a human hot dog!! We told parents that we'd welcome their tax deductible checks during this drive, so about 1/2 is actually parental donations. Jake was bummed...his class hasn't won either day. They were sure that they won today with $99 in change, but another 1st grade class had $75 in change & $300 in parent's checks! I keep telling him that maybe another day his class will win!!?? What matters is the overall total, not the daily total...we'll see how he fares on October 27th!

GOOD TURN FOR AMERICA

Yesterday morning some of the boys from our Tiger Scout den went throughout a neighborhood dropping off plastic bags on people's doors. The bags are to be filled with non perishable goods to be picked up on Saturday by the Scouts. After we dropped bags off, we had a bonfire & toasted marshmallows and had a whiffle ball game. The boys had fun while doing a good deed!

HIKE

The Tiger Scouts went on a nature hike yesterday. We had a good turn out & everyone brought their parents and siblings along. We learned about the "Leave No Trace" rules of Scouting and did a leaf rubbing. After our hike, we had a quick snack and headed on home.

BEN FISH'S BIRTHDAY

Allie went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's last night for her friend Ben Fish.

ALLIE'S FIELD TRIP

Allie's preschool class went on a field trip to Heartland Farms pumpkin patch on Friday. She was pretty excited about riding the bus & getting a pumpkin. They went on a hayride, played in the various jumping features, checked out the animals, played on a giant hay slide and had a snack. It was super cold & windy outside, so it wasn't as much fun as usual. I know that I was freezing & ready to go home!! (Allie is in the top row, 2nd from the left)


RAMS VS. BEARS

Jake's last football game was this morning. It was really chilly out!! They ended up losing at the last second by only 1 point. Jake was disappointed to end the season 2 & 4. He can't wait 'til next season though.

OTHER STUFF

-Allie had a playdate here on Thursday. Her friend Olivia came over for a few hours.
-Allie went on a playdate yesterday to Hallie's house. After their playdate, we all went to the puppet show at the library. Hallie gets to come over here on Monday after preschool.
-The times for the mile are posted. Jake was 2nd out of the ENTIRE 1st grade class!! He was pretty upset that he wasn't 1st, until I explained that being 2nd out of all 60+ 1st grades was AWESOME!! He was beat by his buddy Dylan.

JAKE'S FIELD TRIP

The entire first grade class at Hansen went to Hartman Reserve today for a field trip. They spent about 30 minutes hiking, collecting leaves, collecting acorns & looking for wildlife (of course no one could stop talking so we saw NO animals). They then got to explore the nature center where there are various animals, skins & skulls/bones. After that, they got to make apple cider in an old fashioned press. What a great time we all had!

UNI HOMECOMING
We went to the UNI Homecoming parade on Saturday morning. The kids collected a lot of candy & other prizes. They enjoyed seeing TC (Top Cat) UNI's mascot. Jake had his football with him and got to throw some passes to a guy in the parade, which he thought was WAY cool! All in all, a great parade as usual!!

We tailgated before the game. It consisted of the kids, Michael & Scott playing football. Kim & I gabbed of course & Allie took a lot of breaks from the game to eat snacks.

UNI welcomed former head football coach Terry Allen back by beating his team Missouri State 38-7!! It was a great game and we had lots to cheer about.




RAMS VS. CHIEFS
Jake's football team looked GREAT this weekend. They won in OT by a touchdown. Jake had a nice carry and a couple of good tackles (pulled the flags). He was in really good spirits after their big win. Next Saturday is our last game & I am certain that Jake doesn't want it to end!

EASY BAKE OVEN

Allie bought an Easy Bake Oven at the carnival garage sale last Friday night. She paid $1 for it and was SO excited. I have to admit, I was a little excited too. I never had an Easy Bake Oven as a child and really wanted one. On Thursday, I was baking cookies and other treats for the weekend so I let Allie bake on her own. Let me tell you, baking with an Easy Bake Oven is kind of fun!! Allie lost interest in it once her cookie went into the oven so I got to play all alone!! The cookie came out & Allie allowed me to try a bite...it wasn't that great!! Our next baking will be cinnamon rolls in the EBO!!


PARENT'S DAY AT DANCE
We had Parent's Day at Allie's dance class. She really enjoys learning her ballet moves. She seems to do pretty well too. We got to see a "sneak peek" of her dance that she'll be performing at the Holiday Ballet in November. It was pretty cute!


FOOTBALL GAME IN THE HOUSE

There was an impromptu game of football in my living room on Friday night. Michael & Scott (who should know better) thought it would be fun to play tackle football in the living room with Jake & Allie. Nothing got broken & the kids had a great time!! So I can't complain.

AUNT MAGGIE

I'm going to be an aunt again!! My sister Mandy & her husband Mike are expecting their 2nd child on April 25th. She is 11 weeks along & doing great. They heard the baby's heartbeat last week and announced their big news this week. She is feeling pretty rotten with morning sickness that lasts all day long, but they are delighted to be pregnant!

