Gingerbread House

I bought a gingerbread house kit to do with the kids sometime during December. They were so excited about it we had to do it that night. So with a screaming baby on my lap we decorated the gingerbread house. The kids had lots of fun and were so excited. They did a good job. Icing is harder to put on with one hand.

Monopoly Rules

We played Monopoly the other night--it was pretty funny. We had to use Matt's rules, and there are only five, so it's pretty simple.

1) He gets all of the blue money. He has the entire stack of blue $50 bills. He does not share them nor do they circulate. He does not buy property with them. Every time he rolls and moves his piece, he puts one of them in a separate pile.

2) He picks everyone's pieces. You have to watch closely, because he reserves the right to change your piece in the middle of the game, sometimes in the middle of your turn. He did allow Katie to keep her piece though.

3) He always rolls snake eyes or double sixes. Every time. If the dice don't fall that way, they need to be adjusted until they do.

4) He moves his piece around the board until he is 'ahead' of everyone else. His piece always lands on a Railroad or the Chance square (It's a question mark that looks like a big 7, which I think is his favorite number after 5).

5) If someone builds a house, he builds a fire station. Since he does not buy property or part with his bills, he puts it anywhere he pleases and it costs him nothing.

If you follow those simple special Thompson house rules, you can have a pretty good game with the four of us. Although Karen continues to pay me as often as possible in one dollar bills, simply because she knows I hate dealing with the one dollar bills--I prefer to round everything to a five dollar sum. And when Katie was banker, she kept discovering $500 bills buried deep in her pile of money.

Ryan wrote this one.

Modesty

I was watching Dancing With the Stars the other night when Katie came down and asked "Mom, why do you watch Dancing With the Stars when they aren't dressed modest." Ummmmmmm. I just sent her back to bed. How do you answer that one? So, I thought about it and she is right. So I told her the next day I wouldn't watch it anymore. No more Dancing With the Stars. Talk about being called out. I guess we must be teaching her right?!?! Good for Katie. I even had a hard time finding a modest pic to post here.

Halllooweeeen.....Just a few days late!

We had a pirate and two cats for Halloween this year. They got to go to the Trunk-or-Treat at the Church and then trick-or-treating at the Mall. They had fun. Matt's costume didn't stay on too long. So it looked like he just had a beard and nothing else. Someone asked if he was a college guy. :)

Fun in the Car

On the way home from Ruby Falls, I sat in back with the kids to help with ice cream cones. The kids and I had fun. I realized how much wilder the ride is from the back. Sorry kids! No wonder Katie gets sick when we go on long trips.

I've never seen a baby that drools and spits as much as Elisa does!

Katie with two missing teeth.

Matt was actually posing for this picture. He likes to get the no look shots.

Ruby Falls

At Katie and Matt's school they get a week off in the fall. So, for fall break we took the kids to Ruby Falls. It is an underground waterfall that has a lot of cool geological formations. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it. Matt even counted all the trash cans along the way and was amazed at how many there were.

At the enterance into Ruby Falls

The waterfall


I think this was called the cactus.

Katie in front of the waterfall

And the video of the falls

This is the Way We Roll

This happened a few weeks ago. Now she rolls over and plays for a few minutes but then gets mad because she can't roll back over without hitting her head on the floor. She is five months now! Already!!! Click on the play button to see it.

The Story of the Couch

This is our new-used couch. We have strict rules...no eating on, jumping on, or climbing over. We were blessed to get it. Our old couch was falling apart. After 9 years it had fulfilled it's purpose. So we were looking for a new one. I had got up and dressed-all ready for a Dr's appointment one day after Elisa was born. I drove into Chattanooga and went to sign in for my appointment....it wasn't until the next day. oops. So I thought since I was already dressed and out and had someone to watch the older kids I would go couch shopping. I took a scenic route home to where I knew a furniture store was. Looked around and decided a couch would stretch our budget a little thin. So I left thinking I needed to rethink things. A lady was watching me struggle carrying the car seat around the store. She watched me leave and get in our old Honda Civic (1990). She must of thought we looked pretty needy. She came and asked me about what I was shopping for and then said she wanted to give me a couch. She was moving and getting all new furniture. I said "YES". I was a little worried about whether or not it would match our decor. It does perfectly. She was happy to be able to give it and we were happy to receive. One of those small blessing from the Lord. If I hadn't of mixed up the days of the Dr appointment I wouldn't of been there. Would you call that a "tender mercy of the Lord"?

