ballerina girl

Tonight was the big night: Mary Beth was starting ballet!

she was soooo excited! and had been counting down the days...

she packed up her ballet bag(the one she has owned since age 2) and off we went.

we had a rocky start(a few tears and anxiety) but she was very brave and ended up watching for awhile and then did her ballerina moves by me at the door. since she has been practicing for years she was really good! her teacher noticed and complimented her. i got her an ice cream cone afterwards for being so brave and she assured me that next week she will join in with the rest of her class. I was very proud of her- I know it is difficult for her to be in new situations(especially since she didn't know anyone there) and she handled it very well. I have been waiting for this day for 5 1/2 years and I will always remember her first day of ballet.

my pretty little ballerina!

spooky slimy wreath

I got this idea from good old Martha- you just spray paint a grapevine wreath and a bunch of plastic toy snakes, tuck them through the vines, and voila! a snake-y halloween wreath. I added a big black crow because I love them for extra spooky-ness.

I love how it looks against my new yellow door!

fall festival 2010

Sunday afternoon we headed to Rheault Farm for their annual fall festival.

the straw maze
look at these little cuties!

i love the funny feathers on top of these ducks' heads!

Jeffrey's fav: goats

games

score!

Mickey has lately become very interested in golf...

and posing like a "real golfer"

he kept saying "mom take my picture!"

the highlight: decorating cookies with tons of icing and candy- and eating them!

Mickey kept making different designs out of the pumpkins in the "patch"

Mary Beth loves pony rides- she wanted to ride the "one with the braids"

we all had a really fun afternoon... next fall activity: the pumpkin patch!

birthday crafts

Today we went to Michael's so Mary Beth could make some birthday crafts for her "merican girl". Of course Jeffrey wanted to come with us but Mickey didn't so he and John went to run some errands. Jeffrey watched for a little bit and then asked the lady if he could make a hat and cake for his stuffed animal. Thankfully she said yes and he joined his sister for some fun crafts. Here is Lanie wearing her new birthday hat.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN PORTER!

The birthday boy:

Today we went to lunch together
and tonight we all went out to supper after playing card games with the kids.

Then we came back home for cake.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday honey. We love you so much!

PS: midnight tonight marks the beginning of my birthday week :)

trip to the farm

Monday evening, after picking up our CSA box, we headed out to Lee and Noreen Thomas' Farm so the kids could explore a real working organic farm.
we fed apples to the 2 dairy cows

one of them kept sticking his tongue out at us :)

looking for the free-range chickens and ducks...

collecting eggs

Mary Beth was a bit shy of the hen house since they were going BONKERS in there(the hens and ducks)- so Jeffrey collected an egg for her. The boys thought this was the COOLEST!

These guys did not.

the barn(sigh)... I've always wanted to live on a farm...

The kids were allowed to pick out their own pumpkin as a perfect ending to a perfect trip to the farm. This was on our summer to do list and I'm so thankful that we were finally able to do it. The owner was so kind to offer to let us come out! She does the deliveries for the Amish family that we get our CSA boxes from and she's so nice! The kids will always remember the fun they had exploring a "real farm." And of course it was my dream come true also.

busy in the kitchen

I spent all day today in my kitchen baking and cooking... organic whole wheat zucchini breads, muffins, and organic beef stew and homeade garlic and cheddar biscuits- yum!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!

hope you have a great day! we love you! and bella really loves you...

school open house 2010

I meant to post these about oh, a month ago! These are the pictures from the kids' open house night before school started. Mickey isn't in the pictures because he wouldn't let me bring the camera into his school. :( And so it begins...