pumpkin carving picture post…

(ewww!)

(I still can’t believe she’s big enough for pig tails)

(next year we are investing in carving tools – from the dollar store no doubt!)

halloween 2009…

was a very Harry happy Halloween!

The kids loved dressing up as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger!

Before they knew it they had turned Danielle into a little buzzy bee!

But I guess that’s better than being turned into the Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat! Imagine that, she swallowed a bat! We did read about her at our Halloween party in story hour though. Luckily the kids didn’t follow suit and decided to swallow cupcakes and cookies instead. :-)

And apparently some people think I take too many pictures! Hence the dirty look in the picture above. Hmpfff!

We also made it out to Boo at the Zoo in Little Rock. I think the candy and rides definitely helped the kids forget all about the shivering that was going on. :-)

With trick-or-treating downtown…

and eating pizza at Ms. Martha’s house…

we had lots of fun with our Halloween ventures!

I wonder what they’ll be next year!

when the sun sneaks a peek…

after days and days of rain, it sure seems to magnify the brightness of God’s beautiful colors! On two occasions I caught the sun as it was just beginning to peer through the thunderous clouds – which have lingered for what seems like the whole summer and beginning of fall! :-)

But I was glad to finally get a few shots of the fall colors we get to experience here. Did I mention that it’s been raining?

As I was driving through the mountains the other day I caught this same scene. But it was even more beautiful because there were gobs more trees and changing colors. Luckily I was at home this time so it could not escape my camera’s eye!

On a random note, I have to admit these pictures of The Beast are some of my favorites (don’t tell the kids). ;-)

Just to explain, he gets his namesake from Disney’s movie as his size is quite “beastly” compared to the hens.

And although I’d like to take the credit for the Photoshopped look in these pictures, I can’t. I have to give my camera the credit. I guess all the rain washes away the haze that is normally picked up by the lens. Then there are these guys (the neighbors cows)…

who seem much more like pets when you have something to offer.

Of course Abby could literally be around animals and enjoy taking care of the all. day. long.

And I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think this one may follow right in her footsteps.

ain’t it a beauty?

We were beginning to think the proverbial pot would never boil, but all yolking aside…we finally have our first egg! :-)

Bryan thought the hens were beginning to “nest” more in the hen-house lately. So we were all anxious to find that first one!

Jadon still thought we should get our eggs from Wal-Mart though. Despite our efforts, he wasn’t convinced that ours didn’t have chicks in them. :0)

But…that didn’t last too terribly long.

We had heard that sometimes a hen’s first eggs aren’t edible or even double-yolked, but to the contrary ours was a singleton and quite tasty!

And now that the kids have tasted their product, they are even more eager to start their egg selling business. Market strategies of a four and seven year old are quite  interesting to listen in on! :-)

with a little free time…

and imagination you can come up with anything!

ahhh, metamorphic success…

was finally ours to be had! Since the suspected untimely demise of our woolly boogers (apparently our Lepidoptera skills are somewhat lacking), we reluctantly moved on to…tadpoles! Okay, maybe we just happened upon gobs of them in the livestock water buckets this summer – nevertheless another experiment to get our hands on! :-)

Come to find out, fish food (the ordinary ol’ kind you find at the store) and de-chlorinated water is sufficient to nourish them as they go through “the change.”

We observed several interesting things, but not sure they amount to much. For instance, you can see their intestinal coil through their skin when they are tadpoles. Weird. But click on the above picture and you can see it too.

I’m sure you would also be surprised to know that their legs grow from little tiny nubs while they “birth” their arms. I couldn’t figure out how in the world our first frog was armless one night and then suddenly the next morning he was equipped with two fully functioning ones. I know, crazy.

But I caught it all on film with the second frog! If you look at the above picture, you can practically see his right arm emerging! Within twenty minutes he had two!

I used the word “birth” because just as a baby is swollen after birth, so is the tadpoles little arm. Not for long though, compare the two arms above. See, cool information but significant? Most likely not.

