October...

...is here!

I hate that I am down to blogging about once a month.  I want to and try to and think about blogging more often.  But...I guess it just isn't happening right now.  School is good.  This fall season is GREAT!  We are experiencing many beautiful colors and fabulous weather. 

Football is super exciting...the indians are 6-0!  We play a BIG game this week and are hoping for another victory.

Mack is AMAZING! He is a hoot - life is nonstop with him.  We love every minute!  I took him to the doctor for a quick checkup.  He is 45 pounds and 44 inches tall...he is almost square...lol!

I adopted a guinea pig as a class pet for my first graders this year.  It has been a great experience and ALWAYS reminds me of my previous teaching partner, Mrs. McGill...miss you tons!  My first graders love Cheetah (ya, that's his name).  They get him out daily while they work in our word work station.  They are so good to him and I believe this is a great experience for them.

...Mack ALSO really enjoys Cheetah.  Today I brought Cheetah home to clean the cage and 'refresh' his home.  Mack hardly left his side...he talked to him, fed him carrots, and made sure the dogs didn't get too close. ;)

Back at it...

Well... summer flew by, school has started, football season is underway, and we are busy as ever!  School is off to a great start.  It is fun to get started and get to know a new group of students.  Scott is doing special ed. at the elementary in the morning and then he goes to the alternative school in the afternoon.  I am teaching first grade again and loving it...this is the first time we have worked in the same building and enjoy going to work together in the morning. :)

Mack is going to his babysitter and loves spending the day with his friends.  He would be ready for preschool but it is not offered until he turns 4.  Oh well, no need to rush it.  He loves, loves, loves to go to the football field with Scott.  They are two peas in a pod!  He loves painting, coloring, playing with his football guys, cars, and legos. He is smart, funny, handsome, and our #1 blessing!  

Scott has been working hard with the football team.  The Indians are 2-0, yay!  We are excited to get off to a good start.  Mack and I love to go to the games, we are Scott's #1 fans!

The remodeling of our house is complete.  Hip, Hip, Hooray!  We love it!  It really stretched out our upstairs living space.  It was finished right as we started school.  Things are still a bit out of place but we are hoping to work on that tomorrow after church.  We are waiting for a new bedroom set to arrive and then I will post pictures. 

A BIG thank you to Alisha & Matt for trekking out to take some family pics for us! We love them ALL!

My favorite ;)

 

 

Lake of the Ozarks...

We LOVE the lake.  Scott's mom owns a house there and we love, love, love that it brings them here a few times each year.  We REALLY value our time spent together.  What a blessing!  We spent a week and a half eating, drinking, and being merry.


the lake...

the pool...

the fun...

the family...

QFT...Quality Family Time

My parents hosted a BBQ so we could all spend a little time together.  We really enjoyed and appreciated being with our families.  Mack didn't know what to do with so many grandparents at once...lol!

legos...

 Uncle George & Mel...

fishing...

Soxy & Moon...

the WHOLE family...

St. Louis Zoo

Grandma Laura and Loren flew into St. Louis on June 26th.  We picked them up and then enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo.  It was a fun day for all of us!


Grandma and Loren

going to the zoo

elephants

giraffes...Mack's favorite

hippos
















zebras

lots of walking

thirsty guy

a fun-filled day!

June...

Wow! Where does time go?  I was really hoping to blog more frequently this month.  Hmmm... maybe in July.  

We have had a busy month and are trying to slow down a little.  We just bought a house here in Kahoka and are excited to settle in a little more permanently.  We have spent the past couple weeks moving and unpacking.  Whew!  We have moved more than enough in the past few years and look forward to staying put for awhile!  The house is great and we love it.  We have planned to do a little remodeling and it will begin Wednesday.  Let the chaos continue. :)  We are excited about the completed plan and hopefully the dust will settle (literally) before school starts again.


Scott has been busy with the football team.  They have been to team camps and are playing weekly 7 on 7 games.  Mack and I love going to support the team!


Last week was VBS at our church.  I taught the 4-6 yr. old class and Scott was in charge of games.  Mack got to hang out with one of his little buddies in the nursery and join my group during activities for most of the week.  What an amazing experience for all of us!  We felt so blessed to have been involved!

Grandma Laura and Loren arrive on Tuesday for a month long visit.  We are SO excited to see them and spend lots of time with them!  They will stay a few days with us and then we will all spend most of our time together at the lake house.  YAY! 

Here are some recent pics:

after seeing Kung Fu Panda...  lol!

a day at football camp...

growing so fast...

we love to read!

Have a GREAT week
...stay cool!

aprons and painting...

Mack's new favorite activity is painting.  My new favorite activity is sewing aprons.  Hmmm...we are becoming rather crafty around here. ;)  On Saturday Mack and I went to Walmart to go hobby shopping.  He picked out new paint, some brushes, and sponges.  Then, he was so patient while I dug through fabric to find coordinating pieces for our aprons.  Our Walmart just expanded it's fabric section and was in a bit of disarray.  No worries though we found some beautiful fabric.  

When we got home Mack napped and I opened up my new sewing machine.  I hadn't touched one of these since Home Ec class in high school.  Needless to say I popped in the DVD and held onto the instruction manual for dear life.  I sort of measured Mack before he went to sleep and was going to make up the rest as I went.  Let's just say this simple little apron took me all afternoon and evening.  The good news is I only had to use my seam ripper once.  It turned out GREAT! (as long as no one looks too closely at the stitches)  It is double sided so he has choices...choices are good for 3 yr olds!


Mack painted after his nap and then wore his apron to help me work on dinner.

Sunday morning Mack and Scott were up before I was.  Mack came trotting around my bed at 7:30 and got right up next to my cheek and said, "BOO!"  This is how he normally wakes me up...he thinks it is funny.  Thank goodness it is followed by a smile and a kiss. He says, "Mom can we please go paint some pictures?"  In my sleepy state I replied, "Maybe" and then dozed back off a bit.  I still sensed a presence and opened my eyes again.  Mack was standing there looking at me with his head tilted and his eyebrows raised and said, "Mom I don't understand maybe, will you please just say yes."  How could I resist his sweetness?  I got up and we went outside to paint.

 

After church it was naptime and I got started on apron #2.  I really don't know why I wanted to make aprons.  I have NEVER used or even owned an apron before.  I got my sewing machine for Mother's Day and had no idea what I was going to do with it.  It sat around in the box for a couple weeks as school finished up and I thought about what I wanted to make.  

Now I must admit that I LOVE pinterest.  Since I do not belong to any social networking sites I do not actually have my own pinboard...I just get on frequently and browse the most recent pins.  This is where I got the idea to make an apron and then started googling patterns and ideas like a mad woman.  I knew I wanted something ruffly and cute.


Here is my inspiration picture (I found it as I googled ruffled aprons):

I could not find a pattern/tutorial to make this specific design.  However, I found these two sites and basically combined the instructions and made a few changes to create my own apron. 
(click on the links below)


1. full ruffled apron

2. ruffled half apron

Here is my finished product.  I officially finished it at midnight last night.  I really enjoyed making it!

 

I will get to wear my new apron as I work on my next project - strawberry jam.  Thanks to my friend Nancy for sharing some fresh strawberries with us.  Yum!  I have never made jam but Nancy says it is easy and is willing to help me get started.  I can't wait!