Trick or Treat

Well this is the first year we've taken the boys OUT trick or treating. Our Nieghborhood was great for it, and Gareth was so excited he was ready to go when he got home from school!

Here are some classic "Trick or Treat" shots:

Our First House:
At this house gareth said "Oh look, we can't go here, there's 'construction' tape" :)

My little fisherman out gettin' himself some candy:

Daddy and Reece, who just tugged on his elephant ear the whole time (although when we took it off he wanted it on again so he could tug some more):

Gareth, oh, I mean Bob the Builder, who was impossible to get a picture of outside, he was too busy dragging us along from house to house... I could only get pictures of his back!

Here are me and my boys (all three this time!) snuggly and warm and with enough candy to last us a lifetime!

Digi Scrappers: Don't Miss It!!!

Beach Weekend!

This weekend my parents invited us to stay with them at Seaside. It is was a gorgeous place and a relaxing time! George and Reece were sick and had to stay home last minute, but the big guys and I were able to go, and we really had some fun times together.

Here are my favorite pictures from a fun, beautifully grey day on the Oregon Coast:


Owen Playing in the sand.


This is Owen and my Dad running from the waves... owen would see a wave break way out and the distance and just start RUNNING... He did NOT want to get wet!



My parents got a special Beach Wheel Chair for my mom, She was SO happy to be out on the beach running in the waves... here are my mom and dad running. I love this picture.


Here I got them to stand still for a picture!


Liz and I, we were not doing a whole lot of running... except for when we were trying to pull gareth AWAY from the breaking waves... that boy wanted to get IN the ocean!


Me and my Boys!


This Picture gets my Award for the very best picture of the weekend! The lighting, the depth, the colors, just perfect!
Gareth LOVED the ocean, everything about it, and he loved getting down and dirty in the sand. Here he is happy as can be to be playing in the sand.

I've been Tagged :)

Casey "tagged me" on her blog to do this, so here you have it!

7 Things I wanna do before I die
1) See my sons get married
2) Hold my grandkids
3) Travel to every continent (besides antartica - no thank you!)
4) Change peoples lives
5) Get really active in a political cause
6) Go back to school
7) Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary with George

7 Things I cannot do
1) Turn away from my faith (I just can't even imagine)
2) Illegal Drugs
3) Pump Iron (um, no thanks)
4) whistle
5) turn my feelings off
6) be the perfect homemaker
7) get back to my Prepregnancy weight

7 things that attract me to (the opposite sex)
1) kindness
2) smile
3) sense of humor
4) integrity
5) unintimidating
6) mellow
7) feeling well taken care of

7 things I say often
1) all the live long day
2) fun!
3) goodness gracious
4) take it down a notch
5) for goodness sake
6) it's your choice
7) Just a sec

7 Celebrity Crushes
1) James Spader
2) Scott Folley
ummmmm... lol, I'm picky (I'll just take G)

7 People I want to do this: (consider yourself tagged)
1) Mandi
2) Katie
3) Dani
4) George (you don't have to do this on your nerd blog, but you have to do it).
5) Melissa
6) Dj Short Change (when you start your blog about how great g-man is ;))
7) And everyone else who reads this and wants to! You're TAGGED (you can do it in my comments section if you don't have a blog)!

The Handsomest Little Man On the Face of The Earth

Well, I think so atleast! Gareth just got his kindergarden pictures in, isn't he looking so handsome?

I was SO very pleased when these came home with them! He told me, "I tried to smile extra good for you mom!" He was so proud of himself, and how could he NOT be - look at this guy!

Halloween Party

Today at MOMS Club we had a Halloween party, when we were looking through our old costumes the boys were so excited about the ones we already had that I couldn't see going out and getting new ones, considering the hassle and the money. And the fact that when we did look for new ones they weren't nearly as excited about it.

So here we have my three little characters:

Gareth as "Bob The Builder" happy little guy:

Owen as a Fisherman (although by this point he wasn't really into smiling for mommy):

And Reece the little elephant - he tugged at that hood every time I put it on, he was not into it!

