I forgot Halloween pictures!

In a Mazatlan haze, I forgot to post the adorableness that happened on Halloween. Kellen wore the same outfit Colton wore when he was a babe, Ayla was a flying pink princess pig, and Colton was a bat. All so very cute. We had arrived home on Halloween at 3pm; without the costumes ready... I would say we did pretty good!
Our wonderful neighbors invited us over for awesome potato soup and pumpkin cheesecake. Then we went trick-or-treating. The kids had a great time, and the adults did too. It really made me realize how much we will miss our friends when we leave this place next year :(

A Family Tree

I found this tutorial a while ago, and absolutely loved it. However, I did some tweaking and came up with my own take.
Family is pretty big around here... in every sense! I have four brothers and sisters, Tyler has 3; add them all together with extended family=a big, crazy bunch! So I thought, A Family Tree! We need a family tree! So here is my rendition:Tyler and I's leaves are in the middle, our parents are in pairs above "us" (3 pairs; Tyler has two sets!), and the three kids are below to the left side of the screen. I chose boy/girl fabric to kind of distinguish between who's who.
The back is a pocket pillow, and I used a 18x18 bamboo pillow.
Absolutely LOVE! It is one of our family Christmas presents, so it is put away for now. But I may break it out early.

I am thinking of making them for special order. Let me know if you are interested:)

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. ~ Amanda Soule

Kellen is 8 month's old!

Time is flying at an unbelievable speed... Kellen is 8 months old. Where has the time gone? Just yesterday he was a newbie, and now he is on his way to being a crawler! Not yet though. He loves to sit and play, while reaching for his toys; but not a fan of being on his tummy. Oh, well.
His little smile brings an immediate one to my face and his big blue eyes are so... beautiful. I have thought all my babies were the MOST ADORABLE THINGS, but this one, he is special. I think it has to do with the fact that most likely he is the last. I go back and forth on wanting a fourth. But, really, I think 3 is the magic number for this family. It feels more right every day. BUT I do have my moments of baby nostalgia, and anything could happen!

Here my boy is in his new highchair. We had recently purchased a restaurant style highchair from Costco, but despite my efforts, he constantly would slide forward and didn't really care for that much! So I went to my local consignment shop, Jack and Jill's, and found this. I adore it. And it isn't the first time I have laid eyes upon it's beauty... my mother-in-law has one EXACTLY like it that my father-in-law purchased when there baby girl in that stage - she is 19 now!! I knew I had to have it when I saw it, and ... here it is!Kellen and his kitties. This boy loves cats. Anytime he sees them roaming around the house he squeals with laughter and reaches for them. You say "Where's the kitty?" and he immediately looks around with wild eyes. He loves them! But they are smart in the fact that they only come near when he is sleeping. We find them cuddled up quite frequently.Some things I have been finding and admiring on the lovely internet, and I thought you might enjoy::

::The Rhythm of the Home blog:: this blog and online magazine is wonderful for those of you with small children, and interest in the more natural life... the latest entry from a guest from Salt and Chocolate blog really inspired me to really try to make an effort at simplifying our weekly menu. Here is what we have come up with:: a day for each:
burritoes/tacos
pasta
pizza
soup and sandwiches
stirfry
casseroles
and Sunday dinner (like steak or meatloaf, or something of the like)

I know this may sound boring, but I think this leaves a lot of wiggle room and we will see!

::Something to consider for next Halloween :: The green pumpkin! He comes after halloween and exchanges extra candy for books. (this is from Salt and Chocolate blog too)
How cool is that, though?!

::Nicole from one of the blogs I follow, Mountaintop Tribe, recently opened up a web based business (with local Colorado ability) called Natural Family Supplies. Wonderful store with MANY items that I use and would use if I had the money! Last week was the grand opening week and she had giveaways every day. I entered into all of them and WON one of them!!! How cool is that!? I won a Bottombumpers one size diaper ... I seem to be lucky in giveaways!

::I really love the way Heather wrote this article on her blog about her marriage. It spoke to me.

::I finished the first of three of these sweaters for Colton (Ayla and Kellen are next!) and this hat. It was supposed to be for Colton, but it just fits Kellen, so I need to figure out how to make it a bit bigger!

::I used this tutorial for inspiration in some of my Christmas gifts. I am loving what I came up with SO much, I might want to make/sell them!!

This Moment

Don't forget to go check out the giveaway today at Natural Family Supplies! Today it is the Moby Wrap!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a lovely weekend! - Amanda Soule

check out these giveaways!

Visit here for some really awesome giveaways from a brand new shop!
So far they are giving away lunchboxs, diapers, body care products and more!

The shop is called Natural Family Supplies, and they are carrying some awesome products!

The turtles

After having eluded to a disaster with the turtles the other day... here is the story::

These cute little turtles... Pinky, John Deere, Mariner, August, Yin and Yang (guess who named what, and I will give you kudos!)... we don't know their fate, but we can only hope for the best.Here is a link with a little info on the program.

What they don't tell you is that if you release the turtles with birds nearby, they will QUICKLY spread the word that cute little morsels (turtles) are bobbing their way in shallow water... easy picking. It was like a horror film.
We get to hold the cute little almost helpless turtles.
We get the go-ahead to release them into the water.
They make their way through the sand to the surf.
We watch them floating, bobbing their cute little heads.
Then, we watch them being dive-bombed by seabirds!!

Yes, about 500 were released, but it was really sad. We told the kids the truth, but felt bad doing so (they don't seem to be scarred by it). But my mother-in-law, whose favorite animal is the turtle, I think is permanently damaged from it!
After the biologists saw what was happening, and that they were helpless, they gathered up the ones that hadn't made it to the surf, and we saw (and helped) release them later that night when there were no birds around.
Talking with people after the horror show, we quickly came up with some things they could have and should have done:

use fireworks as bird deterrent.
have a shotgun on hand.
released them all later at night (the obvious one!)Here is some really interesting baby turtle facts::

Hatchlings use the horizon and the crests of waves to make it to the ocean.

They also wait under the sand aftyer they hatch until it is cooler, which indicates nighttime, when they are less likely to become prey on their first leg of the journey.

Go here for more facts too.


It was really neat, but sad at the same time. I hope Pinky, Mariner, John Deere, August, Yin and Yang make it to adulthood.

Mexico. part 1

Mexico is fabulous. This morning the kids said they were packing for Mexico... they think it is fabulous, too.
We got back from our trip yesterday, and traveling went well. The kids got lots of compliments on what great little travelers they were; and I have to say, they were AWESOME! Kellen slept on most of the 6 plane rides, and the others behaved wonderfully.It was beyond great to have the grandparents there in paradise with us. Papa and Granna would take the older two one night, then Grandma and Grandpa would take them the next. I got a massage, some boogey boarding, played some tennis, finished my book, and even got a little tan. Oh, and of course drank many mango margaritas!We even got to help release some baby sea turtles into the ocean. It was a wonderful experience for the most part... the little guys were so cute... although it ended badly (more on this within the week). I need to do more research.So wonderful. So relaxing. And also so good to be home.