My Sous Chef's

For those who don't know, cooking isn't my favorite thing to do. So Daddy has the job of teaching the kids. Katie and Matt love to help Daddy bake. They each have their own aprons. They like to bake cookies, brownies, banana bread, blondies, pancakes, muffins, and a lot of other stuff. Right now they are working on some Amish Bread. Yum Yum!

Soccer again

The kids started soccer. They both did really good on the first two games.

Katie scored several goals and is learning to pass to her teammates.

Matt scored two goals one for his team and one for the other team. He didn't know the difference so we just cheered him on. He threw up his hands and started doing his little dance. I'll have to catch it on video for you. He does pretty good. Although he thinks that everytime the ball rolls out of bounds he should run and slide on his belly (after the ball has rolled out of course). Hopefully better pics at the next games.

The Tooth Fairy

Katie lost her first tooth last week. She has been wanting this for quite some time. She wiggled it and wiggled it and actually pulled it out herself. She put it under her pillow and told me she hoped the tooth fairy would bring her $12 so she could buy her a webkinz toy. We explained that the tooth fairy doesn't have that much money to give for every tooth. She seemed happy with the dollar she got the next day.
What is up with my dark pictures? I will have to check the settings on my camera.

Finally Smiles

Finally got some good smiles. Isn't she cute! But I am a little biased. These turned out a little dark. Must not have had the camera set right.

Oooh, look at the bright shiny light

I tried to get some pics of Elisa smiling....This is what I got....Every time I went to take the pic she would see the light and was mesmorized.

HELP!

So I started this post at 8:00 this morning, it is now almost 10:00 pm.

Ryan and I both received new callings at church. Me as the 2nd counselor in primary and Ryan as the new Bishop. I wore all black. ;) I am already overwhelmed. Ryan is supposed to be gone everyday this week except Friday and maybe Saturday, unless some emergency pops up. But I am sure blessings will come from it and besides it is what the Lord wants us to do right now and who am I to argue with the Lord. It was really neat to see him set apart and to feel the spirit in that room. I will just have to remember that feeling when I am putting the kids to bed by myself everynight. He will do great and everything will be fine I am sure. Just positive stuff from here on. :) Click on the links if you have questions about what I am talking about here.

Matt: The boy who feels no pain

So on Matt's first day of school he got stung by a wasp. The teacher told us that he didn't even cry. That is just Matt for you; he has a high pain tolerance. But I didn't realize how high until I took him to the Dr. for his 4 year check-up. He had to receive 4 shots. The nurses came in and one held him while the other gave him the shots. Of course he didn't cry, but what really got us all was that at the end he started laughing. The nurses said that was a first for them. Me too. Afterwards I asked him if it hurt or tickled, thinking maybe it was hurting but didn't know how to react, but he said it tickled. BTW, the picture has nothing to do with this post other than it has Matt in it. This is actually his first fishing trip with daddy.

Our summer adventures

We didn't do much fun this summer. So right before school started we went into Chattanooga and rode the incline railway. We went swimming once too. Aren't we the funnest family! A new baby slows things down. So here are our pictures from our summer-o-fun.

Catching Up

Here is some info to get everyone caught up to where we are in life right now.

Ryan is teaching history at the local community college. He loves it. He also is on the High Council at church. I am still staying at home with the three kids. Just had Elisa here. Don't you love photo's right after delivery.

Here is Katie on her first day of 2nd grade. She is excited to learn science this year. She loves playing Softball, Soccer, and Basketball. She is a great reader and loves to write stories and poems.

This is Matt on his first day of Pre-K. He is excited to play with blocks at school. He is quite the G.Q. poser. He loves all physical sports, trains, and cars.
This is Elisa, our newest member of the family, at 2 months. She is sweet, a good sleeper (yeah!), and has a cute smile.

My first blog!

Well here goes! I am going to try this out. Let me know what you think everyone!