Raking Leaves

I realize this will probably change one day, but my kids love raking and sweeping up leaves. They were such big helpers so I made a leaf pile for them to jump in. They had tons of fun with that. I am glad we have a tree big enough, with enough leaves to jump in.

Christmas Lights

I am not sure if you can even see them in the picture, but we actually put up Christmas lights this year. One strand of lights. They look good, a little dull though. Maybe next year colored ones.

Happy Birthday "Little Man"

After waiting 15 days past my due date I finally had my little boy (though I did not know what he was going to be). He is such a joy to me. He gives impulsive hugs and kisses, tries so hard to be good, but has a mischievous streak that reminds me so much of his uncle. (He looks like him sometimes too, especially that impish grin, or the innocent face).

He got to play his first soccer season this year and even though he is one of the smallest players on the field he is the top scorer on his team. Pretty good at defense too, being right there and ready to hurl himself in front of the ball to protect the goal. So fun to watch him grow and learn. He is just the best!!

Artisitic

I didn't think this shot was going to come out and it is a little dark, but for some reason I think it's the best shot I took all night.

Disney on Ice

Whoever thought about putting Disney on Ice together was a genius. Disney, which people love, combined with ice skating, which people love too and is wonderful to watch. I sure enjoyed it. I know my kids did. Asher said his favorite part was "everything". We had great seats, thanks to a wonderful discount, and had a wonderful evening.

October Creative Project

So this month I decided to step away from the endless stream of cakes that have been my major sources of creativity this year (there will be another one next month for Asher's birthday) and I decided instead to focus on one room in my house.

Before Picture:


This is my downstairs bedroom. Yeah, basically a "toss it in there to get it out of sight" room. well, it was not being as useful as I wanted it to be. You can't really see in the picture but the fan was crooked. That was because there is no fan box in the ceiling, just a regular light box that doesn't fit a fan. Some day I might put the fan back, but since I was trying to do this as quick as possible (the downstairs room doesn't really need a fan anyway, it's the coolest room in the house in the summer)I just replaced the light and added a side light. While the room is far from finished, I think this is a huge improvement, don't you?

Apples

Nothing better than buying apples fresh from the farm. Yummy!

Cute Cousins

I only have one niece. She's about 9 months older than Lydia but because of the new law in California they will be in the same grade at school. they get along pretty well most of the time. Maya is shy and Lydia is anything but but the do seen to like each other. After all, playing in the dirt is more fun if there are two.

Can't miss it again

I can't miss bogging again. Lately most of the pictures I have been taking are soccer related (I took almost 200 today) so here they are, 5 games later and playing so much better.

Loomis Health and Safety Fair

We went to the Loomis Health and Safety Fair today. The kids had fun. They really enjoyed getting on the police motorcycle, the drivers seat of a fire truck and in an ambulance.

Wedding cupcakes

So, I was supposed to make a cake at one point, but then things changed and I made a ton of cupcakes for the wedding instead. The cupcakes were chocolate, strawberry and white, with butter cream frosting. I made the flowers on top of the green cupcakes. they were supposed to go on top of the wedding cake, and I had already made them by the time I found out I was not going to be using them anymore, so I decided to use them for something else. They looked pretty good.

Natures Little Miracle

We still play cloud shapes - but this morning as I was getting the kids out the door Alanna pointed up to the clouds and this was what we saw. Pretty cool - I told the kids to imagine Heavenly Father had put it in the sky for them.

My Soccer Kids

Soccer season has started. I have a grasshopper and a Battling Bluebird. this is the first year for both of them and I am so hoping that they are going to have a wonderful year.

Oops

And I was doing so well. I had a post every week. All I have to say for myself is "school" and "soccer". That sums it up. Arranging carpools, signing papers, three or four practices a week. Busy busy, and I forgot to post. Oops.

Love this one

I would not call my baby camera shy. Anxious to see the picture yes, but usually happy to pose.

The Continuing Saga

And so the story continues. This first picture is Sunday night. She hauled her pillow downstairs and set up camp on the floor.

This is the same day, but for nap time. At least she put the blanket under her so she wasn't on the floor totally. It was probably pretty cool down there.

