Halloweekend

On Friday Paul and James carved a pumpkin: Vampire Mickey (or as James would say, Vampirate. As a side note he calls witches "Wicker Witches" and jack-o-lanterns "Jungle Lanterns") and Mr. Oogy Boogy from Nightmare before Christmas.

We had our second annual Batman marathon. We also watched Nightmare Before Christmas 20 times at least this month. James loves the music and actually sings the tunes all day long.

For Halloween we went to my parents' neighborhood and James had a total blast. At first he seemed a little hesitant, but pretty soon he was shouting, "next house."  At every door he would say, "Trick or treat! Thank you! Happy Halloween!"

 

When we got home he dumped all his candy on the floor and started rolling around in it and making "snow angels." It was hilarious. Love that kid.

Now, bring on the Holidays!

Pumpkin Land

Last weekend we took James to Pumpkin Land in Orem with some of his Aunts. He had a pretty good time. There was a secret "room" with a bucket of beans in it. If you found it you could bring back a bean for a treat. James grabbed a handful and stuck them in his pocket. The next day was Sunday and while we were at church I realized that he had transferred a few of his "magic beans" to his church pants. Needless to say, there were a lot of beans in and out of the wash this week.

Spooky

My ridiculously adorable niece, Lorelei.

Bouncing.

With most of my sisters.

Family Portraits 2011

Our friend Susan has taken our pictures now for a few years. I just love her!  I am really pleased with this year's portraits. James was giggly and smiley for the entire session. I hope this becomes a habit with him. Without further blah blah-ing, here are my favorites:

 

Holiday Crafts Preview

I realize that it's early, but I've been busy getting ready for the holidays. I like to be able to enjoy the season, so it takes a lot of planning! So this is what I've been working on for the past few weeks:

Fall Decor

Felt Leaf Garland

Melted Crayon Leaves

Still To Do: Paint Leaves, Fall Pillows

Halloween

Woody Costume. It cost me under $4 to make since I already had a yellow shirt and jeans. The fabric for the vest cost $0.63. The Sheriff star cost $1.99. The bandanna cost $1.00.  I wish he'd wear a hat, but it's not worth the money since he won't.
Still To Do: Treat Bag

Thanksgiving

the inspiration

Thankful Tree. The idea is that each day in November leading up to Thanksgiving you write something that you are thankful for on a slip of paper and put it a leaf pocket on the tree. I got the idea from pottery barn (what's new?). I'm not going to lie, it was a LOT of work. Cutting out all those little leaves, hand stitching the numbers and word, then using the sewing machine to put it all together. I'm so glad it's done. I got the felt at 4 sheets for a dollar. I used 5 sheets of felt and an old pillow case. The "dowel" is really part of a hanger. So it was an extremely cheap project. I just love how it turned out!

Still To Do:  Finger Puppet Favors, Table Runner

Christmas

Pottery Barn Knock of PJ's. I followed this tutorial. I don't have much experience making clothing, so this project took me a few days. Next time I think I will just purchase a real pattern. This one didn't quite line up and since I haven't really dealt with much clothing there was a little more guess work than I would have liked. Overall, they didn't turn out bad. They are a little big, but at the rate he's growing they'll probably fit by Christmas.

I'm excited to share what I've come up with for our Christmas Advent. After I've put it all together I make sure to post it. It's going to be awesome.

Still To Do: Stockings, More PJ's, Update Wreath, Advent Calendar, Update Tree Skirt, Christmas Gifts (you'll have to wait until Christmas to find out what I'm making!).

Farewell Summer!

Summer is over for us. Paul is back to class, James and I have started preschool and we have a fairly established schedule going. We had a rocky start with a horrible cold, but I think we're all finally on the mend. Thank goodness.

Utah County Fair

Then he ran over to the river and fell in. Good thing it wasn't deep where we were.

We finished off our summer by taking a nice walk around Temple Square.

I'm looking forward to Fall!

Room Re-do

I recently decided that it was time to update James' room. His room had been set up as a nursery before with the crib, the changing table and cutesy animal border. I had planned on using a twin mattress, but he refused to sleep on it, so I opted to convert his crib to a toddler bed.

Before: 

"changing table"

In Between: 

$5 at DI

After: 

I should have cleaned his room before taking this picture. You get the idea. 

I love how it's turned out!

More Summer Craziness

What a crazy busy summer we've had so far. Last week was ridiculously busy. I feel old now. Our ward had a carnival last weekend. James had a lot of fun playing in the bouncy house. I made cake and cupcakes for the cake walk (of which James did NOT like playing along).

 On Monday my sister, Roxanna, moved. So Lorelei came and spent the day with us. James had a lot of fun getting into her toys, reading to her, and calling her cute.

"Big scary truck! It's angry! Grrrrrr. Thee End!"

 Tuesday I tagged along with my younger sisters and went clothes shopping for school. They are pretty hilarious. Seven hours of that just about put me in my grave though.

 On Wednesday I helped Roxanna clean her old place. Then we visited my family in Spanish Fork.

On Thursday all but one of my sister's and I packed a picnic and headed up to Bridal Veil Falls. We had a great lunch and it was so nice up there. Afterwards we headed to Riverwoods and spent the majority of our time in Blikenstaffs. Rosi spent the night in James' room (and James spent the night in our bed--a recent and horrible habit that seems nearly impossible to break).

On Friday Roxanna and I took Rosi to look for rings and wedding dresses. It was a lot of fun!

On Saturday I got up bright and early to pick up my bountiful basket. I am usually pleased with what I get, and this week was no different. 

On Sunday I woke with a cold. Probably from all that running around all week. I'm exhausted! 

Paul has one more day of finals and he's done with school for 2 weeks. I already have a big long list of things around the house to help me with.