Paul & Natalie Horspool Family

2007-11-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

Fall is Fun In Kansas

This Halloween was crazy just like all the others. We had the Girards here again this year and it was very exciting. Our house has never been the same since. Emilee was the bride of some dead thing I think, Kanoa the Dinosaur (fitting name if you have heard him scream all day), Riley the Pirate AAARRGGHH! C.J. was of course Scooby Doo and the neighborhood loved him but he did not like the neighborhood loving him. Alix was a princess but not to confuse with any disney type princess just a princess. So she jumped right out of the renassance period (or however you spell it) just to go trick or tricking with us. Last but not least is Maddie. She is our families tradition of the pumpkin. All of our daughters have worn the same outfit thier first Halloween. Maddie was so sleepy this day that she just could not do Halloween. I was a little bummed out that she was not in the picture with everyone else but she needs her beauty sleep.

Fall is The Best Time of Year Here!!!

Don't Mess With Mom

Well this is so not funny. So finally I get paul behind the camera and so of course he couldn't pass up the chance to encourage my children and tell them to do naughty, naughty things. He loves to torture me. Needless to say, I got the camera back pronto and was safe when he figured the fun was over.

These are the greatest pictures. I love the leaves all over and the kids love this every year. I especially love the leaves in my laundry from the clothes they have jumped in and the birds thinking anything that is outside belongs to them for the winter (hmhmhm BBQ), and all the clean up that has to take place for the winter with the grass and the leaves. Luckily the biggest job is the girls now that they are old enough to rake all the leaves (from 4 trees in the front and 7-8 trees in the back). I do truly love this time of year and how beautiful everything is. Yet it depresses me to know that winter is coming and bringing the cold with it. Oh Well.

All Work And No Play Makes Paul A Dull Boy......

literally.

This man would not stop working all day long to do anything with us that was fun. No jumping in leaves, no playing at all. When I told him I wanted pictures of him for his mom he said fine. I told him to smile and he said I was just lucky I could get him to take time out to rake some leaves and I can just make do with whatever shots I get. So I did and he is just dull sometimes. Except of course when it means torturing me behind the camera then there is all the time in the world.

Okay so last is that I am now driving a big school bus to Emilee and Alix' school and they are so thrillllled to be riding the bus everyday. Well atleast they have a ride. And my first day was a hit because I only ran over the curve in the circular drive infront of all my friends, my kids' friends and the faculty I have come to know over the years. It was that or plow through all the cars in front and to the side of me. The kids on the bus were shocked when I said "Hold on, this could get bumpy!" and the all said "Whoah!!" at the same time as I went over the drive and back down again. What a performance. Luckily there has been no encore yet. I do feel like I am more in touch with my kids now though. I love my new route and my bus.

More Maddie Pic's

2007-10-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

I took these this morning

I didn't have time to put this through my computer to lighten it up a little and get rid of the string of saliva from her chin but it's cut either way and she is just adorable.

There are more pictures but I didn't want to bore you all with my beautiful baby.

Enjoy!!

2007-09-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Presenting:

Maddie at 3 almost 4 months!!

This is her look she has most of the time. She is always looking and observing someone or something. She will learn much from watching her sisters, but she's not a jedi yet.

Maddie is a funny little girl. She loves everyone and she is easy to make smile and laugh.

She is usually always cute, smiley and happy. When she is not though it can get bad. Talk about the ugly cry, she is professional.

She is growing soooo fast we feel sad that she is our last baby but overjoyed at the same time if you know what I mean?

See the red hair. Trip out huh. It's not as red as it was but it is pretty red and brown.

I still have to post a video of her laughing and cooing and stuff but life is getting pretty nuts around this Horspool house. I'll try really hard to get it up within 2 weeks.

Natalie Finally get a job!! (A little bit of a life too)

This is pretty much the bus I trained on and the bus I had to get my drivers lisence with. I was sooo scared to drive a school bus. You thought I had funny stories before, well now there are a whole slew of them. I passed my CDL written test with flying colors which included passenger test, air brakes test, School bus test, and general knowledge. The guy freaked me out telling me how hard it was when I went to take it. He was very impressed when I passed all tests the first time and to tell the truth so was I. We waited all day long from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to take the driving tests and I was last in the day and sooo tired and hot. I was scared out of my mind so I just took it one step at a time. I had to name everything under the hood and tell how I was inspecting it and what to look for. Then I had to pre- trip the whole bus inside and out. I also had to perform the airbrakes test and if 1 part is missed you fail automatically. I had to parallel park this bus and do off track backing and so forth. All in reverse. I got my lisence and I never want to take that test again. So now I'm back in the work force. Look Out!

This is the type of bus I drive everyday on my routes. My bus is newer and prettier than this one but I have not had an opportunity to take a picture in front of my bus yet. That picture is coming. I am thinking about upgrading to a new bus.

These are some of the buses I am considering trading mine in for. I think I would look good in them all and they could finally get a bus that flatters me!!

