Halloween

Can someone tell me how its the 10th of november already? im still recovering from all the halloween candy hangovers. now i need to get on a serious diet!! here are some pics from the festivities:

The kids with our neighbor. She is dubbed the "favorite neighbor" because of all her cute animals that my kids get to see when they go over there.

some people thought that because my costume wasnt over the top......that i was a fairie . but no, i was a butterfly. hence the butterfly wings?? we tried to get a picture of all the kids holding still, but this is the best we could do with the kids all hyped up on sugar.

Isnt that the cutest "bumbee" you have ever seen? Lucille couldnt quite say bumblebee.

so all day she said---" i won be my bumbee costume"

i have a "thing" for insect costumes. last year Lucy was a butterfly too.

this was at the trunk-er-treat. costumes pretty much the same.

but my makeup was cooler.

This was at the wieden and kennedy party. they always have a reptile table. and Ruby loves it.

she was in the car after requesting that we get a bearded dragon ( yea right!!)

this alligator was tickling rubys head ---she loves that alligator.

correct me if im wrong, but i think that lizard that ruby is holding is a bearded dragon.

she was really fascinated by lizards after this.

and heres some cards i had fun making with the kids.

when i say kids , i mean Ruby

pumpkin patch!!!!

Yes,

we did have a fun october. my kids are getting to the age where they notice scary things, and are very curious about them.

i love going to the pumpkin patch. my kids are such a handful at this age, but every fall time---i think this trip is worth the hassle.

im so glad i remembered my rain boots!

Every year we tell Ruby that she can ride the pony if she uses her allowance. and she always chooses to blow the dough on the pony.

such a cute little cow-girl

lucy was loving touching daddy's face.

dont think she cared as much about the shoulder ride, but wanted to touch daddy's face the whole time.

isnt it beautiful in North Plains? look how the sky meets the land. love it out there.!

Lucille loves animals. the goat was so cute to her. she gets much pleasure out of looking at the goat.

who doesnt love a mini pony? its the size of a german shepard dog practically.

starbucks pumpkin loaf

I must admit i have become quite addicted to this starbucks pumpkin loaf. i know there are better pumpkin breads out there. and i have once or twice made a good recipe. but a good recipe is hard to come by. i found this recipe online and was overjoyed!! think of the money youll save!!

i made this and was pleasantly surprised by how much it tasted like the starbucks kind. it has the same texture too! ( highly reccommend getting pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top.)

I omitted some of the water it calls for and was a little dissapointed. but it was still really good and fairly moist.

its very pumpkiny... and moist. try it with chocolate chips, pecans or walnuts.

Starbucks pumpkin loaf--- ( makes 2 loaves or 24 muffins)

1 cup butter or margarine

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

2/3 cups water

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 c nuts ( optional)

cream together butter, sugar, and eggs

combine all dry ingredients. mix dry to wet, and alternate with water

pour into 2 greased loaf pans.

or you can make 24 muffins. sprinkle pumpkin seed nuts on top.

bake at 350 for 55 -60 minutes

highlight of september

QUILT -O- RAMA

at the end of september, i meant to get around to updating, but just didnt have it in me.

( those with kids in school know about september, and how ridiculously busy it is)

i went to a quilt fair by myself ( boo hoo) . i was determined to go because i had heard from friends how fun it was. now, i must admit, there were some fun things going on there.

but i would have had more fun with a friend who likes to sew, or with Ruby.

Here are some pics of some amazing , and i mean AMAZING quilts.

Too bad you cant see this one very well. this was my favorite of the whole show i think.

its SOOOO detailed. and ....do you see the blue ribbon at the bottom? it won best artistic quilt.

this was my second favorite---i wanted ruby to see it. it was gigantic, the picture doesnt do any of these justice.

these art quilts were incredible. who knew you could do this with fibers and fabric?

i want this for my bed!!

this was some of the cutest fabric i have ever seen . too bad they werent selling the fabric!!

you could make a pile of scraps with this fabric and it would still be cute.