Geiko Poster Contest

This is Daphne's Geiko poster for a contest. I thought it was quite clever. Especially with the egg in the car seat. That cracked me up. HaHa. It is a contest to promote seatbelt safety.

Toby

Daphne took this picture of Toby because he was nestled among the folded clean clothes while she was practicing her violin. He always has this look on his face. What does it mean? I wish I knew. Atleast sometimes. Sometimes he looks at us like we are all dumb or something. Like he knows something we don't. So what does he know? Why does he look at us like this? We will never know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, Thanksgiving already. Actually, we have thanksgiving every day. We are thankful to have a roof over our head, food on the table, a job to go to every day(atleast for this week) and a God that loves us no matter what. Who watches over us and protects us from harm. We are very Thankful to have Jesus in our hearts. So we hope you all will find Thanksgiving every day. Just not with all the turkey and fixings. I don't think anyone could eat like that every day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Snakey

Our friends got a corn snake. It has to be the prettiest snake that I have ever seen. She doesn't have a confirmed name yet. I think Snakey fits for now. I guess she only eats once a week therefore pooping once a week. You know, that could be a good pet to have. But only if it is in a secure enclosure. I don't think I would want it slithering around loose in the dark.

Phoenix Children's Museum

Hangin' out with friends in the Noodle Forrest. I think the Mom's had just as much fun making their way through the Noodles as the kids. It was a little difficult keeping an eye on Victoria. "May I take your order?...Would you like Chocolate or Vanilla? Or maybe purple...or green?"

Yum...look at those toppings....
Great, now I have to figure out how to rotate the picture. I don't see a rotate button. I know...that's a job for KIRK! These were pretty cool. The kids really enjoyed this part. They would get themselves into a jam and have to figure out how to maneuver out of it. Jared checked out the design and was thinking that he and his Dad could make one. Everyone in our family has big ideas.

Book Review by Kaleb

I read "The Original Adventures of Hank the Cow dog", by John R. Erickson. Hank, the main character in the story, is a working dog on a cattle ranch in the desert. Hank's job is to keep the cows in line and protect the ranch. The main problem in the story is something is attacking the chickens during the night and Hank gets blamed for it. Hank doesn't feel good about himself so he leaves the ranch and joins up with some coyotes. He meets a girl coyote named "Girl that drinks blood", but decides to call her Missy Coyote. Hank discovers that coyotes are worthless. They eat aged mutton, they're lazy and sing dumb songs. Hank also discovers that they are eating the chickens on the ranch that he is supposed to be protecting.
In the end, Hank becomes the hero by alerting the ranch owner of the ongoing attack and chases the coyotes off the ranch.
In the story Hank is proud to be a cow dog. Hank feels that working dogs are better than other dogs because are "sissies". One part of the story is funny when Hank and another working dog Drover ride into town in the back of the pickup truck and meet a boxer chained in the back of a truck. The boxer thinks he is tougher than Hank and Drover. So they jump out of the truck and pee on the boxers truck tires, then jump back in their truck and lay down and act like nothing happened. The boxer is barking so loud his owner comes out to yell "bad dog" at him and that he should be like Hank and Drover being good in their truck.
I think everybody should read this book in the whole wide world. It is a crazy, funny book to read.

Owl Babies

Victoria became interested in Owl's one day. We saw this cute craft that my friend Kelly did with her daughter. So we read the book Owl Babies by...I don't remember and created these adorable poofy owls. They are cute. Each one has a character of its own. Kaleb always likes to get in on whatever art project Victoria is doing. A true crafter at heart. While they created Kaleb told her everything he knows about Owl's. I barely had to add any information he knew so much. I provided the pictures.

Book Review by Jared H.

