Carving Pumpkins

We had been putting off carving pumpkins for far too long. So, since we weren't going out trick-or-treating, we figured it would make for a good family activity.



David and Analeigh both enjoyed pulling out the slimy guts of the pumpkins. David, even tried tasting the pumpkin, though he found out it doesn't quite taste the same as it does in pie.



We put the pumpkins out on the porch so that people coming to our house would know we were giving out free candy. Sadly, the candle in David's pumpkin refused to stay lit.

Interesting Experiment

As you know from yesterday's entry, David recently threw up. Well, last night Analeigh decided to join in the fun and start throwing up too.

The dilemma was that Ben had to go to afternoon training meetings for his church calling, followed by the adult session of Stake Conference in the evening. We usually bring the children with us to the adult session.

In the past we have often gone to the Hong Kong Buffet before the meetings start. We decided we would be safe in maintaining our tradition, as long as we only fed the kids things that were easy on a sick stomach, like rice. That way we would get through the night without incident.

The thing is, Analeigh loves shrimp. Once she saw Liz eating some, she would not put up with having her diet limited. Since she did well at breakfast in the morning, we let her have some.



As time went on, she was fine. So we figured we were safe. David even did well with some more solid foods.

So Ben went to his training meetings and Liz took the kids shopping. Between the training and the adult session, there was an hour break. Liz brought some food back to the church for everyone to eat. And, just as we sat down, guess who tossed their cookies (by the way, "cookies" is a metaphor for vomiting)?

If you said, Analeigh, you're wrong! It was David!

So, we didn't stay for the adult session. Instead, we went home to give the kids the rest they needed.

On the plus side, our initial experiment paid off. It appears shrimp is good for a sick stomach because Analeigh still hadn't thrown up again by the time she went to bed.

Bring Out Your Sick

David threw up yesterday. No matter what we did, he couldn't keep anything down - not even water. After talking to Liz's mother, we were instructed to give him popsicles so that he could stay hydrated, but not get so much liquid at once that his body would reject it.

Of course, if David is getting special treatment, Analeigh wants some too. So we're guessing the box of popsicles won't last long.

Trunk Or Treat

This year Halloween falls on a Sunday - which will not happen again until 2021 (seriously, do the math). Since we don't consider trick or treating to be an activity that promotes the spirit of the Sabbath, we will not be taking our children door to door that day. Fortunately, they're young enough to not really know that they're missing out on an enormous amount of candy!

In lieu of going out on Sunday, we took advantage of our ward's trunk or treat program this evening. There were a lot of people there and so the kids made off pretty well.







In the meantime, we're still planning on having plenty of candy on hand to give to the children of the heathen gentiles* who will likely come to our door Halloween evening!

* - this comment was intended to be humorous and we sincerely hope Ben has not caused offense by saying such.

Story Time Halloween Party

Analeigh enjoyed herself at the Library's Halloween party for her story time group. Analeigh especially liked being able to show off her new princess dress her mother made for her.

She is the third one from the left - the one with the fingers in her mouth to help hold her smile!

Mother Mary and a Talking Horse

Analeigh would not let go of her bath towel today. She loved to carry it or wear it all around the house. At one point she insisted on her daddy being a horse while she rode on his back.

Imitation, Flattery, etc.

As they say (though we're not sure who "they" are), "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." In that case, David should consider himself very flattered, because Analeigh is very much imitating him. Today's exhibit, Analeigh riding David's front loader around the living room - just like David often does.

Upgrades at The Draper's Blue Castle Hotel

Thank you for your interest in staying at The Draper's Blue Castle Hotel. As we mentioned a couple days ago, we have been getting a new furnace installed and also adding central air conditioning.

For those of you who have stayed with us previously, we'd like you to know that we listened to your feedback and appreciate your taking the time to fill out the comment cards. As a result, we now have state-of-the-art, high-efficiency heating and cooling to make your future stays more comfortable.

