Poodle skirt & light sabers and special friends

Uncle Windell sent us our costumes again this year (he's been our "supplier" since Anna's 1st Halloween). Anna was VERY excited about hers. Jacob didn't really know what was going on, but he wasn't havin' the hat! They were super cute and Anna had fun. We only go to a few houses, and of course the college. The funniest thing of the night was when we were at a friend's house and Jacob was squirming to get out of my arms. I finally let him get down and he headed straight for the coffee table (he likes to sweep everything off tables he can reach). So I went for him. My friend said "Oh he can't hurt anything." Anna says "You never can tell!" HA!!!

Mr. Vader (Darth Vader from Star Wars....not as scary as it could have been!) And this is the only picture I got with the hat on.

The 50s girl! (or pities guhl, as Anna said)

She was soooo good to stand still and let me fix her hair like this. Her hair is so smooth that it's not quick to pull it all back, and she usually wears it parted down the middle, so it's not easy to pull straight back either! She didn't even mind letting me curl it. I had fun:)

I didn't remember to get a treat bag, so she just used this one Aaron got from his half-marathon. It was HUGE, but oh well. As people said--that makes it all the longer before you have to go home with a full bag! ha

He only had one piece of candy, I promise! :) He was intent on watching Dora tonight. It was hilarious. He was totally chilled out in the recliner.

Earlier today, Kim's kids came over to play for a bit. They had so much fun! It got confusing more than once because their names just so happen to be Jake and Anna, too!!! So I had to use middle names! It wasn't too bad with the boys, b/c we usually call ours Jacob and hers is always Jake, but the Anna's...well, there was no way around that! So middle names it was. But it was still confusing! It's very funny. And they're very close in ages. Anna & Jake are about 5 months apart, and Anna and Jacob are only a couple months apart. Anyway, they went outside to play and decided to clean up the leaves! No prompting from me, I promise.

The other Anna stepped back to survey the work...

Aren't they cute? Jake and my Anna (Jake calls her Anna 2-A--it's so funny!) are such little buddies. I told Anna yesterday that they were coming over to play today and the first thing she does this morning is open the front door..."to see if Jake is here!!". And Kim said Jake was waiting on their porch for a long time this morning for us to come! :)

So it's been a busy, but fun day! And Daddy had to work really late tonight, so he missed out on the treating. :(

Whose kids are these?!

It's funny the "traits" that our kids inherit from us. Aaron very much dislikes reading. I could read several books a week if I had the time. Aaron loves salads. I don't hate them, but I'm not the biggest fan. Hmmmm........

He will sit for very long periods of time and just look at books. He loves them (Anna was and still is the same way).

She had three bowls of salad this day for a snack. She brought me the big bowl and said "I want some of dis!" I asked her if she knew that was the salad...she knew. Granted the three bowls were small, but still! She was very excited to be able to pour the Ranch on herself.

Politics

I'm not very good at expressing myself when it comes to politics. Well, that's not exactly true. I know how to express it, I'm just not as good at it as Dad! But I just can't not say anything. The more I hear, the more concern I have. I received an email from Family Research Council the other day about Obama's health care plan. I'll paste the Q&A they did with his spokesperson.

While the health care debate has largely focused on whom the candidates' plans will fund, more Americans need to understand exactly what they would fund. In a recent exchange with Senator Obama's spokesman, the group RH Reality Check posted the campaign's answers to a health care questionnaire on its website. The discussion begins with Obama's assertion, "Reproductive health care is an essential service -- just like mental health care... And private insurers that want to participate [in the Obama plan] will have to treat reproductive health care in the same way." According to these excerpts, Obama's plan would treat abortion as a basic health care mandate for both taxpayers and private health insurers to subsidize.

REALITY CHECK (RC): Does Senator Obama support adolescents' access to confidential family planning and reproductive health services, without having to seek permission from their parents?

OBAMA CAMPAIGN (OC): Yes. As the father of two daughters... Obama wants to be sure that there is access to a trained health care provider that can provide needed services or help them make good decisions.

RC: Does Sen. Obama... think adolescents should be able to access emergency contraception over the counter?

OBAMA CAMPAIGN: ...[H]e does believe that teenagers should be able to access EC over the counter. As noted above, he supports the right of adolescents to seek confidential family planning services.

