It's Here!

I was so excited when this arrived in the mail today. It's the first, of what I hope will be several, blog books. I don't scrapbook, but, obviously, I do enjoy blogging, so when I heard about Blurb (a site that does this--turns your blog into a book), I thought I'd give it a try. They had a great deal going just before Thanksgiving (free shipping, big discount), so I rushed to get the first year and a half done (I started the blog in Sept 2006). I've already found some formatting errors, but oh well! Overall, I'm really pleased with the end product. The next one will be a cinch to do now that I know what I'm doing. I think when the kids are older they'll enjoy reading through it. I know it's all online, but there's something about having an actual book in my hands that appeals to me.

Getting our tree the day after Thanksgiving

Waiting behind a tree while the big saw cut ours down.

Helping Mr. Buckner haul it out.

Aubrey camera face with Grandpa

The face again. Joel's smiling, though.

This is Aubrey's favorite coat right now. When I first pulled it out of the closet for her to wear, she absolutely refused to put it on, backing away as if it was going to jump out and bite her. Maybe it was too furry or something. Trying to think of a way to get her to wear it, I said,"Aubrey, look it's a tiger coat!"
That changed everything. Aubrey is really into animals right now, and tigers are one of her favorites (she does a great tiger growl), so the mention of tigers, made her slip right into that coat. Never mind that it's leopard print. They're both in the cat family, right? Now the only coat she wants to wear is the "tiger" coat.

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Greg's family. As you can see here, we ate all together in the garage, but despite what you may think, it was quite comfortable and worked really well for us! Mark and Shari worked hard to make the day a relaxing one, and we really appreciated their efforts. Shari had different stations set up all over the house for the kids to do various activities. They turned the other half of the garage into a big play room and even put down some carpet. It was a good day with family.

Working on a Thanksgiving sticker scene.

Aubrey's attention span for the stickers was amazing. I peeled stickers for her to put on the paper for about 15 minutes straight. When I tired of peeling, she recruited Grandpa to do it with her, and then when Grandpa tired of the task, she got cousin Ashlynn to help her.

Joel working on his scene.

Kari into it, too, placing her stickers carefully and strategically.

Happy Thanksgiving

Things have felt a little crazy around here lately and the blog suffers when that happens (actually a lot of things suffer, so I'm hoping to re-group and get organized soon). Greg's had some longer days at work, and I've got three little kids who are just being kids and keeping me on my toes. Things at home have been a little more chaotic than usual. I'm looking forward to a day of "rest" tomorrow as we celebrate Thanksgiving with the Moffat side of the family.
I made sure we set aside some time today to do a little bit of a craft and talk with the kids about what God has given them that they're thankful for. Hopefully you're able to reflect on that, too.

Mom's back on duty

Greg and the kids survived the weekend, and I had a nice time getting away from my normal routines for a bit. I'm glad to be back, though. I missed them. I think Greg must have taken these first two photos on Friday pizza movie night. Doesn't look like they were suffering too much without me. :)

And I love this one of Aubrey. Nice work, Greg! She's back to giving us her cheesy smile, as you will see below, so real smiles are a rarity. She might show you her cheesy face if you ask her sometime.

The kids just before leaving for church two Sundays ago. See that cheese?

Greg's on Daddy Duty

I am really looking forward to the rest of the week. Tomorrow morning I get to help in Kari's class, and then in the afternoon I head over to the Harvest Moon Bazaar where I'm selling nursing covers again like I did last year, which means... I get to sit, relax, and chat with friends for the better part of the next three days! Sort of a mom vacation, if you will.

So, if you're around here, come visit me.

Season's End

Saturday was Kari's last soccer game, and Sunday we celebrated at the team pizza party. Kari is very disappointed soccer is over, which is a far cry from August when she sobbed because she didn't want to do it (glad to know we did the right thing this time in "pushing" her to try something). She learned and grew a lot throughout the season, became much more confident and aggressive on the field, and scored 5 goals in her last game! She's already talking about next year. I also have to add that Greg and Mike did an excellent job coaching. Never having done this before, we didn't really know what to expect, but the guys got a ton of positive feedback from the other parents, many of whom have been doing soccer with their kids for years. They're both great dads, so I knew they'd be good at coaching this level, but I didn't know they'd be great! They taught the kids the basics of soccer but made it a lot of fun and did a lot of encouraging. We'll see if they're up for it again next year, because we've got a couple younger brothers who sat on the sidelines for two months and are anxious to play.
These are all photos from Saturday's game. As you can see, Kari was constantly in on the action. The middle row shows one of the goals she scored and then running back to Coach Mike for a big "ten." Rain or shine, Kari always had a large cheering section at her games. Thanks so much to all of you who came and cheered her on! And thanks to the Millers for doing it with us! We had a fantastic first soccer experience.

