This is the house that Alex built.

The amazing uncle Alex came to visit.   We had a great time with him one of the highlights was the gingerbread house.  It was our most organized and tidy house ever.  I think that the roof is tiled with 6 rolls of necco candies.  

Sydney Mozzarella Maker

Sydney is doing a science project that involves making cheese.  Three trials involving 3 gallons of milk each time.  It is a lot of cheese, and a lot of dirty dishes.  Luckily it is good cheese.  She is getting really good at it.

Dobson Band Concert

Here is a link to the most recent band concert that Christian and Truman are in.
http://www.edtv99.org/video/10232/?ref=email-link

Abby Turns 12!

For Abby's 12th birthday she really wanted to do some service at an animal shelter.  We couldn't find one that would let kids under the age of 14 help.  She settled for a tour.  The shelter was pretty nice. The girls had a fun time.  Abby is passionate about panda bears.  Her friends know her well and she received a multitude of panda paraphernalia.  She liked this pink shirt that says "If you are happy and you know it... SLAP YOUR FRIEND"  Unfortunately, this is an accurate reflection of her personality.  She also loves the panda hat and the kids have spent many hours trying to steal her hat eliciting a violent response.

Is anybody listening?

Whenever we leave the house we send someone around to make sure all the lights are off.  My kids tease me because I am a "compulsive light turner off-er".  I dream about putting a motion sensing light fixture in the girl's closet.  I personally think I am a bit of a nag about light turning-off.

This morning at breakfast, there was some conversation between the kids about leaving the lights on all the time.  I think it had to do with the Christmas lights.  I said something about being being more worried about the inside lights being left on all the time.  The kids went silent and looked at me in amazement.  Truman said "Is a big deal?  Would you like us to turn off our bedroom light when we leave?"  I wasn't sure if he was teasing, but everyone was waiting for my answer.  I said it would be great.  They all nodded sincerely, and agreed "Sure, we can do that."

When they left for school all the lights were off.

Maybe I haven't been speaking english for the last 16 years.

Turkey Feast

Our turkey weighed 21 lbs before stuffing and cooking.  We still have lots left, but we ate more than 21 lbs of dinner.
Here is how much dinner we each ate:
Kenneth 3.6lbs
Megan 1.6lbs
Christian 3.4lbs
Truman 7.4lbs (adjusted to 3lbs after he removed the weights from his pockets!)
Sydney 1.2lbs
Abby 2.4lbs
Rebekah 1.6lbs
Nate 2.0lbs
Hazel 1.2lbs

Grand Total 20 lbs!

Thank you Hazel for making the Turkey napkin holders!

"Can you help me make the marimba seem natural in my living room?"

I had a very nice friend come over to help me figure out what to do with my living room.  I had two BIG problems: 1. too many books  2. the marimba.

My friend was really helpful and I think that the results are favorable.  There is still a bit of work to do, like make different curtains, recover the wingback chair, and hang the artwork back up.

I refinished the entertainment center.  Kenneth built me some new bookcases.  I painted the walls a color called "Shagreen".  I really like the darker wood with the green walls.  Rebekah tells me that it is very "soothing".  I also got rid of a couple pieces of superfluous furniture.

Before

 After

Before

 After

Before

After

Abby Strikes Again

More funny writing by Abby:

This is a piece of paper I found on a clip board.  Abby and Rebekah had been out and about interrogating their siblings about the pile of leaves that had bee spread across the yard. (Yes our leaves are starting to fall)  It appears that the inquisition was conclusive. Truman and Hazel are guilty of leaf spreading.

There is a little space in our rearranged living room where I often find little clusters of rubber animals.  I was informed that this area is protected and I must not vacuum up the inhabitants.  This is who is living in our Nature Corner today.

Then I found this notice posted in the hall.  I am not positive but I thought I heard a moth bumping at the front window...

Rebekah Turns 10

 Kenneth braided Rebekah's hair the night before her birthday and he did it so tight that they went Pipi Longstocking on him.

 Hazel gave her some little pink bunnies...

 Abby mader her an apron.

 Nate and Syd gave her some beads.

 Hugs from big brother.

 The crew!

 The Bigger Brother.

I always wear my shinguards to a party! 

Birthday  Spankings.

Chocolate cake and peppermint ice cream.

You Know you need a hair cut when...

All our boys need hair cuts a lot.  I think that boy hair is actually more trouble than girl hair!  Truman was the photographer and so we don't have a pic of him, and Kenneth had his hair cut after Truman went to bed, so no pic of Kenneth.  Truman and Nate combined their pile of hair and challenged Christian to try to have more hair than them.  Somehow Nate and Truman's pile took on the shape of a small dog!  Christian's hair cut produced a pile only a little smaller than The other two boys combined.

It's a bird! It's a Plane!

No!  It's TUBAMAN!

Our friend called and said that Truman would probably want to come see what she had at her house, it involved Tubas.  This is a "costume" called Tubaman.  It is made from Sousaphone bells and bungee cords.  Weird but cool in a tuba player sort of way.  Truman did indeed want to see it and try it on.  Syd went to take pictures of the occasion (and outfit).  Truman said it wasn't very comfortable.

Real Life Returns

Saturday found us watching the State Marching Band Finals.  Dobson looked great.  We really enjoyed watching all the shows one last time.  I love seeing a show at the beginning of the season and then again at the end.  These kids work so hard and it is great to see the improvement over the season. Nate and Hazel are seasoned judges by now, however they are a bit tired of the performances so Kenneth brought Uno cards and they played between performances.  The rule was that as soon as the announcer said "you may take the field" they had to put the cards down.

Veteran's Day Parade

 We went to the parade for two reasons. 1.I love parades. 2.My boys were in it.

The new uniforms look sharp!

 Here is Truman in his Sousaphone. (He is the one on the right.)  "What would Sousa do?"

 Christian, feeling the pain of being in pit, walked along behind.  He is the one right in the middle with a little of the blue streamer in front of him.

 I like the bagpipe players.  I asked Abby if she would still love me if I played the bagpipes.  She said yes.  I think that maybe if she weren't my oboe learning daughter, she might not think bagpipes seem sane.

This little dog was the other highlight of the parade. The dog looked away but it is wearing pink goggles.  Too funny!