RH: Does Sen. Obama support the Hyde Amendment [which bans federal funding of abortion]?

OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Obama does not support the Hyde Amendment.

RC: Does Sen. Obama support the continued federal funding for crisis pregnancy centers?

OBAMA CAMPAIGN: No.

I understand that this man is charismatic and a lot of people think he can bring great change to this nation. Is this the kind of change we want? He's willing for the government to fund abortions but not crisis pregnancy centers. This is only one of the many things that concerns me about this candidate. I've typed and deleted for 5 minutes because I can't express what I think about all this. Maybe I'll have Dad "guest post" :D Wanna be a blogger for a day Dad??

Garden variety pizza anyone?

We had a DELICIOUS veggie pizza at Bible study this morning (seriously--it was like a smorgasbord today! TONS of food). I was telling a friend about the Pampered Chef recipe I make and she asked me to post the recipe....so here you go Shellie! :)

Garden Ranch Pizza
1 pkg. refrigerated pizza crust
1/2 c. mayo (it tastes the best with mayo and not miracle whip)
1/2 pkg (2 Tbs.) Ranch powder mix
1 garlic clove, pressed (I rarely have garlic, so I don't usually put it in)
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 c. chopped broccoli
1/2 c. diced red pepper
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 c. black olives, sliced
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
*I never measure out the veggies and I usually just use whatever veggies I have on hand. The recipes gives the veggies that give it gorgeous color when it's all done. I also have PC's "handy chopper" which is great for chopping the broccoli--messy, but great. I don't think I ever put the Parmesan cheese on either. ha! I rarely follow a recipe to the letter!!*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle round stone (or pizza pan) lightly with flour. Unroll crust dough and spread out on stone (PC's mini roller is perfect for this).
Combine mayo & Ranch mix and garlic; whisk. Spread onto crust. Top with 1 c. mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle veggies over crust and top with remaining 1 c. mozzarella. Sprinkle Parmesan on top.
Bake 18-22 min. or until edges are golden brown.

Very yummy (my kids love it) and super easy. We never have leftovers! Make some and invite me over! haha ;)

Comments

So I have a question about the comments. I really appreciate all of them that I get and I feel like I should respond to each one so you guys know how much I like reading them. But do I need to? I know when I leave a comment, unless I ask a question, I don't usually check back to see if the blogger responded (and even when I do, sometimes I forget to check back!!). And then there's another quandary...if another blogger comments and I want to respond, do I do so on my blog or on theirs?? hmmmm....
Okay, I've got to finish my Bible study for tomorrow. Last one. I'm kind of sad about that. It's been a really hard study, but it's been so good, and I enjoy the fellowship. The next one there won't start until the middle of January. It certainly wouldn't hurt me to read through the book again, that's for sure!

THE toy box

A couple years ago, after the MILLION toys we had for Anna (almost none of which we had bought for her!) started to overtake our entire house, I begged Aaron to make me a toy box. Now, when I asked for this, I would have been happy with a nothing-fancy-plywood-box with a lid. But, if you know Aaron, he just can't do that kind of thing. By this time he'd been working at his wood supply job for a while and he was really getting into all this fancy wood stuff (they only sell to higher-end homes) and his good friend that also works there is an incredibly talented wood-craftsman (he's made us 3 major pieces of furniture so far that are gorgeous). This friend also isn't known for being exactly fast:). Anyway, I gave Aaron the measurements that I wanted (BIG!) and waited. And waited.........I kept saying "Aaron, just put some pieces of wood together and make a box!" But he wouldn't do it. The time factor also wasn't helped by the fact that Ryan lives almost an hour from us and he has all the tools (and most of the knowledge) for doing this project. Quite a few months later, I had my beautiful toy box, which looks nothing like a toy box! One day, when the kids are gone, this will be a great place to store blankets and such. It really is a piece of furniture and not just a toy box. I'm glad it looks so nice (lots better than the plastic tub I was using!). But just to show you how big it is...

Here's Jacob sitting in it. We emptied it out last night and put some "new" toys in. Probably almost 2 years ago, I went through the toy box (b/c it was so full I couldn't even close the lid!) and put a bunch of toys in a tub and put it in the shed. I figured I could rotate the toys and it would seem like the kids were getting new toys every once in a while, without really getting new toys! Anna was very excited and now the toy box closes again!