I'm thinking this one is a great choice with my two kids in the back!! Too bad I can't pick up kids huh?

School Pictures Are Here!!

Emilee is really turning into a beautiful young lady. I can't believe how much she had changed over the years. She's still not as old as she thinks she is though (10 going on 20). Emilee is in choir and orchestra this year. She is playing the violin and I am so excited. She is considering trumpet for next year but I personally hope she stays with the violin. She will be learning piano also starting some time soon. Busy Girls stay out of trouble right? She is also in soccer and horseback riding. When Soccer ends in a few weeks she will be starting karate so she can kick some serious guy butt when they put on all their moves. Besides this she is doing great in school and struggles a little in math. She has gained some independence this year (or mom has let go a little of her paranoia) and she takes off with her friends to the park and such. She is a fun girl and we are lucky to have her. I'm glad she is so creative, because Riley really enjoys the way that she plays and gets a kick out of her imagination.

Okay, I don't know how to describe this picture. There are differences in opinion in our home. Alix loves this picture and I think she is adorable but the pose needs some help. Alix says this is the most beautiful picture she has ever taken so we have agreed that it should be displayed in her room where she can enjoy it and that she will be taking re-takes in a week so I can display a picture that I would like better. Besides that, Alix is really becoming a spit fire. She has a funny personality and loves to laugh lately. She is such a pretty girl and we really enjoy her sweet sensitive side. She is also doing great in school but needs some extra help in spelling. It's so funny how different kids are. She is excited about learning multiplication this year. Alix is in Soccer and doing great but she is getting burned out since she has been in soccer since Kindergarten. After this season she will also be taking karate so she can kick some serious butt also. Now if I had ugly kids this would not be an issue. Alix will be entering a bowling league right after Soccer because she has begged and begged to bowl on a league. we'll keep you updated. I'm hoping she will take flute so that we can have all my favorite instruments in the house. Besides all this she is so sensitive to Maddie and takes care of her really well even when she cries. She'll be a great babysitter in a few years.

Riley. What can I say? She's still trouble and loves every minute of it. She always gets new school pictures with the girls at the school on picture day but this year she missed it because I was training for the bus. She will be taking hers with Alix at re-takes so she will have a picture on here and I'm sure some interesting comments. She is protective of Maddie. At the bus station she does not want anyone coming up to Maddie or touching her. When Maddie cries the people try to talk to her to make her happy and Riley says "She doesn't like you!", Or "That's mama's baby! Don't touch". She spends her day embarrassing me and enjoys every minute of that too!

Besides all of this, I am so extremely busy now, that I cannot promise how often this will be updated. I will be putting video on here soon. We love you all and hopefully I will update this often. I am going to get a new camera I can just put in my purse so I can blog more. So expect more after Christmas.

OUR FOUR YEAR PROJECT!
So we have been trying to fix and paint the deck ever since we moved in four years ago. Circumstances and mostly weather have made it difficult to do. But now we can finally say that our deck is done and it only took 4 years! We love it. Going at this rate I guess the siding and such should only take 15 years. Exciting.

BEFORE

AFTER

Just disregard the rain all over the deck. This is part of the problem as to why it took 4 years to begin with.

New Happenings at the Horspool's

2007-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

The First Day Of School....Uhhh..Oops, The Second

Okay, So we all know how absent minded Natalie is so it should come to no surprise, that I forgot to take pictures on the first day of school so the second day will have to do. Emilee and Alix were very excited with all their new stuff (the day before when I didn't take a picture) and their new backpacks, clothes and the whole shebang, or however you spell it.

Anyway Riley will miss her sisters in the daytime but she will surely find ways to keep busy by making her mother crazy and keeping us all on the look out for her new bright ideas. Maddie will of course just do her job as the "mom hog" and make sure that all of Riley's big trouble ideas come to pass. This year should be pretty interesting. We'll keep you posted (no pun intended)

The Pony Puddles
(Excluding Maddie)

The girls are getting so big and so beautiful. This picture was taken just after Maddie was born so she was not in this picture and that is the only thing that keeps this picture from being picture perfect. Well, besides Riley not looking at me but what's new? Three year olds always follow directions right?

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

Riley was so happy to turn 3 yrs. old. She did not know that we waited to celebrate her birthday until the grandparents came out for the baptism and the blessing. Ignorance is bliss I suppose. The thing she enjoys most is the "Happy Birthday" song. She calls all candles "Happy Birthday To You". I wonder when she will learn that they are CANDLES. I don't correct her because it's so dang cute! Anyway it was a happy yet busy day and it all ended well.

Riley

The

Super

Model

This girl is so funny. I wish you all could have gotten to know her these last few years. She is definitly our girl with the most character and that is saying a lot with my girls, for they all have a lot of personality. Riley's is larger than life. I hope this helps you get a good feel for her happiness and her spunk. She got a little jealous of the photo shoot I was taking of Maddie, so we did a few of her and she is a natural isn't she? Funny Girl.

