super saturday

this weekend has been one for the record books. thank goodness sunday is a day of rest! thank you, heavenly father! friday night kalei, koa, and james camped out in the back yard. they had planned it out a few days ahead of time and the kids were very excited. it all went down really well (no kids freaking out in the middle of the night or anything like that). it was a little chilly that night, but kalei and koa were so excited that they didn't even notice... and james woke up to find them curled tightly into little balls in the morning, despite multiple blankets. silly kidlets! we woke them up early to get a head start on traveling to dinosaur world. dinosaur world is an attraction about 40 minutes north of us that we've passed on the interstate, but never stopped at. saturday was $1 day, so of course we went. it was totally worth $4!!! (not sure it would be worth the $40 it would normally cost, though....) the kids had a great time and enjoyed digging for fossils and bones and going on the dinosaur trail. the weather was perfect and we missed the huge crowds and we even saw everything and made it back in time for kalei's soccer game! sometimes the stars align just right, and yesterday was definitely one of those times. by the end of the day, after camping, dinosaur world, soccer, and two birthday parties, we were all filthy and pooped, but in a good way. james and i even got in a few games of "pass the pigs" after everyone was in bed! perfection!

full of hot air and donuts

last saturday, we got up early to go watch the hot air balloons fly in for a local festival. the most we saw at one time was 15! i guess it was some sort of landing contest, and that makes absolutely no sense to me. how can you have that with hot air balloons? you can't have them all land in a certain spot, so they must just have to... land? is that like one of those "competitions" where everyone's a winner? what's the fun in that? they should have to fly low and catch things shot from a hot dog cannon! i should be in charge of that next year - they apparently need some fresh ideas. anyhoo, the balloons were fun to spot and the kids got donuts afterwards, so, in our family as well as the hot air balloon "contest," everyone really was a winner.

koa quotes

koa (to mama): i picked my booger, but i put it back in my nose.
mama: there's probably a better place for that. would you like a tissue?
koa: no, i just put it back in my nose.
mama: okay, then.

weekend getaway

this past weekend i got to jet out to colorado springs for my cousin, kaitlyn's, wedding!

and it was all kid-free! (i had to stop myself from moving breakable items up out of kawelo's range - habit!)

some friends from purdue, travis and allison, met me for lunch in denver. allie has three boys - i think that sums up this picture:

here they are being their adorable selves. thanks for meeting me, guys!! it was SO fun to catch up!

here are some highlights from the wedding day. everyone looked gorgeous (especially kaitlyn, of course) and the reception was fabulous!!

apparently, grandma doesn't like her picture taken (look closely at her snapshot). i must get that from her. also, she used to hide candy in her underwear drawer (sherri was unclear on why they were snooping in there), so i get my sweet tooth from her, too. thanks a lot, grandma. on the other hand, i get my love of quilts from her, and koa has her beautiful eyes, so i guess it evens out. it was SO wonderful to see all the fam in colorado!! thanks, everyone, for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend!! our house is always open - feel free to visit!!

Play-Doh Fun

Last night Bess and Kawelo went out shopping for some essentials (food) and took a little longer than a 3 year-old could handle. To curb the hunger pangs, and as a distraction tactic, we brought out the Play-Doh. Snowmen and penguins are pretty easy (and recognizable) so I stick with those. Here is Koa proudly displaying the results of our joint venture:

Below are penguins. I shaped the bodies and put the beak and wings on the pink one, then left to help Kalei with something. When I came back, Koa had provided eyes for Pinkie as well as a beak, wings, and eyes for Brownie. I'm excited because he usually just squishes the Play-Doh, but now is showing some of the creative ability that Bess has in leaps and bounds.

Koa also noticed that one of the eyes had fallen off of the green penguin ...

... Problem solved.

what's cookin?

our corn is ready!! and it was delicious. the kids gobbled theirs up, but we'll see how they do once the bell peppers are ready.

the baby boo pumpkins are quite adorable.... and plentiful. we'll have to start giving them away soon.

i was walking through the kitchen today and the following two displays pleased my eye. (alas! i'll never have a clutter-free kitchen! but, i think i've accepted it and moved on.)

i haven't figured out what to put in the third canister, yet. i don't use whole wheat flour enough to put it out there. (the other two hold white flour and sugar.) any suggestions?

hope your kitchen pleases your eye!

weekend update

okay, so you know how the scriptures tell us we need to become as a little child? it's amazing how having kids opens your eyes to what exactly that means. western's game vs. indiana was fun... for james & me. it was a tad muggy and slightly scorching in the stadium. (think 90 degrees with no shade and 100% humidity.) but, it's live action football! it's worth it, right? right! anyhoo, koa had his hands firmly clamped over his ears before we entered the stadium. "too loud!!" he asserted over and over. we calmed him down and found our seats - right smack in the middle of indiana's fans. they were very nice and laughed at western's stinkiness right along with us. (we left at half-time, and the score was unchanged from the above photo, although i do think western scored, eventually. it goes without saying that indiana continued to score.) the kids kept a running commentary about their physiology: too hot, hungry, not hungry, really hot, thirsty, thirsty, thirsty, is it time to go, yet? james & i were grateful to make it to half-time, and ended on a high note (the band played bon jovi songs). so, as we're preparing for the four hour ride home, i'm totally thinking the kids are going to remember this as an experience bordering on child abuse, right? but, when i asked them what they thought of the football game, they smiled and laughed and said it was fun! even koa, whose hands had been perma-glued to his ears the whole time! what funny creatures these tiny people are, with their memory editing and happy ways - they drive me crazy: crazy-crazy and crazy-happy. what a perfect combination.