Quotable Quotes XX

Today I told Sunny we were going to see her friend, AJ. "I'm going to marry AJ because he is sneaky and I'm sneaky." She proceeded to tell me how she found out they were both sneaky, but I couldn't begin to quote it. For one thing, it was too long, and for another, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Quotable Quotes XIX

(This is Ben.)

Tonight Kandy went to a friend's house to watch a movie. She REALLY gets into movies. Intense parts make her want to get up and leave because she is so emotionally invested in what is going on in the movie. I am sometimes like that too.

On the way home, she told me that one of the younger people in the group did not have to get up and leave like she did during one of the scary parts. I said that she was like me and got involved in movies more than some other people.

She remarked, "I have the Kendrick movie pants."

"Movie Pants?" I asked. I thought for a moment, stumped. "Oh," I said, "Do you mean movie genes?"

"Yeah, Movie Jeans."

Civil War Days

Yesterday was a lot of fun! We went to the Civil War Days at This is the Place Heritage State Park with the Nowlings. It was great! We got to do normal stuff and watch two battle re-enactments.

Here is the Union Army assembling for an attack on the cornfield.

Buster, Kandy, and Missy watching them spread out,
ready to march!

After some good fighting in the cornfield (which we could hear but not see), the Confederate cavalry sneaked up on the back of the Union soldiers.

The Confederate cavalry charged the Union cavalry and there was a small sword duel. It's hard to see in this picture, unfortunately.

Here is the Confederate infantry firing on the back of the retreating Union soldiers.

The Confederates won this battle. The Union won the morning battle, which was a trench battle. We enjoyed it, but we were too far away for good pictures. A lot of this one happened right in front of us. We plan on going next year even if we don't have a membership! We also watched a comedy troupe and visited a store with vintage clothing and other items.

LABOR Day Weekend

HALLELUJAH!!!

Better than sleep

In the mornings, if I want a little more sleep, I turn on a movie for the little ones and crash on the couch in the family room. This morning I tried that, but Buster and Sunny kept coming for cuddles. I didn't get much of a nap, but nothing beats cuddling cute little people--especially if they had baths the night before! It was one of those wonderful mommy pay-off moments.

New Roof and Murphy's Law

or It's So Not Funny That It's Funny.

As many of you will remember, our house had a roof leak that caused an electrical fire before we even closed on the thing. We told them it needed a new roof, and a roofing contractor agreed with us. HUD, though, wanted to do a patch job. We knew it was the right house so we went ahead with the sale anyway. We assumed that the patch would last us at least 6 months. The day we closed, it was raining. And the roof was leaking. So all summer, we have known we needed to replace the roof. Ben wanted a 3-day weekend, so we chose this weekend, Labor Day weekend.

Friday night, Ben's brother called to let us know that he had been in an accident. He was fine, but the dump trailer we were planning to use for all the old shingles was broken. We dumped stuff onto tarps and onto the ground to clean up later.

The sky was threatening, but we decided we should go for it anyway after looking at weather.

Saturday morning, Ben's dad's truck broke down. This made him late, which did not help because we were counting on his professional expertise for purchasing materials and getting the construction work started.

Saturday afternoon, someone started ripping off the front roof, which we weren't going to do until the back was all done. Oops.

We were blessed Sunday. No rain!!! No rain, so no work done. What a lovely day of rest.

Sunday night, the babysitter I had lined up for Monday had sick kids. Monday morning, I had to call around to find someone to help. Thank goodness for good friends!

Monday morning was pretty smooth, except that without a dump trailer, it took over an hour to empty the borrowed trailer at the dump.

My personal favorite, though, is Monday afternoon. I went down to turn the main line on to the swamp cooler to discover that the main water line was leaking. I came up to tell Ben: "I really wish I didn't have to tell you, but..." We turned off water at the street. Now we have no water to the house. Luckily, we have very kind neighbors who are willing to let our helpers use their bathroom! I came upstairs chuckling and shaking my head. "It's so not funny that it's funny!"

Yes, Virginia, Murphy is alive and well.

Thanks so much to all of our friends, family, and neighbors who helped SO MUCH with the roof. Thanks to the lovely ladies who watched my kids and helped with food, too!!!

Pregnancy and Pickles

It's not that I dislike pickles, nor do I really love them. I haven't really craved them during this pregnancy, but oddly, though, every time I have been to a party with pickles lately, I can't leave them alone! Today at the grocery store I bought a jar of tiny dills. Yum! And I keep going back for more. Weird.

When I was expecting Sunny, I LOVED oatmeal. Loved it. Couldn't eat enough. I have a strong aversion to oatmeal as a general rule. I hoped I would still like it after she was born (it's cheap, healthy, and filling), but unfortunately, I like it even less now.

Have any of you enjoyed or craved foods during pregnancy that you usually don't eat?

Quotable Quotes XVIII

In one car ride home, Sunny said two funny things.

1 - She said a phrase, then asked, "How many siblings does that have?" (She meant syllables.)

2 - We passed a church. "I know why they call it a church. It's because you have to be quiet there. Church. Sh, ch, sh..."

She is also just very silly on purpose. We were doing animal sounds, and she would ask things like, "What sound does a house make?" and "What sound does a fence make?" She cracks me up!

Buster is 18 months old!

Buster in Kandy's bike helmet

Buster is 18 months old! He had his doctor visit today. He is in the 77th percentile for height and about 50th in weight. Lean, mean, climbin' machine. And running. Everything is used for either hitting or throwing, as far as he is concerned. He is talking a little, with a vocabulary between 10 and 15 words. Very important words: Mommy, Daddy, shoes, outside, doggie, drink, and paci are among his favorites. Oh, and Bob. Bob the Builder is a big hit around here. I wish I could get a recording of him singing the theme song--it is hilarious! It's something like this: "Bob-a-Bah-bah, grunt, grunt, grunt, grunt!" (For those of you who don't know the real words it is "Bob the Builder, Can we build it? Bob the Builder, Yes, we can!")

He is very active and keeps me on my toes. He is a joy to have around, and it is fun to watch him learn so much every day.