I know they're funny, and not just because they're my kids

Here, by demand, is an excerpt from our holiday letter. What? You say you failed to receive one last month? Do not fear. You have not been scratched off our list. We simply failed to finish sending out our Christmas cards. Our new goal is Arbor Day.
Anyway, here you go:



Happy Holidays!
We could say a lot about the year that was, and we will – at the end – but we thought we would give most of this year’s letter over to our muses, August and Reid, who are just finding their way in the world, and instructing and enlightening us every day.

They uttered a mixture of the profound:

Beaches never close because they don’t have doors. – August, June 12
Adults are just kids who weigh too much. – August, January 20
Maybe animals smile with their tails. – August, November 25

And they are never shy about saying the things you really think, but never say out loud:

You should pay more attention to driving, and not pay more attention to talking. – August, November 22
I wish grown-ups weren’t in our lives so we could do whatever we wanted to do. – August, June 22

If you’re done with all the grades, you’re done with high school. If you’re done with high school, you go to college. When you’re done with college, you go to work. When you’re done with work, nothing happens anymore. – August, November 25

Don’t you wish we were made of peanut butter? – August, March 29

Sometimes, they were humble:

Peanut butter and jelly is good enough for me. – Reid, October 31
Whatever Santa brings me, I want it. – Reid, December 7

At all times, they were the conscience of the household:

Are we going to church today? It’s Sunday. We’re supposed to go, you know. – August, October 26
Reid: Dad, Mom won’t give me goldfish. Dad: Well, you just had popcorn. Reid: She’s a bad woman. – January 13

They always had a unique interpretation of life’s events:

August: And God made Reid with really flat feet. God put a rolling pin on his feet. Mom: Hmm, how did you know that? August: I saw God make Reid. – November 20

If you die, I could make a present for you, and send it right up to heaven. That would be awesome. – August, December 4

My lovely, but silly, family

My parents and sister, Michelle, were here during the week of Halloween. These were taken the day they left.

And here's Michelle, pretending to approach August for some love, but really, she just wants his candy.

Yes, she's crazy.

All I want for Christmas ...

He's only missing one here, but August actually lost a second tooth last week. That thing was hanging by a thread forever and day, but he refused to let me yank the thing out.

Halloween

I'm woefully behind on posting pictures of my little guys. I feel bad because I know my parents are dying to see these photos. And since they're the only ones who check out this blog....

Reid has a cush factor?

August and Reid are going to be the ring bearers in my sister Amy's wedding next spring. She just added the boys to the "wedding party" section on her Web site. Check it out. Her descriptions of them are so dead-on:

http://www.mywedding.com/chadandamyrock/wedding_party.html

apple picking

We headed to Homestead Farms this morning and brought home more than 14 pounds of apples. What the heck were we thinking? But they sure are tasty. Mmmmm....

Marty, hoping for work in the apple ad industry.

This is the point when Reid got tired of picking apples and just wanted to start eating the picnic we packed. His little red basket is full of nutritious snacks, of course.

What's that on August's head, you ask?

Why, it's the mask of his alter-ego, Nick, the Red Power Ranger!

Beware the strength of JUNGLE FURY, the RED POWER RANGER!

Guess who's excited about Halloween?