Front Porch Sittin'

Another nice fall weekend! Tonight, Kendal helped host a fishing party to benefit Group Living, a fantastic nonprofit here in Arkadelphia. Following an afternoon of fishing, the Kaufman's treated everyone to a barbeque complete with kosher hot dogs, home-made potato salad and beans AND banana pudding! I brought the twins over for dinner and they loved running all around the Kaufman's log cabin and playing with their four dogs (all Humane Society rescues).



Last night, Kendal hosted a "Brill" for his brewing buddies. Drew and Conner helped brew a "nut brown ale" variety (it was actually brewed with chocolate!) while wives Elaine, Mary Elizabeth and I hung around outside and talked all about babies and... well, babies. While brewing, Kendal and the guys grilled fajita meat (hence the "brill") which we later feasted on - yum! In preparation for dinner (and fall in general) I bought four pumpkins to represent our family and wrote our intitials on each - I stole that idea from my fave show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" and I think it makes a nice front porch addition!

This morning, Kendal's parents came up for the day. We haven't seen them in over a month and they were amazed by how FAST the twins can run! They've just returned from an amazing trip to Europe (Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania) and brought the twins some beautiful Hungarian dolls (or "Hungry Dolls" and we kept saying). We had a fun day catching up and were so grateful for the time we are able to spend together. Meanwhile in Hattiesburg, my dad and sister were enjoying H'burg's finest "October Fest" at the Lutheran Church, a 'burg tradition. My mom is recovering from surgery so she missed the festivities this year BUT will make up for it when she and my dad help take the kids trick-or-treating during our late October visit to MS!

The kids were SO EXCITED about the Tigers' big win on Saturday and begged to go to church in their matching LSU smocked outfits (compliments of Nana!). So, mom happily obliged and dressed them in their Tiger togs. However... mom left the keys to her car in dad's car - which was already at church and dad was busy teaching Sunday School - so mom and twins were forced to skip church for the second Sunday in a row (last week courtesy of Ike and power loss). But the kids looked so darn cute I had to take a few quick pictures.



Afterward the impromptu photo session we all put our PJ's back on and cooked up a storm - mini muffins and pasta for the twins, chicken divan, etc. Kendal and I are having a bit of a time finding food the twins will consistently eat. Lucky for us they love bananas, sliced grapes, watered-down apple juice ("ooce") and any veggie from a can but they don't seem to like deli turkey, cheese (well, Carlisle does), mom's mini-muffins or mom's mini-peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into the shape of a pumpkin or apple. Carlisle has also gotten very good at pointing furiously at whatever YOU are eating while grunting forcefully. She doesn't always eat it, but she always wants it! Jackson Camper is a little more discriminating. He did go to town on chicken strips and sweet potato fries at a family dinner at the Burger Barn on Friday - whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen. These are the notes that I'm sure no one else really cares about, but this is as close to scrap-booking and baby-booking I'm getting anytime soon, so consider this simple documentation for future generations :)

I also wanted to post a really cute picture of "Warley" that we snapped last week at the fair. She loves to mug for the camera if you catch her at the right time...

The Fair!

We've had a great weekend with the kids so far. Friday was a wonderfully lazy day at home during which Kendal mowed the yard (so not so lazy for him), Lauren and the twins went to a kick-butt workout at the gym (so really not so lazy for Lauren) then the twins made their Clark County Fair debut (definitely not lazy for them or their new animal buddies!). So, I guess we've actually had a pretty busy weekend so far!

The Clark County Fair was fun, though we had several battles with Jackson Camper over why sheep/goat/rooster poo does not go in one's mouth. We went immediately to the section where the farm animals are shown (with Lauren trying her hardest to ignore the fact that a "beef cow" who has won first place at the fair most likely is not headed back to the farm...). We kept the kids in their stroller most of the trip, which was wise. Luckily the animals were friendly and were happy to poke their heads through their cages to get a pat. Carlisle has mastered the art of multi-tasking with a synchronized pet the friendly goat/suck on juice move that we were all most amazed by. Jackson Camper also enjoyed meeting his first goat and we were so happy that neither were scared by the animals. Perhaps next year, they will be showing sheep! Their daddy AND Nana are prize-winning sheep showers, so you never know...

