Pumpkin Phun

Sara picks out a proportional pumpkin...

...And so does Daddy

Kala and Claire with their selections

Sara helping with the annual pumpkin-porch placement ritual (Photographer: Amy)

Daddy leads everyone in a stirring rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Pumpkin Star" at Mikala's request (Photographer: Amy)

MUD RUN '09

We were excited to try the mud run this year for the first time. I had a friend on facebook who had a team with an opening, so I signed up. It was interesting not knowing what to expect. I was a little bit nervous--the mud run is 4.2 miles, through obstacles, and, you guessed it--mud. There was also a pollywog course for the kids. The kids were really excited; Mikala was born for this, but Amy chickened out when she realized she would have to get dirty. The Mud Run will definitely be a tradition...

Team Mud Pies, pumped and ready to go.

Amy and Mikala in Line at the Pollywog course

Kala dives in.

"Victory!"

"Victory?"

6 Miles, 4 Kids, 2 Bikes

... and 2 bike trailers, of course.

It's been a while since this family has been on a bike ride. We can make all sorts of valid excuses involving real logistical problems--but we really want to be a bike family again. We dusted off the old bikes, and supplemented  our one trailer with another from a friend, and voila, a Hood Bike Caravan.

For our first trip, we went to Riverfront Park, which has a path that runs 3 miles each way down the old Columbia canal. Here are some pictures:

Amy and Sara (yep, it's a little tight)

Claire and Mikala

Amy: Happy to be out of the Trailer at the End of the Trail

Lunch at the Canal Lock (yes Heidi was with us too, we fixed up an old bike from the shed that was just her size)

Kala Performing on the Stage

Sara, Otterly Excited

St Louis

OK. First of all, obviously we've had an Extreme Makeover - Blog Edition. We're going with an "elegant-modern" look inspired by our most recent photo shoot of the girls (photos of the shoot will be coming in a later post).

Because we've neglected the blog over the busy summer months. We are going to catch up, starting with our anniversary trip to St Louis:

The Arch

 

St Louis Union Station (where we stayed)

Tammy at the Zoo

Again, Tammy at the Zoo

Joe at the Zoo

Again, Joe at the Zoo

At the Base of the Arch

Tammy in the Tiny Cylindrical Arch-Elevator

The Shadow of the Arch

Us at the Top

Tammy with a 1/2" thick piece of stainless steel between her and 600 feet of nothing

Why St Louis? Well, why not St Louis. It's the gateway to the West. The arch is very romantic, and St Louis Union Station is gorgeous. It really had nothing to do with the fact that we got the the hotel, food, and half the airfare paid for because we coupled our anniversary adventure with a business trip.

Pop Quiz #2

It's that time again! Who will earn the highest score?

Here's how to play (for those of you who are new to this game):

below is a list of words our children say, spelled phonetically. Simply reply with your answers in the comments.

1. I scay-wee (Claire) (hint: fireworks) (1 pt for what she says, and 1 pt for what it's s'posed to be)
2. bay-bee-soup (Mikala) (hint: Pine Island) (4 pts)
3. goy-car (Mikala) (hint: singing time) (5 pts)
4. pick-a-bud-da (Claire) (hint: snack time) (1 pt)
5. clock-a-muk (Claire) (hint: snack time again) (3 pts)
6. blib-blop (Amy) (hint: summer fashion) (2 pts)
7. hock-a-bus (Claire) (hint: ocean friend) (4 pts) <-- our favorite
8. chiths (Sara) (hint: Moooo) (5 pts)
9. Laaah! (guttural) (Sara) (hint: ceiling) (2 pts)
10. Neh-wah (Amy, Mikala, Claire) (hint: relative) (4 pts)

On your mark, get set, GO!

Winner gets a fully stamped Marble Slab Club Card good for one free ice cream that expires 9-30-09 (at the Lexington location--sorry to those of you who moved away!)

Evolution of Amy

As a follow up to our last post, here's a look at Amy throughout the shoot. She really made an honest effort, but there was only so much she could take . . .

Yep, That's Really the Best One

We tried to get a family portrait done at the grandparents for Father's Day, and we utterly failed. We think we know why, and want to offer some suggestions on how NOT to prepare your kids for a decent photo:

1) Don't feed them crepes with chocolate-hazel nut spread, whipped cream, powered sugar, and toffee chips for breakfast. It's great and all to have a dessert breakfast for Father's Day, but we set the kids up for a major crash--and crash they did.
2) Don't expect to have happy kids after an hour drive, where they have enough time to get very, very tired, but not enough time to have any productive sleep.
3) Don't try to do outdoor shots when it's 95 degrees and 80% humidity. The kids no likey.

The Big Mo

We went to the Big Mo to see Up and Night at the Museum 2. Amy's been on this "Thumbs Up" thing lately. So, let's see how the kids rate the trip:

An hour and a half in a little van with my 3 crazy sisters?

THUMBS DOWN!

A little extra caffeine to keep us up until 1:00 (AM)?

THUMBS UP!

Daddy says no rides!

THUMBS DOWN!

Playing Connect Four with yourself--you can't lose!

THUMBS UP!

Front Center Parking Spot

THUMBS UP!

"Look Mommy I'm Daddy!"

Kala loves to dress up. Now her dress up has become cross-dressing in Daddy clothes--from Mommy's clean laundry pile. We're hoping she never grows into them.

Easter Dresses

Will Work For Food

Ahh, the childhood rite of strawberry picking! It's only natural that children, who are so good at picking (and eating) things, are drawn to this ritual . . .

Look at our hard working team! (shown here with friend Heidi) A couple of minutes later, Mikala will complain that her basket is "too hebby" and Mommy will have to carry it the rest of the way . . .

Sara is shown here eating a strawberry that's apparently a little sour, but she will eat it anyway because she is a human garbage disposal. This is why she has to be strapped to Mommy's back for strawberry picking--at least until she's out of the dirt-eating phase . . .

Claire apparently doesn't care that her parents take it upon themselves to dress her like a New Kids on the Block groupy. She was a pretty good worker.

So, that's a sampling of our recent strawberry picking trip. Hopefully we tricked the kids into experiencing a little work.