Baby its cold outside (and inside too)!

Well, it is actually not cold in our house anymore thanks to a generator. What a blessing it has been! Our power went out on Monday and is well still out. We did get the generator going on Tuesday. It actually gives us heat, water, and light. What more could I ask for? I am still looking forward to getting our actual power back though. We can only run one appliance at a time. Which, really I am not complaining about. I just can't believe what a convenice it is to be able to turn what ever on - when you want it. I look forward to runing the washer, dryer, dishwasher, and stove all at the same time!Crazy I know. Anyway, I just thought I would let you all know we are okay and actually making lots of great memories in this Ice/Snow storm. More to come later.

October & November

Some of you may have wondered why I haven't been blogging as much. Most of the reason is my camera is broken. So until it is fixed I feel like I am kind of on hold. But anyway, here is a recap of what we have been up to.

Pumpkin Patch

Right before Halloween our Sunday School Class had a social at a close pumpkin patch. We all had a great time despite the very cold day. We picked pumpkins, petted the animals, rode the family bike, and took many trips down the hayloft slide. We are very lucky to have such an amazing and cute pumpkin patch so close to us.

Preschool Party

Of course Kaden got to have a halloween party at preschool. The kids were so cute. Kaden's teacher is the red M&M.

And yes I know I am being lazy by not turning the vertical pics around. I uploaded them before I realized it. If you have ever gotten to experience satalite internet you would know why it is not a top priority to change the pics right now.

Trick or Treating

We had so much fun this year. Kaden had decided he wanted to be a fireman and that Jack would be his spotted dog. Well, of course, I couldn't let the theme just go with that. I had to make a fire truck for us to trick or treat in. I used a big TV box and with a lot of help from my parents we made a fire truck (complete with flashing light) that fit over our sit and stand stroller. It was supper cute with the fireman and fire dog. Of course, I am going to have to wait to show pictures as I am now using a disposable camera so it could be awhile.

Last Weekend

Well, we went to the KU - MU game last weekend. It was quite disappointing but what can I say Ku had a great season. Overall though the atmosphere was so much fun! They had the stadium split just like the border. To the west was KU and to the East was MU split at the 50 yd line. We had great seats which was nice except we were on the 50 yd. line so right beside me were MU fans. Which as you know just stinks when your team is losing. But the game did give us a great excuse to spend the weekend in Kansas City. We stayed at Crown Center and arrived just in time for the official Christmas tree lighting. So that was exciting for the kids. We got to do lots of shopping, looking at trains, and the kids got their annual pic with santa. All in all it was a great weekend. Pics to come soon!

Coming Up: Preschool Christmas program, Church Christmas Program, Santa Pictures through the years, and Christmas Preparations.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from a fire man and his spotted dog. There will be more pictures to come after Halloween. I need to catch up too. I have pics from the pumpkin patch and Kaden's preschool party. Thanks Brad for these pictures! They turned out great!

Jack Attack

It just amazes me how much of a big boy Jack has become since he turned 1! He is now walking everywhere. He is also "talking" up a storm. Here are a few stories from the last few days.

1) We didn't think Jack would be our scholar he just wasn't in to books the way Kaden was at his age. But wait a minute there is still a chance. Recently he has really started enjoying being read too. The other night we noticed Jack was making lots of trips from his bedroom to the livingroom. We watched to see what he was doing. He was bringing one book out at a time and stacking them in the living room. When he found just the one he wanted he took it to Tim to read to him. After, that we went and got another one. It was so cute!

2) Yesterday, I heard a noise and instantly knew it was the sound of a box of cereal being spilled or dumped on the kitchen floor. I went it expecting to see Kaden sitting there and I was ready to yell, send him to time out, give a lecture - you know all the "effective" punishments. But instead I saw my sweet, "innocent", big eyed, blond headed 1 year old with a mouth full of froot loops and a big pile of froot loops beside him. Of course there was also an empty box and sack somewhere in the mess. My heart melted- it was such a cute sight. Why is it cute the first couple of times but then by the time they are 3 the same things drive you nuts? Anyway, of course Jack helped me clean up. I just can't believe he is tall enough to reach the shelf in the pantry where the cereal is or that he thinks to do stuff like this. I know it was all Jack too because Kaden was busy playing in his room and the toy I had just seen in Jack's hand was on the floor of the pantry where he got the cereal down.

Hopefully, I will have pics next time I post.

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!!!

Over the summer we celebrated Kaden turning 3 (in June) and Jack turning 1 (September). I never got around to posting the pics so here is the run down on both parties.

Captain Kaden's Pirate Party

We invited some of Kaden's friends and family over on a Saturday at 11:00. We had pizza for lunch then got on with the party. I found some pirate costumes for pretty cheap. So everyone got to dress up like a pirate. They were so cute. The little pirates walked the plank, fought a sea beast, and hunted for treasure. After cake they got to play on the swing set, dig for treasure and were even visited by a "real" pirate. Thanks to my mom for setting that up. In the end we had a great pirate adventure and many very tired little pirates!

If you hand out swords. You better have something for them to use them on! Here is my attempt at a sea beast.



The pirate ship cake
A few of the kids with the pirate.


Jack's 1st Birthday Party

We had a family party for Jack. This was a pretty traditional party. We had everyone over for dinner followed by cake,presents, and lots of balloons. I think Jack had a good time and he loved getting his own cake!

Jack's First Steps

Okay, so they aren't the first steps but they are probably in his first 20. He is getting better everyday. I can't believe what a big boy he is becoming. Kaden is enjoying playing with him. They are becoming good buddies. Sorry, you have to watch it sideways. I forgot I was shooting a video.

Update...

I thought I should wrap up some loose ends. First of all, we took Kaden back to the audiologist and got great news. The medicine did the trick and his hearing is normal in both ears. So, we were pretty excited about that. We will just make sure his hearing gets checked every year.

This next part I just wanted to share but also record so I will always remember.
After Kaden's first day of preschool I asked him what he learned.
His response: "The bible is a special book."
Tim asked him what he learned.
His response: "if there is a fire I go stand by the tree."
I always wondered what kids picked up that first day. Now I know. It looks like he learned a variety of information.

Later that day he said. "At p-cool I colored on a bible" We asked if he got in trouble and he said no. Later we realized they colored a picture of a bible. Thank goodness!
Well, it should be interesting to see what he learns in his second week of school!