Pumpkin Patch

Rich posted the pictures he took of us on his blog this week.  I just love them.  He's such a talented guy.  We had the hardest time getting Kiki to smile, and the one picture where we squeezed one out of her, Rosie had her hand in her mouth.  Isn't that always the way?  Anyway, I was very excited to actually have some pictures with the four of us all together.  It's been way too long!

This has been a very full week.  Like really, really full.  Every day we were out and about and to be honest, I'm completely exhausted.  It's a good exhausted, but I could probably fall asleep right here on the couch.  In fact, I might just do that.  Mark is at a basketball game, so there's not much reason to stay up.  

Here are a few pictures I took at the pumpkin patch yesterday.  Hope you have had a great week so far! 

Sweet Sisterly Love

I love her crinkle nose smile! 

She took the job of pulling the wagon VERY seriously! 

Working hard. 

A majority of the pumpkin patch pictures involved this tongue.  

A sweet little smile.  

This is her mischievous look.  When she's not sold on something, or about to do something naughty, this is what we get.  We see it way too often:)

Yay, Chiefs!!!!

Oh, Sunday nights!  I love you and I loathe you!  I love being able to cuddle with Mark and watch our favorite shows, but I really don't like knowing that tomorrow he goes back to work.  I sure miss the weekends when they are gone!

Right now Mark is watching the Chief's game that he had dvr'd earlier today.  I already know that they've won and that they are now 7-0, which is a HUGE deal to us Chief's fans.  Especially after our horrible season last year.  It's oh-so-hard not to say anything to him, but I know better than to let that one slip.  Mark rarely, if ever, gets mad.  He is the most laid back man I know, but you tell him a score/outcome of a game he's trying to hold out for, and he gets real...frustrated.  It's the closest I've seen him to angry, and I don't want to test him, so I'll just sit here and bite my tongue!   

We had a nice finish to our week.  A few friends come into town, which is always a treat.  Our friend, Rich, came in on Thursday.  He is a recruiter for Union, so he comes in October every year to talk to the students at Pisgah Academy.  He always comes welding hilarious stories and his camera.  Meredith, spent the night on Thursday night, and we stayed up way too late watching the Project Runway finale (GO DOM!!!). The girls always LOVE having her around.  On Friday, the girls and I went to eat with Logan, Rich and Meredith in downtown Asheville.  Mark couldn't join us, because he was so busy, but it was fun catching up. 

Collegiate Monroe eating with her pals on Friday 

Rich took a few shots in our backyard before we went to eat.  He took a few others when Mark got home on Friday afternoon, but he hasn't edited them yet.  

I love this kiddo! 

Our friends, Charlie and Kirsten, live about two minutes from our house, so on Friday evening, they came over for dinner.  I made chili, and Charlie made his famous apple pie and it was wonderful.  He takes his pie making very seriously, and I now understand why.  It was amazingly good.  The crust was the best crust I've ever tasted.     

After Church and naps on Saturday, we headed over to David and Elizabeth's.  We went on the craziest  hayride I've ever been on around their property and then went canoeing.  After dinner, we put the kids to bed and watched a movie, then headed home around midnight.

Today, we did yard work, laundry, cleaned the house and then this afternoon, we went on a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We are in peak leaf season right now and it's just so beautiful.  I can't get enough of the colors, although, I always seem to get carsick.  It's worth it, though!  If you haven't been to Asheville in the fall, I highly recommend it.  

It's grandeur was pretty hard to capture on my phone, but it's breathtaking! 

Keekster at Craggy Gardens.  We brought dinner along and decided to eat it at one of the overlooks.  It was beautiful, but very cold.  

Rosie in her parka.  It was in the 40's and we aren't quite used to the cold weather yet! 

I was so sad to not be in Oklahoma today, because all my family got together to celebrate my beautiful Mumsie's 95th birthday!  I can't think of a lovelier person.  She's amazing!  

This girl's got a sweet tooth:)

I will leave you with these amazing pictures of Dr. Murrill.  I had two different friends send me this picture of Mark this week that were displayed at a career fair at Loma Linda University.  Pictures from this "modeling" gig from back when we lived in Florida, pop up ever so often, and we always get a kick out of them.

