Wednesday, October 31, 2007

School pictures and others...





When I realized that school pictures were going to cost us, at minimum, $50 this year for both boys I decided to give it a try myself. So I draped a black blanket over a chair and snapped away. These are the results and I don't think they are too bad if I do say so myself! Of course Paige was right there in the middle of things! On the day I did Trace I also took our Christmas card picture (but you can't see that one yet!) which is why Paige is in her Christmas dress. If anyone needs a copy that they can't get off of here just e-mail me and I'll send them!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Our mini vacation






Well, we took a quick trip to Vancouver last weekend. Everyone was feeling a bit homesick and it was also Trace's 9th birthday so we decided it was as good a time as any. Fortunately we had no trouble with flights and were able to get on our first choices each direction! Since it was such a short trip we didn't do much visiting and just tried to keep it low key. The kids had a blast hanging out with Nana and Papa, carving pumpkins with their cousins, and going out to Beaches for lunch after church! Of course it was hard to leave and I was the first one in tears (when we left Woody and Cheryl's!), but we are making some strides toward moving back. Please pray for Rick as he works to change his career direction.
Also, I've been playing around with the blog again so hang in there with me as I try to make some changes - you may log on and find it looks quite strange but trust me, I'm working on it!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

My newest hobby



After spending $2-4 each on bows for Paige I finally figured out how to make them myself. I buy the cheap ribbon and the barrettes are 12 for $1.50! They are amazingly easy to make too. Since I've also mastered bibs I've debated making a business and calling it Bibs-n-Bows!

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Camping fun...






Well we made it through our final camping adventure of the year. Unfortunately we only made two since we were so busy driving around the US all summer! Anyway, we went with two neighbor families out to a teeny tiny town in the middle of NOWHERE! We drove on the freeway for almost an hour then headed out into the corn fields. We went through some of the littlest and most isolated towns I've ever seen. They looked just like you'd imagine a small mid-western town might look. The old houses were so cool and there we some of the most beautiful churches out there with spires rising above everything. Well we finally found the campground at the end of the road (literally) and got settled in. It was a nice campground with big spaces and lots of trees. Since it was the last weekend of the year they'd be open they celebrated Halloween. Complete with decorating contests, a haunted house, trick or treating and a dance. Now when you plan your kid's Halloween costume you usually think about how to make it warm - especially in the mid-west. Unfortunately trick-or-treating a few weeks early can be a problem for this. We had 90 degree weather all weekend!!! With about 90% humidity on top. The kids were dying in their costumes. Caden was a Seattle Seahawk, Trace is wearing Rick's old karate uniform and Paige is a fluffy, furry ladybug! By the time we returned to our campsite Trace had his whole shirt open in the front, Caden had lost his helmit and jersey and Paige had on nothing but shorts! It was one of those weekends where you give up trying not to sweat or be too hot, you just couldn't do anything but stand there dripping. We all had a great time though and managed to get packed up seconds before the rain started. Now that we are home Rick and I washed down the trailer and Suburban and I get to spend the next few days getting the inside ready for winter. Fun, fun, fun.