My Babies are 5!!!!

I have to say that again... MY BABIES ARE 5!  Wow!  On October 12th, my little babies turned 5 and I think officially I can no longer call them "babies" (although I tell them daily that even when they are 85, they will still be MY babies!).  To continue our bowling birthday tradition, we took the girls... bowling.     

Katie making her approach

STRIKE!

Ella making her approach

Please... please...

I love bowling!

And, Katie WINS! 

She beat Daddy by 2 pins (Happy Birthday, Katie -- you'll understand when you're older what a gift that was from your Daddy -- he's VERY competitive!).

Happy Bowling Birthday!

Our little birthday princesses...

We're 5!

PS: These are the cupcakes I made for the girls' class and in case you didn't know, they are in SEPARATE classes this year.  That means 36 cupcakes in total.  Not to mention the ingredient rules -- I had to make vegan cupcakes (which actually wasn't that difficult, but still!), but then I'm the dummy that decides to decorate them like kitty cats (vs sprinkling powered sugar on top) -- candy corn ears, jelly bean eyes and nose, and liquorices whiskers.  Did you know you liquorices just doesn't rip apart?  You have to actually CUT it into strips.  Lesson learned: start cupcakes earlier in the day so you don't have to stay up till midnight decorating them!

Designs by Katie (and Target)

Below is a picture of me (and Ella) modeling the new shirt Katie made for me.  She is always designing clothes for herself out of blankets and scarves, 'sewn' together with ribbons and tape. This particular day she made ME a shirt from a plastic sack (can you guess where the sack came from?) -- I would say she's on the cutting edge of 'green' design, re-using everday materials one finds around the house. I think she has a future on Project Runway!

Momma (and Ella) modeling her new shirt, made AND photographed by Katie.

Farm Day in Falls Church

We live near the town of Falls Church and every year they have "Farm Day" with pony rides, pumpkin painting, a petting zoo, and hay rides.  A fun, easy outing geared toward kid fun.  Daddy was out of town (not working this year, but at the LSU-Florida game!), so I loaded up the girls and we went to check it out.  It was a little chilly and a little rainy, but we had a good time (as usual).

Katie taking a turn on the pony

Ella too

Picking out the perfect pumpkin

Mom and girls on the hayride

Ella petting the rabbit, who was very cold and snuggling under the hay.

Halloween Time!

Yeah -- Halloween is finally here!  First up, carving a pumpkin.  In the past, we've gotten away with painting pumpkins, but the girls weren't having any of that this year.  They wanted to actually CARVE a pumpkin and there was not getting around it.  We picked out our pumpkin the day we went to the pumpkin patch, but waited for the weekend so Daddy could help us carve it.  The girls had a grand time -- especially creating their very own design for the jack-o-lantern's face.

Katie scooping out the insides.

Ella sitting pretty (notice the lipstick? It's for dress-up time later, but she couldn't WAIT to put it on!).

The girls showing how clean the pumpkin is -- ready for carving, Daddy!

Daddy outlining the face.

1-2-3- Eyes on ME -- CHEESE!

Time for trick-or-treating!!!

Witchy-Poo Katie is ready to go!

The beautiful Indian Princess Pocahontas (Ella) is also ready to hit the streets!

With Daddy, er, I mean Elvis, THE KING!

And a quick photo with Momma Elvis and we're ready to ROLL!

This is what you heard as the girls ran up the driveway... "candy... candy... candy..."

Family Photo

It's funny how Katie and Ella's play often reflects what happens in real life.  When were in Atoka we had a little family reunion with my Aunt Margie and her kids (and their kids too!) and we had a family photo taken.  With that many people, it was a big deal and there was a lot of standing around and smiling.  One day after returning home I was in the kitchen fixing lunch and I heard the girls playing in their room.  When I checked on them I found them taking a family photo with their stuffed animals.  Below, Ella (in yellow) is the photographer and Katie and all the stuffed animals are posing for the photograph.

The girls let me be the photographer for the "family" photo.

Waterford Arts and Crafts Festival

We went to a little town called Waterford earlier this month for the arts & crafts festival -- it was such an awesome day!  The town was so cute -- like stepping back in time -- and the weather was beautiful.  They had civil war re-enactors, people in period dress showing how crafts were made in the olden days, bands playing, and great food.  We really had a nice time!

Katie sanding down a stone

Ella's turn

Ella being "monkey girl" and Daddy was the "monkey bar"

Daddy and the girls learning how to make wool thicker... apparently the ladies would put it on a table and pound it while singing songs. 

Atoka Time

I'm behind in my blogging... as you'll see from these photos below taken in September.  We went to Oklahoma to visit Grandma and Granddad and had a GREAT time!  One day we took the girls to the lake and hung out a bit...

Ella took this photo as we were hanging out at the lake.

And Katie took this one.

The girls exploring... hunting for skipping rocks.

Looking for good walking sticks.

One afternoon we were taking a walk and saw this double rainbow.

Daddy with his "double rainbows"