Funny Face Family

While we were waiting for everyone to assemble for Family Night, we got a little silly.








Anderson's is an alien, of course. Somehow, it just doesn't have the same effect.

Fire House Tour

Ever heard of E.D.I.T.H.? That's "Exit Drills In The Home" for those of you who have forgotten your elementary school days. I remember resenting them for taking my name and making it even nerdier than I already was. But I'm so over that now, right?

This week was Fire Prevention Week! In honor of said week we took a tour through our new fire station with Star's husband Lee, the Fireman. Or, anti-fireman, really. ( By that I mean he is anti-fire.) The kids loved his laid back attitude towards all the cool stuff--"You want to climb all over the ambulance? Go for it! Climb the firetruck, too! Want to spray the hose? Want to hold the "jaws of life"? Just kidding, it weighs more than you do. So does my fire gear but put it on anyway!" You can imagine the kids had a good time.


And here I am asking what they would do if my house were on fire: "How would you get water? There are no hydrants out where we live. Could you siphon water from the ditch? But they turned that off today. So, could you knock the cap off our well and pump water out of that? Huh? Couldja? How are you going to save my house!?!"

Yeah, I'm about as much fun as an exit drill in the home.

What with a dozen kids and all that equipment, an accident was inevitable. You can see that Anderson is disfigured for life. Just kidding! The only scars are emotional.

Oh! We got a new camera! Hooray! Now we are waiting for a new memory card to come in the mail because the one that came with the camera holds about ten pictures. Sheesh.

four-year-olds at play

My sister-in-law Jenny had Meredith over to play with Andrew today. She was sitting at her computer while they were playing and she started transcribing. (Thanks, Jenny!)
Here is the result:

M: We’ve got all the things.

A: Good, let’s knock stuff down.

M: Here are the snow people.

A: I will break down the gas station. I mean, only the gas. There I’m done.

M: Now let’s go up. Can we go, and put all the tied up persons in jail?

A: I’m swinging on the swing. I’ll put one person on the flying swing.

M: Hey! Can I PLEASE break down this metal egg?

A: No, this isn’t a metal egg.

M: What is it?

A: It’s a spider house. Now break it down.

M: Let’s put a mask on so she couldn’t talk.

A: Okay. I’m going to put a mask on her. MMM....MMMM.....MMMM

M: And they put a mask on all the people.

A: Even the cat? So he can’t say meow?

M: Yeah, and we had a little mask for the little people.

A: Here comes the snapping beetle!! The snapping beetle is coming!!! (Blue clothespin)

M: Feed the snapping people the little tiny people.

A: The snapping beetle is the pet.

M: Here, eat this. (She feeds him a little person), and then drop it in the water. And now we snap this person. And now we will snap all the people, EVEN the snow people, I mean the rainbow people. Snap it, my precious. You are my precious little snapping beetle.
I’ve got the tiniest little mask for the kitten. (Strained meows). Snap her and put her in the water forever!
And now they drown!

A: Hey, that’s my swing. It can swing itself and the beetle can fly. “I’m going to eat this house!”

M: Okay, eat it.

A: Yummy house

M: If you want to eat more, I have this nuther house, if you want to eat more. And it will be gone for good.

A: What’s that song from? (Referring to a song she’s singing)

M: It’s from your precious mother, and you are my sweet snapper.

A: Yum, a mouse. I ate a mouse.

M: Good. Now can you go home.

A: I am home.

M: Well, there’s a problem, we have to let them go.

A: I have to eat them. I have to eat this house down.

M: Well, you can eat the house.

A: This is the snapper’s bedroom right here. And here is the snapper’s friend. (Lightning McQueen)

M: What do you want to do? (Speaking to Lightning)

A: Help. Just help get people out. I’m snapper’s friend. I mean, I’m snapper’s brother. But snapper thinks I’m his friend.

Family Night Hike

We went on a hike for family night tonight. We drove up into the hills and then just wandered around on some trails for 45 minutes. The older kids wanted to keep going but the two little girls had already turned around on their own and started down. I caught up and held Rosalie's hand so that she wouldn't fall and re-injure her forehead. (The first injury was caused by a four-year-old. In the living room. With a cement hearth.)
She was moving pretty quickly but at one point she dropped the acorn that Lissa had given her, and when I bent over to retrieve it I could hear her panting heavily. (She's only 16 months old.) When I bent over her, she must have remembered that I could carry her, as I did on the way up (when her dad wasn't carrying her.) So she did that thing she's been doing lately when I'm about to pick her up; she grabs onto my arm and swings her feet off the ground and I barely manage to get my hands under her in time. Touching faith, really.
Anika gathered up some of the local ground cover to make a rainbow leaf bouquet. I don't know what these are, but they are pretty.


Casey is doing an autopsy on the camera. I wish I could take a picture of the hundred little parts he's got spread out on his desk. Though obviously. . .
How many guys are brave enough to do that?

C.H.A.O.S.

So, just like my house, my blog has C.H.A.O.S. That's "Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome." And the whyfore is that our camera is dead. It was slain. By a four-year-old. In the kitchen. With a tile floor.
I realized that I don't just want to tell you, I want to show you. It just makes it so much more interesting when you can look at pictures. Sigh. I'm not even good at finding pictures on the internet that don't have someone's watermark on them. If I were, I'd show you some gorgeous pictures of Autumn Leaves. It's my favorite season, no contest. I can't even drive straight in the autumn, the colors are so distracting.
So, I hope all of you who live in places where there is an annual color change are out there appreciating it. Don't waste it, it only happens once a year.

Fearsome Flowers

In years to come this will be known as Anderson's Monster Flower Period. To distinguish from his Alien Monster Period and his just Monster Period.


This is his first one: Spiny Thistle Shooter Flower. Next is the flower with "tentacles. Tentacles of Goo. Tentacles of Black Goo with rainbow stem. It is Evil. And also Goodness and Beautiful."

This one he drew in church. It is just a flower with leaf things. And another flower. With Snappers.

This one is Poison Spray Flower. And that is a fly, about to die. And finally, because Anderson is a perfectionist, a redrawing of Spiny Thistle Shooter Flower.
He assures me that he will be making a book of these and will be working on them for a month.

For Nie Nie

The last few days I have been learning all about Christian and Stephanie Nielson and the horrific plane crash that left both of them badly burned and their pilot friend dead. I actually learned about them a day or two before my sister clued me in to the connection: My cousin Darin is married to Peter Nielson, Christian's brother. Their kids make me think of my own--brunette and redhead oldest girls, mid-brown and blond kids following. Cute, slobbery, mess-making urchins full of creativity and love.
It's been a wake up call to me to read through some of her old blogs on nieniedialogues.blogspot.com. She's one of those people who seem to have an infectious joy in living. She reminds me how good I have it, how grateful I should be. And especially how I should be enjoying my life right now. You never know how things will change.

So, like so many others, I am posting some links on my page for anyone who would like to know more or do more for the Nielson family. Click here for the story:



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