Jacob thought it was GREAT to be in the toy box! I also forgot to mention that Aaron put "piano" hinges on this. That way, the lid on won't slam shut on little fingers (which is good b/c it's a HEAVY lid). It stays open almost fully and has to be pulled shut.

As you can see, there's room for a million toys! I think it's like 3 feet long and 1 1/2 ft. wide and deep.

Anna always thinks it's fun to climb into the toy box (I remember doing that as a kid). And yes, that's her hair, not a shadow. This was the day after her let's-stay-up-and-puke-all-night-long night :( Thankfully it was just a 24 hr (not even that) thing and she was fine the next day (I, on the other hand was not--after staying up with her all night it's going to take me a week (or month) to recover!).

Yummy Stew

Well, had I been thinking I would've taken a picture of it. But we're just lucky I remembered to put it in the crockpot this morning before we left for Bible study!! This recipe is from a dear friend Ellie. It is so delicious and it feeds a LOT. We had 4 college kids over tonight, plus the 4 of us. There's none leftover, but mmmmmm! :) I also used about 1/2 the amounts b/c I've made the full recipe before and it was too much for my crockpot (a big one).

Gone All Afternoon Stew
2lbs. stew meat (next time I'll use the full 2lbs. of meat, but I like it to be meaty)
3-4 med. carrots, peeled & quartered
2 med. onions (I use red)
3-4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 12-16 oz. pkg. frozen peas
1 12-16 oz.pkg. frozen corn
1 can tomato soup (I only had tomato sauce, so that's what I used)
1/2 soup can water
1 can stewed tomatoes (I did use a full can of these)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 c sweet pickle juice (or soy sauce, dill pickle juice or sweet pickle relish)

2 Tbps cornstarch

Mix all ingredients but cornstarch. Cover and cook in a crockpot:
on HIGH for 5-7 hrs.
on LOW for 8-9 hrs.
After cooked, and 30 min. before serving, remove the bay leaf. Mix the cornstarch with a bit of water. Add. Turn to high and stir a bit. It will eventually thicken it just a little.

I also only had Mexican style stewed tomatoes, so that gave it a little kick. It was still really good. I love this weather!! :)

Conviction

This week's lesson (Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges, in case you missed my last post-which wasn't last week!) mopped the floor with me. Judgmentalism and Sins of the Tongue. OUCH.
When he covered judgmentalism, he talked about different aspects than I'd ever really considered. One of which was about doctrine or our beliefs about church/worship. There is a very fine line between holding our Biblical convictions and being judgmental of those who have different views. But how do you balance between standing up for key Biblical doctrine and expressing disagreement with someone who advocates unsound doctrine...in ways that don't turn into character assassination (that question is from the study guide). Bridges points out that we can still sin, even if we judge in accordance with Scripture, if we're doing it with with a self-righteous attitude.
Another aspect of judgmentalism he talked about was the critical spirit--someone who looks for and finds fault with everyone and everything. Have you ever been around someone like that? It's not fun. It's depressing and uncomfortable. Someone who sees someone they don't even know and says "Why on earth are they doing that? That is just stupid. They are wasting their money." etc.
Now, the "sins of the tongue". Well, Bridges included gossip, slander, lying, critical speech, harsh words, sarcasm (what?!), insults, and ridicule. Holy cow! Ouch, ouch, ouch!
He defined gossip as the spreading of unfavorable information about someone else, even if it's true. So even if your next door neighbor is an alcoholic, that doesn't mean it's not gossip when you talk about him and his drinking. When we say something critical about someone, even if it's true, we should ask ourselves first "does this need to be said...will this only tear this person down or will it build them up?" I think those 2 questions would pretty much put a cap on a lot of the things we say!

