Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours...

We love Grandma Lynda!

Parker and Grandma made a apple pie together. Parker really enjoyed it! He was so happy to help and very satisfied with how "his" pie turned out!
Lauren couldn't wait to help Grandma bake the pumpkin pies. Grandma makes the BEST pumpkin pies. Ironically, she doesn't even like pumpkin pie. But, we all do and love her for making them! Lauren thinks her pies look delicious! Yum yum! Lauren and Bennett also helped make a pumpkin cheesecake. One of my favorites!

Lowden helped grandma with the pumpkin pecan pies...spreading pecans around with great skill...(mostly he sort of flung them on with great skill.) They all turned out looking very yummy looking! Can't wait to try them out! Thanks Grandma!

The Many Faces of Mr. B

I asked Bennett a few questions recently, here were his answers:

• What's your favorite color? "Gween" (Green)
• What's your favorite food? "Staghetti" (Spaghetti)
• Who's your best friend? "Liam...he's so little!"

Birthday Tradition

We have a birthday tradition that we've been doing since the kids were little. We always take them to the bookstore and let them choose their own book. I took Lauren today and, after much deliberating, she chose "Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So does May.)" We started reading it tonight...and it was funny...as all Junie B. Jones books are! In recent years, we have added another tradition to their birthday book outing...which is that we always stop to get a special birthday doughnut. Lauren chose a maple doughnut with sprinkles. Yum!

Parker's New Pet....

So Parker's fish, Betahead, passed away yesterday. He was VERY unhappy about it. Parker asked me (mom) what I did with him. I explained that I didn't feel like he would have wanted to be thrown in the trash nor surrounded by a bunch of dirt...."no, he wanted a much more glorious burial.... A burial at sea seemed more appropriate." Then, Lowden piped up..."You flushed him down the toilet didn't you..." I, quickly, replied that "it was the quickest way to get him to the sea".... Parker wasn't satisfied and still unhappy about his loss.

Today, Parker was outside the house and Greg noticed a spider on his arm and flicked it off. Parker said, "What was that?" Greg showed him the spider. Parker insisted on keeping it. He named him "Wolfie" once he realized that he was a wolf spider. Being the spider-phobic person that I am, I very nicely explained that spiders prefer to live in the garage. So, we have a 8 eyed wolf spider in our garage in a salsa container. ...Mom is wishing the fish was still alive!!!

Facts on Wolf Spiders that Parker and Greg looked up:

• Wolf spiders do not build webs. Instead they are active hunters that search the ground for prey.
• Although wolf spiders are not aggressive, they are able to bite people, and should not be handled.
• Wolf spiders will feed on almost any living insect or worm that is about 1/2 their own body length.
• Life span- up to 3+ years, depending on species.
  

UPDATE: I walked into the kitchen tonight to find an empty salsa container with the top half on. I freaked out for a few minutes trying to figure out how it got in the house and I was SURE the spider was loose in the house. Then, I finally remembered that I had used a container just like the one Wolfie is in for raisins tonight. Somebody must have eaten them all and left the container on the counter. Sigh. I think my heart skipped a beat though...

Day Two...

Growing out Lauren's bangs...day two. Anyone have any hot tips on how to do hair in this in between phase? Right now it sure is taking longer in the morning trying to figure out what to do with it....but, patience IS a virtue. :-)

Can you tell.....

Bennett dressed himself this morning. He did a pretty good job. Can you tell what he still needs some work on? A box of raisins goes to the first person that can guess. Ha Ha

*UPDATE* My Sister-In-Law, Rachel, was the first one to answer! Yes, she wins the raisins box prize! Bennett had his little pants on backwards...he still needs to work on that. :-)

My Helpers....

We had lots of helpers in the kitchen tonight. Lauren grated the cheese with expert percision. Parker made the fruit salad almost completely by himself. And it was YUMMY! Bennett poured the yogurt in the fruit salad. Lowden got all his chores and homework done! They are all great helpers! Note - Lauren has decided to try to grow her bangs out- today was day one.

It's Lauren's Birthday!

A Birthday Party for Lauren

Today was Lauren's birthday party!!!

Lots of fun was had by mostly girls, her brothers and cousin, Christian, and one boy from school that she HAD to invite! Can't believe our little girl is growing up!!!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Tonight we had parent teacher conferences! Lowden, Parker, and Lauren got gleaming reports back from their teachers! Lowden was recently tested for the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program. The TAG tests rated him as "superior" since he received 95 total points. To be designated as a TAG student, you need 97 points. Since he is so close to the designation, his teachers have decided to treat him like he was was a TAG student and are going to differentiate the curriculum for him! Yeah! We are happy that he will continue to be challenged. The assistant principal said that we can test him again in a few months or a year if we would like. Way to go Lowden! Parker got all excellents and outstandings back in his report card. His teacher is really enjoying him! She told me that she was telling one of the kids how cute their mom was. Then another little girl said "my mom is cute too." And then Parker piped up, "My mom is very beautiful!" Ahhhhhh. So sweet! I guess I will keep him. :-) Lauren is doing wonderful too. Her teacher shared that when she is student of the day...she can relax and drink her coffee since Lauren takes over the class so well! She is also one of the loudest ones when they sing their math songs (no surprise there...she likes to belt it out sometimes). Ahh....maybe they will turn out to be civilized adults after all. :-) Sure love them!

Happy Halloween!

The kids have a very fun Halloween night! Of course, they came home with their buckets full of candy and big smiles on their faces!



Silliness....thy name is Hansen!