Colossal Catch Up!

So I've had some technical difficulties, but I'm determined to get caught up before Christmas!  Time for some random pictures and stories from the past month. 

Back in November, Scott played "Arabesque" in his piano recital.  We were proud of him!  He was so relieved when it was OVER!  He kept referring to his shirt and tie get up as his costume.  :)

We also visited the dentist last month.  While in the waiting room, Kate got a little anxious.  She kept smoothing her hair repeatedly and nervously asked, "How does my hair look?" at least six times. 

Before she went back, she asked a hypothetical question..."I know this probably won't happen, but is the girl dentist (dental hygienist) or the boy dentist the one that pulls your teeth out?" 

Thankfully it went better than she expected, and she left with all of her teeth.  Whew!:)

Leave Kate at home for an afternoon with Jon and this is what you get!  Jon said she was an enthusiastic helper!

Just when we thought Rural King couldn't get any better, they go and add a rooster.  He even gave us some good cockadoodledoos!

Since the recital, Scott has been teaching the girls to play more songs.  I think they were inspired by all of the performances and want to play too.  After what seemed like nonstop piano playing for a few days, I told Jon that I didn't think I could handle three young pianists in the family!  Especially not all at once as I captured below...AHHHH!

Grammy had the kids play a fun Thanksgiving trivia game that she created!  Prizes & all!

Kate made me laugh by saying, "Mommy, my sleeves are up, the hair is out of my face, and I am ready to lick!"  What a pro!:)

The girls were pretending to make jewelry the other night.  Natalie asked Kate if she wanted a bracelet, necklace, earring, nose ring...

I said, "Nose ring?  Who has a nose ring?"

Natalie quickly replied, "The people at Walmart."

That's quite a face, Kate!

They were SO eager to play in the snow!  They took what little we got and played outside until I finally made them come in.  They're sure hoping for more in the coming weeks!

Kate's been asking several questions lately about death and baptism...not always at the same time.  One day she randomly said, "What if you were in the water ready to be baptized and then Jesus came back?"  (I think this is what she is hoping will happen..."check" for being obedient to the call of baptism and "check" for Jesus taking her home before she had to put her head under the water.)  Her questions have been sweet (and sometimes sad)...all the things her young mind is processing.

On a similar note, one day the kids were asking us about heaven over lunch.  They were asking what language God speaks since there are believers all over the world.  Jon was trying to explain it when Kate got wide eyed and very seriously asked, "What if I get to heaven and God says, 'Hola!'?"   We all couldn't help but laugh at her sweet question.

Five year old well check...three immunizations...this girl is ready for kindergarten to start and is so excited for August already!

Go, Natalie, Go!

The cats were feeling the Christmas love and were holding hands.  Have I mentioned how much I like these kitties?? :)  It took much restraint to hold it to one picture for the blog!

These kiddos are favorites of mine, as well!:)

We have a five year old!

Kate is officially FIVE YEARS OLD!

Here's one BIG surprise for the five year old (and for the five year old's parents)!  That's one BIG bear and was certainly a BIG hit with Kate!! 

Scott decided the bear needed to be buckled too and all of the kids were quite tickled by this on our drive home!:)

 Early morning birthday celebration before Scott & Natalie had to leave for school

Aunt Kristen came for a visit even after working all night.  Fun to see her!

I'm going to miss this sweet girl when she goes to kindergarten next year!  Trying to cherish our one on one time while I have it. 

Happy Birthday, Katester!

A Flurry of Fall Fun

Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch- Sometimes we're in coats, but this year shorts!  Hooray!

Curious Kittens!

Fifties Day in Second Grade- complete with bowling in a poodle skirt!

Paw Patrol!  Ready for Action!

(Well...sometimes, that is.)

This girl makes the monkey bars look easy!

(No one picks up the cats except for me.  Kate tried it the other day and said...)

Kate:  Did you think I could carry a kitty?

Me:  No, but you're good at it.

Kate:  Well, that's my new talent.

What fall break would be complete without chopping down a tree or two?

Stairsteps- Stop growing, Scott!!:(  He's gonna catch me before I know it!

Left. Left. Left, Right, Left.

