Bill the Owl!

This is Bill the owl. Ethan made him as a book report for his class. Bill was in one of the A to Z mystery books that he read. The school also had a pumpkin decorating contest. Ethan and Bill won first place for third grade! Way to go Ethan and Bill!

Tiny Triumphs 38!

I love this time of year so much! The cooler weather, the leaves crunching under my feet, the colors of the trees, and just the smell in the air. The pumpkins are looking really great this year, and I can't wait to make some toasted pumpkin seeds. We do love those in this house!

1. Our landlord FINALLY put up most of our fence yesterday! It has been down for over a year! He even fenced in some of the yard with a tall wood fence where there was just wire!!!!!

2. Ethan won first place in his grade for the pumpkin that he decorated. I will post a picture later!

3. Kellen finds out next week if he gets to participate in the day long art project. He is asking that we all keep our fingers crossed for him.

4. Tomorrow is the 4-H Halloween party! We are very excited! Should be a great time. Pictures to follow!

Have a great week!

Tiny Triumphs 37!

It has been another great week here! We have been busy but yet having a blast!

1. I now have Tennis Elbow. I play so much tennis that I could see how I got it. Most likely I got it from cleaning. That should teach me not to do that.

2. Ethan is now 9! He made it! He told me already that next year he will be in the double digits! I told him not to hurry to grow up or I would put a brick on his head to stop him from growing up!

3. Kellen is playing the French Horn again this year. Band has just started for the year and soon all city band will start again.

4. I love the fact that the boys do chores everyday! I still have to do some things but other things are done for me! I love the boys for helping their mom out!

Stomp Your Feet!

These are the monster feet that I made for Ethan to take to school for his birthday. They are Nutter Butters dipped in green chocolate with cashew toes. I think they really turned out great!

Watch Out! That Lava Is HOT!

Tonight is Jared's last Natural Disasters class. So I made him some cupcakes to take with him. I just have to tell you that it was hard to find a natural disaster that I could make out of cake or cupcakes. They are chocolate cupcakes with cherry filling. Graham cracker sand and chocolate volcanoes with cherry lava. I think they are awesome!
This is MT. Vesuvius

Party Like It's Your Birthday!

On Sunday we had Ethan's 9th birthday party! We had a costume party with lots of spooky food. On the menu was mummy dogs, cheese fingers, carrot eyes, pumpkin rolls, and of course blood to drink. We also had some fun games and craft things to do. I think I had as much fun as the kids did!Where's Jared, oh, I mean Waldo?
And his wife Wenda!
Ethan the Evil Gnome. I thought that I got a picture of Kellen but I guess I was mistaken. I will get one of him in his costume at the 4-H party.
The kids painted and glued some cool stuff on pumpkins
LUNCH!!!
Kellen's Pumpkin
Ethan's pumpkin
We also bobbed for apples. Here is Kellen getting the water out of his eyes after he had bobbed. By the way, is bobbed a verb? Can I use it on it's own in a sentence?
Ethan under water
Ethan caught an apple
Becca and her apple
Logan the vampire got one too!
We hid some toys and candy in a straw bale and let the kids loose to find it all. They loved this and went back to it many times to see if they missed anything. I still have to go back through it to see if they missed anything.
The kids in the straw
The monster cake that I made. I even made the fondant that made the mouth and the eyes. He was filled with green vanilla pudding! YUMMY!

I think this was a Birthday that Ethan will never forget!

How Did I Get Up Here?

I had not had a chance to put the ladder away after I cleaned the bathroom (don't ask, you don't want to know). So the ladder was sitting out and Lily chased K.C. to the top. When he was on the top he looked at me and cried. He wanted help. But then he climbed back down on his own. Since then he has been going up and down the ladder a lot.I am not sure how this happened?
Stop taking pictures and help me!

Tiny Triumphs 36!

It has been a wonderful week here in Central Wisconsin. The weather has been beautiful (with the exception of today). It has been warm and sunny! I have been loving it!

1. Ethan and I went on a field trip to the School Forest. We had a blast! The kids had four different activities to take part in. I helped run one activity. We learned to identify 10 different leaves. I learned so much. Then we went on a hike. Up Dead Man's Hill. Well, Ethan and I kicked it butt! Do hills have butts? Maybe we kicked it's up slope!

