More adventures coming!

Hello!

Life has been very busy for me and Peep. We've been on lots of adventures and found new friends! I am working on posting more about our adventures and back-dating them as I go. Please do stay tuned! Peep and I want to catch you all up on what we've been doing!

Thank you!!

Red Kate and Peep

Happy Adventures of Easter!

This past weekend, Peep, Gracie and I drove north to visit Lee's house to see her and the rest of our friends and family. We had so much fun! It was Easter egg time, and that meant lots of candy and playing and laughing! Just wait until you see!

Look! Look! There was candy. Oh so much candy!

That's a LOT of candy! 

Peep met other Peeps!
There was a purple one...

Hi! My name is Peep, too!

And there were yellow ones!

Little yellow Peeps all in a row!

Peep had never met other Peeps before! They didn't much look like dinosaurs, but Peep thought they must be related anyway. Gracie and I thought so, too.

Then Peep spied one in a very pretty yellow egg. He remembered when we were baking and wanted a little chicken friend!

Hello! Will you be my friend?

But, then very suddenly, Lee announced there would be an Easter egg hunt!
Everyone decided that I should be a grown-up, so I got to help hide the eggs. Lee and Al and I went out to the backyard and tried to hide the eggs in really good hiding spots. We hid them up high and down low and everywhere in between!

When they were all hidden, it was time for Alice, Aerin and Jared to come hunt for them.

Peep and Gracie didn't know what an Easter egg hunt was, so they decided to watch and see what happened. They were so excited!

They hopped and bounced to see what they could see. Gracie tossed Peep on her back so he could get a better view.

Can you see? I can't see...

Rats! They still couldn't see everything! So Gracie clambered up into a tree and Peep climbed up onto the porch railing. They're so brave to be up so high, don't you think?

Hellooooo down there!

Oh, look! Is there an egg under there?

They looked everywhere for eggs! There is one right in the picture below - can you see it? Peep can!

The eggs could be anywhere!

Then we saw Jared looking at something in the brambles and leaves. Did he find an egg? Peep watched closely.

There might be something there...

But Jared left again! Why? What had Jared been looking at? Gracie whispered that we should go see what it was! Peep hopped down off the porch and scampered through the grass.

I see something!

There were brambles everywhere with sharp thorns. Only someone really small could crawl through without getting stuck. Good thing Peep is so small!

Peep inched closer and closer. Then...

I found one! I found one!

Peep crawled in and got it!

Peep got his own Easter egg! But what's inside?

Peep's first Easter egg!

We all cheered for Peep! Even Gracie hopped up and down in the tree! (But very carefully so she wouldn't fall, of course.)

Peep rolled it over to the porch and we helped him open it.

Chocolate! My favorite!

Then we all went inside to eat some candy and laugh and play!

Gracie and Peep had such a good time investigating the candy. There were jellybeans...

Swimming in jellybeans!

And there were malted milk eggs...

These look very tasty!

And there were little peanut butter-filled chocolate eggs!

Mmhrummphmm...

Nomnnhhmphmnnin....nhhmmmph...mmmm...

MmmmmMMHHPHmmmm....mhphnmmnomnomnom...

BURP!

Gracie thought she'd found the best treat in the world, and Peep went to go see what it was.

Mmmphumphghmmmmhmmm...munnomnom...

I think Peep agreed!

Happy Easter Egg Hunting Day!

New friend!

Today, it snowed! Oh, my, did it snow. It's nearly spring and we didn't have any snow on the ground last night. But when Peep and I got up this morning, just look what we saw:

It's still winter!

Peep climbed up into the bay window to smell the pot of hyacinths - those are the pretty purple flowers in the picture - and look at the snow. A new friend has come to stay with us, too. Can you see her in the picture?

Peep and Gracie, best buddies!

Our new friend's name is Gracie. Peep is teaching her all sorts of new things while I am away at work during the day. We're so happy she's come to stay with us!

We all looked at the beautiful snow and smelled the hyacinths. Peep wanted to go skiing! Gracie thought a hot chocolate day sounded better. I thought so, too, because there was so much snow, I couldn't drive my car anywhere!

I did try. I decided to shovel all the snow from around my car. Gracie and Peep wanted to come too so they could help. But the snow was so deep and they're so small, so they sat in the car instead.

It's so snowy out here!

I got most of the snow shoveled, but I still couldn't drive my car anywhere. It was too slippery! So we all stayed home instead.

