missed me, missed me now you gotta.....

how do YOU get ready for a category 1 hurricane?

1- shrink your tramp down to the ground and stake it down with 20 stakes

 2- fill any type of object that will hold water (pitcher, bowls, water containers) and fill your tubs

 3- get out your 72 hour kits and rummage through them. realize your food expired in 2008 (and come to the realization that slim jims actually get hard as a rock and would be inedible) and quickly try to replace it with what you have on hand. laugh about the clothes you had for J and G and realize that they will now be a perfect fit for the youngest two.  have your older 3 kids go upstairs to find clothes for the 72 hour kits and when they complain you gently remind them that if they don't want to  that they could just go naked during the storm. they quickly returned with said outfits. :)

4- have your kids carry up any electronic appliance you have and any food in cardboard that could be ruined. when they get 'tooooo tiiiirreeeddd' let them eat halloween candy and watch macgyver while waiting for the power to go out.

5-when your husband gets home form work, move ALL your newly purchased furniture from the last flood upstairs.

6- Call friends and make sure they are prepared and being as safe as possible.

7- hunker down and just wait.

Luckily, the hurricane that was projected to go right over the top of us moved to the west and missed us almost entirely. we got some crazy wind and some rain, but we stayed safe and dry. sad for all the people who lost their lives or who were hurt in other ways. keep them in your prayers.

we know ours were heard.

why i love satrudays

on saturdays there is a small market right by our house. i love going and picking up fresh apples and cider. I found these really cool looking gourds and had to get a picture. 

a little amish boy was coming up to the side of me when i pulled out the camera, he quickly turned around and ran from him. maybe he thought i was trying to get his picture. i felt bad.

the market is such a fun place, but kids always love going over. now we have to wait til next may!!

Trunk or treat

We had our annual trunk or treat with our church group. It was a flurry of getting ready for the hurricane and trying to finish a cheesecake and getting kids into costumes. Needless to say, I did not get pictures of all the kids. gggrrrrr.

C was a ducky and B, a firefighter. J was a pirate (yes, the same costume she has worn for the past 2 years-she loves it!) G was Batman, (he was a ninja, but a last minute decision turned him into batman) and K was a ninja.

This little guy of mine has  a sweet tooth like I have never seen before. He was a happy man with 2 suckers!

he loved eating the left overs from J's  cupcake

 Looking at their delicious halloween candy. i remember my favorite thing about halloween night was coming home and trading candy with my siblings. keeping the tradition strong

fall festivities

i love fall. love it! the kids came out of piano the other day to find that dad had raked their teachers leaves in a pile. the kids got to work jumping, throwing and rolling in the leaves. 

most of all, i love their smiles!

 even when G was handing me his glasses, still grinning. love it!

 J's leaf wig

 heavenly fall bliss

dont you wish you could spend your days with this happy little gal?  she oozes sweetness and is one of the happiest most content little babies. she LOVES to giggle!

 we attended the yearly halloween parade last night.  we had friends over for soups and rolls ahead of time. the parade was a success, and we had great weather to boot!

 B LOVED it! when a float would pass by, he would hold his bag out and yell 'caaaaannnnddddyyyyyy!'

he has a huge sweet tooth. i think its fair to say that he had the best time!

 c'mon warm weather. stay for trick or treating. no hurricane on our shore.

small conversation

This was my kids conversation on the way to school this morning. G says, 'mom, i think I know what I want to be when i grow up.' Me, 'what?' G replied, 'someone who builds stuff' I say, 'oh, like someone who builds houses or something?" he says, 'yes' I say, "G, you would be great at that!' J quickly chimes in but very somberly says, 'G, they don't EVER get to eat lunch...'
 I reassured him they do. 

a little cook

I made molasses cookies with frosting, a request from G. The kids LOVE these cookies. Apparently, B prefers his sprinkled with oregano. G does not.

 This was cumin. I had to replace the bottle.

