RESULTS ARE IN!

Titus is happy to share that most people like Fall and Chocolate Ice Cream.  Thank you so much for all who helped create his bar graph :).  He loved all the notes!

Briella is famous in Montrose, Pennsylvania!!  The funny part about the picture yesterday is that all the men in the car wash were looking out the window smiling as we took her picture :).  She's happy to have her picture up, although she's a bit shy about it.

Biography Dress Up Night

October 30, 2009

Well, here's your chance to play our Biograqhy Dress Up Night game!  We have created special videos for you so that you can hear our clues.  Send your guesses as a comment!  May the best and brightest win the ... um, well, maybe we'll find a prize for you somewhere!

 

(Marci)

  (extra clues from Marci)

 (Jared) 

 (Briella)

Need another clue from Briella?  Watch this:

and finally, from the little sick boy, Titus: 

APPLE CIDER DAY!

We had 2+ of these!  LOTS of apples :)And, these are our 10 diligent workers.  Well, most of them!Gotcha Joe!!!

I love these little men!  Just look at that hair and those adorable faces!

Back to the books tomorrow...

Friday's snow photos!  (for those of you enjoying your 60-degree temps!)

Hayride at the Lewis'

Afternoon photo shoot

My attempt at "school photos" (in order to save some moolah!)

Some pretty cute girls :) 

Friday we replaced our usual morning routine with an early departure for the Corning Glass Museum. Since it was a rainy day, we watched the first half of "The Sound of Music" during the 1.5 hour drive. We had two friends - Madeline and Bridget. A full car is the best way! Once at the museum we browsed the gift shop. The boys found this huge marble machine quite fascinating, so Titus wanted to spend his money on a marble right away! Our tour began at 10am. They divided us into groups by age and each tour guide did a great job relating the exotic glass creations to the kids. The hot glass show was the highlight, by far. After lunch we drove the Watkins Glen (20 minutes north). The outdoor hiking was my favorite part of the day. It was a longer drive home - just because it was. We made pizza and had dinner with the Ely kiddos and Madeline. A full table is always a great way to wrap up the week!

Braces & Birthday

Today was a full day -- the story most easily told with photos. So, I am eager to "show off" my beautiful kiddos! At 9pm last night I stood at the kitchen sink washing up the last of the dishes from making Coca-Cola Cake & cupcakes. I was so weary, yet a hopeful little girl wanted curls for her 8th birthday. I mustered up the energy, plugged in a movie and got busy putting in the sponge rollers. Today's smile was worth it -- most of the time! :) (you'll see what I mean!) Briella celebrated her 8th birthday today. Wow. Eight years ago I welcomed a tiny six-pound little bundle with a head full of black hair! This morning when I returned from my jog, she and Titus were very quietly playing chess in the playroom. Very adorable. After my shower Jared had joined them as well. By that time she and Titus were a team. I had to break up the game for breakfast.
At 10 am we headed to Scranton to get Marci's braces removed. Woo-hoo! Dr. Kerr and staff were wonderful, as usual. It was a fun experience and Briella got a poodle birthday balloon. Then we had lunch at the Steamtown Mall food court. We did this to fulfill the request of having pizza on her birthday! Marci & I had salads, so everyone was happy! By 2pm we were headed back to Montrose so Marci could make it for an afternoon of soccer against Elk Lake. Fortunately, we had canceled piano lessons for the day, so we had a two-hour reprieve at home. Titus had fallen asleep in the car, so he napped while I read history and art to B&J. When Titus woke up, we made cowboy cookies. We had a very healthy snack before heading to Elk Lake for the soccer game, which we watched from Herbie since it was spitting & WINDY. The boys' team lost, but the girls won 2-0! We piled in the car and scurried back to Montrose for clubs at church. I hustled home to pick up Emily for a dance meeting. At 8:30 everyone was home for opening some presents! Tomorrow I get to snuggle little Abbie at 6am, so I'm hoping to be in bed by 10. Goodnight all!

This afternoon was the beginning of dance lessons for Briella and Emily. So, I took the boys on a "date" to ride bikes at the park. Titus finally mastered the 2-wheeler! What a lovely, sunny afternoon. (too cool, but still lovely!) Marci has been busy with soccer games. She was an awesome sweeper in Wednesday's game against Mtn View. I almost cried cheering for her! It was a tie game in the end.

Blogging is therapeutic for me. It reminds me how much I love my children. It's a quick substitute for scrapbooking ... which I really, really miss. But, at least family can see what's happening this way :)

The other exciting news is that Titus gets to move to 1st grade for math after a quick evaluation with his teacher at the library today. I don't know what that really says except that the Rod & Staff preschool books are great preparation! Simple, inexpensive & great attention to detail. Highly recommended!

Yesterday we went for hair cuts at Aubie's. She was a dear lady who did a great job on giving the girls updated hair-dos! It was fun, but just a bit scary for me... who ended up much blonder than agreed upon. But, I'm getting used to it.

Today we had a slow morning -- a short-order cook for breakfast. Anything you want, with grits. Grits --- ahhhh! Afterwards, we did some laundry, packed lunch, played on the computer, etc. Then we headed to the pool to meet up with Mrs. Lee, Stacy, Zack & Tyler. It was BEAUTIFUL weather for swimming (upper 80's, partly cloudy, nice breeze). We had a picnic by the lake and then headed back for more swimming. Briella, Tyler & Titus were in the pool the entire time. The elderly enjoyed time reading books & soaking up sunshine. They didn't want their bathing suit photos on the blog, so I obliged their wishes since I, too, am trying to avoid the camera these days :)

And they're off ... to the Moo Cow Biker meeting at Chick-Fil-A. Her first motorcycle date!