lipgloss

Aren’t these so cute and fun!  My friend, Molly DeCrow, is a part owner of this new line of lip glosses.  Their company is called What’s Your Virtue.  I love the whole idea behind these, and I can’t wait to get mine!  If you have a minute, you should check out this article about why these were created!


IMG_3234I can’t resist buying all those fun halloween sprinkles and cupcake liners.  They are just too cute to pass up.

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IMG_3192Since the kids are too young to really carve pumpkins, we usually have them paint these little ones.  I think they’ll do this at least one or two more times this week!


The Farm

19Oct09

Today we went to Hunter Farm.  We have gone every year since Ella was 15 months old, so we can’t break the tradition now!  We went on a hayride, pet sheep, goats and pigs and got to pick out little pumpkins before we left.

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The next two weeks are packed with all kinds of fall and halloween activities.  A fall party at school, a halloween birthday party, a costume parade, 2 other halloween parties, and of course the real deal – trick or treating.  I think the kids will get to dress up like 4 or 5 different times.  Good thing we have buckets full of costumes around here!  Happy Fall!!!


Fall Update

18Oct09

I’ve been posting a lot of photos lately, but that’s been about it.  Thought I would play catch up on what’s been going on around here lately for everyone we haven’t talked to much in the past few months.

Update on the kids….both Ella and Justin are enjoying their 3-day a week preschool at Next Level Church.  They are learning so much, and sending them is definitely paying off!  Ella knows all of her letters and is very interested in learning how to read.  She has been asking me every day to help her sound out words.  A favorite website that we have her use regularly is called Starfall, and it’s great for all different levels and stages of kids who are learning letters/sounds/reading.  Bonus:  it is simultaneously teaching her how to use the computer (mostly the mouse)!  I am so excited that she will soon be reading, but I don’t know how Matt and I will be able to have adult conversations around her when she learns how to spell.  About every fourth or fifth word is spelled out when we are talking and don’t want the kids to know what we’re saying.  For example… “let’s go get some I-C-E  C-R-E-A-M” or “if we have time, maybe we could stop at the P-A-R-K on the way home”.  They have no idea what we’re saying now, and if we change our minds, it doesn’t matter.  But, that all might change soon.

Justin is learning his colors and letters this year.  He has totally surprised me by being much more interested in learning that I thought he’d be.  He cried the first week of preschool when he found out that Ella’s class was learning a letter(they do one a week), and his class wasn’t (yet).  He has made me tons of adorable crafts already that I have hanging on my wall, and he told me last week that he wants to be a preschool teacher when he grows up.  He spends the rest of his time asking to go outside, riding his bike, playing hockey and playing toys.  He finally gets to start the hockey program next week after months of skating lessons, and he is so excited.  At home he plays toys all day.  It amazes me how long he can sit on the floor and play with his spiderman action figures, his motorcycles, hot wheels cars and all the other little tiny toys he owns.  The best is when I overhear him making his guys talk to each other.  So cute!

As for me and Matt, we are busy all the time it seems.  Matt’s been working a lot of freelance for Speed and some for Nascar Media Group.  He might have some time off this winter when racing season ends though.  We are very thankful to God for providing for our family this year after Matt’s layoff.  So far the freelance thing is working out, so we are going to stick with it and see what happens.

I hate writing about myself, but if you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me much lately…I am still watching Austin 5 days a week, I am in 2 community groups through my church, I do a Bible study on Thursday mornings through CBS, I have been regularly seeing a chiropractor (which takes up more time than you’d think), trying to work out (not nearly as much as I should be), driving kids to preschool, skating, dance/gymnastics and of course trying to keep the house clean, laundry done, everyone fed around here and spending way too much time at Target and the grocery store.

This week we finished up buying everything we needed for the kids halloween costumes, and all the winter gear the kids will need soon….hats, gloves, coats, scarves, etc.  I found some cute stuff here.  It usually snows at least once or twice per year here in Charlotte, and so every year we buy snow pants and snow boots for the kids, which we started this week.  I hate to spend all that money on something that they may only wear once or twice, but when it does snow and they don’t have the right gear, it really sucks.  For them and me.  They get cold and can’t stay out as long, and I have to listen to crying and constantly change their clothes out all day.  I grew up in the desert where it never snowed, so I love that my kids get to experience a snow day every once in a while.  It is totally worth every penny.  And I’m still not sure who gets more excited about snow…them or me?

And that’s some of what we’ve been doing lately.  Check back soon for Hunter Farm pictures….it is in the plans to go tomorrow!


7 years

12Oct09

Yesterday was mine and Matt’s 7 year anniversary.  Since it was Sunday, Matt had to work, but we have a date night scheduled for this Thursday.  Here we are 7 years ago (actually 6 1/2 – we got legally married Oct. ‘02 & then had our wedding in March of ‘03 – long story, and I don’t have many digital pics from back then).

transfer1 - 023And here we are today, married 7 years with two kids!

IMG_1042Wow!  7 years can really make a huge difference.  Our lives have changed so much, but I love everything about it!  I love my husband, our kids and our life together. I wonder where we’ll be in 7 more years?


Ella and her Aunt Shayne are off to see Disney on Ice Princess Classics today.  Yesterday Ella told me she wanted to wear her Cinderella dress, but I had to tell her no since it will be freezing inside.  So, her and I spent yesterday morning shopping for a cute, yet warm, outfit.  We finally found this super cute dress at the Gap, and the boots at Target.  And from what I hear, Aunt Shayne bought her a princess tiara to wear during the show!IMG_3041

IMG_3052Please excuse the blurriness in this photo.  I am trying to figure out all the manual settings on my SLR camera, and it’s really confusing.  This is the best I got.


Justin was so excited today when his new hockey jersey arrived in the mail.  Since he’s been a good sport about taking skating lessons for the past 8 months, Matt bought him a new jersey.  Next month he’ll get to start the hockey program, and he’ll need a jersey big enough to fit over all those pads!

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IMG_2978Do you think Justin could be in one of those stain remover commercials?  That’s what I thought after our trip to the playground last night.  And I didn’t even get a picture of the back or bottom of this shirt.  It looked much worse in person.  After washing the shirt using Tide with bleach detergent, pouring a big capful of Tide stain remover and spraying the entire shirt down with shout stain removal spray, it was still pretty green.  Not to mention there was still pieces of actual grass in my washing machine.  I think I’m going to have to soak it in pure bleach to get these stains out.  Tide and Shout, you have let me down.


My mouth hurts so bad today.  I just got my braces tightened, and it is not pleasant feeling at all.  I am so sick of having these things on my teeth, and I only have had them on for 4 months.  I have anywhere from 2-5 more months to go, and it has made me wonder how anyone can put up with braces for several years.  How do all you people do it?  Crazy!  I guess that’s the good thing about adult braces….only takes 6-9 months!   I do have to go every 3 weeks now to get them tightened, but it will be worth it to be done with this whole experience as fast as I possibly can.  At least I love my dentist, all the people who work for him, and the fact that his office is 3 minutes away from my house.  But, I would like this to be over with.  Now.  It hurts.  Now give me some more ibuprofen please.


Yesterday we made our yearly trip up to Skytop Orchard to pick apples.  We had so much fun and took home lots of goodies including an enormous bag of apples that will probably last us over a month, caramel for dipping and fresh apple cider.

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IMG_2776Inside the playhouse.

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