Ruler of the Elves

Three men in a tub!

These three cousins had a great time splishing and splashing together a few weeks ago. Such a great time, that it was hard to get a photo of them all looking in a similar direction no matter how many crazy sounds pleas we made. Regardless, Sweet Pea and his cousins, Fuzzworth and Bear Cub, were all still super cute. I wonder if these pics will make a reappearance around the teenage years…

Can you believe that our little Pinky turned eight this year? I cannot and it hits me in the face like a frying pan every time she makes a point to tell someone that she is not seven anymore, but a big eight year old.

Here is this year’s birthday invitation…

Pinky’s birthday celebration started out with her last soccer game of the season. She played so well, not that she usually doesn’t, but this time she had some extra perk in her step. I think it was probably because she had such a large cheering section of aunts, uncles and cousins.

(The following 3 photos are courtesy of ATM & Uncle Adam. Thanks!)

After her game, we headed back to Grandpa and Grandma’s house and attempted to pull off a surprise costume party. We had told Pinky that she and her cousins were dressing up in their Halloween costumes so that ATM could get some pics. They headed outside and the rest of us only had a few minutes to do a mad dash and get everything set up. Luckily we had prepared a lot of the food the night before. (Thanks so much for everything, Dad & Beth!)

When Pinky came in, she acted surprised, but I know she had a hunch that something was going on. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many photos of the guests dressed up in their costumes this year. (If anyone that attended happened to capture a few of the great get ups from this year, please send some my way!) I did, however, get some pics of Pinky opening a few of her gifts, sans David Bowie wig.

To say she was ecstatic may be an understatement.

After the costume party, we headed out to the farm for our usual pumpkin picking. Pinky and Fuzzworth had a grand time running around and picking up pumpkins. Big ones, little ones, rotten ones, etc. And even though it was super cold, it was such a pretty evening which made it all worth it.

And of course, we can’t forget the annual Mexican restaurant sombrero wearing birthday dinner. We wrapped up the evening with enchiladas and tacos, while Pinky wore her big ol’ hat. It was a great way to end a busy, yet exciting day.

This year for Halloween, our little trick or treaters went as movie characters. From old movies. None of that new stuff for us.

Pinky decided way back last year that she wanted to be David Bowie’s character (Jareth) from the movie Labyrinth, which is one of her all time favorite flicks. A few times she changed her mind, but luckily she always came back to this costume, which was fun to put together. The costume is mostly clothing that we already owned (a shirt of mine, boots & leggings of hers) and we found that vest at about the 7th thrift store we went to. Can you believe they don’t sell those vests at the Gap or Gymboree? Well maybe they used to. In 1986. Oy. We wished we could have found a crystal ball too, but she did just fine without it since the most important part was the HAIR. (That hair is out of control!!) Thank you Halloween store, whatever your name was, for the awesome 80’s rocker wig. So awesome you can hear Poison’s greatest hits when you wear it.

Sweet Pea stole from the rich and gave to the poor this year as Robin Hood. It’s always fun trying to come up with a costume for a toddler. You need something to keep them warm (it’s always freezing cold here on Oct. 31st) and with no mask because you know that it will end up crumpled on the floor. The thought of a bow & arrow crossed my mind, but it was much easier and safer to whip up a cute little felt knife to attach to his belt. The rest of the costume was machine sewn by yours truly and I must say it turned out pretty darn awesome.
Now to figure out what to do with the rest of this… I kid, I kid. It will be gone by the end of tomorrow for sure. *Wink*

I can’t believe that it is already fall, but I’m so excited because October is absolutely my most favorite month of all. I love the changing leaves, the cooler weather, pumpkins and Halloween. And creepy stuff. We can’t forget that.

To celebrate this awesome month, I’m doing a photo tribute to scary movies for my 365 + 1 project.

A little creepy, huh? Luckily, I’ve had some semi-reluctant eager participants to photograph. You can check it out what has been done so far here. And to view the rest of the 365 + 1 project, click the photography link above. Happy October!

When my generous sister brought Sweet Pea a large assortment of ball pit balls, he was beyond excited. These things have had constant play in our house and I don’t see that dying down anytime soon.

So, after the handy dandy wine box ended up squashed and flattened on my living room floor several times, I decided to give it a makeover and reinforce it at the same time. The best part was that this project was totally free and super duper easy!

After securing it with way too much tape, I hot glued some leftover fabric around the box and secured it over the top and bottom too.

Then, to cover it a little more, I put thick black cardstock on the inside, which also gave it a more finished look. (Nevermind those little glue strings I neglected to remove before photographing.)

And that’s all. It seriously took like 10 minutes and cost less than all of the fancy schmancy storage containers in stores today. Lesson learned: Use what you have, people. Use what you have.