It feels like Fall

FINALLY!

I have been waiting -not so patiently waiting- mind you, for it to feel like Fall.  I 've had enough of the 100 degree weather and am ready for a "chill" in the air. 

And guess what?  Yesterday it happened.  Alayna and I walked outside to go teach cub scouts and it was chilly.  The wind was blowing and the air was crisp.  Now, it was still 62 degrees, but it is amazing how much colder 62 degrees feels compared to 100 degrees.  (It makes sense, since that is almost 40 degrees different.)

And get this, today I wore pants.  That's right, PANTS!  I never thought I would be so excited to wear pants....and a jacket.  It is the fair this weekend so there was a parade this morning and we wore our jackets.

Here's Layna at the parade.  She insisted that she have her hood on.  Don't worry, she wasn't as miserable as she looks.  In fact, I think she is telling me something.  She LOVED the parade...until the end when three fire engines had their sirens going non-stop.  L-O-U-D!

Can you believe, there were too many other cool things to look at besides me? 

 And here she was showing me her pockets.  "Mom, there's TWO pockets!"  I don't know why that small fact was so exciting, but it was.

Here's to cooler, crisp Fall days!

A little of this and a little of that

Hello.  Remember me?  The person who is doing a terrible job of posting on her blog?

Well, here I am, attempting to fill you in on a little of what we have been up to lately.

So, I have this amazingly talented husband (who might I add, is quite handsome...) that completely surprised me with this gift:

when Alayna and I came home from our trip to Laramie. Yep. He made it. Awesome, I know.  Don't you LOVE it?!.  I have been wanting a corner shelf for our den and it is perfect. 

I am having one minor dilemma though...deciding what color to paint it.  Dan and I don't agree on this at all.  He claims men like the look of natural wood, so he wants me to stain it.  And I on the other hand, have this itch to paint everything.  I don't know what it is.  I just want to slap a nice coat of paint on it and maybe antique it a little.  I am thinking white.  What do you think?  Black?  Gray?  Really, what do you think?

Now onto the next tidbit.  Fall.  Can I just confess to you that I absolutely LOVE Fall?  I do.  I LOVE it.  I have to admit, I wasn't always this way.  In fact, I might have dreaded it a little.  But I have since repented and it really is one of my favorite seasons.  It took me moving to a few new places to really appreciate this season because, well, let's face it....in Laramie, WY, Fall lasts about a month.  Maybe a little longer.  I just didn't have time to really enjoy it.  Now, I live at the complete opposite end of the spectrum and Fall (I hear) can be a long season, it just takes a LONG time to get here.  And I am getting antsy.  Enough with the 102 degree weather already.  Where is the crispness in the air?  So in order to nudge the season along a little, I decided to go ahead and decorate.  (As you saw in the previous picture.)

Oh, and I might as well admit, I have a bit of an obsession with pumpkins, or puh-kins as Alayna calls them.  LOVE them. 

Now, the next tidbit.  I have been having an inner battle lately.  About what, you might ask?  Well, preschool.  Preschool is causing my inner battle.  Alayna will turn 3 in less than a month and with the start of a new school year, we had the opportunity to do a preschool co-op with some other moms in our community.  And I decided NOT to do it this year.  Am I terrible?  I have gone back and forth and back and forth again.  But Alayna would have been the youngest one and with her still having three years 'til Kindergarten I just didn't want her to be burned out of school before she even went.  If I started her now, then she would go the next couple of years and after having taught Kindergarten, I know she will be fine if we wait. She really is young.   Plus, this mommy wants to spend a little more time with her Layna.  But still, I know she would have loved it.  So we are living it up by having our own fun letter games and as many play dates as our friends will allow to provide her with all the social-ness she craves. 

Excuse #1 for my absence.  Classes.  I have been taking online classes to renew my teaching certificate.  I have to do this every 5 years.  Can you believe that in May it will be 5 years since I graduated college?!  Me neither.  Sheesh. 

So, I am enrolled in 4 classes that are rather interesting, but admittedly, I will be glad when they are over. 

Excuse #2. Sharing time.  I am in the primary presidency which means I have to teach Sharing time every few weeks.  I absolutely LOVE it!  Oh, how I miss teaching Kindergarten...but this is a perfect filler.  I really look forward to it each time.

And that, really is the end of my excuses.  Pretty pathetic, huh?

And while I am filling you in, I might as well tell you a little about the other two people that live with me.

Layna is busy as ever.  She is getting excited for her "Happy Birthday".  Especially after having gone to her very first birthday party (other than family)....which I will save all the details for another post. 

And have I mentioned that she is COMPLETELY potty trained?!  Like at nights as well as days.  And she has been for a few months now.  I just decided I was tired of buying pull-ups so I stopped and she really was AWESOME!  Only one accident to date.   She seriously made it so easy.

And....she doesn't know it yet, but she will be getting a "I'm all potty trained" present.  Because, well, that really is a big deal.

Now, Dan.  What can I say?  He has been busy providing for our family and gearing up for his upcoming seven off where we may take a small, much needed, family trip. 

And there you have it.  A little of this and a little of that.

More Crafts

So, my lack of blogging lately has been due to the amount of crafts I have been working on.

With me making a few seasonal decorations and working on Alayna's birthday party that is rapidly approaching, I have been finding myself sitting at the sewing machine.

And might I add, I have been in HEAVEN! I have been feeling my crafty side coming out.


A few weeks ago my mom and I went into a fabric shop and saw this pillow in the window.

The front:
The back:


Those cute little fingers are Alayna's. She is such a helper. I am surprised her whole body isn't in the picture. :)

We immediately knew that we needed to buy the pattern and get sewing. Well, my mom bought the pattern and I did the sewing. (We make a great team.) Once we selected all of the fabric and got all the supplies, I went to work. I made a pillow for me and a pillow for my mom. They turned out awesome! The pictures above just don't do it justice.

Beware: More craft posts to come. ( I told you I have been busy.)

P.S. Thank you to all the moms who gave me advice on shoes! I really appreciate it!

Fall is here....

which in my case, means pumpkins galore.

I saw a tutorial to make these cute pumpkin pillows. Once I got my Fall tote of decorations out and realized that I just didn't have many Fall decorations, I knew I needed to try my hand at these pumpkins.

So here they are.

And believe it or not, I have more that are decorating the rest of our apartment.

I think it is safe to say that we have our own little pumpkin patch. :)