yay, me!

just returned from cornerstone christian academy's fall festival... with my trophies. yep, that's me. 2nd place for chili cook-off and 2nd place for cake bake-off! for those of you who know how much i love being in the kitchen, you'll know this is making my night!

they associated entries with the your child, so cale and lily were thrilled to be handed trophies! cale kept talking about how great "his" chili was!


pretty sure lily was excited just cause it was all sparkly. oh, and cause mrs. dougherty gave it to her!

pumpkin patch 2011

i love fall. i love fall for lots of reasons. lots of reasons like boots and jeans, big sweatshirts, bonfires, pumpkin bread, and thanksgiving. oh, and one more reason... the pumpkin patch.

you may or may not know that i am big on traditions. there are certain things i really enjoy making and making happen for the holidays. and for me, the pumpkin patch is the kick-off for the whole shebang.
this year, cale and lily had a field trip to our local pumpkin patch, so gracie and i
tagged along for all the fun.

we hunted for the perfect pumpkin.

and hunted... and hunted... and hunted.

then, there were pumpkin races.

it was so fun for them to be up against each other. even lily got in on some of the racing action!

ok, before we move on, let's discuss one of the trials of mommyhood. it rears its' ugly head every time our family is in the general vicinity of a camera. yep, you guessed it...
picture-taking time.
you know what i mean. when it's one of those "special" times when all you want is a good picture. just one. i'd settle for that. is it too much to ask that for 15 seconds, all participants actually participate? i think not, but i'm just the mom. i mean really, just a little cooperation would go a long way here. but no, just leave it to the little one...

so, then i try for just the kiddos by themselves and this is what i get...

leave it to her. that's kind of her m.o. these days. guess that'll make for an interesting christmas card.

oh, the ideas kids come up with when left to their own imaginations. some are good, some are not so good, and some are just plain fun. take this idea, for instance... kyle moved the trampoline so he could mow under it, but didn't move it back. it's new position? within jumping distance of the sandbox. who's idea? why gracie, of course! the idea was that if you run, bounce, and jump all at the right time, you get good air and will stick a landing that would make an olympic gymnast proud. not sure they got the whole landing thing down, but gracie, cale, and jordan got pretty good at the take off and flying... the run...
the bounce...
and the air!

the big 4-0!!!

what better way to bust back in to blogging after weeks out than (drum roll, please)...

kyle's birthday!

and it's not just any 'ol birthday... he's 40!!!! yep. that's right. you're thinking, "no!!!" but, yes. "no!" you say again. i know, hard to believe. i didn't mistakenly type forty instead of thirty. i meant 40. but, he's so good looking, and young at heart. yes, i totally agree. very distinguished these days. oh now, don't go feeling sorry for him. he used ALL of his alloted sympathy when he turned thirty. it was ridiculous, but whatever. so, no sympathy! from any of you! stop it!

ok, in all seriousness... i hope he knows on this big birthday what an amazing man, great husband, wonderful dad, fabulous son and brother, and fantastic friend he is. kyle is the kind of man who makes an impact on every person he meets. what a blessing he is to each one of us who have the joy of being part of his life.

happy birthday, honey!