Fridge Art

 Here's what we have going on in the arena of fridge art these days:  First, we have "Monkeys In Love" by Ainsley.  Notice, they are truly in love...in fact, they are getting married in this drawing.  See them exchanging wedding bands?  Ainsley is a hopeless romantic. 

 Here is some art from a school project of Bennett's.  We have an astronaut we quite a large noggin.  Astronauts are real smart, you know. 

The other half the project features a scientist, also with a gianormous head from what must be a huge brain.  These pictures REALLY make me want to purchase from this website... www.childsown.com What a super idea to make your kid's art into a plush character!  This mom and lover of her kids' art is very, very, very tempted!

Footie Pajamas!

There is just something about footie pajamas...no matter what your age, they make you look like a baby/toddler.  They also make a person break out into a sweat just looking at 'em. 

Very Animated Inanimate Objects

 One of the best things about having creative little kids in the house is the endless entertainment they create with inanimate objects.  Above is Bennett's most recent "scene" where the beloved "Mousy" is being a teacher to a number of animal students.  The papers on Mousy's desk are tiny replicas of a class list, a page from a grade book and some other school-type papers.  Bennett put a lot of time and effort into creating this little classroom.

 The girls continue to L-O-V-E playing with old fabric.  This week we are featuring some ninja/mummy animals.  They are getting ready for Halloween. 

 Dang!  Another sideways photo.  Actually, I think I have this problem figured out but it was too late to change the orientation on this one.  Sorry.  Dad really enjoys the "scene" making the girls do, and he sometimes gets involved.  Yesterday I opened a cupboard door to discover the ninja/mummy friends and their striped costume buddies had invaded the pantry.  Apparently Dad arranged this the night prior, just before we went to bed.  It was a startling but fun morning surprise!

 Scene making as expanded to encompass our socks!  It is crazy sock day at school today, and Bennett had no socks she felt were crazy enough.  I decided to give her an old pair of mine and let her decorate them with permanent marker.  Yes indeed, these are now crazy socks!  I especially enjoy the side with Bennett's HUGE self portrait.  It's a bit alarming.  And the Humpty Dumpty panel.  What on earth?  I asked her why she drew it and she said she has no idea.  Hmmm.

 Cardboard, we will always love you!  The girls have been building their cardboard dream homes.  Bennett's has an elevator, thanks to Dad's engineering!

 This project was as fun for him as it was for the children.  He worked on Ainsley's house for quite some time one night after she had gone to bed.  I love him!

And to close, we constantly have fun little drawings floating around the house.  I found these on the kitchen counter last week.  They are two kids, one in a ninja suit and the other in a lion costume.  The girls are currently Halloweenifying their dollhouses, and these kids are taped to Bennett's front porch on her dollhouse.   When they get their dollhouses officially finished, I have to post pictures of those.  If we're lucky, maybe the creepy rubber fetuses will be participating in that bit!

Life on the Frontier!

Every fall, we eagerly anticipate an area Pioneer festival.  We were so happy to attend with some pioneer-loving friends this year, and it was a blast as expected!  Oh, and the fact that President Abraham Lincoln was hangin' with the Civil War Band, well, that was pretty cool, too.

Here are Ainsley and our little friend, C., patiently watching Bennett participate in a lengthy spelling bee.  They were still smiles at this point.

Here is Bennett, spelling it up with the best of them.  This was a fine little group of spellers.  The judge could not stump any of them.  And oddly enough, Bennett won the contest by incorrectly spelling the word.  Long story short, the judge was confused, I think, but it was all good and the kids had fun.



And here is the first of several sideways pictures.  Blogger friends, if you are reading this and you know how I can fix this problem, please tell me!  Here is Bennett with the ribbon and the 3 coin dollars she won (sort of) at the spelling bee!

Three little pioneer girls in a teepee.  Cool cow skull with buffalo hair tassles overhead.

 Three little pioneers outside of a cabin.

The girls got to do their annual rope making.

They spent a little time in the corn box.

Bennett and Ainsley stopped for a quick photo opportunity by the covered wagon.

