Seaworld

Dinner that night at Logan's...notice Mck, how could you not?

So, for my mom's birthday, all us kids got together and headed to SeaWorld. Well, minus Michael and Katie of course. We decided to get season passes, so I'm looking forward to more visits, especially this summer. The day couldn't have gone more smoothly or more relaxing. The weather was perfect, the kids did fabulous without their naps and we just enjoyed our time together. Such a great day. Here are some pix!

big kids in the very back

all hands on deck!

I just love this picture. Mck is pooped

the crew minus me - someone had to take the pic. which reminds me, most of our pictures are of Corey and the kids. i'm always behind the camera.

Kid duty...we are taking them EVERYWHERE!!!

they're probably laughing at Cayden for being on a leash. Whatever!

Cayden is scared of the chipmonk

Christmas Cards: mission incomplete and nearly impossible!

So, tonight I'm just going to get stuff off my chest and mind so that I can close my eyes and rest. Kind of like my own personal journal, so here goes:

Corey and I decided last night that we'd try and get our Christmas card picture shot today. Little did we know that the day would unfold like it has. So, we got up and headed to the other side of campus, near the theater building. It's beautiful over there and with the water in the background, it presented a beautiful place for pictures. Since it was last minute, we chose to use our tripod and take the pictures ourselves. To say the least, we were crazy. Cade was too busy playing with sticks and Mckinley was more interested in exploring her freedom walking around out of her stroller. Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought, "This is a joke, right? Someone is about to jump out and say I'm on Candid Camera; I just know it." Well, someone was watching and thankful for this kind lady who had mercy on us, came over and asked if she could help. I think she was an angel sent from Heaven. Would you believe that the kids immediately straightened up and sat nicely in our laps for several pictures? Not gonna lie, I prayed for help (moreso for patience) and He game through. K, picture done.

By this time it was lunch so I made the kids some quesadillas and fresh pineapple. They kept asking for more and more and I'm pretty sure it was the pineapples that caused Mck to become so fussy. She kept pointing in her mouth crying. I know pineapples are acidic, so that explains it. She fussed in her bed for about an hour; this is a long time when she'd normally go right down for nap without a fight. Ok, it gets better.

Corey comes home from work, we eat dinner and I decide after dinner that I want/need to run to Hobby Lobby to get paper for my Christmas letter and to Sam's for my pictures, you know, the ones we worked so hard for today. I get down the street, 3 blocks in front of the Post Office and someone side swipes me, causing a wreck. I was in the far left-hand lane going straight through the intersection and the car to my right decides to make a left through the intersection. I crashed into the driver's side, busting up my right front bender. Fabulous. No one was hurt and it wasn't my fault, but it is my problem, so enter a new problem to deal with. Luckily, I was able to pull into the fire house and the firemen were super helpful. One of them bent back my fender to allow my wheel to turn so I could continue to drive it. My light is busted and the dent isn't too bad. Also, the police woman who came was super nice and informative. See, there's some good stuff in there. After all that was done, I decided to go ahead and do my errands so my trip wouldn't be a complete waste. On to Hobby Lobby.

My car seemed to be running fine, so I was feeling pretty good considering the circumstances. After I shopped, I got into the car only to find that it wouldn't start. Fabulous. By this time, it's after 8 and I know my kids are in bed so a new problem arose. I needed Corey. Thankfully, he had some kiddos in mind to come over and luckily that worked out. We just needed someone to sit at the apartment while the kids slept so Corey could come assist me. In the mean time, I'm on the phone with the insurance trying to figure out what to do with my dead, busted up car. Corey in all his glory, arrived and figured out that the battery was loose and just needed tightened. I like him. We drove home.

I get home and again decide to work on my little project that seems to be fighting against me. I get the paper and sizing just right, type in how many copies I need, print and head out of the room. Joke's on me. The ink is going out and I've ruined 19 pages of my special paper that took a wreck, a dead car and a special trip for Corey to get. Fabulous. That's OK, I'll just go ahead and write out the addresses on my envelopes....I have 8!!!!! So, I need ink, envelopes and possibly more paper. And my pictures are still sitting at Sam's. I gave up tonight, feeling totally defeated with nothing really to show for it. I will start again tomorrow, or maybe Sunday or maybe Monday.

Now, when you receive your Christmas card in the mail from us, just know that I worked hard on them and it's still very important to me that they go out in a timely manner with lots of love. I hope you like them! Enjoy!!

Ahhh, finally finished!

