{Weekend Glimpses and Pumpkin Carving}

aubrey and i took a quick trip to the mall on friday
old navy was having a big sale
look what i found for $2.50!

dress up for now and halloween costume next year
bee-autiful don't ya think?

i'm not room mom this year
in either class
feels a bit weird
i have been room mom somewhere since riley was in kindergarten
and sometimes room mom in both classes
it was a bit crazy at times i have to admit
but i still loved it
this year someone else is taking a turn
once i got used to the idea and relinquished that control...it feels great!
i actually got to go to the halloween parade this year
instead of being up in the classroom prepping for the party

i got to sit with janey during her whole party
and be with just her
it was awesome

riley went camping with the girl scouts on friday night.
she was so excited.
she got her list of what she needed and packed her own suitcase.
i had to bite my tongue big time as i watched her pack her light weight coat and leave out her sweatshirt.
as a mom i wanted her to be snugly and warm.
as a 9 year old, she wanted to look like "the rest of her friends" and not be too bundled up.
i wasn't sure what to wish for....a warm and snugly night or a cold one that taught her a  lesson...mom sometimes has a clue.
i went with warm and snugly.
and that's what she was.
i guess it was me who learned the lesson...trust your 9 year old????!!!!

riley being away for the night gave janey her dream evening.
snuggled up with us on the couch watching the world series.
eating ice-cream out of a mug like mommy.
and sleeping with us.
she is a snugler remember.
and would sleep with us every night if she could.

it also gave these two some one on one time.
it makes my heart melt to see sisters bonding.

janey has been saving her money for a horse.
thank goodness just the plastic kind.
she got her on saturday afternoon .
her name is penny.
thrilled doesn't even come close.

riley and i went on a date sunday afternoon.
i love those moments together with just one of my girls.
they don't happen very often so i have to cherish them.
we talked about
friends, school, styles, soccer, books and more.
she has been looking for a pair of slouchy boots for awhile and
we just happened to stumble upon some.
she was so happy.

we finished our date at barnes and noble.

looking at books and making a big list for the library.
i think we walked out of there with over 20 titles to order.

{PS. aubrey wanted riley to put piggies in her hair this morning...she was so happy!}

the night before halloween means pumpkin carving time.

this was absolutely too funny.
aubrey peeked into that pumpkin with such high hopes.
what could possible be in there....."ewwwww...disgusting"!
we all cracked up.
i seriously thought she might lose her cookies...for real!

any ideas where she gets all the drama from?

i think she likes the empty smiling pumpkins much better.

our porch is spooky.
our weather is crisp and cool.
our super easy costumes are set and
our candy basket is full.
looks like we are ready for tonight.
how about you?
ready?

have a happy halloween,

cindy

{Manual}

ok
i switched my camera to the ever scary "m" yesterday
not really sure why
i certainly don't know what i'm doing
but i figured who says you have to know what you're doing first???
right?:)
i adjusted a few things
and i do mean a few and this is what i got

not too bad right
i know it is a bit underexposed, but i was going for that "ethereal lighted look"....
and yes i just made that up!

then these strange dots started to appear
i didn't notice them while i was shooting the picture
i am guessing they are light reflecting off the lens?
anyone?

then they disappeared

my favorite is the first one and the second to last one
so i guess i'm good
i found this cool little series on you tube called digital photography 1 on 1
i only watched one lesson (don't laugh!) and there are like 60 something
i like it so far so we will see
feels a little more classroom like
then just reading a manual


hope your friday is wonderful
ours is going to be filled with a quick mall trip, halloween parades, and class parties.
sounds fun to me

have a happy day,

cindy

{Loving}

source

source

source

source

source

source

can you tell what two catalogs came in the mail today?

the holidays are a comin'...i can feel it!



what are you lovin' lately?

have a happy day,

cindy

{Are You Ready for This?}

remember over the summer when our hard drive crashed?
remember how we were told to send it out to that company for repair?
remember how it was going to cost at least $1500 with no guarantees of how much they would recover?

well last week we got this little magazine in the mail
the kind filled with local coupons and advertisements
on the back cover there was an ad for a new computer store in the area
something told me to give them a call
it was a long shot
after all, i had already called several similar companies in the area
none of them could help us

these guys were different
they actually told us to bring it in
we had never gotten that far before
so aubrey and i drove it down there
they hooked it up and said it was still "spinning"
which i'm guessing is a good thing

aubrey and i sat there for about 10 minutes in the really cool brand new spinny chair
looking at the ceiling and taking rides
i was noticing the fact that they had literally just opened
just a few folding tables, a front desk and 3 computers
kind of funny....

they plugged it into a few different computers
fiddled with some things and
then i hear..."we got it!"
i was like..."you got what?"
"we got your data!!!!!"
can i tell you that i nearly jumped up and down and hugged the guy
that was it....they got it

but they told me not to get my hopes up, sometimes during a lightening strike
some of the files can be corrupted
so we left with huge smiles and big hopes
this is as close as we had come to a good outcome

i called about 2 hours later
i felt like i was calling the doctor about a sick friend:)
they said they had recovered 100% of the data and transferred all of it to an external hard drive for us
i could not stop thanking him and told him we would tell all our friends and be customers for life
i think he thought i was a bit nuts
and ready for the kicker....they charged us for an hour of labor and for the price of the hard drive
we walked out of there with all of our stuff and a bill for $156!!!!!!!

so we are now the proud owners of an external hard drive
and we now have every. single. one. of our photos on our computer!
(which is also being backed up daily by a "cloud service")

so, the moral of the story?
read those local magazines and
give the new guys a call
you just never know......

so since i have all of my photos now
here are a few more flashback moments

2008 

fancy witch and fancy nancy 

sorry for the red-eyed look...is it spooky??:)

2009

pirate, fancy witch, and dazed but cute baby



 2010

pumpkin patch

2010

minnie mouse, puppy in her jammies, and a scarecrow

have a happy day,

cindy

{Pumpkin Patch}

saturday we went to the pumpkin patch.
this is our third year visiting this one of a kind place.
we really love it.
there is so much to see and look at it.

the weather was picture perfect

not a cloud in the sky

the highlight for the big girls is the maze

we had to get that out of the way before we could focus on anything else

they must have spent over 20 minutes running in and out of this thing

they had a blast and aubrey was right there with them the whole time:)

this place is filled with so many great things to see and take pictures of.

you really need to visit more then once.

one time to run around and have fun,

and one time to pose for all the pictures:)

it was so beautiful inside this little "micanthus meander".

the sound the wind made when it blew through the grasses was so peaceful.

i was imagining a hammock, a big blanket and a nap!

it just wouldn't be a good day for us without ice-cream

and silliness

this cracks me up...we both look so formal...

aubrey loved all the animals

taking the "long-slow-independent-two-year-old-way" while the big girls visit the maze again

kettle corn...yum

finally it was time for pumpkin picking

you can tell a lot about a person by how they choose a pumpkin right?

let's just say i have one quick chooser and two not so quick choosers

can you guess who is who??

hint...she really was tapping her lip and saying...."hmmmm....let me see....!"

and for the record, aubrey really did choose a green pumpkin

it wasnt' just me wanting a contrast with the orange shirt

i promise!!!!!

happy pumpkin pickin'

have a lovely day,

cindy