Parade of Lights

(This is what I attempted to publish earlier today.) How do you get kids to want to be outside when it's dark and the temperature is in the teens? Layers of clothes, dum-dum suckers, and a LOT of Christmas lights parading in front of them. Saturday was the Rapid City Parade of Lights. Cold but great fun for all. The float picture included was the Ellsworth Air Force Base float. You can't tell in the pictures but it moves. That makes it very impressive to the boys, that and it is an air plane which is very cool, you know. Lydia's favorite float had a drum corps that was playing a load steady beat. That girl and rhythm. Hopefully your weekend was warmer. :)  

Another Test

Now I"m testing to see if I can blog with a picture attached. Today was a bit crazy so I was going to skip nap time. Hans put himself down for a nap on the couch. It was too sweet. Hopefully this publishes.  

Test

I've tried posting twice today and keep having trouble so this is a test to see if this post works.

Leftovers

Don't mock it until you've tried it. Last night we had "Thanksgiving Pizza" for dinner. What is it?, you ask. Start with a basic pizza crust rolled out, spread with leftover gravy, sprinkle with smallish globs of potatos, stuffing, and chopped turkey, and then top with enough cheddar cheese to hold it all together. Bake at 400 degree for about 25 minutes or until everything is warm and melty. No, I'm not crazy, it was enjoyed by all. Really. And if you aren't an adventurous eater, I also made regular pizza too. Hope your leftovers are as tasty. :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving sermon theme was on giving thanks for our many blessings but specifically for the blessing of faith in the hearts of our families, friends, and all believers. Today we are very thankful for the families and friends we have been blessed with in this life but also for the knowledge that through faith we will share eternity. From our home to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. :)  

Why We Have Children

There are an infinite number of reasons why we have children and, depending on the particular day, my answer will change but, today's reason is that they are so sweet when they are asleep. At least four days of the week and sometimes as many as seven, I get all three of the kids down to nap at the same time. Pure maternal bliss I tell you. Today would be such a day. They are all sweetly, peacefully, tug-at-my-heartfully asleep. :)  

Why We Like Saturday's Best

Our kids are pretty late sleepers; 7am is pretty early for them. 7:30-8:30am is usually rise and shine time at our house. This means Saturdays are for sleeping in around here. The boys have figured out that it also means that Saturdays are for cuddling and specifically for cuddling Dad. They come running into our room and declair, "I want to cuddle Dad now." as they climb into our bed. When Lydia wakes up I fix her a bottle and then let her join in the mayhem too. This picture is from this morning. No one is actually asleep in the picture but you get the idea. Hopefully your morning was a warm and sweet. :) 

Tunnels of Fun

Since the weather has been cooler and the wet, melty snow has kept us indoors most days we're discovering more creative play. This firetruck toy and the tunnel were two seperate grage sale finds that together make a lot of fun. The firetruck is about a 3x4x8 cubic rectangle with windows, a door, skylights, and a circle escape hole. The tunnel is the same size as the excape hole and about 4 feet long so the two can be connected. The three kids think it's great fun to go in the door, through the truck, out the tunnel, and around again. Blanket are often piled on top to cover the windows and skylight to make it a "tent." From our "tunnels of fun" we send you "tons of love."  

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I'm not sure what these pictures will mean for our house in a few years but they were cute when I snapped them last night. Lydia picks up anything resembling the phone (ie: the remote, the calculator) and, holding it correctly, says something very close to, "hello." Just thought I'd share even though it meant two posts in a day. :)  

Cuddles, hats, and reading time

After Friday's snows cleared we had a wonderful weekend with Kevin and Mary. The kids LOVE their Grandparents and they were just thrilled to have them here. These snapshots pretty much sum up the weekend-lots of silliness! A few highlights were building a fort in the front yard with Grandpa, helping Grandma make cookies, getting to play in the guest room bed every morning, and LOTS of books and lap time. They also had great fun "helping" Dad and Grandpa figure out how to make our new web cam work. They keep asking to talk to Grandpa on the computer. Hopefully they will get to use it again soon. May your week go well. :)  

Snow Day Play

I have often said that no one prays harder for snow days than teacher's wives. I wasn't really even thinking it was possible this early in SD let alone praying yet but this morning I was proved wrong. The phone rang about 5:30 am and we had about 7 inches of snow on the ground. That isn't the largest amount we've had here but it is certainly the largest amount this early. Usually we don't get a lot of snow until Feb., Mar., Apr., and even May. Evan was very eager to get outside after breakfast. Hans took a little cooercing. And Lydia really had no idea what to think. Once outside they all had tons of fun. Evan likes to climb the "mountain" of snow Daddy was shoveling off the driveway. Hans "ran" (Maybe trudged is a better description since the snow was knee deep on him.) all over the yard making footprints. And Lydia was just in wonder of it all. She eventually got used to the idea that she couldn't move much and just sat happily watching the commotion of the boys and Dad. I can't let a good wet snow pass without making a snowman so since our scarecrow was looking like he could use a friend, I made one his size. Odd fellows, I'd say. Now, we are awaiting Kevin and Mary's arrival. They tried to leave Z'ta earlier this morning but the storm was on top of them. They decided to try an alternate northern route and are hitting clearer travel conditions as they move west. Lord willing they will arrive late this evening. If you are in southern MN or almost anywhere is WI, enjoy the early winter wonderland. What a beautiful day. :)  

77 Degrees on Voting Day

It is beautiful today. Currently it's 77 degrees and it's November 7th. Just crazy I think. The kids having been loving it though. We have been outside all day and even had picnic lunches on the patio the last two days. The nice weather yesterday allowed me to get the front raked and cleaned up for winter and today I washed the van inside and out. Lydia was napping during the van washing but the boys found it a great excuse to get soaking wet and are now sporting shorts and sandals. The pictures are from this morning in the leaf pile in the back yard. So far I think it's been raked up about ten times. Lydia even throws leaves back at the boys when they start leaf fights. I think all this warm weather might warrent one last visit to Armadillos, our favorite ice cream shop down town. We'll see what happens after nap time. :)  

appearing near you soon!

The kids are thinking about starting a band. They're all accomplished kazoo players, can take turns with ear-splitting vocals, and the boys can buzz a trumpet. An additional feature is that they can be shipped in a mid-sized box. Watch for them in a city near you soon. Seriously, they are just funny and we thought we'd share some goofing around pictures with you all. The kazoo playing is real though :)  

Aditional October 31 pictures

Here are more pictures since i can only add a limited amount at once. Also, there is a picture of the cookies the boys and I made yesterday. They now know a little about Luther's seal. Cookies were speaking their language.

Last night school and church hosted Harvet Fest. We played games and had a wonderful time with the kids. Continuing with the whole family costumes we were "Old McDonald's Farm." Nathan was a rancher (much to the folk's 'round here's delight), I was a farmer, Evan was a horse, Hans was a cow, and Lydia was a pig. We won the best group prize which also delighted my kids since the prize was a McDonald's gift card.