Autumn

The trees had just started to turn colors when Dominic begged to go on a picture taking walk.

So I got out the old camera for him and grabbed mine. We just walked down the street, but it was so cute to watch him, all serious, trying to get just the right angle or lighting.

So the pictures on this blog post are all from Dominic.

 The bird feeder is sitting there because a certain little boy thought it would be fun to try and swing from it. It, of course, broke right away and deposited him on the ground rather abruptly.

 

 Neighbor's cat who walked with us for a little bit.

 Self portrait. There were quite a few of these. There were also quite a few of my rear, but I won't be posting those. What is it with little boys and anything bum, potty, gross related?

 He was so cute taking pictures that I kept taking pictures of him.

So he returned the favor.

 

 Not sure what he was going for here.

 He took over 100 shots so there is no way I can post them all. Little man was on a role.

 

 The next Saturday the weather was beautiful so we got the Model A out and went for a ride. Dominic and I grabbed the cameras and got in the rumble seat. It was hard to take pictures with the wind blowing, but we had fun.

 

 

 

 Caitlin with bear bear and her thumb.

Not too shabby for a five year old and no experience.

If you want to see my pictures head over to It's My Life.

Update

Just an update on those crazy dogs.

Last night Jon went out to check on them and they'd escaped again.

The allure outside the gate was just too much and they'd dug a hole under the fence.

There is now a cement block in the hole and we are watching them VERY carefully.

We'll fill in the hole when they've stopped digging there, otherwise they'll just dig it right back out.

Silly dogs!

Lost

Today has been an eventful day in Josie and Sarah's life.

After dropping Dominic off at school this morning I returned to get the puppies ready to go to the vet. Jon and I forgot about their appointment so I had the wrong car. The Accord just isn't puppy friendly. But I managed. I placed blankets on the front seat and got them both in. They refused to sit on the floor and ended up sitting on top of each other. Between Sarah trying to eat the gear shift and Josie wanting to sit on my lap, I managed to get us to the vet without a traffic accident.

After their appointment we came home and I sent Caitlin out to play. She plays well in the back yard and I've never been concerned before about her being by herself.

She played very well until about an hour before we needed to leave to pick up Dominic.

She came in and told me Sarah was in the road. She had opened the gate and Sarah was indeed in the road. I called and she came running. No problem.

I had a chat with Caitlin about NEVER opening the gate without either parent there. She agreed and went back outside. A few seconds later I heard her calling the dogs and I couldn't find her in the back yard. I ran around the corner of the house to see her standing in the front yard and no sign of the dogs. I was about ready to leave to pick up Dominic and so I loaded Caitlin in the car and stopped every neighbor I saw asking about the dogs. I called Jon and told him about what had happened.

When I returned home from picking up Dominic I saw that Jon had come home from work to help us look. About 30 minutes later the dogs come tearing around the corner of our neighbors with silly grins on their faces. They came willingly with me. I thought that was the last of my dog stress for the day.

When Jon came home from work (for the 2nd time) he mentioned the beautiful weather and told the kids to go outside. We looked out to see the dogs in the neighbors yard. Apparently BOTH gates were open and I only closed the one that I'd let the dogs in. Sigh!

Although it was stressful thinking I would have to spend several hours looking, I am now convinced that my family loves those silly dogs. Caitlin cried when it dawned on her that the puppies were missing, Jon missed work to look for them and Dominic was ready to make a missing poster.

I'm so glad they are home and that they are loved.

No School

Dominic had Thursday and Friday off for Fall Break. Yesterday we did the usual coffee girls thing. But today he requested the Children's Museum. So after lunch we headed over and spent the entire afternoon. I forgot my camera so unfortunately didn't get pictures. 

We had so much fun. We built castles, made meals, solved puzzles and did some crafts. There were dishes in my sink, tons of books to review, food to cook and the list goes on. But we took today and enjoyed the break and each other. I'm so thankful for my sweet, goofy, awesome children. They make me laugh and warm my heart. The dishes can be done later, the books can wait. But my kids are growing up so fast and I'm glad that I chose to spend a few hours today playing.

Bear-bear returns

In the rush of getting ready for church I didn't retrieve the bear.

So when we returned from church I had a little talk with Caitlin.

Considering she's only two I think she understood why/what happened to her bear.

Whether this will be remembered next time is a whole other story.

But after a promise of obedience I got out the sewing box and let her watch while I "fixed" bear-bear's tail. She watched very quietly, not saying much.

When I was finished I handed him to her and she hugged him so tight. 

Then in this little quiet voice she says -

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, bear-bear. I missed you. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

Obedience

Caitlin has been testing Jon and I quite a bit lately.

She obeys when it suits her. We've tried everything we can think of and nothing has worked so far.

Today was about the last straw. We have a rule that you can't touch anything on a counter without permission. This rule covers all sorts of things and has kept us from quite a bit of stress.

But Caitlin completely disregards this rule if she chooses. Today she grabbed a pair of scissors on the counter. I spanked her hand for touching them and put them further back on the counter. I turned back to the sink to finish the dishes. She left the kitchen and wandered into the library (or so I thought). A few seconds later she comes back into the kitchen.

