Happy Halloween!

Our day started after a good nap (well, Mallory had a nap).
My brother, Jill and Ember came over to carve pumpkins since we hadn't found the time previous to today.

pumpkin guts - the goop = yummy roasted pumpkin seeds

Cute little piggy tails!

... quite the project ...

(forgot to take a picture when he was finished)

Casey carved the BIG one - $1.99 at Aldi, by the way,

I carved Mallory's monogram into the little one.

The cutest little duck you've ever seen!!

Since it's too cold to trick or treat (and the girls can't eat the goodies anyway) we headed to Grandpa and Grandma Hammen's after carving to show off our costumes.

What an adorable lady bug!!

Trying to take this picture reminded us just how mobile these little ladies are!

Then we surprised Grandma and Grandpa Butschli's by showing up on their door step. Literally!

A fun Halloween treat in place of candy!

Oops, there's the candy!

Looks like some of us will enjoy the extra hour of sleep we'll get tonight!

The End!

Halloween (yummy) Mail

Mallory received some fun MAIL this week! A package arrived that said "perishable, open immediately." YUM YUM! Thank you Braden and Finley for sending Mallory such a yummy treat - a giant cookie with buttercream frosting! She even shared with her mom and dad!

Bye, bye leaves!

Well, after what seemed like the shortest summer ... we appear to have had the shortest fall. The leaves left the trees in our backyard yesterday. Of course there are still leaves on trees elsewhere and I know fall isn't over yet, but the ALL THE RAIN has made it seem quite un-fallish. We got a few shots cruising around the backyard in Mallory's wagon.

Yay for Spoons!

Dinner is such fun at our house - eating with a spoon is a whole different world. (Okay, maybe not, but cute and exciting nonetheless.)

" Hmm, is it easier with my left hand?"

When did she get so BIG??

Baths and Fun with Ember

We always look forward to a night when Ember comes to visit. And after a dinner of spaghetti and green beans it was time for a bath!

mohawks for everyone!

... reading in our matching onesies ...

... fun in our jammies ...

THE ottoman ... one of my favorite baby shower gifts, thanks meg,

it's the perfect height for many activities!!

... not quite there, but she's got the idea ...

YAY for Mommy!!

When the dog gets bored ...

If you're looking for the fastest way to destroy a roll of perfectly good toilet paper and a box of tissues ...

... lock them in the bathroom with a 180 lbs (overweight) mastiff for 7 hours. How could I even get mad?

don't try this at home

Our neighbors finally paid someone to cut down the rest of their tree (it's only been three years since they attempted to do it themselves). It was quite interesting to watch ... an episode of "Ax Men" in our front yard. The guy just walked around up there like he wasn't 100 feet in the air. Coming from someone who's NOT afraid of heights ... very impressive.

10.10.16 Sully & Ale's Wedding

The weekend after my cousin's wedding, Casey was the best man in his friend Mike Sullivan's wedding. Here's Sully, his parents, his brother and Casey waiting for Alejandra to come down the aisle. In this traditional Mexican wedding it's customary for the parents of the groom to stand at the alter to welcome the bride and her family.

During the ceremony, the couple's godparents presented them with "gifts" ... coins, a rosary, a bible and a lasso (shown below).

(and the pictures stop after the ceremony ... also, you'd think it would have occurred to me to get a picture of Casey and I with Sully and Ale.) The wedding was beautiful, the reception was quaint with GREAT food and entertaining company.

The bittersweet part of the day was that due to unforseen circumstances, we were unable to attend Casey's dad's last game as a high school football coach ... his last game of 40 years of coaching. His last game was supposed to be the following weekend except that team ended up forfeiting due to a teacher's strike. See the details here. We were thankful that Mallory got to join in the on the fun! Another end of an era!