Fun with cousins

Our nieces and nephew are in town right now soon to be followed by there Mom and Dad, and we have been looking forward to this visit for a while. We headed over to Bauman's Farm to enjoy their fall festivities. The kids had a blast.

Tommy got a little surge of testosterone while operating this giant cannon. The goal was to shoot an apple through a small whole several feet away.
While Tegan was too small to fully enjoy some of it she LOVED swinging and could have done it all day.
We certainly can't resist taking these silly pics. We've got a Crazy Apple
An Angry Apple
A Cute Apple
and a Bashful Apple
Jumping around on the bounce pad.


We finally had some down time today and it was one of our cousin's birthdays so she decided she wanted a sumo match. The girls also figured out a way to get get these wristbands on their faces.


It has been so fun having them here and we get all this next week to enjoy their company as well.

A Few Words About Playdough

All day today Jessie kept asking if we could play with playdough. I promised her we would, but just kept putting it off until almost just before bedtime. I realized every time she would bring it up to me I would mentally let out a huge sigh and if I wasn't careful to control my tongue I may have blurted out "I HATE PLAYDOUGH!" I feel guilty that I limit the amount of playdough playing that goes on around here. For all I know I could have a little Picasso in my home that will never reach her potential all because I HATE PLAYDOUGH! But the truth is, limiting it keeps me sane. This is how the playdough playing process goes in our house...
1. I get down all the playdough and tools to go with it. This usually involves risking my life because I keep it up high enough that the kids won't see it and bother me about it daily.
2. We open it all up only to discover that half of them have dried out and have now become a weapon of sorts.
3. The girls fight over what colors they want.
4. They roll it around a little and then ask me to create something impossible (for me) like a dog or dragon. When I try to get them involved in the process they refuse because "they can't" so it ends up being me playing with playdough and them watching.
5. We put it all away , but you know, it's never COMPLETELY put away because I find myself stepping on it over the next few days, or picking pieces out of the carpet, or catch Tegan trying to snack on it.
So that is why I HATE PLAYDOUGH--and while I'm ranting let me just add bubbles and watercolor to that list too. I hope my kids forgive me someday for limiting this fun activity for them. Hopefully I'm making up for it in other ways.

All Grown Up



My baby's getting bigger and I'm a little bit sad about it. Jess is starting kindergarten this year and it's a little hard for me to digest. The other day she had her literacy assessment and as I watched her sitting there all grown up like with her new teacher, I almost started crying. It's not really the fact that she's going to school 5 days a week, last year she went to preschool 3 days each week-- it's more what it represents.

It's me having to let loose on the reigns some and losing a little bit of control and her marching forward becoming just a little bit more independent. Although unrealistic, there is part of me that wants to go right in with her and sit next to her in class to fend off any bullies, pick her friends, and cover her ears when something inappropriate is said. I can only imagine that as the years go on her independence will become more and more drastic. I just have to hope that she chooses to make good choices and be strong.

The other day while in the car I was expressing to Jess that I was feeling a little sad about her not being home in the mornings soon. She said, "Mom I want to live with you and Papi forever." I explained to her that someday she will actually want to move out and be on her own. She disagreed and we continued to argue about it, until finally we agreed that we would discuss it again in a few years. I have to admit, it was nice to hear that our home is a place she loves to be. I hope that when she is all grown up and on her own it will still be that way.

Quick Trip to Bend 

For some rest from our labors this year we decided to take a quick family trip over to Bend Oregon. We both love it there, and separately we've both spent time there for different reasons, but never much together. We decided it would be a great place to take the kids and enjoy some time together--just the four of us.

It was so nice having some alone time with the kids without any other distractions. They drove us nuts at times, but we were able to give them all the attention they are constantly wanting but never quite getting in the ordinary routine at home.

We were both blown away by all there is to do in Bend. We loved the endless bike trails, rivers, and hiking all around.

This is at the High Desert Museum. It as pretty interesting for both the kids and ourselves. They had some interactive things for the kids and we got to see some beautiful art and history of Oregon and the surrounding areas.

This display cracked me up "Whose scat is that". It was actually very educational to read about the different animal "scat" and how they can detect who has been where by the scat they leave etc. but the immature side of me was giggling under my breath the whole time. Especially watching the girls make heads or tails of the fake scat placed around the display room.

We toured the lava caves and it was a nice escape from the heat. The girls were pretty scared of the dark at first and really wanting to turn around until we bribed them with chocolate and then all of a sudden they were more than happy to go frolicking through the cave (it's amazing what power chocolate has). It was actually really fun.

It was a quick trip for us, but we realized a few things, 1. It was great being together, just the four of us. 2.We love Bend Oregon and plan to head in that direction more often now. 3. If we see bear scat we better turn and run.