Favorite Photos! A Fall Family Photo Shoot

The Four of Us - Kneeling

The Girls

The Boys

The Four of Us Standing - And Ernest
Ernest is older than my kids!
He was our first baby.

Us - Now That we are Older
I wanted our 'walking away' photo updated.
(There is a much older photo from when the kids were itty bitty, on the left sidebar, way down!)
I'm not sure this is the best one. The thumbnails are all small!

Sami and Jake Tossing Leaves

On the Fence

So last weekend, on a very very cold Sunday morning, my good friend W. came over and took our family photos.

I am sharing just a few here! Do you have a favorite that you would recommend we put on our Christmas Card?

This started as a 'we need a new family photo' - since our last one was from when the kids were itty bitty, and we have to update our posters and flyers and other things for our meat business. Our meat is now being served at a local University, and they need a poster to showcase us as their local source of grass fed beef!

I also need a new photo of all of us for this year's Christmas card, but most of the time my husband hides from our Christmas photo sessions - or he just takes pictures of the kids and me. Well, the 'we need to update the posters' got him. Now, we are all in the photo!


We took TONS and I can't wait to get them all ordered and put into frames and other projects for my Christmas gifts. I am so excited!

Thanks for looking!

Halloween Night

The Jakester
At our favorite place to visit
An older couple really love to go all out! In the town of Haines.
It's the only city house that we visit.
And it totally rocks!!!

Another Shot
Same place, same kid
Cool Goul
They look good together, eh?
And that is a real black cat down in the left!

Part of The Loot
Candy sorting seems to be an important part of the experience!
The kids dump out their candy, sort it and compare notes.
Dum Dum anyone?
Last nights haul of the night: An Orange Popcorn Ball!
Totally safe - from a beloved neighbor.
We only visit neighbors.

The popcorn balls did not make it home:)
We ate them while driving from place to place.
The Rule: Only 2 candies that night, plus the ball.
I know. I'm mean.
But it was before dinner!
And one candy after dinner.
This explains why we still have candy left over from last year's trick or treating, too!



*****

Last night was magical. It was wonderful. It was spooky and eerie!

It was one of the BEST trick-or-treats we have had.

What makes a great Trick-or-Treat experience, from this mom's perspective?

• The moon was out and played through the clouds. Breathtaking! What a setting!
  
• No wind
• The temp was about 45. The WARMEST Halloween in our 10 years here...
• We didn't leave until 6pm.. Dark! Normally we do this in the daylight. The darkness sure added a super duper 'fun' factor! Creeping up to the doors, not knowing what was lurking behind... Oh my!
• My kid ran to the doors each time! So fun to be in the background and watch!!! Jake's cape flew while he ran.
  
• I wore my Witches Hat (with the big buckle), and had my broom (no wise cracks!), and my cute Halloween Vest. My kids love it when I dress up:) So do the neighbors... One new neighbor said I am one of her favorite people! How sweet.. made my night!
  
• And within 2 hours, we had 11 successful 'haunts' - meaning, places in our rural hood that were open for 'business' and had candy for trick or treaters.
• Our last visit was right at our own front door! We do this to my husband every dang year and he always falls for it! I drive up, leave the lights on facing the house so he can't identify us, and the kids run up, ring the bell and trick him. Hilarious!
• When we got home I made grilled cheese sandwiches, hot tomato soup, and a salad. Fast and fun... Although that big can of soup was condensed and I didn't add the milk! Dang my 47 year old eyes. This morning Jake was reading the can on the counter and said 'what does condensation' mean? What? OH! Condensed!!! Hmm... I said 'that explains why the soup was so darn thick'. He agreed.
  

Anyone else need their reading glasses when it comes to cooking? I didn't even bother to look! HA!

I hope your evening was fun as well and filled with the magic of happy kids, giddy with excitement, and blissful sugar highs...

Ours sure was!

Getting Ready for Halloween! 2009

Treats for The Trick or Treaters!
I made these while at last week's retreat.
Super easy!
Since we are at the end of a long driveway,
and in a very rural area, our visitors are far and few between.
So they get special goodies

Materials Used:
Top Note Die -SU - used with the Big Shot
Punched shapes: all SU punches
(scallop and 2 circles)
Patterned Papers - Dream Street
Black card Stock: SU
Bags: SU

I also made these goodie bags!
The Black bag is from a Cricut Die - THANKS Paula!
(I spent most of the retreat getting to know my Cricut!)
Supplies:
Jenny Bowlin Halloween Bingo Cards
Dream Street Patterned Papers
Black Tulle

*** Most of the Halloween supplies came from an awesome kit ***
Here is a Link

Peace Sign Made at 6:30 am!

Groovy Bell Bottoms Made at 7:30 pm
Love the Red Velvet!!!!

The Hippy Chick
Standing in front of our 'new' Piano!

