A few woodworking projects...

You know how your kids will be happily playing with one thing, and then all of the sudden it seems, they are totally addicted to something else...like stuffed animals and then sea creatures and then dragons and then hot wheel/matchbox cars!

Jacob steadily collected matchbox cars over the summer and then announced that he needed a shelf to hold them all. He has way more than what you see pictured...he's actually up to 84 cars.

 Beau, who is never too far behind Jacob, decided that he also needed a shelf. He wanted his a little different, with black strips along the front that he could write on with chalk. I didn't want to put a finish on the shelf (lazy!) so we compromised with using MDF for the shelves and spray painting the lips with chalkboard paint. Success!

 My friends Kristine and Taffy and I decided that we needed some time in the woodshop! We didn't even care what project it was, we just wanted something to do together. So I decided on a ladder shelf that I had pinned a while ago and that I continued to admire. It was a fun project because we came up with the measurements and plans and angles together (the pin was in another language!), and worked out problems together. And I really enjoyed finishing it with a process that made it look weathered.

 Here is my shelf at home with my plants! I love it! And I love my time with Woodshop friends! (Don't judge my plants. They are alive and that's enough, okay?)

Happy Halloween!

It wasn't too hard to come up with Beau's costume this year. He was still quite enamored with his new pet cockatiel Cheeky, and so when I suggested that he BE cheeky he was readily on board. I made him a feathered cape and a mohawk-beanie and then we attached some long feathers to a belt for his tail. Here he is with the real Cheeky. Oh and I painted his cheeks bright orange just like Cheeky's. It was quite possible my most favorite costume I have ever made. Maybe it's just cause I enjoy that bird. But more likely, it's because Beau is just SO DANG CUTE.

 Marianne had an extremely difficult time deciding on a costume. I really wanted her to be Doc McStuffins and use her new doctor kit from her birthday. She sort of liked that idea, but also wanted to be an alligator and a pumpkin and every other costume she laid eyes on. Then we found out her preschool was having a harvest festival, and that she could come dressed up like a farm animal. She still wanted to be an alligator, and I admitted that there were alligator farms out there, but ultimately we decided on the more reserved but still quite adorable cow. I made her this costume from a girl's XL white sweatshirt while she serenaded me with an assortment of "moos." There are an assortment of shapes hiding in the black spots...a heart, bat, pumpkin, butterfly...And she wore an old cow bell that originated with my own family at some point. (I tried to dim the ding of the bell so it wouldn't drive her teachers crazy, but I don't know that I was very successful.) We called her MariBelle MooAnne Payne.

 Here she is with her class at the harvest festival. I'm not sure why more kids didn't dress up...

 Jacob wanted to be a hunter. Not just any hunter, though. He wanted to wear a ghilly suit (didn't know that's what it was called before now!), which is camouflaged suit that hunters wear to heavily disguise themselves in different kinds of foliage. We had a blast trick or treating with this kid because he would walk up to the door and then crouch down so he looked like a bush. The other kids would ring the doorbell and Jacob would just sit there until the perfect moment and then he'd yell "boo!" or "trick or treat!" It was very entertaining!

I don't know how I missed getting a picture of Bekah! She was a very adorable pirate. I love that she is always my most simple costume-person. The boys are always very imaginative and Bekah just uses whatever we have on hand. It helps simplify my work at Halloween time!
Happy Halloween!

Marianne's Birthday!

Marianne started planning her fourth birthday last November, shortly after her third birthday. She wanted it at Luke's house (her cousin), in Flagstaff, with Luke making her a cake and Joshua providing the balloons. She invited every friend, acquaintance, and even quite a few strangers to her birthday at Luke's house, and was only slightly disappointed when she realized they wouldn't be able to make it. (Because they didn't know the way to Luke's house.)
She even requested that Cutesy drive her to Flagstaff in her red sports car...and that's how she wound up in Flagstaff, a day before the rest of us, with Cutesy and Grandad. She got spoiled rotten and loved all of the attention.
On the glorious morning of her birthday she got to open presents (yay Doc McStuffins!),

and the softest white tiger from Grandad,

 and she was only upstaged by her super adorable baby nephew...Leo you're killing me with that smile!

We decided to have a picnic party at the park and play minute to win it games. The older kids and adults were thoroughly entertained by this plan, but all Marianne wanted was to have Luke push her on the swings...which he did for the better part of an hour. It's no wonder he's her favorite!

 The most photographically satisfying game that we played was one where you had to get the cookie from your forehead to your mouth without dropping it. Rus won. It turns out that a beard is like an ace in the hole in this game. Tyler deserves an honorable mention though for impressive facial contortion.

 Marianne's favorite part of the day was when she got to open all of her presents. She got an umbrella which she has wanted for a long time (think tears at Marshalls numerous times), a little succulent plant from Luke, clothes, and I'm sure much more that I've forgotten.

 Later that night, after she conked out for a much needed nap, we were able to make pizza in Mike's pizza oven. Best. Pizza. Ever. Doesn't she look a like she's still half asleep?

 And finally, here are the cupcakes we made, that Marianne specifically picked out, that we never actually ate. We were too full from all of the delicious pizza.

Happy Birthday Buggy! I love everything about your big spirit. You fill my life up to overflowing!