Caught...

...helping with the laundry.



What a great helper, removing wet towels from the drier.



When we're helping we're happy! And so is Mom.

Christmas Ninjas!

We made Gingerbread cookies for about eight hours on Saturday, some of the fun was making gingerbread ninjas.

At least they were fun until people mistook them for sleeping people, three-legged dogs, aardvarks, and body casts.



Oh well, they are confusing from some angles.



Ami practices her ninja skills by attacking the head first.



Melissa goes buck-wild with the cutter.



Tim gets out of "time-out" for the fortieth* time during the process. "We are not having a food fight just because we are making ninjas."



You might have grown up on 8-bit Nintendo if you just thought "double dragon" upon seeing those two.


Happy Holidays to all of our family and friends. Thank you for reading the blog and keeping up with what is going on in our lives.

*under-estimate.

Daddy Date Fail

This week was the monthly daddy-date week. When it was finally Ami's turn there was no question on what she had planned.

*Close Car Door*

"How are you Ami?"

"It is going to be a lot of fun to ride the elephants."

"Excuse me?"

"I would like to go to the zoo so we can ride the elephants. That is the most fun date ever."

"I don't think we get can do that at the zoo."

"Why not?"

"Let's do something else! How about looking at toys?"

"Dad, I think you should know I like elephants."

"And I like BMW 335s, but we don't always get what we want kiddo."

Look At The Moon!

Part of Maggie's current schooling has been learning the phases of the moon. In the evening before bed, she sometimes goes outside to check what phase the moon is at. Tonight she went outside and noticed it was snowing...

... five minutes later she and the other kids came in to report that they could not find the moon.

Probably should have checked for that...

So Susanna fell asleep sitting in her high chair at the dinner table.



While I finished up the dishes, she startled awake.

I smiled at her. Instead of her usual smile back, she started chewing. Then spit out the bit of pizza that had been marinating for the last 30 minutes, approved of the option, and sent it back down the hatch.

Probably should have checked for that.

Halloween Costumes

This year...


Maggie went as a cheer leader;


Tim rehashed the penguin outfit;


Ami planned on going as a "witch-a-bear";


But ended up as sleepytime bear, both in costume and real life;


and Susanna went as


A witch,


The Stay-Puff-Marshmallo-(wo)Man,


A cow,


A pumpkin,



A fish,


and a stripper in the night-light district...

A Matter of Taste

"AArrrggghhh! Ami, get up here now..."

"What Dad?"

"What is this?!?"

"A drawing I did for you." She said with her most sugar-sweet voice.

"This is not a drawing, it is vandalism! You tagged your bedroom door with a ballpoint pen." (It was actually pencil.)

"I know."

"That is not okay!"

"It is nice."

"It is - wait, what???"

"I like it."

"Ami, look at that door over there, see how nice it looks. How wonderful and clean it is. That is nice, this is not nice"

"This is prettier. My door looks good now. It is not boring like your door."

*flabbergasted silence* (David)
*Laundry sock stuck in mouth to prevent laughter* (Melissa)

"Isn't it beautiful?" Ami sang, "I'm a pret-ty pret-ty prin-CESS."

*David walking away in annoyance* "Melissa, please get Ami the magic eraser."

This Week's Family Home Evening: Validation

You'll need to turn off the music at the bottom. Great video and message.