Nate's Turn

1. I get up at 5:00.
2. I have a bust of Lenin on my bookshelf.
3. I got my degree in English, and I almost never read classic literature or fiction. Instead I read lots of astronomy, chemistry, math, psychology, and self-help.  Also, I went on to get a degree in business.
4. When I was little, I had an extra tooth—baby tooth, followed by an extra tooth, followed by a permanent tooth.
5. I can speak Bulgarian.
6. I hate inconsistencies in movies. It irritates me when movies do things that shouldn’t work, given whatever rules, etc., are in the movie. I have no problem with “the force”, hobbits, dragons, photon torpedoes, killer bunny rabbits, seeing dead people, being turned into a superhero by getting bitten by a radioactive spider or falling into a vat of toxic waste, etc. But when the Scarecrow’s henchmen walk directly in front of the powered-up water-vaporizing microwave emitter without getting fried—I have a problem with that. I am passionate about this. How does the Hulk have pants when he turns back into Bruce Banner? And don’t even get me started about Star Trek: Generations.
7. Raisins on Cheerios

I tag: whoever hasn't been tagged already.

A Day in the Country

The kids had the day off school on Monday, so we went with a bunch of friends out to the pumpkin patch at Sweet Berry Farms. It was a beautiful day for being in the country.
We went on a hay ride. We stopped by this giant oak tree to take pictures. (we had a lot of kids with us: 23! Not all could climb trees.)Then we went into the giant Texas Maze. It is in the shape of Texas. The goal is to find all 12 "cities" and punch your card at each destination.
The prize is a soda - which we needed after the hour we spent running around in the corn.

Then we had lunch and fed the farm animals. For dessert we had 100% strawberry popsicles. We ended up getting our pumpkins at the grocery store (they were bigger and much cheaper).
It was a great day and made me want to move out of town even more. Someday...

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

I have been watching this blog for a while now. This woman makes adorable clothing and just gives it away. This week she is giving away this awesome gown that Hazel would love! She is ambitious. I don't know if I would be able to do this one. Check it out. Really.

Hiking Mckinney Roughs

We hiked in Mckinney Roughs State Natural Area yesterday. The weather was perfect and we were set to have a great time.
The hike got off to a rough start. Before we even got out of the parking lot, I fell with Hazel in the backpack. Hazel bonked her head and I scraped my knees and elbows. For the first time, we actually used the first aid kit that we always carry. And luckily the gatorades were still ice cold so we used them.We saw lots of animal tracks: deer, horse, raccoon, armadillo, even bobcat (looked to be a pretty big one too). We even saw this cute gnome left in a fallen log:
We hiked about 7 or 8 miles. When we got to the river, we spent some time skipping rocks. And chucking really big rocks.
Then, while I wasn't looking, Aspen threw a rock that hit me square on the head. I have a good goose-egg on my head now. After that, I couldn't take much more abuse (my knee was swollen and sore, especially after the 7 miles) so we headed back home. We meant to go at least 10 miles. Maybe some other time.

Before and After

I hate ironing. Nate owns 27 shirts that need to be ironed. (Kind of ironic, eh?) Anyway, I decided to make a new cover for my ironing board. The ones at the store aren't much to choose from, and I had lots of scrap fabrics.
Anyway, it's super easy to do. Just trace around your ironing board, then add 2 1/2 inches all around. I then sewed wide double fold bias tape all the way around, leaving a small opening where the ends meet. I threaded elastic cord through the opening and knotted it; then sewed the opening closed. And Voila! new cover.
Takes all of 15 minutes start to finish. (Threading the cord took ten of those minutes.) I just slipped it over the top of the old one! Anyway, I really like my new cover. It is much more cheerful. When I showed Nate he asked, "Have you tried it out yet?" He needed a shirt to wear the next day. (He had ironed his own shirts for the past two days - he's such a nice husband to not wake me up to do that.)

Super heroes

Everyone secretly wants to be a super hero. And the best thing about being a superhero, besides the awesome super powers, is a cape. Even adults like to play dress up.

Here's Nate's Halloween costume from a few years ago. He was Pooperman. (He wanted everyone to be some kind of uperman, but we couldn't think up enough good ones.) This has become a classic costume in our house.

The plunger (new) was full of unwrapped Tootsie Rolls!

His cape got shut in the door when he went to get gas and he just about went feet up at the gas station. (That's why Edna 'E' Mode from the Incredibles said, "No Capes!")

Isaac being Zorro:
Aspen as Red Riding Hood:

And a warrior princess (with a cape) another year:
Toby as a vampire:
Isaac was Batman another year, with a cape:Capes are a necessity. So I whipped up a few to give for gifts (Hazel's friends seem to be having a lot of birthdays lately.)
I'll leave you with this classic Isaac pic:

Capes are the only accessory needed!

So many choices

This is what I've been working on. I guess I went a little overboard. But they were easy and are so cute!

This was Hazel's favorite. And she is making her 'scary' face.