Hello Home.

Just as I suspected, the funeral was amazing!

I'm so glad I got to go. 

I have a few pictures I'll try and post from the snowy trip.

The roads were crazy but it was so worthwhile.

Meanwhile, nothing's changed here at home.

Reese was in with Kean this morning and yelled out to us-- all excited:

"Guess what?!?!?  Kean just said the Pledge of Allegiance!"

Yes, a bit of a stretch for a boy who is still just babbling.

I think she's getting caught up in the excitement of his getting close to saying momma

 and even closer to crawling!

She came "dressed" for dinner the other night in this little get-up.

Of course, she announced, "don't I look just beautiful?"

Gotta love this girl!

Her Million Dollar Idea

If you are a regular reader of this blog,

you know the girls have been saving for Disneyland.

And you know that the fire burned up their money making enterprise--

 all the raspberries and blackberries.

They and we are hoping for a comeback crop this summer.

Meanwhile, they are trying to figure out ways to make up for the loss.

Here came Reese with the idea of the century.

Reese:  "Mom, I have the best idea."

Me:  "Okay, I'm ready, give it to me."

Reese:  "You know that game, Beenopolee (Monopoly), we can take all the money from it and put it in the Disneyland Fund.  Then we'll have enough!!!"

Oh, if only it were so easy.

I Couldn't Make This Stuff Up If I Tried....

Here in Boise, it is expected to be one of the coldest Thanksgivings ever.  Last night, the prelude to the really cold storm blew through.  I woke up to the sound of tiny pieces of ice hitting against our windows and doors.  Moments later, I heard Reese and Greer (who share a room) arguing.  Mind you, it was probably 2 or 3 in the morning.  Byron and I wondered out loud if they were talking in their sleep-- but what are the chances that both of them would be conversing rather loudly while still sleeping?
I dragged myself out of bed (I am waaayyy too old for this) and stumbled to their room.  Apparently, Reese had accused Greer of "tooting" loudly and that she needed to stop.
Greer protested back-- saying she wasn't, hadn't and didn't.
Then Reese asked rather crossly... "who's making all that noise then?"
Mystery solved-- it was the storm-- the ice and wind banging against the window.
If anyone should get yelled at-- it should be Mother Nature-- for tooting!

A World of Wonder

Reese bounced back to her fine form. Here's a snippet of tonight's conversation:
Reese: "How long will it take me to grow up?"
Me: "A long, long time."
Reese: "Oh, so about 8 days?"
Me: "No a lot longer than that."
Reese: "Oh, okay, about 16 days."

Reesey, by the way, had quite the exciting day at preschool. She has told just about everyone who will listen. They are studying the letter G. And today (Wednesdays are cooking days), they made gingerbread men. So while the "boys" were cooking, the kids had playtime. When they came in to get them out of the oven... oh no, guess what? The boys were gone. They had run away and left a note saying something about "catch me as fast as you can"! The note led them on a scavenger hunt from room to room, until they finally found their gingerbread men waiting for them to decorate them and then, dare I say... to eat them!
She has spent much of the evening trying to figure out how they got themselves out of the oven.
Don't ya just love how gullible and innocent and full of wonder little kids are?

Tastes Like Chicken

We've had a little issue with Reese of late... we can't get her to stop talking. She talked nearly non stop on our trip to Montana-- let me repeat that for you-- non stop! And remember, we were in the car 10 hours each way and we made the trip twice. That's a lot of talking!

At dinner each night, we have to tell her to stop talking and start eating. Oh, we are so open for suggestions.

Last night, Byron took her for a little ride. Somehow, they started talking about our old pet goose (click here for a refresher).

http://reincarnatedasamother.blogspot.com/2008/12/old-macbarker-had-farm.html

Reese wanted to know why someone would shoot a little goose. So Byron explained all about the sport of hunting and then eating the meat.

She next wanted to know if people eat people.

(Where does she get this stuff???)

After Byron told her "not really"... she wanted to know if people hunt and eat Grizzly Bears.

He said people don't really hunt Grizzlies to eat their meat.

Here's her response.

"I think they should. Grizzly Bears: mmmmm, tasty!"

Another Death

As we prepare for Byron's father's funeral, we had a little impromptu one this evening at our home... for "Popcorn". That's Greer's goldfish.
Holland played a somber number on her school recorder as we all gathered around the toilet.
Greer said a few words before she broke down in tears. So each of us took over and talked about what a pretty fish she was. Holland mentioned she was great in that she never bit her when she was trying to clean her bowl. And Byron, by the way, said she was the prettiest orange he'd ever seen.
Ah, the painful lessons of life.

Meanwhile, another Reesey moment to share with you--- at lunch she informed me she wants to say all the prayers at every meal. Why, you may wonder? Well, she said, "I get really really hungry and if I say them, I can say them really, really fast."
Hey, at least the kid is honest!

A Learning Machine

Well, Reese's teacher survived the first week of preschool. And so far, so good. Reese seems to love it. My favorite part is that on Wednesday they do "cooking school". This first week they made Rice Krispy treats.

On the way home from school, I asked Reesey what she learned that day. And here are her answers-- unedited.

"When we cook, we're not allowed to pick our nose."

"When we have to cough, we do it into our chicken wing."

And finally, when I asked her about cooking her Rice Krispy treats--- if she got to help, she said yes, "and we didn't get burned"!

So I'm thrilled we are truly getting our money's worth-- Reese is learning all kinds of life lessons, wouldn't you agree?

School's Out for Summer!

Remember that song? It's been going through my head all day. The whirlwind is winding down. Greer had a carnival and Holland had a poetry program yesterday. They both came home with a mountain of paper and school supplies. I need another house just to house the stuff. Yikes.
We went swimming and had a BBQ at Grandpa Bodily's with his grandkids to celebrate the end.
Reese was thrilled to "kick and paddle".
By the way, she asked me the other day if talking was "really good exercise"?
I started to say no, not really, when she jumped in to say:
"Oh, I know, what about biting. Is biting good exercise for your mouth?"
What do you say to this kid?
She's always wondering about something crazy.