Pancakes and Pumpkins

Our church (Northwest Community of Christ) had their Pancakes and Pumpkins Breakfast today and boy was it yummy. The girls enjoyed our pastors home made syrup and the pumpkin pancakes. We also worked on a candy corn good trick or treat bag but we didn't get that finished because we had to leave quickly. Clarissa also had play practice today for the musical that the First Christian Church's E.D.G.E (every day God experiences) is doing this year. She got to pick what animal she wanted to be and she chose to be a bird. I told her that she will make a perfect bird. We then got home to enjoy lunch and then rest time! I was tired too after running around so much for the beginning of the day. Then after us Painter girls where well rested we played Barbie Dolls and watched a movie. Today the girls reminded me what great kids they are. Even though we had a busy morning they were understanding and never once complained. I'm so thankful to God for my two precious miracles.

A friend of mine took this picture of the girls

at the Pumpkins and Pancakes breakfast.

Clarissa at her musical practice.

The lighting was dark so I cropped the

picture and tried to add some light using

a photo program we have on our computer.

Trick or Treat 2010

The day is finally here. We got the girls their costumes back in September. I took each girl into Children's Place and asked them (with out the other present) to pick out the costume they liked the most. Both girls chose the same one and to me that was fine. I saw that they were not very warm outfits and the way our last several trick or treat nights had been I chose to get leggings with them. That is the only thing that is different. Clarissa has blue and Kimberly has purple. We did wear shoes trick or treating but in the pictures we posted we were still at home so we didn't mind bare feet and it was a perfect night for the costumes they picked a month ago. We had a great time and the girls got to wear a little more make up than they had on last night. We went to several different houses and mainly people we knew or who asked specifically to have the girls come over. The girls had a great time and loved showing off their costumes by twirling and posing for pictures at our friends houses. We usually get done early but this year we got home right at 8:00pm WOW that was crazy to be done right as trick or treating was finished. The girls got their bath or shower and then were off to bed with out a peep out of either one of them. I would have to say that we have enough candy to last till eater but the best part is the girls had a great time and so did Quentin and I.

Two pictures of the fairy's out side. They are so beautiful and getting so big. I can't believe October is almost over and then we only have 2 more months till 2011.

To friends and family far and near the we would like to

wish you all a Happy Halloween.

Here are the pumpkins at night with

the candles lit!

Fall Fun Night!

Today was Clarissa's schools Fall Fun Night! Kids come dressed up and each school grade has a booth set up with different games. You win prizes, candy, and trinkets. I'm 1 of 3 home room mom's for Kindergarten and so we decided to do a fun witches hat ring toss and it was a big hit even for the older kids. We set up 3 witches hats on orange traffic cones and the kids threw glow in the dark necklaces at it. I took the first shift thinking we might be able to head over to the hospital as well but that didn't happen because the girls where having such a good time we decided not to leave. They had a costume contest for all the ages too and that was fun. I was happy to help and I was happy the girls had a good time. Since I was doing so much Quentin did his best to get pictures of the girls doing the different things so I hope you enjoy the pictures below!

The girls in the bouncy house! This year they picked the

SAME costumes and I even took them

into the store one at a time.

Clarissa at the Pre School booth!

Kimberly at the Pre School booth.

Kimberly wanted her face painted with a heart.

She's dressed like a fairy but has a kitty cat face???

~STILL ADORABLE~

Pumpkin Time!

While I had bowling on Tuesday night Quentin and the girls carved pumpkins! I hope to get pictures of the girls with their creations when its not so windy outside! But here are the finished products. Clarissa's has two teeth and Kimberly's is surprised. I hope to have more photo's coming up but maybe they will be in a future post with the girls in their costumes!

A Splash Of Color

We have been a busy family with school activities and other things that it feels like we are always coming and going. On Sunday Clarissa's school held their very first Family Movie Night and it was showing Planet 51. I'm on the home and school comity so I was at the main table and Quentin sat on blankets with the girls. Clarissa loved seeing friends of her's outside of school. I liked talking to other mom's. We plan to host another movie again because this one was such a success that we are looking forward to doing more.

Today Quentin wanted to get some golf in and I thought it was a great idea because his parents haven't seen the girls for a while and I wanted to get a few things done around the house and so it was a win/win situation with all parties involved. I enjoyed relaxing and even working on a few things, but nothing could have prepared me for what the girls greeted me with when they came RUNNING in the doors. They each carried a bundle of flowers that they had picked for me. Clarissa told me, "Mom you are so pretty and I love you. These are for you!" I smiled and got up to get a vase and then Kimberly came running in, "Mommy mommy look these are for you." I smiled and put both bundles together and got them in a vase. I hugged them both and told them just how much I loved them and that they didn't have to do that! I took some pictures of the flowers so that even after they wilt I will forever have a splash of color!