Silly Daddy

Not only is Riley the one with the most personality, she is also the one who is just like Paul. She looks like him, talks like him, acts like him, and they get along wonderfully. So, naturally you can see where she gets her charm and her silliness. Daddy was watching Riley while all the big girls went out and when we returned, this is what we found. Bright ideas. I have to admit that bows really do flatter Paul but what would his brothers think?

Gerbil Time

Okay, so the story behind the cage is this: The pet store did not tell us that gerbils are very different from hamsters. So we put them in the hamster cage and after a while and a little bit of research on gerbils (Natalie loves that research) we found out that we had the wrong kind of cage. They were chewing our whole cage and they were not happy and they were making a mess of my carpet by kicking the stuff out that the pet store told us to get. Well after the last "litter massacre" I decided it was time to do it right. So Emilee, Alix and I got a storage bin and made a top that is gerbil proof. We stayed up until 2:oo am. We also got the right bedding and the right material for structures and toys. We hand made all the structures and bought good gerbil toys to chew on. There can be no plastic because they will destroy it fast. The whole cage is terracotta, porcelain, or metal besides the wood structures and mineral chew and stuff. We are very proud of the job we did. The gerbils loved it and now they are very happy gerbils. Hopefully it will help lessen the stress of babies for next time. Hopefully. By the way, the cage does not look this neat anymore because gerbils love tunnels as this is their natural habitat underground. So much of the stuff is buried and a terracotta pot with sand has been added as a potty. That makes me happy because the cage never smells.

Snow Flake
Okay, this gerbil is so funny to watch. He loves to dig. When we had him in the other cage there was almost no bedding, but he would dig and dig and dig. He scratched the cage all day long in different corners. What a weirdo. He also loves to eat. This gerbil will steal Whiskers' food and will just eat as long as you let him if you have snacks. His favorite is cheese and sunflower seeds. My favorite part of him is his ruby eyes. They are so pretty. None of his babies will get those though because they are a recessive trait and I highly doubt whiskers has it. He's very mellow and fun to hold.

Miss Whiskers
Miss Whiskers is Emilee's gerbil and she is a little neurotic just like her mother. She also has some anxiety issues so they were made for each other. She is really active, likes to run a lot and she like all gerbils loves sunflower seeds. She only has 1/2 a tail courtesy Emilee. We did not know that gerbils will release their tail in the wild when a predator gets them by it, so it is a reflex that happened to Emilee. We learned our lesson and Snow Flake still has his tail. She also has only 1 finger, we don't know what happened to them. And she has no toes. We love her even with all her physical mishaps. She is a fun little gerbil.

INTRODUCING:
The newest members of our family(why is it that there are always new members on each post?)

Miss Whiskers' new gerbil litter

(hopefully the one she doesn't eat)

The babies were born early in the morning on August 18th. I spotted her having contractions and soon after saw the last baby born. There are 5 babies in the new litter and because she ate her last litter we are just hoping to keep 2 babies, 1 boy and 1 girl, from this litter. Or as Emilee says 1 chick and a dude. We will separate them when the babies are weaned. 2 girls in one cage and 2 boys in the other cage and then we will have 1 more litter because she will already be pregnant by then, and that should be the end of our gerbil breeding experience. In case you were wondering the other 3 will be given away to friends or the pet store or as Paul says "snake food". I sure hope the friends take them.

Maddie's arrival, Alix's Baptism, Maddie's blessing, and the family

2007-07-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Maddie is really growing. she is about 11 lbs now and that is pretty big for my one of my dinky girls.

She has really pretty blue eyes so now we have 2 blue eyed girls and 2 brown eyed girls. We think she might actually be a red head, so we'll let you know how that turns out. Only time will tell but the hair growing in is pretty red and her skin is pretty white and fair like a red head.

These are current pictures of Maddie as of today. All of her hospital pictures are on paul's computer and I will edit this post soon.

Alix was really excited to be baptized. She loved the scriptures she got and wouldn't put them down. This is her before the baptism and she doesn't look nervous at all.

Alix got out of the water and she was soo happy. She could not stop smiling and I could tell she was really really happy and so was the whole family.

After the baptism Alix got to show off her pretty new white dress that mom and sister Daggs made for her. She picked out a lot of the dress pattern and I have to say that it turned out really pretty and this picture does not do it justice. You have to see it up close to see the great fabric. She was really happy.

While everyone was out here for Alix's baptism we thought we would bless Maddie and kill two birds with one stone. She was so pretty in Heather's dress as were all the other girls and she slept through the whole thing without a peep. What a sweet baby she is.

Our family is now complete. This is our first family picture with everybody in it. Paul and I are so excited because we will not be contributing to the population any longer. NO MORE CHILDREN! Very Cool.

And last but not least, the even newer addition to our family. Paul finally got his truck. He's been wanting one for a long time and now we'll be really counting pennies again. Yikes