First Snow of the Season

This morning we woke up to the first snow of the season. Karl was excited, to say the least. The last few days he has been asking when it would snow. We've read a few books recently about children builtding snowman, so Karl was very anxious to get outside and build his own snowman. As you can see, there really wasn't that much snow to work with, but we did our best.

It took some time to convince Karl that he really didn't want to throw snowballs at Phillip. Instead, we threw them at a nearby bush.

What a cute little boy. This is Phillip's first real experience in the snow and even walking around on his own outside. He was anxious to explore all the things he hasn't been able to before since he is usally in the back pack carrier when we are outside. Now that he is walking...it's a whole new world.

What we do for fun in Lafayette, Indiana

So what does one do for fun in Lafayette, Indiana? Well, here is a little insight into our wonderful life.

Tonight we went to a basketball game at Westside High School where Dusty teaches. We met a mom of one of his students and she thought the boys were pretty cute. She said, "Looks like these boys keep you pretty busy" as Karl was climbing up and down the bleachers and Phillip was crawling down the bleacher row to try and snatch a man's pop bottle. Yes, they boys are full of energy, but I love it! Life would be so boring without them!

Here is my sweet Phillip. He has brought me so much joy this past year. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be the class clown some day. But don't let this cute smile deceive you. He has discovered biting and isn't afraid to bite Karl if he is invading his space or taking his toys.

Saturday we had some of Karl's friends over for the day. And to celebrate, we had a doughnut party. Karl loves Mary Lou's Doughnuts. I'm not a big doughnut eater, but these are really delicious. The kids all wanted doughnuts with sprinkles while Dusty, Phillip and I prefer the apple fritters. And of course, everything tastes better when shared with friends!

What more could any boy want than to play in the leaves and dirt? Thanks to Aunt Sheri for watching the boys on Friday as I had a miscarriage that day and just needed some time to deal with things. She is such a life saver!

Phillip is becoming more daring each day and has started walking in between pieces of furniture. Before we know it he too will be running through the house.

Each Thursday three other moms and I do preschool with our little kids. I'm in charge of numbers and math concepts. It's really fun. Here we are playing musical numbers. It was a two for one activity. Get a little exercise while learning about numbers. Who ever said that math couldn't be fun?

Autumn

Since Karl has long dominated our family blog, we decided that it was time that we dedicate an entire post to Phillip, not to mention that it has been long overdue to add a new post of anything for that matter. So without furthure ado here is our handsome, second son.
This year Grandpa Blunck came out for a week to spend time with his three grandsons that are living in Lafayette, Indiana. The boys had a blast with their "papa". On Halloween we walked over to a nearby pumpkin patch and let the boys each pick out their own pumpkin.

When we got back home, after a detour at the park, we helped the boys carve their pumpkins. Phillip had a smiley face, Karl a scary face, and Benjamin a basketball. The boys were sure excited to light the pumpkins and test them in the dark of the bathroom.

Fall is here. We have a street full of enormous maples and a variety of other deciduous trees. To say we get a lot of leaves is a terrible understatement. But this is sure a fun time of year.

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PS: Our camera has actually been misplaced for several months; Karl hid it and forgot where he put it. Hence there have been no pictures to update our blog since the pinewood derby. So the above pictures are actually old ones of Karl and not Phillip, sorry. But in looking back through a few photos today, neither Janeece or I can tell the difference between Karl's old pictures and Phillip. Though they have different personalities there is no doubt they are brothers. It is fun watching Phillip begin to develop more and more of a personality. He has begun to increasingly defend his turf and has bit Karl several times over the last few days. It is hard not to think it is funny after all the times that Karl has been too rough with his brother; pay back is long overdue. But otherise Phillip is our little family clown, always trying to be funny. We love our boys and genuinely appreciate the meaning they bring to our lives. Everything else we do is trivial in comparison to raising these little men.

Pinewood Derby

This weekend Karl and Dusty competed in a family Pinewood Derby race. When asked what he wanted to build, Karl insisted that he wanted "Chow." So in two afternoons we built and painted Lightning McQueen. We got creative with a few scraps of wood around the house and we were very pleased with how it all turned out. Despite covering the axels with graphite, it did not win. But it was pretty cool looking and Karl had a blast. He just kept racing it all night long with the other boys.

We used the original pinewood derby block and added the spolier section, fenders, cab, and nose. Karl loved working in the garage with his dad but gave him a few scares like when Dusty turned around and saw Karl turn on the band saw. He just wants to be helpful. Karl especially enjoyed painting Lightning McQueen; we have red paint still on our kitchen table.

Garden Spot

Let us give you a quick tour of the yard. We have very much enjoyed working outside as a family. Karl especially loves working in the dirt with his shovel. Phillip usually just eats grass.

Our boys absolutley love being outside. Janeece is such a wonderful mother and her love for gardening is beginning to rub off on the boys. We just have to keep an eye on Karl because every once in a while we catch him with his shorts down trying to water the plants.

The front corner was built to keep the neighbors off the grass; it has worked remarkably well. The rocks are much larger and heavier than they appear. Thanks to the engineering and brute strength of David we were able to get them home in his pickup.

Janeece's mom helped her plant the side of the house last year and the plants are doing very well. Just like her mom, Janeece does not budget on the yard. We don't talk much about how much everything costs; we just do our best to enjoy it.

Dusty had long promised a family sign, but always seems buried in somebody else's project. Finally he was able to get out into the garage and build this sign that should last 100 years. Its a good feeling to work with your hands, using the nail gun is fun too.

We picked up an old tractor tire and filled it up with sand for Karl. He loves it. It also makes it feel like we own a beach house as we now have sand all over our house. Boys will be boys.

Our most recent project was to plant behind the new sand tire. We picked up two $15 whiskey barrels, a $2.50 chair, and used some old metal tubs and pots that were left behind from the previous owner. It was fun to work together on this project.

This year we built 3 raised garden beds along our back alley. With some good compost soil our plants are out of control. Our tomatoes are 4 feet tall and are toppling over the cages. It has been nice to be eating the first tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers from our garden. This week Karl and Dusty also had fun playing marbles with green cherry tomatoes, but they hold up too well when you accidently step on them.