I told the kids that one of their aunts had a baby in her tummy and they guessed it was KIM!! I said no & they guessed Mandy next. They then proceeded to argue over who gets to play with Ben & who gets to play with the GIRL in Mandy's tummy. I thought that was pretty funny since at 11 weeks we have no clue if it will be a boy or a girl.


PAYBACKS

I remember when I was a kid really enjoying teasing my sister. The one thing that sticks out the most is when I used to call the teacher on Romper Room Miss Piggy instead of Miss Peggy. Mandy was a HUGE fan of Romper Room & would FREAK out at the name change of her idol Miss Peggy. Well, tonight Allie was discussing what she wanted to be for Halloween & she was saying she thought she'd be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Jake began saying "oh...you're going to be DORKY???" Allie was SOOOOO mad, which of course made Jake keep repeating it. I told him to leave her alone etc. He informed me that it is ALOT of fun to tease his sister. I had NO reply...he's right...it is fun to tease your sister!! Oh...by the way, she is going to be Belle from Beauty & the Beast now due to the teasing...I wonder what he'll change Belle to???

TUMBLING

Allie started her tumbling classes tonight. We took the summer off & decided to skip September too due to soccer. She had a great time tonight on the trampoline, balance beam & uneven bars. She has a new coach this year, we'll see how that works out. Her old coach was one tough cookie, which Miss Allie needs!

THE CARNIVAL IS OVER

The 2006 Hansen Carnival is over. WHEW!!! It was a big success, a ton of work & a lot of fun for all of the kids. I'm exhausted!! The kid's favorite thing about the carnival was One Armed Pete's Casting Room...it was a room where 2 Hansen parents, both doctors applied casts to the kid's arms. Sartori Hospital donated the supplies, so the majority of student body had casts for the night! Note the pictures of Jake & Allie!



FOOTBALL

Jake lost his football game on Saturday by a touchdown. He was really disappointed. He had a couple of good runs, but by no means is a star football player. He enjoys playing & I am delighted he has fun. He had 3 extra fans at this game, NANA Terri, Aunt Mandy & Ben were there to cheer him on! The kids had a great time playing with Ben the rest of the weekend. Ben must have enjoyed himself too...he started to throw a fit when Mandy took him to leave.

QUOTE

A friend of mine has this quote at the bottom of his emails...today for some reason it really made me chuckle!!

"Some people are like Slinkies ...Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs."

SCOUTS & A MILE

Jake had a Scout pack meeting last night. It was with all of the Scouts at Hansen. They did an obstacle course & he couldn't have had more fun with his friends if had tried! It is going to be a LONG year with these Tiger Scouts. They all have LOTS of energy!! There are 14 in our den that I am co-leading with my friend Sophie. After last night, I'm not sure why I signed up.



I was at the school this afternoon working on some carnival things for Friday night & was getting ready to leave when I saw Jake's class out on the track getting ready to run the timed mile. I stayed to watch, of course. He was the fastest kid and ran it in 8 minutes 29 seconds. He lapped a couple of kids & never walked once. Mrs. Dickens, his PE teacher said that is the fastest time for a 1st grade boy this year. He was pretty pumped when he came in first (he's pretty competitive). She will post the times later this week & if he really is #1, it will make his day.

MARATHON










It was PERFECT weather for Scott's 2nd marathon run! It was about 55 degrees, cloudy, little wind and no rain. He did AWESOME!! He finished the 26+ mile course is 3 hours 43 minutes (4 minutes quicker than last year). My future sister in law, Kim & I met Scott at various points on the course to hand him energy gels & bars. It is quite the rush trying to beat him to the next point on the course. We met up with him at while he was crossing the bridge at mile 1 (we were in the car driving by him) miles 4, 8, 11, 13, 20, 22, 24 & at the finish line. He looked great each & every time we saw him & even was cracking jokes at miles 13 & 20! He says he feels pretty good, his legs are a bit sore (no kidding), but feeling good!! The kids & I are SO proud of him. He is off of work tomorrow & Tuesday in case he needs it to recover. Here are some pictures of him on the course.












RAMS VS. STEELERS
Jake had another football game on Saturday against the Steeler, which is a bunch of kids that he knows from St. Pat's school. He had a couple of good plays, he caught a pass and ran for a small gain & he had a great handoff that accounted for a 1st down. He was pretty pumped up about that. They did lose by 1 touchdown, but he was o.k. with that after Scott chatted with him about winning & losing!

DINNER WITH THE GREEN GIRLS
My parents kept the kids overnight last night so that Scott & I could go to dinner with my brother Michael & his fiance Kim and the Green girls (my childhood friends, who are sisters...there are 5 girls...only 3 were at dinner last night) and their spouses. We had a nice visit...Scott really enjoys hanging out with his old roommate from college, Gopher (who married a Green girl).

