Mom: We don't like to punish you.

Hannah: Really? I thought that's what parents do best.

Ainsley has been pulling up to stand for almost 2 weeks. She is 7 1/2 months old. Several days ago she started "cruising" around the furniture. And biting, hard. And sticking out her tongue at us.

I'm SO not ready for another "into-everything" toddler already!

Driving down the highway, we saw a Humvee.

"A Hummer! Now THAT's what I'M talkin' 'bout!" Noah exclaimed.

Visiting Daddy's old stomping grounds in his college town was fun for all of us, as he reminisced about his favorite places and told the kids stories about his college days. His college town is very hilly, so he took us to one very steep hill to scare the kids a bit. ;)

Noah: "Now THIS is a hill!"

Hope: "Hold on to your jeepers!"

Elizabeth: "Everyone shut your pieholes up!"

Mom: "Hannah, why don't you try to find a girl in the neighborhood to play with instead of always playing with the boys?"

Hannah: "What boys do I play with? Oh, you mean Tristan? Never heard of him."

Mom: "You can be sure, girls, that when you start dating, Daddy will grill your dates pretty hard."

Hannah, horrified: "You're going to GRILL them?! Ouch!!!

Mom: "When I was your age, we didn't have computers."

Hannah: "Man, I feel your pain!"

Overheard conversations between the kids can be hilarious. And there are so many, that I forget to write them down.

Today we were driving to a nearby town, and the girls were teasing Noah about "kissing a Wookie" -- from a commercial about Star Wars. Anyway, arguing ensued and eventually led to Hope telling Noah that if he likes Darth Vader, then he's "on the Dark Side."

"Man, I'd sure hate to pay for electricity on the Dark Side," Hannah replied.

Hope: At camp, the archery guy kept telling us to shoot at will. Who's Will?

Hannah, cutting up her chicken-fried elk steak: "Great Scott! Is that a pink spot?"

Hope: "Who's Scott? Someone I should know about?"