My Park

Here are some pictures of me and the kids in my favorite place during my favorite time of year: "my park" during the fall in MN:

Kaylee almost made it the whole way around the lake...

Spontaneous Trip to MN

Alright. Here's the thing. I have a tendancy to post pictures from these trips chronologically and say a little blurb about each one. I'm sure there's a much more creative way to do things. After all, less is more (so they say). But remember, not only am I sharing this with family and friends far and wide, this is my only form of journaling or scrapbooking. So here goes.

I found out that I had a week off of doing daycare so I decided to check into a trip home to MN. It was the end of October and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it home over the holidays, so I thought this would be the next best thing - Autumn in MN - is there any place better?!

We arrived on Saturday, Oct 31st. The kids did GREAT on the plane, despite the fact that the DVD player only worked for an hour on a 3 hour flight! The next day we went to "my park" to hike around the lake and play at the playground.

Later, Heather treated Kaylee to a fun project called "cookie painting". It was a fun and delicious idea! Here's Hudson flashing his irresistable smile!

Another day Taylor came with me and the kids to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. What an amazing place! We could spend an entire day there and not see half of it! So many fun things for the kids to do.

I loved that I didn't have to worry about the kids getting into anything they shouldn't. Nothing is off limits there. Everything is very hands-on!

My favorite shot of the day:

This was a neat room for the toddlers. An enclosed place to climb, slide, run, bounce, build, and just go crazy in general. Even Taylor had fun in this room! This is the widest shot I got of the room.

Hudson loves to push things. He was inseperable from this cart (until he turned his back for a moment and a bigger kid whisked it away).

Look out!!! Baby driving a bus!

The water play area was by far the biggest hit. Kaylee loved sending the boats down this slide. Hudson just enjoyed playing in the water.

Hudson pushed Kaylee all the way from the museum, back to the parking ramp!

Off for a walk to the park!

You saw this already, but it deserves some explanation. This is us at the "red park". One that we frequented a lot during our visit. There is also the yellow, blue, and brown park. It seems every playground in MN has its own color scheme.

Hudson also likes to climb into things as you can see: and here:

Had to throw this picture of grandma in. Isn't she beautiful?!!

I think Hudson wants to STOP!!!

He's double fistin it - milk and juice:

This is cute...

This cardboard box ended up being the most loved and used toy during our trip. I don't know that the kids played with any toys at my sister's house. Mostly they took turns playing in the box!

"LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

See ya later!! :-)

Christmas Lights

Just thought I'd share some pictures I snapped tonight as Hudson and I were playing out in our dust of snow. It was snowing a lot harder in Lynden when we were at church this morning. Kaylee and Hudson had a great time playing on the church lawn in the snow. This is the first time Kaylee enjoyed the snow instead of being freaked out by the white stuff sticking to her shoes. Hudson was delighted with the snow and seemed to have no fear.


Anyway here's the front of our house...
Our lovely wreath...

And our "red, white, and blue" Christmas tree...

We usually have white lights on the tree. Last year we thought we'd try blue. It was a little to "dark" for my taste. So this year we decided to put them both on. With the red bows and many red ornaments, it turned out to be a very patriotic tree! I love it.

Oh, and one more picture of my manly little man on his big sister's tricycle. Real men ride pink!

p.s. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just got pictures from my spontaneous trip to MN in early November and I also will be posting from our recent trip to the WA/OR coast. So stay tuned!

Reading Between the Sniffs

Sorry I haven't update in a while. I took a very impromptu trip to MN with the kids to visit my side of the family. The kids did very well on the flight despite the fact that the battery in the mini DVD player only lasted an hour of the 3 1/2 hour flight!

I relied mostly on my mother's camera while there, so when I get the pictures from her I will be sure to make a post about the trip.

In the meantime I have a few things to record about the kids:

Kaylee has been perfecting her pout. When she's fake-crying about something I can always tell because it goes "whiiiiiiiiiine, sniff sniff". Ever since I started noticing the little "sniff sniff" at the end of whatever she's whining about I've had much easier time dealing with it. I have to hold back a laugh everytime I hear it. It sure helps to keep me positive when otherwise I would be pulling my hair out!

