Why I'm So Glad To Be A Mom

Tonight I was in the kitchen. Kenyon and Mara were at the table talking.

Kenyon - "Mara, remember at the old house when me and Cruz were being mean to you?"

Mara - "Yes." (Said with a very sad face.)

Kenyon - "Those were the very baddest days. But now you are my bestest buddy."

These are the moments that make motherhood worth it.

Fall Break Day 2

Our second day of Fall Break, Karl was off work. He had some big surprises for us. First he took us on our annual trip to Hee Haw Farms. We've been doing this for 8 years now.

The kids so much fun riding the tire horses...

And the big swing.

They went down the slides...

And jumped in the hay.

It was Koen's first time to measure himself at the pumpkin.




They got to go in the petting zoo to see and touch all kinds of animals, and as always they were excited to see Leroy the huge pig.



Kenyon and Cruz get to go on a pony ride, but the saddle came undone when Cruz was on it. Mara never got a turn. :(

They got to ride the animal train



And we all went on a hay ride.



They went in a haunted house, shot the corn cannon, and sooooo much more. We all had a great time!

That wasn't the end of the fun. After we had dinner, Karl took us to see "Where the Wild Things Are." We were all so excited to see it, and it was fun going to the movies because we hardly ever do that, but I don't recommend this movie. If you haven't taken your kids to see it yet, watch it before you take your kids. It was very depressing and dark. It was so depressing it made Kenyon and Mara cry. We definately should have seen something else.

But all in all, we had a very fun day, and a great Fall Break.

Fall Break Day 1

We had a super fun fall break. On the first day we did lots of fun Halloween stuff at home. We read Halloween books, played Halloween games, and we made shrunken heads out of apples. The kids carved their own faces with a melon baller, a can opener, and other similar tools. The kids had a blast with this. They got creative and decided to give them teeth (rice) and eyes (whole cloves) and bloody wounds (red food coloring).

We had so much fun, and here are the final relults:

Field Trip to the Zoo

Kenyon had a class field trip to the zoo last week. He came home with some fantastic stories.

When I asked him what his favorite part of the zoo was he said it was the "Ring-tailed Lemur." When I asked why, he said, "He broke out of his cage and climbed up on me and wanted to come home with me." I was cracking up, but he was sticking to his story. Finally he confessed that he was teasing me.

Then he told me that the wolf tried to eat him. I asked why he thought the wolf was trying to eat him and he said, "The wolf was chasing a bird and then he saw all of us and then he looked right at me." So I guess that constitutes trying to eat him.

He was cracking me up with his stories. I think he was having so much fun seeing all the animals that his imagination was getting carried away. Needless to say he had a blast at the zoo, and Karl and I had a good laugh from his stories.

What a funny kid with a great imagination!

6 Months Old

Koen is 6 months old now. I can't believe it! His stats after his check-up are 34th percentile on weight and 2nd percentile on his length, so we have another shorty on our hands. He is sitting, he scoots really well, and he is beginning to get the hang of crawling. He loves to eat, and especially enjoys the teething biscuits that he can eat by himself. He has 2 teeth, and in general is just growing up way too fast.

He is a super smiley little guy who pinches and head-butts way to much. He has every person in this family wrapped around his little finger and I think he knows it. He is such a joy. We are so very blessed to have him in our family. I love you, little man!

Mara's New Bling!

We took Mara to get her ears pierced yesterday. She was warned that it would hurt, and that she would probably cry. She was also told that even if she didn't want to, she would have to get the second ear pierced after the first one. She agreed and was VERY excited. Look how happy she is in the before picture.

Well, it hurt more than she thought it would, and she cried. She didn't wail or make a scene, she just hid her face and silently cried. We gave her a few minutes and then it was time for the second one. She was having no part of it. We encouraged, coaxed, bribed, and pleaded with her. Finally Karl and I just held her down. She was happy she had done it as soon as it was over. Here is the after. A great big smile with red, teary eyes.

She loves her new earrings!