Christmas Wishes by Denny Lynn

We like to start planning early! John and I have been picking out things we want for Christmas (and/or our birthdays) since March! To help us prioritize, Mama fixed us each a Wish Ribbon.

We each get five clothes pins and index cards. We can pick items we want to go on our ribbon, but no more than five. Once we have five, we have to decide if we want to trade something or keep what we have.

This will make a good list for Grandmas and Aunts and Uncles! Mama and Daddy got ribbons, too!

Our Dirt Babies by John Lee

For the Centennial Field Day at Leyndecker, Dona Ana County 4-H made dirt babies. We didn't get to go, we stayed with Rex and Lynette (which made for a wonderful day and now we constantly ask when we are going back). So Miss. Eva and Ms. Teresa sent us babies to make at home. We each got a piece of hosiery with wood chips and grass seeds inside. We drew on faces and added eyes.

It was very exciting to make a new friend. Denny gave his four eyes, but I was more traditional!

Then we put them in water on the window sill and waited for them to grow!

And they grew! They have so much "hair" now they will soon need a haircut. It was a fun project and we appreciate the opportunity to watch them grow!

Our Workout Room by Denny Lynn

We have a pantry room that needed a makeover! We decided it should be a workout room. The hardest part was getting all the stuff we had stored in there out of the way! We had some green paint leftover from when they worked on the house and it seemed like a good idea to use it up.

We sanded boards for shelves and baseboards. We also cut carpet and padding.

There are not a lot of pictures of us working - little boys with paint brushes and power tools require more hands on supervision and less camera, however, we worked really hard and the room came out great!

Happy Grandparent's Day by John Lee

Grandparent's Day was September 9 this year. We sent all our grandparents special gifts - we wish we could have been there to give them hugs, but this was the next best thing. We took things they like and decorated them special for each one.

Nuts for Pa, Papa and Grandma - they said "We are Nuts about YOU!"

We made the special labels and stuck them right on. 

We had malted milk balls for Grandpa - the label said "You are a WHOOPER of a Grandpa"

We made bags of Starburst candy for Granny Sharon and Granny Rose that said "We are BURSTING with love for YOU" and orange slices for Ma and Nana that said "You're the Sweetest".

We are so blessed with our wonderful Grandparents and I hope this reminds them, that even when we are far apart, we think of them and love them very much! Happy Grandparents' Day!

Ropin' Around by Denny Lynn

We got to take a special field trip out to Daddy's old boss' house. He has a roping arena and they were roping! They are a wonderful old lab that used to be a hunting dog - now he is retired. Luckily, he likes kids.

We took our ropes to do some practicing, too!

Roping seems to be a lot of hurry up and wait.

But when it is time, it is all very exciting - to do and to watch!

My new friend Cody was getting roping lessons, and he gave me lessons, too. 

John even got into the act! We don't rope the dogs or our brothers (at least not until we get better at it).

We had lots of fun being outside and playing roping in a real roping arena! We are sure glad we got invited.

Happy Retirement, Ms. Yvette by Denny Lynn

Ms. Yvette retired from teaching. Brother Chip had a party for her and we got to go!

We signed the big card to congratulate her.

We wish her lots of fun in her new life! I hope she will have more time to play!

Adjusting to School by John Lee

I have been having a little trouble getting used to going to my new school. Mama and Daddy got me a new book. It is about a little bear named Cordoroy. He goes to school, too and does all kinds of fun things.

We read about him every night and talk about all the good stuff at school. I am working on being more like Cordoroy and being happy to go to school each day.