Carter's Heroes

This month in Cub Scouts, the boys were working towards their Citizenship badges. One of the activities was to build a float to showcase their hero. The parents were given instructions to ask who the boy's hero was and to not offer any suggestions or help. When I asked Carter who his hero was, he thought about it briefly and then said that it was Grandpa and Grandma Clark. I asked him why and he said, "They are a good example and they teach me."

The floats were in a "parade" at the Pack meeting last night. Carter proudly pulled his grandparents. We are glad to have many "heroes" in our lives that teach our children things that they would otherwise not learn.

If at first you succeed...

Try, try again!!Audrey found this costume in the boys closet a few days after Halloween. Being a smart child, she remembered that if she put on a costume, not only will you get a lot of attention, you will get a lot of candy. With Olivia's help, she came downstairs dressed up to see how she would fare. When the costume did not produce the same results, it was taken off and put away. You can't blame a girl for trying.

Halloween 2009

What do you get when you cross a CSI agent, a SWAT team member, a sparkly witch and a ladybug? HALLOWEEN at the Eden's!
We started the evening with pizza with the Klausers. It was fun to be able to spend time with friends before sending the kids out for some holiday cheer. Audrey and I went with them for a short while and then when we couldn't keep up, we came home and handed out candy. She was a great help and really enjoyed it when the kids who visited our house admired her costume.

At the end of the night, everyone had a bag full of candy, a tummy ache and a great night's sleep. It was another successful Halloween!

Carving Memories

The kids did a great job carving their pumpkins this year. We had a lot of fun pulling the "guts" out and trying new, elaborate designs. Audrey liked being a part of it.



And the finished product....

"We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision"

We received a letter from the school nurse a few weeks ago explaining that she had done a routine eye exam on Carter. On the letter home she wrote, "Needs to bring glasses to school". We laughed about it because Carter has not ever had glasses and since his parents have great vision, he should too. Right? Nonetheless, I made an appointment to see the eye doctor just to prove the school nurse wrong.

I took Carter to his appointment and was amazed at how little he could actually see. He is near-sighted so we had never noticed he could not see as it had never affected his reading capabilities. We had wondered why he sat so close to the television, but what eight year old boy doesn't sit close to the TV? I sheepishly handed the school nurse's letter to the eye doctor so he could validate it.

This morning, Carter and I went to get his glasses. He tried the glasses on and looked around. The lady who was helping us took the glasses back into another room to adjust them and Carter said to me, "Mom, when I had my glasses on, I could see that picture of Snow White clearly. Now it is blurry." The picture was advertising some glasses frames and it was less than twelve feet away.

On the way from the appointment, he kept saying, "Mom, that sign says, 'Tony Ryan for Fire District #1'". And, "That sign says Wasabi Bay." It is a whole new world for him.

Olivia summed it up after school when she said, "You look so cute, Carter." I agree!!

Carter is NINE!

Caught Red-Handed

For some, this post may seem like a deja vu. Alas, even with experience, I still am being outsmarted. Listed below are the things that I have learned from Audrey today:

1. Imitation is the finest form of flattery.

2. Clinique lipstick is truly "long-wearing".

3. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

4. 409 removes "long-wearing" lipstick from hard surfaces.

5. "Long-wearing" lipstick requires dynamite to remove it from skin. (Perhaps that is why I do not ever wear it and why it was in my vanity drawer.)

6. Audrey's new fall wardrobe is going to include a lot of black, as it hides a multitude of stains.

7. Pink shows "long-wearing" lipstick very well.

8. Babyproofing is never really babyproof.

9. Having a camera handy is the best form of revenge. Someday she will have children!!!

9. Forgiveness is really easy because she is such a joy to our family.