School Hayride

Mackenzie's Mother's Day Out program had a hayride for all the kids yesterday. They went class by class, on a trailer pulled behind a tractor, around the school grounds. Parents were invited to attend if they could and wanted to...I was thankful that Josiah and I were able to join them!
Mackenzie's in the middle with Josiah on her left and Avery on her right. I sat right in front of them and Josiah climbed on my lap for the hayride.

After the hayride, the kids lined up on the curb before heading back inside. I thought I'd take the opportunity to snap a picture of Mackenzie and Avery...with Josiah way back in the background!

Close up of Mackenzie and Avery.

Emily, Mackenzie, and Avery. Sweet girls!

Fall Festival at Church

We had our Fall Festival at church last night. The kids had a blast! Kudos to all those involved who helped pull it off. The picture below is of Mackenzie and Josiah getting their faces painted. Mackenzie ended up with a pumpkin on one cheek and an apple on the other! Josiah got a pumpkin on one side. They enjoyed many games, including a bean bag toss. Funniest part was Josiah's leg action; he did it with every toss he threw!
Mackenzie, who always enjoys crafts, loved making this cookie!

And my favorite picture of the evening is this one. I snapped it at home before we headed to church. My little Snow White and my little Superman!

Have a very Happy Halloween, Everyone!!!

Deer

If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I'm not sure I'd believe it! :)

As the kids and I came home from gymnastics today, we saw two beautiful deer running through our neighborhood. They were standing so still on the street corner that when I first spotted them I really was not sure they were real...until they bolted as we turned onto the street near them. As they ran, I scrambled for my camera...they were pretty far away by the time I managed to snap this pic through the front windshield of the van. Still, it is proof that we really got to see two deer running down our street today!

Anyone else have fun or strange animal stories that they want to share?

A Wonderful Visit

My Papa New traveled over from Arkansas to visit us this weekend! My mom was coming to visit and he did not want her traveling alone (Mark was at a mission conference out of state). So...it just worked out beautifully for us, as we enjoyed Friday evening and all day Saturday with both my mom and my papa. We're sorry Grannie did not feel up to traveling, and that Mzee could not be here this time, but we certainly enjoyed Papa and Nona! :)
Just relaxing and working puzzles.

We enjoyed a lunch at Calhoun's. Mackenzie wanted to hold Papa's hand. (This is her Great Grandpa, by the way!)

And this is what she did many, many times during the weekend!

She just loved cuddling with Papa!

Thanksgiving Turkey Treats

Here's our version of Thanksgiving Turkey Treats as seen in Family Fun Magazine. Mackenzie barely had the magazine in the front door yesterday when she flopped down on the floor and began to peruse its pages. She quickly found a picture of these turkey treats made from Oreos, Whoppers, and icing as the glue. Upon her suggestion, I went to buy the ingredients while she was in school today! The first thing we did after I picked her up from Mother's Day Out was to sit down together and make these Turkey Treats! While we had fun making them, Josiah had fun eating the various ingredients! These two pictures are our finished product.

Josiah's Bedtime Story

All four of us were piled in Mackenzie's room tonight, ready to tell bedtime stories before prayer time and saying goodnight. David asked, "Who wants to tell the first story?" Josiah did not miss a beat in saying, "Me!" So, we all listened quietly in the dark while Josiah (2 years 4 1/2 months) told the first bedtime story:



Josiah: "Once upon a time there was a little dog. He got lost."

Me: "Then what happened?"

Josiah: "He got scared of the monster."

Me: "Then what?"

Josiah: "It ate him."



Entire room erupts in startled laughter. During a brief pause David asked Josiah if that was the end.



Josiah's conclusion: "The End."

He Dropped and Her Skin

Yes, Folks, he shopped till he dropped. Josiah was actually asleep at the mall on Saturday night. Too funny! :)

Mackenzie (age 4 yo) and I had a conversation one afternoon last week. I love the innocence of her questions that seem to come right out of the blue.

