Night at the Museum

We recently enjoyed an evening at the museum. It was opened specifically for educators with the NHA (National Heritage Academy).

First, we went to the Planetarium...and loved it.

Then we checked out some other exhibits.

Claire was a bit nervous on the carousel at first, but warmed up to it soon enough.

Perhaps her favorite feature of the museum was this model car that she couldn't get enough of.

Now, a brief quiz to see how closely you all looked at the pictures...

Did you notice what Claire was holding in her hand in 4 of the 5 pictures?

Yes, that is correct -- a plastic spoon.

One of Claire's endearing quirks. She loves to carry around her "poon" with her as often as possible. In fact, it's often the first word out of her mouth when she wakes up in the morning. She'd prefer her "pen", but I get too nervous watching her run around with that, so she has learned to settle for second best.

Unlikely Look Alikes

Does anybody else notice the strange similarity between these two?

Oh, that boy cracks me up!

The Country Basket

It's been too, too long since we've posted on our blog, so we've got some ground to make up. We'll try to spread it out over the course of the coming week, though, so we don't overwhelm you with Puplis pictures....

We'll begin with our visit to the Country Basket with the Hart family - a perfect way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.

Joe and Claire rode the Cow Train...and loved it.

Lily and "Lady"

Joe and Claire are in the 3rd cow from the front.

All you can eat apples...which Claire took full advantage of.

Playing in the "corn box" with Lily.

Chris pulling Claire and Lily in the wagon.

Saying Goodbye to Summer

As summer retreats into a lovely new fall season, we thought we'd say goodbye to the warm weather with a short tribute to all the fun we had in the sun.

We enjoyed the park,

had some great adventures,

played with new toys outside,

hung out with cousins (including Andrew),

had fun with Austin and Joselyn,

and, of course, made many trips to

the air conditioned library!

Down on the Farm

This weekend was both fun and productive as we gathered

with friends at their family farm.

On the Left :: The Hart Family including Chris (holding an animal skull he found in the barn), Julie, Peter and Lily

In the Middle :: The Mazurek Family (whose farm this is) including Blake, Anna, Bethany (holding Rufus) and Jack

On the Right :: That's us, the Puplis family

We met both families at Lighthouse Village Ministries, the church we attended for a couple of years before it dissolved this past December.

Yeah, we're kind of a crazy group, but we love it!

Saturday we harvested corn. It was a blast as everyone chipped in.

Well, everyone except for Claire. She did more wandering then picking.

Lily picking corn

loading the corn

Peter and Jack

Lily and Peter

Claire's ready to take off


Maybe it's better to leave the driving to Blake.

Julie and Anna shucking corn

I don't know what these two are doing. They're in a league all their own.

Okay, maybe I'm in a league all my own, too.

Our reward...the best corn on the cob we've ever eaten. As well as close to 20 quarts of corn for each of us to freeze for this coming winter!

Sunday we picked several bushels of green beans. We had some for lunch, but we also blanched and froze some as we did with the corn.

It certainly wasn't all work and no play. We also enjoyed other activities around the farm. Claire really liked this tire swing with Lily.

But her favorite was riding on the golf cart. She'd get so excited anytime she'd see it pull up.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a kayak trip (adults only) down the Pere Marquette River. We made some great memories!

Joe even talked me into going on the four wheelers, which to my surprise, I liked.


What a great weekend at the farm. We definitely feel an annual tradition has been born. We can't wait to do it again. And we certainly can't wait to dip into our freezer full of yummy vegetables.

Osh Kosh, Wisconsin

We had a great weekend visiting my sister Katie Bug and her family on the other side of the pond. We sure do miss them when we're apart, so it was great to see them. The weekend went all too quickly, but we managed to fit in as much fun as we possible could.

We went to the zoo...



We played at the Timberland playground...

Claire loved it here!

We went swimming...

We played several fun games...

And we even managed to spend some time just relaxing...

We wish we could do this every weekend. Thanks to Bug, Shawn and Aaliyah for being wonderful hosts. We look forward to celebrating with you the completion of your new home in a few weeks! We love you all!