Thanksgiving Feast

The week before Thanksgiving at school the kids both had special Feast Days where the parents could attend a lunch with their kids. Thank goodness their feasts were on different days, other wise I think Ben and I would have gone man to man defense. The stinky part was that Ben had to be away from work two times, but it was while he was sick so it kind of worked out ok.


Bear was very excited to show off his classroom and friends to both mom and dad. He had lots of fun sharing his room and food with everyone. He decided that they needed to have a salad for lunch so I made a great salad, (in my humble opinion) and everyone ate it up. There was only a very little bit left over.


Isabelle had fun just being with us and eating lunch. She was so excited that she decided to stay at school after lunch with a few of her friends. You had the option to go home but she wanted to stay and play. Her choice of food was cookies, and of course the kids both helped and we made chocolate chip cookies, they were some of the best yet. Sorry no leftovers. Maybe if your nice and ask really sweetly I’ll make you some, you just let me know. Her class made all sorts of neat little table decorations and “ponchos” to ware during the feast. It was so much fun.

No more Naked Ears

Isabelle is going to be turning the big 5 this year, and one of the things we had talked about with her was getting her ears pierced. So one day we went to get her hair cut at a special location but the location was no longer there, instead I decided to have her ears pierced. She would have done wonderful if mom had not blown it by telling her it was going to be a “poink” which is her word for shot and all things poky. That stressed her out and once the first one was in she was very up set but finally let the girl do the other ear and was perfectly fine two seconds afterwards. Now she is a big girl with pierced ears. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of the blessed event because I did not bring my camera since it was not part of the day’s activities. I know I should have waited.

Faire Fun

I’m not sure if I have ever really expressed exactly how much I love the Renaissance Festival. I really do love it; the food, smells, people and the entertainment make for a wonderful day full of wonderful sights. A couple of weekends ago (sorry so late but we have not been feeling well) we went to the Ren Faire and I mostly took pictures of the sights, and by sights I mean people. I did get some of the kids since they were dressed up. Isabelle was a princess and Bear was a pirate. Cooper went as a farmer; I don’t know Ben dressed the kids I was off taking pictures.
The faire is just great, because it can encompass so many different age groups, young and old alike and people from all different walks of life. Now I did not personally interview anybody but I’m sure they have everyday jobs like, lawyers, doctors, retail workers, grocery workers or trucking. The Ren Faire brings all of these people together in a way that they might not normally associate with each other. A sort of camaraderie develops between fair goers rarely found in other venues.


So for your viewing pleasure I have complied a group of photos that I feel help to emphasize the vastness of the fair and it attendants. After all where else can you escape to for an entire day and pretend that you are someone else and be in good company. No matter what you wear no one is going to make fun of you or point and laugh. Now if you were walking down Main Street in chain mail on a Tuesday that might cause people to look at least twice. And of course some people will draw more attention than others but that is the nature of the fair and why people dress up to begin with.







The next time the Fair is in town you should try to go or visit one someplace else. It is a great experience for the entire family and you don’t have to dress up just go as you are, but if you do have a costume by all means where it, anything goes at the Ren Faire.

I WON

Ok so I was going to write about my horrible day and rant and rave about how I did not have a good time at the doctors office with three kids, but that was before I went to the mail box. At the mail box I discovered an envelope. In said envelope was some fablous news. Now I must tell you a little background before going into the details. A little bit ago I submitted four photographs to the City of Arlington for a photography contest they were having. I checked the website for winners after the appropriate amount of time and could not find anything so I just wrote it off. Until today when I went to get the mail and movies. There folded in half was a large envelope from the city, contents unknown. Before even getting back to the house I was quicky ripping into said evenlope to see the contents could possibly hold. Only to find out that YES I was a winner. I had won Third Place - People and Honorable Mention - Nature for two of my submitted photos. I was so excited. It made my entire day so much better (read moving on from one glass of wine to number two quickly.) I had the pleasure of winning a $50 gift certificate to any of the city facilities, summertime pool time here we come. I know kind of cheesy but who cares I won. The photos will be used in various city locations and publications throughout the next year. I can hardly wait to see what happens. Plus I won! Go Me! So I thought I would show you the two pictures that won and you can tell me how fablous they truly are. Be sure to check out the other winners in the link above. Congrats to the other winners for a job well done.

