Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A plethora of Fall fun

We will start off with some random ones.  Sweet sisters.  I was doing dishes while the girls played outside and it was quiet for a little too long...this is what I found.  
Visiting some friends who have a little chair Joni's size, she sat in it and said, "Take my picha, Dad."
Our favorite fall tree on our walk to the library.  The leaves are all gone now but it had the best orange and red colors!  
We finally bunked the girls' beds and it was been nothing but excitement since.  They want to be up there all the time, during naps, during quiet time, as soon as we get home, etc.  I'm sure the newness will wear off but they have fun and their room feels huge!
Some friends gave us a wood burning stove this summer and we had a our first campfire in it this week.  The weather is getting cooler here (finally) so a fire when it gets dark is doable.  In the summer when it's still 85 degrees at 9 at night, it just doesn't put you in the mood for a fire.
Another fun thing you can do in Kansas is go camping in October and not freeze.  It was perfect weather (besides the 2 hour downpour) and we can't wait to go again...maybe even before the new year :)  We made orange cinnamon rolls....take an orange, cut it half, dig out the insides, put a refrigerated canned cinnamon roll in the middle of the 2 halves, wrap in foil and throw in the fire. 
They. Were. Amazing.  The orange peel protected the roll and cooked it perfectly.  Definitely a new camping tradition.
Going fishing...
And skipping rocks...
Whittling a masterpiece with her own little pocketknife.
We ended up moving camping sites when our friends joined us and this is how we do it...
Lizzie and Hadley
Joni and Chloe checking out the fish that Hadley caught.  The only one of the entire weekend.  She should probably go on some fishing show/competition.
And letting it go...
Boys will be boys.  Seriously...there was lots of wood chopping going on and we had plenty of firewood ready to use....I guess whatever makes you feel like a man.  (I couldn't have done it :))
After the rainstorm, they had plenty of mud for mud pies!
And like normal, we ate way too much.
For one family movie night we watched The Croods and ate like cavemen too.  Sausage spaghetti with no plates or forks.  I wish we would have gotten a picture of Joni's face when I slopped it down in front of her.  All she said was, "Whaaat?"  
Pumpkin carving...
Joni wanted a crown and Hadley wanted Cinderella.  I thought we did pretty good!
We went as a family downtown for the SafeTreat...a lion, a cheetah, a Hello Kitty (you can't see my ears but they are there) and a ball of yarn.
Our annual youth retreat to Turkey Hill was the first week in November.  The girls always enjoy going because they get to play outside and get piggy-back rides from all the youth for 2 days.
Love my man (even though he has a beard).
Singing praise songs with Daddy....melts a Mommy's heart.
And last but not least, we headed to the Veteran's Day parade on November 11th.  The biggest one this side of the Mississippi.  It was warm and sunny and the kids were having fun and then in about 10 minutes, the temperature dropped, the wind picked up and it was freezing.  We didn't stay for the whole thing but were glad we got to go out a for a bit and thank our military!!!


Love to you all!