Misc. Photos

The gingerbread people

Kaye, Chris, and Nate

Francine, Chris, Nate, and Richard.

So while Richard and Francine were here we went downtown to see the Kansas City Express Christmas train. It was free. Since I didn't have any expectations I had fun. Nate might be getting to the age where it wasn't "cool" but for the most part he was a good sport. It was cold down there by the river.

Nate in all his new camo gear to go huntin'. It's really expensive to outfit a kid because they're only going to wear the stuff for one season. Geez.

My birthday

So I'm stealing this one from my friends blog. I thought it was cute. Since I don't believe that I even have pics we'll see if I can do this...

35 Random Things about Kaye

1. I am a middle child and it shows

2. I have only recently come to like the color pink. Being blonde and blue eyed everyone assumes you look great in pink.

3. I have the best husband

4. Nate is a awesome. He gives me neck rubs after a long day.

5. I have a maid clean my house 2x/month

6. I have 4 brothers

7. 2 sisters

8. I love to exercise

9. I have lived in 11 different places

10. My Mom is my hero. Someday I'll be that compassionate

11. I hate shopping.

12. I have a fear of heights.

13. I hate Halloween. Even as a child.

14. Fall is my favorite season.

15. I can't ever tell what direction I'm facing.

16. I was Miss Flame in High School. (only North Benders would have any clue what that is)

17. I played the clarinet for 6 years including marching band

18. I visited 5 different countries

19. I was National Honor Society President my Senior year

20. I Ballroom danced competively in College

21. I LOVE fresh bread out of the oven

22. I think all drivers are idiots

23. I listen to "angry" music when I run.

24. I blush ALL the time. Doesn't matter--You can embrass me

25. I am incredibly stubborn and independant

26. I can shoot several different types of firearms

27. I call everyone "sweetie" or "dear"

28. I HATE humidity

29. I miss the sound of the ocean

30. There is no "gray" area. It either is or it isn't. End of discussion.

31. I hate that family is so far away

32. I can organize a dinner party for 300 people.

33. I can read a book in one day

34. My feet are ticklish. Makes pedicures a disaster

35. I have some of the best family and friends scattered all over the world.

Ooohhh Scary

Chris and Nate's pumpkins. The one of the left is Nate's. Scary pumpkin. Chris' is on the right. It's 3 skulls.

The Corn Maize

It was so dry, hot, and dusty. Wearing a white shirt wasn't the best idea. We were covered in dirt. I know it's hard to believe but...it was high 80s on this day and inside the maize there wasn't a breeze to be found.

We also got some a pumpkin for our entrance fee. Nate found his pretty quickly.

Isn't that first step the most fun?

You have to zoom in to see his face. Typical.

Keep your feet up.

Can you hear it? Dum, dum, dum-dum. Dum, dum-dum, dum, dum. It's the beat of his heart as he waits to jump off.

Social Studies Project

Nate was responsible for making an egyptian pyramid for a social studies project. We made it edible with rice crispy treats for the medium then used edible spray paint. We then used the food processor to finely crush Nilla Wafer to make the "sand". Nate did everything with only a small amount of help from parents. Mostly...don't spray your clothes, try not to cut your fingers. That kind of thing. I am impressed by his creativity because I have none.

The Pumpkin Patch

Photo Ops can't be missed.

The Asbury Pumpkin Patch

I think Nate fits in very nicely with all his Texas orange.


It was WAY too hot for the 9th of October. Someday it's going to cool down in the daytime. 92 degrees is too hot.

Soccer Season has started!

Number 22 for the Raptors.....Nathan Otis
Check out the leg on that kid.

The circus came to town

With Chris out of town Nate and I went to the circus with friends on Saturday afternoon. It was your typical circus but it's still fun to believe for a short time that you're a kid again. On the way to the circus I picked up a bolt in my tire. That led for another fun adventure in trying to get my tire fix this weekend. Annoying.

We're going to do WHAT?

