Project Living Room

I've been wanting to paint our fireplace wall since we moved in three years ago...but somehow after painting our bedroom, Gracie's room, the basement, the laundry room, and the bathroom, I lost steam.  One Friday this month, my friend Patricia helped move the wall to the top of the priority list.

I could not have done this without this lady's energy!  She had the wall taped up before I could clean out the van from errand-running!  (and notice the icky gold fireplace...watch what happens...)

 The kids were amazing while we painted.  Movies and playing in the basement for a couple of hours...

 ...and a few reward tattoos!

Wha-la!  Doesn't it look great?  Jeff was AMAZING and took apart the brass on the fireplace and painted it black for me at the farm over Veteran's Day weekend.

Now I'm looking for a big mirror to go over the mantle...  LOVE IT!!!

Trick-or-Treat, 2012

Well, pull my string!  The Lochhead house had a Jessie and Woody costume being put on and taken off  multiple times a day, ever since the 1st of October.  Mom was SO GLAD to see Halloween finally come!  :)

We went to G'ma Colleen and Papa Scott's a few days early to see Gigi, and celebrate with the cousins.  Janie is a butterfly, her brother Henry, Chicken Little, is right beside her, and Oden is Chicken Littler in the back.  Joshy and Grace, then Anthony as Batman, and Lauren the Ladybug.

These are the big kids playing Yard Sale later that evening.  :)

  

The actual night of Halloween, we went to see Granny and Pappy...



...and then went to Arend Hall on Whitworth Campus so that our college friends could spoil us with hallways of adoring college students giving candy.  [That is the way to go, parents!  Excited candy-givers, one stop, and a warm hallway...]  Thanks for the fun night, Katelyn, Christina, and Linnea!

Girls' Weekend with Julz

Doesn't THIS look like fun?  Heidi and I were trying to spoil JULIE on her birthday, but a weekend away to CRAFT turned out to be just as spoiling for us!  :)  Julz introduced us to Hobby Lobby and The Craft Warehouse.  I thought we'd never pull Heidi out of that last store!  :)

This is the project we settled on...a Christmas Countdown pocket garland!

Lots of hot glue toughened up our fingertips...

So fun!  It wasn't even Halloween and it felt like Christmas.

Other weekend highlights include:  taking Julz to dinner and watching our server hit on her relentlessly, getting to see the house all decorated with Julie's things now, visiting Trina at her new "time-share" place, and attempting to get Ollie to hold still enough for us to get a picture of him...with Joshy's BINKY in his mouth!  And did I mention sleeping in?  Ahhhh, the little things.

Daddy's Last Soccer Game

Whelp, we made it!  Soccer season is completed...ending with a nice rain.  We'd avoided that all year long.  We celebrated with a trip to Zips for dinner and MOVIE NIGHT at the Lochhead house.  :)

The Beauty of a Zero...or Two

Gracie saw on "Curious George" that putting a zero at the end of a number makes it ten times larger.  She loved writing these enormous numbers for her daddy, the mathematician.

...and this is little, Me Too.  He's always working to keep up with his sister.

October Farm Visit

...soccer games, feeding the cats... 

...first weekend of the hunting season (no Ben),  Brooke's Homecoming pictures... 

...goodbye BBQ for Chad at Jerry and Sheyanna's, sweet cousin time...

Reds, Oranges, and Yellows

I love this time of year.  I am always sad to see summer go, but the crisp air and the colors of the season give me a new energy...

Gracie's Preschool Field Trip to Greenbluff

Gracie's class got to go to Greenbluff for their first field trip of the year.  One of the student's parents owns The Harvest House, so they treated us to a tour, a tractor ride out to pick apples, and free entrance into their kid zone, filled with inflatable haunted house, bubble pillow, and bounce castle.

Love this apple that Gracie picked.  We said it looked like a heart (and we know it could be called other things!)

 Lucky Joshy got to go along--he loved everything as well, just like his sister.

G'ma Colleen was so sweet to come along--we had Oden that morning, so G'ma knew that it would be easier with three kids to have TWO adults.  Thanks for helping, G'ma!  It was so nice to have the help.

 Snack time--apple cider, pumpkin cookies, and they're still working on those apples...

 This boy is the sweetest thing!  He was so content, just checking everything out from his stroller.

SLETH (Schneringer / Lochhead / Edmondson / Templin / Huggins) Reunion

The first weekend in August, the Schneringers came to town and we all rendezvoused in Spokane--Greenbluff was at the top of our list!

This is Lydia--she was so interested in the chickens.  She kept trying to get them to come to her like a puppy.  :)

Troy and Ali

We were watching the Punkin'-Chuckin--the huge cannon that hurls pumpkins through the air.  We love Knapps!

Joshy wanting up.

We all gathered for calzones that night--we remember when WE were the ones who filled the table...and now look at all of the offspring! :)  Parents, in order, from L to R:  Josh--Robert/Megan, Lydia--Johnny/Rachel, Ali--Troy/Lauren, Gracie--us, Zoe--Troy/Lauren, Joshy--us, Anna--Johnny/Rachel, Caleb--Troy/Lauren.

Scroll is the Calzone King.

Lydia and Baby Josh

Sweet Lydia, girl.

Ali and Gracie were thick as thieves--even sharing a chair for dinner.

Baby Zoe, sitting next to Josh

Caleb, caught in a delicious blink.

The guys organizing in the kitchen.

Rachel and Sarabeth with Baby Anna.

It was such a fun weekend!  We loved our time visiting with these precious families!