Oh, the horror!!!

Our frightening family from left to right: Pegasus, Knight, Cowgirl, Ladybug, Farmer, Frankenstein Gone Funky Bride, and Cowboy.Eating donuts off a string.
The barn we built out of cardboard. For our church party, each family made a "house" out of cardboard and the kids went trick or treating house to house. Everyone was so creative and all the houses were adorable.

My "cowboy" handing out candy.

Playing games.

Visiting big sister's class.

Pumpkin bowling in kindergarten.

Sweet little ladybug.

A Fall Surprize!

Flowers make me happy, especially when I find roses in bloom on my rose bushes on October 24! We have had such a cool summer followed by a chilly fall and it has been gloomy & rainy so I needed a little cheering up! I didn't think anyone would believe I really cut these beautiful roses in the fall so I took a second picture of them, surrounded by our leaf pile in the backyard.

And just to make life a little sweeter, my day lilies are blooming. I learned from my master gardener friends that these are a native variety that blooms in spring and fall. I'm glad to have them to enjoy in my front yard.

Kids enjoying a warm fall day with our beautiful maple tree in the background.

The photo below was taken a few weeks ago from my living room window. We enjoy our view, especially since I finally got on a ladder & cleaned the outside of the windows (it only took me 3 years to work up the nerve, you can imagine how grimy they were!)

Who is the Coolest Rock Star?

We have a house full of Rock Stars, but only 2 wigs so we need your help! Please vote for the best Rock Star by voting in the "comments" area below this post. Halloween is only a few weeks away so please vote soon & vote often!

Max the dog. Baby girl

10 Year Old Diva
5 Year Old Boy Rocker

Groovy 8 Year Old Girl

11 Year Old Punk Dude

Dad

Mom

VOTE!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Posing for a photo with a granola bar in her hand.

The kitties in the barn

Thirsty???

It sure is hard to get water out of these things!

I'd like to check you for ticks!

On a Sunday in August, we decided to take a leisurely family walk on a trail by the lake. Displaying her treasure, a rock, then she was off and running!
Kids hydrating themselves at the water fountains.
The awesome new bridge along the trail.
Following the baby into the wilderness.We enjoyed a fun hike that day. The local master gardeners had labeled the trees by attaching with string a piece of paper(enclosed in a clear plastic bag) to several of the trees. They were having permanent markers made, and placed the temporary paper labels in the mean time. Apparently some teenage punk had humored himself by removing each tag and moving it to another tree. I told the man who labeled them all that we noticed the trees were now all labeled wrong. He said, "I bet that kid was worn out, I was exhausted when I finished labeling all the trees and he had a harder job of switching them all."

When we got home after the hike, we realized that we had been attacked by teeny tiny seed ticks! They were so small that they looked like freckles. I had to scrape a credit card across my skin to determine whether I had a tick or a freckle. I am excited for winter, only because the ticks will DIE! Maybe we'll revisit the trail then.

Frugal Photo Time!

I think the prices for school photos are outrageous so I decided to take my own again this year. I love choosing the backdrop, enjoying the outdoors, and capturing their personality. Most of the photos were taken at the lake in July, but the last 2 were taken in my neighborhood. Below is the group photo. It is a little crooked because I had to snap it fast, before the baby ran away or jumped in the lake. They are not as good as the professional photos we had taken in my last post, but I thought these would be fun to share too.

Baby Girl, 19 months old

5 year old. He's excited for kindergarten.
10 year old. Her first year in middle school, 5th grade.

8 years old. She's ready for 3rd grade.

11 years old, He's a middle school pro, 6th grade stud.

Below, a few extra pics, the crape myrtle was a perfect match to her dress.

Family Photos

It has been over a year since our last family picture, and many years since our last professional picture so I jumped at the opportunity to get a family photo taken. I had a great coupon and refused to get sucked into buying extra prints. I got 3, 8X10's for $18. They tried to pressure me into a $150 package, but I resisted. The photographer was great, I wish I had a bigger budget. Here are the proofs.... Below is my favorite photo, but my hubby looked funny so we didn't order a copy.Youngest boy's face is a little hidden.
We ordered this one, but our copy has my hubby's whole head.
We ordered this kid photo.
Cute, but baby had funny face.

Nice, but my hair blends into background.

OK, but a not all the best expressions.

This is why I SNEEZE!!!!

Ragweed is my nemesis! My husband affectionately calls me snot-face. I am seriously considering buying stock in Kleenex & Benadryl. Die! You nasty little yellow weed!!!

First Day of School

So far, the school year has been going pretty good. I've had the opportunity to get to know the school nurse, I received 3 calls about sick kids.
My boy, my sweet kindergartner, oh why do you act so silly??? I have received 2 phone calls from the vice-principal. The first call was the result of my boy being sent to the office for, "being a robot" in the bathroom & pushing another student. We had a few good days, then the next call came, " your boy thought the kid in front of him was taking too long on the playground equipment, so he taught the kid a lesson." Those kinds of lessons are not welcome in our school district. Yep, I am looking forward too another great year!

Finding Hope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkWc_EKLs4E