New this year, the girls participated in some friendly tug-of-war.

Here is sideways Ainsley in an old voting booth.

And "Mary" is carrying "Carrie" across the prairie as "Laura" looks on.

We enjoyed a couple of wagon rides...one with a team of horses and one pulled by a team of mules.  We learned some cool facts about mules, and Ainsley and C. both got a chance to help drive the mules!  Sweet deal.  Oh, the perks of being little and cute.

 Ah, just another day on the prairie...

Labor Day in the Bramble

 What a marvelous Labor Day weekend we had!  Beautiful weather!  Fun with friends and family!  Time to play and also to relax!  Zero work done around the house...superb!  One of our Labor Day activities was a beautiful hike at a local conservation area.  It was out in the boonies, so we took in a little bit o' hillbilly on the way...sweet-looking watering can made of a 55-gallon drum, and in front of a vintage trailer, of course.  So awesome.

 Our family loves a good hike.  The one we took this weekend was good, indeed, and it was in an area that makes us feel like we're in another state, as the terrain there is a bit out of the norm.  This hike requires some stamina and courage from the youth in our group, and it is well worth their efforts.  Here are Bennett and Ainsley, clinging to each other as they watch Dad go down a steep incline, to see if it is safe enough for them. 

 For the life of me, I cannot figure out why some of these are posting sideways!  Anyway, here is Dad on his return up the hill, trying to convince us girls that we could handle it.  He said, "Well, it's very steep.  You would need a rope...and it would be so fun!"  Dads out there, if you are planning to take your little kids on a hill that requires a rope to get you up and down safely, YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS ON THAT HILL!  Ainsley's hands-on-hips stance in the photo is appropriate in response to his comment.

 Crossing a creek via downed log...adventure!

 And here is the out-of-state looking part of the hike.  The photo simply does not do this place one bit of justice!  The rock cliffs are beautiful and towering.  What an amazing place to see in our ordinary "neck of the woods!"

 I have my head tilted 90 degrees to the right as I type....Here are the girls, climbing alond the steep rock ledge.

 Ainsley, carving her name in the rock.

 Bennett, carving her name and also some ancient hieroglyphics, of course. 

 Dad attempted to take some pictures of the girls with me.  He (I love you, dear) is typically a terrible photographer.  He really did a pretty good job this time around.  We are centered and not blurry, and none of our limbs or heads are cut off.  (This is some of your best work, my love!)

 Taking a little water break...

 One more shot, taken by Dad...

Toward the end of the hike, the girls stopped to decocklebur themselves.  You've got to love the pokes and prickles of a trek through the bramble.  I love the word "bramble."  It's just a good word.  Fun to say.  Anyway, it was a great time out in the bramble.  Hopefully, these beautiful fall days will continue so we can get out there again!

This Week's Entertainment

 It really doesn't take much to keep our family entertained.  Lately we (by we, I mean us girls) have been very entertained by caring for and monitoring the growth of several monarch caterpillars.  They are becoming our annual fall pets.  This year we have Monte, Leon, Ramona, Eric, Grace, Jennifer and the late Alexander.  Alexander, I fear, passed on during his hanging upside down J formation stage.  The life of the monarch caterpillar is a touchy one.  Sometimes you lose one, and you just have to let go.  In more positive news...

 Leon was the first to emerge from his chrysalis as a monarch!  Totally, totally, totally amazing transformation.  To watch these things go from being a barely visible, TEENY, yellow and black caterpillar to a huge, beautiful, orange and black butterfly...craziness!  God is so creative and powerful!    In other good news, Monte is going to emerge any day now, and Ramona just made a chrysalis last night!  Eric, Grace and Jennifer, who started out as about the size of an eyelash when Ainsley spotted them (amazing eye sight) are seen in the first picture...just growing like weeds!

In in other realms of amusement, I got this photo yesterday for our up and coming hillbilly coffee table book.  Look at this terrific and terrible Ford Bronco II monster truck!  100% hillbilly.  And what makes this photo even better?  The ramshackle quonsets and the tattered roof garage in the background.  Nothing says hillbilly like a quanset, people.  Nothing. 

Bedtime Babies

Bedtime is one of the best times for being together, being silly, remembering and making memories. I love that Dad is involved with putting the girls to bed each night. They love it! I admit that sometimes I get "demanding," as I'm told, when he gets them all silly and worked up when my goal is to get them to go to sleep, but in reality I love his sense of humor and how the girls love it as well. The other night, we were talking about how the girls are growing up and we were remembering their baby days. Dad dug out his "dad sweatshirt." He got this sweatshirt back in college, and he had a picture taken in it while holding Bennett as a newborn. The girls decided we should do some reinactments of their newborn days. In the above picture, taken by Ainsley while I was doing real bedtime tasks, is dad pretending to have some back labor...I think. He's kind of smiling. That's how you know it's pretend back labor. Oh, and the fact that men can't have babies. I guess that tips you off as well.

Here is Dad, holding Bennett as if she's a baby. She's smiling in the picture. She did not smile much as a baby. She cried. A lot. It's nice to see she's a happy baby these days.

Ainsley wanted to take a picture, pretending that Bennett had just been born. Fine. Here it is. I am smiling in the picture. I was not smiling when Bennett had just been born. I was happy, but I was exhausted and terrified. I would say that Dad's expression is similar to the one he had when Bennett was born, but I don't recall him flashing the "hang loose" sign back in the day. We were not hanging loose. And as I type, I realize that Bennett is almost as long as I am! Oh dear!

Here is dad, holding his second born. He is smiling, and rightfully so. We had a little better of an idea of what we were getting into the second time around. Ainsley was a generally happy baby, so that helped.

Hmmm. Sideways picture. No idea why. Anyway, the expressions on these faces are very real. Ainsley and Dad are always cutting up. She finds him ultra amusing and they laugh together quite a lot! It is awesome. Thank you, Dad, for the bedtime silliness. You are blessing our kids (and me) with wonderful memories!

Back To School We Go!

The time has arrived! Back to school we go. Bennett and Ainsley had their "Meet the Teacher" night last night, and we are grateful that God has blessed them both with WONDERFUL teachers again this year! Here is Ainsley with Mrs. B.
And here is Bennett with her teacher, Mrs. S.

So at the open house, the teachers had scavenger hunts for the kids and gave them time to explore their new rooms. While other kids are scavenger hunting and exploring, where do we find Bennett? Sitting at her desk, reading a book she found in one of the AR tubs. Child! School has not yet begun! You do not need to be reading at the open house! She just could not pass up this book, and her teacher must have recognized this, because she offered to let Bennett take the book home with her for the weekend. Already Mrs. S. has won a place in Bennett's heart for allowing this book to be taken home without so much as checking it out or recording it in a book log. Thanks, Mrs. S.! Her year is already off to a good start!

If You Believe In Yourself, You Can Ride A Bike!

Some of you have probably scene the viral YouTube video of the preschooler who gives a motivational speech after learning to ride his bike. If you have not, check it out... www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaIvk1cSyG8


Bennett and Ainsley both experienced the same emotions as that little boy last night, when they finally mastered bicycle riding on TWO WHEELS!
The photos are in backwards order...sorry. Here is Ainsley on the actual bike trail. After working hard in the wide open parking lot, we ventured onto the narrow trail and both girls did great!

A training wheel-less Ainsley! She is so happy of herself!

Bennett already knew how to ride on two wheels, but her take off needed some work. We lowered her seat a bit and voila! She is now a pro in all aspects of two-wheel biking! You know what they say....If you believe in yourself, you can ride a bike! You will get the hang of it...I know you will! Good job, girlies!

Canoeing Adventure

Finally we did it. After waiting through a summer of lots of rain followed by lots of heat, beautiful weather has arrived, and so did Uncle B. and Aunt J. for the weekend. We finally got the canoe out on the river! This was the girls' first time in the canoe on water with a current. Ainsley was pumped. Bennett was terrified. The trip went perfectly though, and we cannot wait to get out there again SOON! Kudos to Chappy for working so hard on the logistics end of this excursion. It was such a great time!