Fall is knocking on our door!

Texas is still getting up there in the temperatures but our mornings have really started to cool down. Thankfully, it does not feel like you are walking into the gates of hell as soon as you open the front door. Don't get me wrong! I LOVE Texas summers and I will take them over snow any day but it is quite nice to see the season change. Of course, boots, bonfires, and yummy pumpkin desserts are great perks as well!!

Our house is wearing it's fall decor proudly!

I think I still need a rug for the front door but I can't find anything I like.


Since making the silhouette pillow, I have been going pillow crazy now that I know how easy it is.
The hanging wreath idea came from Martha Stewart Magazine. Although instead of real pumpkins, I hallowed out foam ones and used battery operated tea lights instead of real candles.

For the monogrammed pumpkin, I just bought a Funkin (pumkin that you can carve) from our local craft store and carved out our name. Which by the way I am so glad it is only 4 letters ;). The pumpkin and the hanging wreath both light up so it is very pretty at night.

The fall banner literally cost me $1.50 because I already owned the stencils, paint and leaves.
There are so many ways you can decorate a burlap banner!
I didn't do this but I would suggest to sew around your cut edges.
We have been in a drought so I was 100% sure that it wouldn't unravel. Since putting up...2 storms! Eric says it is our good luck charm.

Of course, this little one sees the camera and begs for me to take her picture.
She cracks me up with her poses!

Fall Craft

Even though it is still feeling a lot like summer here in Texas. We wanted to get a jump on some fall crafts. This came out of Family Fun magazine and it was super easy. The kids painted a fall tree with fingerprint leaves!

Can you tell that I ran out of paper plates. Foil saved the day!

I just asked them to stand next together. Gracie demanded that
Ethan put his arm around her so that they could be super close!

If you look close Gracie even painted a flying squirrel on her paper. HA!

Day at the Zoo

I asked Gracie to smile for the grizzly bear. This is what she came up with.
With a smile like that he may attack us!

Lexie looking at the fishes

Ahhh... nice sisterly picture turns into "Mom, you do see she is trying to pull my hair."

Most chaotic time of the day- Bath Time!!!

Buddy Bracelet

I was starting to feel bad that I was making all of these adorable items for Gracie and Lexie but not Ethan. Of course Ethan has never said anything to the effect of being left out, but as soon as I asked him if he wanted me to make him something, his face lit up. I saw this bracelet that could easily be unisex. I thought it would be cool that he and I could wear them both because we are buddies! Eric thinks they are a little too girly. Which means the next time I see a big, burly biker whose hair is braided, I am going to ask him to explain to my hubby that braids are not just for girls. Then I will gladly point Eric out!

Incredibly Easy Bracelet Link

Very happy to report that one bracelet only me cost me about $0.85 cents to make. I already owned the snaps and snap tool! I think I am going to make others that are different colors.

Fall T-ball

It was a tough choice for Ethan on what activity he wanted to play during the fall season. He was really stuck between soccer and t-ball. He decided on t-ball and I think he is enjoying it more than last year. It is noticeable that he is understanding that the whole team needs to work together to make outs.

Scoping up a ball.

Here he is throwing to Josh who was on third base. They were able to tag that player out.
Great teamwork!

While their brothers play t-ball, the girls were kept busy with electronic devices!

Happy Grandparents Day

Even though our little ones live far away from their grandparents, they talk about them constantly. They love bringing up special memories and making gifts to send to them. They also love talking about their great-grandparents. Ethan understands why they are called great-grandparents but Gracie just thinks she has a lot of grandparents that are just great. I love how close they are to their grandparents and great grandparents, so I wanted to make them a really special gift this year for grandparents day.

I fell in love with silhouette pillows while searching the web and knew they would be the perfect gift. I was a little weary about making them though because I wasn't sure how they would turn out. However, I found a really great deal on fabric so I decided to take the leap. I am so glad I did because I LOVE them. They are very cute and surprisingly easy so I was able to make 6 just in time to mail them out.

Here are the websites that provided me with the inspiration- pillow cover and silhouette.

Diet Coke & Mentos

Once Ethan saw this experiment demonstrated at our local children's museum, he was hooked. After the non-stop begging we decided to try it out for ourselves.