Who does Gracie look like and the rest of halloween

Grace

Grace

Jacob at 6 months

Merry at 6 months

Me as Dorothy to go with our Wizard of Oz house

Gracie as toothpaste - an oldie but a goodie

Jacob posing for school in his skeleton shirt

Merry in her spider web tutu

Look how my blossom has grown

Gracie at 6 months

Can you believe little Gracie fit in that flower pot at 1 week old? 

6 months preview

Grace turns six months this week.

Grace thinks she can crawl. She gets on all fours, then lunges forward and grunts. She moves about a half an inch at a time. It is pretty entertaining to watch. The other night she got so tired from all the physical exertion, she fell asleep face down on the floor.

She is so cute when she sleeps, I can't help but take pictures.

Pachanga in Kingsville and Halloween Festivities

On Friday night we had a party at Jacob and Merry's preschool. They had us decorate boxes as houses. We decorated ours like the house from the wizard of OZ.  I dressed up like dorothy.  I was a little sad to leave our box.

Another family made their box into the emerald city- they put a yellow tarp down in between the two for the yellow brick road

Jacob was a ninja.  He wanted to be batman, but their was not a size small at the Target Brian stopped at.  Fortunately Brian talked him into this option so we did not have to drive all over.

a pirate ship box

a hula house

they handed out pizza at this box

After the party we headed down to Kingsville to visit my sister and her family.  Brian spent most the time fishing at the coast.  Ann and I took the kids to the beach on Saturday.  

fun in the waves

Merry checking out her reflection

Grace slept most of the time but woke up long enough to eat some sand-she loved the beach

A healthy lunch at the beach

A man-o-war or jellyfish. Who knows?

We also ate at El Tapitio, my favorite mexican food in Kingsville.

I think I gained like 5lbs in 1 weekend

Halloween Preview

All I need to say is this is totally RAD

INCREDIBLE MERRY

I sent Merry and Jacob out to paint part of a cardboard box green. (We have to decorate a trick or treat box for their preschool Halloween party.) This is how Merry returned. She kept roaring and saying I am a green monster. I bathed her but she still has a greenish tint. Jacob did get some paint on him. Just a small amount on his thumb. He was very concerned about it and promptly came in a washed the paint off.

In other news with had our YW in Excellence last night.  Every thing was in black and white.

This is the spectacular gift table.  Ashley was the mastermind, she is for hire.  Hopefully she took pictures of how cool the relief society room looked because I sure didn't.

Our YW and leaders

I think this plater is awesome.  It is a bowl epoxied to a plate.  

Addendum to cutie pie #2

After I tallied my kid's cousins - I noticed that little Jake picture below is #35.   Crazy--- I think that is why Merry thinks every small child is her cousin.   Here is to you #35.

Oh and #36 is due in a couple of weeks.

Cutie Pie #2

My new little nephew- just 1 day old

I haven't got to see him yet - this was taken by my sister

CUTIE PIE

Grace in her white fuzzy hat

What a cute double chin

Funny Jacob Story

We checked out a "Where's Waldo" book from the library.  After we turned it in,

Jacob kept asking to get another "Where's Mando" book.

I do know way more Mandos than Waldos.  Has any one actually known any one named Waldo?  As a side note, I do have an ancestor name St. Elmo.  I guess it was before Sesame Street.

Double, Double, TOIL and TROUBLE

Tons of tomatoes

I am not kidding when I say tons- I think 13 big box or bushels, whatever they call them.

Kelly, Brenda and the crew spend a couple of days peeling, quartering and canning all the tomatoes.  I decided to try and make salsa with some of the loot.

Pretty peppers from my garden.  Just out of curiosity why does the rhyme go "pick a peck of pickled peppers?"  Wouldn't be better to say a peck of peppers for pickling or a peck of pickling peppers?

Boiling diced tomatoes

All the good stuff in

The final product-  I use vinegar instead of lime juice - not so good.  Lucky for me Kelly made some with lime juice and gave me a jar.  Now I know not to follow the checkered cookbook recipe.

Merry was my partner in crime.  She loved peeling the skins off of the tomatoes.

This is what Gracie did while we worked.  I love her little dimply knuckles and chunky wrists

Another visit to the pumpkin patch.  Merry just woke up from a nap.  My sister Ann came with her family.  We had a great time partying as always.

What's up?

What are we up to today?   Canning tomatoes.   My friend Kelly talking me into a canning co-op.  I have been boiling, peeling, dicing, and processing all day.  More pictures of my adventures in canning to follow.

The butterflies are all over in my garden this fall. So are the hummingbirds.

They love the blossoming sky flower.

Just because I like butterflies

more of the pumpkin patch

We drove past the pumpkin patch in Helotes twice in the past 2 days.

They have all the scarecrows, hay, and other decor out but no pumpkins.

So we headed to the pumpkin patch on Tezel instead.  I spent the whole time searching for 2 matching short, squat pumpkins for my urns on my front porch.  Brian walked to Walgreens and got us all drinks and the kids made sure all the decorations in the photo setup were rearranged (except for Gracie who tried to eat her dress, then a pumpkin, then some Indian corn, then her hands, and then her dress again).

Merry insisted on not wearing shoes- which was all fine and dandy until she stepped in a sticker patch.  Fortunately the lady at the pumpkin patch had band-aids on hand.

Jacob sat on a fruit snack in the car, then sat on some hay- his cords were not a pretty site.  Thank goodness for goo be gone at times like these.

Grace looking at Merry 

Merry looking at Grace 

and Jacob dreaming of getting a green pumpkin

I love fall

The top 5 reasons I love fall

5.  ubiquitous use of the color orange

4.  high boots

3.  fantasy football

2.  new No. 2 ticonderoga pencils for doing crossword puzzles

1.  little girls in striped tights

Opinion poll - which coloring do you like better?

Lots of Grace

Grace is five months old and enjoys sleeping, eating and screaming

Her favorite toy is a beach ball with a rattle in it.

She loves to swing in backyard and watch Jacob and Merry play.

Her little hands are constantly grabbing things.

We love our happy little baby girl

Please save me pumpkin

Good thing I have a pumpkin to lounge on