Christmas Cantata

We made it through the Cantata.  This is a longer video, but, trust me, it's worth the 20 seconds from the four, cute soloists at the end.

New VBS Theme?

There is a liquor store by Purdue called the Village Bottle Shop, but when they advertise "Never an extra charge for cold beer at VBS", I don't think Village Bottle Shop.  : )

Great 8!

Yeah, we are officially done with car seats!   I'm just as excited as the two youngest peas.  Eight has brought on much fun.  Second grade is awesome and more friends get to come over and play.

Eight also brings on your first official Red Rider BB gun.  It does not has a compass in the stock, but notice the safety goggles, so he doesn't shoot his eye out.

Eight also brings an sweet reading nook in your room, complete with a super comfy rocker and a boa lamp.

The Gingerbread House that Was

To help kick off the season, the kids worked on a gingerbread house over Thanksgiving break. It took some time and great patience to pull this off together. After an hour or so of methodically coating the house with some new gumdrops and a lot of Halloween leftovers, ta-da, a beautiful, little house was born. We put it up on a high shelf and admired.

Do you know how crafty (and hungry) my dog is? He scooted a chair over, climed up the hutch, and ate the house. The ENTIRE house. The only evidence left behind was the foil square of cardboard it rested on and some crumbs.

Brom layed around all afternoon with bloated guts and miserable look. Paige kept petting him and saying, "Oh, poor Brom." Hmmm. Poor Brom my butt.

Old Gal's New Dress

This is what we did to our old gal. I think she looks great. It used to be white (pic back in Dec 2009 blog), but we just didn't feel that the white house fit with the woods. It took over 13 gallons of paint to get it all done. Every piece of the outside got a freshen up: back deck, rails, front porch, siding, doors, shutters, blah, blah. I picked up the paint on the Home Depot Memorial Day Sale, and we pecked away at it all summer. I do mean ALL summer. Our neighbors we're a little scared when we first started brushing on the olivey green, but once we got it all pulled together, we've heard a lot of praise.

11!

Paige and Claire turned 11. Exciting stuff! This year brought on a care about appearance that previously had never existed. They are just on the fringe of truly caring -- yummy smelling lotions and a few extra minutes in front of the mirror. Yet, they still love jumping in the leaves and playing catch. I'm sure with middle school right around the corner, we only have a few months left until we'll need four extra bathroom!

Hobbit Halloween

Swear, I did not pick their costumes. All four of them came up with this on their own. BUT, the geek in me gushed at the choice. I did warn them that quite a few people would not know who they were. Still, living it up since Mom-geek won the costume war this year (unlike last year's Dad fiasco).

Leeper Family Photos

We made a quick trip to Decatur to see my family and nab some family photos before it was too cold outside. I think they turned out fairly well (considering the subjects). It was plenty windy also. Can you believe how tall everyone is getting. My niece is officially taller than her mom and nearing taller than me. My nephew. . .holy cow, who is that man?! Crazy how quick everyone is growing.

Hard to believe these four, cute things came from me and Brant. Right? God definitely did some polishing up on these sweet peas.

Me, my big bro, and big sis. I always think we don't look alike, but in this picture, you can tell we are all siblings.

Dad and Mom looking cute. I think they have been married so long, they are beginning to look alike. Doesn't that amaze you with couples?

It was great to see all our family, but when Uncle John brings over his new puppies that sort of trumps everything else. Cute, cuddly little furballs.

Creeping Closer

Brant is officially 38! All he keeps talking about since turning 35, is how 40 is quickly, creeping closer. Oh, well! As mom says, "The alternative is far worse." True.

"New" Pulls

A cheap, little redo. I hated my kitchen hardware. Sooo not me. But every time I would price a piece of hardware I liked, multiply by 44, and then look at my checkbook, . . .*sigh*. I decided one day, over in the spray paint section, to take matters into my own hands. I did a little faux finish and came up with these "oil-rubbed bronze" beauties for $12 for all 44. Not perfectly what I wanted, but, come on, twelve-stinkin'-dollas'!

I'm seriously investigating some other paint options to take my kinda' like kitchen to my kinda' love kitchen. We'll see what i come up with.

We Did It!

After two months of training, today we all ran our first 5K. Very exciting, and I was just so darn proud of all of us. Our times were not the greatest, but not a single one of us stopped to walk. I completed right under 35 minutes, Ike and Ava were right behind with 37, and Brant, Paige, and Claire were a clip under 40. Brant promised to be the last Hamby, to make sure our kids didn't get lost on the downtown streets. It was a great memory, and we can't wait to plan our next one.

