Enchanted Woods~

Every year since Kade was just a beansie guy, we have attended the 'Enchanted Woods' at the Treehouse Museum. It is a fun tradition with my family that the kiddos look forward to every year. Thanks Mimi & Papa for this fun memory.

Kids come decked in their Halloween best to wander from station to station in hopes of a good story, and a treat...

Parker got side-tracked with the fishy's, and 'dude crush' on the right:)

Mimi & Papa~ sure love these two.

Kade as Boba Fett (from Star Wars), and Parke as Buzz Lightyear~ they are both obsessed, and it is pretty fantastic.

Sweet Halli and Dax...

the fam~

Gracie~girl and Ry~bug... Ry is a ballerina-fairy-princess, if you couldn't tell;)

Papa walking a couple of cutie's to dinner~

Austy and Kade~

Such a great time. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it is October. The end of October, nonetheless, and we are about to Trick-or-Treat! Where does time go??

In other news: We are nursing an injured doggy. Our sweet Koda was hit by a car the other night, on my watch... I was traumatized. But he is alive, and on the mend.

Been giving myself secret pep-talks, looking at the bright side, and counting blessings. I feel that life hands you times like these to learn something, grow stronger, and move forward in a positive direction.

Today is Saturday. We are heading to the farmer's market...

just a couple weeks of fresh produce left~ tear.

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend.

~xo

Ah, football season~

Football season has come and gone. Kaden played flag football with his buddies once again, and had a great season. He was an animal, pulling flags, and even scored a touch down~ yay Kade! It was fun seeing him come out of his shell, and actually enjoying the game.

This picture is sweet to me...

He had some great coaches this year, who taught him so much, and made it a great experience for him...

Those warm nights at the park were a fun family affair~

Love this sissy~

My sweet baby boy in his beloved camo boots~

As always, our sweet family was in full support.

Won't be long before we are watching Krew out there pullin' flags:)

Atta boy Kade!

Some 'man' talk after the game~ i just gave him a big old smooch, isn't that what momma's are supposed to do? I am new to this sports business:)

Kade and his amazing grandparent's~ what a lucky guy.

Way to go Kade! Such a great season, buddy.

You make us so proud, and we couldn't love you more.

~xo

Feelin' Squirrely~

With all of the wonderful produce popping up everywhere, I have been in the kitchen. Canning, dehydrating, baking, freezing, and storing everything in sight! So much work!~ but oh, so worth it. It all started with a trip to the farm, the kiddos and I spent an afternoon picking tomatoes. It was good times~ I wish I had pictures of how beautiful it was out there. We found some awesome peppers at the farmer's market, and I got to work on tomatoes and salsa.

As you can see, the house pretty much explodes when the canning begins:) I have a tendency to put my irons in way too many fires. Notice my bags of clothes from cleaning out kiddos closet's~ part of my fall cleaning. Doesn't it look clean?? Ha ha! It's the mess before the organization, always happens that way~ doesn't it?

Then came time for peaches~ can I tell you how much I heart fresh peaches. Words can not describe. I look forward to my bushel and a half every year:)

Look at this picture. Notice anything... unuuusual??

I had my jars sitting in warm water while they waited to be processed, and I looked back to see Parke just chillin' out. The boy is just plain awesome.

Aren't they pretty? And my favorite~ fresh peach pie.

And if you are going to make one, why not make a dozen? Poor Nic didn't even get a lick! His bad, he was out hunting wild beasts. Teasing. More like innocent deer, luckily he came home empty handed:) We might need just one more round of the peach pie...

Oh! This is so exciting~ my friend Meg and I are making our own extracts. Vanilla and peppermint. Aren't they pretty in their jars?

When Nic was off hunting, I tore into our storage room. What is it about fall that makes me feel the need to start hoarding food like a little squirrel? I cleaned, and organized that puppy! Then I headed to Home Depot, lugged that big daddy shelf home, and assembled it~ all.by.myself. I was feelin' pretty proud:) And I'm pretty sure my muscles are a little bit bigger, ha! Teasing:) Still have a ways to go on the storage, but it's a good start.

And just because it's friday~

Never a dull moment around our house with this guy around. Thank goodness his real Buzz Lightyear costume came, so he doesn't have to squeeze his cute cheeks into this teddy bear version anymore:) Can't believe Halloween is right around the corner.

Headed to Thriller tonight with the girls~ can't wait!

Happy Friday!

~xo

Love the weekends~

Our days have gotten so busy, I am really enjoying our weekends.

I love a good fall~cleaning, just as much as spring. Sissy and I organized and cleaned out the garage, thinking that cooler weather was on it's way... ha! Ya, right:) The kiddos have still been enjoying some bike-riding, sprinkler's & water balloons, and playing outside with their friends. You'd think it was still summer around here~ if it weren't for the crazy schedule we've been keeping. We are back to soccer, football, dance, homework, weekly allergy shots {poor Kade}, and scouts... throw canning in the mix and I am about ready to pull my hair out! Teasing~ but close:) I love when sis helps me out though~ makes my heart happy.

Nic and his dad had this really awesome idea to go jump out of an airplane,

and of course we had to go watch...

Parke pointing up~ yup, that is where your Dad is headed buddy.

At this point I am pretty much freaking out {and thinking it is really awesome all at the same time} I could hardly see the little speck of an airplane. Then one by one, I could see these tiny colored dots start coming out. If you look close in this picture you can see them~

I had no idea which one was Nic, so I just started snapping pictures of them as my camera could actually start to focus on them. There is my baby up there~ high, high, in the sky sky {as my kiddos would say}...

I was so happy to see him on the ground...

This was pretty darn cute to see Nic and his dad walking back together. Feet on the ground, safe and sound... and ready to throw up! Ha ha! Unfortunately, they both got a little motion sick.

But they were greeted with open arms...

The airplane was a little noisy...

Such a fun atmosphere~ next time it's my turn, and Nic can sit on the ground with knots in his stomach;) It was kind of torture watching.

Since we were in O~town, we figured we'd go hit up the farmer's market. Always a good time, and some good grub! Nic was getting some great snuggles...

We loaded up with roasted corn, peaches, popping corn {so.much.fun}, peppers for my salsa, watermelon, and some fresh tamales. It was fabulous~

This Parke is a momma's boy, and I can't get enough of him.

The next morning on our way out the door to church~

This sissy is her daddy's girl~

When we got home~ something inspired the kiddo's to write their Christmas wish list's and mail them off to Santa. Hmmm... Santa better get busy!

{notice the 'claws' rather than 'clause'...

you better believe I wasn't about to correct that, so precious.}

Nic throwing our corn on the grill~

Roasted corn~

If you haven't tried it, you must.

Directions: for those interested.

Cut off tip of cob, and remove the outside layer of the husk (do not remove all layers.) I just got mine nice and clean looking. Soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Remove, and shake off excess water. Grill over hot coals for about 20 minutes, being careful to rotate the cobs every few minutes. When ready, kernels will be tender and pull away easily. Dress with desired toppings~ butter, parmesan cheese, lemon pepper, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, etc.

I love when the weather cools down just a bit, and we can enjoy family dinners out back~

Church shirt, ball shorts, and Nerf shooting vest, doing crazy poses atop of the slippery slide... that's my boy!

{a little pep talk from dad}

The rest of the evening was spent throwing the football around, pushing kiddo's in the swing, and watching sis conquer the monkey bars. Doesn't get much better.

~xo