Farm Outing

Today was the fourth year in a row doing our favorite October event (well, second to celebrating Josh's birthday, that is): we visited the local family farm. We love it there. And not just because the woman who runs the place is named Charlene ;) (that's almost a point against her, since she goes by Char!)

This was an unusual trip, in that it was our homeschooling group instead of just the family. But Josh took the day off so it could still be our family outing, and we had a wonderful (cold) time.

This poor angora rabbit. I'm sure they love being touched...to a point.

This goat has a permanent grin!

All three kids tried milking the goat!

I thought it would be fun to take a pony ride down memory lane:

2008

 2011

2008

 2011

 2010

2011

I can't believe how much they've changed!

Auntie Charity

Josh's sister Charity comes with him to eat lunch with us once a week or so. The kids love time with her, and I think she likes it just as much!
Josh couldn't come home for lunch today but we still invited her over.
Lunch didn't go as planned, but it was still fun having her here. After lunch is over, the kids like to bring her books. Bekah brought her 6 and Charity said she only had time to read one of them. She chose "Home for a Bunny," telling her Auntie that it "has a sweet ending."

So they all listened intently.
And Charity agreed. It does have a very good ending!

Productive Day

Yesterday I left the computer off.
I'm thinking this is going to become a weekly thing.

I:
made a double batch of applesauce
made homemade macaroni and cheese for the kids and I for lunch
made taquitos for dinner (have to make more up today with the rest of the stuff. I'm NEVER making them again. I'll enjoy the restaurant's version instead!)
washed all the dishes for everything I made
made "energy balls" (peanut butter and honey formed in a ball, dipped in coconut and chilled. YUM!)
got the laundry put away
finished the kids' school
organized some of their school stuff
put away the pieces of their games that had lost their homes
made soup for Josh for work

Today we finished up the rest of the school week...which means we're now finished with our second quarter! We've finished half the school year! I'm so proud of her! And I'm allowing myself back online :) I have some pictures to look through and work on, but I refuse to spend the entire day on the computer.

And just because no blog post is complete without a picture or two:

 (ahem, we won't discuss the fact that this was while Jasmine was supposedly in a time-out)

 She just gets more gorgeous every day!

And from the photo shoot I did last weekend. I love the way these two brothers play together. My kids LOVE them!!

Apples, Take 2

Today is absolutely gorgeous. The type that even I have to get outside to enjoy.

I went out and pulled the eggplants and remaining grape tomatoes from the garden. They've made it through the past few nights' frosts, but I don't want to chance it. So I'm planning fried green tomatoes.

We went to the Farmers' Market. Got a few things, including kohlrabi, something I'd never heard of but a lady told us what to do with it. So I'm giving it a try!
Bekah picked out the one we were going to buy (hoping it will help her actually try it):

Then we went to the farm to pick more apples. Last time we went, the Empires weren't ready yet, and since those are our favorites, we decided to make the trip back up.

Everyone else in the entire region decided on the same way to spend the afternoon. It was mobbed!! But we found a tree. One tree. And filled two bags with apples.

48 pounds of apples. I'd better start peeling!

Friday Confessions

1. I pronounce "longevity" longetivity. I guess long life has something to do with longitude.

2. I'm allergic to cats and don't enjoy their company, but signs for free kittens make me want to stop and pick one up.

3. but Josh would send me to the psych ward so I keep driving.

4. I forget things a lot.

5. I'm really bad at finishing things.

6. Which is funny, since finishing things is a bit of a passion/driving force in my life.

7. Part of why I don't finish is that I forget what I was doing.

8. I am always afraid of letting people down. Not doing things I told them I'd do.

9. Or forgetting something I've told them I'll do/give them/bring somewhere.

10. I wish it was as easy to upgrade human memory as it is for computers. or as hard as it's supposed to be. Right, Josh?

11. I was NEVER that cool. Not in the 80s, and not now! But it's fun to pretend!

Happy weekend!

I'm in love

I can't keep it a secret anymore.

