The Way It Was...

During the month of September, we spent a lot of time painting and working on the house. At that time we had no furniture. So, here are a few pictures of what life was like then...

Living Room furniture (pre-carpet)

Kitchen furniture

Sleeping arrangements

We've come a long way from these pictures. We're not quite done yet, but we are getting there. Stay tuned...

I'm back

Well, we finally have internet at the house, and the camera is finally charged, and though I have painting I should be doing, I am here, sitting at the desk, updating my blog for all of you who have been patiently (and some not so patiently...) waiting.

I'm going to back up a little and show some pictures from the past few weeks and then gradually catch up to current pictures.

In the middle of September, the kids and I took a trip out to Pittsburgh and my sister and I took the seven cousins to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Just like last year when we went, Julia still liked the elephants. She didn't, however, still call them "el-mints." This year there was a baby elephant which combined her two favorite things: elephants and babies. She was thrilled. I have to say, I was too. The baby was so cute. I commented "look how little she is!" To which my sister added, "yes, but she weighs 3oo pounds!" I guess she just looked little compared to the gigantic adult elephants.

My favorite animal at the zoo is the giraffe. Hannah speculated that the giraffe is my favorite because it doesn't make any noise. Hmmm, my daughter knows me well.

Apology

I promise I will get back to posting more regularly, but life is a little crazy right now....please forgive me and check back again in a few weeks. :)

Conversations From My Life

Jay to Hannah: "What song am I singing in my head?"
Hannah: "I don't know, what?"
After trying to give clues...
Hannah: "Jay, just tell me...not in burps, not in chewing, not in chomping, just tell me."

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The other day, when we took the kids to Tasty Swirl (a favorite local ice cream stand), I asked the kids what they wanted. Hannah responded with "vanilla cone in cup, please," Jay and Daniel both "ordered "twist cone in cup," but Julia's answer was the cutest thing. She eagerly responded with "cho-to-wit tone in tup, please!"

Only a Boy

I was outside last night when I heard an abnormal crash and then a loud yelp. I ran to the playground on our property to see what had happened, wondering on the way if I was about to make our first trip to the emergency room. When I arrived, I found Daniel sitting at the end of the slide with blood dripping out of his mouth. I walked our screaming four year old up to the house and into the bathroom where I had him rinse his mouth out so I could survey the damage. He has a pretty nice cut on his tongue. I was puzzled, though, because it did NOT look like he had bitten his tongue. I asked him to stop crying enough to tell me what had happened...the story??? He had gone down the slide headfirst and cut his tongue on a rock at the bottom of the slide! I shook my head and thought to myself...only a boy would wind up with that kind of injury.

Later Jay (our 6 year old) offered this advice: "I don't think they should have put any rocks at the bottom of the slide." My response? "I think the solution is that you don't go down head first!"

Boys...

A Conversation With Julia

The other afternoon, Julia came to me and said, "Mommy, my toes are dirty betuz I fell off the montey bars."
Now, I thought she said "clothes," so I said, "That's okay, honey, I'll put them in the washing machine later and they'll come clean."
Julia: "You mean, the bathtub?"
Me: "No, the washing machine."
Julia: "You're going to put ME in the washing machine????"
Me: "No...oh, did you say clothes or toes?"
Julia: "toes."
Me: "Oh, sorry, I thought you said clothes. No, I'm not going to put you in the washing machine. We'll wash your toes in the bathtub."

I thought it was funny how she' completely stayed with me throughout the whole conversation, even though I hadn't heard her correctly. She's just a little over two and a half, but her speech is impressive.
I hope this story brought a smile to your face like it did to mine...

Knoebels

We have a break week in the middle of the camping season. Over that break my parents came for a short visit and we took a trip to Knoebels. For those of you who aren't familiar with the amusement park, it's awesome. Clean, plenty of trees, good food, no admission fee (you can buy a hand stamp for all day or tickets for individual rides), a great kid-ride section...it's great for families.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the fun day...

My Mom and the four kids.

My Dad on the Flume with Hannah and Jay.

Julia's introduction to cotton candy...she loved it!