Cooper @ 9 Months

Cooper is officially nine months old now. Where did the time go? I’m sure you’re also thinking are you not a little behind on this post. Well I did want to wait until we visited the doctor to get all his fabulous stats that way you could know exactly how much he weights, and how tall he is and all the other wonderful things people talk about as their babies are growing up. So here they are:

Height: 29 inches
Weight: 16 lbs. 5 oz (I think, I don't remember)
Head: not measured
Thoughts: these were going to be from the Dr. who we did not see more on that in another postb

Cooper is of course very active, in case you were not aware before, he is all over the place. I have my first official child who likes to open cupboards and see what’s inside. I think I’m going to have to have Ben put latches on a couple, other wise he can just got to town. So that is pretty new.

He as also started to wave at people, and clap. I’m really working on “more” because despite what his old doctor might think, this kid can eat. He seems to be a bottomless pit some days, probably because he is burning so many calories moving around. He has also started to stand up on his own. Now this is by releasing his hands from the object that he pulled up from but still. He gets up there, and looks at you like hey here I come. But then he cannot figure out how to make his legs work, it’s too cute.

Let me see he drools a lot, I’m just waiting for those top two teeth to finally make and appearance, not sure how that will feel but oh well. He loves to be where ever there are people; this kid does not want to miss a beat. Oh yea, he has also started to climb down the stairs. The first three he does head first then makes it to the next set and starts out that way and then changes his mind to go down feet first. At least he is working on his problem solving skills.

Overall we are very happy with Cooper and I think he likes us as well. He will be a pretty tough kid, thanks to Bear. He is not quite as cuddly as Bear but does like to be up in the air and see what is going on. Isabelle loves to have a baby brother and is a wonderful helper. He is a lot of fun!

Self Portrait

I just wanted to include a self portrait so that you guys would not forget what I look like. Ha, ha.

Crazy kids

This is what the kids like to do when I’m not completely focused on them, or god forbid, going to the bathroom. So do you think this is better than the basket sliding down the stairs? The only challenge here is that Bear will not help Isabelle where as, she of course will help Bear. He so has her figured out.

Halloween

For Halloween we had a very busy day. It started off with the family 1 mile run for Penny’s Cancer center over in Irving, bright and early. The kids were not fans of waking up that early but they soon got into the swing of things. Isabelle and Bear did great on the run, Isa ran most of the mile and Bear ran a good portion. Cooper just strolled along with Grandma Susie and Grandma Nana. From there we went to the soccer game, where Isabelle was a machine, scoring at least four goals and have two to three assists. She is too funny and tries to keep count for herself. We have to take her out of the game to let the other kids play as well as let the other team have the ball. What a difference a year makes. Bear actually played a little more than usual and did very well; I think he just prefers soccer tots. Good thing we’re starting that on Thursday.

After a good rest we went to Mary’s house for a little Halloween get together. We were the only non-bowlers there. Mary’s Dad Gene works for USB and so they hang out with lots of competitive bowlers, Ben really wants to learn some good tricks he can implement at the bowling ally. The kids had fun meeting and playing with new friends and then of course trick or treating later on. They both came home with really big bags of candy. People were very generous with their candy and willingness to provide dental decaying products to today’s youth. Overall our Halloween was a good one and the kids had a blast.

Nursing Home

A couple of days before Halloween I got the kids all dressed up to visit a local nursing home with a new moms group we are trying out. They have a book club, enough said right? I think they had fun, it was a little short, we walked around the facility to show off the cute costumes the kids wore and then they had put bags together for the kids with candy that they just loved. I think the residents really enjoyed themselves and thought it was great for the kids to come by. I got lots of great compliments on my cute little frog.

