Self Portrait - Becky Style

Seriously...so cute.

Should I be concerned that she see's herself as a blonde?

Fall Fling

We went to King's Dominion on Saturday and the kids had a blast!

Is this the face of happiness or what?

Becky enjoyed a lift from Dad.



Katie did not.



The little kids wanted to ride this roller coaster so the big kids came along for the ride. Mikayla was hoping to ride with Katie or Becky, however, ending up sitting with her dad, was questioned for being too tall and just thoroughly embarrassed to be seen with us. haha.



Joe had some serious hat head.



Josh felt he was too big to be riding on the kiddie rides and did not want to go...although I think he secretly enjoyed himself.



Emma took some time to practice smiling with her braces. She's not quite ready for picture day.



And this was my favorite part of the whole day. YUM.



Oh wait. Maybe THIS was my favorite part.

One Smart Cookie

So...Troy was in need of a serious chocolate fix and was searching the house for something to satisfy his craving...when much to his delight he opened the fridge to find a yummy chocolate bar.

But wait...it was labeled.

Well...he decided that he was in pretty dire need and so he was going to ignore the gentle plea left by his sweet daughter.

When...he opened it up and found:

She really did mean it!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

No way he could eat it now.

What can I say?

That is one smart cookie. (How did she know? HAHAHAHAHAHA)

O Happy Day

Katie had her first day of preschool today...and wow, was she excited.

She has been asking for weeks to go to school and watching the older kids go was just painful for her.

But...finally...today was the day.

BEFORE:















And AFTER:

it must have been a good one, cause she home looking like this:






Somebody else's pants and undies (they were loaners)...no hair clip, no pony holder, no braid, just a mess...but totally happy!

Heavy Metal

Joseph and Emma have joined the metal brigade at our house.

They are both now sporting a mouth full of braces.










Now there are three of them.






Neither Troy nor I had braces as a kid...but for some reason all our kids just have the worst problem! Poor Joe even needed a second appliance installed behind his teeth in addition to his braces.

Mikayla only has a year left in her braces and the twins have two.

I can't wait!

O....M...Precious...Seriously

Have you ever seen anything this cute?






Seriously...I know I am totally biased.

But...Katie started dance class this week and she was so stinking cute!!!!

She says she loves it...and had asked me 1,952,026 times since class ended when she can do it again.






Part of me wishes I could keep her like this forever. (Just a tiny part.)

It's All a Matter of Perspective

I was at the store buying milk.

I usually buy six gallons at a time...it will last anywhere from one to two weeks.

So...I had my six gallons on the belt when the people in front of me noticed my milk.

They started to speculate why I needed so much milk...and the consensus was that I must be running a day care.

Hummm...

sort of.

Romance...Beatty Style

Troy and I were having a discussion about romance.

Now...I know I shouldn't complain.

Troy is a good husband and father.

He is a good provider.

He is super fun.

He is just a really great guy.

But...sadly...he is just not romantic. And, to make it worse...we don't have a good track record with romance. See here or here.

And...sometimes, a girl just needs a little romance.

It doesn't have to be anything big.

A little note.

A flower.

Some little thoughtful thing that lets you know he's thinking of you.

So...as I was telling Troy this, he was little wounded, because he had just written me a really sweet love letter...he thought in June.

Um.

June.

It's September.

I told him that I thought he was mistaken as to the date of the letter, that it was much earlier in the year.

Of course we didn't agree...but since I saved the letter we were able to go and find it and verify the date.

It was dated November .... 2009.

We actually had a good laugh about it -- and am now secretly hoping that something romantic might be on the way.

Wishful thinking?

A girl can dream.

First Day

The first day of school was a smashing success.






The kids all got there. They liked their teachers. And everyone made it home again.

What more could I ask?

I can hardly believe that I have FIVE kids in school. It's crazy that my little Becky is already a kindergartner. The other kids are looking so grown up!

And...how crazy is it to think that my little Katie will be doing this in just two short years? (Did I sound too excited when I said that? lol!)

It's Just Things

We have continued the deep cleaning that we started for vacation and today we tackled the toy room.

I just have to say it was one of the most depressing things I have done since we got home.

The kids are so hard on their toys, on the furniture, on absolutely everything down there.

Luckily I don't have to look at it very often, but getting down there and cleaning with the kids is a must if I actually want it to be cleaned.

Part of the problem is me.

I love to buy the kids things. I really do.

My parents often showed love by purchasing us things that we really wanted, and consequently, that is one of the ways in which I both feel and express my own love.

However, as a result, I think that the kids don't really appreciate the things that they have and I am feeling pretty depressed about it.

So...I am thinking that we need to have a material free Christmas.

Honestly, the only thing that comes to mind is that if they don't get as much stuff, maybe they will grow the appreciate what they have.

I am not saying that we don't have Christmas and that they don't get a few well chosen presents, but I definitely think no toys. Perhaps maybe an experience instead.

I don't know.

Do your children value their possessions?

How do you engender this feeling?

What are your thoughts?

Any ideas for Christmas?