My Crafty Idea

I actually had a crafty idea! Well, it's kind of stolen I admit. The idea is, not the design. I frequently get frustrated at the amount of garbage that accumulates on the floor of my van. The kids eat a snack and then want to know where to put the garbage and since they can't really move in those car seats of theirs and sitting with garbage sharing your seat is no fun, the garbage ends up on the floor. So I read about an idea of putting a fabric bag on the back of the seat, but the design I saw had to have a plastic bag put into it. For lazy people like me, that idea won't work cause I would always forget to put in a new bag. So I came up with my own bag. Just 1/2 yard fabric and 1/2 yard vinyl type fabric (like the kind for a cheap tablecloth). It made three bags. I love them. They have already been great and the kids ask me for garbage so they can put it in the garbage bags.

Shots from this week

I finally made Asher some curtains. He has decided he wants a space room. So - here we are. it actually works well with his dark blue and black room.




This is Alanna's first picture she took with a camera. How do you like my new haircut? I wanted to try something new, and I am enjoying the shorter cut but not sure if I like it.


Alanna at her first soccer practice. She is in the light blue shirt with a design on it, black shorts and black socks.

The Magpie

For some reason we have a bird that has decided to sing all night long. Our neighbors have a tree in their yard next to a fairly bright street light. I don't know if that bird thinks the light is the sun, but (not kidding you) the bird started calling at 11:32 last night. This bird has an amazing repertoire.

To back up a little, this problem started for us back in April. We figured we could live with it, it was mating season after all. It started out that the bird started calling at about 4 in the morning so I would get up, shut the windows and tried to ignore the piercing sound. But this continued for many weeks. Sometimes the bird woke up other small song birds and we would have a spring morning chorus at midnight.

In mid July or so the sounds stopped and we were relieved that the bird was finally gone. Well he must have been on sabbatical, learning tons of new sounds to sing all night long. So last night it started at 11:30 right? When I woke up at 3 it was still going strong. I had to shut our windows to get back to sleep.

This bird imitates car alarms (you know the ones that go off and make five different sounds or so?) light sabers and lazer guns, it quacks like a duck, and has so may songs that I can't tell if the sounds are repeating or not since I hear so many. In terms of musical talent I give this bird full marks. But please, someone want to come shoot it for me?

Auburn Courthouse shots

The courthouse in Auburn is a really neat looking old building. I like buildings that feel old - at least on the outside.

More Lydi Sleeping

She has done it again!

Need to Brag for a Minute

At the end of Kindergarten Alanna was sent home with a piece of paper of 171 high frequency words for first grade (as in she should know those words by the end of first grade). I just took Alanna through all of the words, and out of 171, she could not read 20. ("Laughed", "oil", "could", and "being" are a few examples of what she missed). Hope she doesn't get too bored in first grade!!

Edited Photos

I have been having fun with some photos lately. I have learned why one should take so many different shots for a good picture. Also, not all photos, even if they are taken seconds apart, look good with editing. It's been fun to learn about.

Family Reunion

Boy - what a couple of days. Swimming in a freezing lake, pee wee golf, guitars, good people to hang with. And an unexpected perk. We had a professional photographer there to take some pictures.

Piano

we have a lot of piano in our family. Dane plays, I dabble a little, my mother in law and sister in law play,my sister and mother play and my grandmother plays and composes songs, so it shouldn't have surprised me when Alanna came up to me and asked if I could give her piano lessons. I didn't really think she was serious but I went ahead and got out the books and showed her the first song. She mastered it perfectly in about 10 minutes. Since then she has kept after me almost everyday to give her a new song. And almost every day she is ready for one.

A few days ago I wanted to test her to see if she was really playing and mastering the songs so I had her go back and play all of the songs from the book that she had passed off. With only one goof on one song that she quickly fixed she played them all almost perfectly (her whole note only got 3.5 counts).

Soon she is going to be ready to play notes from the staff. I am not sure how quickly she will get it or if at that point her interest will wane, but it's amazing to me how fast she is picking up the music. I love it!

Family Photo

I had a chance to do an unofficial photo shoot this last weekend. It wasn't really planned, I just happened to have the best camera. While I didn't take this shot I set it up and I like it. Laverty family in 2011.

Cameron Park Lake Weekend

We went to visit Cameron Park Lake and see Dane's sister and her kids. My kids had a ton of fun, they love hanging out with their cousins.