Fall

I love fall; the colors, activities, and the changing of the weather. Although our weather has been crazy and we do not really get the leaves changing like we use to in Utah it is still a fabulous time of the year. And for the weeks You Capture, she selected fall. I have decided to include pictures for Minnesota of the colors there and one of my favorite fall activities, the pumpkin patch. I do hope you enjoy!

Happy 80th Nana

Ok so the real reason we went up to Minnesota was to help Grandma Nana, Ben's Grandmother, celbrate her 80th birthday. Not just snow and potaotes, those were just side benefits. We all helped Ben's Mom put together a party for Nana, so that she could share her special day with her friends and family. And you know what we did not even run out of food. We could of had another party on Sunday with just the left overs, and still of had food for Monday, ha, ha. I think that Nana was greatful for her party and that it was a huge success.

Pumpkin Days

The kids had pumpkin days at school; I guess this was the schools way of celebrating Halloween without recognizing a pagan holiday. No witches or vampires were seen at this pumpkin celebration. The kids had lots of fun playing with their friends and going to various activities in fifteen minute intervals. Some stations were not long enough and others were too long, even though each was just fifteen minutes. The activities include but are not limited to pumpkin decorating, petting zoo, Stretch N’ Grow, music and much more. The day was pretty full interesting for the parents who were in attendance. Bear went around with Isabelle’s class and I think he really enjoyed that. I just figured Isabelle would have more fun with her friends than Bears, and I did not want to have to run between the two classes.



Cooper was a trooper, he did get to get out and see the animals but mostly he was happy and content to stay in the backpack carrier. He even fell asleep.

Snow and Potatoes

Our trip to Minnesota was somewhat eventful. We stopped in Kansas because it’s a long drive and we exchanged children, Isabelle stayed with her cousin Gabby, and Noah came along to play with Bear. Let me tell you they had lots of fun.

For three days they played in the very wet snow, making a snowman, having snow ball fights, and sledding down the hill in Grandma Nana’s back yard. Now there was hardly enough snow to cover the ground but they had lots of fun anyway. Grandma Susie even got out there to help and play with the boys, it was a great adventure.


They went to see a man about a cow, at the sales barn and watched the process of farmers buying and selling their cows. Noah is an old pro at this and Bear is surprisingly well for his first time. I think he was mesmerized by the cows; how big they were and how close they get while at the sales barn. Too much fun!

Now of course we cannot forget about the digging for potatoes. Which ended up coming in very handy for Nana’s party, but that is another story for another day. All the kids helped dig potatoes from the field and were nice and dirty.
But they had a lot of fun, counting the potatoes and picking them up to take home. They collected over thirty (30) potatoes and that was just a small portion of the row, imagine if we went up the entire row.

Overall Noah and Bear had a great time and got a long really well. Boys will be boys, especially when there are just boys around and no girls. It was quite the experience, but lots of fun.

Bike

Just so those of you who are not close by don't feel left out, I am going to make a quick post about Bear and his new bike. As he reward for being potty trained we told him he could get a new bike. Well he has been done for quite a while now and we are just now rewarding him for all his hard work. (I really wanted to make sure he coud push the pedals, he had a hard time with the tricycle for some reason.) But he is a bike riding machine, he just has a challenge with turning around. I'm sure one day when it stops raining he will be able to figure that out pretty quick. Then Isabelle will be moving up to a world without training wheels. I told her she cannot get a new bike until she learns to ride without them. And since she is getting taller, everyday, she could really use a new one. Oh yea Cooper is rocking the walker, he really wants to be just like his older sibs. And yes the walker has been used and abused by both his older siblings, it started with Isa and has been used by Bear, plus it has spent quality time outside.

Just Wait

I have lots to chat about and post, and once I find the time I will put some stuff up. But I will say that I miss blogging when I'm out of town. Crazy I know.