Catching Up

It has been awhile since my last post...we've been keeping really busy this week. Here's what has been going on!

Monday:
Allie had preschool on Monday morning. After school, we killed a couple of hours at the library. Allie got started on a computer game and I couldn't get her to stop. It was fun though. We found 3 books, checked them out and were on our way. We had to stop by Jake's school to count raffle tickets for next week's carnival and pick Jake up. We stopped home long enough to go through book bags and eat dinner before heading back over to Hansen for a playground fundraising meeting, which lasted much longer than I anticipated. We accomplished a lot...let's just hope we can raise the money we need for the playground. Who knew that a SAFE playground would cost $200,000??? And who knew that the district doesn't pay for ANY of it????

Tuesday:
Allie had her 5 year check up and shots on Tuesday morning. She did really well. The first 2 shots were given without a tear being shed...the MMR didn't go as well! She let out a loud scream and burst into tears. The nurse told me that on would burn so I kind of expected it. When Jake got his shots it took several people to hold him down...not Allie!! After shots, we ran some errands and stopped by Hansen to count raffle tickets again and pick up Jake. We went to soccer and then I dropped Jake at football practice. Allie & I came home & met a new babysitter (Alishia, Kim's cousin) and she watched Allie (& Jake after football) so I could go to a PTA meeting. Both kids LOVED Alishia.

Wednesday:
Allie's preschool class walked to the library, so I helped out and walked along. There are 26 kids now in her class and a lot of "active" kids so it took some extra volunteers to get them the 3 blocks to the library. Allie and I stopped by Hansen again to count raffle tickets and pick up Jake. Jake had a friend, Ben over to play for awhile. After an early dinner Jake ran over to his friend Paul's house for about an hour, then climbed the fence back home. We loaded up the car and took Jake to his first Wednesday night religion class. Allie and I intended to kill the 1 hour+ by running an errand, but I got talking to a friend while Allie and her daughter Olivia played on the playground at St. Pat's. Next thing we knew, it was time to pick up the kids! Jake says he LOVES religion class...of course his friends Ben, Dylan, Carter & Luke are in his class (also some girls, Abby, Natalie & Katie).

Thursday
Allie & I dropped Jake at school and rushed across town to be at the dentist by 9:00. Allie had her 6 month check up and is doing great!! I had my check up after Allie's and got a good report too! We then ran a couple of errands on that side of town before stopping for lunch with Sophie & Abbie. After lunch, we stopped by Hansen to once again count raffle ticket (do you see a pattern)! Sophie dropped Abbie here and I ran the girls to dance while she picked the boys up from school. After dance we were off to soccer and it started to rain right at the end. After soccer, we ran over to Open House at Jake's school where we checked out his classroom. Then, it was off to football practice. By this time, it was POURING!! I tried to talk Jake into skipping practice, but he wouldn't hear of it. Allie & I sat in the car while Jake played football in the rain. He got into the car after practice & exclaimed "That was the BEST football game EVER!!!" I guess 6 year olds like rainy football!!

Today
Today is pretty quiet. The kids are off to school, Scott is at work & I'm here alone! That is unusual! Later, I'll go to Hansen to count raffle tickets and pick Jake up. Tonight, I'm meeting several other moms for a "Girl's Night Out" at the local sushi & martini bar (fortunately for me they serve sandwiches & beer too). Scott is staying home with the kids!

The weekend
Tomorrow Jake's football team plays the Steelers and he is pumped. Right after the game we head to my parent's house to drop the kids off for the weekend. We are then off to stay with Michael & Kim. We are having dinner with the Green girls and their spouses Saturday night. Sunday morning is Scott's big marathon. Kim & I will be his groupies and follow him all over the course with energy bars & gel. Mom & Dad will bring the kids down for the end of the race so that they can cheer him on. He took Monday & Tuesday off to recover from running 26+ miles.

That's it for us...it will be next week before I post again & I'll have some pictures I'm sure!

RAMS VS. VIKINGS

Jake's 2nd flag football game turned out MUCH better than his first! The team worked together and played really well. They beat the Vikings 46-12!! Jake had a carry and almost caught a "Hail Mary" throw at the tail end of the game. He was in the end zone & SO bummed that he missed it. Of course, he can barely catch a football thrown directly to him...this one required a jump & catch...it probably wasn't ever going to happen!! Next week we play the Steelers, which should be a fun one...there a several of Jake's friends on that team from St. Pat's!

FRIENDS OVER

Jake had a busy day on Friday. He didn't have school, but had his friend Paul over in the morning. They walked over to their friend Ben's house for his birthday party. Ben walked back here with the boys and stayed the rest of the afternoon. They played really well together...had a little too much running inside and then outside, but at least there wasn't any fighting! (l to r: Paul, Jake, Ben).


