I Love Fall!

In our backyard, we have four very large trees. The other night with the wind storm, it successfully knocked all our leaves off of them. The kids had a blast raking and jumping in their little piles of leaves.

Leah thought that it was more fun to jump instead of rake. She would wait until Abby and Nate weren't looking, and run and jump into their piles.
I just thought that this was cute of them. They are growing up so fast, I can't believe they are so big already. Its fun that we have a yard, that they can just play in, and I don't have to worry about them. Leah loves having free reign and Nate loves being able to ride his four wheeler in the backyard. Their favorite is to ride the lawn mower with dad, and be his helper, with whatever project he has going on.

Pumpkins!

For Family Home Evening this week, we carved our pumpkins. My friend Jolene and her husband Brad, took Abby to a pumpkin patch this last week, and told her that she could pick any pumpkin she wanted as long as she could carry it. By the time that she picked one, the pumpkin she chose Brad couldn't even carry. The pumpkin in the picture is about half the size of her first choice. I told her to pick which one of her pumpkins to carve (she picked 4 pumpkins at the patch, the rest she gets to paint!) but whichever one she picked, she was going to have to clean out.
To clean it out, she had to reach in past her arm pit. They had a great time doing it.
Nate liked playing with the "guts" as he called them.
This is the only picture of Leah with her hand in the pumpkin, because once she felt what was in it, she was done with the whole idea!
The kids would draw their faces on their pumpkins, and then dad would cut it out for them.
This is the end product. It turned out to be a fun night with the kids. We get so busy with silly things, that this doesn't happen very often. As we were cleaning up, Abby told me, this was the best night ever. I love how its just the little simple things that matter to them.
Here are the pumpkins all lit up, (sorry a lot of pictures) We ended the night reading Halloween stories, and eating the caramel from what was supposed to be caramel apples. We just ran out of time. The kids are cute, and are outside every hour or so, just checking on their pumpkins.

My First Tag!

So I have been tagged by Camille. At least I think she tagged me! Anyway, its supposed to be six quirks.

1. I have to count everything. The steps I go up and down, the ceiling tiles. (I think you get the picture.)

2. I can't stand the toilet seat up. Having little boys around the house doesn't help this either.

3. When I see something crooked, Like a book on a bookshelf or a picture on a wall, I can't stop thinking about it, until I fix it.

4. I agree with Camille, I hate noisy eaters. Especially people who think its okay to continue eating while talking on the phone!

5. I think this goes back to the picking thing too, I can't handle seeing things and not pick them (black heads, baby zits (I resist, but its hard) cradles cap, and etc.)

6. And finally for the last one, its not so much now, but when I was younger, if I touched something with my left hand, I had to do it with my right. Or both feet, Or whatever, If I did it with one side of my body, I had to do it with the other.

Anyway, now you all know how bizarre I really am, but there you have it. I don't know if there is anyone that hasn't done this, but if so, I tag you!

A Princess

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Everyone wants to be a princess right?

Girls Night!

This last week was my little sister, Megans birthday. So I thought that it would be fun to take her out for a girls night. I invited all my sisters that could make it (2 are missing) and we headed out on the town. In my family you get to get your ears pierced on your 12th birthday. Megan turned 11 this year. So we took her by complete surprise when we announced she was getting them pierced.
This is a few of them. From the left. Megan (sitting) Amy, Jeanne (my mom) Ashley, April and Mary.
She didn't know what to expect, but I don't think it was as bad as the anticipation of it.
We ended the night at Wingers, and had their famous Asphalt Pie. It was a fun night for all of us.
Whats a birthday, without a song from the waiters? Happy Birthday Megan!

Meow Out!

This is Leah with our kitten Bella. Last week I was asleep, and I hear Leah in her bed crying. She keeps saying "Meow Out!" I ask Rich, to make sure that is really what she was saying, so I go in to check on her, and she is still half asleep, but Bella is in her room. So I think she probably was just having a dream. Well, yesterday I was up checking on the kids about 4 am. I am tucking Leah back under her blanket, and I hear purring. I look at the bottom of the bed, and there is Bella, snuggling with Leah's stuffed animals. I take out Bella, and then go back to bed, to hear Leah again cry, "Meow Out!" I thought that it was so funny, so I asked her, "Was Bella in your bed?, and she says "yes" and then again, "out" She then went back to sleep. It made me laugh, she just didn't like her space being invaded.

Harvest Time!

So I have seen a lot of posts about peoples gardens. I am so proud of ours this year, so I thought that I would share some pictures. I have everything from peas to squash, to watermelon and cantaloupe. I decided to do 2 zucchini plants, and I am slightly regretting that. Every week so far, I am shredding and freezing 40 cups of zucchini! We will be having zucchini bread and cake well into spring I think. My kids love to help pick all the veggies. So tonight we will be having fresh corn on the cob, steamed squash, and red potatoes. I love harvest time!

Down to One!

Today Nathan started Preschool! I am down to one child at home, and I am not sure what to do. Though my list is plenty long of things that I need to do. Last week we had an assessment done on Nathan to see if he had speech problems, some people just can't quite understand him (me included). The assessment was for learning disabilities, and the preschool is right inside of the Elementary School with Abby, so we thought that it would be perfect if he qualified. Did I mention that it would be free? It is a state subsidized program, so it would be free to attend. We went in, and her blew through it with flying colors. The average child in there would be a 3 out of 5. Nathan was a 5 plus in everything. They told me that his speech was right on target for his age. But if there was a problem next year when he was to start kindergarten, then he could be in a speech therapy class. I was disappointed, because I knew he needed the interaction, and the teachers are both licensed speech pathologists. So we thought that we would have to find another school to get him enrolled. On our way out, they said they would love to have him to help teach the other children in the class correct classroom behavior (those of you that know Nate will be surprised at that!) He did so well in the assessment, that they were begging me to let him be in the class. The can accept tuition payment for so many children each year. So to make a long story a little shorter, he got to start today. I am excited that there are teachers there, that can help him work on his speech, and he gets a little time away from home every day. When I dropped him off, he didn't care that I was leaving, he just wanted to know if he could play with the toys yet. I think that he will have a lot of fun, and it gives me two and a half hours of silence at home every day.

This is Nate's friend Kyla. It was her first day of Kindergarten today. So after I dropped off Nate we took her to her school. They were both very excited for their first days.
This is his classroom, and when they get to school, they are to find their name on the school bus, and then put it in their cubby. So the teacher knows who is at school for the day.

Abby's First Day

So this is what Abby told me about her first day of First Grade. "It was good, we had three recesses, but I only got to have two." In which I asked her why, " I was eating my lunch, and they told me I needed to eat it all, and no one would wait for me to finish, and then I didn't know what I was supposed to do, so I just sat there. Then big kids started coming, and soon I saw my teacher looking for me. She couldn't find me anywhere. Recess was already over, so I just had to go to class." I felt bad for her, but I let her know, that now she will know what to do in case she gets left again. But she made sure that I packed her a lunch today, with fast things to eat, to ensure that she wasn't the last one again. She loved having her own desk, and I think will make friends fast. I can't believe that I have a first grader already. Time flies by so fast.

First Day of School!

We are so excited to be finally on our way to school. It's nice that we are so close that we can still walk.
Abby and Jakelle, they aren't in the same class this year, but are very excited to make new friends. They are excited to still walk to and from school together, and their classes are next door to each other too.
It took us three tries, but we (she) finally decided on an outfit. She looked very cute.
Standing next to her new desk.
This is Abby's teacher, Mrs. Dahle. She seems very nice, Abby is just thrilled about having school lunch.