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but
what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace on the
hearers. Ephesians 4:29

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my
redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Wow! Not only should we guard our words, we should guard our hearts, too! That means that getting mad at hubby dearest and making a smart remark is sin. That means that growling in frustration when Anna doesn't listen for the TENTH time is sin. I could go on for ages here. The Lord has really convicted me about this. It's hard! But I know it's good. Just like Mom & Dad always told me "I'm doing this because I love you" (usually after a little discipline). God simply wants to refine me to be more like His beloved Son. How awesome is that? God loves us enough to give me these trials and test me--not because He likes to sit on His throne and watch me squirm, but because He loves me so much and He knows that these things will draw me closer to Him and drive me to be more like Christ (if I choose to let them!). I really encourage you to get this book and study guide. Even if it's just a study you do on your own or with your spouse. It is so eye-opening and GOOD!

Alright, I hope this post made sense. I better get to bed!!!!

The Beauty of our World

Here are a few pictures of the gorgeous trees Mom & Dad have in their backyard...well, mostly just the one. Its leaves turn the most beautiful red I've ever seen.



I've had this song stuck in my head today--an old hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" (click the link to hear the music)

For the beauty of the Earth

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,

This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale, and tree and flower,

Sun and moon, and stars of light.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,

This our hymn of grateful praise

For the joy of ear and eye,

For the heart, the mind's delight,

For the mystic harmony

Linking sense to sound and sight.

There are a few more verses, but those ones really speak to the beauty we see in this season. Go outside and enjoy the beauty that God has graciously given us! :)

Fun in the leaves

*lots of pictures again!*

We spent the week at Papa & Binga's house taking care (ha) of Binga. We were ALL excited
when Papa got home. :) I think Papa was just as excited as Anna!

Anna tries to push Papa into the leaves, then gives up and says "Let's play hide and seek!" :)

I'm gonna get you Papa!!

Hmmm...I think she lost that one!

Here I come Anna!!!

I see you Papa! Here I come to get you!

Papa didn't exactly hide, but you'd have never known it by the way Anna acted! She just ran over there and waited until she got right up to him to say "Pound you!!!!!" (For future reference...she says p's instead of f's)

Papa made a GREAT BIG pile of leaves! It was so much fun!!!

And then he TRUE (threw) me in it!

Over....

and over....

and over!!!

Binga even true me in!

And covered me up!

Jacob wasn't so sure about those leaves.

Binga, I'm not sure I like this. I prefer just having a few to choose from when I eat leaves!

No, no Jacob. You don't eat these...you PLAY in them!

Jacob decided he preferred the view from the sidewalk better!

We had a lot of fun that day...it was the only day all week that it didn't rain! Mom has to do chemo weekly for another 3 weeks because the swelling came back. So I think the plan is to see where it's at after this 4 weeks of weekly doses and go from there. Please pray that this will take the swelling down and that it won't be too hard on her. Again, it's not the kind of chemo they use for cancer, so it doesn't make her nauseous or her hair fall out. But it does make her ache and drain all of her energy. She also has to do some stuff with her thyroid stuff (like how much I used stuff in this sentence???) next week, which will also drain her energy and make her feel yucky. So, it'll be a fun week :( If you're new (seriously...do I have new people reading this?? ha) you can read all about this here if you want. Thanks for praying.

Boys and their toys!

Jacob got a new toy in the mail today...another John Deere tractor! (He had a hard time keeping it from Anna), but he loves it! Thanks Joyce (if you read this)!! He also got a new John Deere book, but he hasn't had time to sit down and read it. :) Anna, on the other hand, has requested it more than 3 times today I think!

Precious Anna

*sometimes her tenderness isn't so tender! ha*

Our daughter is so precious. She put Binga to bed tonight (on her own...no one prompted her to do so. She's done that before when Binga was really sick-that was even more precious). But shame on Binga, she got out of bed! Anna chewed her out (nicely) and told her "Ahwight, I sing you ONE more song and then that's it......ohhh Binga." HA! The Lord has blessed her with such a tender heart. I didn't know it was possible to love someone this much. It makes me realize how incomprehensible God's love is for HIS children. Blows my mind.

I was emailed this little "get to know you" thing and thought I'd just post it here. Thanks Kim! Feel free to post one on your blog--leave me a comment and let me know that you did. I'd love to learn more about you! :)

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!


1. What time did you get up this morning?
a little before 7 I think :(

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
I don't even remember...maybe Ntl. Treasure 2??? It's been a while!

