Mmmmm....toes....

In the Crib

Every time I get Jack up from a nap Ruby always wants to get in bed with him. She'll snuggle up next to him, tell him how cute he is and give him a kiss. It's amazingly cute and makes for a great picture.




She's quickly getting too big for the crib so she won't be able to do this too much longer. I can't believe how fast these kiddos are growing!

Mmmmm....toes....

First Snow

We woke up this morning to our first real snowfall. Ruby was thrilled...she kept looking out the window and saying, "It's snowing, I'm so excited!"

So I told her when Jack went down for his morning nap we could go play in the snow. She was just about bouncing off the walls. Luckily her snow gear from last year still fit, so we got bundled up and went out to play.

Rudy's favorite thing to do was throw snow at me and then say, "I'm sorry mom." And then do it over and over again.








And of course we had to make some hot chocolate to warm ourselves up when we came inside.

Ouch

Ruby's usually quite content to do her own thing around the house while we do ours. She'll come check in once in a while and then go about her own business. The exception to that rule is when she gets hurt. This girl falls down constantly. We'll hear an "ouch" and there may or may not be tears, but she usually requires a kiss and she's good to go.

Bobby had military this weekend and came home and took his boots off. A little while later we heard an "ouch!" and this is what we found:





We're not usually ones to laugh at our children's misfortunes but this was too good to pass up.

Doughnuts

I bought a doughnut cutter last week and my weekend project was to make doughnuts. Ruby was very excited and was very eager to help.




What is it about yeasty bread and deep frying it? There is something magical that happens.








They turned out pretty good. Ruby said she loved them. But Bobby and I weren't too crazy about them because they weren't quite as light as we'd like. Just a little too dense. So I am now on the hunt for the perfect doughnut recipe. As soon as I find it, I'll let you know. Because good homemade doughnuts are too good to keep secret.

Voting

Ugh, can I tell you how sick I am of this campaign season? All the obnoxious tv ads slamming the other guy, all the mailers that I could have made into a very thick book, all the people on Facebook who have done nothing but post political statuses for weeks...boy am I glad it's almost over.

Bobby and I filled out our mail-in ballots and have taken advantage of our civic right to vote. Now we can just sit and wait and twiddle our thumbs and breath a huge sigh of relief come November when this thing is over.

And then wait another four years to do it all over again.

Playing with Jack

All the time Ruby tells me that she's going to play with Jack. And it usually entails her sitting down next to him and doing her own thing, blissfully unaware that he's still there. And then he'll sit and stare at her quietly, watching what she's doing and giving her occasional smiles if she says or does something that amuses him.

I've caught it on camera a few times after I've been covertly watching them (which is one of my favorite things to do).

Ruby's always worried about Jack being too cold and if she's around he'll usually have a blanket on.


She loves to look at books next to him and then gets peeved when he kicks the pages.


Ugh! These two kiddos have just about more cuteness than I can handle!

72 Hour Kits

When we moved here Bobby and I decided we needed to get off our lazy bums and really start working on our emergency preparedness. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a resolve for every member to be self reliant and that includes being able to take care of yourself during an emergency. We had started getting some food storage while we were still in Texas but we got off track once we arrived in Colorado.

So a few months ago we decided we needed to get our 72 hour kits together. I started ordering and stockpiling some food, clothes, tools, etc. and watched our supply grow in our little store room in the basement. This week we finally finished getting everything we need and Bobby and I spent last night putting our bags together.

Here's what we started with:




My biggest fear was that everything wouldn't fit in our packs. You can buy preassembled emergency kits pretty cheaply, but having kids I knew that eating 1000 calorie energy bars wouldn't fly, so we bought some nice meal kits that would be a little more comforting in a crisis. Having all that food and prep items took up more room but it'll be nice to have something decent to eat in an emergency.

And everything did end up fitting:




I feel so much better knowing we've got these. If you'd like an idea of how to start building your own emergency kit, my main resource was here:

Survival kit ideas

Next up....start building a three month food supply!

The Pumpkin Patch

We told Ruby last week that we were going to the pumpkin patch this weekend and was she ever excited! All week long, whenever we were out and about running errands and she saw a pumpkin she would chatter on and on about how much she wanted a pumpkin and couldn't wait to go.

So we bundled everyone up and went this morning. Ruby had a blast. We visited the pumpkin fields first.


Ruby had the hardest time picking out a pumpkin. She wanted one that was all orange and BIG...but every time she saw one she liked she saw another one that looked even better. We finally had to go back to the car and say that the first one she picked was perfect. And it is. Jack got one too...his is green and BIG.

Then we headed back to play on the slide (which was enormous, Bobby and I were both surprised she went down by herself...twice), eat some goodies, see some animals and have a great time.








Even Jack had fun.


We'll definitely make this an annual event. As we were driving home Bobby and I talked about how much we're enjoying living in Colorado. We love it here and can't wait to have more fun with our little family.

Randomness

We've had a cold floating around our house the last couple days. Ruby got it first then it got me. I was hoping Jack would be spared. He's had a little bit of a runny nose but that's it so far....I'm crossing my fingers that's all he gets. He's woken up a couple times the last two nights from it, but Bobby's stepped in and helped out wonderfully (seems he's going to be spared).

So when we woke up to this:


I was perfectly happy to just camp out at home and take it easy. There was lots of show watching and IPad playing (the only problem with Ruby being sick is there's major technology withdrawal afterward).

And Bobby got some chocolate ice cream...I was in desperate need of something sweet and chocolatey after being stuck with a sick toddler and me being sick too. Ruby liked it just as much as I did. This girl loves chocolate, and I mean loooooves. When she talks about chocolate she gets her little whispery voice and says, "I love chaw-colate."


If you've got a Kroger's owned grocery store, try their Private Selection Chocolate Ganache ice cream. Divine. I'm telling you it's some of the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had.

So now we're ready to settle into a weekend of General Conference watching and trying to kick this cold out of the house. It should be a great time.

(Can I tell you I hate auto-correct....I've had to rewrite about twenty words on this post because the IPad doesn't like them....so what if I make up words!)

Dapper Dude

I have to admit, when we found out we were having a boy I wasn't looking forward to dressing said boy. Boy clothes just aren't as cute as girl clothes. Or so I thought. I've found out though, that I've been having a lot of fun with Jack's clothes. He's very munchable dressed up in some of his preppy outfits.


Thanks to my sister, Annie, for this cute ensemble....and a big shout out to her brand new little ball of yumminess. Eden was born on Monday and I can't wait to meet her.

Take a picture!

Every time Ruby sits with Jack she requests a picture to be taken. I've got about a hundred on my phone, just the two of them....here's the latest: