Four Jingle Bells

Spencer noticed this huge bag of legos at a consignment store one day and said his dream was to have them for his birthday.  So, I snuck back and bought them.  Then I had to clean them all, which was a two hour process! Our table has been through the wringer!  It was attacked by glitter and markers and other stuff.  So, we painted it again and put five coats of sealant on hoping it will last!  I like how it turned out.  Of course (5 months later) it needs a new coat. I joke with Blake that by the time we're done with the table, it will be six inches taller because of all the paint. The kids took it on themselves to decorate for Halloween.  Hailey is quite the decorating master!   Happy 8th birthday to Spencer!!  What a great kid.  He is so fun and imaginative.  He chose chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. And bacon of course!! Spencer was thrilled when he opened the legos.  He couldn't believe that his dre...

Hailey carrying William.  He is as big as she is! And weighs as much! We had a little water in our basement one day, so it involved a lot of clean up and washing.  The kids helped out and were singing "Look down" from Les Mis.  It made the work a little more fun! Spencer was defense for football this year and provided some good distractions.  It was fun to watch him on Saturdays except for the really cold 8 AM game!!   Dogpile!! We went to the art festival on Main Street.  We got balloon animals and looked at art.  It is one of our favorite activities.  Since Winter is lengthy, we try to go to most of the outside spring/summer/fall activities. What a beautiful day!!   A huge butterfly in our garden.  God's artwork is sure amazing. William and I have been meeting the kids for lunch and it has been pretty fun and loud.  Man, the lunchroom gets louder and louder by the time we're on our third lunch! ...

Beautiful purple flowers when we went on a field trip with Hailey's class to the prairie.  It was so interesting to learn about the Iowa prairies.  Such a mix of flowers and beauty. Fall calls for apple peeling and coring.  They are so much fun to eat when they look like snakes.  William is intent on doing his own apple himself.  It mostly turns out ok. Blake ripped out the odd pinkish tile and astro turf in our mudroom and laid rubber floor tiles.  It looks so much better.  Still not finished but it's in the process. William is darth vader!!!  He wore this for many days. We always have a lot of bees in our flower garden but they are pretty amazing.   Hailey and I had a late night together watching The Brady Bunch and reading.  Of course, Grumpy Bear was invited.  He's her oldest stuffed animal. When we went on the field trip, the leader had them create a sound map where they would listen for sounds and dr...

Brooke writes me some pretty great notes throughout the day.  If I didn't know better, I would think that she was obsessed with me. ha.  She also writes notes after she's been grumpy at me to make up. Spencer with his kitty, cookie dough. William refuses to be a puppy, so he is always a kitty. Spencer played football again this year and just loved it.  He had a great time with the boys and has become very interested in football.  He has made a good friend, Clayton, who is in his class and football team. I got a massage one day at a Walmart massage chair because I am classy like that.   One of my favorite times of the year is the produce stands on the side of the road.  So delicious! I can't resist the cantaloupe, especially when I can smell it as soon as I get out of the car. We were babysitting baby Jane one day and she had a nap.  Which made William think he needed to nap in the baby bed too.  I had to secretly put it away...