Thanksgiving at Coley's House....

Thanksgiving this year was at my sister's house. She wanted to host

it and I had no qualms about it at all. In fact, it was nice to get out

of the house for the day. I was to help her get things going and ran

a bit late, so the turkey did not get in the oven at the exact time

we had planned. Things happen and that's what you get. The

dinner was great and the company was fantastic. We got the place

cleaned up and Coley wanted to play a game of Catch Phrase. The

teams were picked as follows: Tab, auntie Linda, and Nathan for team

one and team two -Coley, Nana, and Dave and away the game went.

Lots of laughs, lots of "you could have said" and lots of buzzers going

off, but the winner was team two. Maybe next year guys!!! Anyway,

it was a nice day and lots of things to be thankful for and mostly just

thankful to spend time with our loved ones. We wish you all a Happy

Thanksgiving!

FINALLY.....

Finally......Here's the story of a girl who wanted so bad to have a Nintendo DS. She could hardly contain herself. It was something she talked about all the time and if she saw an advertisement on t.v. she went into a frenzy. At one point, she blurted out "its makes me so jealous that they keep coming out with new games and I don't have one to play with." Because our children at times need to learn that money does not grow on trees. David and I decided that she needed to work for the DS and earn her own cash. The proposal was made this past summer and an agreement was reached. She had to earn the cash for the DS and daddy would pay for a game (god forbid a game come with it!) So away she went, at times kind reminders were made to do things around the house, but for the majority of it if she saw something that needed to be done she did it. Yes, lessons were learned from this that we know how to wash clothes, empty a dishwasher, load a dishwasher decent, pick up after the dog, clean out the window wells, pick up sticks at the farm for mowing purposes, help with the garden, help with her sister, help the family. She did all this without complaining and earned her cash. Her dad and I decided that she did have some money in her savings that she could use to help out with her purchase, but needed to continue with household things to replace that money. She agreed. So away her and her daddy went on a Wednesday night after church to purchase her Nintendo DS. She came home with a smile like she just brought home a brand new baby! She was glowing. I am glad that it took her some time to save for this. She set her mind to it and didn't change her mind. She did good and I know that she appreciates it a lot more than if we would have bought it.

Daddy....

Most of you know that my hubby has been having to travel out of town for work. Not just an hour away and be able to come home each night. No, we're talking four to five hours away in Iowa. What does this mean for the Olson girls? Well, it means a big empty spot until he returns. We need our daddy. Let me say the reasons why (which they of course would not fit all in one spot and if I leave one out - sorry. They are in random order) We need our daddy to give us hugs, to tell us he loves us no matter what, to wrestle with, to chest bump (moms least favorite thing that Ambrea loves to do), to settle arguments of who gets on the bus first, to call and tell us he is on his way home, to play DS, to play football in the basement, to remind us that being nice to each other is most important, to kiss Ambrea on the forehead, to kiss Autster for helping out without asking, to say silly things to change the subject, to whisper to mom how much he loves her and this family, to call and listen to him talk to his dad, to listen to his hunting strategies, to sleep next to mommy so she can get a good night sleep, to let mommy know that were going to be alright in this economy, to wipe away tears over the phone (yes I cry when he is gone), to make us smile and laugh. I know I could go on, but some things need to be written to let him know just how much he is missed when he is gone working. We love our daddy! One thing I know for sure - my family does not function well without daddy here!

** the pic above was taken after playing with the girls and he needed to do some of his "book" work. Autumn just wanted to be by him and not leave him alone. She thought if she brought out her DS he would interact with her. He did!

Because its what he does....

Because this is what my husband thinks about, reads about, dreams about, and lives for everyday. I felt he deserved a spot on the blog. He has been putting in countless hours of scouting around here and in Gordon. We haven't had any bucks in the back woods for quite some time. Mostly Does, but his patience finally paid off. On November 9, 2008 (his dad's birthday) he got a 5 pointer. This was great as he woke up bright and early that morning and said "I'm not sure if I want to go out now or later this afternoon." I was secretly grumbling as he now had me awake and still contemplating if he was going out or not. Ugh! Anyways, its obvious he did and it was worth it. A shout out to Autumn as she has been going out with him to check rubs, scraps, and cameras to do her part. He's got some great little helpers. Needless to say, I went out that night and saw nothing, but got very COLD!

Warm weather one last time....

Warm weather going into November is rare, but well worth being able to play outside after school. The girls didn't even bring their school bags into the house as they didn't want to waste one minute of day light or being able to not have a coat on. They chose playing on the edge of the corn field where all the dead foliage has been piling up and to be burned as it was becoming that late fall eye soar. Apparently, I had stepped on someones house and garden when I tried to take a few pics of them playing "Nice" together. I heard about it as I was walking back to the house. Can't win, but I got some pics.

Halloween Style...

I know Halloween has come and gone, but I had to at least show all of you what these two had in mind for costume style. Autumn went as Cleopatra and looked awesome and thankfully the weather was warmer and she didn't have to wear something underneath as "that would totally ruin my look!" Ambrea was a punked out witch, but still a "nice witch" mom! She had on some great purple and black striped stockings which I apparently forgot to take a pic of. At least we still have them and she amazingly did not put a hole in them. All in all they had a great night and got a lot of candy and can I say it is just about gone. I believe that is a first as normally it sits around for months and disappears into the garbage can. Oh - before I forget Ambrea was at a house by her grandparents and received a small bag with an apple and orange and one little sucker. She quickly responds as she is walking away - "Mom I thought I was trick or treating not trick or fruiting." Leave it to her to come up with something witty.....