obviously october

that's right! it's officially Halloween season!

Today was the kick off for the

annual Pumpkin Walk at Legacy.

After a "dinner" of mostly nachos & donuts,

we wandered through 350 bales of hay

filled with pumpkins.

The kids are always so proud to

show off their hard work & creativity.

Carter's class theme:

"Having a bird's eye view of who you want to be

Set your Goals High"

Laityn's class theme:

"Mrs. Ames class Aims High

to Reach their Goals"

Jace's class theme:

"Mrs. Welcker's Class are

Kiss Kiss Fish

with Kiss Kiss faces

They Spread Cheery Cheeries

All Over the Place"

If you haven't discovered the book

"Pout, Pout Fish"

you need to find a copy...

or better yet, buy one...

it's kind of my new favorite picture book.

Maddy finally earned her first riding lesson...

and possibly her last.

She loves the idea of riding horses,

she just doesn't love the 30 hours

of volunteering that precede the lesson.

She did really well for her first time on a horse,

and Kenzie got to teach her class.

So fun watching both my big girls in action!

It's crazy that October is nearly half over...

but I'm so ready for fall break next week...

hope the teacher's let the kiddos have a break

from homework too!

On a side note, I have no idea why most of

my text is underlined today...

and I can't figure out how to fix it.

computers....grrrrr.

my new favorite!

Turn of the century door...
legs from an old singer sewing machine...
chairs scavenged from DI for the past year...
lots of sanding, filling, painting...
and in the end...
something AMAZING!

and yes, if you're wondering,
we eat around it every night
and I love everything about it :)

family pictures...finally!

It's been 3 years since our last "family picture"

and it was TIME for an update.
I convinced my parents to come along...
I set up the shots,
told my dad where to sit/kneel/stand
and jumped into the frame.
I am just way to cheap to actually pay
someone else...
gotta say,
I couldn't be happier with the results!
...Tim is happy too, cause he's planning
on another three years before he has
to do any of this again :)

WOW~ I LoVe these PeoPLe!

transformation

I'm not quite sure how it happened,
but I have somehow started planning weddings...
I think some would call it a sickness...
an "I-have-to-offer-my-help-because-I-love-these-people"
sort of sickness.
It's a good thing...
and it's been so much fun...
but WOW! it's some serious work!
Friday was the big day
for this sweet girl in my ward.
The reception was in her
grandparents beautiful backyard.
We started setting up at 9:30 am
and finished at 7:00 pm...
just in time to change clothes
and run back to help with the ice cream bar.
By midnight, everything was undone
and Tim was helping me return the last
of the massive amounts of stuff we had borrowed.

It was a beautiful night
and the pictures really don't do it justice
but you can get the basic idea.

We had the entrance lined with 9 of these lanterns.
Opposite the lanterns, on the deck railing,
we had lights with pictures hanging of the cute couple.

the backdrop was the focal point of the night,
which was awesome because we made it!
The gal who was helping me bought
doors/shutters at habitat for humanity...
grand total of $35
Tim hinged them together,
added all the shelves,
and pretty much made it look fabulous!
Another neighbor painted it for free
so that his daughter can use it for
her wedding in November.

We filled it with battery powered candles
and added the lights and fabric
behind the windows.
seriously! could it be any better!?

We added lights to these paper lanterns
and hung them in place of the swings.
We added my hammock underneath
to hold all the gifts... it was perfect!

ice cream bar...
easy, cheap, and still elegant.

table centerpieces...
the only cost was the flowers...
everything else was borrowed

so there is way too much flash in this picture
but it was so dark, I was having a hard time
getting any pictures...
the balloons finished off the tables beautifully.

This was placed just near the exit from the backyard...
what you can't really see in all these pics
are the lights/lanterns/pictures
hanging from all the trees.
It was magical once the sun went down.

Exhausting day... but so happy to be able to help
pull off something so wonderful!

derby differences

Last night was our very first
Daddy-Daughter Pinewood Derby!
I've been to so many cubscout derbys,
and this was a whole new kind of thing...
difference#1:
the cars were CUTE....
pink, glitter, ponies & all things girly
difference #2:
the girls cheered & chanted
and truly wanted each girl to win at least once
difference #3:
the girls compared color scheme and decorations
speed was nice, but not important
(although the dads were loving the
electronic times posted after each run!)
difference #4:
the awards were hilarious
example-
"best room decor"
"most organic"
"best use of glitter"
"best ride to the mall"
difference #5:
car themed treats...
twinkies with oreos for the wheels

For 40 little girls
(yup! I said 40 girls between 8 & 11,
and we were missing several more)
it was the best, most exciting night!

the polka dot car

pulling ahead...

Miss Lady took 3rd place over all...
she was thrilled!
Tim realized one of the wheels was
coming off after the racing was done...
not to worry,
the top three girls will race against
the top three boys in April at the scout derby...
Tim is sure he can pull ahead after
some work on that wheel

Little Lady so proud of herself!

what's a girl to do?

I was helping Kenzie with some school stuff today...
we uploaded her pictures
and I found some gems...
so, in keeping with my promise
to share something new, I ask...

What is a 14 year old girl to do?

hang with her BFF....
go to stake dances together....
get shakes together....
go to early morning seminary together....
ya know...pretty much do most things together.

bff's even go rock climbing together...
with the young men/young women of course!

if you are thinking that it looks like
Kenzie is ahead...you would be right
She had the fastest time to the top...
even faster than those very manly boys :)

14 year old girls can take pictures
of just about anything...
including their very sweet hiking shoes


this girl still loves her horses....
OF COURSE!
and if you ask her,
you can hear horse stories
that will fill the entire evening...
she has started teaching some of the lower level classes
and is so excited to tell me about the kiddos she helps

in her tiny bits of spare time,
she picks at her guitar
and teaches herself as much as she can.

she also has become pretty amazing
at using these pencils

love seeing her growing into
such a beautiful, spiritual, motivated,
hard working, fabulous girl!

excuses

It's not like me to go this long
without sharing something...
my excuses:
time...I'm short on it
schedules...we go solid from 5:30 am to midnight
alone-ness...no kiddies at home during the day
to take silly pics of...
and I'm certainly not taking pics of myself!
cooking...have to do that again now that summer's over
receptions...kind of volunteered to help with decor/pics
for a couple of soon to be brides in the ward
projects...been working on refinishing a new table & chairs
...I did manage to sell the old set,
so now we are picnic-ing on the floor until I finish...
not ideal, but it will be awesome soon!
church callings...no explanation needed

so, I'll stop making excuses
but rest assured, I'll have some fun new stuff
to blog about soon!