[ aw, Samdawg ]

Samson had his portraits taken today by my friend Annette

www.olivieriportraitdesign.com.

They turned out awesome! This is my favorite one.

This was achieved by us giving him treats, making crazy noises, and asking questions like: "Samson! Do you want to go for a ride? Do you want to go in the car? Where's Coco? Where's Papa? Samson?! Samson. Samson!"

Only two mishaps: Samson ran head first straight into Annette's floor to ceiling window. Whoops.

Then, when he was sitting on her piano, I think he was getting freaked because everytime he moved, it made noise! Anyway, I went over to pick him up, he stood on his hind legs, and hit his head on the overhang of the top of the piano. Ouch. He's lucky he doesn't have a concussion!

Can't wait to send out my Christmas cards now! Thank you Annette!

[ beta costume party ]

Tonight was the annual

Beta Halloween Party!

I was super nervous about what was in store for us when we received an email telling us to bring our flashlights and our sense of adventure.

I was not excited to be running around Connell in costume.

It turned out to be very fun! They had a fun scavenger hunt planned for us - we had to solve clues and go into businesses to get our ghost. We ended up at the cemetary for our last clue. Melissa, Mom, Jessica Fife, and I were on a team together (randomly chosen, I promise!) - and we WON! Whoop whoop!!

We got back to Amy's and the Halloween Committee had chosen the winner of the Best Costume:

Crazy huh? I am not a fan of Halloween costumes, but this was fun. If anyone needs a Lucy wig...you know where to find one!

Melissa - Groovy Hippie Chick, Mom - Flapper, Marcie - Lucy

Amy as Cleopatra

Marcie, Melissa, and Firewoman Candace

Kara and Karen

the She-Devils: Kara and Annie

Biker Chick Jessica, Hippie Chick Melissa, and Cleopatra Chick Amy

Kelly & Jess

Check out those llllllllllllllashesssssssssssssss

Kate got a Halloween Onesie from her Secret Sister for Baby J!!!

[ full weekend ]

Tonight wraps up a fun full weekend!

• Friday night: Big Eagle win over Royal! Go Eagles!
• Saturday: Crafting day at church with Amy, Stacy, Candace, Jen, Gail, Kara, Melissa, and Jessica
• Saturday Night: Dinner with Mom & Dad
• Sunday morning: quilting
• Sunday: Nails, groceries, new shirt at Wal-Mart (that's a funny combo!)
• Sunday afternoon: lunch with Mom & Dad at IHOP - Eggnog pancakes!!
• Sunday afternoon: Coffee with Jamie, Jen, & Kelly at Starbucks
• Sunday evening: New Car for Mom & Dad!
• Sunday night: Rice Krispie Treats, Laundry, Junior Miss prep for meeting tomorrow

Looking forward to: conferences & Samson's portraits this week! :)

[ happy happy birthday madre! ]

We got to celebrate Mom's birthday today!

After all that has happened in the past six months, we are all very thankful to get to celebrate Mom's birthday with her!

She & I went to the Tri-Cities after school, got the last finishing touches of our Halloween costumes, shopped a little at the mall, and then met the rest of our family at Olive Garden for dinner.

When we got home tonight, we found out that a family friend had a baby girl today, so Mom has a birthday twin....just a few years younger! :)

[ free advertising ]

I thought I'd throw a pitch out there for my friend Kersten and her new blog:

Frozen Knickers

{Doesn't the name alone crack you up?!}

Click on the name for the link to the blog.

Look at this cute quilt she made!! (Hope it's ok that I shared, Kersten!)

I'm amazed at all she does while having four small children, including infant twins!

You go, Girl!

[ hgtv addict ]

Since I was home sick for 4 days in September, I have become addicted to HGTV.

That's right.

I'm an HGTV addict. So what?!
I love ending my day with a little Income Property.

Sunday mornings, start the day with Hidden Potential:

Throw in a little House Hunters and House Hunters International here and there:

Don't forget about Property Virgins:

There is so much information to drink in, so many pretty pretty rooms to admire.

What's not to like?

[ fun weekend ]

What a weekend!

On Friday, the cheerleaders had our semi-annual Junior Cheer Clinic! There were a lot of excited little girls! The big girl cheerleaders got to use their pink poms again as they cheered the Eagle Football team to a win over Wahluke (49-7).

Here they are showing off to the KNDU camera man!

They learned the "Eagles, C'Mon lemme hear you say 'C'" cheer this week. It's cute in pink!

After the game on Friday night, Jessica Fife and I headed to Wentachee to the Fife Family Crafting weekend. I worked most of the day Saturday on quilting a quilt I'm making for a Christmas present. Saturday evening, I worked on few different things. One of them didn't work out and I was discouraged and then couldn't find my groove, so I went to bed. This morning, I woke up and got to work on a different quilt. I got all the blocks pieced, now just need to sew the blocks together. YAY!

Hey Mom! She's workin' so hard...

