It's a Jolly Holiday???????

Tonight was the night that we took our kids on their first trick or treat adventure. The businesses on the town square host a trick or treat event for little ones from 3:30-6pm, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get our feet wet. And, well, we did, quite literally. It was cold and began to rain towards the end! But Layla loved it and had a great time.

As you can see, the kids went as Mary Poppins and Burt the chimney sweep. Thank you Miya for sharing your Mary Poppins goods with Layla. She was walking on air in that outfit. She was even trying to talk in a British accent. Cooper, surprisingly, kept his whole outfit on the entire time, but never did push his broom. He was too confused about what was going on, why people looked so strange, and why oh why people kept putting things in his bag (he didn't yet understand what candy was).

Now, as I watch the kids throwing themselves off the steps, jumping from the couch to the chair and running full force into the bathroom wall (giggling the whole time), I am 100% sure the first thing I will do when they go to bed is get rid of the sugar in their trick or treat bags!

Can We Just Hibernate Until Spring?

What a great time we had all summer, playing outside on and with all the fun stuff an acreage allows. Anytime the kids were fussy or fighting, I just took them outside. The fresh air, change of scenery and new activities were always the anecdote. And, for those reasons, I have been dreading the change of weather. Don't get me wrong, we love, LOVE, L O V E fall. But it's the rain, which turns to cold weather and snow, which means we're housebound that I hate! So, we've already had to start getting creative around the Handsaker House. We've built forts with sheets, using pillow cases as sleeping bags, we've taken household items, like the laundry basket, and re purposed them for things like a pretend dog kennel or a baby's bed. We've blown bubbles on the deck, baked, cooked, done clay projects, made jewelry, built farms on mountains (steps) and played endless games of hide and seek (which Cooer is really good at). Here are some pix of our futile attempts to enjoy the great indoors!

A Little Male Influence

Apparently, all Cooper needed to jump start the talking was a little male influence. He likes to point to people in pictures and ask, "Ma?" That is his way of asking, "Whose that?" Today, he pointed to a picture of Papa Dean and asked, "Ma?" I said, "That's Papa." And Cooper said........"Papa." Clear as day. Now he runs up to the picture and says "Papa".

To kill time yesterday while Layla was in school, I took Cooper to the mall where I was happy with endless Starbucks and he was happy with unlimited time in the play area with no other kids. I then took him up to Scheels where they have numerous stuffed birds, elk, moose, deer, etc. He walked around, looking at them in amazement and stillness, breathlessly whispering, "wow....wow.....wow....wow..." And then proceeded to point and say "duck" 1000 times. I guess all the little man needed was some male influence.

He is also now calling Layla La-La. So stinkin' cute!

A Good Weekend

Our weekend was good and restful! As previously posted, my favorite weekend consist of a little rest, a little work, a little family time and a little time with friends. We were able to get it all in. And, best of all for the kids, we carved pumpkins and toasted the seeds. They both loved the toasted seeds, I eventually had to cut them off. Cooper has a little cold, just congestion really. A little coughing here and there and no temp. But, with the whole H1N1 thing, I take his temp like 4 times/day....just to make sure things aren't changing!

The Zip Lock

What a fun weekend we had in Sioux City, IA. One of my cousins on the Holles side got married Friday night and it was a great excuse for the Holles clan to PARTY! The Holles side (my mom's family) is fun and LOUD and likes a good party. We were able to spend Saturday at my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Marguerite's house. If you've met this couple, I need not say anymore. But, if you haven't, this was the aunt and uncle who taught us to play hide-and-seek in the house with all the lights off and every time Aunt Marguerite sees you she greets you as if you are the only person on the planet and she's been anxiously awaiting your arrival for 5 years. They are awesome and they've made their house a wonderful place for their grand kids and all of us big kids too.

Here are Layla and Cooper on the "zip lock", as Layla calls it. It's really a zip line and they both loved it. Dave spotted Cooper all the way, but he didn't really need it. We now have plans to install on of these babies at the Handsaker Ranch this summer. SOOOOOOO FUN!

