{excursions}

I walked into the room, and Katelyn was sitting in the arm chair on the back massage cushion laughing as it massaged her head. She had figured out the controls and declared, "I'n detting my bat rubbed." We're down in Branson, Missouri for a fun week with my family. Tomorrow is "boat on the lake day" and Wednesday and Thursday "Silver Dollar City" day. YAY! We drove yesterday from Birmingham, AL where went for my cousin's wedding.

{one smart cookie}

Well, I took Kalamity Kate to the doctor's office for her 2 year appointment. The little pistol is in the 9th percentile for weight, 10th for height, and 60th percentile for head circumference! The doctor remarked, "Well, we know what her biggest asset is...she must be one smart cookie" (that we already have observed!) She looked up at him and said, I'n not a tootie. I'n Tate!" While I was taking care of the co-pay, she disappeared. Everyone in the office looking...we finally found her completely naked, sitting on the potty chair in the bathroom with pee in the potty. She's NEVER done this at home. The doc had just emphasized the importance of me not pushing her to do this. What can I say???

{fun with chalk}

The kids and I had so much fun today drawing on our back porch with Kate's birthday chalk from Nana. Chad surprised me when he exclaimed, "Mom, look! I spelled your name and mine!" Did I even know my 3 year old could write and spell?!? See for yourself...

Then he drew a triangle, colored it with "water," and let his soldier swim in it. Kate, of course, had to help.Sadly, the fun ended when Kate got stung by a bee as she plucked it from a stem of grass. Chad promptly killed it with passion, yelling, "You will NOT hurt my sister!!!"

{our garden}

Our garden did very well this year. We've dined like kings on spinach, beans, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, cabbage, okra, peppers, lettuce, cucumber, garlic, dill, cilantro and other herbs, rhubarb, broccoli, raspberries, peas (which are still producing!!!) strawberries, and more... Chad even has his very own tomato plant that produces Chadwick cherry tomatoes. Kate has picked them all green so far.

Katelyn's favorite outside pasttime (besides picking green tomatoes) has been picking pea pods, snapping them open, and plucking the peas out. She's eaten "buckets" of raw peas. I never did get to cook them, but that's okay.

Today Chad and I made carrot juice.

He was very excited about his new-found ability, but kinda deflated when he took the first sip.

Chad: "I want to taste it now!"

I poured some into a glass. After one sip, he made the funniest contortion of his face.

I tried to encourage him, "It really IS good for you, helps your eyes see better."

He declared, "THAT CAN'T be good for me. Here Kate, you can have it!" (The only time he ever shares.) Turns out, she downed the juice and asked for more. Then Chad decided that the carrots would have to be made into cake and donned his orange apron. We made a delicious carrot cake cheesecake which I tasted one time at the Cheesecake Factory. Here's the link: http://www.recipezaar.com/114575 (I did use 1/2 tofu for the cream cheese, which made it PERFECT. Not too rich. Enjoy...

{rain coming in}

Here is a picture I took near our land down in South Fork, Colorado. Just looking at it makes me want to "bring in the horses," fix some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, curl up by a warm fire in the farmhouse, and read a good book while listening to the rain pound deafeningly onto the propanel roof. Ah, the country...can't get enough of it!

{creative thinking part 2}

This evening Chad provided me with yet another creative moment- an opportunity to see a young mind at work. We were at the park watching both kids happily play, when Chad yelled over to get our attention. He was standing at the top of a curvy blue tube slide that landed in a circular bed of wood chips. "LOOK, Mom and Dad, I'm grape juice that's pouring down a funnel (I in fact have a blue funnel) into a cup so you can drink it! I know you like this juice because you like me!" We both looked at each other thinking: "What an active little imagination..."
Anyway, now it's raining. Pouring, in fact. I like it. Fall is coming, and with it an invigorating crispness to the air. And today, after 2 long grueling days in a basement class, an intense written test, and a nerve-racking hands-on qualifying test, I became certified as a Trauma and Critical Care nurse. Then, to "celebrate" our achievements, a friend and I went shopping. We had such fun that I realized how full life is with good friends. I am happy. What makes me smile even more is coming home to my husband and kids, making them a good meal, and reading together while it's raining. And just for fun, I made Chad a tent tonight with his bunkbeds. He's camping.

{creative thinking}

I just tickles me to see see my kids' creativity in action. Yesterday for instance...
Katelyn (who has started the "idea" of potty training) takes off all her clothes and runs around yelling, "I na nudey fadoody!"
I stop to re-dress her as she is insisting, "But I have to doe POTTY!"---oh yes, the escape route.
So I put her on the potty, she hops up after 2 seconds and declares, "I'n done!"
"No you're not! Sit back down."
"I no have to doe potty. I have to doe poo-poo."
Ok, so I will be patient enough to let her try. 2 seconds later, she hops up. "I'n done!"
"No you didn't make poo poo yet." After a minute or so, I leave to go get a book for her to pass the time. (What 'time' I don't know-she never stays still long enough to accomplish anything.) She sees her chance, runs out of the bathroom, pulls a stool over to the counter, climbs up, swipes an Oreo, and takes it back to the bathroom. I return with a book, only to hear her say triumphantly, "I did it. Yay! I dit a pize now!" I look in the potty chair to see a crumbled black cookie. What do ya say to that??? I guess she did "make poo." I'll have to change the wording...

{coffee shop}

OZO Coffee Shop. Nondescript on the outside, but inside a humming atmosphere vibrant and friendly. And with 20 different mochas to choose from, I was in heaven. I picked the Irish kiss, a dark chocolate espresso with Bailey's Irish Cream. While Jonathan and I sat there sipping and reading on the black leather couch, we couldn't help but notice the small town feel. The banter and laughter caused us to smile. It was a wonderful reprive from the average Saturday morning. We had gotten a babysitter and left early this morning on the motorcycle, headed for Boulder to get a tire fixed. It was during a nice stroll in the crisp morning air that we discovered OZO. I want to go back. Seriously, the best mocha I've ever tasted. I think even the most mundane tasks (like getting a tire fixed) are more fun when you're doing them with your best friend...

{monkey business}

Here are some pics of Kate's birthday party. The kids liked the cupcakes so much, they swiped them all by the end of the evening.

{closet catastrophe}

Well, my two-year old started out her birthday with a bang. So far, she's dumped out her oatmeal on the floor, gotten stuck in her dresser drawer (while I was dressing Chad), found a coffee candy in some hidden stash of hers, and somehow sliced her big toe on daddy's closet runner. I've gotten to play nurse, mommy, and house keeper all in one day. The toe injury displayed itself by a blood trail from our room, down the hall, and halfway down the stairs. It warranted lots of kisses, 2 Toy Story bandaids, and my holding her for quite a while. Bless her heart. She's just growing up too fast, and I know I'll look back and miss these days.

{a day of firsts}

Today was Chad's first day of preschool. The thought that I have a child in school is scary yet exciting. For a week, he's been trying to walk to school declaring "since you won't drive me there, Mom." I got him a new backpack and he's been wearing it every day. This evening, Katelyn (who will be 2 tomorrow) scattered a pack of marbles. When Jonathan told her to pick them up, she started counting "1, 2, 3..." He and I started talking together, only to realize she had gotten to "17, 18, 19, 20." At 1 year old! We moved her into a "big girl bed" this weekend and she's done pretty well. Of course calling it her special birthday bed helped a great deal. I think I'll paint her new room purple because it's her favorite color. Such a little girl...already knows what her favorite color is!

I did inform him that goggles were not appropriate eyewear for preschool. He said that they made him look wise like an owl.