Trunk or Treat!

Tonight we went to the church to celebrate Halloween. We had a dinner of chili, hot dogs, and cornbread, played games, and later had the kids go out to the parking lot to get candy at each car (hence "trunk or treat").

Elizabeth dressed as Strawberry Shortcake. The hat is meant to be the giveaway, but you can't really see it in the picture below. She also added freckles to her face and is wearing a striped shirt. Analeigh, to match with her mother, is dressed as a strawberry. She had a hat, but it kept mysteriously coming off.













David and his daddy went as Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat.













Finally, we got a nice family picture of everyone dressed up.



Shortly after moving to Kansas, Ben gave David a couple of peppermint Altoids. Ben thought David would find them too strong and then have no interest in asking him for the "candy" again. Alas, David loved it. In fact David loved the mints so much that he broke into the tin the next day and started shoveling the mints into his mouth handfuls at a time. Liz was able to stop him from eating the whole tin, but he still ate a fair share of mints. The experience has caused us to wonder about David's sense of taste. The video below only perplexes us further.



Analeigh has been confused by all the parties today (one at Ben's work earlier and now here at church). In all the confusion, she just wants her mommy to hold her (her daddy just doesn't cut it). Instead of immediately coming to the rescue, mommy chose to video tape her (though mommy did eventually give up on the tough love and pick up Analeigh after she stopped recording).

Analeigh Rolling Over

Analeigh has been rolling over for a couple months now. Alas, we realized our family far away had never had an opportunity to see her in action. So we recorded a couple new videos for you all to enjoy. And while you're checking this out, you may also want to look at an old video of Ben trying to teach David how to roll over long ago.

Granny Mae's Pumpkin Patch

From the title of this entry, you may be wondering if we really have a Granny Mae and if she really has a pumpkin patch. In reality, we have no such relation, but there is indeed a place called Granny Mae's Pumpkin Patch. We went there with the Cheney family today and had a wonderful time. Here are some of the highlights:

Elizabeth, Dedra Cheney, and David enjoyed a visit to the poultry farm (with gourds shaped like chickens and some smaller gourds that look like eggs). As you can see in picture one, David could be charged for animal cruelty for carrying the chicken by its neck.



David decided to flex his muscles and help out with moving the pumpkin cart.



Analeigh enjoyed taking a break from sitting in her stroller to be transported to sitting in the aforementioned pumpkin cart.



David went for a ride on the barrel train and loved every minute of it. Liz was very squished in the barrel and Ben is glad she volunteered for the assignment, rather than making him go.




Sure, you might expect Ben to stand up next to the strong scarecrow and to mimic him by showing his own muscles. Alas, Ben is all about the element of surprise... and that is why he is smelling the scarecrow's arm pit.



Hey! Or should I say Hay! Anyway, David liked playing in the hay and was sad to have to go on to the next activity.






Additionally, we went through a corn maze, which was actually a milo maze. It was a very muddy path, which caused us to turn back rather soon (although it was too late for our lovely stroller).













Finally, we Drapers also enjoyed a pleasant hayride with the Cheneys. David sat with his Daddy most of the way and loved having the wind blow in his face. We listened to a woman play songs, such a "Twinkle, twinkle, little star." But she was unable to answer the following question: Since we already know that it is a star, why do we ask, "How I wonder what you are."? It all seems rather silly when you get right down to it.

Mudfest!

As you may be aware, we have a garden at the home of a family in our church. Well, we've had a lot of rain recently and since their backyard neighbor has a pond that overflowed, our garden became an extension of the pond.

Knowing that potatoes don't do well sitting in water, we thought maybe sweet potatoes might feel the same way. So Liz went out this afternoon to go digging for our sweet potatoes. She returned home with a bounteous crop and two very muddy legs.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has been raining very hard these past few days, so when today turned out sunny, David wanted to go out to his sandbox. We're the proud owners of a turtle-shaped sandbox that comes with a cover to keep out the elements. The cover is a little light, so we have a heavy planter that we set on top so the cover doesn't blow off in the strong Kansas winds.

Alas, when Liz went to take off the cover, she found the sand covered in about two inches of water. How it got there, we don't know. Nevertheless, David would not be stopped from playing (along with helping his mommy bail out the water). Luckily, we have running water and were able to give him a bath afterward.

"I'm a Big Girl Now"

Today we went to a birthday party for the child of one of Ben's co-workers (his supervisor, to be precise). David had fun, since the boy is close to his age. Analeigh also had fun in that she decided she is old enough to drink from a big person cup. She was so determined that she refused to let go of the cup.

Hair Today... Gone Tomorrow

Elizabeth is a kind and generous soul. So, it makes sense then, that as soon as her hair became long enough to shave off for charity - she would do so. Alas, it turns out that she is only willing to cut it to chin level (not shave it all off as previously stated). Nevertheless, tonight Elizabeth went over to the home of the Cheney's, a family from church. Dedra Cheney's sister, Gina, was in town and felt obligated to help make charity happen. To see the hair cutting in action, watch the video below:



We thought you might like to see a couple of before & after pictures, just to see what Elizabeth looks like.


















Since we mentioned earlier that Elizabeth was donating her hair to charity, it is only fair that we should make you aware of what charity she chose: Children With Hairloss. You may be more familiar with Locks of Love. However, Elizabeth opted for the former as they only require 8 inches of hair, compared to 10 inches. That, and because Children With Hairloss is based in Michigan (and you all know how much our family loves Michigan).

Finally, we feel obligated to show you the hair, and what it would look like as a mustache (assuming Sister Cheney wants to join the circus as The Bearded Lady).

Ramming Speed!

After Priesthood Session, Ben and Ken Cheney returned to the Cheney residence to find everyone hopped up on goofballs. While David sat on a toy Bulldozer, Matthew Cheney rammed him with a toy dump truck, which David found strangely hilarious.



Sure, knocking David off was fun for Matthew. So next, Matthew decided to ram David repeatedly, which appears to have been just as hilarious for David.



However, on the next attack of the dump truck, David took a spill and wasn't too happy about it.



Alas, after a hug from his daddy - and a bike helmet from the Cheney family - David was ready to go again...

The Hen Party

When Ben was growing up, all the men would go to the Priesthood Session of General Conference, leaving behind the women and children. The latter was dubbed a "Hen Party." So, while Ben and Ken Cheney went off to church this evening to watch the Priesthood Session of the 178th Semiannual General Conference, Elizabeth, Dedra Cheney and four children stayed at the Cheney's for a Hen Party. The theme for the night was waffle cakes and ink stamping.

David took very quickly to eating the waffle cakes - even if he chose to use his forks as chop sticks (strangely, he seemed to prefer eating the frosting):



David also enjoyed being involved in stamping. Combined with the earlier waffle cakes, David's face turned out looking like this (his hands were even more ink-covered):