school report

Well, the kids came home from school today and somehow we got on the subject of boys and girls, who likes who, who they would marry, etc...
David reported that all the girls were "crushin'" on Corbin, because he is a real athlete. It just cracked me up-- crushin' on.

Then Kaylee said, if she had to marry someone right now it would be Adam. When I asked, "why Adam?", she said b/c he is the best boy in her class-- All the others are stinky. Yes, boys are a little stinky!

My future Heisman winner!

Well, I got my first call from the principal the other day.

It had been a busy day. I got the kids off to school, then dropped the two little girls off at a friends so I could go to a doctor's appt. Then ran errands, took Lauren to preschool, had a meeting at work... the list goes on and on. Well, after all that, I was rushing home to make sure I got home before the older kids got off the bus when I got the dreaded call. Right away, I was thinking--oh no, what did my kids do. Then the principal proceeded to tell me that he had been notified that David had NOT gotten on the bus AND he was NOT on the playground. My heart dropped...my kid was missing and I panicked a little. All of sudden I remembered!!! I had told David that he could go to the Lutheran, after-school program with his friend, but of course I forgot to call the school or the bus service to tell them. I apologized profusely and explained what had happened. The principal was kind and just said that next time if I remember, I should call. The school and I had a bit of a scare all because of the absent minded mother. Oh my:)

When mommy is sick...

When mommy is sick, it seems the world just falls apart!

Last week was a tough one. Kaylee and Lauren got strep, so I spent several days caring for them and trying to keep Natalie entertained and away from them.

Then I got it... oh boy, I haven't been that sick in a long time. I could hardly function for several days. We just went on auto pilot each day until daddy got home. The girls watched a lot of TV, the house fell apart and they ate a lot of cereal, crackers, whatever I could put together with minimal effort. One of the days after taking some Tylenol and feeling barely alive, I actually threw together some mac-n-cheese AND even made some rice krispy treats, then fell back into bed. Well, when I got up, Natalie had climbed up onto the counter, eaten half a pan of rice krispies. Then decided, that the left over mac-n-cheese needed to be toasted. I found a whole pile of macaroni IN the toaster. Thankfully, it wasn't on.
By the end of the week, it looked like a tornado had gone threw the house, the kids were wearing dirty clothes, the bathrooms were growing fungus and Lauren had dreadlocks (her hair hadn't been brushed all week).

I am finally feeling better and it's time to pick up the pieces--ahhhh!

just a funny

The kids were all outside jumping on the trampoline, when Natalie and Lauren came in. Natalie was crying a bit with the cheezits in her hand and chewed up slobbery cheezits down her mouth, on her dress and arms. We're not sure what happened, but it was probably the result of eating cheezits while jumping. Anyway, Dan and I were on the couch and didn't feel like getting up. Dan says jokingly, (I think), "Lauren, go take her out and let the dog clean her up".
Lauren's response-- "ewww yuck, that's gross--that will make the dog throw up".

pumpkin patch

Every year we try to make it down to Roca Berry Farms Pumpkin Patch. We went this last weekend. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

David was singled out as the best pig caller and got to cheer on the green pig in the pig races. His pig won and he got a handkerchief and pig nose as a prize!! He did a great job.
He also rode on the BONE CRUSHER-- a huge monster truck-- with Dan. They had fun, although Dan said David was a little concerned a few times when it seemed like the truck was going to just flip right over.
The farm has lots of little haunted houses--David is finally getting old enough to go through some of them with Daddy. Dan would preview the haunted house and then go through it with David if he thought it wasn't too scary. David doesn't like the really scary stuff, but can handle the mild ones.

The girls and I went to the bouncy houses and fed the animals while Daddy and David did their big boy stuff.

We also went on the hayrack ride, picked out some pumpkins and wandered through the corn maze.
It was a good day, but we had some grumpy tired children by the time we left.

insects are a good source of protein!

Insects are a good source of protein. Over 2/3 of the world use insects as a main source of protein. These were a few things that Dan and the kids learned at the Bug Open house on East Campus a few weekends ago. They had a blast. They made bug art--which was taking maggots, dipping them in paint, putting them on paper and watching the designs they made. They watched a demonstration on honeybees. And of course they ate some bugs. They were disappointed b/c they didn't have any chocolate dipped ants or grasshoppers like last year, instead they had jello with meal worms in it--mmmmm, delicious!! And yes all the kids ate some.

