The Bear's Den

With all the snow coming down around here (nearly 24 inches in 48 hours), we had to venture out and construct an awesome Bear's Den.

Here's a picture of Boo-Boo, also known as the North American Blue Bear, taking refuge inside his bear den from the freezing blizzard conditions outside. This picture was taken just before he began his hibernation. Notice the "I can't wait until it's spring" look in his eyes.

Kjersti got her start in modeling by "glaming" up the latest in bear den accommodations. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Kjersti's Dream

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Disco Fever

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My Little Helper

So, anyone who has ever been pregnant and sick, which I am, knows that grocery shopping day is the WORST. All the smells and the food that looks so unappealing are almost more than I can handle. Well, on the way to the store today I was trying to mentally prep myself and said out loud to Eli, "Eli, you are going to have to help me today." To which he replied, "Okay Mama." I didn't think more of it until we were in the store for no less than five minutes, seriously, and he had knocked over a candy display, sent five apples tumbling to the ground and dumped out a bag of grapes by grabbing it up-side-down. Frustrated, I got down on his level and said, "What on Earth is going on today?" And with tears in his eyes Eli replied, "I help Mama." I felt like such a jerk. I apologized, gave him a hug and then proceeded to show him how to help the rest of the trip. He even helped me carry bags upstairs when we got home (after I had lightened them a bit). What a sweet little helper!

Blackmail Material

We ran out of pull-ups one night and that led to Kjersti's bright idea to use some of her old left over Dora pull-ups. Eli thought it was an awesome idea at the time, but some day he may conclude that this was not one of his finer moments.

Down the Hill at Thompson Park

Cody: Please assume your downhill positions. Smile and prepare for launch!

Cody: Kjersti, before you head down the hill, give me some thoughts on your concerns for this run.

Heidi: Ok kids, what did you think of the run?

Heidi: Ok Eli, go ahead and get on the Daddy Sherpa.

Heidi: Before you guys whitewash dad, please hold still for two seconds.

Watertown, NY + Thanksgiving = Snow

Thanksgiving greeted us with a foot of snow as well as Kjersti's new friend Mildred the Snow Woman. To ensure Mildred is adorned in the latest outdoor fashion, Kjersit utilized some rosemary from our garden as hair and a Ben & Jerry's Vermonster bucket as a hat. Schnazzy!

Eli always manages to spice up dinner time with a wide assortment of outlandish behavior. As you can see here, Thanksgiving dinner was no different.

To get into the spirit earlier in the week, Kjersti, with a little help from Heidi, made a pilgrim hat and then immersed herself into the Pilgrim experience... to include sock and dish washing in the same tub of water. Oh how our forefathers must have enjoyed the smell of sweaty dishes at the first Thanksgiving.

As soon as the happy indian observed the cleaning practices of the pilgrims, he requested his Thanksgiving dinner not be served on the plates Kjersti cleaned.

Nothing says "Thanksgiving" quite like limbo dancing... Ok, maybe it doesn't, but that didn't stop us from doing it. Despite how it may appear, no necks were broken in the production of this picture.

The Curse!

Okay, so EVERY time I schedule family pictures someone ends up getting some face deforming injury (or at least it seems that way). I think we are cursed. I scheduled an appointment to get the kids pictures taken and the day before Eli scratches his eyelid with a stick. Then, today, I had family pictures scheduled and hours before our appointment Kjersti fell on her bike and took a handlebar to the face. We kept the appointment but we had to do some strategic posing to hide the swelling. Poor girl! I'd better swear off family pictures before someone loses an eye.

November 10: Eli Turns Three

Despite a slew of birthday gifts, a birthday cake and the birthday song, "3" just doesn't come easily considering you've been two half of your life.

Which gift appeals more to a 3-year-old boy on his birthday? His sister's hand-drawn birthday card or his birthday cake race car. Before you make your guess, you should know that the odds on the card are eight billion to one.

Feel the fury! When Eli got a Power Ranger Jungle Fury, Power of the Tiger action figure and vehicle, he just couldn't be contained. This is what it looked like moments before the photographer felt the full "Jungle Fury"!

If you end up with frosting on the tip of your nose, odds are, you enjoyed your birthday cake.

Eli not only turned three, but he also became Superman. It's amazing what a pair of Superman pajamas can do to a kid!

No Church

Eli would have us believe that every Sunday we put him through some kind of ritualistic torture that comes in the form of putting on his Sunday best to go to church. As a result, he protests with a simple motto; "No Church". As you'll see, Cody likes to push Eli's "No Church" button for his own amusement.

Big hair, big grins and big snow.

Eli decided to get into some of Cody's Rogane (not really) and grow a little hair. This wigg is actually part of Cody's Halloween Costume.

Kjersti lost yet another tooth. So cute! She thought it was great that her smile looked like a jack-o-lantern grin.

