more of not a lot

I have been doing lots of Fabulous Friday stuff. Don't know what that is? It is Oregon's version of Super Saturday. I am in charge of the crafts. Fun and ugh all at the same time. hehe

So when I am not pricing crafts, making the sample crafts, or driving my kids to from ballet and karate or school, we can be found doing things like this...

Decorating for Halloween...

Each year I try to spice up my holiday collections. Add something new.

How boring is it to have the same stuff year after year?

This year I added some awesome bats, a darling mummy family, and some super cool spiderwebs.
(Another blog post to follow.)

The weekend before school started, we started a new tradition...

Tyson takes the kids on a camping trip.

I am sure I could go if I wanted to, its not like I am not invited, but I will take one for the team and stay home... Sometimes you have to sacrifice like that, ya know?

Last year our grape vine went ballistic. It was huge and crazy and vining into the neighbors trees, but we didn't get a single grape... 

This year, however, we could feed a small nation with the grapes that vine produced.

Oh and they were delish.

Berkleigh has been really into decorating the table with centerpieces for meals.
My sunglasses made the cut this particular meal.

Quincy continues to climb up the stairs and someone is constantly carting her back down. She just babbles all the way up talks to us from her mount and they is very verbal when wanting to come down.

I asked Merrick and Berkleigh what they wanted for dinner.
None of us were hungry due to our small colds and late lunch.
When they said ice cream, I declared it Ice cream night.
We ate ice cream and went to bed.
That is my kind of dinner.
(And probe will never happen again.)

Um, are you kidding me? Who is this growing girl?
I needed some pictures of Berkleigh for a photo gallery wall I am doing.
And she hammed it up for me.
I love this girl.

Full of personality.

And there it is...

I am sure random will just begin to describe the next several blog posts as I try to find time in the next few weeks to blog. Oh life, slow down.

Prima ballerina

It is so amazing to me when Merrick puts on his karate "outfit" (what are they called?) he thinks he has a black belt.

And when Berkleigh puts on her ballet outfit, she dances around like she is in the Nutcracker.

Cutest thing ever.

My friend Rachel and I put Berkleigh and Tessa in a dance academy together.

Cutest girls ever.

Seriously, it is so funny when they are together and posing for the camera. 

Doesn't get any better than this.

And she wouldn't be MY ballerina without dirty knees.

why didn't i blog for a week?

I took pictures.

It is Divergent. I have been reading it, and wanting to finish....

It has just taken over my days, well that, and sitting in the car waiting for my kids to be taken or picked up from school, oh and ballet, and karate...

Here are the random things we have done this week...

Merrick got his hair cut and FOR REAL thinks it hurts. 

Berkleigh tried to help him out by reading him a fall book... 

(Didn't help with the whining, but solid effort.)

The kids wanted to put up Halloween decorations. I told them that the house needed to be cleaned (dusted, swept, mopped and vacuumed). Best thing ever. They did so many chores.

I decided that we need to have more decorations for obscure holidays to keep them cleaning.

Are you dying over this little outfit like I am. I forgot all about these Uggs someone gave me, and they are just now fitting and it is perfect with the cooler weather coming our way.

Someone figured out the stairs.

She is proud of herself, and talks to herself up there all day long.

Sophie went missing.

We found her.

Quincy was so happy.

matched

So Berkleigh and Quincy are too far apart in age to have clothes that really match. Berkleigh is just getting out of the little girl sizes and starting in kid sizes and Quincy is just getting into little girl sizes...

But I went to Old Navy and found these tights. Couldn't pass them up.

and the the skirts, the shirts, the bows...

I had too.

It was very satisfying.


I gonna have a photo shoot before church but we were running late, so we ended up doing it after church, which really turned out to be a great idea...
(See they speak for themselves.)

 Berkleigh really is turning into such a little lady. I love it. So cute. Her hair flipped out makes her look so much older!

Artichoke flying

We LOVE artichokes in our family. We eat them at least once a week.

They can be kind of expensive, but if you get them at Trader Joes, you can get 4 for $2. 

The twins LOVE them. Who can argue? They are eating a vegetable packed with protein. 

Ok.

(Please don't look to closely at my daughter's DIRTY nails... unfortunately the nail polish stopped covering the nastiness. :)

 I think part of the fun of eating them is sliding your teeth along the leaf and then THROWING it into the leaf pile. 

Seriously, I pocket full of fun every time.

 This time it was extra fun because Quincy thought it was the funniest thing ever.

She had the greatest belly laugh every single time one flew to the pile.

So we made more of a mess this particular dinner because Quincy was so entertaining.

the Karate Kid

My friend Rachel and I decided to put Berkleigh and Tessa in ballet. They have been dying to do it, and we have this great little (affordable) dance company close to us, so we did it!

Well, Tessa's sister Emory, wanted nothing to do with ballet... nothing. (I love that!) And obviously Merrick didn't either, but we felt that they both needed to be able to have an extracurricular activity too... Emory chose Karate and Merrick with stars in his eyes said YES!

So, we have had our first lesson, and I think they love it...

Although their teacher is from the 80's with her blue mascara and shadow.

Wow. She is a treat.

I just went to the park with my friend Rachel (mother of Emory and Tessa) and Emory and Merrick were in the field practicing what they learned on their very first day.
so. cute.
Waiting for Emory to come and class to start.

Planking exercises.

Jumping jacks... incredibly amazing.
Learning some punching... want to eat him alive in that little stance of his.

Practicing some "wax on, wax off" techniques on the punching bags.

Learning some side kick action.
Total amazingness to watch.

But of all amazingness, I think this picture of Emory takes the cake.

Seriously, how cute is she attacking that punching bag?