Leaping Lizards

This is a line from one of my all-time favorite movies. Can you guess it??

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This past weekend, we received an awesome gift. Our friends, who are moving out of state, decided not to transport their trampoline and offered it to us.

We pointed to the pile of steel rods in the grass and explained to the kids that they would soon have a trampoline. Bob and I used our problem-solving skills and put it together on Saturday. It was a very comical afternoon and would have made some great reality TV.

Eveley helped us sort the pieces.

Eveley was so excited to finally get to try it out.

But she was not very happy when brother Caleb was allowed to join her.

She got over it quickly.

We do have the upper enclosure system but are just waiting on our pad and net to be shipped.

Growing up, we had a trampoline that looked almost identical to this one. We spent almost every day on it. I'm sure it was a glowing death trap --- no pad, set up on a hill --- but we had so much fun on it.

We camped out on it, sunbathed on it, set up the sprinkler on it, and practiced our cheerleading jumps on it!

This weekend, I climbed on the trampoline with the kids and couldn't understand why it had been so long since I had been back on one. I made Eveley sit down so I could show her my mad skills.

Then I realized why trampoline-jumping had not been a part of the last several years of my life. ... And I went inside to change my pants.

These babies do crazy things to our bodies!

Here's to many more fun family memories. I'll be on the ground snapping pictures.

It is Finished!

Yes! It is finally finished.

Remember my visions of grandeur here?

Well, I'll be the first to admit that it took a little longer than I anticipated. Part of that has to do with the fact that I am majorly indecisive. (My husband would say that is quite the understatement.) But I am so set on making the best, absolutely perfect decision, that it takes some time for me to calculate all of the different cost-benefit and other analyses. (Remember, I am constantly playing Tetris in my head...)

My first dilemma was choosing a quilter. Yes, my full disclosure: I did not actually do the quilting. Instead, I sewed the quilt front and the backing and then shipped it off to a professional to stuff and quilt it.

There are quite a few pros to choose from. But after lots of research and several phone calls with the applicants, I decided on a girl from a neighboring town. She was great to work with and very supportive in my first quilting experience. I was somewhat tentative to send her my work, feeling it would certainly betray my amateur status. But she was eager to give me some wonderful tips and promised to guide my decision-making process with her years of expertise.

And when she received the quilt, she said it was gorgeous. (Maybe she always says that, but I don't care...)

My second dilemma was choosing the quilt backing. The "typical" way of putting together the backing for a quilt is to use a single selection of fabric. But I couldn't decide which one to use. All of these Amy Butler fabrics were so cute that I could barely stand to choose one to make a solo debut as the backing of my first (and probably only) quilt.

After quite a few trial selections, I finally decided on piecing together my own backing out of my favorite fabrics. And I am very pleased with it!

In this photo, the quilt is displayed on Eveley's bed. But don't jump to conclusions. There is no way she is using this on her bed right now.

First of all, it is cold season. Secondly, her brother insists on coloring on everything. Thirdly, she is 3. So I am staying true to my control-freak personality and placing the quilt in the cedar chest to be pulled out only when my friends come over! {just kidding...kinda}

Here's the label for the quilt that I hope to have sewn on here before her 16th birthday.

A Full Fall

It is only mid-October, and we have already had an amazing fall and made some wonderful memories.

Fall Festival

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Hay Ride

Pumpkins

Giant Sunflowers

Gigantic Slide

Corn Maze

Pigs

Sheep

Playground Time

A Personal Firetruck Display

Daddy Daughter Dates

...and that was just over the weekend.

Catching Up

Yes, I admit. I've been a lousy blogger lately. But I have a good excuse. Really! I have been working on several things that are taking my time. Really cool things. You will have to wait to hear about them. But I'm excited. =)

I have also been busy with my crafty self. (cue laughter.) I'm not one who decorates her house seasonally. No changing out wreaths or mantle decorations throughout the year. Probably has something to do with my Efficiency OCD. Christmas is the only season that seems to warrant such time and energy.

But, in the name of MOPS, I did find this cute fall craft that definitely will help to spruce up a few things around here and get us in the fall spirit.

You begin with toilet paper. Of course.

Wrap it in some old newspaper. (or your husband's Bass Pro Shop mailer before he notices...)

Get a fat quarter of material (these measure roughly 18 x 22 and are sold separately at most craft stores or you can buy fabric off the bolt and cut it appropriately).

Pull up the edges of the fabric around your TP and stuff it into the top. It's easiest to start with shorter sides and finish with the longer corners.

Stuff a stick into the middle. Tie a bow around the stick.

That's it. No glue gun. No stitching. No special tools.

And oila! You have a cute little pumpkin for your mantle or side table. Make several in coordinating fabrics and you have officially "decorated" for fall!

I mentioned last post that I had been working on several pinafores for Eveley. These are some of my favorite pieces. They are great year-round and can be worn with leggings, pants, shorts, long-sleeve, short-sleeve...you get the idea. And, best of all, they are reversible. Two cute tops in one.

I used to buy these from a cute little Esty shop. Then I decided they looked simple enough that I could probably make them. In a couple of hours, I had made 3 pinafores -- giving Eveley 6 new tops. So cute!

Here are a few pictures:

(this shows the back)

(one for fall)

She modeled her first last weekend at our city's Family Day at the Races. This was a wonderful event, and we were so excited to be invited by some friends to attend for the first time. It consisted of awesome horse racing, pony rides, great food, and open fields for the kids. It was a great day.

We thought things were going to get ugly as little Caleb was showing signs of his no-nap day. Then, our host Jenn -- a.k.a. the smartest woman in the world -- set up an art table with crayons and horse coloring books. Sweet Caleb must be a budding artist.

He is OBSESSED with crayons and markers and will sit for an hour (literally) coloring his masterpiece. This shouldn't come as a surprise since both of Caleb's grandmothers are artists. (it must skip a generation...)

Finally, Eveley and I "modeled" some awesome t-shirts at MOPS last week given to us by 1 Eighty - a Christian clothing company.

We were introduced to this company at the MOPS convention. Check them out! They have great designs.