My actual doctor friend, Marcello, posing with fake Dr. Mark:) 

Kids These Days

We are in full Little House On the Prairie mode over here.  Rosie prefers to be called Mary now and will actually correct you if you call her anything but.  Kiki, in turn, is Laura, although she enjoys fighting about everything and says she is Mary, just to get a rise out of Rosie.  Rosie came close to changing her name to Laura yesterday, when she learned that Mary went blind.  She cried for a bit and said, "I don't want that disease!"  I assured her she was safe and promised never to send her off to a blind school.  Thankfully, that calmed her.  

I love that as soon as Mark gets home from work, I hear the girls start yelling, "Pa's home, Pa's home!"  I also love that Rosie requests braids daily and also carries around a little lantern.  I'm not minding this new stage at all and I'm starting to prefer being called, "Ma." 

The girls had a great time at school yesterday.  Kiki seems to be very popular and all of the kids yell, "Hi, Kiki!" when she arrives.  Rosie is very confident about school until she gets to the door of her classroom.  Then she freezes and the teacher and I have to do some intense coaxing to get her in.  Her teacher always gets a kick out of what she brings in her backpack.  She puts stuff in without me realizing.  One week she brought four blankets.  Another time she brought some bejeweled flip-flops (even though it was chilly) and as soon as I left, the teacher said she took her regular shoes off and switched them for her "cool" shoes.  Should I be worried?  It reminds me of those girls that bring short skirts and make-up to do in the bathroom before school.  She tried the old flip flop trick on me again yesterday, but I found them in her backpack before I dropped the girls off, and discreetly removed them.  Kids these days!

I had a nice visit from our pastor's wife in the afternoon.  She's a sweet lady and we chatted for quite some time while the girls napped.  Then, last night, I had photography class.  Hopefully, I can put everything I'm learning to practice with the girls!  A friend asked me to take a few fall pictures of her kiddos, as well, and it would be nice if I didn't mess that up.  I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about taking them, but it also sounds like a fun challenge!  

All of a sudden, I'm very sleepy, so I better get off here.  Here are a few pictures from my phone...

Rosie loves playing soccer! 

Is it just me or does Kiki look so much older...and harrier? 

Rosie, too!  Kids just grow up so fast.  

Up to no good, this one 

Rosie couldn't make it to the potty, and had to sit and pee in the front yard.  Kiki decided to join her. 

Monday, Monday

Hey, friends!  How was your Monday?  Mine was pretty low key.  We stayed in almost all of the day.  Kiki still has a little cold and I thought it was better to keep her away from others.  After breakfast we went on a walk and, although it was a bit misty, it was beautiful and refreshing.    

Our Walk 

When we got home, the girls rode their bikes and played while I cleaned the garage.  I finally decided it was time to start parking in there and even though we have a lot of stuff, I knew it was doable.  I felt quite accomplished pulling the swagger wagon in for the first time.  Rosie started jumping up and down and said, "I'm so happy!"  I'm telling you, it doesn't take much to make that girl's day!  

All snug in it's new home.  

This is the ragamuffin that lives with me.  Snotty nose, dirty face, hair in eyes.  She's a keeper, though! 

We did a few little crafts after that.  The girls helped me sew a table runner out of a few pages from an old hymnal.  They had so much fun helping me with the sewing machine.  It was their first time with it and, although I only let them push the pedal down, they thought it was phenomenal.  

Our finished product 

Made with love by the girlies! 

Tomorrow is Mom's Morning Out.  I'm very happy about that.  I know that it's only about two hours, but it's so nice to be able to run here and there, without kiddos.  They are still really loving it, too.  Hopefully, Kiki's runny nose will have run it's course, so that we can still go! 

Leaves

Leaves, they are a-changing, and they are beautiful!  They are also a bit pesky.  We didn't get the backyard taken care of yet, because Mark ended up golfing and I was busy with the girls, but that's on our agenda for this week.

We had a really nice weekend.  Some friends invited us and another couple over for lunch after church, along with some students from the academy, and we ended up having the best time.  No one had any kids but us, and I was worried how Rosie and Kiki would do, but they did great.  We didn't end up leaving until 7:30 pm!  

I had planned on taking the girls to the pumpkin patch after their naps today so I could take some pictures, but it was rainy and gloomy, and I thought I would try again this week some time.  I realized that I haven't taken pictures (unless on my phone) of the girls in so long.  Life gets going and I completely forget to do things like that!  I've got to be more thoughtful about it.  We still haven't had our family photos taken!  We had them scheduled for a few weeks ago, but our photographer got sick.  I'm hoping we get to do those soon!

