Fall Fun

Oregon Trail Adventure

Yesterday was a good, good, good, good day...one of those days that you know you'll be talking about for a long time. Sierra didn't have school on Thursday and Friday due to parent/teacher conferences throughout the district. (That will be the subject of another post - we're so proud of her!) Anyway - I have been searching around the area for covered wagons where we could do a little photo shoot of the girls in their prairie dresses. On the Internet, I discovered that there is an Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon, which is only two hours away from our home. The weather man assured me that we would have a clear day, so I decided to take the girls on a little adventure. Marc had to work, but I thought that I could handle a trip like that on my own. Well, my mom got wind of our plans and thought that she might just take a day off for herself and join us. WE ARE SO HAPPY THAT SHE CAME!!! Besides keeping the girls content in the back seat during the drive, she was able to share a very memorable day with us.

Grandma Phyllis and the girls at our first stop: Farewell Bend State Park.

Sierra on the beautiful banks of the Snake River.

We let the girls change into their dresses before walking through the little museum. I wish I had a picture of other people's faces as they watched Sierra and Ally explore the exhibits.

Grandma helps the girls decide which items are most important to take in a covered wagon. Each block was labeled with things like: dry beans, blankets, musical instruments, tools, books, medicine, china dishes, gun powder, pots and kettles, etc.

After visiting the center, we stopped to see the ruts of the Oregon Trail down in the valley.

On our way back home we stopped back in at Farewell Bend for more pictures...this time in costume!

Valerie was her usual uncooperative self when it came to picture taking! She did have a good time exploring and being carried around by Grandma all day - she just didn't make it into too many of the snapshots. Oh well! I'm sure that there will be another trip to Baker City in our future.

Pumpkins and Prairie Girls

Although we try to stay (far, far) away from the dark side of Halloween, there are some very fun traditions that we always look forward to at this time of year. Pumpkin carving is one of them!


Another is the Bible character TRUNK-OR-TREAT at church on the Wednesday night before Halloween. This year we had...

Queen Esther

The woman who found her lost coin (from the parable that Jesus told).

And Jonah in the belly of the great fish!

But the best part of all was watching some darling little prairie girls (A.K.A. "Laura" and "Mary")innocently parade up and down the block on Halloween night. Grandpa and Grandma Mouser made the dresses and aprons. They were P.E.R.F.E.C.T.!!!! I'm not sure we will ever be able to top this year's costume theme. If anyone knows of a covered wagon in the Treasure Valley area where we could get some pictures taken, will you please leave me a comment?!

This was about the extent of "Carrie's" cooperation. She wanted nothing to do with a bonnet!

Since when is it okay to ... (Part II)

I did this post a couple of years ago, but I though it was time for an update. After all, we have another daughter and the older girls are growing up and becoming mature young ladies. Right?! (Ahem.) I'll let you guess who did what.

Since when is it okay to....

... plug your nose when your Mom asks you to come over and talk to her privately?

... eat lip gloss straight from the tube?

... tell Mommy that you have to go potty, only to pee on the bathmat as soon as you're lifted off the toilet?

... drink a juice box and eat M&M's for lunch and bring home a whole sandwich, carrot sticks and applesauce UNTOUCHED?

... decide that we don't need to pray before lunch today because "God is busy sewing and we shouldn't interrupt him"?

... tell your Mom that you wish that your babysitter was your REAL MOM.

... wake up at 4:30 a.m., get in bed with Mom and Dad and pull Mom's hair for half an hour while she is pretending to be asleep?

AHHHH! Life is good.

And just for fun, I'll throw in a couple of pictures from the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. Stay tuned for the BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES EVER later this week!

Need a little smile?

Well, here you go...

Ally: "Mom, do you know where Jesus got his nails done?"
Me: "WHAT?!"
Ally: "Do you know where Jesus got his nails done?"
Me: "Ally, I don't know what you mean?"
Ally: "DO. YOU. KNOW. WHERE. JESUS. GOT. HIS. NAILS. DONE?"
Me: "No, I don't."
Ally: (Pointing to the middle of her palms and tops of her feet.) "Right here."

"At that time Jesus said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." Matthew 11:25-26

Ballerina Girl

Yes, I do have the lyrics to the Lionel Richie song running through my head. HOW OLD AM I?!?!


Anyway....a few weeks ago, Missy told me about a Groupon deal for one month of classes at Dance Arts Academy. (For Ally...not for me, don't worry!) It sounded like a lot of fun, but I didn't want to get suckered into paying for any "extras" so I almost didn't give it a second thought. Then, I remembered that a couple of years ago we had picked up a little dance outfit at a second-hand store for Sierra to play around in. I dug it out of hiding and it fit Ally perfectly! The next obstacle was shoes. (Do you know what they charge for ballet slippers and tap shoes?! Ridiculous!!!) But then the thought crossed my mind that little miss Sophie B. might just have some shoes to lend us from her previous lessons. I called Julie up and PRESTO! - another perfect fit. Now all I had to do was convince Marc that the lessons were a good idea. Both of us have wanted the girls to take gymnastics lessons, but the budget has always been a little too tight. Although ballet and gymnastics are not quite the same thing, he agreed to go ahead and get Ally signed up. She had a total of 5 lessons and LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!

I can't tell you how many times I have answered the question, "Mom, how many more days until my ballet class?" in the last month. After her 45 minute tap and ballet "work out" we would stop by Emerald City Smoothie for a BOGO Free treat before heading home. It was a great experience for both of us! Lots of fun memories and definitely twenty bucks well spent!!!

This video cracks me up! I wish that you could see how far some of the girls' tongues stick out as they try to follow the teacher's instructions. Poor Ally got so confused about where her "dot" was on the floor.

Thanks for the heads up, Missy!!!

Let me introduce you to...

...some brand new blogs!!!

For those who love adventure, I recommend Chuck and Missy's new blog. They have just written an adorable post about some pretty special little people. And for those who love home-grown humor, check out Susie and Benjy's new blog. Happy reading!