Ashton finally got through the books of the old testament. He had to memorize the books (just the book title, not the whole books) for AWANA and he finally did it. It took a l-o-n-g time so we are excited to be past it. On the plus side, we listened to The Books Of The Old Testament song so much that Alayna pretty much has it memorized too so when it is her turn to say them she should have no problem.

So, here is the story of this tooth...

Tuesdays we do lunch at Grandma Maggie's with her and Uncle Jeremy. We stopped for gas on the way and while we waited for our 25 gallon tank to fill (and that can take awhile, let me tell you) I looked at Alayna's loose tooth... yeah loose, but not enough. I told her that it wasn't ready and probably wouldn't be out before Christmas. Fast-forward 2 hours. After lunch we are all sitting in Grandma's living room playing video games. Grandma, Uncle, Ashton and I (Tiffany) are playing Tetris on the N64 while Alayna is playing on her Gameboy. Ashton just got out so the "adults" we left in the game and we were all talking smack. Alayna says, "mom, my tooth came out." To which I reply, "Don't lie to me." I thought she was helping Grandma and Uncle by trying to distract me. "no, seriously." She replies. "Whatever." I answer back. "Look," she says... and sure enough in her hand is a tiny little white tooth. We were all busy playing and she wanted to play a different game but the one in her gameboy was stuck so she tried to remove it using her teeth. I told her it was a good thing that wasn't an adult tooth and that is why we don't use our teeth... but at least now she can sing... "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."

After Two days of learning to ride without training wheels, Alayna finally got it. She is trying to ride on grass and dirt now is is mastering the art of long distance riding without putting her feet down. She is doing really well and we are so proud of her. She was scared at first but wasn't about to let that bike be the boss. She's the boss of that bike, she's fabulous, and she'sa rock star... and she'll even tell you that.

Ashton and Alayna on Grandma Maggie's bike. Cadette is making sure the kids stay safe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fairie creatures???

As I was laying down one day for a nap, watching the dust specks glitter in the streaming sun light, I thought to myself... "Why couldn't there be fairies? " Our God is a great God, how do we really know that He didn't create creatures that are 'magical' and invisible to our fallible human eyes. Wonderful creatures that we could only imagine! I lay there pondering this (and missing my nap) when I realized something... We are created in God's image. God is creative... perhaps He chose to leave some things uncreated, giving us humans the opportunity to dream them up.

Just a thought.

parental advisory!!

Ashton was super exited to watch the slaughter of two pigs. That was an education he never would have gotten in a public school.

One of the kids' favorite thing was playing with the kittens... and there were a lot of them. A full dozen kittens in all. Ashton wanted to bring the little yellow and white one home. But that was our number one rule... the only animal we bring home is the one we take out there with us.

We couldn't believe the luck of our timing... we actually watched a guinea pig give birth. She had three babies and I let the kids hold one a couple hours after they were born.

Playing with the endangered desert tortoises. The tortoises would follow us around as we pulled weeds in the yard.

Doing school work at the farm.

Moo!

We took a walk out into the desert and on our little adventure we found several skeletons. The kids loved playing with the bones. Yes, they washed really well when we got back to the house.

While we spent the week at my grandma's house the kids rode their pony everyday. Snowball is such a good girl, she let them just play. They would take turns leading and riding.

Well, the kids and just got back from my grandma's house. We spent 6 days out there and had a lot of fun. They rode their pony a lot and helped feed the horses and donkeys. we went for a walk out in the desert and found skeletons. We watched the birth of guinea pigs and the death of real pigs. We played with kittens and goats. All in all it was a great week. We were not ready to come back but at sometime you have to return to reality. I will post pictures as soon as I get them on the computer, but for now... I need a nap.

Well, we started our school yesterday. And that is pretty much all I have to say about that.

Camping at Lake San Antonio. The kids and I went up on Tuesday and Daddy joined us on Friday, we left on Sunday and in that time we had a lot of fun. Grandma Maggie, Grandpa Craig, Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Tim, Aunt Amber, Uncle Jacob, Ms Becky, and Mr Coty were all there too. The kids went tubing, swimming, and played in the cove by our campsite. Alayna really wanted to go kayaking by herself. We tried to teach the kids to play Backgammon and Farkle, and around the campfire our last night it was guys vs girls at Catchphrase. It's good to be home and clean but we can't wait to do it again next year.

Camping and playing at the lake is hard work. Ashton made himself comfortable after a playing in the lake all morning and most of the afternoon and before we knew it, he was knocked out. Alayna just didn't have the energy left to endure the campfire time with everyone.

Fiyero loved playing with the red ball that Alayna bought...it was $0.99 well spent. Ashton had a great time playing with his dog at the lake.

While waiting for dinner, the kids and dog took advantage of the great weather by playing out side.

Tearing things apart to fill the dumpster.  This is Ashton's calling.  He was born to destroy.

Playing with Carson

Ashton and Alayna love playing with their cousin Carson.

Cookie time

Carson is in town and one of the first things the kids did together was decorate their own cookies.  They had peanut butter cookies and used M&Ms, chocolate chips, and colored sprinkles to decorate.  Mmm yum!

Both Ashton and Alayna had a great time at VBS.  Ashton loved playing all the water games.  Alayna learned a lot and has remembered her lessons in her prayers.

Fourth of July at Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Craig's.