Look-Alike Meters

I think the beard is throwing the whole thing off!

Kindergarten Techr

Spidey

I am totally creeped out by spiders. And yet we are enjoying watching this ginormous spider building and even ginormouser web in the backyard.

Adventures with a Pink Camera

I just never know what I'll find when I upload pictures off of Gabi's camera. Here are her shots of her brother, the backyard, and a trip to the state park visitors center with her dad.

Gabi a la Warhol

Micah says Hi

Giggle Gear!

Gabi got a bunch of Giggle Gear for her birthday and plays with it often. Here are some shots of her funny creations.

I had to, uhm, I mean, I got to wear it, too.

Gabi went to Gramsy's House...

way before school started, and she took The Pink Camera with her. And I just now found out she took pictures while she was there. I won't post the picture of my mom taken from behind while she bent over the dishwasher, or the closeup of Jessie Drew's toes, but here are a few of the other fun ones!

Tipper, too

Tipper was feeling some sibling rivalry and wanted her fair share of pics on blog, so she stared at the camera a while so I could snap a shot.

1Kid1Kat

Micah and Mackie (our fat cat) have been hanging out together. Or the cat has been stalked by the boy, might be more appropriate. He just loves her, and says, "That cat Mackie my friend!". Meanwhile, this is the face she makes when he's "playing" with her.

He likes to be a cat with her.

And her tail tickles his nose.

And he shows her where her food is (as if she doesn't know... have you seen a fatter cat?!)

Micah chases her.

Micah helping put out her food (perhaps this is why she tolerates him).

Laying in the floor together.

Ah, a hug from a boy to his cat!

Giddyup Gabi

Micah's buddy, Benjamin, loaned us a new Veggie Tales movie, Mo and the Big Exit. Blake is working on a sermon series on Moses, so called this "sermon prep" when he watched it with the kids after school today. It's Moses and the exodus from Egypt, but in a western theme. It inspired a cowgirl dress-up costume.

Our daughter, the tropical storm

I really hope that everyone on the east coast stays safe with the tropical storm approaching, but Gabi is just delighted there is a storm named after her and that they keep saying "Gabrielle" on TV.

More Little Boy Blake

Blake with a puzzle piece, and check out the awesome 1970's kitchen:

Baby Blake:

The last time Blake was involved in any type of car repair:

Babies: Blake & Gabi

We had to dig out an old baby photo of Blake for a project at church, and while I was at it I found one of Gabi at about the same age. Thought it would be fun to compare the two of them! I found a whole stack of Blake's kid/baby pics, so I may post some more in the coming days. Lots of the photos are damaged, so I'm going to try and do some restoration with photoshop, then post them here for posterity. (Yes, Blogger is my form of "saving for posterity"; how nutty is that?)

Micah's Painting

With all this talk of Kindergarten, I nearly forgot to blog about Micah going back to preschool. He's in the cubbies class now, but most importantly still with Benjamin. Blake picks him and Gabi up from schools on the days I am teaching. Micah loves his class (although he claims that he also goes to Kindergarten). Today I came in from work and was greeted to Micah saying, "Picture Mama, Picture Mama! I painted you!" He went on to point out my mouth and eyes in the painting, and said, "Mama pretty." What a sweet boy! Nice painting, too!

The Wedding is Back On

Some of you may have heard that Gabi and her boyfriend, Evan, had been on the outs because he had found another girlfriend and thrown Gabi's rest blanket in the trash, resulting in him being the first student of the year to have to move his behavior clothespin to yellow at Kindergarten. Well, when Blake picked her up today, she mentioned as an aside that she and Evan had played at recess. Later, on our way to dance class, Gabi explained that Evan was now her number one boyfriend again and he wasn't grumpy at school any more. I offered up the possibility that maybe starting a new school had been a little hard for him and now that he was getting adjusted, he was back to himself. But, no, Gabi knew exactly what the real problem was and explained his behavior turn-around. "Evan looked around and found the number one girl and I'm pointing to her right now and it's me. That's why Evan is happy again. And we're getting married after college." If this is Kindergarten, how will we ever survive the soap opera that is junior high?

Micah's Thinking of Something

Gabi likes to play a game in the car called, "I 'm Thinking of Something." It's some morph of 20 Questions and I Spy where she gives a clue and then we ask a few basic questions and try to guess what she's thinking of. It can get tricky, because you never know if it's her shoes, an imaginary pink pony, or a sign she saw 3 miles back on the road and nobody else noticed. Her first clue is always the color of whatever she's thinking about. Well, Micah has started to want turns, too. Here's how that goes:

Micah: I'm thinking of something blue (except when he says it it sounds more like, "me tinka summin bwooo."
Us: Is it the sky?
Micah: No.
Us: Is it Thomas the Tank Engine?
Micah: Yes! You got it! Now I'm thinking of something blue.
Us: Uhhmm, is it Thomas the Tank Engine?
Micah: Yes! You got it!
{The above refrain was then repeated like a contemporary praise music lyric... over and over and over and over......}

Micah: Now I'm thinking of something brown.
Us: Brown!? (said in utter amazement that he hadn't said blue again) Is it alive?
Micah: No.
Us: Is it in the car?
Micah: No.
Us: Does is make a sound?
Micah: Cow says, "mooooo."
Us: Oh, is it maybe a cow?
Micah: Yes! You got it!

Things that make you go, "hmmmmm....."

Happy Birthday, Blake!

After church yesterday, we celebrated Blake's 33rd birthday. His mom, dad, aunt, and Jim and Maxine (who are related but I can't begin to explain how) all came over to the house. We had chili and hot fudge cake, per Blake's request. Blake opened his presents and Gabi wore her favorite birthday dress. Everyone had a good time!