Funny Kid

Derek has recently begun using phrases such as "Seriously?", "Are you kidding me?", and "Trust me!" It is really funny to hear him say those things and to see the look on his face. I quickly realized where he got them from - at least the first two. I've found that I say them a lot. At least it's nothing bad.

School Project

Elliott had an assignment for school to decorate a turkey and write what our family is thankful for this year. It was a "family" project, so I helped with the creation of the turkey. Elliott did all the gluing and writing. I think it turned out great!

Bushkill Falls

Last Saturday our family took a short drive to Bushkill Falls. I had really been wanting to see the falls and thought that it would be fun to see them in the fall with the changing leaves. The colors weren't as spectacular as I had hoped, but it was still beautiful. The falls had plenty of water thanks to all the rain we've had recently. Elliott was deathly afraid of hiking around the falls because of his fear of heights, but he managed to put that behind him and have a good time. It was a great Saturday family activity (something we need to do more often).

After the falls, we headed out for ice cream. We went to The Inside Scoop. They have all sorts of random flavors, including Tabasco, Mexican Chocolate, PB&J, and Maple Bacon. The only one I've tried so far is maple bacon. It's definitely a little strange to eat bacon in ice cream. The flavor was good if you can get past the bacon texture.

Halloween Fun

Happy Halloween! Halloween is already over for the strange folks of PA. :) We had plenty of fun, but it is strange for a holiday to be over before the holiday is really here. We kicked off the celebrations with the Halloween Party at the DaVinci Science Center 2 weeks ago. Our ward did a simple trunk-or-treat this past Tuesday night. Derek's school parade and party were on Thursday, followed by Elliott's on Friday. Whatever happened to dressing up and having parties on Halloween? I haven't figured that out yet. I didn't really feel like carving a pumpkin this year but knew Elliott would be disappointed if he didn't get to do one, so I finally did it last minute yesterday after school. Elliott had a great idea to do a rocket ship, since Derek was an astronaut and Elliott was Commander Cody from Star Wars Clone Wars. It was actually really easy and quick, so I didn't mind. Plus I think it turned out really well. I decided to get creative an make mummy hotdogs for dinner. Trick-or-treating for the neighborhoods was last night. The boys did great and had a fun time. Derek had more energy than Elliott. They lots plenty of loot and it's almost all good stuff - hardly any tootsie rolls, lolly pops, and no gross stuff. Pretty impressive. By the time we were done, Derek's bucket was overflowing. I guess it's time to upgrade him to a bigger bag. We had leftover candy for passing out. I only had enough for about 40 kids, and there was still some leftover. Most trick-or-treaters pass by our house - too bad for them (and maybe for me too).


Derek got to go to the pumpkin patch at Byler's Farm with his preschool class. He loved the hay maze and playing with the corn. He also got to feed the goats and chickens, but he passed on milking the cow. We had a fun time and took home 2 perfect pumpkins.

I'm so glad we had a beautiful day yesterday for trick-or-treating (it was cold but not too bad) because this is what it looks like today.

Ever since the snow started falling this morning, Derek has been asking to go outside and play in it. Once I finally said yes and got him all ready to go out, he refused to go. I stuck him on the porch long enough to get a picture and then he was back inside and undressed. I admit it is FREEZING and windy, so it's really not very pleasant. I can't say I blame Derek for not wanting to stay out there, but Elliott is having fun.

Mr. Green Belt

Elliott had his second big karate test 2 weeks ago. He tested for both his green belt and his nunchuck basics. It is amazing to see his improvement since his last test - in both skill and confidence. He practices all the time and still LOVES karate! We are so proud of him.

It's a Boy!

Due February 19