Ok, so the kids tried their hand at acting to show you what we're having.  I didn't have the patience to wait for this to upload last night!  So I posted the pic anyway and slept while this video worked on getting online.

So, just for fun...

It's a...

33 in '11

So, I turned 33 last week!  We tricked a few friends to come to the park with us on Labor Day to celebrate.  It was so cold!  I was wearing this (with my lips turning blue I was told)...

 While Andrew and some buddies decided to wear this:

 We had such a great time regardless of the cool temperature.  Fun to be with fun and funny people!  On my actual birthday my kids and hubby surprised me with some cool presents, including a glider rocking chair!  It was my dream-item for when the baby comes.  I really didn't expect it to show up like this!  How cool.

This birthday I happened to have no kids at home during the daytime...it'll be years before that happens again!  So a couple girlfriends and I went out to see a movie!  It was quite a relaxing day for me.  Good thing too because when the kids got home I was running running running.  This basically paints the picture of how I felt at the end of the night.

B to S

The hardest day of Kindergarten is day 6.

That's the day you realize you have to keep going and your Mom's not even going to visit for lunch to help you feel better like she did yesterday.  You know school is fun, but it's tricky to manage lunch and recess without Mom.  And you find out Friday is clean-up day.

But somehow, despite the tears saying goodbye, you manage to have a great day and come running off the bus into Mom's arms with a smile.

***

So here they are, Abby off to third grade, Eliza to Kindergarten, and Andrew to fifth.  It'll be their one year all at the same school.

I wanted to get a picture of Eliza with a bus in it on the first day.  This is on the way home because I drive them in the morning.  By the time I was ready, the bus had started rolling and Eliza was running with this gleaming smile.  I loved it.

A shout out to country music

When you have kids you pay really close attention to the words played on the radio.  Especially because you know they are.  It's quite normal for me to hear, "What does that mean, Mom?"  

My kids begged over the spring/summer to hear their new favorite pop station (that they got to know thanks to the school bus ride).  It began to get painful (the music and the begging).  I had to change the channel a lot and hope other songs were over their heads.  I mean the majority of them are fil-thy.

We took a trip this summer and the kids and I were gone for two weeks.  I loved not hearing the begging for the radio and I loved not listening to/monitoring it.

Our return to Wisconsin marked a new beginning.  When the "Turn the radio on to 99.1 the mix!!" began I simply said I was tired of the songs and their messages.  And that was that, no more.

Occasionally I'll turn on my country station, usually when Abby is desperate and hoping to hear a Taylor Swift song.  Well heavens to Betsy. We listened to 4 or 5 songs in a row that were clean and had sweet messages.

Like, loving the view from "my front porch looking in" because I love my wife and kids so much.  This, my kids noticed, asked about, and liked.

And when the kids asked me during the next song, "What's that about?"  I told them it was about a Dad who took his little girl fishing for the day--they talked and laughed and bonded--just what the Dad was hoping for.  The little girl doesn't think about the meaning behind the trip, so the Dad sings, "She thinks we're just fishin'."  Andrew replies, "Oh, that's cool."

So, here's my shout:  Country Music, I know you have songs about tequilla making your clothes fall off and checking a girl for ticks (hello!), I know you still sing about lying, cheating, and drinking.  But when I can turn you on and hear far more songs about  family, friendship, love, our country, faith, and happy relationships than anywhere else, I say YEEEEEHAW!!

Germantown campout

Germantown has a community camp out in a local park (a playground, baseball field-type park--not a typical camp out place) once every summer. I've been wanting to do it each year and finally got around to it! Daniel happened to be at Youth Conference, but that didn't stop me. It is kind of like camping in your back yard and no cooking was involved, so it was pretty simple.

Yes, I had to pace my energy level and bring a variety of snacks, but it all worked out great. And the kids helped out a lot! They've really learned to step up and pitch in.

We set up the tent in the early afternoon then came back for games in the evening! The leaders had lots of fun activities for a variety of ages. All my kids had a lot of fun! We had a Subway dinner and then did crafts. They also had clowns come in and make balloons and do face painting. After all that, at dusk they played "Despicable Me" outside. (Much more of Germantown showed up for this part.) Following the movie was a flashlight candy hunt for the campers. Talk about fun! They even provided breakfast at the park pavilion in the morning. My kids all thanked me endlessly for taking them. Well kiddos, you're welcome! I'm sure we'll be back next year!

Eliza chose to be a flower fairy...nothing is as good as having a pink jewel on your forehead!
Andrew got some wicked flames.
This is just a warning to my brother, BILL (aka Billy Boy in his younger years), for his future if he doesn't behave in grad school.
Abby's flower.The kids decorated compass key chains and the girls and I made this family nature sign.

Food

So I had to laugh when I got home from the store and unloaded this stash colorful goodness. Colorful if all the varieties of tan and yellow count.