A Movie Marathon

Yes another Saturday is here and Quentin is once again at the Hawkeye game and I'm sad to report that the Hawkeye's lost. But here at home me and the girls enjoyed another one of our movie marathons. They stayed the night at my parents house and so once we got home from eating with my mom the girls decided they wanted to have another movie marathon. We did this last time and each movie has a common theme. This time it was a take turns picking type of marathon. Clarissa chose Cinderella but after about half way both girls where ready to rest for a little bit so they did and then got up and finished the movie. They then watched 2 more movies Tinkerbell and Little Mermaid. These movies are shown allot at our house but never right after each other this made the girls very happy. I love coming up with fun things to do with the girls on football game Saturdays. Since we don't have direct tv anymore we don't watch that much tv and mainly stick to movies and listening to music. I feel that we are better in touch with the kids when we turn off all the distractions around us.

Painter's Painting

Yesterday and today the girls wanted to work on their little pumpkins and I thought it was a great time and figured that most likely next week we will decorate the big pumpkins. I decided to let the girls paint them and then we would add the face stickers. I showed them what they could do on a big pumpkin form our garden that had been having trouble standing up and then let the girls go to town on theirs. We painted on October 18th and put the stickers on today! Kimberly wouldn't let her pumpkin out of her sight all on Monday and even took a nap with it. I didn't get a picture of that because I didn't want to wake her up. Oh and on here I'm also adding a picture that we took on Sunday of Quentin reading to the girls. They love being read to and we love reading to them.

Quentin reading to the girls and Kimberly protecting her pumpkin

These girls are ready to start! I thought Quentin did a great job capturing their excitement.

Clarissa took her time to make sure that she was happy

with the end product and she was.

Kimberly was very into making sure that it looked perfect.

Clarissa chose this face because the mouth was pink

and that's her favorite color!

Kimberly picked this face because it had 3 teeth and she's 3 years old!

Both girls and the pumpkins that they painted and put

sticker faces on. The are quite proud of what they did

and so are Quentin and I.

We Have Pumpkins!

Last year we tried to grow pumpkins but it didn't go so well. We had a few blossoms but nothing ever came of them. This year we decided to to it a little different and in a bigger location. And we had so many start off but a family of bunnies came over to visit so not all of them made it. I think we counted but to 12 at one point. So we would keep our eyes open for any signs of orange and out of nowhere we did. we have 5 pumpkins that are ready for decorating and we have 2 that are half green and half orange. I have a feeling that 7 pumpkins will be fully orange and ready for little ones before Halloween. I'm so excited that we got pumpkins this year and it really was a great year to plant because of all the rain that God sent our way.

The Apple of My Eye

Today we enjoyed our yearly tradition of visiting Deals Orchard with my parents! We went with my parents, sister, niece, and Fred. We didn't pick big pumpkins since this year we grew our own and we have as of now 5 orange pumpkins and 1 green that should be orange before Halloween. We did pick out 2 little pumpkins for the girl to decorate. Kimberly did find a really unique pumpkin that now looking back I wish I would have gotten because it was truly a one of a kind pumpkin. We got several pictures of many of the activities we took part in. They hay ride was first and it drove us around the Orchard and the 3rd generation owner was so kind to tell us some fun facts about the different tree's and pumpkins that they plant this year. We even got to see some of the Christmas trees that they will be selling. We also enjoyed the corn sandbox and wobble cars among other things. Each girl had their favorite parts of the day.

Clarissa- I really liked the hay ride and barring mommy in the corn box. That was so fun and I had a great time.

Alina- My favorite part was the playground, and playing with my cousins Clarissa and Kimberly.

Kimberly- My favorite part was snack time and the hay ride. I really love my pumpkin too.

These girls are the best and they make me smile all the time. We did get a family photo but it happens to be on my dads camera to I will come back and add that later!

Kimberly looking at the unique pumpkin I was talking about.

The girls and the dads

The girls LOVE seeing how much they have grown.