Sigh...

So the other night, Wednesday to be precise, after I got home from work, and after dinner, about 7:30 pm, my darling children informed me that 'we' had to get their costumes made/together/finished for school the next day.

Nothin' like a fast deadline. And yes, somewhere in the back of my itty bitty brain I knew the date was coming, however, I thought they were big enough to do it all on their own! HA!

Bedtime is 8pm over here at Casa de Sexton, and, in order to get said Children in bed by 8:00pm the 'we' turned into a mostly 'me'. I managed to get the Bell Bottoms done for Sami and a mask done for Jake. Next morning? 'Mom, I need a Peace Sign!'.

Double double sigh.

Sorry, Jake did not dress up for a photo shoot before running off to school! He packed his costume. Which, basically, is a cape and mask. He's good to go as long as he has a cape.

Tonight, Friday night, we will do the downtown Trick or Treat, and tomorrow evening will the annual Drive through the Hood to visit neighbors far and far between!!!

(After the Boise Market... crazy...)

Have a great Halloween!!!

A Beautiful Pumpkin Carving Fall Event!

Classic Barn with a REAL Great Horned Owl

The Maxwell's Classic Farm House
This place is so beautiful!
And that table was the pumpkin carving center
The Maxwell's grew some pumpkins and invited
all the neighbors and kids over to carve
press cider
drink
eat
and be ever so merry...

Apple Cider!
We brought a box of apples from last week's pickin'

Sami Sharing the Bounty

Sami Showing Us How it's done!

Gathered Around the Cider Press
At Our Friends, the Maxwell's
The rock area is the stone 'danger zone' around the fire pit.
Dangerous, because it's not easy stepping!

Jake and Sami's Pumpkins
There were more... About 4 babies, and another orange one.
I hate to tell you the horrid outcome.
Sami and Jake got off the school bus on Monday
and found a massacre
Our chickens apparently love pumpkins.
The pumpkins were rescued from a near death experience off our front porch
and are now indoors.

Lou, Snoozing By The Pumpkins!
The Maxwell's Front Porch

When Men Carve Pumpkins
Power Tools.
Gore.
Notice the big pumpkin in the foreground? It is eating a smaller
pumpkin, and has 'pumpkin guts' around it's teeth.
Oh those men.

The Outcome of the Men Carving Fest

Last Sunday turned out to be a fabulous day!

It was a beautiful fall day and I had grand plans of washing windows and catching up on fall cleanup. But at 11 am I was still deep in computer work - beta testing a 'new' program my husband wrote to track our sales and deposit data.. (Insert bottle of Ibuprofen here and Note: Three days later I am still Beta Testing that #(*$ program!!)..

Then, our neighbor Pam, who lives about five miles away (that's a neighbor in our area!) called - 'Hey, are you guys coming over to pick pumpkins?'.

Oops.. I forgot about the invitation to take the kids over to pick out pumpkins... 3pm.

Pam did some sweet talkin'.

'We will be pressing apple cider,
The Kids can Carve their Pumpkins, while we just hang out,
I'm making Potato Soup (it's potato harvest time over in our area - EVERYONE has buckets of potatoes in their storage cellars!)
And.. adult beverages will be served.'
Can you bring some apples??

Hmm... Just bring apples? In exchange for pumpkins, dinner, beverages and a boat load of fun?

Heck Yeah!

So.. the windows are still dirty, the data and deposits are still not done, but as I tucked Sami into bed she said it all...

'Today was a GREAT Day!'.

Oh Yeah... Thanks Pam for making it a wonderful one!


Side Note:
Tomorrow is the day I leave on my scrappy vacation, followed by the Sexton Family Reunion... My photos still have not arrived!! ACK!
And not one thing is packed...
Oh well!
I'm sure it will all work out... :)

Life Happens When You Are Making Other Plans!

Hi all!
Well, we seem to be over the flu so on to the next adventures, right? Sorry, no creative goodies to share yet! But Wednesday through Saturday morning I'll be crafty heaven:)

We have an action packed week coming up:

1. Sami's last Volleyball Game is tomorrow
2. I'll be in Boise with Jake tomorrow (yes, missing the game - sigh)
3. Monday I dash to La Grande for deliveries
   
4. My car and my hair have appointments on Tuesday! Looking forward to one, not the other
   
5. I pack on Tuesday for TWO trips!!! One is my scrappy retreat, at a campground, and the other is a family reunion with the Sexton side. There is a HUGE party for my Mother In Law's Birthday, in another state! Rumor has it we will be square dancing!!!
   

I have a list of projects I HOPE to make while I am gone! Oh fun fun fun! This is when I get the majority of my Christmas goodies done... :) I'm dreaming up all sorts of things!


Most likely you won't hear from me for a while.. so, I'll leave you with two gems from our ranch life below!

