before the season passes

I almost forgot to share these pictures.

Of that one great pumpkin that just grew and grew

all on its own in our garden this year.

I can take no credit whatsoever.

It was pretty amazing.

And when I went to document it, one little lady

just started doing her thing.
Posing without any direction.

And then the other joined.

It was pretty awesome not buying pumpkins this year.

pumpkin carving day

The kids have been begging to carve our pumpkins.

We've been waiting to not do it too early.

So today was the day.

Here are some random pictures.

In the morning we have dozens and dozens of these little birds in our front yard.

They are so cute flitting around.

I'm going to have to figure out what they are.

They make me happy so I had to add a picture of one.

Here's little lady #1 waiting patiently.

The two big kids picked out designs from online.

We've done these in the past, but it has been awhile.

This is her cheer that I finished punching out the outline design.

She was so happy.

It was a really warm & sunny day today.

Daddy was playing with settings on the camera.

And the finished products in the light.

A Transformer.

I outlined it so my husband could see where to cut.

Minnie actually came out fine, 

but when I went to put the candle in I accidentally popped one bow out.

You see those two little toothpicks holding it back in place?

This was a delicate design that wasn't easy.

And yes, I did wind up cutting myself once.

But it's all good and I think she's pretty cute.

Here they are all lit.

My son carved the other two for little lady #2.

We can't wait to enjoy all the roasted pumpkin seeds!

weekend highlights

This weekend....

I had some much needed time

with a friend to go through old memories.

Working on a fall album through the years.

Have I mentioned I like to scrapbook.

It's a hobby that too often I never manage to complete.

We finally got our Halloween decorations out

And my son created his own.

There were two baseball games,

a night out to dinner and some football in the front yard.

Church of course, with an awesome message at

an early morning service filled to the brim with

many, many young people.  Amazing.

And two birthday parties for this little lady.

It was a full, full weekend.

And now we're off to an exciting week.

Today I get to chaperone my son's field trip

to the Getty Villa in Malibu.

I haven't been there in years.

I went there in the 7th grade on a field trip myself.

And I fell in love.

Fell in love with the architecture, the artifacts, the beauty of it all.

I'm looking forward to sharing pictures soon!

216. pretty party decorations

217. sweet friends

218. patient girls

219. knowing what my daughter needs

220. a husband who is a great coach

221. seeing the boys light up from his encouragement

222. a winning game

223. a cool breeze

224. sitting outside for dinner

225. fall light

226. figuring hard things out

227. field trips

228. playing with a new lens

229. peeling away the layers

230. finding beauty

231. acceptance

fall party

Back when my son was just four years old, I had a fall party for his preschool friends.

It was their last year of preschool and we were a close group of moms and kids.

I recently came across the photos and thought I'd share.

I had fun finding the vintage clip art and recipes for a fun fall party.

This was fresh squeezed oranges, rice milk and bananas blended together, with black licorice for straws.

I found an assortment of ideas for this snack mix through searches on the web.  

Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Chili Recipe - I was pregnant with my third baby
when we had this party.  I craved this chili all the time!   

Martha Stewart - Cranberry Oat Cereal Bars (really a fancy rice krispie treat)

As an activity, the kids got to decorate pumpkins.  We also let them paint their own leaf  placemats.
I later added scripture and laminated them as a fall keepsake.

So crazy...all these kids are nearly ten years old now!

Potluck Parties & Trick or Treating

Through the years my husband and I have enjoyed dressing up as a pair.  This year last minute we decided to be Pocahontas and John Smith.

The kids were Alice In Wonderland,

Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz,

and G.I. Joe in his ninja outfit.

We go to a friend's house where lots of families join in on a potluck dinner before going around their neighborhood trick-or-treating.

It was a fun (but pretty late) night with a bit too much sugar for mommy's liking.


But it was Halloween and today is a new day and a new month.


Oh.. and my favorite quote from the night as we were going door to door, our little Dorothy asked a man who was sitting on the front step giving out candy, "Are you OK out here all by yourself?"   Classic.  Happy November first everyone!