First Half of Fall Break

     Over fall break, we did the traditional pumpkin patch visit.  This time though, we did it without Jon since he was away on a hiking trip.  We missed him on the bumpy wagon ride.  We missed him during the tough selection process.  Most of all, however, we missed him when it was time to lug the heaviest pumpkin ever back to the van which was parked oh so far away.  Scott kindly pointed out a closer parking spot on our journey back, during which I pulled and strained every muscle in back, neck, and arms in an attempt to get this monster back to the trunk.  Live and learn, I guess...or just bring Jon next year. 

     Over break, we also ventured to see this precious little pumpkin and her mom and dad.  Anna is the sweetest, happiest, cutest little one around!   I've seen so many pictures and videos of her over this past year, but it was wonderful to see her again in person. 

 Lovable baby, lovable dog...if only they lived closer!

 Sophie impressed us all with her HIGH FIVE dog tricks. 

   After visiting, we did some farm touring.  Molly comes from a farming family, so we were able to see/pet/hold/feed chickens (over 100,000!), goats, kitties, rabbits, cows, piglets, and dogs.  Wow!!!   

Two cats and a dog have nothing on them!  We certainly enjoyed our visit!

School Stories and Such

*Kate had career day at school awhile back.  She wants to be a school nurse and work in whichever school her sister teaches at someday!

*Kate "listened" to Natalie's heart and said, "Try eating lots of fruits and vegetables cause I'm not hearing much thumping."

*A girl dropped her apple during lunch and it went rolling down the floor.  Kate thought this was so funny and shared it with us after school. She said, "I laughed for the whole rest of the lunch and my giggles were about to fly out even at quiet time!"

Warning:  The following story won't be funny to most, but it's something that I want to remember/record in my blog book, so I'm adding it in...
 
*On the second week of school, Kate said her art teacher asked if anyone had a joke to share.  Kate raised her hand and Mr. B called on her.  She said, "Knock, Knock."  Mr. B said, "Who's there?" Kate said, "Chickity."  Mr. B said, "Chickity who?"  Kate repeated, "Chickity" again.  

The girls made up this joke over the summer and when someone said, "Chickity who?" they would sing a goofy "chickity" song.  

So...Kate was telling us this story on the drive home.  The other two were morified that Kate would say such a silly "joke" at school.  Natalie said, "You didn't sing Mr. B our chickity song, did you?"  Kate assured her that she didn't.  Scott said, "I didn't think you'd be that type of student at school."

In defense, Kate said, "Well I raised my hand, but I didn't think he'd actually call on me!"

 *First Ever Field Trip- (highlight was the first ever bus ride...no seatbelts??!!!)

*As I've mentioned, Kate is an extremely picky eater and food smells even bother her.  So, the aroma-filled cafeteria is her least favorite part of the day.  She's developed a friendship with a preschooler, but according to Kate, the preschooler brings a sandwich with pickle on it EVERYDAY and this grosses Kate out.  She loses her appetite and usually brings home a pretty full lunchbox.  Today, she cracked me up when she came home and said that she told the other girl, "I am a little sensitive about your pickle.  So tomorrow, would you please sit on the other side of the table?"  The preschooler agreed, but Kate said that they had this same conversation the day before and the pickle lover still came and sat down next to her.  Oh to be a fly on the wall.  :) 

 *Me:  Bye!  Have a good day at school.
Kids:  Bye Mom, don't sell Scout while we're gone.  

*"The dog ate my homework!" could become a reality this year.  

*Some parents may hold off on letting their girls wear make-up in an attempt to keep boys away.  We may let our girls wear make-up early to keep the boys away. 

*The dog gets most of the attention these days, but the cats still make us laugh with their crazy sleeping positions!

Double Take

According to the vet, Scout still has some growing left to do, but we are amazed how big she's grown in just seven months of life.  It seems like in the blink of an eye, she's changed from a cuddly puppy to a giant lab.  I miss the soft puppy stage.  It went SOOOO fast!  Check out the "Then" and "Now" pictures. 

Move over, Kate!

Then, she couldn't make it up onto the porch...

Today, however....WATCH OUT!!!!