It snowed and snowed and snowed all day long. We sat in the window and watched the beautiful snow come down from the sky until it started to get dark. Peep still wanted to go skiing, and Gracie still wanted hot chocolate. I thought we could all have hot chocolate, so I made some.

Gracie and Peep kept a close eye on me to make sure I put in just the right amount of chocolate!

More, Kate! More!

We're getting dizzy! Is it done yet?

Nice and frothy and hot!

YUM!!

Gracie said she really likes staying with us! We're so glad to have her to share our chocolate with, too!

Peep Flies!

A few days after we watched the movie Up, Peep and I packed up our overnight bags and headed north to see our friends and family. We decided our new plan was much too good to keep to ourselves and we had to share it as soon as possible.

The first part of our plan was to buy balloons. You can't fly like the house in Up unless you have balloons! Since it was almost Christmas, all of the stores were packed full with people buying presents and chocolate and decorations. And balloons! We hoped there were still some left!

So on our way, we stopped at a very large supermarket. In the section where you can buy flowers, you can also buy balloons. Peep and I looked at every single balloon there to pick out our very favorites. There were lots to choose from: elephants, tigers, hearts, stars, turtles, rainbows, fish, lions, zebras and even flowers. We searched and searched for dinosaur balloons, but didn't find any. But that didn't matter! Peep is a dinosaur, right? We bought so many balloons! And then we brought them all back to our friends' house. This was going to be so much fun!

Finally, we arrived at our friends' house and it was time to do a test flight! We did it indoors so he wouldn't accidentally fly away. I tied the ribbons into a big loop and fitted it around Peep. It became his flying harness! Then I let go of Peep...

Look, Kate! Look! I'm flying!!

And Peep flew!

He giggled so hard from excitement, and I could tell that he really wanted to hop and bounce all around, but he had to be careful he did not fall out of his flight harness. I hopped and bounced and giggled all around the room instead!

Peep floated all around the room. He visited everyone he could to show off his new balloons!
First, he saw Lee:

Lee! Lee! I'm up so high, I can touch your nose!

Then he floated over to the Christmas tree:

The tree is so sparkly! Hello, Miss Bunny!

Can you see Peep's big smile in that picture?

Peep floated around some more...and found another dinosaur!

Visiting more family!

He was a very quiet dinosaur, so Peep didn't notice him before. They visited for a little while, and then Peep discovered something even more wonderful!

Woof! Woof! I can fly, too!

We had a few extra balloons and Alice heard Puppy asking to fly just like Peep! Alice had made a little flight harness for Puppy, so he got to fly, too! Can you see him in the picture? He's very small - even smaller than Peep!

Then it was time to go.

Peep and I could barely sleep that night because we were both so excited. The next morning, we were going to try a flight outside!

So, when the sun came up the next morning, we hopped and bounced and giggled around the house. It was so hard to eat breakfast! Then, we went to Peep's family's house. Alice was all set to go. She was going to help us with this flight while I took some pictures so we could show you what happened!

But, first, Peep asked if he could fly around in the house again. It was a different house than the night before and he also wanted to see the sparkly Christmas tree up high.

This tree is even sparklier!

Then we went outside! Alice carefully tied an extra long ribbon to Peep's harness. Then she put a loop on the other end so she could keep a firm hold on. We didn't want Peep to fly away with no way back!

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I'm flying! Look at meeeee!

And then Peep wanted to go higher! So, Alice climbed up to the roof of Lee's car. Look at how high that is!

I can see the whole neighborhood from here!

But the house in Up flew for hundreds and hundreds of miles on a great adventure, so everyone decided that Peep should get to have an adventure flying places, too! Off we went on a walk while Peep flew above us. Alice held on to the ribbon! Peep giggled and laughed the whole way and so did we!

We went to the soccer field...

We can play lots of games here!

Then we went to look at the neighborhood farm...

Shhhh! The fields are sleeping!

Peep looked for chickens and goats, but couldn't see any, even from way up high. He thought they must be in the barn keeping warm. We thought so, too. Even the fields looked cold. It looked like the farmer had put down some hay on one patch to keep the rows warm!

Then we all walked along the dike. Peep wanted to know what a dike was  - we explained that a long time ago, the river flooded the whole town and lots of buildings and houses were ruined. Everyone had to use boats to get anywhere. Peep thought that the boats sounded like fun! But, we explained, when the river went back to its normal level, some people didn't have houses left - the river had washed them away! So, a bunch of people got together and built a high mound of dirt all along the fields between the river and the houses - that's the dike. That way, the river could flood the fields when it got too high, and the mound of dirt kept the houses safe from the extra water. And it made a great place to go sightseeing!