4. What is your favorite TV show?
John & Kate, Little People, Dirty Jobs, Law & Order....I can't choose!

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Cereal and toast w/ peanut butter

6. What is your middle name?
Rose :)

7. What food do you dislike?
Sea food!!! blech

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Don't have one. Mostly just listen to songs on a couple blogs (Kim's for one!)

9. What kind of car do you drive?
White Toyota Sienna. I love it.

10. Favorite sandwich?
Grilled cheese or Ham & Cheese

11. What characteristic do you despise?
Deceit

12. Favorite item of clothing?
I just got some really cute jackets today...but my jammies are pretty comfy too! :)

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
I think somewhere in the French countryside.

14. Favorite brand of clothing?
Whatever's on sale!

15. Where would you retire to?
A horse ranch in the country

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
well, today was #28 and I got to go shopping with my precious daughter... that was pretty awesome

17. Favorite sport to watch?
Toss up btw football and college basketball.

18. Farthermost place you are sending this?
Depends on who reads this!

19. Person you expect to send it back first?
?See #18!

20. When is your birthday?
Oct. 14

21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Definitely night. I do NOT do mornings.

22. What is your shoe size?
9 1/2 or 10

23. Pets?
Not right now. Used to have a horse.

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Nope.

25. What did you want to be when you were little?
A teacher and a mommy :)

26. How are you today?
Tired, but happy.

27. What is your favorite candy?
Reese's Peanut Butter cups, baby!!

28. What is your favorite flower?
Roses, but I like any kind of flower...I've even developed a liking for dandelions, thanks to Anna :)

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
November 7 & 8--a marriage retreat=night away from the kids=uninterrupted sleep!!!!! Oh, and learning how to improve our marriage... ;)

30. Happily married?
Oh yes. It's hard work though!

31. What are you listening to right now?
Complete silence (it is 12:15am ya know!)

32. What was the last thing you ate?
I'm not telling!!! (oh alright. some cookie dough!)

33. Do you wish on stars?
No, but they remind me to pray.

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Hmmmm...probably a neutral color.

35. How is the weather right now?
Cool and rainy (off & on). Very fall-ish

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
Aaron

37. Favorite soft drink?
Mt. Dew

38. Favorite restaurant?
Does Wendy's count? Kidding! Kobe's steakhouse.

39. Real hair color?
I don't know what to call it--blond-ish, brown-ish, red-ish...

40. What was your favorite toy as a child?
My dolls, hands down.

41. summer or winter
Winter

42. Hugs or kisses?
both!

43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate

44. Coffee or tea?
Tea--sun tea, not hot tea. or coffee with a LOT of coffeemate!

45. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Well, "blog" back anyway.

46. When was the last time you cried?
Hmmm...not sure.

47. What is under your bed?
The rest of the posts for our bed and a lot of dust! (we have a 4 poster bed w/ canopy, but don't have it all up. it's a very versatile bed)

48. What did you do last night?
Hung out with the kids and my parents. Went to bed at a decent time for once (decent meaning before midnight).

49. What are you afraid of ?
Failing as a parent and wife...and snakes and mice.

50. Salty or sweet?
Depends on my mood!

51. How many keys on your key ring?
3 I think?

52. How many years at your current job?
3 1/2 :)

53. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday!

54. How many places have you lived in?
as in towns-4

55. Do you make friends easily?
Not usually

56. How many people will you send this to?
See #18!

57. How many will respond?
See #18!

One word for ya

OY.

This was the 2nd time he's done this. The first time Aaron just threw all the toilet paper away. This time you can bet your right ear I didn't throw it away (it was an almost full roll...of course!). I stuffed it in the extra-roll-holder and we just pulled it out of the mess as we needed! I'm telling ya, this boy will be keeping me on my toes for years to come. He is sheer orneriness!!! I'm not even going to think about how much he ate before I found him. He must be lacking fiber in his diet the way he eats any and all paper he can get his big chubby hands on! I'm tired just thinking about that. Good night.

From the mouths of babes

Don't forget to wipe and flush, Mama!!

I'm not even kidding you. That is exactly what Anna told me today when I let her know I was going potty and would be right back.

Travelin' Fools!