Kimberly played a game of bing bag toss

This wasn't just fun for kids

Having a fun time having a race against a new friend

Clarissa loved the wobble cart

The girls enjoying their yummy apples

But the fun didn't end at Deals Orchard we then got back to my parents house (Mama Mary and Papa Ray) to make some apple sauce. My family has been making apple sauce for as long as I can remember and now we have passed that down to share with the next generation. The girls all had different jobs at different times. Alina and Kimberly where on washing duty. One would hand the apple to the other and then wash it in the sink. Clarissa graduated from a washer to a waist disposer. The parts that are not good to have in apple sauce she was to take to the garden. She was so happy to have a new job and all the girls loved being a part of making the apple sauce with help from the adults. I was mainly a cutter and I also worked on filling bags for freezing and then eating at a later date. My dad was the pro and so he over saw everything and mainly was in charge of the apples on the stove and knowing when they where soft enough for the next part and that was my sister Megan's job. She was in charge of putting the soft apples into the machine that would then turn them into apple sauce we can eat and the waste would go in a separate container for Clarissa to then take to the garden. My mom helped with washing and getting water for the for a new batch of apples and Fred filled in at each station when help was needed. We had a great time and created life long memories of making apple sauce at Mama Mary and Papa Ray's house!

Hot Coco Kind of Day

The girls woke up and today was no ordinary Friday morning. Clarissa didn't have school today so we all got to sleep in. It was nice to wake up to the girls giggling beside my bed. I asked them what they where up to. Kimberly told me "Mom today feels like a hot coco kind of day." and then Clarissa added "Yup and also oatmeal with brown sugar too. They go really good together!" I smiled and agreed to this yummy idea. I'm not a big fan of hot coco myself but I'm more than happy to make it for them and they LOVE hot coco. They where tickled pink and loved every moment of their nice warm breakfast to start their Friday off right. They each had a cup for breakfast along with their oatmeal and then they wanted to share a cup later on in the day!

~Sister's by chance, Friends by choice~

Goofing Around

Today was Clarissa's picture day at school and this morning she was practicing her smile while looking at herself. After school the first things she told me was that she stayed on blue (a good behavior card system her school has) and then she showed me her smile that she used for her school picture! After Quentin was home from work Clarissa was playing around and found a pom pom that Quentin brought home form the last Hawkeye game and she put it on her head with a hat and was walking around. I had to get a picture it was to precious.

Kimberly's picture is from earlier this month but still same type of thing. I was taking several random pictures of her and then she decided that she wanted to pull the hat she was wearing over her eyes only revealing her smile that has cookie crumbs all over it. I love when kids get creative on their own!!!

This next picture was also an in the moment type of thing as well. Clarissa and Kimberly where playing outside after Clarissa got home from school and they where holding hands and I glanced up and saw their shadows. I try to carry my camera on me at all times so I happened to have it. I love this picture of my two favorite girls. I've been truly blessed.

Just The Girls!

Like most Saturday's during football season Quentin was at the game in Iowa City and so it was just me and my favorite girls. I asked them what they wanted to do and since I've been bowling every Tuesday they wanted to go bowling too. I figured it would be a good time and I would get some practice in. We decided to eat and bowl all in 1 trip. The girls did really good and had a little help in the beginning but by the 5th frame they wanted to do it without my help. Kimberly did sit out for a few turns because she wanted to eat and not play so I bowled for her. Clarissa got a SPARE! I was very proud of her and told her that spares are not easy to get and even I have a hard time getting spares. That made her feel good. Kimberly was precious this was her first time bowling and she would just stand there after throwing her ball and wiggle the way she wanted the ball to go like it would help. I was doing pretty good myself and enjoyed watching the girls play.

Both girls where so excited to get started bowling.

I was first up to bowl then Kimberly then Clarissa!

Our final score but Kimberly didn't bowl for a few frames so she could eat but she did do petty good! Clarissa needed to hold her ball differently and then I think she would have done better. I'm still very proud of both girls and am happy that they had such a good time. I can't wait to take them back again!

After bowling we all got really hot and even though it was pretty cool outside the girls insisted that we go swimming. We LOVE swimming and the girls are little water monkeys. So we got home and quickly got ready for swimming. We got to he pool and like always the girls where all over the place. Kimberly is a natural swimmer and I think it helps that she was introduced to the water at a very early age of 3 weeks old. Clarissa started going swimming at 9 months. Kimberly swam with out a floaty across the long way of the pool and back. I so badly wish I would have brought my camera into the pool area but it is against the rules so i figured leaving it in the locker room would be better then breaking the rules. Clarissa has been swimming since she was 4 so having Kimberly be such an advanced swimmer makes me think that swim team might be calling her name! We got done swimming and got into the van and our favorite song was on the radio and even though we live 4 mins away from the pool we went a longer way to get home. And who would have thought both girls where fast asleep. I carried them inside the house and they are right now resting after having (what they are calling) the best day with the best mom in the world. I have to say its easy being the best mom when you have the best kids!