Homecoming 2017

Daddy came back from his trip on Friday so he got to join us for the Homecoming parade!

Bountiful

We didn't quite get the pumpkins that we wanted on the farm but we have gourds coming out our ears! And while Brandon was in Asia the tomatoes came on in full force. I spent one day making sauce from this gathering. We did this 2 more times! We are working on perfecting our own tomato sauce. Perhaps it's time to learn how to can.

Brandon, part 2, Japan

I don't really have much to add here, but these are pictures of his time in Japan. Perhaps he can guest author and share some stories. They called him "The Giant" - easy to see why!

Brandon abroad - part 1, China

Brandon wasn't able to make the GA road trip because he was scheduled to be in Asia for 2 weeks the weekend that we left. I started this blog with the intention of it being about our 2 Little Chiefs, but as we are working on a school timeline project I realized that this blog serves as a point of reference for so many things in our life, so every once in awhile we need some of mommy and daddy's stuff too!

China ...

We are still hearing about the Peking Duck!

When I got this picture I feared this might be his dinner...(I was right) - maybe why he enjoyed the Peking Duck so much?!

The Great Wall in the background

Pretty cool way to get down from The Great Wall

A New Cousin!!

Sometimes I get some crazy hair brained ideas...this might be an example. Sara goes into labor on Friday night, I load up with the kids and my parents at 5:00 Saturday morning and we start driving to Atlanta. We get there Saturday night and still no baby. Oh wait, did I tell you that David and Sara don't know we are here? What was I thinking? What were we going to do jump out the bushes and yell surprise?! Well, that is kind of how it happened. The hospital had a courtyard that served as our personal waiting room and mid Sunday morning David came down and announced to my dad "buy another shot gun, it's a boy" and at this point we can't even jump out and yell because we are in shock because we were all certain she was having a girl!! Because Andrew James took his time entering this world and putting his mama through an incredibly long labor, we only got to see him through the nursery glass and I said hi to Sara for one minute..because, well she had just given birth! (and who needs an audience for that?! - again what was I thinking). We ate lunch with David and headed back to Illinois and we had made a 24 hour round trip to Atlanta in less than 48 hours, but we got to see this precious little boy and my kid's reactions - which were priceless. The next part I didn't anticipate...all of the questions surrounding the birthing process...

Thanks David and Sara for letting us crash your party, but the biggest congratulations on the new addition to your family!! He is going to need some Auntie Alison cuddles soon!!

Friday Night Lights

There is just something about a friday night high school football game. Especially when it is your graduating high school playing your current hometown's high school! We still have to have the discussion, "what side are we sitting on?" The answer is always Washington, but Brandon still thinks it needs to be discussed. It was even better to get to share the night with our friends, also one of which graduated from Metamora! Do take note that both men are wearing orange, so sorry Redbirds, I think we have converted and apparently Fred Bird doing wheelies has nothing on us as we too have someone riding a motorbike with a team flag!

Fall Soccer

A bored goalie?

Grant played fall soccer again and is still loving it. He has an awesome coach and has great hustle. Some of the coach's take away messages are "The goalie should be bored" and "Wait for the yo-yo" - I'm still trying to figure out what that means. I have also been told to keep my cheering to simple things like "Good job buddy!" and "Woo-hoo!" because my cheering with coaching inputs like "get the ball" apparently sometimes encourages offsides.  I really should have paid more attention during all those years my brother played soccer! Luckily the weather was pretty good during the season. Of course always start off without coats and end in full winter gear, but it is fun to watch him play and he really seems to enjoy it.

Curb Picker

Yup, totally picked this door up off the curb. Now our basement door has a glass window!

RadDish Kids

Our kids love to cook in the kitchen. They love a friendly competition even better. They have been gifted the RadDish Kids cooking club box kits and they are a huge hit. This month's included a cupcake challenge. I love that they love to cook and I have to remind myself that everything can be cleaned and it's ok if it takes more time if they are doing it themselves and learning and the pep talk goes on and on in my head! (accompanied by a few deep breaths!)

Cub Scout Substitute

Grant came home from school insisting that we go to the Cub Scout informational meeting. Brandon was gone, so I went. Oh my goodness. Let me just say that I am not the only one who came home and had to have a drink. What it boiled down to is that he really wanted to camp and shoot his bow and arrow. (Kind of like EB wanting to do Girl Scouts so she could go horseback riding!) Problem solved...we have a place to camp. So we headed to the farm for our "Grant isn't doing Boy Scouts, but we are going to act like one, camp out"!

Pops teaching the art of tying a slip knot

Of course we have to check on our pumpkins...we have some!

Getting everything all lined up and still trying to figure out if he is right or left handed when he shoots...this was a lengthy procedure, but the men were VERY patient.

S'mores ae messy

4 wheeler rides with daddy

If must have been warm by the campfire, because it was not inside the tent! 

Yes, they may have been access to indoor plumbing, but we did make it outside all night long!

Maybe he is just hot blooded!

It was cold...Pops slept in the warmth of the grain bin

The radar showed less than a 1% of rain...guess what we are just that lucky that sometime in the middle night we awoke to the rain hitting the tent, but it was a quick passing shower. It passed just in time for the coyotes to start in with their howling. I hope everyone realizes how much I love my kids at this point because I would have been quite happy inside the grain bin! But we camped, we had a fire, we did our boy scouts things and the best part is, we aren't asking you to buy any popcorn!