We had a great time... well Reece not so much, he was tired and grumpy, but the big guys loved it! It is so fun to go and see SO many cute little kids all dressed up in once place. I have to say the little fairies and princesses tug at my heart strings - but my boys definitely were looking "princess worthy" all dressed up! And home we came with way absolutely no tricks and WAY too many treats.

Angel Grandma

Last year, Living Way Fellowship, my parents Church, had an "Angel Breakfast" for Preschoolers at Christmas time. My mom Dressed up as an Angel and read a story to the kids. She looked so beautiful, I really treasure these pictures of the Gareth and Reece and thier "Angel Grandma". (She really is our Angel!)

All of these Elements are in the "Sugarplum Fairy" Kit made by Dani Mogstad for the Christmas Season. There are more great kits too!!! (you'll see) and all are availible on November 1st at the Design By Dani Store.

Sweet Sweet Baby

A paper page I made!!! I really love these pictures of Reece from when he was SO tiny at not even two weeks. I love this guy.... AND he is still a sweet sweet little guy even as he grows.

Sleepy Head

Well Reece and Owen were playing in the toy room when Owen came to talk to me. We talked for a while when I realized things were pretty quiet. So I asked Owen, "What's Reece doing?"

"He's sleeping."

I said, "No he's not, he's playing with you, he's not napping yet. What are you guys playing with?"

"Reece ARE NOT playing, he's sleeping" (Owen loves to use the word "are" although he isn't using it quite right, it's still pretty darn cute).

I knew Owen was wrong, he was just confused about what time it was, once he saw the crib was empty he'd realize, Reece was still up and playing. So I humored him, "Okay Owen, where is Reece sleeping?"

So he grabbed my hand and took me right past their room into to living room...

Sure enough there he was:
Reece was sleeping. On the living room floor. This is the second time Reecy has fallen asleep while he was still up. On Tuesday he started snoring in his high chair....

Apparently he doesn't do so well with out his morning nap.

Fresh Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

For years every time we carved our pumkins, George would talk about how we needed to roast the seeds and have fresh roasted seeds to snack on. Well, we tried once or twice, one time we didn't do it soon enough and the seeds got old, one time the seeds in the pumpkin were not good, we stuck them in the oven and they were really just gross.

So this year we looked it up and found a real recipe (or like 100) to make sure we did it right.

So.... now I have to share, because honestly you haven't had pumpkin seeds until you've had them fresh out of the oven!

Directions:

Wash fresh pumpkins seeds and remove the icky pumpkin pulp.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter or margarine and soak clean seeds in the butter for about 10 mins.

Spread seeds on a baking pan in a single layer and salt to taste.

Cook at 300 degrees for about 30-40 mins, until golden brown.

Pretty simple really, don't you think we could have figured that out 5 years ago!!

JackOLanterns

After our trip to the pumpkin patch the boys decided we needed to carve our pumpkins. George and the boys looked online to decided what each of the little guys wanted their jackolanterns to look like. Gareth decided right away that he wanted a "Scary Ghost" with a zig zag mouth. Owen decided that the best thing to do was a kitty cat.

We opened them up and scooped out all the goo (mommy was the best at this) then the boys told George where to draw all the parts of the faces and gareth even drew the zig zag mouth. Then George carved them open (he is quite the expert) and the boys painted them when they were threw.

All the while, mommy washed those pumpkin seeds and cooked them right up for a tasty treat!

"Monday House"

Have you heard that phrase? A lot of times the weekend can be messy business, with everyone home, and running around, and with mommy not wanting to be cleaning all the time. I've heard the term "Monday House" to describe what it looks like Monday morning when you have to clean up after the chaos.