For some reason I decided that I would like to get back into running. It seemed like the weather was cooling down a bit and there's a half marathon in November here locally that I could run. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Chris even said he'd join me though we don't run together.

Here's what I've learned:

1. Just because I can cycle for several hours doesn't mean I can run for several hours.

2. There is going to come a point in training when you question if you have what it takes to finish your goal. I hit that big, brick wall today.

3. The weather is definitely NOT cooling down. At 7:45am this morning is was already 90+ w/heat index and not a breath of wind.

4. Watch out for dogs. Chris was bit by one today w/the owner watching and the dog on a leash. Stupid dog owner.

5. It's staying darker longer which means funky new gear to be seen by cars. Now that Nate's bus comes at 6:40am I might as well run at that time.

Here's hoping both Chris and I reach our goals and run the YMCA half marathon on November 20th.

Misc pics

The skyline

Chris, Big Ben, and the sun setting. Does it get any better then this?

Wicked

We went to Wicked while in London. It was at the Apollo theatre that was literally 5 minutes from our B & B. It was so awesome. We tried to get discount tickets but they don't sell them. We were told that if we go to the theatre and get in line early before the box office opens we might be able to score FRONT row tickets for 25 pounds each. We got GREAT seats. Right up front. You could even see the actors spitting as they sung. I won't ruin the story line but lets just say it was nothing like I thought it would be and it blew away my expectations. So glad we went. I think that was some of the best spent money on the whole trip.

Leeds Castle

Henry VIII. He was a putz.

Trying to use the camera is always frustrating for me. It's so complicated that Chris has to change all the settings before I can take a picture. I should have brought "my" camera. It would have been more fun for ME to take pictures.

The happy couple. I sat for quite a while on the grass while Chris was "framing" pictures. It wasn't too unpleasant though because the weather was fabulous. So much better then what we left in Louisiana.

The mascot of Leeds castle is the black swan. I think Chris did an excellent job of framing this shot. Let me assure you it took FOREVER though.

Dover Castle and the cliffs of Dover

The castle and cliffs of Dover

That's France in the background.

On the shoreline with Dover castle and the cliffs in the background.

We bought a tour to visit some of the countryside we wouldn't be able to get too without a car. One of the places we stopped at was the coast to see the cliffs of Dover. It was beautiful. It was a clear day so we could even see France.

Cantebury Cathedral

Cantebury Cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Playing around in the cloisters. Basically, just being silly.

Chris in the cloisters. It was such a beautiful day. Sunny and a light breeze. In comparison to Louisiana. Pure bliss. I even wore jeans.

Beautiful Stained glass window

The London Eye, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace

The gates of Buckingham Palace

They pack some heat here in London

Changing of the Guards. There were HUGE crowds. Because this was the last day that the Queen was in residence before she left for Windsor castle this was a big deal. The red guards were replaced by RAF. This probably took at least 2 hours. The bands played fun songs such themes from Magnum PI, A-Team, etc...

Our picnic lunch in the park. We had to "rent" these chairs for 1.50 pound/chair. I didn't even care at this point. My feet and back were killing me and I needed somewhere to rest.

Our guard at the Tower of London

Our own personal beefeater. He was our tour guide for the Tower of London. He was great fun and since it was a free tour the price was right.

Tower of London

The view from the London Eye

Winsor Castle, St. Paul's Cathedral, Thames, Big Ben, and Parliment

The View

The London Skyline

This guy was playing the bagpipes on the Westminsted Bridge. I LOVE the bagpipes. It was awesome.

The view from the top.

The view from the very tippy top of St. Paul's. We climbed all of the 500+ steps to get to the top of the dome.

The Tube

Windsor Castle
To get to Windsor we took the tube and then the train. It was very easy and while it was crazy busy that day we really had an excellent time. We bought a beautiful china bowl that now I need a curio cabinet to display it to it's best ability.

The courtyard

The Queen was in residence for her summer vacation so the guards were there. They are really young.