Bowling

Today, we decided to take the kids bowling. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera; but we had a fantastic time. After a quiet deliberation between Tyler and I, we decided to play only one game, so the kids wouldn't get worn out. And they did awesome!! Of course, we had bumpers up, but guess who won overall?
Ayla did.
Here are the rough estimates of scores:
Ayla 126
Tyler 118
Brooke 98
Colton 79

I find myself usually under 100 when I bowl (which has been FOREVER), but seriously? Beaten by a 2 year old!!! She however couldn't have cared less... all she wanted was the pink ball. She sat with it while she was waiting her turn, and had a tough time when I decided to use it for my turn.
All in all, it was a great time, and we plan to do it again very soon in the near future.

In other news, I am still working on my knitting and sewing for Christmas presents. I am working on stockings for the kids, and they are turning out really nice... my first attempt at socks! In the sewing world, I am working on reusable gift bags and then some actual presents... hope I can get most everything done, but we will see. I haven't really been motivated to sew because I always seem to make a huge mess on the kitchen table, and I don't like to clean it up... go figure!

Fun with Grammie

Grammie Roxanne and Grandpa Pat were here for the last weekend; and we had such a great time! Tyler and Grandpa left early in the weekend for hunting, but the kids, Grammie and I did stuff around the house. We crafted a lot... Grammie got alot of her knitting done for Christmas, and I started a stocking for Ayla (more on that later!).
One of the best things we did was make a felted garland for our Christmas season. I think we are going to use it on the tree. The idea came from the book Handmade Home by Amanda Soule (aka Soulemama). I absolutely love this book, and think it is worth taking a look at if you like to craft things - her blog is awesome too!
First we felted scraps I had left from making woolies... sweaters that I had bought from thrift shops (felting is pretty easy... just wash in hot water, then dry in the dryer for quite a while! This makes the weave tighter and easier to work with for this project); then we cut them all up into square-like shapes... Colton even helped with this. Next, we threaded some yarn and used a big needle to string square after square. Both the kids helped with this part, and were quite pleased with their work. And both Grammie and I were quite impressed with their abilities... who knew!

We also decided to have an early Thanksgiving... so Sunday and Monday, we prepared a full feast:
turkey with a sage rub
apple gravy
green bean casserole
sausage stuffing
broccoli cheddar dish
mashed white and sweet potatoes
fresh cranberry sauce
homemade rolls
and of course : homemade apple and pumpkin pies!

Everything was absolutely wonderful!!! I couldn't believe how it all just came together, mostly because of Roxanne and her dedication! Couldn't have done it without her! The kids had fun helping when and where they could.. punching the bread dough and rolling the biscuits. We all ate so much we almost couldn't move! That is, except the kids... they aren't quite appreciative of great comfort food. Oh, well... more for Tyler and I.

(pictures will come soon... having problems with upload!)

New haircut, and our trip to WY

yes, she is shirtless! She decided to spill all down her shirt... which is very typical.

I got my hair cut - finally! - right before we went on our trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We went on the trip for Tyler's work, and we had a good time. The kids played with other kids there... we had a babysitter (that charged an arm and a leg!) so we got some adult time... but we didn't actually take many pictures. Go figure. I managed one of the Tetons on our way out (the park was unfortunately closed) and some of the kids on the car ride home! They did AWESOME, with few meltdowns, and a couple potty breaks.

And here is a belly picture... kind of. We are 24 weeks almost with lots of kicking and hiccups!

Snuggle time

Every night we gather up the cats before we go to bed and put them in the laundry room. If we do not do this, they tend to sleep by our heads and purr all night, which isn't really conducive to a full nights sleep! Last night we were looking for Sofa, and Tyler came downstairs and said, "You have to go upstairs and see this"... usually this means someone is doing something completely adorable.... and it was. Sofa the cat was snuggled up close to his favorite little girl, in her crib. This cat puts up with the kids pulling on him and laying on him without too much of a fuss, but you can tell he really appreciates it when they are asleep!

Tyler, deer and Grandpa Pat

Here are pictures of Tyler and his deer (Bucky II). I guess he is a 4 point with eye guards... I just happen to know next to nothing about deer.... but I do enjoy venison. Knowing that your husband has hunted for his family, and you are eating a wild, natural animal is nice. Almost like growing your own vegetables... but not quite! I am not a fan of the blood and guts; that is what Tyler is for!

The kids had a great time with Grandpa Pat. Even though he spent a lot of time out and about looking for the right deer or elk (no luck this time, but maybe next), they still saw him most nights, and seemed to warm up pretty quickly. Ayla looks like she got her big blue eyes from his side of the family (Tyler and I both have greenish eyes)...

Halloween!

Carving pumpkins... and knitting

Colton, putting in his two cents (above)
The kids painting (below)

The kids helped with this one! Such a great job by them!

The kitty one is Ayla's (I carved it) and the big one is the one we grew in the garden!

Colton's monster one that he picked out (Tyler free-handed this one!)

Such a cutie!

Tyler working hard on Colton's design!

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins. We only harvested 2 from our crop that had been doing so well, but that is okay... we managed. Tyler picked 2 up at the store on his way home, so we had one for each of us. The kids picked out the designs, and we painted the green one. All in all, a great way to end the day and get ready for Halloween. Both kids are practicing their "Trick or Treat" skills, and it is just so cute to hear them saying that around the house!
Tyler has not had any luck hunting this season yet, but we are hopeful! I can't wait to have some fresh deer or elk meat! Yumm!
I have started knitting for the season, and I almost forgot two things: how to actually knit (this lasted about 2 minutes, and I had to rack my pregnant brain... and then I refreshed with a youtube video! :) ) and the other thing is just how addicting knitting actually is. I have only finished a couple washcloths (LOVE this blog so much!! So many great projects!) but it has been fun. The kids helped me pick out the colors, and the order the colors go in. I have so many more projects planned.... hope I get to some of them. Right now, I just have to get to bed!!!