So Long, Summer!

I have a confession to make:  I'm already listening to Christmas music!  I just can't seem to help it - the weather is turning gloriously cool and brisk, I'm wearing sweaters (sometimes), and even though the leaves haven't even started transforming into their fiery hues, I'm in the mood for Christmas music.  Not Christmas decorations (obviously), just the tunes!  Don't worry, I promise to wait at least until Thanksgiving or thereabouts before switching my blog music to Christmas. 

But first, let us celebrate the splendor of autumn!

I made the wreath years ago, but it was looking tired so I removed the old ribbon, added these fun bows (see my tutorial for them in the sidebar) made with ribbon and fabric covered buttons - fabric by Heather Bailey - and hot-glued some faux acorns in place and, voila!  A nice cheery reminder of all things autumn.  I can't tell you how excited I am to go to a pumpkin patch with the kids and get a big load of the happy squash...and then let them grace our front porch for a month (uncut, of course) without rotting after a day or two like they did in Hawaii. 

The weather here lately has been absolutely perfect.  Sunny days with brisk mornings and a hint of a breeze to keep things comfortable, and the sultry summer mugginess is just a memory (thank goodness!).   I can't wait to witness firsthand the glories of autumn on the East Coast.  I've heard so much about it, and with all the deciduous forests everywhere around here, it is promising to be a spectacular show.  Jack Frost, I'm ready when you are!

Some of you may be waiting to see the progress on our house....it has been really slow going because of various setbacks, but the kitchen is almost done.  The biggest delay has been the countertops...first they didn't have the color in stock, then when it finally arrived we discovered they measured wrong.  They did some fiddling with all the pieces and I thought they were going to be able to make it work, but in the end the seams were really bad and the sink was off-center.  Now they have to take it back up and replace some of the pieces...I just hope they don't damage the cabinets because they glued those Silestone slabs down with epoxy.  So...by the time we're all done it will have been a minimum of 2 whole weeks that we have been without a sink, stove, dishwasher, and microwave, and much longer than that since we ripped the sheetrock out.  I should count my blessings and be grateful that I at least have a laundry sink in which to do the dishes, but it's getting more than a little old (understatement).

In the meantime, may I present to you Miss Hazel, who continues to charm her way into our hearts with all of her little antics.

Hazel picked up a stack of paper bowls on the table and proceeded to organize them very deliberately in the front entryway.

Not bad for an almost 2-year-old!  She was so proud of herself, can you tell?

Hazel has been helping herself to all sorts of things lately.  The other day, when I was outside for a minute, she picked up the Texas sheet cake that one of my friends had so graciously brought over (because of my stove deficiency) and carried it over to the table, where she dug into it with gusto.

She was having such a great time that I didn't even have the heart to scold her and ran to grab the camera instead.  It really pays to be cute when you're a kid - it can get you out of all sorts of trouble.

In keeping with the cuteness and fork-in-mouth theme, here is Hazel eating lunch with her new favorite accessory:  Hyrum's old sunglasses.  She unearthed them in the costume box downstairs and has hardly taken them off since.  My other kids wouldn't keep sunglasses on for more than .075 seconds, but Hazel is really digging them.  I shouldn't be surprised; she is my fashion-conscious child who is always changing shoes, carrying purses, and tries to choose her own clothes.  Fortunately I still outweigh her so I am usually able to win the wardrobe wars (for now, anyway).

As you can see, the camera phobia that Hazel used to torment me with is now evaporating, and she is back to the CHEEEEEESE behavior.  Actually it looks like she's trying to do a sales pitch for that fork in this picture. 

"And, for a mere $19.95, you can have this fork, complete with food residue!  For a limited time only, if you act now I'll throw in the baby germs for FREE!"

 

Not to leave my other 2 kids out, here they are doing some dancing antics one evening.

I'm sooooo grateful that my kids have actually been playing nicely together for extended periods of time lately.  It's such a relief to see them enjoying eachother's company, and although they still have their spats they really do quite well (as long as Eliza gets to be the boss, that is).

Here they are leaping into the mudroom from the kitchen...Eliza really wanted me to get a shot of her in mid-air, so we made several attempts until we got the timing right.

Hyrum is such a good sport it's amazing.  Here he is wearing Eliza's clothes (guess whose idea that was) doing a ballet spin (at Eliza's insistence).  Actually, despite his occasional protestations about doing ballet, he had a great time dancing.  What's not to love about spinning around and around? 

If you're a kid, that is...does anyone else have a problem with spinning these days?  When I was young, I could get wound up tightly in a swing (compliments of my brothers) and be spun around at the speed of what felt like lightening and be none the worse for it.  I would spin in circles on our lawn forever, and laugh with glee when I'd fall over from being temporarily unbalanced.  Now I get seriously woozy and literally sick just thinking about being spun around like that.  The few times I have spun in circles with one of my kids in my arms (they love doing that so much) I seriously regret it - I literally get a headache from slowly spinning more than a couple times.  What on earth is up with that?!

Anyway, I should have some nice pics of our kitchen in a few days, but I wanted to check in with y'all so you can be assured that I do indeed still exist and haven't been carried away by construction dust and mold spores (yet).  The adventure continues!

Comments

[Joy]

Don't feel bad. I've had my "fall" decor up for at least three weeks. With my little guy coming on the 10th I wanted to make sure the house was done up for October before he came.

[Page]

Gorgeous wreath. I love the bows on it. They look so cute.