Christmas Lights

We went tonight and got ice cream and drove around to check out the local Christmas lights. Not very many people have their lights up yet so it was kinda a flop except the family togetherness was nice :-)

Monday Musings

This morning we had the pleasure of watching the kids of some dear friends we met through our homeschool group. The lucky ducks had the pleasure of signing the papers on a new house - yea them!! I was pleasantly surprised how well the time went with 2 more kids here. We had a minor incident with one pushing J down but after a quick time out, it never happened again. Both boys listened so well to Daddy Piper and I. It was a fun couple of hours. I could so be a mommy to five kids, even if 4 of them were boys :-)


Art this afternoon was fun. The kids made these snowman things. I think they are cute enough to keep forever!! We are hoping to continue the art portion of art/music class. Hopefully we'll find out more tomorrow. I do think the kids get alot out of the class - the learning from someone else and practicing their listening skills.


J is such a cute little stinker. He loves to scream his head off and most of the time for no good reason. He and S have been playing more and more together lately. J was super excited to see S when he woke up this morning. S came walking down the hall and J saw him and was just squealing and screaming and laughing with delight.

Life is still unsettled around here. We are hoping for some good news tomorrow or at least some news of upcoming good news. I hate what the stress has done to our marriage. We are in the "for worse" of the "for better or worse" part of marriage. I do hold out high hopes that things will get better though. If you don't have hope, you have nothing! We are snippy and short with each other more often than not lately. I am just as much at fault, if not more. I read that the Mama has such an influence over the mood in the house and I do believe that. I have tried to get better with my mood - even in the present circumstances.

Dinner, Baths, Bed, Blogging...

We had family prayers again tonight. I think this might become the routine and I am so glad for that!!

Dinner was a quick throw together thing. The kids were playing outside with Daddy, admiring the Christmas lights so it was a fast dinner but still everyone enjoyed it. We are planning a Christmas light date tomorrow complete with ice cream cones for the driving around : -)

I guess I have nothing more to say, Desperate Housewives is distracting me : -)

Sunday Stuff

It was a long night without much sleep due to an arguement with DH and then J didn't sleep well. I was able to sleep from 5:30 till 9. When I woke up at nine, I was so tempted to skip church but was driven to hurry my butt up and get out the door. We only left 5 minutes late so that worked out okay. Church was a tad chaotic. J didn't want to stay in the nursery today so he stayed with his mama, which made for some dispruptions during the service. I met the pastor today. I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting him yet. He made sure to welcome me, even with my disruptive, unruly child :-) L & S loved Sunday School. In the beginning, there was a skit by the older kids about Moses freeing the people in Eqypt. I wish I knew more about the bible. I am thinking of doing a Bible study beginning on January. I do know I want to get confirmed.

This afternoon I napped for a bit. It was nice. L rested, J rested, S napped and Daddy watched football.

Elmo just scared J. It's the Tickle Me Elmo and it came alive when J bumped it and he was freaked out! L is now telling Daddy that we need to put away the Elmo becuase J doesn't like it. Now Daddy is eating something chocolate and J is freaking out wanting some - must he his Auntie L's blood shining through.

Now I need to hop off and do the dishes before figuring out dinner. So goes the life of a mom I guess.

More Wireless Fun!

I am loving this wireless internet stuff!! Now I am laying on my bed, watching What Not T o Wear. We drove my niece back to her neck of the woods this morning. I miss that girl! She is so busy with high school, work, college classes and her boyfriend - just like her life should be at 17. She is so pleasurable to be around. Truly a wonderful young lady!!

The kids saw Santa today. L knew immediately that he wasn't the real thing. I had to tell her that the real Santa is up north working on toys and stuff for Christmas. J screamed when I sat him on Santa's lap. The picture is super cute. I have to scan it and the scanner is in the office and I am just too lazy to go do it right now. Our Sleep Number bed is just too comfy. So the kids saw Santa today. Everyone reported what they wanted. It was fun to see them seeing Santa.

Life has been so bizarre lately. We are in a transition stage, it feels like anyway. If work doesn't pick up here then we'll head up North for work next summer. It doesn't help that we are in the same field of work and construction has been one of the hardest hit with this recession. We just hold out that work will improve here in our home state and there will be no relocating under duress, just a relocation when we are ready to, if that makes sense.

Tonight I let the kids where the Christmas jammies for fun. They had a fun bubble bath before settling in for bed. It was another night with goodnight prayers with the whole family - so wonderful.