*again, lots of pics! :)*

We have been travelin' fools the last 2 days (and we're not done yet!). Friday evening we drove down to Wichita to see our friends and their new baby in the NICU (please pray for Ryan, Christie and baby Caleb), and then went to Jamie & Cassie's to have supper with them and Papa & Binga. It was a quick trip, but Jacob had a lot of fun chasing the dogs around. Poor dogs didn't know how to get away from him!! This morning, Papa & Binga came here and we went out west to see Grandma Betty and then out to the farm to see Grandpa Elmer & Grandma Mary. The kids had a lot of fun playing, and at the farm they were cutting corn, so Anna was excited to see the combine and tractor up close!

I really wish I could download the pictures in my head sometimes. On the drive out west, the colors of fall were everywhere! This is my favorite season. I love Kansas in the fall. Perfect weather and beautiful colors. There was the bright green of the winter wheat peeking through the ground, the deep rust of the milo ripe for harvesting, the golden brown of the corn stalks, and the contrast of dark green hay being picked up and rolled into huge golden bales. And then the trees! They are turning more out there than they are here at home. The golds, reds, yellows, greens, browns...so beautiful! What a wonderful world God created for us to enjoy!!

Anna found the dominoes, so Daddy set them up for her. He started on a card table in the living room, but after several times of the table getting bumped he moved to the dining room table...

He finally got them all set up (Grandma even knocked them over once!! :)). Anna was so excited!

One, two, three!!!!

That was fun! Let's do it again!!!

This is the country church I grew up in (side view). It eventually closed when I was in college. Never was really big, but I loved it. It's less than 1/4 mile from my grandparents' house and used to be a school house, too, where my Dad and his siblings went to school for a time. It's sad to see it sitting empty and deteriorating but such is life. That is also where Aaron proposed to me (he said he knew I'd always wanted to get married there (that's also where my parents got married), but since that couldn't happen, he figured proposing there was the next best thing). There used to be a great big swingset on this side--with a teeter toter, bar, swings, rings, and ladder. And then there was a really tall slide in the back. Lots of wonderful memories in that building!

Watching the combine in the corn field right behind Great Grandpa & Grandma's house. We had to go through a "forest" to see the combine (there's a tree line of evergreens between their house and the field) :)

A flower Mom! She had so much fun being outside. She even picked a couple of pears off the pear tree!

A girl full of contradictions--tractors, pears, and flowers, wearing overalls and sparkly dress shoes!!!

Daddy! Daddy! We saw a combine and a trater and gain caht (grain cart) and I found a plower (flower) and I picked some pears!! Two was wipe (ripe) and the west (rest) weren't so we threw them out fow (for) the buhds! (birds) She was super excited to tell everyone all about what we'd seen and done! :)

Then she helped Papa & Grandpa work. I made her change her sparkly "church shoes".

Not sure why this one is blurry, but she loved being right next to Great Grandpa and watching what they were doing.

Again--contradictions! She is so girly, and yet she doesn't mind one bit to get her hands dirty playing in the dirt or helping work :)

After listening to Papa & Grandpa discuss what they thought needed to be done, she added her 2 cents worth!

And add she did!! :)

They have a cat who recently had kittens. Anna remembers the last time we were out there and she got to hold one of the kittens. So we went on a search to find the kittens.
Here kitty! Mom, I don't know where she is!

*gasp* I tink I hear it!!!!!!

(it was Papa on the other side of the trees meow-ing)

Shhhhh!! I hear it! *gasp* What's dat?!

(Papa was now meow-ing and rustling around in the trees)

So she runs around the trees to see if she can find the kitty. And she finds...

Papa! He growled and tried to scare her, but she was FOCUSED!

Anna: Shhhh!!!! Papa, we hear da kitty!! Over dare!

Papa: Did it sound like this? MEOW!!

Anna: YES!! Shhhh!! We gotta pind da kitty!!

It was too funny! She really had no clue that it was Papa all along making the kitty noise!!


Jacob found his favorite toy at Great Grandpa Frank and Grandma Betty's house. I don't even know what it's called, but he sat and played with it all afternoon!

And chewed on his bottom lip while he was at it :)

In the car, Jacob is king and his carseat is his throne (evidently). He's watching Veggie Tales.

Anna is just Anna and she tends to crash... :)

And the king likes to chew on his toe. How royal of him.