See ya' later, pumpkins!

 On this, the last day of November, I thought it would be fitting to bring you pictures of our Fantastic Day of Fall Fun that we had a while back.

It was freezing outside, so we didn't linger to get amazing pictures with the 'pump's as Caleb calls them.

 Josiah accidently bit into a tomato instead of an apple.  There was weeping.

Here he is biting into his hard-won apple.

And the happy teachers enjoying their Fall Breaks.

A helpful hint - if you go to the Apple Barn, get what those girls in pink are enjoying.

Not that little pie Ashley and I are sharing. 

And I think I just saw a mouse scamper by, so I'm signing off!

Headbands

 Check out my first Christmas gift project of the season!

 Back when we had chickens, my aunt gave us 3 peacocks she was getting rid of to keep them company.

The peacocks went the way of our chickens and the dodo bird, but we were able to collect these beautiful feathers from the woods.  Thanks, Jenn!

 They'd been collected dust for a couple of years, so I decided to turn them into headbands.

They are sweet!  I'm giving 8 as gifts, but I have 7 extra, so if you or someone you know would love one for Christmas, let me know!

Ta-da!

Happy 33rd Birthday to Chris!

Just a month and 15 days late!

 We decided to have a record party.

 Josiah and his buddy, Luke, are showing off one of the coolest gifts of the evening.

It's a little round table that holds records all around on a wire rack and they spin.  Very cool.

Happy birthday to a spectacular dad and hubby!

Who is currently working on an order of 500 Ampoids!  What a guy!

And here are the sisters right before the party at our friend Stephanie's wedding.
I've been doing lots of Christmas decorating the last three days, but as Jenn says, "It's not December yet."
So you'll just have to wait to see that.
And I'm off to watch The Sing Off!  Woot!

Caleb's 2nd Birthday Party

On November 3, Caleb turned 2!

 We had a Pooh party in the camp game room because there was still a fabulous maze set up down there from our Fall Festival.

 The boys helped decorate these cupcakes. 

Originally, they were only going to have 100 Acre Wood characters, but the boys kept adding more fun friends.  And peas.  The healthiest cupcake at the party.

 Caleb got a bike from his Gwamma & Poppa! 

 Complete with helmet from Aunt Ashley!

 This dress-up-able Larry was another favorite gift.

 Every guest was assigned a character.  Ashley was a great Piglet.

And then we each drew our character's home somewhere in the maze.

This picture doesn't do the maze justice.  It's a-mazing!

  

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet boy, Caleb!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Felt Food

Did you guess strawberries?

 Look at this food!  

So very fun to make!

And fast, too.

 I made that whole breakfast above just last evening.

Chris says it's missing bacon.  I'm thinking pancakes.

And this is what I've cut out and made so far today.

So cute, eh?

Making Christmas Presents

Guess what I'm making!

I've been meaning to do this for quite a while and now I'm so glad I started! 

So far, tons of fun.

Here are the Thanksgiving cards the boys and I made today. Sometimes I wonder why I don't do more crafty things with the boys - until I try one - and then I remember! Too many tears!

Hawaii 2009

I thought this wet, foggy day would be the perfect time to share some pictures from our trip to sunny Hawaii.

And they just happen to be some of the only pictures on our new computer.  

So here we go.

 I just asked Josiah who he thought this kid was and he said, "Me, Josiah.  I just saw all  that hair and that reminded me of me!"

 We camped here one night.  Cute guys.

 Do you remember Josiah being a little baby almost 2 year old?  I hardly do.

 It's funny that Josiah learned to recognize the letters of the alphabet on this trip when he woke up early, early every morning because of the time change and we'd let him watch Sesame Street. 

Maybe if we took Caleb to Hawaii he'd learn that not all letters are called 'S'.  Ha!

 Thinking about this trip is reminding me that having two kids is so much more fun and relaxing than just one - I love how Josiah & Caleb entertain each other for hours! 

 This is the beach where Chris used to live - the prettiest one we saw, really.

Josiah got stung by a jellyfish right here.

 This trip was our first experience in a VW camper.  Fun stuff. 

And here's me and Josiah and 6-months along baby Caleb in my belly.

Happy Thanksgiving Monday, friends!

Did you know that there are two words that people like to say to visitors in Hawaii, 'Aloha' and 'Mahalo'.  I think mahalo means thank you.  Chris used to think it meant 'trash' because it's on all the trash cans.   Kinda like how Heather used to call trash cans at restaurants 'thank you boxes.'  

The End

Organized Closet

 Since it's been such a long time since I posted regularly, I figured we were all ready for something super exciting...like a before and after of my big closet. 
Ha. 
Above is before.  Below is after.

 Nothing too mind-blowing, but I did find a summer dress hiding on the floor that I'd been looking for for months. 

 Before & After

 Before & After

Riveting, eh?  

We've all been missing out on so much these last few months!

Robots!

When my Grandmother gave me a package of laundry vent tubing, I knew we had the perfect start to some cool Halloween costumes.

Josiah and Caleb loved the idea of being robots!

I had fun putting these costumes together at craft nights.

Two cute outfits all for the low, low price of - free!

Then I got some silver tubing while cleaning out my parents' shed, and the next thing you know, I was a robot, too!

See my skewers?  

Dangerous, eh?

And look at Chris - Josiah said, "Oh, that is the perfect costume.  Only, you don't look just like my dad."  Chris had just shaved his face to complete the look.

Caleb took one look at his daddy and said, "MONST!"  (monster), and ran away screaming, pretending to be scared.  Too funny.

Goldilocks and the Bear.  Adorable.

And Josiah and his buddy, Faith.  Cute.