Peep was quiet for a minute. Then he said he thought that the dike was a pretty good thing.

Alice and Peep, best buddies!

Alice walked all the way down to those dark green bushes you can see in the picture, and Peep flew right along with her. Then they came all the way back!

Peep was still giggling and Alice was hopping and skipping along! But soon, they were both cold and shivery. The rest of us were a little shivery, too, so we all decided to head back to the nice warm house. Alice held Peep close to her so he could get a bit warmer. He is so small, after all!

Brrr!

He just giggled and grinned. We all had such a great time, and Peep said that it was the bestest adventure of his whole life! When we got home, he crawled onto a soft, warm blanket and fell asleep right away with a big smile on his face. 

So, the very kind little purple dinosaur got to fly and see the world from a different point of view, and Alice, Aerin, Lee, Al and I got to help. That means that everyone went on an adventure! We think that's just about the best kind of adventure you can have. 

I wonder what our next adventure will be?

Movie Adventures!

Finally, Movie Night!

Peep and I had been wanting to have a movie night for so long we could hardly stand it anymore, and we thought tonight would be just right. I had my golden crown and was feeling much better, so I borrowed one of my favorites from the library! Have you seen this movie?

Peep will love this movie!

I also went to the store and bought some goodies to snack on while we watched. I even bought some Peep-sized goodies! We laid out a little picnic on the floor and I got out a huge, fluffy pillow and a warm quilt so that we'd be extra comfy.

Yum!

There were kumquats, which look like very tiny oranges and you can eat them with the peel on. Peep ate four right away! And we had tiny apples that tasted very sweet. I ate two! And we had nachos with blue tortilla chips! Peep thought the blue ones were much nicer than the usual yellow ones. Blue tastes better  than yellow. (Except for bananas. Those are pretty tasty.)

We even had a Peep-sized movie screen!

Then we snuggled under the warm quilt and the movie started.

Nice and cozy!

We watched a bit and laughed and then, all of a sudden, Peep's eyes got really big and he went very still. "Oh my GOODNESS!" he exclaimed. "The house is flying! The house is flying!"

A flying house! With balloons!

He was so excited! I had never seen him so excited. He was shaking all over! Then he started hopping and bouncing up and down and giggling and laughing.

"Kate! Kate! Can I fly, too? Can I fly like the house? I'm much, much smaller than a whole house!"

At that, I hopped and bounced and giggled and laughed, too!

Well, now. That's a whole separate adventure, isn't it?

Adventure at the Dentist

So, this month continues to be Dentist Month, and little Peep has been busy taking care of me with kind words, soothing hugs and soft snuggles.

About three weeks ago, I went to the dentist to get a temporary crown. Peep asked me what kind of a crown it was - would I be a princess? Or a queen? Or Miss America?

You could be a princess!

None of those, I replied sadly. Then I explained how I did not take care of my teeth as well as I should have when I was younger, and one of my teeth now needed some serious help. There had been a big cavity a long time ago, and a dentist fixed that with a filling. But then sometime afterwards, the tooth cracked! Peep thought this sounded really bad and gave me lots of hugs, but I explained that it wasn't really that awful as long as the crack didn't crack more. And it didn't hurt. But, I went on, the dentist was going to take some of my tooth away and replace it with what she called a crown.

Peep didn't like this idea that some of my tooth would be taken away. He thought it would hurt! So I explained all about how the dentist makes sure you don't feel anything at all and you get a shiny new toothbrush afterwards and he was relieved! Peep is so kind!

That day three weeks ago, I got a temporary crown, which is made of plastic. The dentist had to make a mold of my teeth before and after she took some of the tooth away in order to make a permanent crown that would fit perfectly. Then she put that bit of plastic on to protect my tooth until I got my real crown. I had wished I had Peep with me that day!

Peep thought a plastic crown didn't sound very nice, but then I told him about the permanent crown - it was going to be golden! So, I could be a princess once I got that. Peep thought I could be a secret princess, and I agreed. We both liked that idea a lot. After all, the crown would be mostly invisible to everyone else!

The day came and I was very glad to have Peep with me! I was a little bit scared. Because the dentist had to work so carefully, Peep stayed in my bag, but peeped out at me and whispered soothing things.

You'll be a princess, Kate! You'll be okay!

The dentist took off the plastic crown and she and her helper made sure everything was ready to put on the golden crown. Peep wanted to see it! We had to take a break to wait for the medicine the dentist gave me work - it would help me not feel any pain at all.