Bunnies

The Adventure sof a Ranch Wife

Take Care!
And happy day to all of you...

The Popsicle Diet, Markets, and Rants

Sami's BFF Helps with our Apple Picking!
(yes, my grass does need another cut!)
(And this girl was up until midnight - doing fun stuff)

Dick And Sami Compare Favorite Apples
(She was un until Midnight - doing fun stuff)

Jake!
Hi cute boy!
He was not up doing fun stuff.
Nope. He was home, doing boy stuff.
It must be rough, being a boy.

Friday Night Market
Was Take Your Family To work Day!
In our house, that is!
Sami was awesome!
She can count change back very well!!!!
And this photo is before the temps dropped about 20 degrees...
OH.. That lady asked if I was Sami's Grandma...
OUCH!!!
That is the first time it has happened!
Concealer, anyone? Help a girl out??????


**************

Before I get to the popsicles, First let me share another 'what the heck was I thinking' moment...

Wednesday I 'filled in' as the volunteer manager for the Baker Market. I had a bazillion other things to do - like, get my meat pre-orders ready, but what the heck. I needed some 'good girl' points. And I froze. I was not dressed appropriately for the winds that picked up and blew over our snow covered mountains and came across us.

And, I witnessed something that bothered me... One of the vendors was selling goat milk (illegally) out the back of her car...The car was parked right were the customers should park and I could see everything!!!!! She would meet customers and take them to her car, and then return and take their money. I told my husband. I have not shared my concerns with the Board or the PAID manager yet. You see, I am their black sheep right now. Besides, one of the milk shoppers was the Board President. Great. What bothers me? The sale is illegal in a Farmers' Market setting. At the farm? Perhaps it's legal. I don't know. However, Just like selling meat, goat milk is regulated by the USDA. I guess if I have to be legal, everyone else should, too...

Another thing that really bothered me? Her business has a Christian Name. And it really bothers me when 'I'm a Christian and I will tell the world' people do bad things. It really really really bothers me.... Anyway.. I am saving this discussion for a board meeting... No doubt another 'Black Sheep speaks out' meeting.

OK.. Thanks for listening... Now onto the 'crazy world of Andi' again! (BTW - this should be slowing down soon! At least I keep telling myself that!)...


Friday, I did a market in Pendleton. Ot was our last one, and to celebrate we did a 'take your family to work day'. Yep. We all went. And froze our patooties off. First we stopped in La Grande and dropped off a bazillion preorders! We were hopping!

Saturday, since I did not freeze enough the night before, I did a repeat performance at the Baker market. And froze again... Really really froze. And there were only 2 vendors. Hello? Why bother? We cut out an hour early... Brrrrrrr!

During this time, Sami was enroute playing volleyball. she had to catch the bus at school at 8:15am...

Then, I met my 'day job' boss. You know. The place I work 4 hours a week? We loaded her car/rig with all our Crop Til' You Drop Night supplies for that night's crop.

So, that night, Sami, me and her BFF Hannah went to the Crop and I worked until Midnight. Score! An 8 hour day! That's 2 weeks worth of a paycheck for me!!!! But, too many people told me I looked really really tired! Oops!

Hannah Spent the night.

We slept in until 7am!!!!

We had Big Dutch Babies for breakfast.. Yumm..

Sunday we picked apples.

We picked plumbs.

And, we cut firewood.

I also made a HUGE pot of Chicken neck stew...

And then...
Sami started throwing up at 5pm. Every 30 minutes or so, until 10:30 pm.
Not fun...

You know the type of throwing up I mean, don't you? The kind that makes bodies shake when they are done? And, they can't breath during it because it's a combo of gag/choke/convulse during the process?
Poor little body.
We had a system. Kleenex, Bucket, wet towel. And repeat trips to the bathroom...


Yes, this all happened last night!
I slept on her floor.
And today, she is so much better!

And on the Popsicle diet. An all fruit one that is staying down! Yeah!!!

And, I have a huge headache...

I might need a popsicle, too...

Thanks for listening!!!

EHWCMD6 The Classroom Color Challenge

The Colors To Use

My Card

Here is my entry for the Color Challenge hosted by Sharon Harnist. I love these colors!!!


Now, if you want to see Sharon's wonderful card, and the RAK that accompanies this challenge, click the link above. Oh my gosh.. Did you see those papers????? Dreamy!!! And how about her snowflakes? And, the card stock!!! I got lost in Ellen's Store earlier... Sharon's challenge got me way sidetracked!!!

Thanks Sharon!!!



Card Recipe:
Patterned Papers: Crate Paper and unknown
Card Stock: Stampin' Up
Button: Autumn Leaves
Ribbons: Stampin Up and Basic Grey
Letter Stickers: Making Memories
White Pen: Uniball Signo
Hemp: Craft Supply

Thanks for looking!