Indian Summer

The kids pretended to be some of their favorite animals today, in celebration of the gorgeous weather. See if you can find a bat, a sloth, a panda, a monkey, and a bird (with a "bird's eye view")!

Thank God for Grandmas!

Grandpa Jack and Grandma Jeannie are in town from Florida. Grandma brought her usual goodie bag of little fun stuff for the kids. Which once more goes to prove, it's the little things that matter! We are blessed with two grandmas who know just how to spoil our kids. We're thankful!

Sunday afternoon at the Dome

Today was so much fun! After church we headed down to the Metrodome to watch the Twins play Ben's beloved Detroit Tigers. Now if you've followed our blog, you know things didn't go well when we went to see the Braves at the Dome. We went to one more game this summer against the Angels, and Ben actually cheered for the Twins! But of course this time, they lost.

So today we headed down, and Lee and I actually quietly rooted for the Tigers too, because of the sheer fact they might still have a shot at the playoffs, and the Twins...well, let's face it, they don't. And guess what? Ben finally got to see his team WIN! It was a nail biter, but the Tigers scored on the third pitch of the game, and never trailed. Phew!

Sundays are awesome days to take a kid to a Twins game. The kids get in free with a paid adult, there are all kinds of activities for them to do out on the plaza beforehand, they get a free children's book, and there are free Twins autographs if you care to wait (although there is no guarantee you will have ever heard of the players that are signing). And today, TCF was even giving away free Twins shirts. Then after the game, they get to run the bases and get autographs from T.C. the bear. T.C. is a very astute mascot, and he took Ben's Tigers cap and stuck it in his big furry mouth. VERY cute.

By the way...do you notice anything different about Ben? (Click on the picture to see a bigger view. Click here to compare if you still can't figure it out.)

Zoo Day

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the zoo that I loved to visit as a little girl, but we live so close to the big zoo that we rarely go up there. The kids loved seeing lots of animals they don't have at the big zoo, and Ben was excited to learn that BOTH have tigers! For more photos of our day, click here.

Smile and say "Cheethe!"

Benjamin thought the week hadn't been eventful enough, so he pulled out his front tooth. The surprising thing was that it was the left one--he's been wiggling the right one all summer.

The BIG Day!

Today is the first day of school, and Ben's 8th birthday. The kids were SO excited that they pretty much leaped out of their beds. They even MADE their beds! (Of course, that's because we pay them for completing all of the steps on their checklists.)





Ben took a few minutes to open his birthday cards from us. The gifts had to wait until after school, because Mom has not had a chance to go shopping--but now all of that has changed! :-)





Ben and Bethany both got ready in record time, with plenty of time to pose for photos. Even then, the bus wasn't here, so they played hopscotch. When the bus pulled up to the corner several minutes early (we are the first stop), the kids grabbed their backbacks and made a mad dash. Forget the ceremonial goodbyes! I did what any self-respecting mom would do. I followed them down and got right on the bus and gave them a hug. They didn't seem to mind!

For my reflections (and a few more photos) on this new chapter of life, click here.

Happy Birthday, Tiger-r-r!

Today we had a fun family gathering. We celebrated Ben's birthday, along with a couple of his cousins', with the whole Decker side of the family. Although he was in and out of the house while I was decorating his cake, he avoided seeing what I was doing because he wanted it to be a surprise. I guess the unveiling is an important part of the tradition. He was very pleased with his tiger!

When his cousin Kyle heard that Ben's birthday is the first day of school, he thought it was a shame. Ben, on the other hand, thinks it is going to be one giant party, and he can hardly wait. I hope that after it's all said and done, his teacher will share his enthusiasm!

A special project

My family thought they had hit the jackpot when they helped me unpack the groceries today. Let's face it...it's not every week I come home with Oreos, Little Debbies, Fruit by the Foot (gross!) and chocolate sprinkles. They should have known I was up to something. One of my favorite projects of the year. Stay tuned!