Next week will be super busy. We have major plans each day, except for Friday. We have a cookie decorating party, 2 homeschool activities, friends over on Monday, a Daisy activity, soccer, end of soccer party, and Girl Scout cookie training for me. I am tired just thinking about it.

J has started screaming lately. He will get super vocal when he thinks he's not being heard. He really makes things interesting though :-)

S is all boy right now. He loves to dance and play the guitar and play fight. His kung fu fighter thing for Christmas should really make good use of his fighting energy, or I hope so!!

L is super creative these days. She is forever coloring or gluing something. I think it is fun to share this with her since I am not at all creative. Her interaction with her brothers is amazing. She is so thoughtful with them from helping J up when he falls to giving S a drink when he asks and I can't get to him, like in the van on our hour and half drive today. I consider myself so lucky to be her mommy!!

New Laptop/Black Friday

I am in the kitchen blogging from my new laptop I acquired from an awesome Black Friday deal last night/this morning, thanks to my awesome sister. (Which is so cool because usually I was at the desktop in the office and now I can be anywhere thanks to wireless internet!)

Well now I am on the couch after making some pico de gallo for my niece that is staying with us for the night. She came down to watch our kids. We went out to a nice dinner and shopping at ToysRUs for a kung fu fighter thing for S. He saw a pic of his daddy with this bop bag thing and wanted to have one just like it, so off we went to find something similar tonight.

Anyway back to Black Friday. I headed up to the Walmart by my sister's house to wait with her. She was planning on getting my niece and nephew a laptop for Christmas. She lined up at 10! I left our house about 10 and went her way to wait with her. Well on my way I pulled over by a cop for speeding!!!! Yikes! But he let me go. What a nice cop. I was super grateful for that. I made it to Walmart by 11. Her and my niece were waiting around for someone to figure out what was going on. This particular Walmart isn't open 24 hours and with the death last year, they were making major changes to the shopping process. We lined up in one spot (first in line!!) and were moved then lined up in another spot only to be moved again later. We were not prepared for waiting outside and got super cold. We did take turns walking around in the store to warm up though so that helped. The grocery store nearby opened up their Starbucks at 3 so we were first there too. After waiting for 7 hours, we were rewarded with 3 laptops. My sis got me one too!! It was a fun experience. Thankfully everyone was in the mood for fun so there wasn't fighting and fussing over stuff. The only major glitch was Walmart tills freezing up when we went to pay for the electronics. I guess it was a nationwide problem. We had cash so it was fine for us but not for people that were paying with credit cards. I was so tired by this point, having been up for about 25 hours at this point. We headed home. I was able to drive most of the way but had to have my niece take over driving about an hour into the drive. I came home and she took care of my 3 babies while I napped - yeah for a wonderful niece :-) Tonight she watched them while we went out to dinner and shopping. We came home to kids with full bellies from her homecooked dinner of ramen noodles and mac-n-cheese, fresh from a bath, watching Snow While while eating popcorn while she was cleaning up the kitchen - WOOHOO!!

L was not happy about the new laptop. She thought it should be for her. I told her to get her mitts off my computer. There are 2 almost brand new computers in the office for the kids.

Now I sit next to my hubby on the couch, with SP in the chair switching our cellphones around and enjoying the new computer. Life is good with much to be thankful for. Not the material things but the fun memories made last night and today!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

This was the most wonderful Thanksgiving. We had no drama, after all the drama and crap leading up to the day, it turned out to be a peaceful day. Thank you S family for joining us today!!

PEECH Thanksgiving Event

Today was the homeschool Thanksgiving event. It was so great. Another mom hosted at her house, RG, and she is such a wonderful hostess. We love going to their house. I guess we enjoy going to any of the homes of our homeschool families. Everyone is so welcoming that we are comfortable everywhere! We do feel extra blessed for our homeschool group, our homeschool family. They are so wonderful and supportive of this endeavor of ours. Enough sappy - details!

One mom read a Thanksgiving story followed by another mom telling a Thanksgiving story and having each child list 5 things they are thankful. It was fun hearing the things kids are thankful form, such as "my mom, my brothers, my toys". For lunch, the kids made their own pizzas. There was lots of fellowship and great fun for the kids. J was a bit separation anxiety ridden. He didn't want me to leave the room without him. S got hurt on the trampoline when one of the boys swung him around and hurt him "in the crotch" as he put it. L was teased during lunch and then another boy GL made her feel better by whispering in her that he would be nice to her ; -)

Times are pleasant with our homeschool group. I do enjoy the company of the other women and the kids enjoy their friends - a win win for everyone!