Memphis On My Mind

We had such a wonderful time in Memphis.  The trip was inspired by Mark heading out on back-to-back business trips.  This mom was a little overwhelmed by the possibility of being all alone for eight days with the kiddos.  It doesn't seem like too long, but I'm never so glad to see Mark's face when he comes home every evening after work and that's just an eight hour day!  I couldn't imagine eight days with no handsome face, so we packed up and headed to see the Baughman's, and their handsome faces.  

We kept busy while there, especially with the scads of children around.  There were children for miles, or so it seemed.  With my two, Kay's three and a new addition (an infant that she has started watching), our car trips were adventures, to say the least.  Loading and unloading alone, took at least an hour:)  While there, we shopped till we dropped, roasted smores, visited a pumpkin patch, attended a fall fest, and went to the botanic gardens.  Tons of fun and memories, and more kid fights than I can count:)  My favorite part was the nights on the couch with Kay and Bran, laughing and sharing stories.  It makes my heart ache just thinking about how far away they are.  I also loved watching the kids act just like siblings, just the way it should be.   

Bonfire and smores with Uncle Bran on the back deck.  

One afternoon the kids created a classroom in the living room and Mattie taught school.  So cute!

Mr. Comfy at the pumpkin patch!  I love this kid.  

Kay and her tiny pumpkin 

Kiki, pondering life and pumpkins.  

Mark texted me one morning when I wasn't in the room, and this is the picture he got back:) 

Happy Sabbath? 

Fall Fest!  Mattie and Keeks 

Rosie had the time of her life.  Our usually very reserved, terrified little person, was the first one in the jump house.  I didn't recognize her! 

Face Painting 

Kiki's turn

Butterfly! 

This picture pretty much sums up Reese and Kiki's relationship.  Love and War. 

The Fearless Three

Who's afraid of stuff?  Not this kid! 

This was taken just milliseconds before I got body slammed by Reese.  

So, this happened at the fall fest.  I was walking along and all of a sudden my toes felt concrete.  RIP my favorite red flats.  You will be missed.  I've had them since 2003, so I guess it was time. 

The three amigos 

Fun Slide! 

Doesn't she have a cute tush? 

The Angry Gnome.  If there isn't a children's book with this title, there should be.  

Playing in one of the miniature houses. 

A rare moment of getting along. 

Monroe

Sisters 

Another set of "sisters" 

Sweet faces

Feeding the fish.  I forgot to mention that just before this, our little posse was attacked by very aggressive ducks.  It was rather terrifying.  

We were so sad to leave on Wednesday morning, but we were also so excited to get home to daddy!  Rosie, much like her mama, struggled on the way home.  She would periodically burst into tears and whimper, "please turn around and go back, mommy!"  She loves her some Baughmans and so do I! 

No road trip is complete without a Cracker Barrel stop.  

The night after we got back home was the hospital gala, which I had done zero planning for.  The dress code for the event was hawaiian/resort.  I know!!!  What does that even mean?  I had the hardest time coming up with an outfit.  I had one hawaiian print dress from one of our vacations, but after trying it on, I felt it looked a little too corny.  I ended up with more of a nautical/resort look.  When we arrived, I saw that there were a variety of different looks, most being very kitschy hawaiian.  I kind of regretted my choice, but what can you do?!  It was a really fun evening, but the food was a real let down.  Mark and I have come to the realization, that whenever you choose the vegetarian option, you get a raw deal.  Our meal consisted of a tiny bit of rice and a few random vegetables.  We were so hungry when we left, that we had to stop at Taco Bell!   

One of the many pics I sent to Andrea, as she assisted in helping me decide from afar.  

Our Taco Bell stop

Today, has been a good day.  We went to get pumpkins and mums for the front porch, we made a thankful tree, and Mark participated in a little fundraiser in downtown Hendersonville for battered women called, "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes", where men wear high heels and walk a mile.  He was so talented that he won "Best Strut"!  I'm ever so proud:)

Our Thankful Tree.  It doesn't picture very well, but the girls had so much fun making it.  

Mark, accepting his distinguished award this afternoon.  

We don't have any big plans for the weekend.  Just church and lots of yard work.  The one problem about having trees, is all the leaves!  It's going to be a very full Sunday!  Anyway, have a wonderful weekend!