Colorado

Here are a few fun memories of our week with Buff's family.

Carra wants me to inform everyone that she has officially lost 2 teeth now. I am hoping I don't have to post about every tooth lost. . . Actually, Mikayla lost a molar too this week (Do you get the feeling that the theme this week was "teeth" . . .). Because hers had a filling in it, we are making her dress up in a tooth fairy costume and leave money under our pillow. I am not a sentimental person big on traditions, but I think this may be a good reason to start.

Brice and Mikayla are now officially old enough to learn to drive . . . the 4 -wheeler and go-kart. Of course, they were never allowed to take it out of first gear, so they never went fast enough to get into too much trouble.


Owen is officially old enough to drive Pansy . . . and without a "seat" too . . .

Helping Grandpa

Cooper

Corralling pumpkins

Buff . . . alo
Yes, we took this picture.
He was an impressive fella.

Byren
He is so photogenic . . .

Owen . . . or is that a scarecrow?

So which one is the pumpkin?

Mikayla and her green pumpkin . . .

If only I could have gotten him to smile,
they would have been twins!

This is the scarecrow Buff built . . .

This is the kid that Buff built . . .
(in case you couldn't tell . . . )

The trip

Well, we are home.

Over the (Mississippi) river and through Nebraska (where there are no woods) to Grandmother's house we went . . .

After packing 6 people into our vehicle and traveling 32 hours together, no one managed to kill each other - even though they tried. The seat belt law has saved lives again. They couldn't reach each other.

Overall it was a quiet trip - but not entirely uneventful.

1. Buff, the conqueror, conquered Nebraska - in one loooong trip. We swear Nebraska gets longer every year . . . Have the people who believe the world is overpopulated and we are running out of room for everyone ever driven through Nebraska?????
There is a lot of land . . . a lot of road . . . . and no bathrooms . . .

2. Brice was very excited when he spotted a "flock of cantaloupe" (known to the rest of the world as a "herd of antelope").
No, he will never live that one down.

3. Owen was very confused when he finally got to see Grandpa's horses. "Where are there seats?"
Apparently the saddles are extra . . .

4. It is official. It is very boring when Grandma drives the four-wheeler. She goes around all the mud puddles. Seriously, what fun is four-wheeling if you aren't wearing some of the dirt when you're done?! (This complaint is from Brice).

5. It is frustrating when you can't sleep because your nose is constantly dripping. It is quite terrifying to realize that it is actually blood that is dripping . . . It is very funny when you realize it is because all four kids are sleeping on the floor and your sister just kicked you in the nose thinking you were the suitcase . . .

6. Carra single-handedly conquered at least 3 of Grandma's jars of pickles. I think she now sweats vinegar.

7. I now realize there is contradiction in our definitions.
When I say windmill, I am thinking . . . .







When the kids hear "windmill", all they know is . . . .









8. A miracle. I, Tina, the non-reader of the family, read 4 books. Do I have to admit that 2 of them were on a 5th grade reading level for school? What else was I supposed to do for 32 hours in the car - between food fights and shouting contests? (Now I know why Buff always turns me down when I ask if he wants me to drive . . . it's easier to ignore the chaos when your driving.)

9. And because no trip out of town for the Powers family would be complete without it . . .

What do you get when you combine a 9 year old boy, a trampoline and a tricycle?

Chipped front teeth . . .

Yep, we get to spend lots of time with our dentist this time - all because we wanted to get away again. . .

(Vacation history for those of you who don't know: So far we have managed an CO emergency dentist appointment - requiring a trip in the ambulance to the emergency room (Buff 2003), stitches in IL (Mikayla 2005), a broken arm in IL (Mikayla 2007), and now broken teeth in CO . . . )

Hey, at least we are consistent . . . (and now broke . . . no pun intended . . .)

(Note about the picture above: He wouldn't pose for me, so I had to trick him to get the picture. All that brown stuff on his face is from Owen and his chocolate covered marshmallow . . .)

More pictures to come . . .

Speaking of growing . . . up . . .

I know I post a lot about the little kids in the family, but we all have to admit they do cuter things more often than older kids and just make the material easier to come by.

So here is my update of the older kids of the family.

Today I am feeling old, sad, excited, nervous and everything else in between.

Mikayla has had her first official babysitting job. You know, the kind where they pick her up, pay her and everything!

I feel old because I still picture myself as the mother of young children. I am excited because it means she may actually be old enough for me to leave the house once in a while and leave her in charge. I think I'm nervous because I wonder if she is really ready - sheesh - I remember being 12 and I am amazed that no children were harmed when I was in charge! (Actually, I'm 36 and I'm still amazed that no children have been harmed . . . )

It's just one of those sappy moments where I picture my toddler pushing the baby stroller across the living room . . . and then . . . bam! . . . she's now making money doing it . . . where did the time go? When did she grow up?

Speaking of up . . . here is where I found Brice today . . .


Yeah, it will be a while before we will be leaving him in charge . . .


Oh, and I found this wandering through the house the other day . . . .

