Fun in the Leaves!

Kendrick in a Kilt

Tonight the kids had fun dancing around. I was trying some clothes on the girls to see how they fit and the girls were having fun twirling in their skirts. KJ then asked me if he could wear a skirt. His dad protested but I put on on him too. KJ just loved it. He was twirling and laughing right along with the girls. We have some great pictures for when he is older so we can show him.

Fall is in the air...

Okay I just LOVE this time of year. It is always so beautiful and for some reason I just seem to be noticing all of the beautiful colors around her more than ever this year. The kids are really excited about Halloween and they ask me everyday when we get to go Trick or Treating. They are excited to dress up. It is so much fun to watch them get so excited. Every night after dinner we have been playing with our flashlights after dinner. We will turn all of the lights off and then they can flash different images on walls and ceilings. They love this and we can play this for 45 minutes straight with out losing interest in it. The kids have been into Apples a lot this fall too. We have a special slicer that Grandma Erickson gave us and they love to turn the crank and watch the apple slice. Today they were cutting up their own Apples at Grandma Mary's today too. These pictures are from Sue's house where they helped her make some Apple Pies.
We have a busy weekend with some trick or treating and a pumpkin carving party to go too. I am sure I will have a lot to blog about.

Swimming Lessons

At the end of the summer I suddenly realized that I had not signed up my kids for any activities. I spent an entire day looking into ECFE classes, Gymnastics, Dance, Sports, etc.. At that time I called the local YMCA to see what they could offer my kids at the age of 3. I was thrilled when I found out that we could start swimming lessons and Jon and I did not have to be in the water with them. We had not started swimming lessons before this time because we needed to have one on one in the water and we did not have that. Today we finished the first session of swimming lessons and it was picture day so I brought the camera. The kids did very well for their first session. We saw the biggest difference in Aimee as she was willing to take the noodle, kick across the pool and come back with out the teacher holding on to her. All three of them came a long way in the first session. They are all getting more comfortable with the water and although they have to repeat the same level I am confident they will be able to move up to the next level by the Holidays.
Their teacher was so sweet today when she came up to me and told me that the class she taught with our kids was her favorite of all her classes. She said she just loved teaching the kids and she really looks forward to seeing them every week. That makes Jon and I feel great.

We are so happy that we have found a great swimming program for our kids. They will be pros by next summer.

Earthworms and Birds Feet

A few weeks ago we headed out to the pumpkin patch with our dear friends the Swanson's. It was a great time had by all and the best news is that we selected our pumpkins for Halloween that we will have the utmost fun decorating next weekend. When we got home from the pumpkin patch we threw some pizzas in the oven and headed out to the patio to hang out. The kids were all playing with their trikes and stuff. All of a sudden Ella came up to me and said "Look what I found Mommy" and then she threw her fist right into my face. It was an earthworm. I was not expecting that so I screamed and jumped. Of course this was not the right reaction to have and everyone was laughing at me.

So the other night when I was checking my email, Ella walked in and said look what daddy just gave me as she shoved a Pheasants Foot into my face. Again, I screamed and jumped and I could hear Daddy laughing all the way from the kitchen. He had just returned from his annual hunting trip and he was cleaning up the birds. I could not believe that he let the kids have some of the feet. I was really grossed out but they LOVED it. Of course, I made them wash their hands a few times when they were done playing with the bird feet!

Now I just need to learn to be cautious when Ella walks in and says something like "Mommy look what I found".

Ella's Prayers

My sweet baby girl Ella said some amazing prayers the other night.

"Dear God, Please pray for the baby that is in my mommy's Tummy!"

You can imagine my surprise when I heard her say this and then I asked her "What did you just say?" She just smiled at me. As far as I know there is no "baby" in my tummy! Now if she knows something I don't that would be a different story.

She then said, "Please let my sister Aimee be good tonight, God, so we can fall asleep together"

Normally, if the girls are mis-behaving at bed time, one of them gets removed from the room so they will fall asleep. Apparently, Ella just assumes that it is Aimee fooling around...it couldn't be her!

Better Together

Gymnastics

We started Gymnastics last month and the kids LOVE it. They really like their Teacher, Ms. Ann, a lot and I think KJ has a crush on her. He likes to talk about Ms. Ann a lot.

We are in Gymnastics with the Boland triplets. It works out perfect because there are only 6 kids in the class so we fill the class up with our two sets of triplets. The kids have been the best of friends since they were 12 months old so they are really good about taking turns and being nice to each other.

Ms. Ann was surprised at how good the kids were to each other considering the sibling issues she was dealing with. The kids are really doing good with the gymnastics too. They have come a long way in just the 4 weeks we have been taking classes. I have decided today that we are going to sign up again for next session when this one ends.

Mommy Kate and I are surprised at how well Ms. Ann handles the kids. She manages to keep them all under control and focused which is amazing! We are so blessed to have found such an awesome teacher. She is really good with the kids and the kids like her. It is a win win situation.