Simpsons Don’t Like to Lose

For the purposes of this post, I’m classifying myself as a “Lawrence.”  I’m only stating the obvious when I say the “Simpsons” don’t like to lose.   Mark made a career out of not liking to lose.  Those of you who know Nina know that she doesn’t like to lose (a trait that proved to be an issue when playing with the Sun Rays last year).  Guess who else doesn’t like to lose…you guessed it, Lyla.  Do you see a trend here?  Simpsons don’t like to lose.

This afternoon, Mark was playing a little game of soccer with the girls. 

   

It was Mark and Lyla versus Nina. Nina is pretty scrappy, so she and Mark would play at each other, then Mark would try to pass the ball to Lyla so she could run and score.

That worked once, and then the next time, Nina caught up with Lyla.

 

Lyla got so upset that Nina got the ball from her that she took herself out of the game to pout.

It’s a pretty sad little pose, so you might be tempted to feel sorry for Lyla.  However, Mark and Nina both were trying their hardest to coax her back in the game (even telling her she could score).  Not working…  Finally, after several minutes of pouting on the side of the house, she rejoined the game.  She got the pass from Mark.  She got a good head start.  She scored a goal. 

Then on the next try, Nina caught up with her.  So, she’s back to the side of the house to pout.

Then the arms crossed pouting because she’s even madder that I see her and take her picture.

Then she gets even more mad and storms into the house, crying.

Simpsons don’t like to lose.

In the Blink of an Eye…

About a month and a half ago, I did a post in response to a column I read by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times.  Those of you who keep up with the blog will recall that the effort was to collect dresses from friends and family to send to a woman, Jane, in Nairobi.  I was so encouraged by the generous donations of friends and family.  I had a collection of 29 dresses at that point. 

I posted how Trinity had read about the collection effort and posted on her blog about it in order to help grow the collection.  She collected a huge load of dresses, and we ended up with over 50 dresses total!  It ended up being an awesome way to reach out to a woman in need across the world.

However, in the blink of an eye on Sunday, Trinity and her family lost everything, as well as their beloved family dog, in a fire that consumed their home.  Their farmhouse had completed being restored on Saturday, and it all burned down on Sunday. 

In a twist of fate, Trinity, Mike, and their three kids (plus one more due next week), went from being at the forefront of collecting donations for a woman in need to being the ones that donations were being collected for as they are in need.  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Community-Support-for-Wilbourn-Fire/286620914702669?sk=wall

Trinity has posted on her blog some before and after pictures of their house.  It’s hard to see the devastation and imagine yourself in their shoes.  Please keep them in your prayers as they try to rebuild their life and prepare for a new life to enter their family any day now.

Fall Festival

Saturday was our community’s annual Fall Festival.  This weekend was a rescheduled date from a previously rained out weekend, and we had a beautiful cool and sunny day for the festival this year.  There was face painting, kiddie rides, music, food, pony rides, etc. all day, culminating with a fireworks show at night.  The girls had a great time at the festival.  Here are some pictures of the fun they had.

  

 

 

Date Night

Just before October ended, we snuck in our date night with the girls. Now that we’re doing dates with Lyla too, we’ve tried a few time to go out to dinner as a family then break off into our separate activities with the girls.  I’m sure we’ll do that sometimes and do completely separate dates sometimes too.  This past date night, we went together to Generous George’s for dinner then went our separate ways after dinner.  What a fun family restaurant!  The girls loved it.  Lyla got a kids’ pizza, so they brought her out the crust and toppings to make herself, along with a little chef hat.  Very exciting.  As always, it’s good to get 1-on-1 with the girls and spend some time just hearing from them and giving them some special alone time.

 

Halloween 2011

We had such a fun Halloween night.  Trick-or-treating starts at 6:00, so after getting a quick dinner and back in costumes (and face painted) for the second time that day, we were ready to go.  The kids were so excited.  They could hardly wait to pose for a picture to get outside with their friends.

Our neighborhood is so fun on Halloween.  Kids and people are everywhere, very few cars are on the streets, and everyone has a ton of fun!  Nina and Lyla started out gathering with several groups of friends then all heading out together for trick-or-treating.

After being out for about 1 1/2 hours, we were joined by Uncle Bo who was a good enough sport to come in his Mario Brothers costume (as requested).

His nieces were very excited!!!

We did some more trick-or-treating with Uncle Bo until everyone was tired…in particular, we had one tired little pup!        

           

After coming home and sorting through and eating some candy, they finally got in jammies and crashed for the night.  We had a really fun night and a great Halloween day!

Halloween Parade

Yesterday was a BIG day in the Simpson house.  Nina’s school had a Kindergarten costume parade at the start of their day, then a class party to follow.  Nina and Lyla were Ladybug Girl and Bingo for Halloween this year. Ladybug Girl is a favorite book in our house about an imaginative little girl and the adventures she goes on with her pal, Bingo.  Nina, of course, was Ladybug Girl.  Lyla was her sidekick, Bingo (the basset hound). 

 

Since Nina was all dressed up for the parade, we got Lyla dressed up in her costume also, and Nina’s super nice teachers allowed Lyla to parade through the school with the class.  They both had so much fun.  After the parade, the class had a nice party that all the parents (and siblings) were invited to.  What a fun day at school!!!