Shopping, Art, Couponing, Otherwise known as Life

Last night was a rough night with J. He isn't sleeping well these days. He truly wants to nurse all night and that is not okay with my sleep schedule as it means I ain't getting any sleep. He was cute though when he got up about 11. He was so delirious with needing sleep. He was stumbling around and so giggly. He would lay his head on the floor then pop up just laughing. Daddy Piper and I had a blast watching him be so silly. L was up by 6 but not allowed any computer time this morning since her behavior yesterday was unacceptable. Taking away the computer is the only thing that really bothers her right now. S had his morning computer time then went outside to play. He and his dad were butting heads almost immediately so I was planning on taking him with me to Target for some one on one time. L got upset so she came with. Yes I am a sucker for my kids' crying jags. We took their shopping carts and off we went - while J stayed home with Daddy Piper and napped. It was fun!! They both enjoyed the shopping trip way more that way. It does take twice as long when they have their own carts but the fun they have is so worth it!! Oh and the coupon shopping at Target totally rocked too. Spent $22 and saved $56 and that included getting ink for our printer - WOOHOO!!

This afternoon was art class. The kids enjoy their homeschool art class program. Today they painted these wood/cardboard house things. J ran around the lobby like a mad man. He sure had fun though, drinking water and strumming the display guitars.

And tonight was another bedtime prayer success. We remembered to do it and the kids remembered the words : -)

Church and stuff

Today was another round at the local Lutheran church. Everyone did great in their designated spots so I was able to listen to the entire service!!!!!! J fell asleep before leaving the parking lot. L & S enjoyed Sunday School. I think this church thing might work out after all : -)

Tonight was dinner out. We don't do this very often anymore due to a) budget constraints and b) frankly my cooking is better than most things we eat out usually. I enjoy the eating out part because someone serves me AND does the dishes afterwards : -) J did great eating out - he sat nicely while we ate, even after he was done. L & S are both well mannered when eating out so we don't worry about them. Everyone enjoyed themselves. It was a bit late when we got home but we muddled through okay.

After more mother drama, it seems she is going to join us for Thanksgiving. Oh joy.....

Cinnamon Pine Cones

I have been coveting these yummy smelling pine cones at a local grocery store for the past month. Every time I walk by them, I think about picking them up and buying them - knowing that the $4 I would spend would bring me utter happiness yet not able to do it because $4 seems like alot right now. I do think if I spent any money on pine cones my hubby would kill me considering we have 20+ pine trees in our front yard. I got the wise idea today to make my own. And guess what? I DID! I make 2 batches of pine cones for less than a dollar, saving me $7 and cleaning up our yard in the process :-) And the best news.... they smell divine!!! I see scented pine cone gifts in the future.

Pajama Party

L attended a trial run at an overnight Pajama Party tonight. The party was held by the mom of another Daisy member. L was decked out in her princess pj's and brought along her bear while wearing her slippers. She was a bit nervous because she couldn't remember our phone number so I wrote it on her bear and she felt better. She usually can recite the number without fail but not tonight. No matter - the bear was there if needed. They had ice cream sundaes and lots of squealing. She was happy to see me when I picked her up. As soon as I got her buckled in the van, she declared herself "SOOOOO TIRED!!!". She promptly fell asleep within 10 minutes of getting home : -)

Temper Tantrum

J likes to throw himself on the floor in the flailing arms, crying sort of manner. He is loving my phone these days. Today he had to have it taken away since he attempted to call Germany and download some smut (or an app - I don't know!). When his dad tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the phone from J's hand - a full blown temper tantrum came on and HOLY COW was it a loud one. He went on to throw a couple more fits today complete with howling on the floor and flailing arms. Yikes - what are we in for!?

New Moon!

I saw New Moon today!!!!! Oh goodness, what a delightful way to spend the morning. With some great girlfriends who also enjoyed the movie. Good times : -)

Goodnight Prayers

The neatest thing just happened. We said goodnight prayers as a FAMILY! The whole lay me down to sleep prayer with God Bless each family member at the end. We haven't ever done this together. What a memorable event!!!!!!

