Maddy's turn & the walk

Since Madeline wasn't in on the Jedi action, here's a picture of her watching from the sidelines. She was sitting on her bike, which is about as close as she gets to riding it. She is so much like her mama, not an athletic (or even active) bone in her body! Good thing she's cute :)



After playing, we all took a walk in the lovely old neighborhood. It was a cool night, which we haven't had many of, especially considering it's October. Jack is finally reliable enough to walk our short little circle without the stroller, which is nice. Maddy and Noah (and now Jack, of course) have this game where they have to step on the manhole covers (there are a lot on this street) to get to the next "level". No one's sure what exactly that means, but it's an absolutely ESSENTIAL part of the walk! Notice how Maddy is so light on her feet! :)

My 3 boys

This is my boys' favorite activity (wrestling is a close 2nd)...We have definitely gotten our money's worth out of the $5 light sabers! Jared surprised them by coming home early Friday and the little boys were already outside playing something else (probably in the dirt). As you can see, Jared didn't even make it inside to change clothes before the spontaneous Jedi training session!




Noah pulled out the big guns, aka the tee from a plastic tee-ball set. He calls it his bazooka, which only proves that he has seen WAY too many episodes of Legion of Super Heroes (the updated Justice League)!


My only guess here is that the little boys--Batman & Superman--are using some sort of intimidation tactic to scare off the "villain". May I point out that the yellow bat is also from the tee-ball set, further bolstering my position that the tee-ball set was NOT a waste of money (I've rescued it from the trash a couple of times, Jared), although I admit it has rarely, if ever, actually been used for tee-ball. Whatever works!


My Noah...

Goodbye, Dani & Poppi!

We sent Dani & Poppi back to Honduras last weekend until the middle of December :( Boo-hoo! Actually, we're pretty used to it now, and the kids handle it very well. We always trust they're coming back. It's been sad to not have them here all the time, but we're so thankful and proud of the work they're doing. Our kids have been so blessed to see their faith in action and also in learning to trust God to take care of them wherever they are--He really does have the WHOLE world in His hands!


We met Dani & Poppi and Uncle David & Aunt Maggie at Ol.ive Ga.rden (yum). Mom put this in a comment on the last post, but I'll put it here too in it's expanded form: After we ate (and stayed at our table of 9 yacking for a very long time after we were finished eating), we said our goodbyes (at least 2 or 3 rounds), and buckled the kids in the van. The grownups started talking again, so Mom went to the car to visit with the kids and keep them company. Madeline was tired-hyper anyway and started telling Dani about the Ba.rbie Isl.and Princess she wants for her birthday or Christmas and said, "Oh, Dani, I’m all about those dolls! I just want one so bad…oooooh…I mean, I just want SOMETHING Isl.and Princess…even just the video…anything!!!” So Noah said, "Maddy, I'm going to get all your dolls and throw them away!" Madeline got upset and he said, "Well, she likes her toys more than she likes her family!" Madeline got tears in her eyes and said, "Noah, I would give away all of my dolls and all of my toys to save your life." You just never know where their little minds are!






The 2 CPAs talking some serious nerdiness! :)


It's amazing to me how long a bowl of lemons will keep 3 kids amused! And is something wrong with us that we all (excluding Jared and my dad) LOVE lemons? (with salt...mmmm)



Maggie Jean & Maddy Jean



The men somehow managed NOT to sit with the kids...hmm...and with non-accountant in the mix (although David's working on a business degree--yay, Dobie!) they actually talk about sports and such.




Aunt Maggie did a little mini fashion shoot with the kids (in the corner of the restaurant where we were), so I hope to get those pictures from her (hint, hint) to post one of these days. I find that since I'm blogging, I'm now constantly thinking, "Oh, I gotta get a picture of that for the blog!" I've never been great about remembering to take pictures, so I guess it's good that I have incentive now! I did not get a picture of the display of decorative plates on the wall behind our table, but I wish I had. Because Jack looked at them after we sat down and said, "Those are so perfect." Keep in mind that he's not quite 3 and has never had a flair for interior decorating (unless you include drawing on walls with various writing utensils or the gallon of paint dumped on the kitchen floor). He just kept staring at them. They were pretty and colorful, but I would never have guessed that they would have held his attention for any length of time! You just never know...