Procrastination

There's just nothing like waiting until the last day to carve a pumpkin - we didn't evening buy one until today. It is difficult to get in to Halloween when your children don't really get the concept and no one was trick-or-treated at your house the past two years - except today. That's right, we actually had a pair of trick-or-treaters stop by for the first time in three Halloweens. And, with that as our motivation, we went to get the pumpkin.

David and Analeigh loved reaching in and scooping out all of the pumpkin guts. Analeigh also enjoyed putting a share of the guts in her own mouth.



Then came time to cut out the pumpkin's face. We let David decide based on the shapes he knows (we're actually surprised he didn't ask for one of the features to be star-shaped). Thus, that is why our pumpkin has a triangle and a circle eye, a triangle nose, and a square mouth.

Playing in the "Leaves"

Our yard provides us with one tree. In the fall it sheds it's very tiny leaves and it's very large seed pods. It makes it difficult to jump in a pile of leaves (assuming you did that as a child). Nevertheless, Analeigh still enjoyed getting out into nature and loved playing with the seed pods.

Ride the Horsey

Lately David has developed an interest in riding on his Daddy's back, as if his father were some sort of animal designed for manual labor. Analeigh has been a bit more hesitant to treat her father in this manner - though she was quite willing to try it out today.

Trunk or Treat

We went to our ward's trunk or treat party (where the children have to trick-or-treat from car to car in the parking lot). There was tons of fun inside the building. David enjoyed throwing objects through the openings of a wooden pumpkin in order to win candy. Ben helped hand out the objects to those who wanted to try.



David, and his friend Caroline, enjoyed racing to pick up the objects that were tossed by participants. Then they got distracted chasing each other instead.





Analeigh enjoyed eating cupcakes.



Then came the "trunk-or-treating." Most of the pictures turned out too dark, but here is one that lets you get the general idea of what goes on.



Although Liz is not pictured, she went dressed as a bumblebee - it was quite cute.

More Re-Uphostering Magic

As we learned earlier this month, Liz has been dying to re-upholster some of our more "hideous" chairs. Today she got around to taking care of the chair David's booster seat is strapped to (meaning it has a number of food stains on it).

This is what the chair looked like before the makeover (note: this is the chair's twin brother, since Liz did not take a picture of the chair before performing the surgery).



And this is what is looks like now - complete with plastic covering to protect against future spills and stains.

Books and Hats

David and Analeigh love getting into the bookshelf to pull ALL of their books down (because just reading one at a time is downright silly). They then dig through the pile of books and read whatever they want and move on to the next book in the pile (not bothering to put the books back on the shelf after reading them).

All this has been done more recently while wearing hats. The hat David is wearing was originally intended for Analeigh. However, Analeigh has found a hat of her own, so she does not mind sharing the other with David.

Zoo Boo

Every year the city of Great Bend decorates the local zoo and encourages the public come for some free trick-or-treating. We've been three years in a row and it seems the crowds keep getting bigger and bigger. We tried taking a picture of the long line outside the zoo, but it was too dark. So, we took pictures of David and Analeigh instead - since we know they're who you come to this blog to see.

This year, David was a Uniboar. Never heard of a uniboar? Well shame on you, because you could buy one here, here, here, here, here, not to mention here, or here, or even here. You can even read an article here in which it is very briefly mentioned in passing. Sure, there will always be some people who mis-identify a uniboar as a "dragon," a "unicorn", or even a "magic horse." Nevertheless, now you know - and you will be held accountable!



Analeigh decided to be Strawberry Shortcake this year (when we say Analeigh decided, we actually mean, Liz decided, since Analeigh had very little choice in the matter). She was incredibly adorable and made off with plenty of loot - just like her brother.

Wood Badge Master

Ben recently completed the requirements for his Wood Badge award. About one year ago, Ben attended a Wood Badge course designed to make him a better scout leader. As part of the program he worked on five goals, which he was given 18 months to complete. He was able to accomplish them in roughly 13 months. Hooray for Ben!

Gator 'Rasslin'!

This afternoon, the Great Bend Zoo had its alligators removed for the winter. This is quite a spectacle to see. There were eight alligators to round up. The day began peacefully enough with the alligators showing love to their fellow amphibious turtles, allowing them to ride on their backs.



The process was an interesting one in that the first one was able to be captured on shore.



After that, the remainder of the alligators went on the defensive and hid in the depths of the water. That's where this crazy, barefooted man comes in. Armed with a rope and a stick, he walked through the water, poking around until he found an alligator.