FERRARI'S & JOKERS

A group of us went out to dinner at Ferrari's and to comedy night at Joker's last night for my friend Sophie's birthday. We left the kids at Sophie's house with a sitter. Had a great time! The comedian was a hypnotist, which was SO funny! No one in our group was brave enough to be hypnotized & it was probably a good thing!!!

SOCCER

We had soccer last night (& dance & football practice). Both kids did well at soccer. Jake is a bit of a ball hog, probably because no one objects. He has very little control over the ball & truly believes that if he kicks it HARD it is much better!! The kids on his team actually tried some passes last night, which has never happened. Allie on the other hand LOVES soccer IF she is the goalie otherwise she isn't too thrilled about running up & down the field while possibly getting kicked...I wonder where she gets that from???

MOM'S FILING CABINET

Jake is learning about short term & long term memory in school. He came home telling me all about your brain's filing cabinets. I listened and chuckled thinking that Mrs. Wyckoff used a good analogy if Jake is actually talking to me about something he learned in school. Later that night, he was asking me 20 questions and I said "Jake, I just don't remember" and he followed up with "Mom, your filing cabinet is just too full". I think that may have been an insult from a 6 year old!!

He is also teaching me all about ROY G BIV. For those like Scott that have NO CLUE what I'm refering to, it is the colors of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo & Violet). I did remember what ROY G BIV stood for, so my filing cabinet must not be overflowing!!!

RAMS VS BRONCOS
Jacob and his team played their first flag football game yesterday morning. They did really well for their first time playing football. Jake didn't have any outstanding plays to speak of, but he tried his best and played a decent game (he didn't screw up). The Rams (his team) ended up losing in OT and since Jake is REALLY competitive, he was MAD!!!!

BROCK'S BIRTHDAY BASH


Jake went to his buddy Brock's 7th birthday party yesterday. It was held at Tilt in the mall where they have Black Light Mini Golf & an arcade. It was heaven for the 8 1st grade boys that were there. A little bit chaotic for the moms that chaperoned!! I was pretty proud of Jake...his friend Will ran through his token in about 10 minutes and won NO tickets (for prizes) because he chose to play video games that didn't give tickets. Jake felt bad & let Will play his games with him and gave him some of his tickets as well. It made me realize that he is a good friend!! A proud mommy moment!

The picture is of the kids (l-r: Carter, Dylan, Jake, Ben, Will, Brock, Sam, Mason)..yes their take home gift was a Superman shirt...they thought they were pretty cool!

PRE BALLET

Allie started pre ballet at Kinetic Energy last night. She has a small class which is great for her...less distractions. She was SO excited that she got to work on all of the dance positions PLUS do a plie. She told me all about how to position your feet WHILE holding onto the bar. It could be a very exciting year for her at dance!! The best part in her mind is that she gets to perform in June "on the BIG stage" (her recital).

We have Jake's first football game tomorrow. He informed me that they "better beat the Broncos or practice WON'T be fun on Tuesday". I wonder if that was the coach talking??? After football, Jake is going to a birthday party with several friends. I'm sure it is the first of many this school year!

SOCCER STARTS

The kids started soccer on Tuesday afternoon. Jake ended up on the dark blue team and Allie on the light blue team. I am able to yell "GO BLUE" from any point on the soccer sidelines & can say that I was rooting for each child! Both kids have improved from the Spring season. Allie tries just a little harder than last time...she really like being the goalie though and isn't afraid to stop the ball. Jake on the other hand is SOOOOO competitive and wants to be running with the action, not waiting in a goal to get to play.

Tonight we have Allie's first night of dance. Right after dance we race to soccer. After soccer, we run Jake to football practice (his first game is Saturday). After practice we will stop by Godfather's for Hansen pizza night (a monthly fundraiser) and take a pizza to go...after all we HAVE to support Hansen :)

35 YEARS

My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on Monday. What an accomplishment! We celebrated the weekend before and gave them a rock with Fischer etched on it. We also put their wedding picture and a current photo of them in the local paper...they were surprised!! Best wishes to them and may they last another 35 years with each other!!

BREASTS

Yes, you read that correctly...Allie has a new obsession...take a look at the pictures...she came into my room this morning very proud of her new breasts...so proud that she ASKED me to take pictures!!!












On different note...the kids are enjoying school a lot. Jake survived his first week of football practice. His first game is next Saturday. Both kids start soccer on Tuesday and Allie starts dance on Thursday.

Yesterday, Allie and I ran some errands after she was done with preschool and found ourselves in the library. It had been awhile since we stopped there. We came home with 3 books. One that is sure to be a new favorite "Walter the Farting Dog & the Yard Sale". Thanks to Aunt Tracy for turning us onto this series!!!