I feel like I could do a dog food commercial or something.  Before Beneful Premium Dog Food...After Beneful Premium Dog Food.    She's a growin' for sure!  And we're only 7 months in!

Some glad morning when this life is o'er...

On July 15th, Scott and Natalie were baptized!  Scott had been asking to do this for over a year, so the time had certainly come.  Kate also trusts in Jesus as her Savior and requested to be "bap-a-tized" too, but we discovered on vacation that the putting her head underwater part was going to be an issue!  She'll do it down the road.  Jon had the privilege of baptizing the kids, and it was certainly a special day.  

Here are their brief testimonies/reasons why they wanted to be baptized-

Scott wrote, "I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was four years old.  I know that I need Jesus and that I am a sinner.  I want to show everybody that I believe in Jesus by obeying Him with baptism."

Natalie wrote, "When I was four, I realized that I was a sinner and that I needed a Savior.  I want to be baptized because I want to show everyone that I love Jesus and want to follow Him."

We rejoice that Scott, Natalie, and Kate have decided to allow Jesus to be the Lord of their lives, and we pray that they will continue to follow Him closely all the days of their lives. 

August Adventures and Adjustments

During the final weeks of summer break, Scott took a trip with Grandpa & Grandma to a state park for a full day of hiking.  He had fun and was worn out when he returned!

On another day in August, I spent a day in Ohio, Jon & Scott went "gatoring", and the girls had a wonderful day with the grandparents!  

(Prior to going) Kate:  We're going to have a fun girl day!
Natalie: Grandpa will be there.
Kate- Yeah, but he's a really nice boy.

Scott also spent a day boating with his buddies.  What a cool opportunity!! 

During the boating trip, the girls and I redeemed a coupon for free Build-A-Bears.  They ended up being not-so-free by the time you bought them sparkly outfits, shoes, and made them smell like bubble gum, but it was still a fun outing!

In an attempt to get Kate to try some new foods before kindergarten, I started giving her "lunch points" in an effort to earn a new lunchbox that she had her eye on.  She practiced packing new foods in Natalie's old lunchbox and seemed very motivated at first to try new foods and earn points toward her goal.  After a few gag sessions though, she gave up.  One day, she brought me Natalie's old lunchbox that clearly has NATALIE written across it in permanent marker.  She said, "You can just cross off Natalie and write Kate on it.  I'm fine with the old one."  Plan failed.  Anything's better than actually swallowing a fourth of a peanut butter sandwich!  AHHHH!!

Obviously, Kate has a very limited diet.   I was frustrated with her one day and was telling her that she needs to eat more foods.  She insisted that she eats many foods.  When I asked them to name them she started off her exhaustive list with, "Salt, pepper..." 

Earlier this summer, I was reading the school newsletter and told the kids that they were lengthening the school day to allow for more instructional time.  The older two sighed, and Natalie said, "This is gonna be a long year."  Kate said, "YAY!"

Fast forward this to Day 3 of school...Kate burst into tears as soon as she got into the van.  She said that school was just too long.  Scott and Natalie listened empathetically to Kate sob, and then Scott quietly said, "See Kate, we told you so."  The sad reality of school.  

Kate continued to struggle with going to school for the next week or so.  She said that the mornings were fine, but that by lunchtime she was always ready to just come home!   Lately though, the complaints have greatly diminished, and she's starting to enjoy her time at school.  She told me that one day during recess, she went around to the preschoolers and kindergartners and asked as many as possible if they believed in Santa Claus or not.  If they said yes, she proceeded to inform them that Santa wasn't real.  OH NO!!!  I asked her why she was doing this and told her that she shouldn't spoil the fun for others.  She looked at me very confused and said, "I thought we were only supposed to believe in Jesus."  (Sorry fellow preschool and kindergarten parents.)   

 

Since Kate had a rough start to kindergarten, I found myself not enjoying the days at home without kids.  I hated that she was sad and missed having them home.  Now that she's doing better, I've noticed a change in me, as well.  I think I'll quickly get used to this all-kids-in-school thing.  I feel like I'm now getting so much done while they are away and today found myself thinking, "Back so soon?" when they arrived home!  Should be a fun year for all!:)