Well, with that as background---today, David came home from school and said he ate 2 grasshoppers. I asked why and he said b/c he was hungry. Lovely. I told him that next time he should at least try to get some money for doing it.

Big Brothers

Tonight, the whole family went to watch Dan's softball game. The kids were all playing pretty well with some of the other families. Then at one point, all the girls came over to tattle. David and Dillon (one of David's friends) were "being mean" to the girls-- throwing the football at them and hitting them with it, copying them, etc. Kaylee was with the group of girls but wasn't saying anything. After one of the other girls was done telling the moms all the terrible things the boys were doing, Kaylee piped in and said " you'll get used to it-- it happens to me everyday". That made me laugh. Yes, David's one true joy in life is teasing his little sisters, and these other girls do not have big brothers. So is life with a big brother, I guess.

One foot in the grave??

Well, as the last post talked about-- the great grandparents were here visiting this weekend. And I think Great Grandma Phyllis must feel much older after her visit than she did before. Every time Kaylee had conversations with Grandma Phyllis it involved her dying. We went for a walk on Saturday afternoon and Kaylee asked " Grandma, when I am a mom will you be dead?" Another time she asked if she would be dead when she was in college. I just let it slide, b/c I didn't know what to say. But Grandma Pyllis held her own. She said, well we are healthy and in good shape, so I hope we'll still be alive, and always seemed to have a good response. I remember when I was little that older people seemed ancient. Great Grandma and Grandpa are in their mid 80's so I'm sure it looks like they could die any minute in her eyes. Still, it was interesting to hear her talk and wonder about those things. Grandma and Grandpa still travel, ski, walk daily, play golf and play with the grandkids, so I'm sure they will be around for a long time, maybe even until Kaylee has babies of her own:)

Go Big Red!!

Dan's grandparents were visiting from California this last weekend for the Virginia Tech/ Nebraska game. It was Kaylee's first Ne game and only David's 2nd or 3rd. They were sooooo excited. They have been talking about it for weeks and couldn't wait to go. We had a great time although, it would have been better with a different ending for the game. It was an exciting game though and kept everyone on their feet. I was a little worried about Kaylee at first. She was kind of grumpy and moody and tearful at the the start of the game. I thought --oh boy-- this could be a LONG game, but then she turned around and by the 2nd quarter, was excited and hyper and cheering like crazy. Who knows with girls??? I am one, but can't figure out mine sometimes. It could have been anything. Great Grandpa Byron had bought stadium seats for me, grandma Phyllis and himself, but not Kaylee. That could have been the problem, but she never would tell me the problem and eventually she was better. What am I going to do when they are all teenagers???? Agh!!!!

Anyway, it was a fun game and I hope we can continue to do that more. It was Great Grandma and Grandpa's treat, so we may stick to the Red and White game with the kids until we come in to some money:)

poop as art

Well, last week I worked furiously cleaning, organizing and getting ready for Dan's grandparents to arrive from California for their annual visit. They were due to get here by about 10am on Saturday. We had plans to get together with some friends Friday night who were also in town from Utah. Anyway... the plan was to hang out, head to Wal-Mart for some last minute things and then head home. Instead, I left with the kids and Dan went to play poker with some friends. I was ok with that, but told Dan that I would need to go into town early in the morning and he would have to get up and help out. Well, Saturday morning arrived and I was up early, along with Natalie and David. Natalie and David were watching cartoons and I was off to Wal-Mart. I left a note for Dan with a few last minute things that needed to be done around the house, but didn't wake him, b/c I was being nice and new that he had been out late (2am). But I figured the kids would wake him up soon anyway. On my way home from Wal-mart, I called to see how things were going on my list. Dan had no idea about my list b/c he was in the middle of a DISASTER! I guess Natalie pooped in her diaper and then decided it would work great as a finger painting material! She painted our room-- floor, windows, herself, the bed---ugh!!! And somehow she managed to do all this while Dan snored away in the same room.
Are there any other children that do this? Or is my child disturbed in some way?
Needless to say, when I got home it was a frantic rush to clean up the mess, finish my list and somehow get the house to not smell like a dairy farm!
A great way to start our weekend--yikes.