Ramblings

Bunch of nonsense rolling around:

• Took bunkbeds apart so they are both on the floor now. Have no idea where this notion came from. Will make changing a potty filled bed in the middle of the night easier for me though.
• New Moon tomorrow!!
• Cute J in bath time tonight. What a fun little kid he is right now. He loves to play peekaboo. He is enjoying all 12 of his teeth. He is still nursing at night but not so much during the day. He is trying to phase out his morning naps but I am not going down without a fight!
• Laundry seems to multiply when I am not looking - kind of like Gremlins from the 80's.
  
• Daisys seems to be a fun activity for L right now. She is going to her first pajama party tomorrow. I am bowing out to allow her some time alone, without me interfering.
• Thanksgiving next week is proving to be drama filled. I had hoped for a drama-free zone. Hopefully we can achieve that.
• We are cooking a Thanksgiving feast with our homeschool group on Wednesday. Each child/parent team will make a dish. Very much looking forward to this!!!
  

L's Words

L told me tonight that she would bring my grandkids over for me to watch while she went to the movies then she gave me her killer smile and huge, warm hugs that she is so good at :-) Oh how that warmed my heart to my toes and back!!!

Zoo

Today was a trip to the zoo with our homeschool group. It was fun and a bit crazy. J isn't feeling well - either teething or allergies. He didn't sleep well last night and then slept in so he missed his morning nap, which led to some wildly, abnormal behavior. He is now not wanting to nurse during the day so that wasn't a cure all fix for today either :-) But it was a pretty enjoyable trip, considering. We did find a great new picnic spot!

Oh and getting a good picture of all 3 is elusive these days : -)

L has such an attitiude these days. She just barked at me when I told her no more bedtime snack. Holy Cow! She is totally throwing a fit right now. J just snuck into school corner and is pretty pleased with himself. He loves to click the mouse on the kids' computer and act like he's working on the computer. Oh now he's climbing up on the desk, grunting and whining pulling himself to a standing position. I should get him off but feel too lazy. Oh now he's done and chasing S around trying to eat some Goldfish crackers.

Haircuts

This was a week for haircuts. I cut off 9 inches last week and then today I took the boys for haircuts. S wants his short so he cut it all off. He looks quite different. J got a trim as well. They look so much alike with their new haircuts : -)

Park

We took the kids to the park today for some fun outdoor playtime. I packed a scrumptious picnic and Daddy packed the bikes and off we went. The kids played for about an hour at the park then it was lunch time and bike time. We rode bikes for about 2 hours after the lunch. We rode all through this neighborhood. Everyone had a great time just hanging out together. It was a fun time with no arguing - which we really needed with all the extra stress around here lately. L and I think we need more concrete in our own neighborhood since it makes riding bike easier : -)

Gazing lovingly at his Mama - nah... just wanting another cookie!My hippy boy before getting a haircut the next day.My 2 boys loving on each other.J getting ready for his big bike ride. This bike stroller was $20 at a garage sale 5 years ago. We have definitely got our money's worth out of this purchase!L "helping" with her baby brother. She really is a good helper - even if her technique could stand to be refined a bit.

Sunday Church

We went to church this morning. I had tried to get in the habit earlier this year but failed miserably. The kids have been asking about Sunday School lately (think God works in mysterious ways? - I do!). We were up and dressed and off to church with only minutes to spare (yes we were late - not very but a smidgen.... oh well, God understands, RIGHT?!?). After getting J settled into the nursery and L & S off to their Sunday School, I heard the most wonderful message that was seemingly directed right at me. It was a message about forgiveness and moving on. It seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the message but God seemed to speak directly to me through the pastor. I took it as I need to forgive my mother of all the crappy stuff and move on. It was a powerful message. I need to sit on it and mull it over some. I heard J howling in the nursery so I got him, L had to potty so I helped her and then it was chaos from that point on. Hearing that message was the only 5 minutes I was able to listen intently. I do think God spoke to me through the pastor this morning. God is good - all the time! The kids enjoyed Sunday School. It was an enjoyable service for all of us. I am trying to make this a priority. I wasn't raised in a church but hope to make those changes for my children!

A Whole Week?!?

I let a whole week go by without posting??? Now that's just CRAZY!

Monday - Today was live lesson for L, art lessons for L & S and then family pictures followed by a yummy dinner at In-N-Out. The family picture session was FUN! My wonderful friend did our pics at a local outdoor mall. It sounds funky but oh goodness - such creative talent. She is just getting started into a photography business and takes such awesome pictures. She sent a sneak peak of some and they were amazing. She has such an eye for capturing the spirit behind the picture. I am dying to see more. Unfortunately, her father has taken a turn for the worse and she had to head out of town. I am saying an extra prayer daily for their family. This has been so hard on them. I love this lady and her family so much.