During your tour of our grounds, you may have noted the large gas furnace that had been converted from a coal furnace. Not only is the new furnace about 1/6 of the size of the old one, but it is far more efficient, helping to keep you warm during the frigid Kansas winters.



We recognize that, in spite of the quality of our ceiling fans, the summer can make your stay rather hot. Thus, we introduce you to the marvel of central air conditioning, which will keep you cool while you sleep.



So, what are you waiting for? Book your stay now. We're only 15 minutes south of I-70 and, as always, we offer complimentary breakfast to all our guests.

You are also more than welcome to read the story behind our name during your stay.

"I'm Pretty!"

Analeigh has a pair of dolls she calls angel babies. Sometimes she dances with them. So, we decided to record her in the act. During parts of the video you will hear loud banging. Please don't be bothered by it, it is merely the sound of our contractors installing our new HVAC system.

Anyway, most of the video consists of Analeigh spinning around while saying, "I'm pretty!" repeatedly. Be prepared for cuteness:

The Renovation Begins

Some of you may recall our rousing tales of adventure this summer as we dealt without air conditioning. Well, all that is about to change.

About a month ago, late one evening, Liz smelled gas. So we called our gas company to come out and check to see if we had a leak. As it turns out, we did.

While the man was in our basement, inspecting our beheamoth of a furnace (as it is an old coal furnace that was converted to gas), he noted a number of safety issues with the furnace and the piping, and other fixtures we don't know the names of. The rather one-sided conversation went something like this: "That's not safe." and "That's dangerous." and "Wow, that's illegal! You guys really shouldn't have that." and, our favorite, "That could explode and kill you all!"

So, he shut off the gas to the furnace (which ended up saving us a substantial amount of money for the month. In the mean time, we decided that if we were going to get all the repairs done, we might as well just replace the whole furnace and put in air conditioning at the same time. So we did.

We're sorry that we failed to take a picture of the old gas furnace. It was huge and took up a large chunk of the basement, and it was something you would have to see to believe. Anyway, you can see it in pieces on our outside lawn - enjoy!

Farewell Brian

When we first moved to Great Bend, and Ben was called to be Young Men's President, he taught a group of young men consisting of two priests, one teacher, and three deacons. One of those priests was Brian Carlton. The Carlton Family sat behind us nearly every week, with Sister Carlton acting as surrogate grandmother for our children. Each week David relied on her bringing him a packet of fruit snacks.

Anyway, today was Brian's last Sunday in the Great Bend Ward, as he will be leaving to serve as a missionary in the California Arcadia Mission. So, we decided to attend church services there, rather than in Salina. It was great to see the Carlton Family again. Things have really changed: Sister Carlton doesn't bring fruit snacks anymore!

Good luck, Elder Carlton.

Cain City Orchard

Ben recently heard about Cain City Orchard from a co-worker. Turns out, there isn't really a Cain city. But, there is an orchard.

We started out at the barn where the owners had set up a little "haunted house," which turned out to only be what you see in the picture - the front of the house. Years from now, when the kids are teenagers, we anticipate them having the same expressions of their faces when we take them to pick apples - Analeigh's face is simply priceless.



Anyway, the kids enjoyed pulling the wagon behind them all through the orchard. There was a large German shepherd that distracted Analeigh occasionally, as she would run after him. Sadly, no pictures are available of her chasing a dog that is much larger than her.



Analeigh enjoyed picking apples, whether from her daddy's shoulders, or on her own from the low-lying branches.



We ended up picking over 80 lbs. of apples (half golden delicious, half winesap) - we're going to be pretty busy peeling, coring, and freezing them for the next few days. Then we'll be busy eating them in an assortment of delicious baked goods!

So Much Nature, Such a Small Bucket

David's preschool class went on a nature walk today. They were instructed to bring a bucket (ideally a large ice cream container, so it would have a handle). David returned home with his plunder. It wasn't exactly Leave No Trace, but it was still a fun adventure for him.