Peep hopped down out of my bag and clambered up to where my new crown was waiting.

Wow, it's so shiny!

You can see in the picture that my crown is sitting on a mold of my teeth.

Still shiny!

Finally, the medicine was working, and the dentist was able to put the on my new golden crown! Peep hopped back into my bag to watch. 

It was very quick! The dentist and her helper made sure the glue that is used to attach the crown went only on my tooth, and then they stuck the crown on and pressed it down. I had to gently bite on some cotton wadding for a few minutes while the glue set. Peep asked me what "set" means just now - it means that the glue gets stickier and stickier with time until finally it has the crown well and truly stuck down and won't come off. This glue only takes a few minutes to set, so I didn't have to bite on the cotton so long.

Finally, it was on! I couldn't feel that side of my mouth, so I couldn't smile to take a picture of my new crown yet. I would have to wait for the medicine to wear off.

The dentist, her helper, Peep and I cheered! Now I was a princess! Peep reminded us, though, that we should keep our voices down - I was a secret princess. Shhhhh!

Then Peep asked if he could sit on the chair where I got my crown. The dentist said yes!

This is where Red Kate got her crown! Yay!

We both thanked the dentist and her helper a lot! 

There were some pictures of on a sort of light box on the wall, and Peep asked what they were. I explained they were x-rays of my teeth. Peep wasn't sure what that meant, so I explained that they were pictures of what my teeth look like on the inside. The dentist could see how my teeth were doing much more easily than my just looking in my mouth. Here they are:

Teeth have long roots...

The doctor could take a picture of the inside of teeth?? Peep thought this was like having a super power, or like being a spy! I think it is, too.

We looked at the pictures for a while and then it was time to go. Peep was so kind - he thought we should go home to have soup and snuggle under a quilt. We could watch a movie!

I had the perfect one in mind!
But you and Peep will have to stay tuned!

Visiting!

It was the weekend again, and Peep and I decided to visit his family. He still wanted to stay with me for a bit, but he was really eager to see everyone and tell them about his adventures!

So, on Sunday, we drove North to Peep's family. We got lots of hugs from everyone when we arrived! Then Peep hopped up on the couch and snuggled with Rufus and Beep. Peep told them all about his adventures since he'd come to stay with me. Rufus showed off a sock that Lee had been knitting, which everyone admired throughout the day. It's so pretty, isn't it? Beep told Peep about the books they'd all been reading - adventure stories! The whole family loves books. Do you see them in the background there?

Catching up!

Everyone was so happy that Peep had come for a visit! There was a lot of hugging! Lee got first squishy hugs because she's the mom of the house!

I love you THIS much!

Then Alice joined in. Because how could she not? Everyone needs an Alice Hug! It's like a hug from sunshine and cherry blossoms with puppies and kittens on top!

Feel the love! Yay!

And then Lee said she needed to talk with Peep for a bit. So they talked...

Hmm. Really?

And they talked...

Yep! Really! And so what do you think of...

And they talked some more!

This conversation looks really serious. 

Lee was doing something really interesting and Peep couldn't figure it out. But Beep and Rufus had a pretty good idea and visited with Lee for a bit.

And then Peep went off to visit with more of his family, the bears! One little bear went right up to Peep and hugged him mightily. What a kind little bear! He really missed Peep a lot!

I'm so happy to see you!

Then another bear came to join in, and Alice gave Peep a festive ribbon to wear. Peep was so happy to see everyone and look his best with a new ribbon!

Yay, Peep! Tell us all about your adventures!

Peep talked a long time - he had so many adventures to tell! Finally, all the bears came to visit with Peep, Rufus and Beep. They hopped and bounced and hugged and danced and even sang! Everyone talked and visited and was so very happy the whole evening long!

Happy family!

It was such a wonderful visit! But then I had to go home because it was nearly my bedtime. I asked Peep if he'd like to stay with me a bit longer, and he hopped up and down and said YES! Then he made a beeline for my bag and jumped right in! After all, he explained, I still had two more appointments at the dentist, right? Peep is so very, very kind!

Although I am not looking forward to my visit with the dentist, I am very happy that Peep decided to stay with me a bit longer. We both put on warm things because it's winter outside and very cold. I took Peep out of my bag for some hugs and Lee snapped a picture! We will come back again soon!!

Squishy hugs from Red Kate! 

We got home and and took off our warm layers and got ready for bed. Peep fell asleep asking me what sort of adventure we should have next. He is so cute and curious! 

I wonder what kind of adventure will be next...?