Pictures from "The best birthday ever!!!"

Well, Ava Jean is 8! She was so excited for her party this year and I don't think she was dissapointed! We did a "big girl" tea party theme, and her and I made most of the decorations. I also made her the applique shirt and the fabric flower in her hair.

Little brother had to jump in for a picture with the birthday girl!

I had so much fun coming up with the theme and decorating for her party...girly stuff is way too fun!

She got so many fun presents! She got the guitar, a sewing machine, lots of books, some clothes, and $71.

But I think that this one was her favorite...what do you think??!!

She was in shock!

Ava's very own American Girl doll...she got choked up when she opened it! I've never seen anyone more excited over a present before! She said "thank you" to us all day long. My favorite quote from Ava that day- "I don't think I'm ever going to stop smiling again!" She also got an American Girl gift card so she can shop for her new doll!

Cupcakes made by Rebecca from "Cakelicious".

No need to make a wish because it already came true!

Could it be?

I came across a picture taken by Maggie Holmes, the teacher/photographer from the class I took last May. Call me crazy, but I think a picture that I took during the class inspired her.
My Picture- May 2010

Maggie's Picture-September 2010 I realize that this could just be a happy accident, but in my little world, I'm going to take this as a great big compliment! What do you all think? Am I crazy, or did Maggie like my picture?? :)

Family Memories

We finally got everyone together to do a few family shots on Nick's side. Getting 9 kids, all under age 8, to cooperate is not an easy task! There is at least one kid crying or looking in a different direction in every picture, but what do you do. That's just the way it goes!

Grandpa and Grandma with all of their grandkids
Awwwww!
The In-Laws

P.S. A big thank you to Kenzie's friend, Darlene, for snapping the family pictures. This girl can only be in one place at one time!

Halloween and Harvest

We always love Halloween and Harvest around here! The kids have been counting down for the past 3 weeks! On Saturday, we had a Halloween Party at our house with Nick's family. We had a ton of yummy appetizers for dinner, and then took the kids around the neighborhood to trick or treat. It was so fun watching the kids run around, but keeping track of 9 kids, all under 8, was the hard part! Weston and Coleson were not sure about it at first, but they ended up having a great time.

On Sunday we had a harvest party with my side of the family. My aunts go all out and make it such a fun day for the kids. They have a ton of games, a pinata, and they even decorate hay bales for pictures! The kids came home with a bag full of snacks, candy, silly bands, coloring books, crayons, stickers and more. It was a fun day!

Dorothy

Buzz Lightyear

To infinity and beyond!

Batman

Coleson hitting the cute scarecrow pinata that my aunt made

Weston was really excited about the pinata

Get that candy!

Baking- Twin Style

Long story short- I was making dinner and didn't notice what the boys had grabbed from the cupboard. I heard them laughing and having a great time in the living room, and didn't think anything of it....big mistake! This is what I found when I came to check on them! Half of a Costco sized bag of powdered sugar was sprinkled all over everything. One more story to add to the list. Well, at least they are consistent. :)

Stitches for the mama

I had a mole removed about 2 weeks ago, and they found abnormal cell growth. They had to remove the area around where the mole was, and this is what my hand looks like now. I was a little surprised at how much they had to remove, but at least we caught it early and it won't turn into cancer later. Sorry, it's kind of gross. My hat goes off to all of you moms out there who had C-sections and had 10 times as many stitches as this.

Stoney Ridge Field Trip 2010

Ava's class went to Stoney Ridge on Friday, and guess who got to go along?!! Daddy! He's always wanted to go on one of their field trips, but it's never worked out with his schedule...until now! Ava was so excited, and Carter was pretty bummed that he was stuck with me for his field trip. :) Anyways, Ava was sick last week and was so worried that she would miss it. Well, she obviously made it- whew! Nick took some great pictures! I was very impressed!

Ava with her friends Kelly, Kloe, Sami and Kirsten

It looks like they had a blast!

Ava's friend Ellie's 750 pound pumpkin!

Cramer Farm Pumpkin Patch 2010

A big highlight of preschool is always the pumpkin patch field trip. This was the 3rd time Carter and I have visited Cramer Farm, (he got to come along when Ava was in Pre4) but there is always something new and we always have a good time! Click here to see his trip there last year. It's the 2nd scrapbook page.

Carter and his best bud Dawson

They rarely leave each other's side- silly boys! I'm always amazed at how well Dawson puts up with Carter and his crazy pranks. :)

Alivia's mom is the preschool teacher for Pre 3, so she didn't get to stay with us, so I took a bunch of pictures for her. What a cute little girl!

My man

Picking out the perfect pumpkin- I think Dawson found the biggest one

Carter decided to go with a green one

There were too many moms in one spot, so here's the side view that I had.

HEAVY!

Dawson with his mom and sister

I'm pretty sure he's gotten a spider every time!

Feelin' Crafty?

Something about fall gets me into a crafty mood. I call this particular project "candy cornucopia". I think I used about a million candy corns, and it took a few hours. I can't say that I will ever do this again, but it's pretty dang pretty for candy, right?!! I saw something similar in my mother in law's "Woman's Day" magazine, and I had to try it! The kids and I also made a candy corn tree. (candy corns glued to branches and tucked in a vase.) Click here for the magazine article with this, and some other fun candy corn projects that you can do with your kids...mine loved it! Have fun!

I see grey hair in my future

I know I am constantly venting about the twins, and this post is no exception. Yesterday, while the two kids were at school, the boys and I were putting laundry away. I was in our bedroom, and they were running in and out, and then dissapeared. I went to check on them and heard Coleson crying in the laundry room. (I always keep that door closed and there's a baby lock on it, but it was open b/c we were doing laundry.) I ran in and picked him up off of the laundry room floor, and his clothes were warm, he was shaking and his heart was pounding. You can probably guess what happened- Coleson had crawled in the dryer, and his naughty brother turned it on. I'm guessing Weston was holding the door closed, (they lock each other in rooms and closets a lot) because otherwise the door would have popped open instantly because that's a safety feature of our dryer. It never even crossed my mind that they would do this to each other. I felt terrible, but I never would have even thought that this was a danger to them. Coleson was obviously shaken up, and I'm guessing he got tossed around quite a bit. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. All I know is we figured out how to lock the buttons on the dryer and the washer, and they will remain locked.....I told you guys that I can't take my eyes off of them for one second or they try to kill each other! I'm so glad that he's okay, and there are no bumps or bruises, which surprised me. So, hopefully all of you mothers/fathers of young kids learn from my mistake and keep those buttons locked...I know we will from now on!