Annie Eye Over (I think)

I love fall, it's the best time of the year. You know cold weather is just around the corner, the holidays are on the way, and you can play outside without sweating so much you end up smelling like a goat.

Since we're on fall break, we spent all day yesterday and today at my parents' house. My dad taught us a game he used to play when he was a kid. You divide into two teams, and go on either side of the house. Then you yell out, "Annie eye over," and throw or kick a ball over the roof. If anyone on the other side catches the ball before it hits the ground, then they come running to your side of the house and try to hit you with the ball before you can run to their side. If they get you, you're on their team. The weather was so nice and the game was so much fun that the adults outlasted the kids. Colby hung in there til the end, but Frank and George gave up long before us old fogies. And lemme just say, I could play tennis while holding George when he was a baby, and I can kick a ball over a roof while holding Elaine!

Now for some fall pictures:

Our playgroup made a visit to the pumpkin patch.
Here are George and Madison navigating the corn maze. Aren't they sweet?

Churn the milk and make it butter! Churn the milk and make it butter!
I ate a little of that butter that George shook, it wasn't too bad.

Can you see how excited she is to be on her way to the pumpkin patch? She doesn't know what's going on, but she knows it's going to be awesome.

We've hardly spent any time on our swingset this summer, because my kids don't like being hot any more than I do (have I mentioned I don't like to sweat?) But with this beautiful fall weather, we're getting our money's worth.
Frank (Wow, just as I typed his name I heard him jump out of bed, run to the bathroom, and spew all over the floor. Vomit sure has a way of splattering everywhere, huh?) asked me to take his picture as he jumped about 10 times, and I clicked either too early or too late so many times that I ended up with this complete storyboard:

This little cutie likes to swing too.

I've got to go finish washing some puke-drenched towels now.

Find Out Which Common Household Product You Have in Your House Right Now Will Definitely Kill You!

The local news does it to attract viewers, just thought I'd give it a try.

Before I get to what this post is really about...look at that cute baby!

I never thought I'd put big bows on her, but I'm addicted. They're so adorable.

Grandma Janet and Grandpa Pat came all the way from Utah to see us this week! We always love it when they come, and we had a great time together.

The last time they saw Elaine she was 1 month old. So she had plenty of new tricks to show them... rolling over, stuffing everything she can get her hands on into her mouth, big smiles, squealing, eating cereal, and projectile vomiting.

On Thursday they took the boys bowling, and I think Frank and George have really perfected their form. Now if they can just get the ball moving slightly faster than 2mph, we might be able to finish a game in under an hour.

On Friday we went to the park where all the kids were congregated on a ginormous wood chip pile. George was excited to see some new friends he had met at the park just a few days before.

Whenever we go to the park, we always love to feed our moldy bread to the ducks - even the ugly ones. We got to see some chicks that we first met this spring; they're almost all grown up now.

Grandpa's pointing out some Killdeer on the opposite bank.

One of my personal favorite things about my in-laws' visits is that they always bring fun projects for us. This time, they brought this incredibly cute turkey-pumpkin thingy. We all painted the various parts, and the boys were thrilled to stay up late and wait for the paint and sealant to dry so they could see the final product.

Grandma Janet brought these kits and helped the boys make them.
George made the lamb, and Frank made the penguin.

Grandpa Pat always does a wood carving/cutting project of some kind. In the past, he's made them ducks, treasure boxes, frogs (with ridges on their backs and when you pull a stick across the ridges it sounds like the frog is croaking - it's pretty cool). This time he carved wizards. He suggested they might be Dumbledore, but my dad has introduced the boys to The Lord of the Rings, so they decided these wizards are Gandalf the White, and painted them accordingly. George's is the one with "magic" glitter.

They loved their wizards so much, they had to make their own Gandalf costumes. Frank tried to make it himself, and he did a great job, except it ended up looking like the white hoods a certain unsavory group is known for wearing. So I helped him fix the beard to look a little more...beardly.
Awww, just look at my cute little geeks.

Grandma and Grandpa never get to stay long enough, we miss them already.