Afternoon with Katie

  My cousin, Katie, came down for the afternoon to hang with us before she moves back to Portland next week.  Waaahhh!  Calvin had just been to the pumpkin patch on a field trip and so he wanted to carve his pumpkin.

  Hannah joined in with one of my decorative cinderella pumpkins that the squirrels have been gnawing on.  Their little scratch marks are now eyes.

    Ava thought the swing was about the best thing ever. 

     Especially when Joel pushed hard.

  Our plan was to go swimming and then come home for dinner, but that changed when our car broke down monday night on Mike and the 3 oldest.  I went to go rescue them and they didn't get home to eat dinner until 7:30.  Anyway, we still had fun hanging out at home with Katie up until someone bit another someone and it turned BAD quick.  Biting is new for us....

  That's parenthood, right?  Dealing with another new thing thrown at you.  Always something new to figure out.  The other day I saw a commercial of this progression of how oatmeal has remained throughout a woman's life and she was feeding her child with a huge smile on her face and a huge smile on the child's.  I looked at Mike and said, "Why do they make parenting look so glamorous?  It's not."  It is rewarding and beautiful and wonderful alongside hard, demanding, and non-stop.  But it's not glamorous.  [drops the mic.]

Have a nice wednesday!