Fall Walk & My Camera

It just doesn't get better: a beautiful morning, my family, a morning walk and my camera... with a little time to play too! Saturday morning we headed out to take advantage of the crisp morning sun and took a morning walk. This is one of our favorite paths in town, a good length and the park is simply fun.

This morning I brought along my camera - I just don't get enough time to play with it and try my hand and different kinds of photos. So, this morning I captured some fall berries and mushrooms of sorts. There were some really cool items to photograph... it was hard to choose and keep up with Bryan & Holly on our walk!

Scrapping Fun!

So, last Thursday night and all day Saturday I attended our annual scrapbook convention with Annette. We took in four classes that were filled with a lot of great project ideas and some new techniques! We walked the show and shopped for supplies for a long time and picked up great ideas there too. I think we both had a great time! Saturday night we finished up with stopping for dinner at Red Robin - what a fun day!

Here are some photos of the projects we did. The first night we made an altered scrapbook into a recipe collection. Each person who attended the workshop brought with them scrapped recipes and we all swapped. This class also had a fun candy wrapper, bread wrap and a cute chinese food box.

On Saturday we did three workshops. The first one was making a wonderful altered canvas that is used to display photos and memorabilia. You can set it up as a tri fold frame or a wall hanging lengthwise. This was by far my favorite class!

Then we learned some new paper techniques for scrapbooks where you can work outside of your protective page. The ideas were cool and I might use some in other kinds of projects, but really not too much my taste. However, it is always good to learn something new and often times it makes a technique not seem as intimidating.

And, finally we made this adorable winter themed board book. It is just cute as pie, was very easy to do and a lot of fun!

We welcomed our tree....

This past friday night we put up our Christmas tree and enjoyed a fun family night of decorating it as we listened to holiday music. It was a fun night. Now, before I hear "What?"... it's not *that* early! And, Thanksgiving is so late this month we are losing a whole weekend of holiday decor. As well, we will be gone in a couple of weekends to Leavenworth - hence losing an entire weekend of our decor. That coupled with the fact that Holly is just beside herself for all things Christmas - we dicided, what the heck and suprised her Friday night with our tree! She loves it!

This week I will continue to decorate the house - although I am toning it down a lot simply because it is a lot of work to put up, we are busy and it is a lot of work to clean and take down. So, I will tone it down some this year and relax to 'enjoy' the season! We have already broke out our holiday books and have been reading them, watched a movie or two and this weekend we will take in our first holiday light show - I cannot wait!

At The Park

After the library on Monday we played at the park for about an hour. Holly met a couple of little girls on the playground and they played hide & seek for quiet some time. And, let me say there is nothing like watching a bunch of preschoolers play hide & seek when there are not many places to hide. Holly curls up in this little ball and tucks her head - kind of the whole "I can't see you, so you can't see me" kind of thing. It is funny!

Anyhow, she had a great time and that is what counts!

Library Days

In the living room I have a large worn wicker basket plopped next to the couch that is always overflowing with books. The coffee table is stacked with seasonal books or books on topics we are learning about that week. The car... is always loaded with books. Books are just part of our every day! Our personal bookshelves are filling by the day as we all love books in this house. The bookstore is a favorite past time for us. And, the library is a big part of our life! We head to the library at least once a week, every Monday, and typically more than that. It is just part of who we are.

So each week we sort through our books (music & movies) and decide which ones are ready for return, which ones we would like too keep an extra week and which ones we may want to check out again some day soon. We load up the book bag till the seams are bulging, I carry the extras with me in hand and then we head out the door for the library.

The next hour is usually spent returning books, selecting new ones to enjoy and a little bit of library entertainment - like puzzles that are out, we read a few stories and if the computer is open with kid games on it then we partake. I also choose a subject we have to 'look' for each time - sometimes we use the computer together and sometimes we recruit the librarian for their help and then we go on a book hunt together. I want Holly comfortable with this process as we emerge into reading and schooling.

We love our library days... I hope you do to!

Mini Mud Puddle

Yesterday Hawk & Bryan were brewing all day... a Christmas brew. With brewing comes the hose and lot's of excess water, creating some small mud puddles in our drive area. As well, it is fall and it has been raining so in general the grounds are a nice muddy mess right now.

Holly bundled up and headed out for some wet play in the mud. She adores being in mud puddles - in fact we quiet often bundle up and head down our drive to the largest puddles for enjoyment! Before Bryan fixed an existing drainage issue we used to get mud puddles that would require life guards on duty - fun for boat play in the dead of winter! Not too many can lay claim to that. However, now that the drainage issue have been resolved - we have nothing but mini mud puddles to enjoy... so enjoy is exactly what Holly did!

Look at that face.... What a stinker!

Okay, that's better!

Holiday Singing....

This morning I caught a wonderful moment when Holly didn't know I was listening (or holding back tears from laughter) as she belted in song 'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'. I think this is 'the' year that the holidays are going to be the most magical for her and the idea of Santa is just a glittery-glimmer in her eyes and mind right now! We have been listening to a bit of holiday music, Bryan has been playing tunes on his acoustic guitar with her and she has already asked when we will have our Christmas tree. Such a magical time of year and a magical time in her life -- I love it!

Here are some clips of Holly's rendition of Santa Clause Is Coming To Town:

"You better not cry, you better not sigh
You better not cry in bed all night...
Santa Clause is coming to town"

"He sees you when your good, he sees you when your peeking"

"You better not cry >pause<....
But I'm not really sure why
Santa Clause is coming to town"