Tuesday - I had to run to drop off the billing from last week, do some last minute shopping before the big sale was over and hit the library. Errands with no kids = quick, stress free time for mommy!! We went to a birthday party at a local bounce place in the afternoon - our second party here this week. The kids LOVE this place. It is fun to play with them at places like this. J stayed home with Daddy since it's not much fun for him yet. I ran to Target after the kids were in bed for some fun deals, got everything on my list, went to pay - NO WALLET! I could have run back but they would have been closed or close to it so I ran back on Wednesday. Things were crappy anyway with the situation with my mother. I sent out an email to my homeschool group and got a text and a phone call almost immediately. They were both just what I needed. I was on the phone after 10 o'clock with a dear friend who called concerned. I was touched by the immediate phone call following my email. I have been blessed with REAL friends. The kind that don't take "I'm Fine" for an answer when they know better.

Wednesday - We had homeschool group over for some fun Thanksgiving craft time. We tried to do a leaf rubbing. L was totally into it, as was GS & TG but my S and most of the other boys could care less to be sitting at a picnic table, outside in the gorgeous weather, rubbing with crayons. No sir - they were doing what boys do best... playing in the dirt and having fun! I love having our group come over. It fills our home with lots of noise and laughter and I dig that : -) We had pizza from Papa John's, fruit from one of the dads (thanks JS for cutting up all the fruit!!) and for another fun craft, we made pilgrim hats from marshmallows and fudge striped cookies. Daddy Piper enjoyed having another dad join in the fun today. It's neat to see him get involved with this group too. The afternoon was filled a Target run. I did some amazing coupon deals and got $75 worth of stuff for $4!!!!!! The kids will have a great Christmas.

Thursday - Daddy Piper had to take care of some stuff so he took off for them morning. We got schoolwork done right away so there would be plenty of time to enjoy the weather. I put J down for a nap and we headed out to play. Our neighbor popped over and invited the kids to come play at his house. So they went over for a spell. I was alone for 45 whole minutes (minus a sleeping baby). I ate an early lunch, showered and then felt completely lost without anyone to take care of or anyone needing me. The feeling was short lived since they were home soon for L's live lesson. I suppose that's what it would feel like if the kids went to school instead of being homeschooled. I didn't like it much after the first 15 minutes. After dinner, I headed to the grocery store for a quick deal run and then got my haircut. I cut it all off again - 9 inches. I love it. I wasn't too sure about it when she cut it. She cut it before I could really tell her how much I wanted off. She did a great job though. It's easy to style and looks way better.

Friday - Library run while J napped (poor kid always get left home or so it seems). Kids got Thanksgiving books and a couple movies. Soccer practice and tacos for dinner. Not much today except for hours of playing outside!!!

Saturday - Daisy event in which things were not scheduled properly so it included lots of driving around and not getting anything done. Oh well - these things happen. I got to talk to my best girlfriend though so it was not time wasted. Then we headed to S's soccer game where we got dumped on. It rained so hard on us!!!! They didn't call the game though. Thankfully it dried up about 15 minutes into the game. S wasn't into the game much for some reason. His dad gave him a stern talking to on the way home, I guess (we drove separate). I don't always like these talks. I think Daddy Piper can be too hard on the kids when it comes to this stuff. I do back him up though and talk with him about it later.

J is walking and talking like a mad man these days. He loves to be outside playing with L & S. He gets so spitting mad when they go out without him. He is getting better about not putting things in his mouth so being outside with him is more fun now : -)

S is getting a better grip on his temper. Yesterday when he proceeded to get mad and was going to kick something I asked him what he should do instead of kicking and he told me "Use my words" and then explained what happened. I know he is absorbing what I say, so that's good. I know his behavior changes are linked to our home life changes. Things are a bit more tense than normal around here with the lack of work and stuff. I know the kids pick up on that stuff - even if we don't talk about it in front of them.

L has been so super sweet lately mixed with a mouthy teenager all rolled into a 5 year old's body. She can swing from one side to the other super quick. Her and her dad have crossed each other twice today with bad results. He sent her to time out for lying and then this evening she got a spanking for not listening. It has been a rough few hours for her. She can be challenging at times for me. We are a lot alike. I do try to remember though that she may act more mature and have the language of an adult, she is only five.

