Quotable Quote

Merry Grace said to her Daddy, "We don't know what Heaven looks like, do we?"  Cory answered, "No, we can't remember."  But Merry Grace had an idea, "Well, we could just look it up online."  :)

Would you just look at that face?

When you're that cute, you get lots of hugs, lots of smooches, lots of laughs and not in very much trouble. :)

Mischief

The kids, some of the anyway, have been up to some mischief recently.

The other day, I looked in the pantry and lying on top of one of my canisters was a pencil.  That's a little odd, I thought.  Then, as I reached for baking powder, I noticed a hole in my bag of self-rising flour.  Flour was starting to seep out--out of a hole about the size of a pencil.  I glanced around and saw a hole in my bag of sugar.  Two holes in the bag of powdered sugar.  A hole in the brown sugar.  All the size of a pencil.

So I went to the kids and asked, "Did anyone take a pencil and poke holes in all the baking ingredients in the pantry?"  Ian's guilty, but proud look said it all.  Yes, someone did that.  And yes, I knew who did.

I was wiping down the walls in the hall one night this week.  I noticed right outside Elise's door, above the chair rail, in light pencil the name, "IAN."  Then, a minute later, on the other side of the hall, right above the chair rail, in light purple chalk, "IAN IAN IAN IAN IAN".  All total, I found about 15 instances of Ian's name written in the hall.  Fortunately, he used very easily erased writing utensils.  Unlike Paige who apparently uses only ink pens and permanent markers.

Ian has been studying bats in school.  

Conversation about bats:

Ian:  I wish I was a bat.

Me:  But then you couldn't be my son.  I don't really want a bat for a son.

Ian:  Oh, I want us all to be bats.

Me:  Well, I guess that wouldn't be so bad, if we were all bats.

Ian:  Yes.  Then we could all use echolocation.

*pause*

Elise:  I don't want to be a bat.

Merry Grace:  I want to be a bat.  I would fly to Grammy and Papa's house instead of riding in a car.

*pause*

Ian:  Bats only fly when its dark.  They sleep when its light outside.

Merry Grace:  If I were a bat, I could sleep in the freezer.

*what?!*

Ian:  If we were a family of bats, maybe we could all migrate.  We'd probably go to Mexico or Texas.

As I've mentioned, Elise and Ian have been playing Fall Baseball/Softball.  We're getting to the end of the season.  We've enjoyed it, but we are ready for the break of not having to go. :)  Some more-so than others.  The other night  as we were getting ready for ball games (both Elise and Ian had one) we couldn't find Ian's ball shirt.  Cory spent over 20 minutes going through all the clean and dirty laundry, plus looking in all the random places he could think of.  Finally, with no success, we gave up and just skipped his game.  The very next night he had another game.  After another lengthy search, there was still no shirt to be found.  So, not wanting to miss another game, we just sent him in a regular shirt.  On the way to the game, Cory got to wondering if perhaps Ian knew more about the shirt than he had let on.  At first there were denials.  But at long last, he admitted that he had hidden it under his bed near the air vent.  Sure enough, that's exactly where we found it.  What a rascal! :)

What fun those kids are, even when they are being rascals. :)

Pumpkins on the Porch

After our fun at the pumpkin patch, we hurried home to get our porch looking festive.

 This is my pumpkin (the orange one) and Paige's (the white one).

Ian's pumpkin is the white one and Merry Grace's is the little orange one.  So cute!

 This is the one we all decided on for Cory.  I think we all think it might be the coolest one of all.  The colors aren't so vivid in this picture, but the orange is really bright and the green spots are an awesome contrast.  It looks like its been splattered with green paint, but it just came that way.

This is Elise's.  I think it is such a cool shape.

Since I was out taking pictures on the porch, I had to get pictures of my wreaths.  I read on a blog a while back where someone said she had a sister-in-law who is a photographer and and gotten some great family photos from her.  She said something to this effect, "Its great to have a talented sister-in-law.  In fact, I would recommend everyone get one."  I thought this was great.  I am lucky to have not one but SIX talented sisters-in-law.   Here is what one of them helped me to.

 This is the wreath on my front door.  I can't even tell you how much I love this wreath.  I think it gets prettier every day!!!

And I revamped a wreath we made a few years ago, to spruce it up a bit and hung it on my carport door.  I think I have found one more reason to love fall...it gives me a chance to admire my fall wreaths. :)  Thanks, Amanda, for making my doors look a little fancier. :)

Pumpkin Pickin'

One day last week, I took the kids to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween.  We were all pretty excited!!!

Here are the four cutie pies posing with the giant pumpkins.

After picking out a big pumpkin, I let each one pick out a gourd.  This is the one Elise chose.  It made her laugh, so she knew it was the one.

This was Ian's pick.  It was definitely unique.  Unfortunately, upon returning home, Elise dropped it on the floor and it broke into four pieces which left both Elise and Ian in tears.  Thankfully, the storm blew over quickly.

These were the two pumpkins that Merry Grace chose.  Cute, just like her. :)

This was Paige's gourd.  She chose it right away and never looked pack.  She was in heaven with all the pumpkins to look at and play with.

 After choosing our pumpkins, we decided on some homemade ice cream.  The weather was perfect for sitting outside in the swings while we ate the ice cream.

Four cute kids. :)  Love these guys.

Merry Grace and Paige ate about a quarter of their ice cream before deciding to throw it away and run around and play instead.  Sometimes I wonder who these kids belong to. :)

It was so fun and our front porch now looks festive for Halloween and fall.