Have a lot to look forward to this week: 1st Junior Miss meeting of the year tomorrow, a Longaberger party, a P!NK Volleyball game, Youth Group, Mom's birthday, Friday Night Lights at Royal, and another fun crafting Saturday!

[ lucky duck ]

Yesterday, while Mom, Melissa, and I were at a crafting getaway in Wenatchee, Mom got a phone call from Dad.

He bought four tickets for the annual Mid-Columbia Duck Race at the Benton-Franklin County Fair in August. Last week, he bought an additional ticket from a co-worker.

At the race on the Columbia River on Saturday, one of Dad's ducks was the first one across the finish line and he won this:

Ow Ow!

It's crazy! I heard on the radio all week the advertising campaign to buy a duck. I thought, who actually wins these things. I've never known anyone that won something from the Duck Race.

Blah Blah Blah.

Funny how life works.

We've all been getting calls & texts since yesterday congratulating Dad. Pretty cool.

Here's a link to the TC Herald article if you're interested.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/757436.html

[ friday off ]

Today, there's no school for Staff Development.

Thank goodness it's optional. I needed the day off!

A few years ago, we started the Football Junior Cheer Clinic and we have held it on this no school day in October each year. Luckily, there's always been a home game!

This morning, 50ish elementary aged girls came to CHS jumping, cheering, smiling, and so excited for a fun morning. They were pretty cute!

My Dad dropped Samson off at the groomer this morning and he was going to be ready at 11:30am, so I had to leave the cheer clinic early to get him. Thanks Jess. :)

I picked him up and then went to Annette's studio to drop some things off. While I was there, I made an appointment for her to take Samson's pictures in a few weeks. I'm pretty excited!

We went to Target...he helped me put the cart away:

Now, I'm home for a few hours to finish packing for the weekend. Here's some more of my inspiration for the weekend:

The one on the top (Pint Size) I got in the mail today and can't wait to make these cute baby quilts. Good thing I know SO MANY people who are having babys in the next, well, 7-8 months! :)

[ horizon of hope ]

This evening, Mom, Grandma, and I met some other lovely ladies from Connell at the Longaberger Horizon of Hope event in Richland. I hadn't been for a few years, so it was fun to be part of this celebration again. We got to see some fabulous baskets, win some door prizes, contribute to a worthy cause, and listen to an inspirational speaker.

Horizon of Hope was one of my favorite parts of being a Longaberger consultant, but listening to the speaker tonight and being around all that pink made me wonder:

Where's the red?

As in, red dress, for heart disease.

I guess my perspective's changed a bit.

Tonight was a great start to a three-day weekend!!

Tomorrow is an Inservice for Staff Development. It's optional and I need a mental health day!

Tomorrow is also the Junior Cheer Clinic which is always a hectic & chaotic, but fun day!

Then - after the game tomorrow night, Jessica Fife and I are driving to Wenatchee to meet Mom, Melissa, and Amy for a fun crafting weekend. I have a lot of projects to work on, so I'll be busy the whole time! :) I hope to get a lot done!

This is my inspiration:

This is a quilt that Camille Roskelley made - Wild Thing pattern with Simple Abundance fabric. I have the same pattern with the same fabric to create a quilt. Can't wait to make it!!

[ Saturday Craft Day ]

Bring your crafts.

Bring your friends.

Bring your Diet Pepsi, Water, Coffee, or Tea

(or whatever your pleasure may be).

Bring your...

well, that's it.

Saturday, October 24th

9am-12pm

Connell UMC

Open to anyone!

Easy...simple...just come and enjoy!!

[ quick aviary bag ]

In sharp contrast to the bag I posted yesterday that took me an entire day, plus some, and a few months of gaining the stamina to make it....I came home after cheer practice and made this:

I even took a break for dinner.

I found this pattern in a magazine a while ago, but decided to tackle it tonight with some scraps.

I think it's going to live with my good friend who'll be welcoming a baby girl into her home in a few weeks. Any guesses?

[ glace bag ]

I've had this project partially started for over a month and yesterday I finally buckled down and got it done! This is the second bag I've made out of this pattern. You can see the first one here.

I made this for our church's annual Soup Supper and Silent Auction Fundraiser that is November 18th. Put it on your calendar so you can come bid on this fun Christmas bag!

{Glace fabric}

[ think pink ]

Jessica and I surprised our cheerleaders on Thursday with pink poms to use in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We think it's pretty cool!

We rolled over Burbank last night - 42-0. It was cold cold cold (I gotta replace my Uggs!), but a fun game. Burbank's field is pretty small and especially on the visitor's side, it feels like you're actually on the field. We sat right behind the water cooler, so there was lots of interaction with the players. On our field, we're so removed from all the action, it's easy to loose focus.

Our cheerleaders are improving every week and we have an impressive repertoire of stunts. If only we could get the girls to do all of them during the games! A benefit of the intimate setting last night was that the Moms were getting into it and cheering along with the girls. That was encouraging for them!