The "Real" Gingerbread House

My first experience with a real gingerbread house! I'm sure for Megan, it's beautiful and wonderful and all that it should be. I, on the other hand, was up to my elbows in gingerbread house icing, sticky from head to foot, and feeling nothing but frustration because the house wasn't "perfect"! I know, I know, it's about the experience and the joy the little ones feel over a house covered in candy. So, I pushed through, finished the project after 2 hours squeezing icing through a 1/4 in. hole, and now it sits beautifully on the china hutch for all to see. Yes, even the 2 year olds have been admiring it from the vantage point of a chair pushed up the edge...I'm sure they've even snagged a piece of candy or two! But that's the fun of it, right???

Christmas Parade

Megan walked in the Christmas parade this past weekend with her Campfire group. It so fun to be a part of this community event again...I haven't done that since I was a kid in 4-H and we rode our horses down the main street of Enumclaw :-) We all had a great time, however, it was bit chilly!

Good thing for family connections...we had front row seating! Thanks Jon!

Enthralled Parade Faces!

Warming up the festivites, snuggling with Grammy!

Mom, why does Auntie Brandi keep taking my candy canes? (Cause mommy told her to, hee hee)

The gingerbread kids...Megan and Isabella!
Cutest girl in a gingerbread house ever!!
I had a great time working on this costume for Megan and she was so excited to wear it. Hopefully it will last for a number of years. After all, there is a bit Nana on there...we used her beads to decorate!

Gingerbread House

Well, it's not your traditional gingerbread house, but it makes for a great costume! Megan will be walking in the Christmas parade with her Campfire group, and they are to wear costumes. The only way she would agree to a costume involving cardboard was to be a gingerbread house. Thankfully, we got the idea from our friends Leandra and Isabella, and I finally had a place to start! She is very excited to wear it and we can't wait for the parade! And to top it off, Isabella is going to be a gingerbread girl and they will hopefully walk together...how cute will that be???

Starting point...

side...

back...other side... front!

I'm thinking of adding this to my front porch decor! We'll see :-)

First Tooth

We've entered a new era, began a new journey; we are now traveling the path of lost teeth! Megan finally lost her first tooth, thanks the librarian, and is likely to lose the next one soon! Better start saving that change :-)

I welcome any clever toothfairy ideas out there...Mine are pretty low in supply!

New Blog

Well, I finally found a way to channel my writing enjoyment with my obsession of food! I suppose you could say I've jumped on the bandwagon of food blogs! Check out my Krazy Kitchen adventures at www.mykrazykitchen.blogspot.com.

Ring Around the Rosy

Tim got these pictures last night of the two year olds...we should have gotten it on video because it was so cute!

Time to play!

Ring Around the Rosy,
Pocket Full of Posies,Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down!!!
It happens every so often, but when the three of them decide to play together in harmony, it's true bliss :-)

Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weeks ago I was able to go with Megan and her class to the pumpkin patch for their field trip. We had a great time and it was a very fun place. We went to Thomasson Family Farm Pumpkin Patch and it's a perfect place for kids.

Megan and her partner Cabri

Hmmm, I guess this wasn't such a pleasant experience!
Bubbles with Mrs. Carr

Ice Cream...what else would you expect from a dairy turned pumpkin patch?

Time for a hayride!

Teacher in jail with students...just another day at the office!

The Friendly Goat!

Megan with friends Kylie and Cabri

Cabri, Lexie, and Megan
Riding the John Deere bikes...
Time for a slide!
Can't leave without a corn kernel cover :-)

Megan is having a truly fabulous year and we couldn't be happier with her school and her teacher. She's making friends, excelling in academics, and has an overall positive attitude! Can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings :-)

Harvest Fun

Here is just a little bit of what I have been up to over the last week. It was our turn to bring snacks to Campfire, so of course I couldn't just send "regular" snacks. They had to be festive!

Following that, we had the Fall Carnival for Megan's school. Before the year started I signed us up to provide a game or activity. A few weeks later I signed us up for Megan's conference. A couple of days after that, I realized that the carnival and the conference were on the same day. Not to worry...I could manage that. Move down a few weeks...invite to an Elk's dinner by Molly's PT.! Of course we will be there. We'd be honored. Hmmm, a couple days go by and it hits me. The Elk's dinner is also the same night as the carnival. Well, lucky for me I have three little children who nap at the same time and a husband who came to the rescue. I managed to put the snacks together in time for the meeting, spend the next day's naptime creating the Harvest Ball equipment, get the game to the school on Friday, set up, rush to Megan's school to pick her up and stay for her conference, quick grab dinner, then drop Tim and Megan off at the carnival, run home, grab the little ones, rush to the dinner, then back to the carnival for some fun! It was a busy few days but the fun was worth all the craziness! A mama's gotta make her kiddos proud!

Campfire Snacks

Pumpkin Fruit Bowls (sort of)

Broom Sticks

Turning cardboard into a pumpkin...

Harvest Ball, all ready to go!

Megan and her friend Danielle

Gotta love pink hair!

Watch out, Triple Trouble!

Did I mention we won 2 raffle prizes?

New Blog

I added a new blog to my favorites...Girly Gatherings! She's my neighbor and quite talented! Check it out when you have time!

Happy Birthday to Me!!

For my birthday this year Tim took us out to the Rainforest Cafe. The kids and I had a great time, especially looking at the fish in the big fish tanks. Some of the animals, like the elephants, were quite overwhelming to Hailey, but we all still had fun. The triplets have not been to a zoo yet, so this was kind of a "warm-up" experience! I think when the time comes, they'll do just fine!

Molly, being her regular cutie!

Me and my girls!

Hoping for a modeling career?

The Fish

Hmmm, who let the triplets loose? Attempting a kid shot!

Megan having a heart-to-heart with the elephants...
Aunt Tee Tee came along to help!
Guy cleaning the fish tank...extremely fascinating!
Time for birthday treats!

Thanks Tim for such a great idea! It was a fun way to spend my birthday!

Lopez Island

A few weekends ago Tim and I had the opportunity to get away for a night to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We headed up to Anacortes, enjoyed a of couple hours walking around and eating lunch, then took the ferry over to Lopez Island. We visited a very small winery and did some tasting, then checked into our cottage at Lopez Farm Cottages. Beautiful, quiet, refreshing! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice getaway. We had dinner at a local hangout called The Galley , with a great view and delicious food. We watched the Husky game and just enjoyed the opporunity to exist without children for a few hours. We were blessed with beautiful weather and time together!

Waiting for the ferry...

Arriving to Lopez Island

The Vinyard

The Galley...delicious fish tacos and fish and chips!
Beautiful view...
Heading back!
A great big thanks to my mom and sister Tori for taking care of our kiddos while we were away! We certainly should do this more often :-)