Well here at my house I always have a "Monday House," but my Monday house is different than what you think.... My house shines Monday mornings. Now, this is NOT because our weekends aren't chaotic, and it DEFINITELY isn't because I'm playing maid all weekend. No, I have a different Monday house because every Sunday night my sweet husband takes an hour to help me get the weekend cleaned up. This is actually something he started quite some time ago because he wants to help me "start the week out right."

George is such a great husband, he is such a wonderful dad. He is a true partner in parenting with me, and I appreciate it more than I can say. I swear, I'm so lucky to have this guy! I honestly think he is like God's gift to the universe or something.... But I know one thing for sure... He is Gods gift to me. I'm very grateful.

Okay, cheeseball post I know! But just wanted to take this little webspace to say, I LOVE THIS GUY!

100% You

My dad took this picture of Owen at Disneyland when we were on vacation. I love Owen and how he is just his own little man, especially at 2! The bright colors on this picture are just too perfect!

I used elements from Design by Dani here again. Love these Sweet Treats papers (and they are a freebie!!!)

Fall

My three boys at the pumpkin patch today. Yes, I know gareth is squinting, and Reece is eating a leaf! But this is as close as we got to all looking at the camera and smiling.

I used digital elements all from Design by Dani.

The Cuddly Little Daredevil

Reece cannot see a cuddly looking item, with out getting it, grabbing it, and sucking his little thumb. This is our Reecey's little version of cuddling. I love to watch him get all cute and lovey with things!

The other day, he saw the tub full of stuffed animals and he just had to get that cuddle in.

This was his risky solution:
You have to admit, he is just too cute!

Away

A digital LO I did about last Friday night.

Journaling: The other day I told George, lets just do something DIFFERENT tonight. I need something new. So he said, pack up the kids and we’ll leave when I get home. We packed our bags and our boys into the car and George asked Gareth, what way? Gareth said SOUTH. So south we went. We just drove and drove. The boys fell asleep and we just spent time together. We talked about life, and drove and drove... Finally we were past Eugene and decided we had to stop, or we would have nowhere to stop for hours. We started to look for a place to sleep when we decided why pay to stay somewhere, when we could drive home, sleep there and go to chucky-cheeses in the morning.... so that is what we did. We had done something new and that ways all I needed This is what I love about this man I married. He knows me, and he loves me so much that he’ll waste a tank of gas, and 6 straight hours just so we can go anywhere, nowhere, to be together, to keep me sane.. Just so I can get away.

Elements are all Jen Wilson "The New Look" freebie (LOVE IT! Check it out).

Shawna NEEDS

Okay I just saw this on my friend Casey's Blog and it is TOO funny, go to Google and type in your first name and the word "needs". (Mine would be: Shawna needs) Here are some of mine, actually a bit WIERD (all of these were in my first page of results):

• Shawna needs to relax
• Shawna needs firm control but she is terrified
• Shawna needs to be in therapy but has, so far, refused.
• shawna needs to slow down
• Shawna is a child and needs sympathy and protection
• Shawna needs to pull it together

Apparently, in general, Shawnas are all head-cases.... hmmmm...

Now a drum roll please for my personal favorite...

• Shawna needs to get a pack of depends

Too FUNNY!!! GO DO THIS NOW! It is so funny to see what you come up with!

Attention Worker Men!

This weekend our little architect Gareth created a great design with his Legos, this particular design is so breathtaking that He thought it would probably be a good idea for us to put it out there on our blog for all of the worker men to see so that they could build it in real life if they wanted to. (no kidding, Gareth had the idea to post it and insisted that we get a few different pictures)
So all you worker men this is a great opportunity for you to build one of Gareth the Designer's ideas.

You can contact us - I'm sure Gareth would be happy to assist with an design questions :)

Paper Scrapping Again

Well after a few weeks of focusing on my digital work for Dani, I knew it was time to pull out the paper this weekend.

I am very PROUD, three pages!!! I have mixed feelings, I LOVED cropping and painting and gluing things down, but I don't know if I'm as happy with my paper work as I am with my digital work. On the other hand there is something extremely rewarding about having three tangible pages in front of me on my desk.

