Scott Eats Fair Food

Chowing down on a french fry.

Trying the koolaid pickle...

and taking a BIG drink, trying to wash the taste away.

Don't know what he was trying here, but the face was cute.

Still more Fair Food

Here we are, sampling the fried pineapple upside down cake. It was ranked in the top ten of fair foods this year, and was our hands-down favorite. YUM!

Addie goes to town on an ice cream bar

But still her favorite is a lemon. She just loves to suck a lemon. Funny girl!

Scotty about to dive in with us on the fried bubblegum. The winner of the Big Tex Award for most inventive this year. Greg didn't care for it, but the rest of us loved it! Really, it's a bubblegum flavored marshmallow, deep fried of course, and topped with icing and chicklets.

Leaves, an excuse for a man toy

The home where we're currently living happens to have a lot of oak trees on the property. A lot. And with a lot of oak trees, come a lot of leaves. Since Greg and I have been apartment dwellers for all ten years of our marriage now, we have felt a little deprived from yard work, so we look at this as our chance to get outside and make up for lost time.

We have done a good portion of leaf raking by hand, but Greg had his eye on Randy's manly Cyclone Rake, and last Saturday he finally got to use it.

This beast of a machine sucks up the leaves like a vacuum and deposits them into trash bags which are set up on the cart you pull behind the thing. I will agree, it is pretty cool.

Greg had a great time using it, and spent about 3 hours going after the leaves. We filled about 27 bags. That's a lot of leaves!

Playing Around

A few shots of the kids at play recently...

Addie playing dress-up, and I took a picture because the two of them climbed into the chair together and were just so cute sitting there!

Also, this was a good day because I realized her hair has finally grown out long enough for pigtails. Hooray!

Addie in her bible costume we made for school. This year in school we'll be learning about the Old Testament, and now she'll have a costume for acting out stories. We had so much fun going to the fabric store together to pick out the fabric, and it was a snap to make- no sew! She loved putting it on, and we pretended she was "Lydia, a seller of purple cloth." So when Dad and the Busters came home from work that night, she met them at the door and offered cloth for sale. So cute!

And as usual, Scotty really wanted his picture taken too.

Trampoline!

We ventured into the Buster's backyard the other night, and decided to clear the leaves off the trampoline and take a look at it. We expected to see that the springs or mat were shot, but instead we found it in great condition! So up went the kids, despite the thick layer of dirt on there, and they had a blast.

Two kids, four adults surrounding the thing to make sure they don't bounce off. :)

Scotty having a great time, and all dirty. And yes, he does look older all of a sudden.

Addie being goofy while Scotty tries to brush the dirt off his hands in the background (he doesn't like being dirty usually).

Greg playing popcorn with the kids. It wasn't hard to "pop" the corn!

Playing in the Rain

Within the first few weeks of moving into the Buster's house, we had a great big rain that was just perfect for playing in. During dinner it just started pouring, and we couldn't resist going out to play.

Believe it or not, this was the first time our kids have gone out to play in the rain. All these years we've lived in apartments, and there was never a good place for it. We are thankful for this quite little cul-de-sac with great puddles to enjoy, and for Texas rain, which comes down in force, while it is still warm outside.

Greg in his work clothes, and Pam and Randy, stayed on the porch while the kids and I jumped and ran and laughed so hard! What fun!

First Day of School

In the midst of all the moving madness, we still had to start school. So with moving boxes piled behind us, we started into the grand adventure that is First Grade.

Addie is such a unique kid! She's a tiny little thing- about the size of a four-year-old, but going through the first grade. We had started Addie into Kindergarten material last year because she seemed more than ready for it, even though she was a little young. We weren't sure how she would do, but she took to school like a fish to water and sailed through Kindergarten. We are so thankful that the Lord has given her a sharp mind for academics, and we want to give her the opportunity to keep going, so into first grade we went, though she is now a year ahead of the other kids her age. We're thankful for the chance to homeschool, since this way she can stay challenged.

Here she is, first day of school picture.

And of course little brother wants his picture taken too. Notice his "wowo" in his hand, which is never far from him.

Moving

Yes, we moved again! That is the main reason why this blog is so terribly un-kept!

You would think that this move, being in-town, compared to the last move, half-way across the country, would have been easier, but instead it was just as crazy, if not worse! After a year in our apartment, we decided to pursue renting a duplex. We were looking forward to the kids having a yard to play in, and living in a neighborhood instead of a complex. We gave notice, got packed, found a rental, moved some of our stuff in, then a few days before the big move-in, it all fell apart. It's a long story, but sufficed to say, the Lord made it very clear it was not a place we should move into.

So our very good friends Randy & Pam Buster insisted we move in with them instead. They have plenty of space to share, and guest quarters with a lot of privacy, plus we REALLY like them, so we happily accepted their generous offer. Within a matter of days we had to get moved out of our apartment, get our things out of the duplex, get everything to the Buster's house, or to storage, or re-packed so it could go to storage... it was pretty nuts. But thanks to an amazing church family, and the grace of God, it all got done.

Here's Randy Buster, moving some of our stuff (and actually giving me sass about having his picture taken, I believe).

Greg and Randy Zeller working hard.

And a shot of the kids about their business in their new home (even if it is temporary, it is home). Their room is the size of a "bonus room," so it is used for sleeping, playing, and school. Addie is doing school at the table while Scotty plays with Little People.

A nice shot of Pam Buster reading to the kids in the apartment, a few days before we moved into their home!

Scott Turns Two

Scotty's birthday fell on a Thursday night, which is when we get together with our small group. Since the kids in small group are some of his closest friends anyway, a birthday party seemed a little redundant. So we brought cake to small group, and celebrated there! Incidentally, our little friend James shares a birthday with Scott, so we got two for the price of one.

Two-Year-Old phtoto shoot

Here he is, the big two-year-old.

This is his "smiley face"

And more cuteness.

The Ark

To escape the July heat, a few friends from church and their broods met up at "The Ark" one day. It's a great indoor playground at a local church. We had a great time!

Here's part of the indoor play structure for big kids. Their's a play area for the little kids too.

Nickie Ralston and Shaleah Channell, who are both in our small group.

Addie with Jamie Buster. You can tell how Addie feels about her.

Sliding

Addie coming down the giant slide....

tada!

Scotty goes down one a little better suited for his size.