It's Autumn Time!

We have been enjoying this fall season maybe a little too much shown by my lack of posting. :) We have been to a few pumpkin patches and apple orchards. As always, here are a bunch of pictures.

A huge corn pit!




She wasn't quite sure about the slide at first.


Mckenna and her friends






A huge jumping pillow






and of course a hay ride!


Fall in Iowa is so fun!

White Coat Ceremony

Devin had all last week off of school! It was so nice! I asked Devin why he had such a long break and he said, "So we all don't commit suicide." Whoa... ok! :) It was such a great break though! We went to the Winter Quarters Temple and visitor's center and we went to the Omaha Zoo. Sadly, we totally forgot our camera :(. So, there aren't any pictures of those. The Omaha Zoo is amazing though! We had a great time. Devin also taught me how to play racquetball during our break, we had lots of fun. As always, the week was over sooner than we thought it would be. Devin had a big test the Friday afternoon before the break and then he had a test the Monday morning after the break, so he spent some time studying that week.

I have a new calling! I am on the Music Committee... which means I lead the music and play the organ in Sacrament meeting! :s Kinda scary! I actually played the organ for the first time this past Sunday in Sacrament meeting. It really is easier than I thought it would be, but it still isn't easy. I'm going to have to practice a lot more before I play again.



Our little girl sure loves cheese!!




Devin had his white coat ceremony a few weeks ago. It was a neat ceremony where he got his white coat! He is now official!

Devin, signing his life away.


Lots of crayons and crackers got her through the whole ceremony.


After the White Coat Ceremony


Mckenna was enjoying playing with her yogurt during lunch... and got a little tired.

Iowa State Fair

Before I show pictures of the fair, I wanted to show off Mckenna's pig tails... I know, kinda stretching it, but it was fun!


Too bad they only stayed in for about 10 minutes :)


Now onto the fair... Devin took a whole Saturday late afternoon/night off to go to the fair! It was worth it, I think. We had a good time!

A huge slide that Devin and Mckenna went on.


Mckenna wasn't too sure of it until it was all over. Then she couldn't stop smiling and saying "fun!" and "I like it!"


Watching the high-dive show. A man dove 85 feet and another guy lit himself on fire and then jumped in.


Mckenna and the rooster had a staring contest


Iowa's largest pumpkin... 1,323 pounds


Everyone told us that we had to try the deep fried turkey drumsticks


We decided to share one... that was a good decision :) It was a lot of turkey. We didn't even finish it


We were also told that the deep fried candy bars were delicious... so we tried that too. And yes... it was DELICIOUS!!! The candy bar was covered in some batter. When we bit into it, it was all melted and tasty


Worlds biggest bull... 3,022 pounds!!!






I think we wore her out...


(another post below... as I said, mine seem to come in two's)

Chicago

So, I was uploading tons of pictures from my camera to the computer and realized that I spaced sharing our Chicago/Nauvoo trip when my parents and little sister came. I'm not sure how I forgot it until now, but here are those pictures.



Navy Pier







The Bean


Mckenna and Aunt T on the Blue Line in Chicago



Playing at the Park


Carthage Jail


We had such a fun time and it was so sad to see them go. The week went by way too fast. But, we had so much fun together and I am glad they were able to come because we probably won't be able to see them again until Christmas.

What I Have Been Doing

So... You may be wondering why I haven't been blogging. I am about to show you! I have found a love for painting and re-doing things. So, I have been painting and sewing a lot. Once I started painting things, I couldn't stop! I have a long list of project to do, but also quite a few that I have done and am in the process of doing.

My Sewing Table... before


and after


A sleigh bed I found at a garage sale. I forgot to get a before picture, but it was all white and was really scratched and dirty. After some sanding, painting, more sanding, and polyurethane... it is finished. It's all brown, but here is some of the detailing.


I haven't done anything to our dresser, and don't plan to. I just wanted to post a picture of it for those that wanted to see. We got it for free!! Can't beat that!


This table was $1 at a garage sale. It was painted white and was really scratched and the paint was peeling off.


I wish I got a before picture of our lamp. The shade was all white and the part that is blue now was a light brown color. I decided to spice it up.


This valance/curtain was just an idea that I made up. Not super original or all that cool, but usually I have to follow a pattern exactly. So, I was excited that I could actually come up with something myself.


This couch has dog hair and stains all over it. I plan to recover it with pink fabric for Mckenna. I haven't started yet, but stay tuned for an after picture (just to warn you, it may be a few weeks away, too many projects :) )


This one I am working on now... so hopefully this after picture won't be too far away



I am also working on a play kitchen for Mckenna and an end table/coffee table that I found.

This is my new found hobby! It's really not very hard either. Anyway, I thought I would show what I am doing since Devin is studying all the time. The End. :)