We love autumn!!!

We have a LOT of leaves in our backyard. I have wanted to rake them up all week. So, Saturday, I did just that. Mostly. (We do have a LOT of leaves in our backyard!)

Once I got the first pile ready to go, I told the girls they could jump on them.
Neither were sure what to do at first, so after a little coaxing and one big
jump on my part, the fun began!

I love the action in the picture.

Pure joy!

The morning ended with piles of leaves and laughter. It was a great day!!
Now, Anyone want to bag and haul off several large, crushed piles of leaves?
And for those interest, Piper's bandaid is a result of a really bad week for her.
Sunday she fell of the chair in our dining room and slip her lip open.
Tuesday she got her finger slammed in a door.
Wednesday she threw up a large portion of the night.
And Friday she fell cheek first onto the door of our van.
I'm hoping this new week brings her a little relief.

Silliness at our house

First place!!!!

Brenna's school had a cake decorating contest for their Annual Fall Festival. I was hesitant to even tell Brenna about it because it was a very busy week. Well, I decided to see if she wanted to particiate, and, of course, she did. We decided on a gum ball machine cake, but only because I ruled out a castle cake like Cinderella made in one of her books.So, she mixed the cake and I baked it.

The next day, she iced it while Piper looked on.

I did the sides and she did the top completely by herself.

Then she and Piper put M&M's on instead of gumballs.

I put on the finishing touches.
Brenna was quite proud. And should be. She did a great job. So good, in fact, she won first prize in the Pre-K class!! In the not too distant future, she will get to have lunch with her favorite teacher, Ms. P. Way to go, B!!

Storybook Forest

If you haven't gone to Storybook Forest, I highly recommend it. Edmond Electric and some other groups put this on every year out at Lake Arcadia. Go east on 15th until you run into the lake. It is $5 per kid and adults are free. You walk through the woods and read classic stories and get lots of candy. When you are finished with that part, there is a hayride, games and bonfires where you can roast hotdogs and marshmallows (additional charge). It really is a great family activity that is not frightening for little kids. It is open from 5:30-8:00 each night until Halloween.

The entrance

Pinnochio

Humpty Dumpty

Our personal favorite, Rapunzel.

(We have been known to play Rapunzel in our backyard on more than one occasion.)

Jaye, I put a CD in the mail today with detailed pictures. Call me when you get it. :)

This is an unpaid endorsement for Storybook Forest.

Halloween Debut

This year for Halloween the girls decided to be Wonder Woman and Supergirl. So, this...

turned into this!!!

At our Bible Class party, Josh and I decided at the last minute to go in costume also. By last minute, I mean 35 minutes before the party started. We were The Bailey's

What a weekend!

Our family had a great weekend. It was stress-free and relaxing. Bren loves school, but liked the break from it as well. On Friday, Josh took off work so we could have a family day. We made our to do list in three categories: Need to do, Would like to do, Probably won't get done. Our "Need to do" list involved the grocery store and a picnic in the park. We got those done and that was about it! :) We actually ended up getting quite a bit done on Saturday but felt no pressure. It was just what we needed.

And I did something I have not done in 5 years and 3 months, at least. I saw TWO movies this weekend!! Josh and I saw Fireproof Friday afternoon. I highly recommend it to married couples. The acting is, hmmm...., how do I say this.... Well, let's just say that Kirk Cameron is the only your will most likely ever see onscreen again. But in spite of the novice cast, the story line is strong. It is a good reminder of the importance of working on our relationships with our spouse.

Then a group of girls went to see "The Secret Life of Bees" last night. I loved it. If you haven't read the book, start there, then enjoy the movie. It is a great story and the women in this movie did a fantastic job. But I do love Queen Latifah. I shared my copy of the book with a friend and just before I handed it to her I read the inside cover. My dad gave me the book with I was pregnant with Brenna. He wrote "Hope this is happy reading for you and the baby". It was! This is a sweet movie that should at least be rented and enjoyed.

That's MY girl!!

OK, so Brenna is in Mrs. McBride Bible Class this year. All who have passed through this era before us are well aware of the routine (and pressure). For those who are unfamiliar, allow me to catch you up to speed.

Mrs. McBride has been teaching the Pre-K for 39 years. Literally. Her routines have never changed in those 39 years. Every Sunday at the end of class, she hands out their memory verse for the week and review questions from the lesson they just studied. The children are to bring back their questions on Wednesday. She will ask the kids one question each and they get a prize for bringing them back and answering her questions. In our house, it is Brenna's responsibility to get those questions back to Bible class each week.

Yesterday, mid-afternoon, I asked Brenna if she knew where her questions were. She did not (shocker!), so she went on a hunt for that included our Bibles, the church bag and the van. Some time later she found me folding laundry in our bedroom. Here is the conversation that followed:

B: What letter does it start with?
M: What letter does what start with?
B: Questions. C or K?
M: Oh, actually it starts with a Q. Qu.
B: (Looks at me like I have lost my mind)
M: Qu sounds like 'Kwa'. Questions is spelled Qu..e..s..
B: I'll never remember that. Will you write it down for me?
M: Sure (and does on an envelope on our desk)

About 10 minutes later, Brenna brings me this piece of paper and asks if she can turn this in to Mrs. McBride tonight.


After laughing out loud, I tell her she can sure try, but don't be surprised if Mrs. McBride does not give her a prize.

Well, Mrs. McBride was not in class last night. So, not only did the sub give Miss B a prize, he also posted it on the bulletin board for all to see.

She's a smart one, she is!!

Don't ya just want to eat them up?

Bath Time

"Zippity Do Da, Zippity Day. My, oh my, what a wonderful day!!"


"Did I get all the bubbles out?"
Am I the only who finds this disturbing?

Lake Murray

Here are some highlight from our weekend at Lake Murray. We had a fantastic time. I highly recommend taking the short trip to Ardmore and enjoying this family friendly resort.

Thanks Doug, Trelenza, Mia and Libby. We loved every minute of it!

The girls feeding the fish. These were the largest carp I have ever seen.
We played miniature golf.
Josh and Mia were the winners.
We played games.
They had a fantastic play ground.
A GIANT slide that our fearless girls loved.
tricks on the swingset
We took a Sunset Cruise around the lake. The girls loved it!!
Doug did not. (He wasn't loving being on the boat in general, but then he kept getting splashed.)


Doug, Trelenza, Mia, Libby
Our family

I had a dream

last night that we were putting on a VBS Cruise.

Imagine 350 children ranging in ages from 3-10 out to sea for 4 days. Only chaperoned by the Christian Families and Just Starting Out classes and my mom.

Yes, nightmare is a better term.

We are having issues.

Without going into details...here is a possible (hopeful) solution.

***Just for clarity..."going" isn't the issue as much as going without a freak out dance to follow.

Sarah Palin

sure is cute.

Don't get me wrong, I thought she held her own pretty well tonight. But, I thought I was going to need an insulin injection by the time it was over. Gosh darn it.