We are still snowpacked, and on vacation, and we've run out of fun things to do ALL day at home. So, this morning we had arts and crafts time with some of my old scrapbooking supplies--since I am such a fabulous scrapbooker... :D They had a lot of fun and decided to wear some of their creations. I am uncertain if Kade was a knight or a princess...although I did not ask. ;) What do you think?
Christmas morning passed quietly at our house. Amid a silent downpour of clean white snow, we enjoyed this special day with all of us together for the second year in a row. Our first Christmas in Kansas was fabulous!
We went to a local tree farm for family night a couple weeks ago and came back with this beauty. She really hung in there for us and the kids had a great time watching it get cut down.
I really took a deep breath and let them make a big mess in the kitchen. We did clean shortly after...
Kade wanted me to know he was eating a snow man's head... :S
I should have turned this one a bit, but... Kade requested the "brown" frosting for the gingerbread men.
Some of our grander creations...
Riley mid-frost...
Kade was proud of this one.
Kade was secretly wiping his hands on his pants... :S I couldn't let this pass without a picture!
Riley had a great time tubing down our hill on their snow day! She was out there for HOURS!
Kade was also quite excited about the snow! 
Just spent the last 30 min using some premade template in an effort to be cool like so many others who had the presence of mind to make super cute holiday cards...maybe I could learn to use this program so I'm good at it by next year. :) In the mean time, please enjoy my darling children in pictures you have already seen. 
I took the kids out back in the field this evening hoping to get some great pics...well, here is some of our limited successes. :) The fantastically sunny day turned hazy about the time we were able to go outside. The sun peaked out a bit, but we'll just have to try again. 
Last Saturday Riley got Baptized! She was so excited. I made her the dress I promised, although I didn't get a good picture of it... Her Grandma and Grandpa Harvey got to visit and see Kansas for the first time. We all had a wonderful weekend.
This was the first gift Riley opened on her birthday. Cory bought it for her to go on her new bike!! The kids ride their bikes to school each day and she is so thrilled!
Since I am somehow unable to drag the pictures around and put them in order...this one was not on her birthday, but at the really cool Apple Festival on Fort Riley earlier in September. Both Kade and Riley got to ride in a HMMVVR...or something like that. They got to wear kelvars, eye protection and everything. They were really excited. As you can see from Riley's stellar smile, they had a great time!
Riley couldn't make up her mind about which flavor cake to make, so Kade and I finally picked out a Devil's Food cake with cream cheese frosting. That night we lit candles, sang, the whole bit. Once again, happy as a clam. :D
Last Sunday it was so warm and nice that we went to the lake. The kids enjoyed skipping rocks they found at the shale beach. Riley found this one she said looked like a state. I think she mentioned Texas, but we decided it looked more like Oklahoma.
Back at the Apple Festival...what sort of Apple Festival would it have been if we didn't have apples? All the FRGs had booths and were holding bake sales. The kids picked these out and really enjoyed them.
This one just looked pretty the way the sun glanced off the water. Kade and Riley were both successful skipping rocks and had a lot of fun.
Although it was quite warm that day--reaching the low 80s--we only allowed the kids to wade in up to their knees. (Also, smart mommy didn't bring towels...smart, mommy...)
Kade and his apple. This was after the humvee ride, so there is a bit of dirt on him...
The big day is FINALLY here! After starting school so early in Arizona, waiting until the middle of August this year has been torture--for all of us. However, we are thrilled to announce that the big FOURTH grader and the really excited THIRD grader are successfully off to their first day of school this year! We met both their teachers last week and think it is going to be a good year. Kade is liking all the friends he saw assigned to his class. Riley, well, she likes just about everything.
Although you can't really tell--because I just spent the last hour attempting to fix them--it is really dark outside during the pictures. More of a ominous cloud mass looming about threatening to let loose the next on-slaught of precipitation at any moment dark, but still threw the pictures white balance out of whack. So, these were taken with the kids standing out in the misting rain while Mom stood inside the door protecting her precious camera. Maybe we'll do before and after shots... Wait and see...
Our pumpkin is coming along nicely. It is checked up on regularly and grows constantly! :D
Our squash, however, are another story entirely. Those bugs--previously posted--have now succeeded in ravaging our lovely squash plants. Thinking that by leaving our floundering plants in the garden the bugs would have plenty of eating material...wrong...they have now moved on to the remainder of our healthy plants making their take over complete. We'll hold out as long as we can and try again next year.
Although a majority of the clouds are obscuring the sun out front, these are the best pictures I was able to take. They look far more dramatic than the ones I took out front. 
Riley has recently decided that she is more than capable of fixing her own hair and that she would like to do it all the time. She has been granted priviledges, but Mom still reserves the right to fix it for school, church, and any other activity I decide... :D But after seeing this creation, I have to admit she has great potential! She did this all by herself--part and all! 
We have pumpkins! They were barely noticable for so long I was surprised to go out the other day and find not just the one, but 5 pumpkins! They are so cute. Riley is very pleased--these were planted to appease her... I hope by October we have some nice big pumpkins! Any suggestions on how to get them to grow big?
Peppers! I wanted these, but was becoming discouraged by their abundance of leaves, and complete lack of pepper... We had blossoms and everything, but no peppers. I was thrilled to find 3 peppers the other day. Now we have a new quandry...how do you tell when green peppers are ripe?
Last time I mentioned the bugs on our squash. I really thought I had a better picture posted...but you can't even see the buggers... So, here they are. Anyone know what they are? They are taking over. The bug spray I purchased is ineffectual. Help...