We can't find any info as to identify the species or origin . . . it's just so . . . happy . . .

he's growing up . . .

Okay, so maybe he has grown up a bit . . .

a year and a half old

3 and a half years old . . .

(sigh, sniffle, sniffle, sigh)

Finally, someone sees it!

My four year old neighbor girl came up to me to ask if she could play with my daughter.

I just love how she addresses me.

"Umm, Super Powers, can I do fingernail polish?"

Who am I to correct her?

Now if I could just figure out what my super power is . . .

She's still talking . . .

The Carra-isms of the week. . . .

1. After watching a daddy-long-leg spider creep across the floor . . .

"So what does a mommy-long-leg look like?"

2. Out of the blue . . .

"Mom, will God have to take the roof off the house when His hand comes down and touches my heart?"

3. She had a joke to share . . .

"Two dogs were taking a bath and one dog asked the other dog to hand him the bar of soap. The other dog looked at him and said, 'What do you think I am? A radio?'"

See . . . learning how to talk is still my favorite stage! They never seem to outgrow it!

Summer Was:

**** Riding bikes











**** trips to the zoo

**** pogo sticking

**** summer school



**** geocaching










**** gardening

Well, a valiant attempt at least. I have a beautiful rock garden and I can grow amazing weeds!

**** sidewalk paint

**** trips to the park


**** t-ball

Way to go, Carra!

**** tea parties

**** summer walks




**** swimming lessons

****vacation

and now
Happy Fall!

About those babies . . .

We love Carra. We love Carra because she is just so . . . Carra. It's that individuality in each one of our kids that makes us love each one in such a special way.

If you ask Carra what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you a "big kid who is a mommy" every time. She plays for hours with her dolls. It is really all she thinks about.

This week has been extra special for the kids because Buff is home and has a lighter than usual schedule. Because of this he has taken each kid one-on-one on a special date. Today was Carra's turn and after their walk and ice cream cone they ran a quick errand to the hardware store. There was a baby swing for sale and it triggered something in Carra to ask more about babies and where they come from.

"Daddy, how do you get God to give you babies?"

Buff gave his best theological non-answer, "You have to start by praying because God gives us babies as a gift."

Carra ever so sweetly answered with, "Yes, but I have been asking God for a long time to give me a baby in my tummy and he hasn't given me one yet." (cue: heart melt)

Oh, how sweet.

But Buff, I think you have a bit more explaining to do . . .

Happy Day!

Yesterday was very exciting day for Carra. She has waited, rather impatiently, her whole life for this moment.

She finally lost her first tooth!

We have had many discussions about needing to brush her teeth or else her teeth will all fall out, in which she insisted that was exactly what she was hoping would happen! I am happy to say that this tooth fell out because it was supposed to - not because she didn't brush!

So, being the wonderful parents that we are, we snuck into her bedroom while she was in the closet getting dressed this morning and slid the dollar under her pillow (because we forgot to do it when she was sleeping - we always forget).

What I didn't get a picture of was Buff in his tooth fairy costume . . .

I bet you would have like to have seen that!

A day at the beach

What's not to love?

Brice at the mercy of all those girls . . .

The things they say . . .

We saw an interesting sight yesterday when two firefighters, dressed in fire gear, carrying tanks on their backs went running down the sidewalk. I believe they were training for something because they were maintaining a leisurely jog and not a frantic rescue pace.

Carra turned to us and remarked, "Hey, look! Those fire hydrants are running!"

Hmmm. We didn't notice any frustrated dogs following close behind . . .

Cooper and Brice....

Check out Grandma's new pet!!

Grandpa found this in the barn. Kitty or Fraidie caught him mid air!!

The trip

The kids and I ventured out to Michigan a few weeks ago to attend a small family reunion. I didn't include those pictures here because they are mostly my kids with people you've never met. Of course, I didn't know some of them either. If you want to go and see those pictures, you can go here.

The reunion only took up about 5 hours of the entire weekend.

Here is a look at some of the other fun moments we had on the trip. . .

Here is the task to be conquered.

Castle Rock.
164 steps to the top.

Fresh and ready to go . . .

Halfway up - and still smiling . . .

At the top. Owen is hyper. Carra is out of sorts.
A fun time to be sure . . .

Everyone at the top.
Notice how Owen still isn't just standing with the kids for a picture.
He is finding something else to climb.

Halfway down. That was the easy part . . .
(Oh, and Owen sat . . . for 2 seconds, but he sat.)

When I was a kid, I swore it was longer to the top. I also don't remember everything fenced in . . .it is funny how your perspective changes when you are taller.

Ahh, memory lane.

The trip continued . . .

And here are a few more pictures . . .

These are from our 20 minutes at the lake. (That's not an exaggeration)

Friends or cousins? The pressing debate continues . . .

Practicing for Baywatch ???

Ryan teaching Elaine how to fly.

Note that we were just getting our feet wet . . .

The cold walk back to Grandma's house.

Rest stop.
Happy to be free from the vehicles!

Long Draw Bull Moose