We took advantage of the beautiful weather that we had over break and hiked at a state park.  We had attempted some hiking this summer on our West Trip, and it didn't go wonderfully, so we weren't sure what to expect.  However, everyone (KATE) held up well and no one (KATE) needed to be carried for very long.  It was actually...fun!:) 

The leaves were still pretty green.  It's been a strange fall in the weather department.

At one point, I heard another family on the trail talking.  The dad was telling his child that if "that little girl" (Kate) could do it, then surely his older son could too.  After they passed, I told Kate this story, and she held her head high and seemed to get a second wind.  (And she asked me to tell her that story again a couple more times while we were hiking.)

Natalie was the trail marker spotter and stopped to trace each number with her finger. 

"Go slow, hold on tight, watch your step, be careful!" said the mom who can't help herself.

Jon had filled a canteen before we left, and we all kind of turned up our noses at it.  About halfway through though, Jon pulled out the water and he had five takers!  Thankful we had an experienced hiker guy with us!:)  

Likewise, I packed some cookies in the van for our trip home.  Not surprisingly, I had five takers, as well. :)  Good thing we have an experienced cookie lady in the family!  Perhaps I should increase the hiking and decrease the cookie consumption, but that's a better topic saved for a January 1st post.  Heave ho!

Fall Break Here We Come! (Even though we're staying here)

Two of my children have become quite sensitive about what I put on my blog.  If I respond with laughter to something they say, they start begging, "PLEASE don't put that on your blog!!"  I assure them that my audience is small, but they still request that I don't post most of their cute quotes!  Even Kate will sometimes scowl when I come at her with my camera when she's doing something funny.  Therefore, my approved material is dwindling.  I really need to start writing more in a journal so that I can share the funny comments that they've made privately with them someday.

For now, here's a post with mostly Kate quotes!  She still has us laughing and can't read my blog well enough yet to veto things!  And as always...a gazillion pictures, of course!:)

Since we've gotten the cats, I've become an even meaner handwashing Nazi.  Everytime the kids come in from petting them, I tell them to wash their hands!!  Kate came to me one day and confessed, "I forgot to wash my hands before I ate my biscuit this morning, but it's okay.  Everything was still good.  It didn't taste like fleas." 

The kids always notice a particular house on our route that puts up crazy Halloween decorations. Kate pointed out that house awhile back and said, "Pretty soon, there will be Halloween decorations up at that house."
I said, "Yeah...I don't like that."
Kate said, "Well, it doesn't give me the creeps."

For some reason, the kids were talking about buying a car.  Kate was trying to sell me on the idea and said, "We will pay for it with our own money."

Scott corrected her, "We can't buy a car!"

Kate as confident as ever replied, "We sure can cause I have $100 in savings!"

Kate found a spider downstairs.  I told her that I would go get a paper towel.  She said, "I'll watch it for you. He is very still.  He is ready to get dead."  

 Did we have two or three cats?  Hmmm...

We homed butterflies again this year!  Amazing every time!

The kids have an app from school that allows me to check how many great behavior points they are earning throughout the day.  I was checking it one day and I told Kate that Natalie got 7 Dojo Points.  Kate responded with, "WOW!  She's a GOOD kid!"  

It's funny how Kate refers to Scott and Natalie as kids.  She will often say things like, "Do we have to pick up the kids today?"  OR  "We can do this when the kids get home." 

Kate in frustration:  Natalie! I'm gonna give you a piece of my mind!

 HA!!  Case in point, the girls just came up to me and Kate is mad because she sees her name and knows that I'm writing funny stories about her.  :(  One day, she will appreciate the humor, right?

A lost dog from a few miles away came to visit awhile back.  She felt very at home, and even tried to let herself in.  The kids got a big kick out of Smokey's visit and have started the "we want a dog" discussions again. 

 Find the Scarecrows in the Corn Maze!

Piper likes to sleep on this shelf where Jon stores his police belt.  Regardless of whether the belt is there or not, she's claimed this shelf.  Handcuffs for a pillow?  Sure!

 Honey Bee Farm Field Trip with Natalie!  Sweet!!

Scott comes home ravenous after school.  One day, he walked in and said, "Mom, I haven't had pizza in FOUR days and that's a record!"  (Implying...where's my pizza??)

 Happy Fall!  :)  Time to break out the shorts and sunglasses???