Sofia and the Bob

So, I finally took Sofia to the beautician to see what they could do to fix her "haircut"... She looked at it. Brushed it this way and that. Then after about five minutes looked at me and said, "I can't really fix it. But, I can minimize the damage and make it a little less noticeable." It turned out pretty cute. Although, I don't think the photos do it justice. make sure to check out her little ear lobes as well, because we got our ears pierced!

Gingerbread Houses...

On Saturday, the Humes family and the Smith family joined the Trapp family for some Gingerbread House Decorating. It made a huge mess! But the kiddos loved every minute of it. Secretly, Wade and I regretted not making enough houses for everyone, because it looked really fun. Here are the pics...







Here's the aftermath photo. Be warned! It's graphic. And may not be suitable for people who keep their homes really clean...

Christmas Cards

So that's what our Christmas card should look like...

But after a few hours more of fighting with the kids, through tears (usually me), wrestling (Noah & Rylan) and making faces (Sofia). We got a few good shots. Enough to construct a pretty good Christmas card. So expect them in your mailbox soon...

Santa Visit

High Mount has a Christmas fundraiser every year with Santa. So I took the crazies for pizza and crafts with Santa. Noah was more interested in running around with his friends than in either the crafts or Santa, but Sofia and Rylan loved it. Sofie wouldn't let Santa out of her sight. They even got to have their photo taken with Santa.

Thanksgiving...

For Thanksgiving this year, Wade was needed in Omaha. So the crazies and I tagged along to familiarize ourselves with a new city. Omaha is, according to the GPS, six and a half hours from Swansea. For a family of five, it takes a little over eight hours. Wade spent five days at the various Best Buys in Omaha. The crazies and I did a lot of sightseeing and swimming.

On our first morning at the hotel pool, something happened that Rylan has been wondering about for years. When would he meet another Rylan? Noah and Sofia meet people that have their names all the time. But never another Rylan. Why? The other Rylan was also five. And he is from South Dakota. His sisters heard us talking to Rylan and thought he had the same name as their brother. So they asked him and sure enough, it was a match. It turns out that, he also goes by Ry-Ry and Ry. Both Rylans' got a kick out of greeting their name twin. Every "Goodbye Rylan", or "Hello Rylan" was met by fits of laughter. It was quite cute.

On Thanksgiving, Wade and I took the kids to see "A Christmas Carol". And then we ate at the hotel restaurant for our Thanksgiving meal. The food was really good. And it was nice to have a whole day of rest and relaxation with our family. But, it was sad to miss out on the traditional holiday festivities. I really would have liked to have seen my step-brothers new twins (Carter and Jillian) and visit with Natalie. And the food. I missed all of it too!

As far as our stay in Nebraska was concerned... We saw a lot of Cornhuskers. It was like a sea of red. I would have to say that Nebraskans (If that is what they're called?) really support their sports' teams. We saw one family brave enough to wear head to toe Mizzou gear. Just one...

On Friday, the crazies and I took a cab to the Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. It's a really neat zoo. One of the smaller ones that we have been to, but it is a really great set up. And we were able to see a few new animals that we had never seen before. Namely, a fossa. Which is the mean animal that eats lemurs in the cartoon movie "Madagascar". Beautiful animals. The also have a large collection of gorillas. Including a six month old baby gorilla, Hadari. For whatever reason, he was being taken care of by the zookeepers. He had on a little diaper and he had his own rocking chair. He was the cutest little thing.

On Saturday, the crazies and I went to Omaha's Children's Mueseum. A smaller version of St Louis's Magic House. The kids particularly loved the ball room and the craft stations. Sofia made herself a princess crown, while Rylan and Noah made treasures out of recyclables.

Rylan's Fifth Birthday!

For Rylan's fifth birthday we had a small family get together at our house. He was very excited to be turn five and kept insisting that on Monday he would start kindergarten. He picked out Bakugan for his birthday plates and decorations, but it ended up a mix party with a stand out pokemon cake.

Sofia's New Haircut!

So I left the scissors out... And Sofie cut her hair. Bad. Reverse mohawk. Straight down the center of her noggin. Wade wanted to shave her head. And really, judging from the damage, I wasn't sure we had any other options. Luckily, I have a great friend who suggested wide cloth head bands to manage her bangs for dance. (Go Sarah!) And even luckier, when I was shopping in Osage yesterday I happened upon quite a nice stash and bought a bunch.

Halloween 2009

The Crazies had little difficulty this year with deciding what they wanted to be. Sofia has wanted to be Cinderella for months. The boys usually spend hours wondering through costume racks. Noah has even asked to go to a different store before. But this year, they both knew what they wanted and we were in and out. We trick or treated a few blocks, and then headed home. Our very generous neighbors filled our treat buckets up fast. It was a fun night.

School Pictures

The fall pictures came home yesterday. They turned out pretty cute. I let the kids pick the background color. (I was secretly horrified at their choices!) But when I got the photos back I thought the colors looked beautiful. Here they are...

Sofia the Ballerina...

Sofie is once again in dance. And she loves it. It is a combo class. The first half is ballet and the second half is tap. There are nine little girls, and two instructors. The instructors are very patient and work really well with all of them.



Sofie's hair has to be in a bun for class. This was my best attempt. Anyone have any helpful suggestions?
Sofie is in the front row, middle.

Mark your calenders, Sofie's first recital will be the weekend of June 26.

Lincoln's New Salem & Pine Lakes Campground

This past weekend, Wade and I and the crazies, met up with the Hume's family for some camping and sightseeing. We stayed at a "new to us" campground. Pine Lakes in Pittsfield IL. It was a really nice campground. The campground has it's own Fall Festival every weekend in October. So on Saturday, the kids took part in a little pumpkin picking. Then after a healthy lunch of s'mores, we all got dressed up in our costumes. (Sofia has developed an aversion to the seams in her clothing. So we had to wear our nice pink long sleeve t-shirt underneath.) And participated in the costume contest. They all got Halloween metals for taking part. Then all the kids trick or treated from camper to camper. The other campers were very generous. We only trick or treated 2 rows, and Sofie was dragging her bag by the end. Because it was "to hebby..." We finished off Saturday night with a short wagon ride and a trip through the Pine Lakes Haunted House. It was pretty impressive. We went for the lights on version. The guides encouraged the kids to touch the props and to talk to the people in costume so that the kids wouldn't be afraid.

On Sunday, we spent the day at Lincoln's New Salem Historic Site outside of Springfield, IL. I haven't been in a long time, but it was as neat as I remember. Some days I could go for a life so simple.

Happy Hair Day!

Rylan and Sofie are learning the letter H at school. Letter H is no longer Horrible Hair, like when I was little. He is now Happy Hair. And so last Thursday was Happy Hair Day! Sofie's hair was easy, because it's so long and you can twist it, braid it, curl it, etc. Rylan's hair, wouldn't do anything. So in the end, I used an entire large can of hairspray and fixed him up. I think he looks like a little gangsta' from the fifties.




Doesn't he look cute? My Mom thinks he looks like Alfalfa...