Fire Truck, Fire Truck

The kids learned a song at Preschool called Fire Truck" (click to listen).  For the summer we got a Fire Truck from the Toy Library.  After Daddy did some cleaning and fixing the truck works great and the kids have a great time putting out fires.  We even lit a camp fire in the back yard one evening and they got to help Daddy put it out. (Andrew had the big hose.)  Here they are in action.

Watch out!

Not sure why Edith is being transported, but one looks happy :)

Watching the heros

Gotcha!

Oh, you really just wanted  drink?

Haircut

Eleanor and Marshall both got a haircut during November.  It was the first time Marshall got his hair cut by a professional.  He loved it and actually sat still.  Well worth it!!!  Eleanor loves it because the hairdresser always does her hair fancy!

Thanksgiving

We definitely celebrated Thanksgiving!  We ate on Saturday and our menu consisted of roast chicken and veggies, corn pudding, green beans, and gravy.  And pie - what would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie!

Our Favorite Park - Queenstown

Recently, we discovered Queenstown Park.  We started out at the duck pond and the kids wasted little time getting into the pond to chase the ducks.  Actually, they were singing "5 Little Ducks" so I think the expected them to come back and play, but they didn't...

Let's go ducks

We continued towards the lake and found the playground.  The big kids enjoyed playing on the swinging seesaw.

Daddy took the big kids on a ride in a paddle boat. 

 Back on the beach.  Sibling love.  (Edith may or may not be eating a stone.  She's the third child though so we really have no control over what she puts in her mouth...:))

 Before heading home we played on the trees growing near the water.  Lots of fun which made the ride home nice and quiet! ;)

Bit of This and a Bit of That

Well, we have had a lot of fun playing with the baby lambs.  On the nice days we let the lambs and the kids out in the backyard and they just play!  Its great!! 

Just home from school.  The lambs had just been fed and Eleanor and Marshall were "hiding" in the garden.  Looks like the Elizabeth and Baby were successful seekers!

Edith on her first bike ride

Sister cuddle.  (Eleanor had covered up Edith with Bubbie to keep her warm.)

 

Edith loves playing in the grass!

 

Eleanor learned some yoga techniques at Mother's Day Out in Kentucky and she and Marshall were showing me their moves.

The last day of Term 3 we had a dress-up day at Preschool.  Marshall wore his UK track suit from Kentucky and was a basketball player.  He says, "Go Cats!"

 Remember Elizabeth well.  Unfortunately, she passed away on Sunday.  (We think she had bloat?  Not sure.)  Anyway, Eleanor took the news very well and there were no tears.  I don't think Baby handled it quite so well as she looked for her pal and sister all day and was very noisy all day!  Marshall has been a very loving though so she made it through. :)

Our Elizabeth

 She decided she wanted to give her a funeral and an hour later she said, "Mommy, maybe I could get a new lamb and I'll name her Ashely." 

At the graveside

Ashley

 We picked Ashely up this afternoon.  She is a super cool black Romney with white bits around her face that make her look like she has whiskers.  There were a few tears at the pick-up because I think Eleanor was expecting Ashely to look more like Elizabeth.  (I think a nap would have also helped her emotional state.)  On the way home after calming down she started talking to her and she helped Daddy put her in her pen and try to get her drink from a bottle.

Trout season starts October 1st in New Zealand.  Yesterday was a short work day.  Bob, Andrew's boss, is also a fisherman and he bought Andrew and the family a trout fishing license.  Not only that but he caught and gave us two large rainbow trout yesterday.  Andrew took both the kids out for a spin after their naps yesterday.  No luck on our end, but the season has only just started! 

The kids and Andrew with our second present.  Marshall got himself ready and was insistent that he needed his sunhat - it was a rainy/drizzly day! :)

Reeling it in!

"Catching" up with Bob on the river.

Off, Off and Away (part 1)

Well, my grandmother, Mommom recently passed away at 101, 14 days at the end of August.  Check out the obituary if you want that my brother Zach wrote.  Thanks to lots of people I was able to go back and say goodbye with the rest of my family and Edith got to accompany me back to Kentucky.  It meant so much to be there.  Edith also had a great adventure and loved getting to spend some one on one time with Marmar and Jonjon and the rest of the family.  It was very special.  So this is part 1 of the week.  (More parts coming shortly.  It involves "The Big Kids" and fun with Granny and Daddy!)

Edith did great on the long haul flight.  She had a bassinet and once she fell asleep she slept until just before landing.  She was very excited so it did take her awhile to go to bed and she did nurse on and off through the "night" but she was very good!  After checking in to our domestic US flights Edith fell asleep in her stroller "tent".  

Edith asleep at LAX

When we landed in St. Louis (finally) Edith was very tired, but recognized Jonjon immediately and went right to him and gave him a hug.  Shortly after she saw Marmar and gave her a hug too.

At the STL airport with Marmar

We stayed in St. Louis that night and then carried on to Paducah the next day.  We stopped at Olga's to have lunch.  Edith thought the straws were good. :)

 There are lots of other cute pictures of what we did on the iPad, but I'm on the computer.  Don't worry I will post those, but I have had trouble with iPhoto and had to update it and have to sync some old stuff manually so this is what you get today. :)

Uncle Zach, Marmar, and Edith hanging out.  (Edith is wearing a one owner only dress from Mommom! She doesn't have much one owner only outfits. :))

 No trip to the US would be complete without chips and salsa.  Edith had her first try...

Gimme some more!

 We were sad to leave everyone, but excited to get back to Eleanor, Marshall, and Daddy.  We woke up early on Saturday to drive to St. Louis to get on plane 1 of 4.  Uncle Zach and Edith became best buds and this sums up the relationship pretty well.  They were both asleep. :)

What have we been up too?

Hmmm?  Last post was at the beginning of March you might be wondering what we have been up too if you are not a close friend or family.  Well, I was growing this beauty -

We welcomed Edith Molly Hammonds into our family on December 15th at 8:22 pm.  She was the runt of the litter weighing in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces.  (Eleanor was 8 pounds, 10 ounces; Marshall was 8 pounds, 1 ounce)  She has fit right into the chaos, in fact sleeps through most of it.  Her big brother and sister adore her.  Eleanor loves to hold her and kiss her.  Marshall is always on watch and is the first one to know when she wakes up and stands at her door says, "ki, ki.  ed-e"  (cry, cry. Edith.)  While she's eating he pats her and say, "ni, gent" (nice and gentle).  We are loving getting to know her and how she completes our family.

Over the spring and summer Andrew redid our attic, the kitchen and tiled the floor in the master bathroom.  We also repainted the entire interior and have done a lot of work outside improving the landscape, etc as well as tending to our garden.

We traveled to New Zealand in July/August and have decided to move back in February.

See more New Zealand photos here.

Hopefully, in the new year I am more diligent about updating the blog.  I'm sure there will be lots to talk about on our new adventure.