"Mommy, I cut bear-bear's tail and I can't fix it."

She takes me into the dining room where she has hidden under the table with her bear and the scissors. Bear-bear now has a very injured tail.

I started getting onto her about hurting bear-bear and she laughed. She had gotten what she wanted and just didn't care that I was upset. So I threw him away. The kids know that if I can't fix a toy it goes in the trash. So far, they haven't been highly sentimental so it has worked fine.

When I threw him away she laughed again and said

"That's okay, I'll just play with this bear."

Now it's bedtime and she's not laughing. She's been crying now for 30 minutes. It seems harsh, but I'm just not sure how else to reach her. I've gone in once and comforted her. But I also explained that when I tell her something she needs to obey. I'm hoping that this painful of a lesson will sink in, because I'm about to cry with her.

Before I begin to get hate letters, let me assure you that bear-bear is safe in the closet awaiting morning. After we talk again I'll give her back her bear.

Prayer

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with this blog post, but I thought it was cute.

Dominic couldn't decide what cereal he wanted one morning and so he put them all out so he could see them all at once. 

Dominic would like me to clarify that the sippy cup in the picture is Caitlin's, NOT his! =)

Every morning we say prayer when we get in the car before we leave for school. Sometimes I pray, but mostly I ask Dominic to pray. It's amusing and enlightening. Here are a few things I've heard since he started school two months ago.

"Please bless the teachers as they teach and please help the kids to finally listen."

"Thank you for school, but could you please help December to get here more quicker?"

"Please help us not to be late so Mom doesn't have to drive so fast and get a ticket."

(I haven't received a ticket or even been stopped, so not sure where that came from.)

"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for. . . (after about 5 minutes and an "Amen" hint from mom) and I guess Amen so mom can drive." After which he told me that I could have driven with one eye opened. "Jesus would have said it was okay, Mom."

Pumpkins and Bows

The first hair clip making session.

The mom purchased the gift card for her two daughters thinking it would be a nice surprise for them. But they arrived here to find lots more fun (backyard, toys, etc.) to interest them. Her son however decided to make a couple of hair clips for his little "girlfriend'. It was precious.

These are the pumpkins from the field trip. 

Caitlin's pumpkin - we used cookie cutters.

 

 Dominic's pumpkin. He had to have a face on his.

5 yr pictures

I can't believe I forgot to post these. (Well actually I can.)

Here are the five year pictures for Dominic.

This is Jon's favorite.

This is my favorite.

This is Dominic's favorite. =)

Family Reunion

A couple of weeks ago we drove to Missouri for my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary.

It was more like a family reunion with all of my aunts and uncles there.

It was a really long drive for only one day of visiting, but I'd do it again just to see my family.

I'm sure most people feel this way, but I have the coolest family. I haven't laughed that much in a long time.

These pictures are a bit washed out. Quite a few didn't turn out at all. I'd hoped to have pictures of all of my aunts and uncles, but it didn't matter how I turned the sun was in my face.

My Uncle James and Kathy

Uncle Don and Lisa

My parents

Aunt Linda with my cousin Larry.

He came to take pictures of everyone for the event.

It was so sweet of him to fly all that way just to take pictures.

My sweet grandparents!

My grandparents with their six children.

On the left - Linda, Virginia, Bob

On the right - Don, David, James

Happy Anniversary to the coolest grandparents!

Sabbath Afternoon Fun

Another blog found in drafts. Sigh! I'm SO forgetful.

This last Sabbath Jon and I almost had an upset that turned out to be a really great thing.

I was talking to one friend and agreeing to lunch at their house while Jon was talking to another friend and agreeing to supper with them. Thankfully it was for different meals. As it was the day was very busy, but so much fun. We started out at some friends property with a picnic and bonfire.

Caitlin was cold at first.

Our crazy boy and a friend climbing the rocks on the other side of the creek.

Our bonfire

Chilling out before our rides

Dominic was a bit apprehensive about being in the atv. But I knew that once he got over being scared he would love it. Sure enough he kept asking to go. I think he went about five times before we had to leave.

My grown-up, mature friends playing with fire. =)

The copy cats

The chip stealers

We left the lunch bonfire and went to our supper bonfire.

I didn't take as many pictures because it was getting dark, but we had as much fun.

It was a fun and crazy day. I'm so glad that we didn't overlap our bonfires, because I wouldn't have wanted to miss either one.

Time Flies

I get in from running the other morning to find Dominic waiting for me.

He's rarely up that early so I asked him what he was doing.

"Mom, time sure flies."

"Okay, how does that explain you being up?"

"Well I woke up at 3:58 to go potty and when I got back it was 6:00. So I just decided to stay up and play quietly in my room until everyone else got up since time was going by so quickly."

Now I know that he wasn't really in the bathroom that long because there is no way I missed a large child in the bathroom with me when I was getting ready to go running. So he must have misread the clock. But it was so funny to hear that adult saying coming from him.

Speaking of adult words and sayings - Today Caitlin was looking at a photo book and saw a picture of Dominic with his hair sticking up.

"His hair sure looks funky."

What normal 2 yr old says the word funky?

According to the kids she learned it from Dominic. 

Guess that explains everything. =)