What a Week

Last weekend, we spent Friday through Monday with my parents and extended family from out west.  It was so wonderful to have that time together.  However, it seemed like my kids spend most of the weekend being sick.  There was Ian's puking incident at the festival, Merry Grace feeling feverish and puny on Saturday and Sunday, and Elise feeling feverish and puny Sunday and Monday.  Add a couple of bad colds to that, and they had quite a time.

We returned home with Elise not really making any improvements, so I took her to the doctor on Tuesday.  Diagnosis: strep.  Wednesday found her some better, at long last, but Ian and Merry Grace were still not as "well" as I'd hoped.  Now questioning that their illness might be something more than "just a cold", I took everyone back to the doctor on Wednesday and had Ian and Merry Grace checked out.  Diagnosis: strep and strep.  So two more prescriptions later, everyone seemed to be on the mend.  By Friday, Elise had gone back to school and by Saturday, except for a little lagging energy, everyone was pretty close to 100%.  Then last night, Paige began the "barking" cough that signals croup.  So she is pitiful today.  Poor girl.  I think the croupy cough and voice just sounds terrible.  There may just be a doctor's visit in her near future.

A good bout of sickness sure makes you appreciate being healthy.  :)

Silly Pictures

I just took a few silly pictures of the kids this week.  They just make me laugh. :)

When this tablecloth (that goes with our cute little picnic basket) came through the wash, Merry Grace quickly snatched it up and transformed into a zombie.  If you're wondering how a blue checkered piece of fabric makes you a zombie, you're not alone.  I have no idea.  :)  

 Paige, ever the copycat, quickly snatched up the matching napkin and walked around the kitchen saying, "zombie".  :)  Oh how they make me laugh. :)

 After the tablecloth and napkin zombie game got old, they grabbed my giant mixing bowl to use as a hat.

What a cute little alien she makes. :)

 Next came the pot holders.  I really have no idea the purpose behind this, if their even was one.  But they were great entertainment, and that's really all that matters.

Next, they used the tablecloth as a blanket for a picnic.  I think she's got saying "Cheese" down to an art. :)

If the ground isn't comfy enough, grab a giant mixing bowl and use it as a chair.

And if you're a copycat, make sure you do the exact same thing.  I think Paige could just about take a bath in this bowl.  :)

I love how all kids need are a few household items and a big imagination to create a world of fun.  I sure love these kids. :)

Potty

People always wonder why girls go to the bathroom together.  I'm not sure I have the answer, but I do know it starts early. :)  Here are Merry Grace and Paige, one on the toilet, the other on the potty.  One day they may hate me for this picture, but it was just to stinkin' cute. :)  (And don't ask me what that cup is there for.  I honestly have no idea, nor did I ask.  It grosses me out, but I'm choosing to ignore this one.  Like the the toothbrush incident.  I have found there are just some things that are better left alone. :))

The Park

After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the park.  It gave the little ones a chance to play and the grown-ups some uninterrupted visiting time.  In fact, I think we spent over 3 hours there, and could have spent longer. :)

Ian climbing on the rock wall.  This is his second time on it, because I didn't have my camera out the first time. :)

 My cute Elise.  She didn't feel good, but still got to play a little bit.

 Adam and Logan, who still act like kids even though they are both adults.

This is how Elise spent a lot of her afternoon.  Poor little girl.

 This girl is just a cutie pie.  

 Paige discovered a little bug and spent a while watching it and playing with it.  I can't count the number of times she'll come to me with a bug (alive or dead).  She LOVES them.

These two sweet girls walked over to the curb and sat down.  They were so cute and sweet to watch.  I love seeing my children love each other.

And then they walked back over to the playground together.  It was hard for Merry Grace to hold Paige's hand because she wouldn't take that thumb out of her mouth. :)

Logan thought it would be a good idea to get in the baby swing.  And he got stuck.  We probably got our biggest laugh of the day watching him get in and out of this swing.  What a fun kid he is!!!

Ian and his cousin Davin spent most of their time playing at the river with Logan and Davin's dad Mitch.  They had a great time getting to know one another and playing together.

Cute Davin

 Mitch and Shiela's little girl, Delia (second from left) and my three cuties.

 The men-folk, who were patiently waiting for all us girls to get done gabbing so we could leave and get something to eat. :)

 And here are the girls.  I had such fun visiting and catching up with these ladies.  They are so much fun! :)

And we were impressed with Logan's jumping skills, as he assured us he could jump this tape.  I couldn't jump half that high if my life depended on it. :)  

It was a wonderful trip home and a wonderful chance to visit with cousins, aunts and uncles who we just don't see often enough, no matter how hard we try.  Love and miss them, but made lots of good memories.

Snappy Lunch

For our last day visiting with family, we headed to historic downtown to grab a bite at Snappy Lunch.

I had the kids pose for a timely photo op before heading up to Main Street.

Really, they are just too cute!!! :)

We ate hot dogs, hamburgers and another ground steak sandwich for me. (What?!  I love them!!!)  Can you believe I've never had their famous pork chop sandwich?  After several rave reviews, I think I'm getting one next time.

After eating, we went next door to the candy shop and filled bags with goodies.  I was super excited to find giant blue raspberry blowpops that I've been craving and unable to find.  I bought five and felt like I showed great restraint.  I also got a bag of my favorite Jelly Bellies.  Yummy!  I think the kids were in heaven.  To be able to walk around and pick different candies out of different jars?  So cute to watch.  For most of them, it was their first time in a candy store.  Now that they've discovered one, I wonder when they'll be asking to go back. :)