This is the image I like to see when thinking of my children...laying joyfully down together and drifting peacefully off to sleep. It never happens, but then, these are my hopeful thoughts. I just finished this gigantic pillow a few days ago. Isn't it great? Look how big it is and how it fits both kids, although they rarely practice the art of sharing. Nonetheless, I have a picture to prove it for now.

I think Cade is showing her how to put puzzles together.

I have spent the last 4 or so weeks working on their room. I had a vision of a coordinating boy/girl room, but still wanted them to have their own wall to dress up. I was shopping one evening with my mom and came across these two differing, yet matching bed sheets. I've learned that sometimes, sheets can make fabulous fabric for decorating and sewing. So, we bought the king size sheets and matching floor rugs and headed home to brainstorm. Mom and I came up with ideas for the bed skirt and closet curtain. I was no doubt intimidated by working with a pattern, but it all worked out. Well, the pattern was for the bed skirt, the curtain was no biggie; it just required doing some simple math.

Without making it too girlie, (if you saw her previous bedroom, it screamed girlie, so this was a little more neutral) I went with orange and green stripes for the curtain. It was the easiest thing I've ever done and still super cute.

I appreciate that the curtain hides her clothes and makes the room easier on your eyes. Girl has some clothes, but really the bottom rod is winter and bigger sizes. We lack storage, so everything hangs in there.

Cade's curtain done in khaki and red. Classic.

He only has one rod. :)

This pleated bed shirt was super easy too. Again, the pattern was scary, but mom walked me through it and it turned out perfectly. Really proud of the bed skirts.

Cade's with red trim and I made it a little shorter since his bed is lower.

Now, this beast took me a long time. Each piece is sewn together one-by-one and therefore, took lots of time. Although it's all straight stitching, it still required some well thought out planning. It's 44x35 and the back comes together like a pillow sham, overlapping in the middle. It's nice and squishy.

At this point, I was pretty much done with my initial projects in the room. The problem was, I still had plenty of fabric left over. What to make? Blankets. What else would I have done with the fabric and who couldn't use 1 more blanket in their stack of 12? Besides, this one matches. I made each kiddo a new blanket with left over fabric and minky. I despise working with minky, so the project was a stretch for me to make. It was nice when it was all done though.

Would you believe that I still had more fabric left over? Seriously. It just so happened that the amount left over looked just like a pillow case. This was all the fabric I had! It was perfect and I couldn't resist making them and adding them to the colorful mix that I had now created. I made little pillows first with the left over fabric from the deck of the bed skirts. Then, I just sewed up the edges of the fabric and slid the pillow in. I anticipate having to wash them, so this was the perfect plan. I am done!

Mckinley's wall

Cade's wall

I don't know where it has come from, but I'm yearning for more projects to do. I've really enjoyed this new hobby of sewing...it's so rewarding! Luckily, I have a great teacher, my mom, whom I call often to help and walk me through the scary stuff, like how to read the language on the patterns. She's encouraging and gentle with me, even when I'm frustrated over something so trivial. One day, maybe I can be as talented as her!

My next project is to make Mckinley a nap mat for school. That's right, she starts Mother's Day Out in November. It will really be a mother's day out when both kiddos are in school for 6 hours Tuesday and Thursday! After that, I hope to make personalized Christmas stockings for my family. I'm sure there'll be other projects too in between!

Pumpkin Patch!

Corn maze

So, about 2 weeks ago, we headed to the pumpkin patch in Marble Falls with some friends and spent a beautiful, Fall day outside. The morning will filled with several activities for the kids, which in turn, made for some great photos!

Here, the kiddos were racing while pulling the wagon, to fetch their very own pumpkin.

After retrieving their pumpkin, it was time to paint them!

He's a great painter, huh?

Some of the kiddos painting together (Cayden's sweet friend,
Josiah, is in the blue across from him).

The kiddos are listening to instructions on how to shuck corn
(notice Cayden and Josiah...buddies)

she's telling me her fingers are dirty

Here, the kids are pumping water into the trough to push the pumpkin along

I didn't take this picture...I'm pretty sure if I asked him to put his head through this, there'd be no chance of it. Nice surprise to see this pic!

There must have been 7 pictures with the boys and Mck's bottom up in the air. What was she doing for so long? Maybe a bug.

Cayden's infamous smile

Mck loves to take pictures, can't you tell?

Cayden, Josiah and Braden climbing on pumpkins.

So since we had several pictures of Cayden and Josiah, we thought it would only be fair to take pictures of their little sisters together. They're about 10 months apart. It didn't go so well.
"Listen here, let's take this picture and get it over with"

Mck looks huge next to baby Audrey

Cayden likes to talk with his finger...where'd he get that from?

It was a perfect fit for him...we need a tractor this size.

hay ride