This was Bear's first time to help with a pumpkin and Kati doesn't remember last year so it may as well be a first for her. We had a lot of fun. I thought Kati would be a whip about pulling the insides out but she had a great time getting out the "guts". Brendon on the other would not do it. He enjoyed pretending to eat the inside. I will try to get a picture of the finished product today. We went in as soon as we could, there was little sprinkling of rain and the kids were being eaten by mosquitoes.

Makes you cry happy tears......

While talking about Heaven last night Kati asks, "When I go there if I take my book about Jesus will He read it to me?"

How rude

So I was feeling kind of sick and ran for the restroom. Brendon followed because I suppose watching people barf is interesting. So Brendon is watching and says, "Bite?". Might have been semi cute (since he doesn't understand what is going on) except for the fact that he thought I was eating out of the toilet.

Not the best picture

How do you like the fat lip Grandpa? We were dancing in the kitchen to Rod Stewart while I made lunch when BAM! Guess you shouldn't dance with your socks on

NEWS

Game time

Last night we bought two new games, well they really aren't new, just new to the kids. And I can't even really say they were both for the kids because we really bought one of them for us. I like playing games with family however if you catch me with a group a people I will adamantly claim that I don't. I really enjoy just being silly with Jeff and that is usually what happens when we play games. Anyway, last night we bought Hungry Hungry Hippo and Ker plunk. I could wait to get the games going. We started with Hungry Hippo. I was really excited about this one because Bear always wants to play Hi-ho-cherry-o and I won't let him. At first I couldn't figure out why at the end he never had any marbles. On the next round I watched him to see if he understood. He understood alright, his hippo would eat some and then he would put them back out to catch again. Occasional he would tell his hippo "eat, eat". He was so glad to be playing with the big kids. Kati had a good time too and of course she had to be the pink hippo. Ker plunk was really for us but Kati asked to play and you know Jeffrey and I have a hard time telling those blue eyes no when it comes to little things. They liked that game too but that is a lot of work when they don't understand careful selection of sticks. That's a lot of preliminary work to only play for a minute or two. Before Kati even got out of bed this morning she wanted to know if we could go wake up Bear and if we could play "hun-gee" hippo. Amazingly we played Hungry Hippo before breakfast. If you know Bear then you know what a big deal that is. Nothing happens before breakfast and I mean nothing, not even a new diaper.

Pumpkin Farm

What to see our exciting pictures from the pumpking patch........

Oh wait, we didn't get to go. We drove out there just to find out they were closed. Yes, I knew it was a possibility since it was raining at our house but we decided to take a chance. We had to try since I had been telling Kati about it for days. Can you tell from the pictures the kids were disappointed. They sprang back quickly though, it took me a little longer. Oh well, we will try again this weekend. Grandma G is coming for a visit soon, we can't wait to see you! You will be amazed at how quickly Bear has grown.

oh, the joys of parenting

I'm going to just come out and say it, Kati has a lying problem. We have discussed the fact that it is a sin and how it makes God sad and mom and dad but nothing is working. The real problem here is that she is really convincing. She lied again today, it probably wasn't even her first lie. The lie.....she hit Brendon. Now, had she just told the truth in the beginning we would have had a talk about hitting not being nice and just let it go since she doesn't have a hitting problem. Her punishment.....Three spankings, I didn't beat the girl but they were whoppers and her bum won't soon forget, 30 minutes in time out ( I know, I know, she is only suppose to be there for three minutes) and here was the biggie NO SESAME STREET. When I threw in that bomb the world just about stopped. Icing on the cake, I still let Bear watch it because he didn't lie to anyone. She carried on and cried for quite a while. Later I found her dancing in the hall. It turns out she was listening to the show from the hallway. She was sent to her room and she cried some more. She knows she is missing Sesame Street for the lying. Maybe this will be the thing that gets her to stop. She likes me to watch Sesame Street with her and we snuggle so I'm really being punished too. Sometimes being a good parent is no fun.

A few nights ago Bear learned how to play hide~n~seek. It turned into Jeffrey hiding in dark rooms and Bear finding only him knowing Jeff would yell and scare him. They had so much fun.

My big girl

Kati is enjoying Awana's so much. She got to wear her vest for the first time on Sunday. We are so proud of her.

Kati is going through a new phase. One I think Uncle Jared will understand. Kati is going by new names and assign us new ones as well. Yesterday I was Mommy elephant, bear...baby elephant, Jeff....daddy elephant, and Kati...baby tiger. Poor Kati gets stuck with a crumby mom that can't remember to call everyone by their new name even though she continues to remind me in her exasperated voice. Today she and I got new names. Kati is baby elephant but me, what do I get? Mommy goober ("doober") dragon head. Kids are so much fun. Sure hope these names don't last long. Pictured above: Baby elephant and John Wayne

We were in the other room when we heard a loud bang. This is what we found. I'm pretty sure Kati just left the door open but doesn't he look so guilty?

BEAR LAUGHING IN 3 SPEEDS

The Best Laugh Ever & The Best Big Sister Ever