Dancing to the Beat of a Drum

As stated previously, David enjoys making homemade drums. Today he made a drum using the cover of one of our heating vents. Analeigh chose to join him by dancing in her "pretty dress," made out of her blanket.

Please forgive us for the narrowness of our video, Liz accidentally recorded it sideways, forcing Ben to use his nerdiness to rotate the video so that you, the viewer, would not strain your necks. Enjoy.

Serenaded by David

David loves to sing. Be it primary songs, songs from TV shows or movies, songs from tapes or CDs, or songs from preschool. Today, for your listening pleasure, David is performing a medley of songs: This Is The Way We Wash Our Hands; some song about a firetruck; and Way Down Yonder In The Paw-Paw Patch.

Centennial Camp

Ben went with the scouts today to our local council's centennial celebration. Yes, the Boy Scouts of America is 100 years old. Ben was able to wander around and see a lot of cool things: A Blackhawk helicopter landing to deliver the flag in the morning, BMX shows, army tanks, a fire safety house, archery, rifle shooting, pinewood derby racing, etc. He could have taken pictures, but the camera got left behind to take pictures of David's adventures in riding a firetruck.

Anyway, Ben was also able to hang out for a bit at a craft section (probably gear toward the cub scouts) and make a number of beaded geckos. He made two for David and Analeigh, with blue and yellow beads, in honor of the Michigan Wolverines (who sadly lost that day). Knowing that Liz would probably want something a little more different, Ben also make her a gecko out of some speckled beads, as seen below. He also ended up making a number of other ones for other people from church that did not want to bother learning to do it for themselves.

Firetruck Ride

Our local fire station hosted a soup, chili, and hot dog fundraiser this afternoon, complete with free firetruck rides. Analeigh did not want to go on a ride, so Liz stayed at the station with her. David was a little hesitant to go without Liz, as you can see on his face in the pictures. But he did enjoy himself, as evidenced by how much he talked about it later.

Between this and the field trip his preschool class took earlier this week to this same fire station, David is getting his fill of fire trucks!

David's Art

Recently Liz began working on a scrapbook page for David involving the many projects he has been working on in preschool. The colorings in the picture on the left, show the growth of an apple tree from seed, to sapling, to big tree, to fruition. The painting in the picture on the right is one that was submitted to the Kansas State Fair, back in September.

Shopping Cart Surprise

Liz took the kids to the store this evening and saw a stellar deal on candy in the Halloween aisle. While she was loading up, David did some loading up of his own. Unbeknownst to Liz, David had grabbed the following giant sucker, opened it, and started licking it. After seeing him with it, she then had to go back to the aisle, find the container, along with the UPC label, so that she could pay for it.

David has still not earned the sucker back.

Our Marching Band

Our children are quite musical. Though they're probably not quite ready for a public concert just yet - they still enjoy performing for their parents. Today we were treated to a marching band, complete with marching drummers - really loud drummers!

Watermelon Harvest

We had our first frost of the season, which necessitated the harvest of our watermelons. As you may recall from our last venture in harvesting watermelon, we were rather concerned as to whether or not these melons would be ripe enough yet - especially since they were smaller than the first.

However, we are happy to report that they were all ripe and all delicious. The kids enjoyed eating a fair share before we left to go to church. We even cut some up to eat while sitting at the church in between the morning and afternoon conference sessions.

Going to Sleep

Sometimes Ben will lay down on the floor and pretend to go to sleep (or, if he's lucky, really fall asleep). Generally, David and Analeigh will take turns trying to lift up his head while shouting, "Wake up, Daddy!"

However, this evening, he somehow persuaded them to lay down next to him and close their eyes too. By the time Liz got the camera to mark this momentous occasion, Analeigh decided she wanted nothing to do with a photo that would prove her as someone willing to go to sleep (you can still see her feet in the top of the frame). David, on the other hand, was quite cooperative.