Right Now

Aliza and Josiah are now both obsessed with Minecraft. They play together. Each on their own computer. One in the living room and one in the dining room. They yell back and forth to each other for directions and help. Josiah especially likes blowing things up with TNT.

Anna likes to eat apples. I think she asks me for an "appuh" ten times a day.

I've lost my camera. I'm sure it is in the house. Either I put it in a very "special" spot or one of my children did.

I'm reading In the Presence of My Enemies . It's the story of a couple who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was kidnapped by terrorists in the Philippines in 2001. They were held hostage in the jungle for a year.

I wish today was Saturday. I'm just not ready to tackle school.

My dining room walls and my kitchen cabinets are sparkly clean. Thanks to my Mom coming over yesterday and wanting to do something extra for me--that I wouldn't get to myself.

Josiah's calling for food. Must face the day!!

Pumpkin Pretzels

 My original plan was to make these pretzels on Halloween, however, that didn't happen because I was still recovering from a stomach bug. Yuck! Thankfully no one else in the picked it up.

This was another project that I decided was best done when Daddy was home. It must be having an almost 2 year old in the house that has me thinking twice about taking on projects alone!

And, once again, this is a Pintrest idea that looked far better on Pintrest! Oh well. They taste really good...too good!

Melt white chocolate. Color it orange. Dip pretzels. Add a green M&M stem. It looks like a pumpkin!

 Confine said almost 2 year old in the high chair with the ipad. Give her an M&M once in a while if she gets antsy.

Most of our pumpkin pretzels ended up with M&M eyes. Some even had M&M mouths. Did I say they are yummy?

Where's Your...

....Nose

...Ears

...Tongue

...Hair

From My Window

On the day that Jeremy left for New Mexico last week I learned that Hurricane Sandy was heading our way. I quickly realized that I needed to prepare for said storm before he got home. 

There is a seasonal migration of boy toys at our house. They head outside in the spring and then need to be retrieved, cleaned and assimilated with the house toys in the winter. I knew this storm was my perfect excuse to get this done. You would not believe how many trucks, tractors and other junk we lined up on the deck. Thankfully, 1) Grandma and Grandpa were here to help and 2) Josiah was very reasonable in what he chose for the house and what he chose to leave in the shed.

We picked Jeremy up at the airport Saturday night and it was raining by the time we woke up Sunday morning. It did not stop raining until this afternoon (Tuesday). It got lighter for sure, but it was still raining. I'm a sunshine girl and I'll be happy to see it streaming through the windows one of these mornings.

This storm was long. With so much rain ahead of the actual storm it seemed like it went on and on and on. For all the wind and rain we did not have any damage to speak of.

A large branch is down in the back.

This afternoon I sent Aliza and Josiah out for some fresh air. Today is our 3rd full day in the house and we are starting to feel it. Yes, it was still raining, but I sent them out anyway. Josiah's pit was full of water.

Then they headed over to the main attraction. They stopped and thought about it.

Then they went in.

Josiah come in for hot chocolate, changed into shorts and headed back out barefoot. This was a cold hurricane! That water and the air is cold! He kept his coat on.

When they came in they headed up for a warm bath and are no worse for wear. I'm pretty sure fresh, chilly air and splashing in huge puddles is good for the soul.

More Fun

 We sure made the most of those last few nice days last week. How quickly weather can change! It's rainy and blustery now from Hurricane Sandy. We are supposed to get the worst tomorrow afternoon into the night, from what I understand.

Painting on the picnic table. Anna got hold of Aliza's paper. She was quite the work of art when she was done. You should have seen her shirt before it came off! The table was well painted too. It's washable...no harm done.

 Aliza and Josiah decided to play a prank on me. They talked in whispers and were sneaking around the house. What they wanted to do was call me on my cell phone from the house phone. What happened is that they got on the house phone while I was talking to Meghan and hijacked the conversation. They thought it was so so so funny.

After that Josiah discovered that he really liked talking on the phone. He called his Grandma, then Grandma and Grandpa and then Grandad. The next day he called Great Gramma. From the reports, he is quite a well mannered, good conversationalist.

 It is fun to see Aliza want to read more and more. She is reading her to cousin, Lydia, here.

 Anna turns 2 in November. I can't believe it. Most days she does something new to remind me that she isn't a baby anymore. But once in a while I can walk in during her nap and she is sleeping so peacefully that I can think she is still a baby for just a moment.

Heaps of Fun

 The other day Josiah, Aliza and I worked together to rake a pile of leaves. They had fun for a little while, but I remember there being more whining and bickering than fun.

CHEEEEESE!

 This is what started the war. It was an all out leaf fight and no one was happy!

 Today was another super gorgeous day and I started raking leaves. We have so many leaves on the ground it take no time at all to make a huge pile. Today I made 2 piles and they were divided as the "boy" pile and the "girls" pile.

 Anna got in to the jumping too!

 It was pretty cute that Anna got very concerned every time Josiah put his head down in the leaves.

I ended up making 2 more piles elsewhere in the yard. One being at the bottom of the slide...that's been a favorite for a couple years now. My reward for all this raking? I already feel my shoulders this evening.

As for this weather? I'd have no problem if it stayed all year. But there is some weather craziness making its way up the East Coast so I'm sure this is short lived. We'll make the most of it for as long as we can!

Fall Colors

 We took a trip into the hills of Pennsylvania to visit some good friends this weekend.

On the way we were able to meet my aunt and uncle at an *awesome* church coffee house. It was huge! It seated 100 people and had a separate, but equally furnished, eating area for parents and glassed in play *awesome* play area for children. We stayed for over 2 hours and no one was bored. Dan and Laurie had a very animated conversation with Aliza about school and I got to visit with my aunt which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also drank a caffeinated beverage which left me quite wound up until late that night!

I'm not sure that Billy, Diana and Braydon were quite ready for the energy that is the Heslop's to hit their house! We had a great time though. Braydon enjoyed being the oldest and he, Aliza and Josiah played really well together. Diana and I took the children to a Farm Market while the men finished a round a golf and met us for lunch. Of course, Josiah could hardly contain himself until we went on the hayride.

 In a moment of complete creepiness, I played the Mennonite game...and won! I was pretty sure I recognized this sweet lady. It is a connection that dates back to Oregon. She is a Neuschwander and Jeremy was second photographer at both of her girls' weddings in PA with the photographer (from Oregon) who shot our wedding.

 In the afternoon we went up a "mountain" to a place where the church has placed a cross that can be seen from the highway. It was a neat drive and the view was lovely.

Billy, Diana and Braydon

 We also went to Sunday School and church in a traditional Methodist Church where Billy is the pastor. I was very pleased with their behavior. You know, one of those moments when you can see some growth in your children. It was most lovely! Now that doesn't mean that I heard much of the sermon... =)

The children were super travelers this weekend!