Bonding time

These two have been interacting a lot more lately and having fun together, a combination of Aubrey getting older and Kari being at school in the mornings, I think. Aubrey loves her "Gawboo" and asks for him as soon as I get her out of her crib. We took a walk earlier this week(before it got all windy and rainy) to gather leaves and other bits of nature. I love taking morning walks with the kids in the fall--beautiful leaves on the trees, cool crisp air, and happy-to be-outside kids. I had an "I'm thankful to be home with my kids" kind of day.

Trains can be very serious business, and sometimes little 20 month old sisters, even cute, fun ones, get in the way and mess up the tracks. Mommy must be vigilant during train play.

Joel was pulling Aubrey around on the trike, and she LOVED it. (Do you like that she's still in her pjs? Sometimes she just doesn't make it into clothes before we have to get in the car to take Kari to school. She's warm at least.)

Do we need a dog?

The answer to that question is no, by the way. However, listening to my children might make one think a pet would be in order. Yesterday the kids were playing in the hallway, and I heard Kari say, "Fetch, Aubrey!" And Aubrey fetched.

Halloween 2009

Just before heading out for trick-or-treating. Aubrey had just woken up from her nap and wasn't quite in a festive mood yet (milk cures all in her book--hence the sippy cup).

My new favorite picture of Joel. Such a sweet face inside that ferocious looking T-rex.

With the crowds

We met with up with all kinds of friends and family while we were out. It's always fun to see the kids dressed up. And it didn't rain on us!
Here's the latest cousin photo:
Miles (lion), Sam (Spiderman), Kari (Alice), Joel (T-Rex), Ashlynn (Lucy from Narnia), Maggie (Jellyfish), Lorelai (Aurora, of course), and Aubrey (Frog, or "Soggie," as she says it)

Some video for those far-away

Just so you know, the knives are pumpkin carving knives that are NOT sharp. :)


This is the sort of thing we do around here on raining evenings. We've got to get their energy out somehow.

Fall Fun

Aubrey loved her first pumpkin carving experience. The messy goo didn't bother her at all. Joel, on the other hand, did not enjoy the messy goo part (still doesn't like to get his hands dirty) but thought the cutting part was pretty great. Kari was all business and worked hard trying to do it all herself. In the top right photo the kids are all trying to make faces like their jack-o-lanterns.

Harvest Party

Ok, so it was a Halloween party without the witches and scary stuff, and it was REALLY fun! The older kids from church (and their parents) hosted the party for the younger ones. We had great weather, great food, and the kids had such a great time with all the activities planned for them. They were excited they got to wear their costumes before Halloween, and it was good to have a trial run, too, because I discovered that the underskirt I made for Kari's dress needs to be cinched in so it doesn't fall off when she walks (no, I did not make the dress--that's beyond my sewing capabilities), and I now know it takes over a half hour to straighten Kari's hair to be "just like Alice."

The fam

Our host,Spock, and a bunch of kids gathered to watch the chickens. Aubrey was quite enthralled with those chickens.

The mini-hayride (pulled by the riding lawn mower--ingenious!) with T-Rex Joel, Jellyfish Maggie (Isn't Maggie's jellyfish costume great? You can see it in the photo above, too.), and Alice in Wonderland Kari

Froggie Aubrey and her friend Flower child Abigail.

Pumpkin Patch Time

We took advantage of our only fall Saturday morning without a soccer game to go to Liepold's. It was a bright, sunny morning, and we had a great time, as usual! Only Aubrey and I fell in the mud. :)

Time at home

Aubrey's fever is gone as of this morning, and she is feeling much better. We're still hanging out at home, though, just in case someone else decides to get sick and because I'm tired! Today we did some coloring, made some construction paper jack-o-lanterns and also some grapes, apples, and oranges (the pumpkins were my idea--the other fruit was Joel's). Joel's been asking for a while now if we could make a new batch of "slime," so we did that, too.

The animals tromping through the treacherous terrain (gotta love alliteration).

Poor lizard

Brave kitty and brave Aubrey. Can you see her battered lip? Her face had a run-in with the table yesterday. Yesterday was filled with lots of crying--Aubrey, not me, but I was close by the end of the day. Glad yesterday is over. Today has been much more fun.

The unsuspecting panda just before being swallowed by a big wave of slime.