 I hate spilled milk. It gets everywhere. I may not cry over spilled milk, but I for sure dont laugh

at least his head was warm for his nap.

he also has a sock fetish right now (notice picture). I put nice matching socks on in the morning, but the time i'm out the door 30 minutes later, he has taken off socks and replaced them with miss matched ones, and usually baby C's. He carries about 3 socks around for a good portion of the day.

funny stuff;
The other day G came home from school and just kept saying first grade is SOOOOO hard. And all they do is work and they are NEVER given anything amazing at the end of the day. I was asking him what sort of 'amazing' thing he wanted. He frustratingly replied, "I don't know, some sort of prize or something. I mean, we're keeping these people in business. They get paid for US to be there. If we weren't there, they wouldn't get ANYTHING!' How does a 7 year old know this?  Wise little owl.

The other day, I sent K, my 10 year old upstairs to get a pack of diaper for the kids. He brought down about 15 loose diapers that he is balancing in his arms. I look at him and say, what are those? Why didn't you get a pack. He said, I couldn't find any packs. I just brought down the ones I had put in the bottom of my closet for emergencies. I stuffed a bunch down there so I could throw them out the window for the babies if we ever have an emergency. (how sweet AND thoughtful is that. also made me realize i should talk to him about these and tell him that he doesn't need to worry...)

pears

Saturday night a lady in our ward called and said she had two pear trees that had dropped most of their pears. She offered them to us if we wanted to come over and get them. We called some friends and we headed over. We had to steer clear of poison ivy on one tree, but the kids went to work. We picked up most of them, then the kids started trying to throw sticks to get them out. Dad couldn't help himself, so much to the chagrin of the lady in our ward-and LOTS of worrying- daddy climbed his way up the tree. It rained pears. C even took a few on his head. We ended up with about 5 diaper sized boxes of pears that we are planning on canning. I think in about a week I will never want to see another pear.

I do LOVE pears though!

more sun

These kids love our trampoline. Never get tired of it. 

This little girl is so funny. When she wants to get off, she bails off the side of the tramp and tries to lower herself down, just like her older brother does. She has a long way to grow before she can reach the bottom. She is so speedy.

 J found some worms she was delighted to grab a handful. eeeeewwwwwwww. the boys wouldn't even touch them.

sunny day at the park

We had a gorgeous sunny day. We headed to the Farmers Market. We got delicious freshly  grown apples, and delicious handmade soft pretzels smothered in cinnamon and sugar. mmmm.

Then we headed to the park and enjoyed the slide and the ducks. Please stay around for a while warm weather.

This sweet little gal had her 6th birthday. i really can't believe she is that old. i look at her and wonder where the time went.  She was so excited to bring her class a treat on friday. her teacher gave her a fun birthday hat to wear. i also made these flower cupcakes for her (super easy).

She had a great day!

her morning started out opening presents. 

i gave in and got her a monster high doll. not sure if i like them or not....still deciding

she also got a new bike so she can ride with the boys

 she also got a few little pet shops and a barbie that can swim 

and a matching shirt with her baby sister. twins!

I then took her to her soccer game. it was 27 degrees. i had about 5 layers on, hiking boots and knee high socks to try to keep warm. it was cold. it was also foggy on the way there, and J said, 'If you have ever wanted to touch a cloud, roll the window down, put your hand out, and grab."

we went for doughnuts after.

another birthday request was red robin. She mostly wanted a balloon and for them to sing to her. she was quite pleased.

her other birthday wish was to go to the amusement park by our house. it was a little chilly,but we bundled up and headed over.

 one of the kids favorite is to go on the haunted house. they get scared every time, but they request it every time!

 posing for the camera

  g was pretending to be a mummy

 b was just happy to get out of the stroller with a package of skittles

 he loved going on this spider ride with J

 we found a corn box to play in. it was perfect for everyone

it got pretty chilly right about when the sun went down, so we headed home. 

i was hoping to get home and get everyone into bed. J insisted that she do her birthday cake on her birthday. (the cake was still in the freezer). i pulled it out, cut it, and put together  a  pretty pathetic looking cake, but she didn't care. she got to blow the candles out, on her birthday. she was content. 

a little about J

-She LOVES being a big sister and is an amazing help

-She loves to catch bugs

-She loves to play in the rain

-She loves to play in the dirt

-She loves to paint her nails, and anybody's that will accept

-She loves to give hugs

-She loves corn chowder and little smokies (not combined)

-She has a sweet tooth

-She loves to ride her bike

-She loves barbie movies

-She loves to color

-She loves school

She really is just a sweet little girl. She has just enough spunk and just enough sweetness. 

We love you!