Sneak'n In The Sprinkler

We have new grass growing in our front yard!  This means we have been watering a lot...

And, our girls have been finding it very fun to play in the water that occasionally sprays the driveway...

And, putting your hands, feet and face in the water can be lots of fun too.

Just Around the Corner

Fall is just around the corner...That means...
Cooler weather, leaves changing colors and falling off the trees, raking leaves,

Popee and Phoebe Fall 2010

cooking yummy things with pumpkin, soup and chili,
K-State Football, Kansas City Chiefs Football,

Sarah Fall 2010

my birthday, our anniversary,

Sarah and I on my 32nd birthday Sept. 2009

jeans, sweatshirts, and jackets,
craft shows and Fall Festivals,
the pumpkin patch with family, Halloween, costumes, and candy,

Sarah at Papa's Pumpkin Patch 2009

 Phoebe and Sarah at Cox Farms 2010

Our family on Halloween 2009 and 2010

Thanksgiving, food, and family!

Sarah and Phoebe Fall 2010

Fall has always been my favorite season.  It is a beautiful time of the year, a time when we gather with family, a time to be truly thankful... A time to rejoice in all God has given us.

Candles or Lanterns

Sarah is participating in her first fund-raiser.  It is a fund-raiser that benefits her preschool.  She is selling candles, and is proving to be a great little sales lady!

We got to smell all of the candle scents that are available last week.  Phoebe, Sarah, and Sarah's friend Carey all had fun taking the lids off, and giving each candle a sniff or two.  My favorites are the Mandarin Mulberry, Warm Cinnamon Pumpkin, and the Iced Gingerbread.  Sarah's favorite is Angel Wings.  All of our least favorite was the Lavender Spice.

Here are a few memorable sales moments so far...

She was on the phone with Aunt Lindsee, and asked her if she wanted to buy a candle, Lindsee said, "sure".  Sarah replied, "okay, how about two or three?"

I was on the phone talking with Beki, and Sarah said, "Who are you talking to?  I want to ask her to buy a candle."  She then got on the phone with Beki.  I heard Beki ask her what kinds there were and Sarah said, "wait, let me get the menu".

Sarah practicing with me what she would say when she asked someone to buy a candle... "I am selling lanterns..."  me, "Sarah, what are you selling?"  Sarah, "Lanterns, um candles."

Sarah on the phone with Popee... asking him to buy a candle, then suggested he get two or three!

Sarah selling a candle to our good friend Ras... told him to get the purple one.  So he did!

Maybe it is her little girl charm, maybe it is her sweet suggestions, maybe it is her cute sales pitch, or maybe the way she tries to name off each scent that is available... Whatever it is she is good at it and it has been fun to listen and watch her try to sell candles.

So, if you are interested in getting a candle from Sarah she will be selling them until Oct. 2nd.  They are $10 each and will be delivered to you by, if not before Thanksgiving.  These candles are from "Celebrating Home".  They can be viewed by clicking here on the words CELEBRATING HOME CANDLE CHOICES.   The candles all have 100% cotton wicks and meet or exceed all Federal Safety requirements, and all of the candles are a soy-blend wax.

Vote For Phoebe

Have you voted for our little Wildcat fan yet?  If you have a facebook account or a facebook business page you can vote... if you have both you can vote twice!  Here's how...

1. Go to facebook and search for the Kansas Sampler facebook page.
2. Click on "like" and like the Kansas Sampler facebook page.
3. Go to the photo album on the Kansas Sampler facebook page called "Tailgate Wars Contest for KU/KSU tickets" and click on that title.  It will take you to all of the photos entered.
4. Find our photo of Phoebe declaring a KSU TOUCHDOWN and click on it.
5. Then click "like" right under her photo to vote for Phoebe.

If you click here on the words KANSAS SAMPLER it will take you directly to the Kansas Sampler facebook page.

Here is the photo of Phoebe to look for.  Thanks for your vote.  And, it really doesn't matter whether you're a die hard KU fan or you bleed KSU purple....I think we can all agree Phoebe is a cutie!

P.S. If you like her photo please pass the word on and have your spouse, friends and family cast their "like" vote too.

Life On The Lake

Over the weekend we took a short trip to Bella Vista, Arkansas.  My Aunt Judy and Uncle Ernie live there on the lake.  We had a great time!  Here are some of the pictures that I took during the weekend.

On Ernie and Judy's boat dock... Sarah talking to Popee about fishing.

Sarah had so much fun fishing... If I couldn't find her, I knew to check the boat dock... More than likely, that was where she was.  Fishing with Popee and Daddy.

When they caught a fish they would put it into the white bucket and watch it swim around for awhile before Sarah and Phoebe would catch them in Ernie's little green net and throw them back.  Both girls liked looking at the fish and Sarah liked picking them up.  She held them in her hand and by their lip. 

Time for a boat ride!  Sarah helped Ernie pull the boat around the dock so that we could all get on for a ride.

Sarah sat in Judy's favorite seat.  Judy and Phoebe decided to sit on Sarah!

On the boat ride... looking for seashells, fish, and ducks.

Sarah got to help Ernie drive the boat back to the boat dock. 

Ernie and Judy just got back a week ago from a trip to Peru.  They brought the girls each a ceramic bird whistle from there and new wool hats.

    

Sarah wanted to go swimming very badly.  The air temperature was in the 70's and the water temperature was ??? very chilly.  Daddy was selected to go swimming with Sarah.  They got in the COLD water and looked for some shells then decided to float on a raft.  They paddled and floated all the way across Ernie and Judy's cove.   (Award for Daddy of the Year, once again, goes to... Eric Hendrickson, for getting in the water with Sarah when no one else would.)

Then there was some more fishing... And, Sarah caught a "big one".  So did Popee.

    

Of course there was story time.  Aunt Judy is one of the all-time best story readers.  She gave the girls each a stuffed Penguin named Osbert and the book about Osbert.  Sarah wanted to name her Penguin Ariel instead of Osbert.  Phoebe did not care what her Penguin's name was, she just wanted to make it peck people.

That evening we went over to a place called Crystal Cave.  It is fenced off and no one can go down in it anymore, but each night at about dusk, thousands of bats can be seen coming out of the cave.  This was so cool!  Read the sign below about the cave.  This cave is right in the middle of a community in Bella Vista, just a hole in the ground with a double fence around it.  As it started to get dark thousands of bats started swirling around in the hole and ascending out into the night sky.  Wow!

 The hole, looking down into the cave...

 Bats coming out of the hole...

 Look closely!  Bats are circling around...

We had lunches and dinners on the huge wrap around deck overlooking the lake.

Thank you Uncle Ernie and Aunt Judy for a great weekend in Bella Vista at your home on the lake!  We all had a fabulous time.