hot cocoa...

During our Christmas decorating (which has significantly decreased this year as we are spending Christmas in AZ in= 27 glorious days!!!) Sam wanted to put up some mistletoe.  Amy: You know Sam; I don’t think I have any mistletoe-looking around at the four huge bins of Christmas “crap!”as Rob calls it.  Sam: We HAVE to have mistletoe!  Amy: Hmmmm, well I don’t know-maybe we can make some?! (Giddy with thoughts of Christmas goodies & hot glue guns)  Sam: Make some?!  You can’t make mistletoe.  Amy: Sure we can.  Sam: Uhm nooooo (ever so sarcastically), mistletoe is made out of (spelling) L.O.V.E.   Amy: Big smile, leaning over & kissing his forehead… Sam: Ewwww! We aren’t under any mistletoe, that’s it-we don’t need any! Ewwwww, gross get away from me.

Wash up & roll up your sleeves...here we go!

The Christmas season wouldn’t be complete without making hot chocolate to give away…YUM!

Six hands & four ingredients later = perfection!

Cheers!

Jack/Jill...Jacob/Edward

Cleo and Madeline before EFE kindergarten class program ‘Getting Down with Momma Goose’.

Madeline’s little part was Jack & Jill…she did great!
Hi Mom!!!

After more than a year refusing to read the Twilight series…I finally picked up the first of four. At the time I had been struck down by the Plague; nothing else to do but feel dreadful…so I turned to page one. Fast forward a week & a few trips to the library, I was hooked.

Now this leads us to New Moon.  So here we are, a few of us in our mid-thirties contemplating how old (the actors) Jacob & Edward REALLY are. The answer is young, REAL young. 'Jacob' was born in 1992. Gasp!!! Well there goes that. Regardless of feeling like ‘Soccer mom cult-following thirty something cougars’…we enjoyed the movie. Wine & chocolate martinis before the movie helped dull the shrieking of 12-16 year-olds that had filled the theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A foggy start last Sunday...

Leaf wars

Cousin Harrison & Sam wish Great Grandpa Vilas a happy birthday...while sporting their new #12 Jimmy Costello Mizzou jersey. Or Sam's version: Ehhhhmn, clearing his throat- "Jimmy Costello baby yeAHHHHH!"

Little does cousin Jimmy know that he has changed Sam's future NWMSU Bearcat goals all around. He no-longer wishes to "live on the Ferguson Estate" during his college years here @ NW. Oh no, now he is going to live in Columbia, go to Mizzou for 8 years and then come back to Maryville & finish at Northwest for another 12 years; at THAT time he will return to the Ferguson Estate. So, with that being said...wonder what the heck he is going to be with 20 years of college?!
Meanwhile...on to the leaf pile. There was some serious fun to be had on those mountains of leaves heaped up in front of Great Grandma's yard...it took all they had to walk past those mounds of pure delight and into the house for a polite hug & cake eating (or rather Sam: cake/pie/ice-cream, Madeline: cake/ice-cream, & NoahBaker: ice-cream/ice-cream). Soon after the sugar kicked in, energy was to be disbursed...and quickly, outside.

The stage was set- jackets/hats/gloves, camera's...

cute kids...

The boy thought he could get away with a huge pile dumped on his father; he didn't anticipate his father being so quick with revenge!

Cousins in a leaf war...

Cousin Becky sooooo gets Madeline; with Great Grandma & Grandpa peeking and smiling out the window...

Cousins!!! Claire, Madeline & NoahBaker
the leaf'ing continues!
And the day ends with Uncle Dan giving Madeline his Girl Scout cookie order, due tomorrow, 47 boxes of peanut butter, 5000 thin mints, and 28 boxes of short bread cookies...by tomorrow; please.

Rolf Farms

Now we all know the difference between a combine & a tractor.  AND what their exact functions are.

Time for Sam & Noah to go out into the field!Noah Baker finds a seat...

What happens to all that corn?  Now we know!

Those kids were gone an hour!

With the field lesson over, time for some 4-wheeling-FUN!!!

A swell day was had by all, thank you-thank you-thank you to Melissa & her family...we had a fantastic time at the Rolf Estate on Saturday!

8.5.3 (not to be confused with 867-5309)

Noah Baker on the skate board. Now, like most three-year-olds Noah is all about, mine, I need yours, and hers, mine, and his, mine, and pretty much...me too, mine, all mine, big-time-mine.  So we thought if he really had to try out Sam's skateboard, let's strap on a helmet, try it out on the rug, and hope for the best.  Phew.  A success. Until however, he decides he did so great that he should probably try it out on the sidewalk with big brother...sigh!

Miss Madeline at noon.  Miss Madeline @ 6pm.  Poor little thing, asthma really sucks!

The birthday boy.  Grandpa Vilas gives Sam a Swiss Army knife...he wants to open a can desperately with it now.  Any can, doesn't matter what, he just needs to open one, quick!  I've been able to redirect, but for how long? I think I will suggest that Sam and Rob open a random can with the knife; while Madeline and I make ourselves busy- perhaps painting our nails.

The Venus Fly Trap.  Sam has wanted a venus fly trap for his birthday for 'forever'.  On only its second day here we were able to provide it breakfast.  Okay, so I wake up Saturday AM stumble along in a sleepy daze with only coffee on my mind.  I see a little black something on the floor, hmmmm.  Bend down to peer at it; what do you know-a spider. Super. Now I'm in a dilema. Never before have I had to actually think for even a second whether or not I should kill a spider. I've had to stop before & determine the size/furriness of the spider; and whether or not I had the necessary foot attire to do the job.  But never if I should let one live. Sigh. So, at this point I take a cup scoop it up (all before coffee mind you) and run into Sam's room.  "Sam! I have a live spider in a cup &  if you want to feed it to your Venus Flytrap then jump out of bed, because I can't hold his cup for much longer...ewwwwww!!!)

Sam jumps out of bed, "I'm up! I'm up! Venus Flytrap, got it, spider, okay, I'm up!"

We put the spider into the soil & within maybe 5 minutes it was plant food!

Artwork by Kindergarten girl Madeline...