We woke up to about sixteen inches of snow on October 29th.
Our poor little pumpkins were shivering.

Look at the kids happy smiles! Yippee for snow fun!

Getting our recommended daily allowance of snowflakes.

A beautiful snow princess protected inside our mighty snow-fort.

Columbus Day Weekend

An over the top photo for an "over the top" duo! Kjersti and Carley went for a spin on the Carousal at Sesame Place (Langhorne, PA) on Saturday, 11 OCT.

No trip to Sesame Place would be complete without seeing Elmo... even if he was wearing a skeleton outfit. But waiting for the big moment seems to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

While Elmo seems cute and friendly and all, Parker (upper left) made sure that Elmo didn't pull any fast ones while everyone was looking at the camera. Way to keep him honest Parker!


The Fall Olympics are ready to begin. Next event: Leaf throwing. Take your starting positions!


Go! The leaves are everywhere! Eli has decided to focus on finding his toy cars now lost somewhere in the leaves and Kjersti's singing "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" at the top of her lungs! It's any one's game!



Just as the last leaves fall, Kjersti believes she's got it all wrapped up. Clearly, the thrill of victory is on her face!




But Eli isn't done yet and throws a few more leaves into the air. Just like that, Kjersti senses certain victory snatched from her grasp! Ohhhh, the agony of defeat!




Despite the "intense" competition, the great Fall Olympians end up in a tie in the leaf throwing event. The Gold Pumpkin now belongs to both of them.

I, Heidi, decided we need a little decoration around here. I refused to pay $4o for a wreath so I decided to get busy with our grapevines in the backyard. I am very proud of my finished product even if it does weigh close to thirty pounds and it is so thick it is really hard to get the door closed.

Two, Princess Gloves and a Badger

The number comes out clear as day, however, the visual representation still needs a little work.

Kjersti and Emma managed to turn pumpkin painting into an extreme sport. Fortunately, no one was hurt, or permanently painted, in the production of this picture.

A few months back, McDonald's was giving out blue "Princess" gloves in their Happy Meals. Whenever Kjersti gets in the "Princess Mood" just before bed, guess what she puts on? Here we see Sleeping Beauty in all her "Princess Glory".

Eli got the "Mack Transporter" from Cars last week for being able to successfully perform #2 duties on the toilet. Although he does spend some time actually playing with the toy, he spends more time with the box identifying and recommending future investments.

Ever crawl into a badger's den? I can't say that I have, but I would imagine that if you did, the badger's expression might look something like this. Heidi managed to snap this picture moments before Chubbs bit the flash right off the camera.

Bull@$%!, A Tooth and Heroics

Eli learned a new word this week. He loves his shirt with the basketball on the front and calls it, what else, his "ball shirt". Unfortunately, it sounds very similar to something completely different.

Behold, Kjersti bears humble gifts for the tooth fairy!

The new landscape of Kjersti's smile sans one tooth on her lower rack. Beautiful!

Who else could make loosing a tooth look so chic?

With the discovery of a cape, Super Chubs made his grand arrival this week.


With a dash, he set out on his first heroic act; to leap over a small stack of boxed toys...


...unfortunately, the super powers didn't kick in exactly as expected. Looks like additional Super Hero training will be required.

Never a dull moment.

Life at the House

When your parents won't let you run into the bushes and shrubs, face planting in the grass seems like a good idea. "2-year-old initiative" in action.

For the first time in our marriage, Heidi put up fruit this year. These jars of plum jam come with their own theme music. After this experience I was convinced that the only difference between Heidi and Martha Stewart was jail time.

Unfortunately, not everyone enjoyed Kjersti's presents as much as she did.

On August 20th, 2008, Kjersti turned six. Now we hear her say things like, "When I was just little, like five years old..." and, "That show is only for little kids." I had no idea the leap from five to six would be so profound.

Dr Kjersti Strong will see you as soon as she finishes eating from her Princess Lunch box. Actually, this is Kjersti on the morning of her first day of first grade.

The Allphin's Pay a Visit

Like two peas in a pod. Despite nearly nine months away from each other, Kjersti and Carly didn't skip a beat once they were reunited! They're still the best of friends!

We paid a visit to Heart Island, home of the Boldt Castle in the 1000 Island region of the St. Lawerence River. Amist the tranquil surroundings, we managed to capture the one split second where all four children are smiling, looking at the camera and sitting somewhat peacefully. The only thing that could possibily make this picture more unique is if Bigfoot was standing in the gazebo.

Here we see The Gift Shop Pirate banishing customers to Davy Jones' locker.

We managed to spend some time in Palmyra where we visited the Sacred Grove, The Hill Cumorah (see above) and E.B. Grandin's book shop where the first Book of Mormon was printed. Andy did his best to keep the chaos to a minimum so that we could get off a good shot.

The basic rule with Parker is that so long as he is in motion, he's happy. If he stops, someone's going to pay!