Mackenzie: Mom, when will I get to have black skin like other people do?
Me: Well, your skin won't ever be dark.
Mackenzie: Why not?
Me: One or both of your biological parents would have to have dark skin in order for you to have dark skin, and your daddy and me both have light skin. So, your skin is light, too. Besides, God made you just how He wanted you to be.
Mackenzie: Oh. (Satisfied and moved on to another random topic!)

Pics and French Braids

We weren't able to get a picture of all four of us together last week, so we decided to go to a different location this afternoon and snap some more pictures! I do think the colors of fall leaves and bright orange pumpkins make wonderful backdrops.

Josiah held tight to his football even as he searched for a baby pumpkin for $1!
Mackenzie had just woken up from a nap. I love how peaceful her expression is in this picture!
So. It happened. My four year old girl asked me to french braid her hair. No big deal, right? Wrong. I don't know how to french braid! I was so excited that she asked me to french braid her hair, "just like Avery's Momma does hers," that I gave it a shot anyway. I assure you, the job I did cannot compare to how Avery's Momma does it! She has four girls and is an expert at french braiding...I'll be visiting with her sometime soon. :) In the meantime...my attempt was not too bad for a first attempt without guidance. HA.

Mackenzie was pleased that I tried. I really am excited that she is wanting to fix her hair these days. For a long time it was just everywhere pretty much all the time. Sometimes it still is, but not nearly so often!

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday David, Mackenzie, Josiah, and I went to a pumpkin patch. We had a fun day. Here are a bunch of pictures! On our way to pick the perfect pumpkins, we enjoyed a fun hayride! This was the first hayride the kids have ever been on; I think they enjoyed it.
Me and my little girl.
My two kids searching for the perfect pumpkins.
Josiah was really on a mission. He later told us he was looking for one just his size. He said most of the pumpkins were too big and he had to find one he could pick up by himself. Too funny!
Mackenzie playing the pumpkin like it was a drum!
Josiah did find one he could carry...but after awhile it got too heavy and Daddy ended up carrying it for him!
Josiah proudly holding his little pumpkin. He did find one that he could carry after all!
So. Here they are...the perfect pumpkins! Mackenzie's thought was: "Hurry up and take the picture. I can't hold this much longer!" It was obviously heavy. ;)

Here's the wagon that transported us to and from the pumpkin patch.
Me and my kiddos on the hayride back towards the farm's entrance.
Josiah in the corn kernel play area.
Mackenzie in the corn kernel play area.
It was sort of like a giant sandbox filled with corn instead of sand! The kids loved it. This place had a ton of activities for the kids that were totally free. They enjoyed the corn box, sand box, a maze made of hay bales, a bounce house, spin art, and even face painting. (Reading back through this I realize my last two sentences may be misleading...while there were several activities that were totally free, the face painting ($5) and spin art ($2) were not. However, the hayride was included with the purchase of a pumpkin for $6 total! Just wanted to clarify for those of you planning to go sometime soon.)

My camera battery died so I did not get a picture of the face painting until much later in the day when we got home. It's a little smeared here, but you get the idea. She had wanted to have her face painting for quite some time now, but we had never had the opportunity before this day. She chose the butterfly trail.

A fun day with lots of fun activities. I highly recommend it to anyone in this area! :) Happy Fall, Everyone!

Our New Swing Set

Yippeee! We have (as of a few weeks ago) a new swing set in our backyard. David has been one very busy man. He ordered the hardware and plans online, and he bought the lumber at Lowe's. One of his coworkers gave us the fort. David replaced a few boards on the fort and added the slide. The finished product: The swing set, fort, and teeter totter (far left).
Mackenzie on the trapeze bar. Josiah on a mission.
The fort with slide.

I have to give a shout out to two of David's coworkers who not only helped relocate the fort, but also came over one evening for "a swing set raisin'." You know, like they used to have a barn raisin'? Yeah. It took 3 grown men to lift the swing set up onto four legs once it was completed. It is tall and heavy! Mackenzie loves how high she can now swing. Also, a shout out to David's dad who helped with the new boards on the fort. Thanks to all who helped make this swing set for our kids! And, David, thank you for all your work! :)