He then would sneak up on it, "like a ninja," hold it tight between his legs, and wrap the rope around the alligator's body. Then he would drag it up to shore, where the team would duct tape the alligator's mouth shut.



After that, they carried the alligators to a trailer to transport to a warm holding area for the winter.



The whole process was exciting to watch as they caught each alligator. Of course, describing it isn't the same as watching it, so here are a couple of videos.

This first video shows "The Seal" getting his first catch of the day. He describes himself as a seal because he has a layer of fur (a hairy body), a layer of blubber, and then the "real him" under all that.



After "The Seal" had tied the rope around the alligator, he got some help from "Crocodile Dundee" in dragging this one to shore. You can hear Liz tell Ben that she is is glad he didn't choose alligator wrestling as a career path. Ben was rather sad to have another career path blocked before it even started. However, these people obviously enjoy the work they do, as they show off a little at the beginning of the video.

We're sorry the video is a little long (and a little disorienting towards the end, since Liz wanted to capture everything). Nevertheless, we hope you enjoy it.



You can read more about it at the Cheney's blog, as they were there with us for some of the action.

Going to Granny Mae's Again

Last year (actually one year, tomorrow) we went to Granny Mae's Pumpkin Patch in Dorrance, KS. We had so much fun, we decided to go again this year.

David had a great time making his daddy open up freshly roasted peanuts for him to eat - again, and again, and again.



Analeigh enjoyed lifting various gourds and David enjoyed trying to carry his sister in a pumpkin-filled wheel barrow.



David and Analeigh also dug around in "Baley Park" for buried treasure. David enjoyed digging like an excavator. Daddy helped teach them both how to toss straw in the air. In the end we ended up with such fantastic loot that Ben tossed it back in afterward so other kids could find it later.





David and Analeigh also slid down a slide from the magnificent heights of hay bales.



We also bought tickets for the "train" ride, even though David pointed out it was actually a tractor with a bunch of trailers.

Analeigh was allowed to ride first with her mommy. Ben could not fit in the barrels, so Liz was charged with riding with the kids.



As Analeigh's train ride came to a close, Ben asked David if he was ready for his turn. You will hear his response at the end of this video (in the last ten seconds). Just in case you can't understand his speech, he says, "No! I don't want to. I want to live!" It seems he believed there was more risk in this activity than his mommy or daddy seemed to think there was.



We were able to persuade David to get on the train after all. Analeigh was not a big fan of being separated from her mother, as you can hear the tears flow in the following video.



It should be noted that David actually did enjoy himself and that he did, in deed, live!



On the way back home, we all enjoyed some candy from "Belly Acres." We were able to fill up a small bag with as much candy was we could fit in it for $3.75. Hooray!

Feeling Crafty

Liz borrowed a staple gun recently and has therefore been feeling rather crafty. Today she took an old picture frame, that was already missing the glass and stapled some ribbon length-wise to create a hair-clip-holder for Analeigh. Now, instead of digging through a drawer, Liz can pick out just the right clip or bow for any given occasion.

On All Fours

Analeigh has a crocheted pumpkin jacket with a matching cap. While she was willing to wear the jacket to church, she refused to wear the cap. David, on the other hand, begged to wear the hat and did so throughout church and the remainder of the day. In fact, he became quite bothered at our suggestions to take the hat off.

When we got home, David decided to complete his fashion ensemble by nabbing his daddy's Filipino sandals and wearing them on his feet and hands.

October Snow

Yes, it snowed last night - not enough to accumulate (other than a dusting on rooftops) - but still, it snowed. Additionally, the bushes outside of our house are covered in ice. This is just crazy!

Congratulations to Arlene and Joe!

One of Ben's former co-workers got married this evening. Since leaving Saint Francis Community Services, she has become a foster parent in the small town of Luray, KS. Because Liz was late in returning from her Women's Conference (see previous entry), we missed the wedding ceremony, but we were still able to enjoy the reception and dancing.

First, we enjoyed a little Hokey-Pokey. We've done the motions with David in the past, but since he had never heard the song - and possibly because of the crowd - he did not seem interested in joining in the fun. However, his daddy made him do it anyway.



We then watched as Arlene and Joe cut their cake.



Meanwhile, David, and another girl about his age, were gathering as many of the helium balloons as they could and running around the room like two crazy people - it was fun!