Our Anniversary

Twelve years ago I...

married this man.
Almost 21 years ago, we met in a car ride home from college for Thanksgiving. I never could have imagined on that day what a wonderful life I would have with the guy sitting in the front seat of Rusty’s car. Underneath his big burly exterior, he was intriguingly funny, kind, polite, smart, talkative…and handsome.

In fact, I could have never dreamed of being loved so deeply by anyone. Period. I am blessed to be married to the most excellent man I could ever imagine.
What a fantastic ride it's been!

Foreign money

The children found a bag filled with foreign money. It was my brother Mike's bag of money from the countries he visited. What fun our kids had examining it, discovering what countries the coins and bills were from, sorting it all out, trying to figure its worth, weighing the coins, and imagining all of his travels.
There's money from England, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Netherlands, France, Italy, Mexico, and Canada. There's even a U.S.A. penny from 1916. Cool! (It's also the time period we're currently studying!)
Their comments as they went through the money:

"He has a very interesting collection of money. The only other coins that I've seen with printing on the edges, like his coins from Greece, France and Germany, are my U.S.A. Presidential $1 coins that I've gotten from the tooth fairy!"
--Mikey

"I wonder if he ever knew how much all this money was worth."
--Kathleen

"I've never seen anything like this!"
--Mary Kate

"How did he even get all of this money going to all the different places?"
--Jimmer
Thanks, Big Brother! I hope you can see how much your nieces and nephews you never met are enjoying your collection!

Straight from Jimmer's mouth

Jimmer's explanation:

"I was walking around the kitchen with my icy in my mouth. Suddenly I bent over and hit my icy on Mikey's bottom, and then my tooth shot out like a rocket."

Jimmer's first tooth came out after Mary Kate's foot somehow knocked it out (I still don't know how that all happened). Mikey helped his 2nd one come out. When I brought this to Jimmer's attention, he said:

"Yeah, Kathleen might knock out the next one with her head!"

Here's his new look...although his face is a bit distorted in this picture.See Mikey in the background with his green icy?

Plans for the future

Mikey woke up pretty excited this morning. I could tell right then that he had been awake for some time with his gears turning, as usual. Mikey (a.k.a. Filibuster Boy) started off the conversation:

Mikey: "I know what I want to have when I grow up, and I've also figured out how much it will cost."

Mom: "What do you want?"

Mikey: "I want two vehicles: a Jeep Wrangler and a pick up. I'd also like a kayak, a bicycle, and a pick-up camper. The way I figure it, it should cost me about $28,000 if I get some things used."

Mom: "Are you planning on having a family?"

Mikey: "Yes, I'll have two children so we can all ride in the Jeep."

Mom: "Do you think your wife will want all those things?"

Mikey: (pause) "I guess I'll have to find a wife who likes to go camping."

Two fuzzy Franks

The girls dove into our bag of felt and fleece, got their needles and thread, and came up with these kind-of-scary, kind-of-silly Frankensteins.They thought they'd add to their other homemade decorations around the house.

A cure for your nature deficit disorder

The National Wildlife Federation is hosting the first 'Make Tracks' A Family Trail Weekend this weekend--October 11-13. The purpose is to get you and your kids outside to rediscover nature.

Are you planning to get outside this weekend? Get out and enjoy the fall weather and the beautiful changes it brings! Look at some trees, some birds. Check out the flowers, the insects. Pitch a tent in your back yard!

Fall--nature in our yard

Oooh, it feels good to get outside when the temperature is nice and cooooooool. Inhale....fresh....air! We have a few fun things growing around our house right now. These little mums are such loyal volunteers. To think, I snatched them out of our neighbor's garbage because I felt sorry for them. I planted them near our front door, and they now show their appreciation by blooming twice a year.Our pecan tree has limbs that get heavy this time of year with the weight of all the pecans.


That is, until Mr. Nut Nut takes them and buries them around our yard.
Our kids like to get them when the husks get dark brown and start to open so the pecan falls out easily. Here's last year's stash.
We also have this delicate...
beautiful...
...behemoth bougainvillea.
We cut this thing down to the ground every spring, and would you just look at the huge limb (it's not even the main stalk) that just poked out of the lattice?This baby is bigger around than my chubby fingers. And check out those not-to-be-ignored thorns my husband has to tackle every year when he cuts it all back!When they're fully grown and dried out from the winter, they'll tear right through the toughest construction jackets. (Joe can tell you all about it!)

While we were outside enjoying the nice weather, our kids did a nature study on...whatever they could find that tickled their fancy. Mikey caught this grasshopper.The other kids watched and drew Nut Nut, the squirrel, getting busy on our pecan tree.