Crappy issues with my mother. We had some drama with her earlier this week. It really affected things on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is some mental issues going on. I can't fix her or her situation. It's not a healthy one. I hope things will work out but mainly, I have to thing of myself and my family at this point.

So my attitude is better. We are going through a valley in our lives. We are trying to work out plans if work doesn't improve here, like heading to my husband's home town for the summer next year since there is work there. I am just trying to live day to day, enjoy the day and not get caught up in the big picture too much. Can't plan that far in advance, though I would like to since I am a planner.

Speaking of planning, I am walking the 3 day next year (either here or up North). And we found out another friend is expecting a baby. I was super jealous and filled with horrible envy when I heard the news followed quickly by elation for her. I want another baby too!!!!!!!

I need to go to bed. We are going to early church tomorrow so I need to be rested :-)

Life

I just got done writing the most bitchy post ever. I complained about everything under the sun so it shall go unposted. I do think it helps to get things out but not necessarily to share them with the world, if that makes sense. I also just got done reading a great post about being a young mother (young meaning a mother for not very long). I have been a mom for 5 years. I cried reading the post that was actually a letter for a mother whose last bird has flown the nest. I want to enjoy these young years with my babies. I need to relish and savor each moment with them and I don't feel I do.

Fun memory from today: Having a tea party with my babies. I made some yummy cinnamon sugar cookies and we had a tea party complete with milk (I let them pour - go me! And didn't yell when they spilled - GO ME!).

Another fun memory from today: L was p*ssed off at me royally when I threw a ton of ice in their "swimming pool" (our bath tub) to make it feel more like a chilly outdoor pool. Oh she was mad. S thought it was fun : -) I made up for it by filling the "pool" up with more warm water!

Fun memory from yesterday: I made L & S cookie ice cream sandwiches when they were in the shower for them to enjoy before bedtime. Oh how excited they were for that cool surprise. And how my heart glowed from their excitement!!!

Pioneer Woman

I met PIONEER WOMAN!!!! She is in town signing a cookbook and I met her! I even got a picture with her!!!!! It was a fun experience but took forever. I dragged along my lovely L, since her Daisy field trip ran late, and she was pooped by the time our book was signed. BUT I got a picture so it was all worth it!

Play Try Outs

Today there was a homeschool theatre thing in our area. I took the kids. Shy S wouldn't do much more than say Cinderella. L attempted to try out but they wanted an older girl for the part of Young Cinderella. I think they were too young to try this right now but hopefully in a year or two. Art lessons, dance, Daisy's and soccer are plenty for right now!!

Bargain!

Today I got 6 Wii games and 2 LeapFrog Tag books from Target for the low, low price of... $50!!! The games are buy 2 get 1 free and there is a $10 off 2 games on Target's site. I had 2 other coupons for the Tag books. It was a bargain shopping kinda of day. Almost done with Christmas shopping. It's going to be a lite year based on the financial circumstances but still plenty of fun stuff for the kids and that's what's all about (now go do the Hokey Pokey!).

Zoo

We went to the zoo today with our friends, the K family. We don't hang out nearly enough anymore due to our crazy schedules but when we do - watch out... TONS OF FUN!

Daddy Piper had work today = WAHOO! So off we went for a day of fun. It was an abbreviated trip due to Art lessons at 1:30 but fun nonetheless.

Right now we are having a argument about who is better - girls or boys. L and I think girls ROCK but the 3 boys think they rule. Well we know who is right, don't we?!?

So back to the zoo fun. I even let J out of his stroller to walk around some. That walking stuff is fun when it's new, after 30 years, I wish someone would push me around in a stroller : -) When we got to the zoo, the monkeys were soooo loud. They were putting them into a cage thing to clean their island and they were not happy about it. It was great to hang out with the K family. The K girls are getting so big. KK is talking amazingly well. SK is as adorable as ever. Her and L hugged upon sight of each other. The weather was a bit warm for November but we managed okay. We saw the giraffes, walked by those noisy monkeys, and headed for the farm. Everyone wanted to pet the goats. The messy, poopy goats. A quick stop to milk a pretend cow and into the goat pit we went. I hate that nasty part of the zoo but the kids love it so we do it. L & S got to comb the goats and J was down walking and touching the goats for the first time. After the goat (gross) experience, we went to the little farm play area. J got to get down and play there too. L & S got to run around and be wild, just like they love to do!

Ok, after fighting my daughter over the last of the cotton candy, I gotta get some kids in the bath.