I'm in love.

I've got it bad.

This guy knows just what to say, when to say it, and how to make me laugh or melt. Or both.


So he tends to do the caveman-speak. From his mouth, it's charming!

Hudson: Going home, mommy? [translation: are we going anywhere?]
Me: I don't know yet, Hudson.
H: Grandpa know?

Hudson: me cleaned it.
Me: you did! great job!
Hudson: me wock?
Me: yes, hudson, you rock.
Hudson: thank you!

Hudson: {said something funny}
Me: Hudson, you're a nut.
Hudson: yeah :D
Bekah: you're a goose.
Hudson: No, Bekah! Don't say that! NUT!

Hudson Tyler, you have completely melted my heart. I'm so in love.

School of Hard Knocks

1. When getting helium balloons to take fun pictures, expect mayhem as soon as the balloons have been purchased.

2. It's not wise to trust an untested Navigation system on our new car (!) to get somewhere I've never figured out.
(but hey! we made it!! I'm so shocked!!)

3. Breezy days don't give the same feeling with balloons that still days do.

4. Putting the sand-filled balloon in your mouth results in a disgusting mouth (Right, Bekah?)

5. Just because I want to edit pictures instead of eat doesn't mean the kids will agree.

And now that lunch is done and the kids are watching a movie, in theory so that Hudson will fall asleep, for the balloon pictures:

Hi! My Name Is Charla

Don't you love those "all about me" surveys?
I've always loved them. I love trying to come up with clever answers, hearing unusual questions, and just basic self-disclosure.
And since I'm feeling a little insecure today, I thought I'd share!

1. I love lists.
2. And bullet points.
3. And paragraphs. I won't read long, rambly paragraphs. Not in books, and not online.
4. I don't like letting people down.
5. But I do it more than I care to admit.

(this photo has nothing to do with what I'm writing, but I know I keep reading when there are pictures)

6. I love coffee.
7. I never drink tea, though my sweet Southern friend got me hooked on sweet tea.
8. I'm not particularly worried about what other people think of me.
9. But very worried about how my words/actions affect them. Too worried, I think. (see #4)
10. I take my role as oldest child seriously, even at 34. I'm a natural mother hen.
11. I love the Apostle Paul. I love that he tried to be "all things to all people," even going so far as to call himself Paul instead of Saul because he knew that Saul meant something negative in the languages he was sharing the gospel with.
12. I hate that it's taught that he had a name change with his conversion like Abram and Sarai did. It's wrong and the truth is SO much more meaningful.
13. I love to talk about Jesus, and to talk with like-minded people about politics, but I detest debates. I find them pointless at best. And I don't think Facebook is the place to post about either of those things.
14. At least as bad as debates are forwards or Facebook "reposts."
15. I hate knowing about something but not being able to find it.
16. My coffee pot just told me it's ready, so I guess it's a good place to stop!

Thanks for letting me share!

Celtic Day

We knew today was supposed to be "picture-perfect," which is music to my ears! But what did we want to do??
Thank goodness for the internet! Not only did it bring me Josh, but only slightly less valuable, it told us where to go today!

We went to the Lake, where there was a huge Celtic Festival. What fun!
I love my Scottish heritage. I love Irish food, music, dancing. I knew this would be a good time!

We watched some Scottish dancing.

In the sword dance, it gets continually faster, while they are supposed to dance around, but not touch, the two swords. They did great! It was fun to watch.

Question: How can you pick out a father of girls?

Answer:

There was a Viking Storyteller. They unwisely placed his tent right near the Kids' Corner, so only kids and young families even noticed him, but most of his stories were *not* intended for kids. Vikings, after all, weren't exactly Rated G.
But he did have one cute story to tell them:

(loved the boots)

Bekah decided at the end that she wanted to get her face painted, and the other two followed suit. They were very proud:

Hudson's is a clover, but the black-and-white showed off his eyes so you'll just have to trust me ;)

It was so much fun! I can't wait for next year! More bagpipes! More dancing!!