After leaving the first animal area, we went to see the rabbits and roosters. Not nearly as exciting, though by this point the kids were walking around, hence the impromptu poo lesson. We ran into friends Audrey, J.R. and Jack Eldridge and got some quick photos on the baby bench. Jack is our best buddy Will's cousin - hey Will, looks like your cuz is making a move on your lady!! Jackson Camper is oblivious...

Following the fair (and a quick loop around the carnival section that removed any doubt that the kids were not ready for the sqeaky, creaky, rides) we enjoyed a family pizza dinner at Arkadelphia's newest restaurant, the Pizza Shak. We thought it was great - fab sweet tea, yummy cheese sticks and a bacon-ranch pizza with tomatoes and spinach that tasted just like a BLT. It was great and the kids were troopers. Yay, pizza!

Today, Lauren had a board meeting at Ouachita while Kendal kept the kids. Later we all cooked and cleaned a little, and now are enjoying the USC/Ohio State game, thankful we have power and wishing LSU were not on pay-per-view tonight and that we were not so cheap. Geaux Tigers!

A parting photo... Our house is filled to the brim with toys and goodies and the twins choose to play with... am empty detergent bottle. They played with it for over an hour! Kendal thinks J.C. is ready to start pulling his weight by taking over laundry duty - thoughts?

Oklahoma, OK!

We had the perfect Labor Day weekend in Oklahoma! We made the late-drive drive to Norman on Thursday night and arrived at 1AM with a backseat full of tired, cranky babies. Luckily they were in great moods when they woke up on Friday and got to play with some of their very best friends and godchildren, twins George and Abigail! All the kids were rolling around, walking, crawling, talking, singing - it was a zoo! Carrie, Carrie's mom, Kendal and I took the two sets of twins in matching letter tees for a quick photo-shoot on Friday morning - we got two good shots where everyone is looking at the camera and no one is yet crying hysterically! But, man, it was exhausting. On Friday afternoon, the rest of Carrie and Matt's family arrived, including 5th-grade twin cousins Evie and Kirby! The girls and their big bro Cliff were fantastic with all the babies and entertained them all weekend! We REALLY want to adopt Kirby and Evie!!

On Friday night, we drove up to Edmond to visit with one of Lauren's oldest friends, Cara, her husband Jake and their precious kids Cole (4) and Claire (9 months). We had a tapas feast and just watched the kids scoot all over the house, playing together so well! The "adults" had a great time catching up, too, and we just wished bed-time for all the kids didn't come so quickly. On Saturday, we enjoyed a lazy morning with Carrie and Matt's families and made some last-minute birthday party preparations. We then drove over to OU to tailgate for the first home game. And, yes, Jackson Camper and Carlisle are sporing Sooner crimson in the slide-show above! We had to be good sports, even though we would have much rather left their LSU Tigers gear on (but we feared a mauling on campus, which would have put a damper on the weekend). Later that night, we enjoyed fajitas and margaritas then gave all four kids a bath - again, a zoo!



Sunday was BIRTHDAY PARTY time! Matt and Carrie grilled burgers, then we feasted on delicious marble cake and home-made ice cream! YUM! George and Abs had their own mini-cakes to tear into - Abigail knew just what to do with her cake, but George took a little coaxing. But soon, he dove right in :) Jackson hung outside with Kendal during cake-time but Carlisle stood right at the foot of their high-chairs, waiting for crumbs (no kidding!). Luckily sweet Carrie baked the other kids cupcakes so the twins feasted. But the BEST treat was watermelon! We've been giving our twins watermelon chunks for a while now, but have never given them their own slice. Kendal stripped them down to their diapers (good move!) and let them have at the watermelon. They had a blast!! Jackson Camper ate two slices while Carlisle devoured and slurped down at least four. George and Abs wore appropriate watermelon-themed clothes for the party and looked darling! What a great way to say good-bye to the summer and celebrate our greatest treasure, these beautiful kids!!