Bennett's Journal

Bennett brought home Part I of her school journal today. It contained entries from early November to the present. I have been very eager to see her journal because it is so fun to see how her reading and writing are developing. Her journal contains documentation of the highs and lows of life as a child. Some entries talk about her likes and dislikes, going to Grandpa and Grandma's house, playing with her sister, and such. Above is my favorite entry though, and I'm sure that her teacher enjoyed it as well. It says, "My mom is sick. In the middle of the night she puked." Nice! Thank you for sharing, Bennett! No wonder her teacher asked me if I was feeling better the day after this entry was dated. She had more personal information that I had realized. Now that Bennett is journaling, nothing is sacred!

WALMART - LOW PRICES, NOT ALWAYS

So we went to Walmart as a family tonight. To make the trip more appealing to the children we allowed them to take a little bit of money from their spending banks, to be spent as they so desired. Each girl took $3.21, enough money to purchase something up to $3 in value, plus the tax. They are well aware that when they take spending money to a store they may only buy items they have enough money to pay for. For some reason this lesson was more difficult for Bennett tonight than it usually is. I think this is because she is usually able to find an item she wants that she can actually afford. This was not the case tonight. She searched every inch of Walmart and simply could not find anything she wanted for $3.21 or less. Ainsley did...Valentine's candy. She even came home with money to put back in the bank. Bennett did not want candy, but rather something "that would last forever." Since she could find nothing in the time frame she was given, she had to be taken to the car empty handed and crying her eyes out. It was quite a scene. Ainsley even offered to share her candy with Bennett but she would accept no consolation. Grant waited in the car with Bennett while Ainsley and I checked out. He said he could not control his laughter as she read the sign above the Walmart entrance aloud in the car..."Walmart, Low Prices...Always" He said she read it and they carried on and on about what a lie that statement was and how disgusted she was because the prices of the toys she wanted were not low enough. Oh, such hard lessons learned at such a young age!

What should one do to comfort themselves during a deep freeze in the dead of winter? The answer is obvious. Venture out into the bitter cold for some Superman ice cream with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry on top...that's what! This photo was taken a split second after Ainsley popped the cherry into her mouth. She ate every last drop of that freezing cold ice cream!

We Love Winter, Right?

We're really working hard to have a positive attitude when it comes to the winter season. This morning Ainsley has experienced two joys of winter. First, she finally saw a squirrel nibbling corn on our new Squirrel Snacker from Grandpa and Grandma. Second, she had some incredible static electricity going on in her hair. She was simply thrilled about the crazy hair. Notice though, she just can't completely bring herself to embrace winter...she is wearing a tank top today, per her request. Her flipflops are out as well. How many weeks until spring?

Recent Happenings

Below are some photos from the past few days. Mom has been under the weather, but Bennett and Ainsley have been their crazy selves! Ainsley enjoyed a mid-week roadtrip with Mom and Grandma last week. The highlight was clearly the coin-operated entertainment!

Since Mom was sick the girls were stuck at home all weekend. Hence, the library table got a lot of attention. It became a covered wagon for two little pioneers on Saturday. Honey Pie Pony did an outstanding job of crossing much of Kansas that day. Notice...in the "storage area" below the table you'll find Snowy Days. The Real-Looking Fake Pets continue to be part of library table play time. They also took a book about sibling rivalry on their trip. They obviously forgot to read it though, as Bennett and Ainsley had a record-breaking day of fighting on Saturday. Full moon, you know.

The overall theme for the weekend was music and entertainment. The girls figured out that I was pretty much useless to them, so they kept themselves busy making instruments, singing songs, and performing plays. Here they are in the midst of some Christmas song about baby Jesus the newborn King. Most of Ainsley's songs pertain to baby Jesus, which is lovely.

Home Sweet Home

The Girls were playing "house" this evening. Below is a photo of their house...the library table and its surrounding area. I interrupted to take this photo right at bedtime. Sorry, Girls! Located on the upper level of the "house" was none other than the beloved Real-Looking, Fake Cat and Dog Family! They were also resting. Snowy Days was sporting some type of top hat as his night cap. It was a strange sight, as we're accustomed to seeing him wearing a small, green sombrero. Oh, you've gotta love the Real-Looking Fake Cats and Dogs...never a dull moment with them!

Strange Stuff

So, we have strange children. Just when we think they can't possibly do anything more weird than they previously have, they find a way to do something more weird. For instance, pretending an old purse zipper is your hip-hop turntable is pretty strange. But disguising yourself in a bedsheet and shining a flashlight onto an ugly little hippo, while pretending the hippo is performing a song you learned off of an insurance commercial is definitely more strange.Requiring your dad to help you hold the sheet up to create a more realistic looking backdrop for the ugly hippo singing a jingle from an insurance company commercial is equally as strange.

Dressing your little sister up like a matador and having her charge at a red cape while you wear your cousin's hand-me-down beanie hat is also strange. What could either of these children possible do that is more weird than the things shown in the above pictures? Time will tell...

Word to Your Mother!

Bennett was doing some beatboxing this afternoon, which prompted a family discussion about Hip-Hop music. The discussion prompted Bennett to find a cap she could wear sideways.

The sideways cap, along with conversation about turn tables, prompted her to find an old purse. Why? Because zipping the zipper back and forth repeatedly sounds a lot like a turn table, of course! Very clever, Bennett! She also threw out some phrases including "word to your mother" and "take it to the bridge." Dad and I were quite entertained by our "dope" and "fresh" performer. We might throw "Ice, Ice Baby" onto the next cd we create on iTunes, provided we deem it free of profanity.

Away in a Manger

This Christmas, a reinactment of the Christmas story was attempted with cousins, ages 8, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, and 1. They actually did a fabulous job and a great time was had by both actors and audience. Above is the full cast.

Here are the wisemen, worshipping Baby Jesus, whose manger happens to be an upside-down stepstool.

Bennett was the lone shepherd. In the above photo, she was attempting to gather her single sheep with her shepherd's crook. The sheep was quite an unruly character...always wandering off.

How sweet...a family portrait of the Holy Family, oh, plus a shepherd who demanded to be in the photo. For those of you who may understand, does "I'm a chow-chow woman!" ring a bell here???

Christmas Fun

The Girls have had a marvelous Christmas thus far, with one more family Christmas gathering to go. Here are a few shots of some of there holiday happenings. As soon as Mom gets caught up on adding and editing photos, more pictures will be added.

New Christmas Eve pajamas!

All ready for the Christmas Eve service at church in Christmas dresses.



Santa (Grandpa) came over Christmas morning and brought just what Ainsley wanted...soda!