{Christmas Is In The Air}

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm officially allowed to get out all things Christmas.  After skimming through my beloved Pottery Barn magazine, I just had to share some of the things I'm loving this year.

 So many gorgeous tree ornaments as usual.

 I love the new velvet stockings they have this year.

 Look at this gorgeous pillow... this would be so easy to make.

 I'm loving this entryway... the bench, the picture wall and lets not forget about that glass light fixture.

 As usual, they've got some great seasonal fillers for all those glass jars.

 I love the acorns and glittered pinecones.

 A simple berry wreath for the windows maybe?

 Another pretty pillow that would be so easy to make.

 What a great tree.

And you can't forget a cozy sherpa blanket or two... the pup is kinda cute too.

I have so much to be grateful for this year.  I'm married to an amazing, hard-working and dedicated husband who loves me and we've been blessed with three beautiful, happy and healthy children.  We have a beautiful home that keeps us warm and comfortable.  We get to spend the holidays with family.  I'm so lucky to stay home with my kiddos and as frustratingly busy as it is sometimes, I'm grateful that my husband has such a good job that allows him to support our family.  

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful holiday and that you get to eat some amazingly yummy food too.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Stepping Out

So onto more updates... guess whose walking like crazy?

 That's right, this little lady is all over the place now.  She started toddling around about a month ago and for the last three weeks or so she just hasn't stopped.  She loves that she can chase her brother and sister... she even growls as she does it.  It's currently their favorite game.

 I could just eat those cheeks up...

Yes, she likes to eat her brothers trucks and yes, he does get mad.

Weekend Road Trip

A couple weekends ago we took a little road trip up to Rexburg to see my sister.  This is her first semester at BYU Idaho, so we got to take the tour of campus, check out her apartment and meet her roommates.  It was nice to visit with Aunt Caitlin and soon to be Uncle Brian.  The kids had so much fun and were really excited to stay in a "fancy hotel".  The hotel had an indoor pool, which was of course a huge hit with them.  

 Aunt Caitlin and Uncle Brian got engaged last weekend, so we're super excited for them.

Congratulations you two!

Halloween 2011

 Ella kicked off Halloween with a costume party at Preschool.

 That's the cutest little witch I've ever seen... too bad I couldn't find a hat.

Everyone had fun trick or treating and got way too much candy.  It was also really nice that we didn't have rain, snow or freezing temps this year.

Pumpkin Carving

 Cameron really enjoyed driving through all the pumpkin mess.

Pumpkin Picking

I know, I know... this is a little late, but here is a little recap of October.  The week before Halloween we headed out to our usual pumpkin patch.  The munchkins were very particular about what pumpkins they picked out this year.  Of course Ella was more than willing to "help" everyone else pick out their pumpkins, but don't try to help her.  Funny girl.

 This looks like a great pumpkin for Ashlynn

 Fortunately, this little one still doesn't mind her sisters help.

 It's getting harder and harder to take pictures of them all together.

 We were so lucky to have gorgeous weather through October.

The munchkins had so much fun picking out pumpkins this year.  They literally had been looking forward to it since last Halloween.

Pinterest Challenge

Today I'm joining in on the Pinterest Challenge over at Young House Love.  The rules are simple... Create something using inspiration from Pinterest.  Easy peasy.  I've actually got two things that I've made recently.  Here's the first:

Inspiration via Dear Lillie

 I love the idea of a giant ruler to mark your children's height as they grow.  And if we move we can take it with us.

 I'm so happy with how it turned out and it was so easy to make. If you go to her blog you can follow her easy tutorial.

My second inspiration photo was this awesome costume:

via

Super cute!  But, I just can't bring myself to pay $150 for a costume.

 So I studied the pictures for a while and thought about it for a couple of months and decided to just go for it and attempt the costume myself.  Now, hands down the inspiration is better constructed than mine and a little cuter, but I'm absolutely thrilled with how mine came out, especially considering I only spent $15.

Such a cute Wild Thing!

How'd I Do... October Goals

Another month has come and gone.  Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching.  Only 54 days until Christmas and I've barely even begun to do my Christmas shopping.  My goodness this year is going way too quickly.  Lets see how I did for the month of October...

Homemaking -

Clean up the garden for fall 

Weed the flower beds for fall - I guess this will be a spring project.

Start wintering the house - We started getting stuff done, but we've still got a few things on that list.

Cooking -

Try three new recipes

Try making french bread

Continue organizing recipes

Can some applesauce and apple butter - I just couldn't get myself to do this.

Mothering -

Continue with the patience thing

Squeeze in a few last play dates while we still have nice weather

Visit the farm... fall pics - Sadly, this just didn't happen.

Creating -

Finish the Halloween costumes - They turned out so cute.  

Financing -

Stay in budget - Technically no, but it was only by $7... so I'm gonna count it.

Enriching -

Personal scripture study

Read a book

November's Goals:

Homemaking - 

Finish winterizing the house

Pull out annuals 

Plant tulips for spring

Cooking -

Try a new recipe each week

Organize recipes

Gather favorite recipes

Mothering -

Patience

Take Ella on a date

Take fall pics if we get another nice day

Plan Ashlynn's first birthday
Have Cameron completely potty trained by Thanksgiving

Creating -

Make a tie for Cameron

Craft night with the girls
Make the hair clippies for Ella's birthday party

Financing -

Figure out a budget for the month

Enriching -

Read a book