Halloween & The Loot

We've had a great Halloween. Parties, parties, recital, and trick-or-treating. NOW--the LOOT! The kids had a great time! It was a fabulous night for it too--who would have thought that after a week of snow being dumped on us, 3 snow days--that we would have a beautiful night for trick-or-treating...but we did!! The kids had so much fun. We put a few layers on UNDER their costumes, they wore hats, and off they went. They were plenty warm as it was so nice out. They came home happy, and bags heavy with candy. Halloween 2009=SUCCESS!!

(Isabel...thanks to Grandma and her costume making...had 3 different costumes this year....1 for our ward trunk-or-treat (Vampire), one for a birthday Halloween party (Mermaid), and one for her recital and trick-or-treating (Mulan/Geisha). WOW!)

Recital

Isabel had a piano recital today--ON HALLOWEEN! It was a lot of fun and most of the kids played something that was a bit spooky, and dressed up. Isabel played "Square Dance and Hoe Down"--and wore a kimono. She looked GREAT...and did a very nice job.

Grandma Mack--we received MANY compliments on the beautiful costume!!

Click on the link below to see Isabel's Recital!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5AyHSVnROU

More Halloween Pictures to follow....

Snow Hat

Okay. It is SNOWING this morning! I checked--no "delayed start" for school. Bummer! I came down though, and Rory had his snow hat on. I just got him this hat and he's so excited to wear it. Kyle came down, saw Rory's hat on, and wanted his too, so I got him his. They are such cuties!

I love snow--especially when it first snows, and it still clean. BUT--I'm still wishing for Autumn to last a bit longer....maybe just until November? Oh well. I do live in the rocky mountains!

Garden 2009: Progress Report

I love seeing the progress of my garden. It has surprised me this year. My broccoli is growing (people said it wouldn't do well in CO). My tomatoes are kind of at a stand still--hmm..... My beets are doing GREAT--I picked 4 really nice sized beets today! My zucchini...well....ISN'T zucchini....It's some sort of squash that looks like zucchini, but is a lighter green (strange?!). I have 1 jalapeno, and finally my cucumbers are blossoming. Better than last year in some ways, and in some ways not as good. It's always an experiment!

Jalapeno

Cucumber

Zucchini???...or not?

Beets!

Broccoli!

A New School Year

Another school year from my kiddos has begun. I'm so excited for my kids this year. Bryce has the same teacher that Isabel had for 2nd grade...Ms. Luebbert. She's a peach. We really like her, and Bryce already knows her a bit as she was his Tech Lab teacher last year. He's been very excited knowing that he would have her this year for his teacher.

Isabel has Mrs. Jaimes for 4th grade. (I can't believe she's in 4th grade!) Our friends have given her great compliments and told us wonderful things about Mrs. Jaimes. I was impressed at orientation and I think Isabel will enjoy being in her class. One thing I loved was that Mrs. Jaimes is a HUGE proponent of reading. Reading is so important and I hope my children enjoy it as much as I have in my life. There is NOTHING like a good book.

Here are my kiddos going off to school--and with their new teachers!

Sewing So Much

I have really been enjoying teaching myself to sew. Tackling one pattern at a time. It's been really fun to sew with friends. Several of my friends are teaching themselves right now too--or rediscovering sewing after being away from it for a long time.

There's something really rewarding creating something useful, pretty and liked.

The pj's...this is a pattern that my mother has made several times for Isabel--it has these pj's and a nightgown on the pattern...short sleeve or long...but below is what Isabel choose this time. It's so feminine and pretty and comfy and cute! I had a lot of fun making these...and it really helped having a pair that my mom had made previously for me to look at and see what she did.

The dress--I was so excited to find the fabric. She wore the dress to church today and looked really pretty. I love things that are one-of-a-kind. A friend bought this pattern and some material to make a dress for her girl...but the material is different...so what the heck...I copied her and used the same pattern...but we don't mind. We're all just having fun creating!

(Click on Picture to zoom in and see more Detail)

A Friend's Wedding

It's been a while since I've gone to a wedding...so this was a lot of fun. A good friend of mine, Amanda, got married yesterday. I was fortunate to be able to go to Durango, Colorado to attend her wedding and see her married to her honey.

It was a beautiful wedding...and she was a beautiful bride. I really enjoyed meeting her family--they are great people. Everything about the wedding was very nicely done. I'm sure she'll look back at it with happiness--from the cake, the location, to the bubble send off...it was all very beautiful.

Congratulations Amanda & Shane!