The book "Hitch" by Jeanette Ingold is a story about a boy becoming a responsible young man during the Great Depression. The story begins when Moss Trawnly, while saving money for radio school, loses his job at the airport in Texas. During the same time, he discovers that his father, who had already abandoned his family, went missing in Montana. So he travels to Montana only to find his father, drunk, without work, and bitter to see his son. He leaves his Dad in search of work to help support his Mom and siblings back home in Illinois. He joined the Civilian Conservation Corp. where he finds himself a hot meal, a place to sleep, money sent home and friendship. But most of all he discoveres through various jobs assigned to him how to be a great leader and persevere through hard times. By the end of the story he was a junior leader and proved to himself that he was not like his father. He saw himself loyal and trustworthy to the CCC and to his family and friends.
My favorite part of the story was when the snow was so high it blocked the roads. The CCC had the only snow plow for the town. The senior officer who could authorize the use of the snow plow was away from the camp at the time. A man from town hiked miles to the CCC camp outside of town to ask for the use of the snow plow to open the roads so the farmers could reach their cows to feed them. The other junior leader said "no" but Moss and a fellow worker took the responsibility and helped the farmers reach their cows. The senior officers returned and congratulated Moss for being responsible and letting the town know that the CCC was there to help. The other junior leader had tried to claim Moss was guilty of using the vehicle without permission hoping the senior officer would see him a better leader than Moss. This was not found to be true.
I think this is a good book to read because it has a life lesson with a good main character. It also tells a little about what the Conservation Corp did during a time when people needed jobs.

Sarah's Special Day

Today, November 13th, is our sweet baby girl's "Born into Heaven" day. 5 years ago today Sarah Dawn had exited this world before ever entering it. How lucky she is to be able to walk the streets of Heaven with our Creator. In the beginning I thought the emptiness and pain would never subside. But you know, when you get up every day, it eventually gets easier. The memory of her sweet little body and tiny fingers and toes can still bring tears to my eyes. I believe it always will. I will never forget her and how she has changed our family. It has taken many years to see the "blessings". I never got to kiss her sleepy head. There were never any of those firsts. First word, first pony tails, first time crawling...walking. Never hearing her say "Mama". No potty training, no learning to read, no learning to ride a bike. I guess I will have to be patient and wait for the eternal life that is promised to us to see and meet her once again. In the meantime I will carry her in my heart. Mommy loves you Sarah.

Madame Butterfly

Daphne is the tallest Asian beauty we have ever seen, stunning with her long red braid. It would be a long bend in those rice fields if she was a farmer. I am pleased that she still likes to partake with dressing up. It's fun.

Daniel Boone...Davey Crockett...

Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, take your pick. This is Jared. He would have loved living in this time period. He enjoys dressing in appropriate period clothing. A true Historian at heart. He's our History Buff!

Rodeo Clown

Kaleb always looks great in his costume. He loves to dress up but then feels way out of his comfort zone out in the world dressed in his creation. I admire his courage. This costume came about during the summer when he was supposed to be helping fold a mountain of clothes. I guess he came across a pair of his Daddy's pants and couldn't resist. Kaleb is a goof at heart.

Cutie Patootie

Victoria really is a cupcake with a cherry on top!
I'm not sure what was more funny. Victoria trying to sit or Hannah cracking up at her.

Pumpkin Guts

Gettin down and dirty with slimey, gooey, pumpkin guts!

Wednesday Night Drama

Wednesday afternoons Kaleb attends the Arts program at our new church and Daphne volunteers her time helping. Victoria, Jared and I spend a couple hours at home making something creative for dinner the three of us. It is so quiet when it is just us 3. It is amazeing. Well, I dropped off the two and was in the parking lot talking to my friend Kelly when somehow Victoria locked the keys in the van! AARGH! Kelly and I were just commenting on how different Victoria is from the other 3 and that yes, we have our hands full! Well, there is the proof! Kirk had to deliver the only other key we have. It disrupted our whole evening but we still got our "Mummy" dogs wrapped and popped in the oven when we got home. And I was still smiling. A little forced. But smiling. All in a days work.

AHHH, the Heat of Autumn

You know, we still have a hard time getting used to the fact that when you live in Arizona, Fall doesn't necessarily mean it will be cooler. There are no Fall color changes. At least not in Phoenix. I have yet to see a squirrel storing up nuts for that long winter. It really just means that you can open the doors and windows (in the morning and late evenings) and not have to shout..."close the door, the AC is on!" We are having record high temps right now. In the 90's! So I guess we will be enjoying shorts and t-shirts a bit longer. And yes, the AC is still on at times. And in a couple months we will be battling with the shoe issue. Every year we spend a good month convincing the youngest of the family (whoever that may be at the time) that you do have to wear shoes to go out to play. By the time the shoe issue is over, it doesn't matter because it has warmed up again and time for summer.