Proud Papa

Having two little girls, Brad is usally asked to participate in lots of tea parties...

and to take care of lots of princesses...

so I couldn't believe my ears just now when I heard his first born princess ask him,

"Daddy, how do you tackle? Will you show me how to tackle?"

Playing hookey

This year, Lillianna goes to school five days a week. Five days!

Only for three hours in the morning...and she loves it...but I miss her.

So today she stayed home.

We soaked in the gorgeous weather and enjoyed our morning together.

We looked for the little things {in life} all day... like fallen ladybugs among the tiny pebbles.

We LAUGHED!

These two really had fun being together. They usually do.

In fact, most mornings Ellenie still cries or whimpers when we drop La La off at school.

Then about an hour before we pick her up,

she starts repeating, "I want La La. I want go La La school."

And as soon as Lillianna gets in the car, she starts handing all her artwork and worksheets to Ellenie, explaining each one and telling us about her day. They are both so happy to be together.

Lillianna is a wonderful big sister...proud, protective, patient.

Ellenie is a great little sis...proud, pesty, and incredibly in awe of "La La"

Lillianna is silly, quirky, sensitive and loves to laugh.

Ellenie is silly, funny, cuddly, and loves to make her sister laugh.

They are perfect for eachother.

It was a great morning, an uneventful afternoon, and a really super evening.

I wish I could have bottled the whole day up -

the perfect weather, the girls giggles, the smell of pumpkin cupcakes {we love them!}, the colorful leaves, all the love I'm feeling - so I could savor it all again.

Last week's little vampires

Perfectly Pink Big sis Vamp

Absolutley adorable little sis vamp

Hoppy Halloween!

The Bunny & The Bee

I think it should be a book.

The characters will be sweet and clever and beautiful...

just like these two.

A sweet, fun, magical Halloween full of candy, friends, and bubbles!

There's a party in my tummy!

So what was it that these girls couldn't get enough of?

Super Easy Super Yummy Pumpkin Cupcakes

I saw the recipe in Real Simple Magazine:

Prepare a box of yellow cake mix but substitute a can of pumpkin for water.

(I still added a bit of water because it was so thick)

Bake, cool, and ice with cream cheese icing (I used Pilsbury Whipped),

and top with a candy corn.

They were a huge hit and had that "hint of fall" taste that I'm craving right now.

So easy! So good! and

So cute!

Enjoy!

Her first big hair cut

Before:

During:

AFTER:

Big Sister (who also got one) was so proud of little Ellenie (who is getting to be such a big girl!).

She's headed to an AVON convention this weekend

This little rascal ransacked my purse

while I was busy visiting with Sue-Sue & Pops.

We had a great time! Thank you!

Feelin' Fall

Feelin' in the Fall Mood,

we decided to decorate a bit ...

We got together with friends and made a GIVE THANKS garland.

It was tons of fun, a big mess, and a great success!

I used Ellenie and Lillianna as my hand print models

and made it out of fabric instead of paper so we can use it for years and years to come.

I can't believe how close in size their little hands are.


In everything, give thanks...psalm 7:17

(Those our some of our pumpkins from our pumpkin patch trip!)

fabulous fall

I Love Love Love FALL!

And it's finally here!

So we went on our first Fall outing...

We had a great time at the local pumpkin patch!

So many fun things to do...so many fun things to look at...

We left with lots of pumpkins, great memories, and some great big smiles!

Happy Fall!

What?! A new pet?!

Counting all the frogs,

the 2 turtles,

the 2 hermit crabs,

Princess Jumper,

Dorothy (the .88 cent goldfish who requires $18 antibiotics),

and of course Boone,

this was the 57th pet the girls have had in the last 5 months...

Jake Deux, was only around for a day.

Brad's secretary, knowing our love for new pets,

called with this one after rescuing it from the side of the road.

She was hoping it was a box turtle but after a little research we learned it was a good ol' Mississippi Mud Turtle and couldn't live inside with us. {darn.}

So the girls tried to teach him to fetch,

or at least to play "kick the crocheted egg" but Jake Deux wasn't really interested.

So we put on some music and let Jake "dance" around the kitchen
before we set him free in the mud.
Bye Jake!

Decatur for a day

I can't believe it's already been a week since I took this picture.

It was a brief but very sweet reunion!

Despite the possible tornado and definite terrible storm headed our way,
we HAD to go to the Homecoming Parade!

Oh how we miss all our little buddies!'

It was so much fun to see everyone although it was much too short.

Sisters and Best Friends...it just doesn't get any better!

The parade got started and so did the candy. It's hard to say which Ellenie liked more.

I'm not sure if it was the awesome Firetruck, the beautiful Homecoming "Princess"or the ominous clouds Lillianna was pointing to...She loved every minute of it.

These two couldn't play enough together!

The next morning we were so excited to go to our dear friend's wedding.

The girls looked so precious and acted precious {almost} the entire time.

We can't wait to go back again soon!