Happy Hair Day

Layla's letter to learn at school last week was H. Each week they meet (via picture) a new letter person who has fun, physical characteristics. Last week was Mr. H who had Happy Hair. So, on Wednesday, the kids went to school with the happiest hair they could come up with. WHAT JOY FOR LAYLA! Her creative hair do's that she is always telling me about, yet I rarely let her wear in public, came to fruition. She instructed me and I did as I was told. Here is Layla's happy hair.

Seriosuly?

As I was in the car, waiting for Layla after school, there was a group of older kids walking out. These kids all had Dowling High School shirts on, so they were obviously visiting ICA for some reason. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM pulled out some sort of cell phone/blackberry device and were checking it and texting. NONE of them were talking to each other, just walking in groups checking their phones. Seriously?

Here's another one for you.....I was driving in my car and ahead of me was a lady with a disabled symbol on her license plate, a handicap tag in her window, driving, eating Hardees and talking on her phone.

There are so many things I just don't understand.

Preview of 2009 Family Pictures

Amazing that we had these family pictures taken at our house last weekend. Thank goodness we didn't schedule them for this past weekend. We would have been COLD!!! I love the picture of Cooper where he looks like he's posing for gangsta rap CD cover. Can you guess which one I'm referring to?

http://smidts.blogspot.com/2009/10/handsaker-family.html

Layla Rockin' the Mic

What do we do on a Saturday evening for fun in Winterset? Turn off all the lights in the house, get a flashlight out for a spotlight, and let our 4 year old entertain us.

We woke up this morning........

....to this. At least 2 inches of snow. It snowed from 6am-1pm. This wasn't the little dusting they said we would have, that wouldn't accumulate. But, by early afternoon, this was all Uncle Jeremy and Layla could muster up for a snowman. Layla was thrilled!

Ever Wonder What 52 Tons of Rock Looks Like?

Well, when you work for months and neatly stack it, it looks like this. Obviously, we still need to plant the grass and put in the pretty stuff around the house. But, I think we have given up hope of getting that done this fall. And, honestly, that is a relief! This is 52 ton of rock and the rock walls are about 4.5-5 feet tall.

Oh My Foolish Mommy!

Cooper has enjoyed coloring and drawing with crayons for the last few months. Today, I threw caution to the wind and let the boy try the much coveted markers. He did great............until I left the kitchen to check the laundry. Here is what I saw when I returned. A very proud little man.

The Big Cheese!!!!

Every morning when I drop Layla off at school she says, "I wonder who The Big Cheese will be today. I hope it's me!" And, every day, she's come home to report it wasn't her. Being The Big Cheese is an honor in the classroom and it means she gets to be the line leader, teacher's helper, etc. She has been waiting 7 weeks to be the big cheese. It's been a good opportunity for us to talk about patience and being happy for others when good things happen in their lives.

Well, yesterday was finally her day! She was The Big Cheese. And, beacuse they had class pictures and Bible Buddies yesterday, their classroom time was cut short. So, she got to be The Big Cheese again today! I told her God was blessing her for her patience. She assured me that she will be even more patient as she waits for her next turn to be The Big Cheese. She's sure that more patience equals many more days in a row of being The Big Cheese. On the way home she called Daddy to give him every detail. When she was done I asked her if she wanted to call her Grandma's and tell them the big news as well. She said no, as she was sure that they had already heard the news.

Copy Cat

There is something I've recently noticed about Cooper. He is a copy cat. He can do just about anything he sees someone else do. If I work out at home to a exercise video, he will watch me for a few seconds and copy my moves. There is a dance studio on the first floor of our gym. On our way out last night the kids stopped to watch and, sure enough, the boy start plies and piques. It's hilarious. It also comes in handy when teaching him things he really needs to know, like using a real cup and silverware! From a very early age he understood how to get the right shapes into their corresponding openings in his shape block and how any mechanical toy works. He just watches us once and then does it. It will be interesting to see where this skill takes him in life. Hopefully it's not as an Elvis impersonator on America's Got Talent!