A Tale of Two Funnies

No new pictures, just two funny thing that have been said in our family this week:
*First, we were driving home last week and passed by a bunch of orange cones. Cole asked what they were for and I said, "They've been workin' here." Without missing a beat he asked, "Like Arvin?" I asked who Arvin was and he replied, "You know, Arvin workin' on the railroad."
*The same day we were in Jo-Anns, standing in a long line, and Quentin looked up at the enormously ugly Santas that seem to be everywhere and yelled, "Jesus!" I could not (and still can't) convince him that all people with white beards are not Jesus.
That's it. Enjoy.

Final for now

These last pictures are not from Oregon. Two big things have gone on for Avery this week. On Wednesday night she finished her AWANA Climber book. That means she completed 3 books and earned a trophy. The second was a big writing assignment for school. She was asked to write on a tradition in her family based on her heritage. She chose the Swedish part and wrote on pancakes. She also had to make a doll out of cardboard or paper or whatever material she wanted. Choosing the easiest (yeah right), she chose to sew it. She and I set up the sewing machine, and began sewing. I didn't want this to turn into a project done by me, and she sewed almost the entire thing (with a bit of guidance). Her Swedish doll is so beautiful. Here are a few pics.

Pony rides

Wendy was kind enough to let the kids ride Whirlwind, her horse. Avery was quite scared, but Cole loved it. I got near the horse with Quentin, and it was as if he was going to be eaten. He screamed, so he opted to stand near the horse for a picture.

Having fun hanging out with the dads

Denzel Carousel

While we were in Oregon, we drove to the Albany Oregon Brass RIng Carousel. A man named Dentzel creates them and volunteers carve them. It was amazing to watch people just relaxing and carving these beautiful designs. They were so kind to the herd of children we brought in and even put the giraffe's head on just so Avery could sit on it. Avery was also the first person to sit on the newly carved frog. A few are already painted and they sat on them also. We had a wonderful time and look forward to going back in a few years and riding it.



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Some Oregon pics

It has taken me a bit to get the pictures on my computer, but here they are. For anyone who doesn't know, we headed to Corvallis, Oregon for Thanksgiving. My very dear friend, Wendy, and her family moved up there one year ago. Ryan (3) and Caleb (19 months) and our 3 had a good time mixed with a little arguing and a few meltdowns, but parted ways smiling. We even got a babysitter and went out to dinner... just the grown-ups. Like a date. Here are a few pictures of the arboretum for OSU (please, Wendy, tell me if the initials are wrong). Apparently there is a big rivalry, but I've been assured that the Beavers are the better team. The picture of Cole by himself was right after he inched his way to the end of the dock. He was so proud.

AWANA Grand Prix

A few weeks ago, the kids made cars for the Grand Prix at church. Avery kinda copied Auntie Mel and made a butter car, Cole made a train. There were no trophies for them this year, but we had great fun. What we learned from this year: 1) racing the 3 and 4 year olds at the end is not a good idea and 2) if you don't cut the car (Avery's) it will be way too heavy to race. Bryan had to hollow it out that night.