AND we found out that they are pretty lethargic during the last phase of metamorphosis with involves re-absorbing their tail. It takes the most energy to complete. You’ll have to excuse the green poop, but the above tadpoles (actually the one on the right is now called a metamorph I believe) were a great contrast of the beginning and ending stages of the metamorphosis.

This little guy was our first one to turn from herbivore to carnivore. Once he had pretty much re-absorbed his tail he just turned upside down as if he had no clue how to get out of the jar!

On the other hand, we were lucky to find this little guy hopping around the kitchen before Daisy (our cat) did.

Our enlightening journey with the tadpoles ended as we released them by the pond.

Apparently they already had a friend awaiting their arrival! I know he’s harmless (well, to us anyway), but we didn’t even see him until we had been there 10 minutes or so! Ugh! Hopefully he didn’t hinder our little frogs’ successful transition into froggy bliss! :)

it’s not easy being small…

especially when all you want to do is whatever the big kids are doing!

Although you didn’t demand to be out on the field during the game, you sure studied the kids who were.

And lucky for me, you were content playing with Abby and a soccer ball (or two) throughout. :-)

Maybe in a few years you’ll be able to hold your own with the big kids.

if only we could bottle…

the look of surprise on your face when they called your name for Grand Champion in the open gelding halter class. When we decided to become involved with 4-H and the local Round-Up Club we thought we would take a year to become acquainted with the circuit. In other words we’ve been active, but not full blown active. So when we prepared for the county fair we considered it as more for the experience.

You put a good amount of time and effort into cleaning up Two Shoes and learning the pattern you were supposed to perform. I’m sure you recited it right up until the minute you walked him into the arena.

Even if the nerves were in high gear you never seemed to let them get in your way.

Your poise and control with such a large animal still surprises me. You definitely don’t have the same fears that me and most of the population do!

You did an excellent job! And now you have the incentive to work even harder next year! :)

If only I could figure out the right low light setting for my camera!! If you look through the blur, you can see the climax of the evening.

Your excitement and joy the rest of that night will always stand out in my mind. Even if I can’t bottle it, I can still replay it in my head and feel your happiness all over again! That’s enough to keep me smiling for a long time!! :)

the big rodeo…

came to town! Of course there’s a lot of fun to be had at the rodeo but who can deny that the mutton bustin’ always steals the show! Okay, maybe only if you’re a parent of one of the brave little cowboys or cowgirls. :)

But this year was special because it was Jadon’s first year and Abby’s last year to compete.

I had a few pep talks with Jadon, but nothing really sank in until the first 12 contestants streamed out of the gate on the back of either an old moseying sheep or a frightened one running for refuge!

Jadon rode right before Abby and got about 30 feet outside of the gate and let go! He said he wanted to see what it felt like. I suppose he had seen several others do the same.

In his own words, “It kind of hurt, but my chaps saved my knees.” Whew – good thing he was wearing those things!! ;-)

I’m pretty sure Abby had her hopes up and her strategy in mind long before we set foot in the arena that night. And just as far back as she mapped those ideas in her head she also decided she was going to win.

~ click here for the video ~

If you watch the video, you’ll see that that’s exactly what she did – first out of 19 kiddos! Her determination and confidence seem to grow stronger every year. I look forward to seeing where her dreams take her and how well she keeps it all in check.

It was all very exciting. During the event, Bryan was in charge of the video camera and I was in charge of the still camera. Well, he messed up the video of Jadon and I messed up the still shots of Abby! Luckily we got one type of keepsake on each one though! :) In a couple of years I guess it will be Jadon’s last time to qualify and Danielle’s first…but I try not to think that far ahead!

after a week of rain…

…two canceled games, and only one practice, you FINALLY got to play your very first soccer game!!

You had SO much fun!

The excitement was plastered all over your face! I think every picture has either a big smile or else your tongue sticking out. It’s got to help…I’m just sure it does! :)

Look at those sweet dimples.

And you got a pat on the head from both coaches after your big score!! :)

Taken in succession, the above pictures show the ever humble, giant “aw shucks” arm swing after barely missing a goal. Totally Jadon! :-)

You and Katelyn even had a blast going through the line at the end of the game!  We can’t wait until the next one!