If there was an Olympic sport for trying on different outfits, Kaylee would surely take home the gold. She's been very into dressing herself for a while now. When we returned from our trip to MN she immediately set to work reaquainting herself with all the clothes we left behind in her closet!

Kaylee often asks me whether or not something makes Jesus sad. I guess in the past I tried to tell her about lying, pushing, and other such things can make Jesus sad. Now she asks things like if the water that Hudson spilled makes Jesus sad. I say "Well, no...that was an accident." So she says "It makes Jesus happy?" So in Kaylee's mind it's either one or the other. Apparantly, Jesus is not ambivalent about spilled water!

Hudson has been such a cutie lately. He's learning some signs and also speaking some new words. He can sign "milk", "bath", "more", and "please" and he says "nana" (banana), "peas" (please), "no", "up", "mama", "daddy", and "yeah".

He reminds me of Linus the way he likes to carry his blankie around. He mashes it in his hands, while it drags between his legs as he walks. Other times it goes around his neck. Still other times he tries draping it over his head. It's fun to watch him run around and bump into things! But it always must come with him when he gets up from bed. A simple man with simple needs - gotta love it!

Hudson has been gearing up for his terrible two's - which for Kaylee as well as it seems Hudson, seems to come early! He has been seen stomping his little feet here and there. Kaylee did that too and I can't help but think it's the cutest thing! Hudson's trademark move however is to sit down and throw himself backwards wherever he happens to be. Quite often he knocks his head on something. If I'm nearby I like to help slow his dissent and I don't know, but I'm sure he appreciates it. Last night Hudson was saying "up" to me and I was trying to train him to say "please, up". I think it upset him. Although he didn't cry, he immediately sat down and very, very slowly laid down, with a very serious expression the whole time. That got a good laugh out of me, but he didn't see the humor in it.

Living in the Moment

It comes so naturally to children...

...and it's something I am learning from them.

In moments like these, I tend to live behind the camera...in the after-moment.

But these kids aren't smiling at the camera...

...they're smiling at me.

They can't be bothered with lighting, poses, or composition.

They don't feel they must rely on photographs to remember the fun they're having.

They just live in the moment....and that's where I want to live too!

Please Pray for Little Olive

I have some missionary friends who are living in the rural areas of northern Thailand. Their daughter was born prematurely and is fighting for life as their parents are seeking the best care they can get for her amidst many obstacles.

You can read up on their situation at their blog site: http://www.rustylynette.blogspot.com/

They have some specific questions and needs that maybe someone who reads this might be able to answer. Otherwise they can use as many prayers as they can get! Thank you!!

Good Morning!

What a lovely, frosty beginning to this wonderful day of rest. See the ducks? You probrably have to click on the picture and enlarge it to see them. Someone needs to tell them they're going the wrong way!

I hope that whichever way you're going, you have a great day today!

Fall Cleanup

We're having a nice sunny Saturday out here in WA state. Every year Kaylee likes to help me rake up the leaves. Traditionally, we get a wind storm the night after so the next day we can pretend all that hard work never happened! Our neighbors have come to use us as a weather indicator.

Kaylee's strategy is to scatter all the leaves I painstakingly gathered into piles.
I wondered if Hudson would help out. He usually likes helping me, but today he was too busy to even stop for a picture. This is typical Hudson when he gets outdoors. He's just go, go, go!
Thanks for getting that one leaf!

Cute, huh?

Then we decided to plant some bulbs for next spring. Every year I plan to do it. This was the first time I actually did (Yeah, for me!) Notice Kaylee has a new leaf in her hair!

Lets hope they grow well. I just LOVE hyacinths!

We also planted tulips, daffodils and crocuses... crocai??

And here's a treat... my little man stopped for just moment to wish you all a happy fall! (sorry, I just feel like rhyming today)

His collars go up on their own. He's just that cool!