Bowlin Beige

Halloween is so much more fun with kids around, especially since they are young and I can dress them up in whatever I want. I have to savor these years because pretty soon they'll just want to put on black clothes and say it's a costume.  Since we only get one year's use from these costumes, I'm determined to get the most out of them. Last weekend was our neighborhood fall festival, which Ainsley dressed up for. Last night we took them to Trunk-or-Treat at our church. Today they have a costume parade at her school.  And I'm really looking forward to trick-or-treating with them tonight. But in the midst of all the fun and games, Halloween also brings a twinge of sadness. It was October 31, 2010 when we took our beloved Duke Dog to the vet for surgery to remove what we thought was a benign fatty tumor from his ribcage. He'd always had a small lump on his side and we'd had it tested over the years to confirm that it was a simple fatty mass - extremely common ...

For those of you who don't follow our many Ainsley-isms on Facebook, here are some of her recent thoughts: On Intelligence: Me: "Ainsley, how'd you get to be such a smarty pants?" Ainsley: "I practice a lot." On Marriage: "You and Daddy have to kiss each other every day because you're married. If you don't kiss each other then you aren't married anymore." Uh-oh... On Being a Big Sister: "I love being a big sister. Except I don't like it when Parker pulls my hair. Or when he bites me. Or when he takes my toys. Or when he yells really loud. And I don't like his penis. Girls don't have a penis." On Patience: Ainsley (after interrupting me): "Mommy, it's just so hard to be patient! I'm really trying, but I have to tell you things that are more important than what you're talking about." On Winning: Ainsley (showing off her soccer trophy to me:) "Look Mama! It says 'Congra...

Our new neighborhood has a lot of great kid-friendly events throughout the year. Today they had a fall festival at the clubhouse. The kids were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. They had hay rides to a 'pumpkin field' (the park in the neighborhood, filled with pumpkins) and each kid got to pick a pumpkin. They brought them back and painted them. They had a fire truck and an ambulance for the kids to explore. Ainsley and Owen played games, had sack races, and simply ran around like the crazy kids that they are. And I was thrilled to get some additional wear out of her Halloween costume.  Beautiful Fairy Princess Taking a tour of the fire truck. Hayride with her best buddy Owen Picking pumpkins Good choices Painting their prizes Sack races - that's our little fairy athlete! Bobbing for donuts Since Parker didn't join us, he got to paint his pumpkin at home with his buddy Jake. He's a budding little arti...

Thanks to those who supported Ainsley in her preschool's Trike-A-Thon fundraiser last weekend. As promised, here is a video of her riding her bike. It wasn't meant to be a race, but of course my competitive daughter couldn't handle being behind anyone. Parker was extremely jealous that he didn't get to ride with her. He spent several minutes playing "Goldilocks" and trying out all of the bikes that were parked along the sides. The kids also enjoyed climbing in the fire engine and police cars (and thankfully Ainsley refrained from mentioning my recent speeding ticket). Parker discovered motorcycles and the word "ride" quickly followed. Overall, a beautiful sunny fall day for a school festival and fundraiser. Thanks again for your support!

Almost daily I find myself happy, but also a little sad, that my little boy is getting older. On one hand, he's starting to be a lot more fun.  We can take him more places and do more things with him. But on the other hand, he's not a baby anymore. He'll never be this age again. I don't think we truly appreciated these little milestones when Ainsley was little. With your first-born you are just so anxious for them to start doing new things. You are always looking at what's ahead, and why aren't they there yet? With your subsequent kids, you know what's coming. You know they all get there on their own timeline - there's no sense in rushing them, and you should enjoy it while you can. I've always felt that way with Parker. He's met all milestones later than Ainsley, but I really didn't care. I've been so happy to keep him a baby as long as possible, because I know we'll never go through these stages again.  Like I've heard from ot...

It all started very innocently. Ainsley's best friend and classmate, Julianne, told her mom that Ainsley was going to marry Tanner (a boy in their class). Apparently Ainsley invited Julianne to the wedding and she wanted to make sure her mom knew that she would be attending. This story made its way through Facebook to me during the day, so in the car on the way home I decided to get my own version of the story: Me:  "Ainsley, what did you do in school today?" Ainsley: "Umm... nothing."  (sigh... does it really start this early?) Me: "Julianne said that there is a boy in class that you want to marry." Ainsley: "Yes, I'm going to marry Tanner." Me: "Why do you want to marry him?" Ainsley: "Because he's so sweet!" Me: "Okay... I think you're a little young to get married." Ainsley: "And he's nice. And he's my friend. You should always marry a friend, right?" Me: "Yes, tha...

When Skip and Reva were visiting last weekend they discovered the Lincoln Logs in the playroom. I had put this box in the bottom of the chest because I knew Parker was still too young for it, and wasn't sure if Ainsley was quite ready. But she and Grandma pulled out the box and spent a lot of time building a log cabin (which Parker quickly came by and knocked over). While they were playing I took some time to study the box. I had seen it many times before. It used to be at my Grandma and Grandpa Ayres' house when I was younger, along with many other toys from my dad's childhood - Grandma Ayres kept everything !  I have many fond memories of building log homes with my dad. And these logs have seen some wear and tear. They're a little faded, but still strong and sturdy. My dad thinks that he received this set as a gift when he was about 4 or 5 years old. Not to give my dad's age away, but that means this set of logs is over 60 years old! They were stored in a ...