Shocking, I know...

Pictures and a blog update from me??? I know you're shocked! I have a backlog of pictures so I'll spend a few days putting them up here; wouldn't want to overload you! Here we go; the last three months condensed:

Jackson finally got his own blanket from Grandma Ann. All the other kids had to wait until they were ten, but he got his a couple of years early. He LOVES his blanket and can usually be found wrapped up in it mornings and evenings! Luke loves his as well; he was sick last weekend and had to stay with Mick and Stacia while the rest of us spent the day at Aubrey's Sousa honor band performance in Lawrence. The only thing he took with him was his blanket... not even a book! And if you know my kids, they are never without a book nearby.

Jackson's cubscout den had a float in the Hutchinson Christmas parade. Here's Jackson and some buddies:
Aubrey's junior high band marched in the Buhler Frolic parade back in October. Can you spot her?
There she is!
More pictures tomorrow...birthdays and basketball...

Here are a couple of clips from Luke's play. We got to the gym 50 minutes early, and still had to sit in the fourth row. Geesh! Luke is Les Elfman, the head elf (wearing a red jacket). I am trying to figure out how to trim the videos, because the best part of the play (when Luke shows off his true acting talent) is in an eleven-minute clip, much too big for Blogger. It's not included below.

The plot: Laveena Demean steals Santa's reindeer. Les Elfman brainstorms some ideas to get them back, including having Thanksgiving Turkeys fly Santa's sleigh. The first clip is when he's proposing his ideas. The second clip is the ending song. Apparently Luke has a lot of energy. Can you spot him? He's the one jumping through the entire song!

Avatar

This is Luke's avatar he made for a school project. He's a big Tolkien fan!

2009 Deer Hunt

Grandpa Ed, Jerry, Luke, Jackson, and Mick (otherwise known as Daniel Boone) preparing for the 2009 Deer Hunt. For those in the know, the "Butt Out" is the must-have gadget for hunters this year. The boys went shopping with Uncle Mick and Aunt Stacia before Thanksgiving, and spied it in the outdoor section of Walmart. I'm quite sure Stacia wasn't in on the purchase. Here it is in action:


Gross. That's all I have to say. Luke said it didn't work very well; just pulled out a bunch of poop. Again, gross.
So the hunt went very, very well, and they bagged three deer in three and a half hours. A new record! Lots and lots of venison jerky!
It sounds like they had a great, great time. Jackson and Luke replayed the hunts for me when they got home.

Snow!

Those of you in Western Kansas who are digging out from under several inches of snow this morning will appreciate this - Luke walked slowly out the door to the bus, then came crashing back in yelling "It's snowing!! It's snowing!!"

We had maybe ten of the tiniest flakes you've ever seen.

State Fair 2009

A few pictures from our days at the State Fair this year:
Jackson, terrorizing the other bumper car drivers.

Jackson spent the day with his friend Cody. I ran into them just this one time at the bumper cars, so not many pictures of him!
Aubrey spent the day with her friends also. She is fourth from the right, then her friends Bailee, Megan, and Loreta. I didn't see much of them either!
Luke and his buddy, Mason, had to put up with me for the day. Luke enjoyed every single one of the rides except for the Pirate Boat. He did NOT like that. We let him ride alone on the rides - unlike the rides at the Leoti fair he was very securely fastened in. Nothing made him happier than ditching me so he could just be with his friends :) Below are Luke, Mason, Ashley, and Allie. The girls spent a little time with us too, but most of the time Luke and Mason hooked up with a group of boys from their class. I don't have a picture of that though!
Luke's favorite ride, the Mega Drop:
Jackson and Luke both enjoyed riding the bull VERY MUCH. A little TOO much, if you ask me. I am not encouraging either one of them to become bull riders!
And finally, no trip to the Fair is complete without a ride down the Big Yellow Slide.

Have I mentioned my new camera?

I made Jerry stop along the highway at Modoc so I could snap some pictures of the beautiful western Kansas sunset. The towers are actually just east of Marienthal, so they're zoomed in quite a bit.