November's Desert Trip

was a good trip, although i decided a couple things...
1. camp sites are important and it's very hard to find the right campsite when it's dark.
therefore, from now on, we go during the light of day...

2. as important as it is to get to church, i will never leave on a sunday morning to make it home for church.

other than those two things and the wind, it was a great weekend.
i finished a quilt that i started the same trip two years ago.
i've got to quilt it, then i'll show you.

the kids had a great time and no one got hurt, that's the important thing.

The Thanksgiving Quilts

came out of the bins...finally!
i thought i'd share some of my favorites.

have a great veteran's day!
NO SCHOOL!!!

The Witch Got Nancy

i finally had a chance to get the halloween decorations packed away and as i was walking down the hall i spotted something under the witches broom...

eek! poor nancy!!!

The Girls of Room One

came to visit us for halloween.
it was the first time sissy has brought her friends home from college and it was a treat!

i LOVED having all the girls here and enjoyed each of them, bob enjoyed having people to make breakfast for, the younger kids couldn't get enough of their attention and bub...well, let's just say that for a teenage boy it was probably fun having 5 girls (very cute girls) in his home!

dear katie, aubrey, heidi and chelsea,
you are all GREAT girls and we loved having you,
please know that you are welcome any time.
we'll leave a light on...

Getting Ready for Halloween

with the girls from room one here, halloween day was packed full. for 5 girls who came from a snowy utah, they were thrilled to soak up some sun at the beach. david, jake and bub all joined them...lucky boys!

after the beach, they carved pumpkins while i made the spider web cupcakes found in the country living magazine. btw...they were good, if you get a chance go here for the recipe. you may not want to make the webs, but the actual cupcake was delicious!

carving the pumpkins turned out to be quite the group effort...
the little princess wasn't to happy about digging her hands in pumpkin goo and the enthusiam of the happiest baby was enough to put a smile on everyone's face.

mom made it in time to witness all the craziness.
{i love the craziness}

time to trick n' treat (as the little princess would rather it be said.)

Trick N' Treat

{i love halloween}

i have fond memories of halloween. going door to door with a pillowcase full of candy. it's like the movies where all the kids are running from house to house and the older kids are tricking more than treating...

every year it seems that fewer and fewer people are trick or treating, but for my family, it will be a yearly tradition that i will continue to treasure...

every year, we (friends and family) meet for chili and cornbread, then gather the children and head on out to greet friends and neighbors for some trick or treating fun {and candy}

this year jeni, amber and judi joined us. i enjoyed that.

the happiest baby was in heaven.
laughing all the way he loved trick or treating more than any of my other kids

(i love this age!)

the little princess wanted to be a bit daring this year and went with a princess vampire costume. complete with blood! that's big for her!!! sissy dressed up as bub and bub was the designated wagon puller (for a short time).

the rest of the gang carted children, carried flashlights and bags of candy. all of us a bit tired by the end of the night.

and me...i was (as usual) thankful for kelsey, the kids love her!

happy halloween everyone!
can't wait for next year!

HUGE!!!

has anyone seen a caterpillar this big???

i measured it and it was a hair shy of 4 inches.
what does it become, a GIANT butterfly???

Happy Birthday Bub!!!

this weekend we celebrated bub's 14th birthday in the good 'ol desert with our good friends, the riddles.
although i failed to get pictures of the birthday candles that wouldn't stay lit thanks to the wind, or the spice cake that was lop-sided because bob didn't level the trailer, or the fabulous dinner i made...we had a great evening complete with pumpkin lights thanks to karen and a camp fire that i could have swore was going to consume the entire camp.

i won't get all mushy (bub would KILL me), but i will say that despite the typical teenage attitude that sometimes makes my blood boil, i've got one fine 14 year old son.

bub,
i am thankful for the help, love, kindness, and strength you show and the blessings you bring to your family through your hard work and devotion. you are AWESOME!!! hope you had a wonderful birthday weekend and i look forward to many, many more. (with the riddles!)

love, mom

Happy Jack

i'm glad you all are enjoying my halloween gift as much as i am.
some have requested the info. on this cute little wallhanging.

so here it is...

the pattern is from the sept/oct 2009 fons & porter quilt magazine. it's called happy jack. my mom made one change and that was simply to use wool felt for the pumkpin instead of fabric.

i also found this gal's version of the wall hanging, it's super cute too. she put it on this hanger that you can get here.

(polly's version)

A Handmade Halloween

halloween

is by far a close first to christmas when it comes to decorating.
i LOVE black, orange and white quilts
as well as, the much loved gifts from my mom.

this year my mom made this for my sister and i...
isn't it cute!

my favorites are the simple black and orange quilts.

and i will always love the primitive quilts and stitcheries.

the problem is, there are so many quilts, so many stitcheries and so very little time...

p.s. donna, the cupcake holder is really some type of egg holder that i got at a local nursery years ago. i don't even know what it's originally intended for, but i love it...

Fall{ing} for

pam garrison's felt garland!

she's so stinkin' creative and i love this!

it's perfect for the little princess's room where the typical fall colors don't really fit it.