2. Kellen was chosen to compete for a place in the Sail art program. He has to go to school early and show them some of the art that he has done. Plus, he has to work on two projects while he is there. If he is chosen to be one of ten in the district that gets to participate, he will get to be in a special art class. The art class is a full day of some things that he will not be able to do in his art class at school. They can do things like stained glass or jewelry. I will let you know if he is chosen.

3. We are almost ready for Ethan's birthday party this weekend. Now all I have to do is shop for food and everything else. I guess I should have said that the party is all planned. Now all I have to do is get it all ready!

4. The house is all spookified. Just a few more touches and we are ready for the party and Halloween! Halloween is my favorite holiday ever! The costumes are here and ready to be put on! I can't wait to put mine on!!!

Have a great week!

Just A Cute Picture

Me and my boys! I ran into this picture from Dairy Fest back in June. I love it though!

Turkey Lurkey!

A few weeks ago we all went out to the Siebel farm to help with getting the turkeys ready for the freezer. Kate was very patient with Kellen and Ethan. Both boys helped pluck the bird. They watched her behead it. I even watched. I am not sure if I will ever be able to eat turkey again. The boys were fascinated by it. They got to touch the feet and pull the tendons to make the claws open and close. The loved seeing the insides of the bird and feeding it to the dog. They really loved showing me all the bits to see if I would be grossed out. I was! I have to say that I watched some and then walked away. Now, don't fall over dead on me or anything but I actually helped! I plucked two feathers! I had gloves on and used pliers so I did not actually touch any ick. The feathers are harder to pluck than I would have thought. I had to use my abundant muscles.

Kellen actually killed a bird by himself (with help) and then said that it was not that bad. He said that since they were raised as food it was fine. It was not like it was a pet. And as I thought about it I don't think it is any worse than killing a frog to dissect in school.

So on with the pictures! If you are grossed out easily like me you may want to skip the pictures.The turkey
The boys plucking the bird. They kept a few of the feathers from this. The only rule is that they can't come anywhere near mom.
See I did it!
I did not get too close though. I kept the worst of the pictures back so you can thank me later. I also have to say that I was disappointed that I did not get to see a chicken run around with it's head cut off. Or in this case a turkey!

Pledge Leaders!

Last night at 4-H the annual elections were held. Kellen was nominated to be the Reporter. He lost but he is okay with that. He actually voted for someone else. Both the boys were nominated for Pledge Leaders. They both were chosen to do the job with two other kids. Pledge leaders are the kids that stand in front of all the people at the start of the meeting and hold the flags for the pledges. We do two pledges. The pledge to the American flag and one to the 4-H flag!

I will grab some pics next month when they start their duties!

Tiny Triumphs 35!

This week has been quite eventful up here in Central Wisconsin (or as some call it Lower Canada). I love having a week to get some stuff done that I have not had time to do. The house is mostly decorated for Halloween! Ethan's birthday party is next weekend! He is having a costume party with friends. I have some fun treats and some spooky games to play! I will take lots of pictures.

1. I went live on the phones on Tuesday. YIKES! I was asking question after question. By the time one o'clock rolled around I am sure that they were glad to see me go. Not really. It went well I think. I know it will get better.

2. Jared and Kellen are signed up to take the Hunter Safety class! They think that they will be going hunting next year.

3. Ethan is loving helping me decorate and keep track of who is coming to his party.

4. I forgot a few weeks ago that we went over to Mike and Kate's house and helped with the turkey killing. Actually, the boys helped I played with Becca. Kellen actually killed one all by himself. He helped pluck it and gut it and everything. It will be their Easter turkey. I have a few pictures of the boys helping. I have to say that I am an awesome mom. I let the boys bring home some feathers from the turkeys. The gross me out so they have to keep them in their rooms and never make me touch them. I also have to say that I pulled out some turkey feathers all on my own! I have garden gloves on and I did it with a pliers. Then I washed and sanitized my hands and threw out the garden gloves. I will have to put some pictures up so you will believe me!

Have a great week!