halloween 2012

the pumpkin clan

I have such a love hate relationship with Halloween.  My kids love it, and I do love their imaginations and love of dressing up.  But EIGHT pumpkins?  That’s a lot.  Couldn’t 3 or 4 be sufficient?  All the candy?  It drives me crazy.  Gore and evil?  Hate it.

I do love happy excited kids, though, so I guess I’m not too down on Halloween.  They had a lot of fun just getting into their costumes (and character) and trick or treating.

pose

bug

the elf costume

elfish

i have a lot of photos with this face

fighter pilot

salute

black ninja with a bug

kia!

!!!

karate kick

pumpkins in the dark

dr. green eye

lit up

my pumpkin

Was that enough photos for you?  I think the funnest thing about Halloween for me is looking back through the photos of past years and seeing how my kids have changed and grown.  I mean, look at my Brenna.  My big, beautiful, grown up girl.  She’s always had very strong opinions about what she’d be for Halloween.  Never again will she be a hermit crab.

hermit crab of 2003

If you just haven’t had enough here are some links to past Halloweens:

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2005

weekending

buried and found

october leaves

big and little

burying herself

Just popping in to say happy weekend.  It’s been a relaxing one for us so far.  The weather is perfect fall, there are leaves to rake and jump into, and cute kids to soak up.

What are you up to?

strawberry pickin’

Last weekend Barry and all 4 boys went on our annual church Father-Son campout, so Brenna, Eva and I were on our own.  It is so fun that there are 3 of us girls now!!!  We decided to head up to Berry Patch Farm one morning to pick strawberries.

We came home with a few strawberries, two heads of really pretty lettuce, and a new basket to carry around my current knitting project in.

strawberries and pretty lettuce

a one project basket

We came home with a lot of photos on my phone too.  Brenna was the camera wielder, I was the baby wearer.

strawberry pickin'

strawberry picking with a baby on my back

little berry

squat, pick, stand, step, repeat

golden beetle

roosters

baby fingers

yum

Eva was really good and seemed perfectly content, even when I was squatting.  My legs sure got a workout–squat, pick, stand, step, repeat–with 22 lbs. on my back.  I had planned on getting there at 8:00, we got there at 10:00.  The berries were pretty picked over and it was hot, but just when we were ready to head back to the barn we tried one more spot and it was perfect– lots of big red berries just there for the picking.  If my legs hadn’t been shaking from our previous hour of super squatting we would have picked more.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the hens and roosters pecking around the picnic area.  There were a lot of roosters.  I think they outnumbered the hens 3 to 1.

Store bought strawberries just can’t compare those little organic, red through and through, nuggets of deliciousness.  We didn’t have enough for jam, which means that we’ll have to go back.  That’s okay.  We got to eat them all!

strawberry eater

TWELVE!!

twelve

Well, I’m operating under the assumption that things are better late than never.  I’m behind here.  It is so hard to be consistent when life is just the opposite.  But, I’m showing up today and am determined to tell you that my beautiful girl turned 12.

Twelve seems so old, which means I must be old if I am the mother of a twelve year old.

blowing out a candle

a card from Logan

jewelry from grandma

a treasure from Hunter

We celebrated with cupcakes, sweet brother-made cards, and new earrings for her freshly pierced ears (among other things).

A couple of days later we had some of her friends over for dinner, a movie, and making.  Do you remember my days of jewelry making?  We decided that would make a super cool birthday party for a bunch of twelve year old girls.

precious metal clay by 12 year olds

They each made a pendant with precious metal clay.  (I have this kit.)  Over the course of the night we fired and finished them.  I was way too involved in helping them for the thought of taking photos of the process to even cross my mind.  It was fun, and went pretty smoothly.  It would have been a trillion times easier (and there probably would have been photos) if I didn’t have a baby on my hip.

cuties

such fun

I sure love this big girl of mine.

Happy Birthday Brenna!!