Apple Picking: Second Annual

Last year we heard about a place that had good apple picking from a friend of mine, and we loved it there. So this year, we went to the same place.
And ran into that friend!

It was a wonderful surprise! The kids played for awhile, we talked for awhile, and they went home with their loot when we were ready to start collecting ours!

"Picture me?"

 He knows when he's cute, which is why I'm always taking his picture.

He just doesn't realize that he is still the smallest in the family.

(side story: at night sometimes Bekah falls asleep on the couch. Every time it happens, he suggests being the one to carry her up to bed. Isn't that the cutest?
And the other night, this was the conversation:

Hudson's telling Josh to carry a sleeping Bekah up to bed.
H: You. Carry her. You.
Josh: can you do it?
H: (too) Heavy.
Josh: what about Jasmine?
H: Heavy.
Josh: what about Mommy?
H (thinking for a second): Help.)

Okay, back to today!

We came home with 2 pie pumpkins, and about 20-25 pounds of apples. That should do for awhile!

Rag curls

I did the girls hair in rag curls last night. It was easy and pretty quick, and they look so pretty!
(Well, Bekah's hair is fine like mine was at this age, so they fell out quickly)

Put up to dry and curl:

Bekah had hers come out last night, since I did this to them in the afternoon. Waiting is hard at 4!
(or 34)

I left that one in because it was still damp. This morning it was on the frizzy side instead of curly, but she thinks it's cute!

Jasmine had me take out two last night, but when she heard they'd look even more amazing in the morning, she was willing to wait to take them out. I'm so proud!

This is her "small smile" modeling pose. She was quite proud of herself for coming up with the face!

And Hudson insisted on showing off the side of his head, too:

Kitchen Makeover

A couple months ago, Josh won a $1,000 gift card to the local do-it-yourself store chain.

We've bought a bunch of things so far; some fun, some more necessary. But yesterday we bought something that was fun...I consider it almost necessary. At least Josh was willing to go along with it!

We painted the kitchen!

Here's what it looked like yesterday afternoon.

And this afternoon:

It's a gorgeous rich, warm gray color. We're going to put more pictures on the top of the counter (oh wait! You can't see that! Directly to the right of where the second picture ends is the framed picture of the apples. I'm hoping to put a lot of food-related pictures, or particularly coffee-related pictures, up there over the next several months)

We love it!! We are replacing the knobs (Josh is there now, buying a few more because I'd made a mistake and didn't buy enough yesterday) with brushed silver look instead of dirty-gold.

Isn't it wonderful??

I need new curtains, when money allows. But the store doesn't sell those, so those will have to wait!

...And just because, I got a picture of a project Jasmine did last week. These made me laugh even if it wasn't exactly what I wish she'd be doing with napkins...

Anniversary

Monday is our 8th anniversary. 8 beautiful, wonderful, fun-filled years.

We celebrated a little early by going to the Cleveland area (we found a coupon for a really beautiful inn there so decided to make the drive). It was well worth the drive!

The timing couldn't have been better for our staying at a Tudor mansion, since we just covered the Wars of the Roses and the Tudor era in school this past week! I couldn't wait to show these pictures to Jasmine.

The whole area surrounding the inn was the type of place even doctors can't afford. Incredible, luxurious, amazing houses and gardens.

After a leisurely morning, we went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then Rock Hall (known by everyone who doesn't live in the Cleveland area as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). The parking wasn't fun because there was an air show going on right there, but we did manage to find a place.

Unfortunately, they don't allow pictures inside. Actually, if I'm perfectly honest, it really didn't bother me. I wouldn't have gotten any incredible pictures of things like John's costume from Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...so instead, I got what I hope is an "artsy" shot of my inability to get pictures there!

I'm planning to leave that tag on my camera case. It let the staff know what was inside so they watched me more closely to be sure I wasn't taking pictures. If they only realized how well I follow the rules...

Happy anniversary, Josh. I'm so happy I've been your wife for the past 8 years and can't wait to see where our adventure next takes us...