Better Late Than Never

I've been sitting on this project for a while:

 

I used leftover wood scraps from this project back in the dizz-ay, spray painted them red, attached photos and hung them with twine. Now the naked wall in Pepper's room isn't glaringly bare anymore. I love these pictures, even if they are outdated by a few months. (Phew! Glad to have this project out of the way, finally!)

Oh, You Know...

...Just makin' some cards:

 

My job holds regular make-'n-takes as a little perk, and I'm never opposed to filling out my card stash. These fun employee events always seem to roll around just when I'm thinking about adding to my depleted pile of cards, funny enough. Of course I make them my own...rules-schmules and all that. (All supplies from Close To My Heart.)

Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse

Or, you know, just preparing because it's a smart thing to do:

I love joining my momma and sisters making freezer meals. It is 2-3 intense days with early mornings and late nights, but it is totally worth it. We ended up with dozens of meals and side dishes (not to mention healthy and delicious granola) that are going to last us several months. I was going to give you a total, but it's too much to count so you'll just have to take my word for it that we made a lot. We're getting really good at freezer meals, if I do say so.

Having a meal that is already made and only needs to be heated up helps us during our busy work weeks, which is a total lifesaver. It also allows us to be ready at a moment's notice to help someone else in the dinner department. Chicken noodle soup, anyone?

This is How We Do It

Our family loves Halloween, and here are just a few ways we all celebrated the happenin' holiday:

Are you big Halloween fans? What did you guys do?

Parks Etc...

We spend lots of time outside, the baby bumpkins and us. Almost daily we take walks to parks, which the baby loooves. It is quite charming to watch her eyes light up when she sees a playground. In fact, if we are walking anywhere near our favorite haunt, she will start screaming if we don't immediately head in the direction of the park. That is not very charming, I tell you what.

Regardless of Peppity-pepster's ridiculous behavior at times, the fact of the matter is that parks are awesome. We love them so. It doesn't really matter which one we go to, as long as we can romp around outside and go down the Big Girl Slides. As if you couldn't tell, we also love the mountains, so when we can play at a park in the mountains, it's like hitting the jackpot:

My sister tagged along with us on this particular adventure to practice her photo skills, and she is getting quite good at photography, don't you think? It's nice to actually be in some pictures without taking them of myself or ordering Kirk to take them for me. Sweet! How soon do you think it will be before my sister starts charging me?

Welcome Home

My brother just returned from a two-year service mission helping others with family history. We're glad to have him home and are so proud!

No he can freely spend time leaping through the air and playing his favorite sport, tennis. (Just kidding. I don't even know if he knows how to play tennis.) Welcome home, buddy!

3-ring Circus

These days, when my family gets together, we have more and more littles to worry about keeping entertained. Sometimes it can feel like putting on a never-ending circus. We usually go to a lot of parks, romp outside with the dog, and dance to "You Sexy Thing." This visit, though, we decided to introduce Pepper's little cousins to one of our favorite family-friendly places:

It turns out that the grownups enjoyed the outing just as much as the littles. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. That's one point plus two bonus points for the circus folk. What do you usually do to keep your munchkins busy in a good way?

Birthday Girl

My sister who lives out of state came for a visit and we were able to take some photos for what's turning into an annual tradition: birthday pictures!

Things I love about my sis:

• She is a huge goofball and completely irreverent (although my parents still don't believe me when I tell them. How does she always get away with that?!)
• She cares deeply about being a good mother and instilling the best values in her little kidlets.
• She is a beast and can hike to a mountaintop when she's 7 months pregnant.
• She goes out of her way to make everyone feel included and loved.

I love my little sis! Here's to a fresh and fun new year for you!

Battlecreek Falls

We took a little jaunt to Battlecreek Falls, which turned out to be just right for a curious little monkey:

The world is putting on a splendid show for us right now, don't you think? Which begs the question: what the heck are you doing reading things online when the weather outside is so perfect for autumn hikes?!