Claire and Paige had the best evening. Our neighbor offered to take them up in his two-seater plane as part of the EAA's Young Eagles program. They participated in a full flight inspection and then were given a 20 minute plane ride. They buzzed by our neighborhood and by their elementary school. They even "helped" steer at one point. Mr. C. took the time to answer any questions they had (and there were quiet a few). He explained how all the equipment worked and let them help roll the plain onto the runway. It was a day they will never forget.

How I Spent My Summer

Well, half of it any way. We were so busy during the actual season , that I didn't get any pictures of the kids in their uniforms. So, here we are six weeks later and getting it done. That's life around here.

I found it crazy that all the kids had red in their uniforms. That never happens. Don't you love the pink cleats with the red uniforms? We don't have any "formal" fall sports (so far). I can't tell you how much we are loving the breathing room in the schedule.

Last First Day of Elementary

For the first time ever, everyone was excited about their classroom. This is Paige and Claire's last first day of elementary school. Where did they all go? I'm a mix of excitement and nervousness about their fifth grade year.

Claire received her number one teacher pick, PLUS her best friend is in her class. Could the year look any better?

Paige is in the class she wanted, and two certain boys that bring on Hamby girl giggle fits are in her room. Hmmm, her year seems to off to a good start also.

Ava got the teacher she wanted. The reason she wanted her, and I quote, "She's pretty and she wears high heel boots." Good enough reason, and I think I'll go to her parent teacher conferences instead of Dad (yeah, pretty sure about that).

Isaak didn't care what teacher he got, as long as his best buddy Cooper was in his class, so he is super jazzed. I already informed his teacher of their b.f.f. status and warned her not to sit them by one another. Boys will be boys.

Summer of Saving

I promised the kids at the beginning of the summer, that if they saved the money, sure, they could have a trampoline. It sounded like pipe dream. Four kids under the age of ten saving up nearly three hundred dollars?! Well, it's funny what kids will do when motivated. They walked dogs, cleaned sticks up after storms, past out flyers, etc. Basically, any chore a neighbor or mom would offer, they took.

We made a deal on vacation that what we saved out of the budget, we automatically go straight to the trampoline. We discussed picnics versus fast food, and amazingly (wink, wink), we had just enough money saved for a trampoline. We've been jumping it up for a week. Even Brant and I have tested out the bounce. Love the sweaty, sleepy kids this gem creates.

Michigan Vacation

We headed out for a five-day vacation in the Sleeping Bear Dunes region of Michigan. It was so beautiful. The lake was so clear. You could walk out for about a half mile and still only be up to your chest. I like the fact that you could see your feet (not a huge swimmer in mucky water). We canoed, which will go down as the "Claire-hates-canoeing trip". She was bit grumpy about following directions (hmmm - where does she get that from?). We hiked the Sleeping Bear Dunes. See this picture -- that is just the first crest of the dunes. It goes on and on, up and up after that. Who knew walking uphill in sand for over an could be so exhausting? We all slept like babies that night.

A quick stop at South Haven on the way home to see the lighthouse. The kids thought it would be bigger. This isn't Maine, ya' know?

AND, back to reality. How do six people make so much stinky laundry? Poor me.

Roadkill Rescue

Before: Brant and I found these lockers on the way home from one of many softball games this summer. They were just sitting on the road waiting for the trash man. I could not allow this travesty. After shaming my husband into pulling over and helping me smuggle these big boys into the back of our mini, these then sat in the garage for about a month. Well . . .

AFTER: A thorough scrubbing and about $12 dollars in spray paint brought forth these awesome babies. They work great in Brant's Bear Cave and also work great for hiding a lot of our junk.

Half Way

Summer is zipping by here. We are officially half way through and none of us is ready for it to be near over. We still have so many things to check off our summer to-do list, I don't know it we will possibly get it all done. It will be fun to try through.

We visited family over the Fourth, and we are now blessed with an Aunt and Uncle with a pool! Every time we step on our back deck now, my children reminecse about "how great that pool was. Gee, it sure would be nice to have one of our own." : ) With the 97 degree spike like today, I too, think a pool sound better and better.

New Dress for an Old Girl

More pictures to come, but here's what we've been spending the majority of any rain free days on -- painting our house. We trying to give our old girl a new dress. Every inch of our big, old house is getting freshened up. I love what it will become, but we have many miles to go before we sleep on this project.

We have the hardest, three-story side of the house done thanks to help from Grandpa. What a load! That one side took 10 hours due to the 40' fiberglass ladder we had to use. Glad the roughest part is done. Now if we could just get some time without rain to work on the rest of the house.