October, part 2

The Florida relative came for a visit! It was SO fun to see and spend time with them! I didn't get a picture of Aunt Beth and Uncle Mike :(

My kids fell in love with them all instantly. They are just another reason I feel so lucky to marry into this great family.

We carved up our pumpkins just in the nick of time!

Mike's, Faith's, Kate's


The kids and I made this spiderweb along with a huge egg sac that's not in the picture :)

Halloween dinner included broiled snake, eye balls, and monster tails!

October, part 1

I just love this whole month! Halloween everything is so fun! Aunt Michelle came to visit and we made spooky haunted houses.

And the terrifying results:

My bro and his family stopped to visit on their way up to Alaska, and we had a great time with the cousins! The weather was great and we went to the pumpkin patch/corn maze.

Grrrr.

Car Talk

I love conversations in the car with the kids. There aren't many distractions, and they often think about and say the funniest things. These are only two conversations that made me smile this week:

1: As you may have found out from Mike's blog, Kate lost two teeth this last weekend!

I pulled one out on Friday, and she pulled the other out herself at a birthday party. As we drove home from the party, Kate told me about how she pulled out her tooth. Then she said,

"Well, I guess you can lose a tooth anywhere... at the store, or fashion shows."

I was a bit baffled by the "fashion shows," but I agreed that a loose tooth can strike at any time.

2: I drive a couple of kindergartners home from school every day. The little boy started talking about Star Wars.

Kate: "Oh! I've seen that! Actually, I've only seen one Star War. :( "

Faith: "I've seen that too!"

Kate: "No, Faith, you haven't. It's the one with Yoga in it."

Yeah, Faith, listen to Kate. She obviously knows what she's talking about. :)

And here's a picture:

"Is This the Little Girl I Carried?"

Yesterday was Kate's first day of Kindergarten. Believe it or not, it was a tear free day for both of us! (Okay, I got a bit misty eyed after I picked her up, but that was it!) Kate had been to the school a bunch - she even helped paint her room. She had also met her teacher several times, so it was pretty painless. After two days of school, it turns out that Kate and Kindergarten get along swimmingly.

Family Pictures

Once again, Mandie did a great job! Thanks Mandie!

Words of Wisdom

While emptying the dishwasher, Kate offered Faith this sage advice:

"If you're feeling drunk, and you stole a truck, never say that you're going to McDonald's, or a policeman might give you a buck."

The Kids

Faith woke up feeling very benevolent today. Before we went down to breakfast the girls needed to clean up their room. Faith started hanging up her shirts, and then Kate's shirts too! While she was doing this, Kate approached Faith with her reindeer.


[A side note on Faith's reindeer. She is a Build a Bear reindeer and has a button that, when pushed, says: "Hi! I'm Clarisse!" Faith disregarded this and named her Rosabella. She doesn't like the name "Grease" (Clarisse). She is a bit miserly with Rosabella, which makes Kate long to play with her even more. Kate also continues to call Rosabella 'Clarisse' and it really annoys Faith.]


Kate then hopefully asked, "Faith, may I please play with Rosabella?" (she was careful to use the right name)


Faith considered aloud, "Hmmm, I don't know... Maybe..... Yes."


Kate delightedly hugged and kissed Faith, and started playing with Rosabella. Faith was obviously feeling pretty good about being generous, so after some more thought, she added:


"And you can call her Grease."


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This little guy learned how to go down the stairs today! He LOVES climbing up, but when it comes to going down, he would really rather hover or float down. This morning he embraced the law of gravity and slid down on his belly. When he got to the bottom, he game himself an enthusiastic applause.