Proof

Seriously, Anna...You might want to

delete the "proof"

that you were playing on

Shae's computer....or

she might get mad at you!

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Pumpkin Patch

Go get some Moon Pies, Oreos, Candy Corn, brown sprinkles and M&Ms so you can make some of these cuties! Use melted chocolate chips as glue, then let them "dry", put a stick in them and bag them up!

They are all ready to go to school with Lindsay tomorrow!

Hawes Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and FOR ONCE my expectations were met by the reality!!

Look how festive this "pumpkin rack "looks as it greets you after you (spend a fortune) pay to get in!

Everything was so cute! There were animals to pet, pig races, a big bouncy-thing and a zip line.

The zipline wasn't real high up, but it was a little scary anyway!

The girls rode the little tractor-pulled train. I didn't think Lindsay would do it since she would have to be in her own little car, but she LOVED it!

It is easy to see when she is enjoying something! When they got back from the ride, Shae was laughing SO hard and insisted that we ALL ride. So, we did. It was a wild and bumpy ride, good thing there were seat belts!

The hardest part was finding "the perfect pumpkin" It took Anna a loooong time to find hers!

But she was finally satisfied!

Lindsay wanted to drive the cart, let's just say that those pumpkins are tough! They got dumped out a bunch!

Lindsay said, "Oh, I found my perfect pumpkin, here it is!"
We had a fun day and it was worth every.penny.we.spent.

Here is another one of Shae's senior picture previews. Daniel is working feverishly to get them all edited...he may have some girls bugging him every day about them and he is most likely ready to be free of them!! hee hee

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Senior Picture Preview

I cannot believe I have reached the point in my life that I am facing one of my "chicks" flying out of my nest. It is hard to imagine what life will be like without Shae in our home EVERY DAY!
But for now, we will enjoy all of the fun that "Senior Year" brings. Senior pictures are one of the highlights. (not the price of them though!). I Thought my family and my BFF's would like to see a little preview of Shae's pictures (Lydia & Dawn, I know you know how I feel, and Susie, this will be YOU next year!)
Shae's friend, and classmate, Daniel, took her senior pictures (and some other classmate's pictures too!) He is adorable, sweet and so so talented!!!

This is the picture the "boys" liked the best! haha!!
I can't wait to see them ALL!!!
(but, these DO make me feel a little emotional!)

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Christmas Card {Attempt}

One of the most stressful things {in my opinion} is taking Christmas card photos!I honestly DO try...{and I love this one}. Lindsay doesn't know where to look, is usually talking and is generally unhappy taking pictures anyway.
We have to use "bodily function" humor to get her to smile (I guess all kids think those sounds are funny, brain injured or not!)

She just didn't get why we wnated them to walk "away" from us!! We were using the tri pod and the "hit the button and run to get into the picture before the camera clicks" feature on my camera, so Lindsay was majorly distracted by Daddy's running!

Poor Anna and Shae (and Scott), in my mind I "see" the most beautiful family portrait where the girls are all beautiful, happy and joyful, Scott is dashing, and I am......super skinny. Oh well, it is what it is (as my husband likes to say), and, it IS actually pretty awesome.

{I did end up getting one "acceptable" to use!}

Cookies in a Jar {cute cute cute}

Isn't this the cutest thing? Imagine the possibilities, M&Ms are available for just about every holiday! To download the darling labels and instructions go Here. You will enjoy reading "Living Locurto"! Look on her sidebar for other cute {free} downloads.

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

I was looking through some of my recipes a couple weeks ago and came across this one I had totally forgotten about!!

These are so unbelievably delicious! They are flaky and "short-bready"!

Paradise Bakery Sugar Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups shortening (I used 1 c butter, 1 cup shortening)

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

4 1/3 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Beat together the sugars, shortening (and or butter), vanilla and egg. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Roll dough into balls and roll in sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees until edges just begin to brown.

Hello, Teacher Cookie Tuesday!!

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Bears

When there is a child in your family that has "special needs" there are most likely some toys that come to your rescue. Ours? Counting bears. How I love these cheery & colorful bears. They line up so obediently for Lindsay!
Most of the time they are lined up to catch the bus. They go on field trips, to Grandma's and to camp, but mainly they head off to school. (I would put that little school bus on the short list of "must haves" for Lindsay too- she used to run and hide it when her cousin Austin was on his way over to play!)

Oh, the hours of peace these little bears, who are ALL GIRLS by the way, have given me!

We give them to her in the morning a lot! She wakes up after a night of silence ready to have TONS of conversation. The other people in this house do not. So the bears listen to her.

Last week, Scott decided that Lindsay could put the silverware away while he unloaded the dishwasher (I know!! He does it while he fixes the girls' breakfast and makes their lunches, He loads it too!).

She had to look closely to figure out where the bigger spoons went, but she worked hard!

She also wanted to know how much she would get paid!

Last weekend, on the way to the Oregon Tournament we enjoyed the most beautiful scenery! I kept going on and on about how beautiful it is in Northern California. (we ARE blessed to live in such a beautiful state!)

So, the sweet girl in the front seat, Leanne, got my little camera out of my purse to take a few pictures while we were driving ( probably so I would shut up). I didn't think they would be very good since it wasn't my big camera, and we were moving, but look at the pictures of Mt. Shasta she got!!

After last week's storm, it is now covered in snow, but wasn't it lovely!? I will try to get some more pictures of it with the snow since you can see it from our street!!

Hope your weekend is relaxing....and I hope you have some counting bears!








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Fall Swap Goodness from Ashleigh!

Oh my gracious, my Fall Swap from Ashleigh arrived by FedEx today! I didn't think I would get it today because it is Columbus Day, but the doorbell rang and Shae ran to get it (thinking the package would be FOR HER!!) There was a big, heavy box...for ME!Ashleigh wrote the note on the most precious FALL paper.

It was packaged so safely...which added to my excitement...
I knew I would LOVE all of it before I even opened any of it!

F- Fall and Autumn signs to paint for some Family Fun (seriously, this is ALL ME!) Ashleigh even sent me the paint and brushes!

A- Adorable Acorn to Adorn your home!
(filled with Hershey's Kisses to share with my hubby!)

L- Luminous Light that smells Lovely

(and it DOES! Pumpkin Ginger...Mmmmm!)

L-Luxurious Little towels

(these match the colors in my house perfectly! I LOVE cute towels!)

Ashleigh also sent some goodies to the Luff girls...We are ALL ABOUT lip gloss around here, so she really made them happy with that! They also got light up wands and candy!

* I also got a bonus item! The cutest tablet that says "MOM most outstanding mother" on it, and it is tied with the most adorable ribbon! I LOVE it! I looked on the back and it is from Macon, Georgia so it is even better because I {heart} all things southern!!!

Ashleigh, you really made my day! I absolutely LOVE each and every item you chose for me, it's like you know me! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

(You went above and beyond, for sure...and you had to ship to California! Ugh!)

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