Little Friends

This is Reece with two of his little friends from MOMS Club. I love this picture of them looking like good old pals hanging out.
I totally "scraplifted" this design from a digi page Dani did.

Baseball Baby
This Gareth when he was a baby. We went to the park to play catch with some friends from George's work. Gareth didn't do a lot of catching that day... but he sure did look CUTE!

Swing, Swing, Swing...
I have SO many pictures of Gareth swinging as a baby, I decided to put them together for a page about Gareth swing swing swinging away. At the bottom in the corner it says "little baby Gareth loved to swing, and swing, and swing..."

You...

I've been dying to scrap this picture for a long time, my parents took it when we went on vacation with them in April and the colors are just SO vivid, Reecey just shines I think.

Well when I saw this GREAT freebie kit that Dani did and I knew the colors were going to be perfect! I also used the great embelishment kit that goes with it.

No journaling because I think it just speaks for itself. Reecey is just sweetness in it's purest form if you ask me. I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Thursday Thoughts

• Well it is really an ordinary Thursday around here, it is quiet, low key, the sky is autumn grey and the house is actually pretty quiet considering I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old up playing.
• I have been folding laundry for what seems like days now... the good news, everything it almost washed and folded.... the bad news.... by the end of today I'll have another load to wash.
• Lately honesty has been on my mind... I strive to be an honest, authentic person. But in truth I don't know that I often do really let it all out. I think I want my life to look more like a scene from a movie than it actually does, and I wonder if maybe I don't often try to play the part.
  

hmmm, I tried to say more... but I just can't yet. It just doesn't fit yet for me, but I'm thinking about it. Hows that for honest?

It's a good day today, quiet, gray slow moving and peaceful. It's a good day to think.

Messy Boy

Another Digital Page I put together with Dani's Dirty Boys Kit. I love this picture of Owen after him and his brothers got all messy eating chocolate.

My New Skill

Well I just learned a fun new trick in PhotoShop Elements. If I want to I can save things for web and "animate" them. Which basically means it will flash all of the seperate layers one at a time to make a blinkie.

I've been going wild! It is too much fun!




I'm sure to make more, I love these things!

We have a monster...

There is a monster loose in our house... There must be, because what else would sneak into the kitchen at 4 am and tear up boxes of cereal like this?

This morning at the ungodly hour of four thirty am, a wide awake little boy came into my bedroom to tell me he was sticky. What? Sticky? How could a sleeping two year get sticky?

When I pulled my half asleep body out of bed to investigate I figured it out.

The lights were on in the kitchen and the playroom and the television was on static. There were torn open boxes of cereal on the floor. On the table was a bag of candy that had been half finished and there were candy wrappers and half eaten tootsie rolls all over the table. and on the floor.

I guess Owen decided that 4 am is a good time to get up and rule the castle all on his own for a little while....

One thing about Owen that you have to love though- even when he rules, he eats his candy at the table, and he comes and wakes mommy up to wash his hands.

I'm so excited!!! Dani created this kit called "Dirty Boys" just for me when she saw the muddy pictures on my blog! Everything I used here is from her Paper and Embellishment kits. This is the first of MANY digital layouts I plan to make with this kit! How fun to have a kit that goes perfectly with my pictures.

It is so perfect for boys, you can check out it at DesignByDani, the greatest digi store ever :) I know this kit is going to be great for boy's mommies everywhere! Thanks Dani!

Rub a dub dub????

Well, it is Reece in a Tub.

The other day I heard Reece and his brothers laughing hysterically and walked in to see this. These boys are always up to something silly!

Two things you shouldn't ask because I don't know:
1-How did Reece get into the tub of animals?
2-Was Reece in the tub of animals as his brothers moved it clear accross the house?

But, I do know that everyone was smiling and I enjoyed watching my little men play this silly game. Although this is one of those games mommy doesn't really want to leave those guys that little baby and one big tub alone for.