Feelings of Gratitude

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I'd take a moment to list some things that I'm thankful for.  I'd hoped that there was some cool colonial font to type in, but nope, this is it.

*I'm thankful for God sending his Son to die for ME!  He also continues to shower me with grace as I struggle daily with the ugliness of my sinful heart.

*I'm thankful for a husband who works SO HARD so that I can stay home with my children.

*I'm thankful for my family,- immediate, extended, and married into.  We all have our issues, but our love for one another is strong.

*I'm thankful for our home.  It is tiny, but filled with joy, laughter, and love.

*I'm thankful for two reliable cars.  Even though one of them is a mini-van.

*I'm thankful for healthy, wonderful little girls - mine in particular.   It's so special that they got to start life with their best friend.

*I'm thankful for good friends to drink coffee with and talk to for hours.

*I'm thankful for chocolate.  Boy, do I like chocolate.

*I'm thankful for traditions.  They are comfortable yet new every time.

*I'm thankful for music.  Man, I'd don't know who I'd be without music.

I hope that you are able to spend time with people who you are thankful for a take a moment to see the blessings in your lives.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Halloween 2011

Our neighborhood doesn't really have much going on in terms of trick-or-treating.  You can walk a couple blocks and find maybe 5 houses with their porch lights on.  Kind of a bummer if you're a kid wanting to show off your costume and bulk up your candy supply.  Last year we went to Hutch and trick-or-treated in my parents neighborhood.  We had a great time, but we can't go to Hutch every year.  This year we teamed up with friends and hit their neighborhood.  We all had fun.

This is Ariel and Belle.  I scored these costumes at garage sales this past summer.  I paid $3.50 total.  Yeah for garage sales!

And, there off!

At their first stop, Taylor asked if the candy had nuts in it because she is allergic to nuts.  We praised her for the awareness, but told her just to take the candy and we would sort through it later.  It would have taken us all night to get past one block!

Three beautiful princesses.

I love this picture.  It captures these girls perfectly.  Princess who love to collect "treasures" and play in the dirt.

Corn Maze 2011

Five or six years ago my family started visiting a corn maze together.  We always go to one in Buhler, KS.  We love it.  It has a large corn maze and extra play things for the kids.  Some family members (who will remain nameless) have complained that its too cold, too muddy, too dusty, too expensive, etc.  I, personally, think its fun no matter what the conditions are like.  Those family members have the option to not go, if they'd like, but I don't really believe that will ever happen.  Here are a few shots from this year's maze activity.  I didn't get the "big" group shot (there were 14 people total), but I did get snapshots of most people.

Lake Afton

We had planned to go camping a few weeks ago with two other families, but our plans got rained out.  So, we decided to go last weekend with just one of the families.  (We missed you C family!)  We decided to go to Lake Afton because it wasn't too far away.  I had read about the Observatory, but didn't know they had a whole park!

During the day, they weather was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold.  The night time temperature was around 45 degrees both nights.  In my head, that didn't sound too bad, but in my tent, in the middle of the night, I was FREEZING!  I learned a lot the first night - we all should have been sleeping in hats.  I was able to put my head in the sleeping bag, but my conscience wouldn't let me because the girls couldn't put their heads in theirs'.  I didn't sleep at all because I was worried about the them.  Also, did you know that ducks don't sleep at night?  They quacked all night long.  Our friend mentioned before bed that it sounds like they are laughing when they quack.  As I laid in my sleeping bag, I chuckled each time I heard it.  At least for the first few hours.  Then it was just obnoxious.

Then next night was better, probably because I was so exhausted from not sleeping the night before.  The girls on the other hand, both had sore throats from being cold the night before.  I know, we're super great parents.  They survived.  Although, I am taking Emma to the doctor today for a possible ear infection today.  Its all about the memories, though, right?

 Anyway,  we all had a great time and the girls came home with a bucketful of treasures (bottle caps, fishing weights, a lens from someone's glasses, mussel shells, etc.).  Next time we're going earlier in October - and taking hats that hook under our chins.

The girls on an early morning treasure hunt.  I'm telling you, it was COLD!

Emma declared, "Look!  I found a Christmas decoration!"

Taylor participated in some Frisbee time with the dads.  She did pretty well!

I wish this weren't blurry.  What a sweet picture of K with A.

This was our sunset each night.  Beautiful.

***Just came back from the doctor.  Emma's ears are fine.  She's just being bad all on her own. Makes me feel like not such a bad parent after all.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday I awoke with great excitement.  The girls were going on their first field trip and I got to go with them!  Now, the girls weren't nearly as excited as I was.  I attribute that to them not knowing what a field trip was.  I'm sure after the fun they had, they will be excited about their next one. 

I loved field trips as a kid, and a teacher, and now as a mom.  This is one of the reasons I have decided to wait a few more years before going back to work.  I want to get to do some of these "mom" things that teachers sometimes miss out on.

Here is our adventure to the pumpkin patch.

Ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Finding the perfect pumpkin, but mostly just admiring beautiful flowers.

A baby pumpkin!

Emma's pick.  It was really sunny!

This wasn't her final pick, but a cute picture, none the less.

Taylor's final pick.

Hay angels

Train ride with friends.

We did lots more - jumping pillow, zip line, giant slide, fed goats, milo maze, etc.  I'll spare you the details.

Lately

With the arrival of the new puppy and a strange rash on my legs (I'll spare you the details), I haven't been getting much sleep.  I am really feeling the affects in my daily life.  I. Am. Tired.  Because of that, I have been unmotivated to do much of anything.  I thought that with the girls going to preschool, I'd have lots of extra time.  I don't.  In fact, I feel like I have more to do, or at least higher expectations. 

I finally felt myself lifting out of the fog this morning.  I have slowly been chipping away at my to-do list.  I pulled out some fall and Halloween decorations, which immediately lifted my spirits.  I also changed my playlist to Halloween music - just to keep things interesting.

This is our mantel, decorated for fall, with a Star Wars man who still hasn't made it into the basement to be with his friends.  We'll see how long he stays there.

Fun at the Fair

I love the fair.  In fact, that might be an understatement.  I love, love, love the fair.  I have since I was a kid.  I loved the excitement that built inside me as I watched the fair come together the week before.  When I was younger, the first Friday night was free so that's when my family went.  I would go later in the week and ride rides with friends.

Now, since I don't live in Hutchinson anymore, I have to fit the entire fair experience into one or two visits.  Its fun, but its exhausting.  This year I went on Friday night with two very good friends from high school.  I love these two friends  and wish we could get together more than once a year, but that's what happens when you become an adult.

We still aren't totally adult-like, though. : )

Saturday we spent the day at the fair with my family.  We did a lot of stuff and when I got home I still thought of several things that we missed!  I guess I needed three days.

The kids made puppets in the DO ART building.

 

The girls practiced their screwdriving skills in a construction areas for kids.

Looked at the scarecrow entries.  This is Flynn and Rapunzel.

The girls rode the ponies.

We watched the pig races.

Aunt Sarah got all the kids' faces painted.

We got tired and headed for home.

The following list is full of highlights that didn't get documented by pictures.

*Fried cookie dough - absolutely delicious.

*Riding the sky ride.  Its a ski-lift, without snow.

*Overhearing a conversation about how tasty the gizzards would be in a specific large chicken.

*The magic show that my sister thought was the worst magic show ever, but Taylor thought was pretty cool.

*Learning about dairy cows while watching a milking demonstration.