We headed over to Letchworth State Park yesterday. It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day. The first picture shows off the view we had during our lunch.

This next one is of KiKi with his aunt. The rainbows were his favorite part of the trip.

CoCo and Zilla enjoying the falls and the rainbow.

The crew. They weren't thrilled that I was taking yet ANOTHER picture, but isn't it a great one?

It was a great day, and we learned a few things - Letchworth allows hunters (so much for hiking in the woods) and the fear for the lives of your children while walking along the gorge will take 10 years off your own life.

Thanksgiving and Birthday

My brother and his family came in to town yesterday. The kids have been counting down the days until their arrival and were dancing and singing when bro's car pulled in the driveway. The kids are having a great time with their cousins, and the grown-ups are having a great time visiting while the kids are busy.

Today, we headed over to mom and dad's for an early Thanksgiving dinner and a birthday celebration for grandpa. I forgot my camera, but lucky for me, my sister-in-law had one. Not sure if the kids are looking so serious because our singing was out of tune or if they were planning which candles would be theirs to blow out.

Eating Like a Dog

Now that I am finally emerging from the haze of sickness that has been in our household for two weeks, I'm ready to start catching up a bit on my blog. Took this picture of CoCo and KiKi earlier this week. (Cute one, huh!) The boys have managed to turn their illness into a competition. I have been informed that CoCo and KiKi have tied for most days of fever (6). Neil-Te has won for shortest duration of fever (2). A is desperate to come up with something. I think he managed to have the lowest fevers (not counting SS). I just chuckle in amazement at their resilience and sigh in relief that I can sleep through the night again!


This morning, KiKi was carrying the cereal bag upside down (AGAIN!!!) Just when I was getting ready to feel frustrated and discouraged about the clean-up, KiKi noticed Anni take a bite of the spilled cereal. He raced over to the spill and proclaimed, "I want to eat with Anni!" Then he proceeded to lick the food off of the floor just like his pet. Trying to push aside the grossness factor, I grabbed the camera so that I could record the moment to share with whatever wonderful woman will be kissing that mouth. Unfortunately, by the time I was ready, he had switched to eating with his fingers because licking the cereal wasn't working very well. Bummer.

Status Update

Well, KiKi is finally getting better. No fever today, but his cough is terrible. A is still struggling with fever - on his 3rd day now. CoCo, SS, and I all had sore throats for one day, then nothing. Relief! Neil-Te just chatters along with no sign of any illness jarring his days of play. Hubby has thus far been spared also; we're hoping it stays that way! The healthy boys and I are progressing with school, and A is trying to do some of his work in the mornings before his fever makes him dizzy. Though sickness makes our week pretty crazy, it reminds me to be thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling, the usual health of the family, the helpfulness that the kids have exhibited, my usual solid night's sleep, the helpfulness and support of friends...the list could go on and on!

Project of Desperation

I finally got fed up with the condition of our side yard - where we had the tree stump removed in early summer. We had hoped to extend our driveway, but the quotes we got were soooo high that I think both hubby and I were just avoiding thinking about it. However, over the past few weeks, I have been getting more and more frustrated with the ugly, muddy strip next to the driveway. So with nice weather in the forecast this week, the boys and I began digging it out ourselves. Hubby thinks we're nuts; I'm sure he's right. Three or four inches of gravel have got to be better than mud, though - at least, I hope!

Break Time! A and C earned their break. They worked long and hard to show Daddy that it could be done. Neil-Te had more fun catching worms and bugs. KiKi has a fever, so he just sat and looked into the worm bucket. He did have occasional bursts of energy. (I couldn't keep him awake past 5:45 tonight. I'm thinking tonight will be rough. Poor little guy is already crying out and coughing in his sleep.)

The Days of the Week

Here is a list of the "real" names for the days of the week, according to our boys.

Sunday - "Church Day"
Monday - "Art Day"
Tuesday - Tuesday
Wednesday - "Bells and Choir Day" or "Eat dat Church Day"
Thursday - "Gym Day"
Friday - "Alli Day"
Saturday - "Daddy Stay Home Day"

Invisible

We have a little rule in our house. All food stays in the kitchen. I am not the most perfect housekeeper and the idea of vacuuming food out of my couch cushions just sounds like another chore in an already-long list. So...this morning when I walked into the living room, I saw a piece of Life cereal on the floor.

Me: (irritated) Who ate in the living room?
A: It wasn't me.
Co: Not me.
Neil-Te: No way. Not me.
KiKi: I didn't.
Me: Well, how did this cereal get in here?
A: I don't know.
Co: shrugs
Neil-Te: I ate in the kitchen.
KiKi: (innocently) My invisible friend was hungry.