pumpkin carving

We had our annual pumpkin carving night with our Bible study group on Tuesday, October 19th. We've been doing this every year for probably 6 years! The experience has changed a bit since adding kids to the mix...

...but we all manage to carve or paint a pumpkin & have a great time!

Finn really wanted to help this year. Luckily, the carving set we have is not too sharp.

I broke out the power tool this year to make polka dots.

All lit up.

And with the lights off.

The kids (minus Cedar)
Macey, Ethan, Finn, Ava, & Emma

diy vintage bus roll

After seeing a few sources of inspiration online (here & here) & realizing I had a place for one of my own, I decided to make my own "vintage" bus roll. I couldn't find any sources online for how to make my own (in the style that I liked) & was tempted to have one printed for me, but just felt like I wanted to make it myself...even if it would take 5 hours (eek!). :P So here's how I did it!


I had Kenton cut an extra piece of ply wood to my specified dimensions (20"x55") & then I spray painted it black.

I also took advantage of his access to a copy machine & 11"x17" paper at work & had him print out my city names. I did all of the formatting on Adobe InDesign & chose Lucida as my font.

I taped all of the pages together & moved words around as needed, since I'm not all that savvy with InDesign (I wanted "VIA" to be lined up with the top of the word instead of the bottom of the word).

Next, I used white chalk (colored chalk would have been better) & covered the backside of the words with a nice layer.

Then I laid that whole thing down & taped it in place. I traced the words using a colored pencil (anything would work, but it's what I had on hand), peeking a tiny bit along to way to make sure it was leaving a chalk outline on the board.

I was so relieved to see this when I lifted the papers off! Now for the detail work. :)

Using some extra interior white paint that I had in the garage, I filled in the outlined city names.

The chalk stayed in place really well & didn't rub off instantly when I touched it. I was afraid it would just brush away, but it held up perfectly!

First coat!
I ended up going over the words again with a second coat (which took much less time) because the black showed through a little more than I wanted.

The results!

The list is the order in which Kenton & I traveled through Europe the summer before we got married. I didn't include every city (some were left out intentionally, some by accident) but I'm mostly happy with the results. There are some things that bother me (of course) but...c'est la vie!

Hanging in place, a little blocked by a shadow...but otherwise, pretty much the look I was going for! :)

I'm sharing this on The Shabby Nest! Check it out for lots of frugal inspiration!

corvallis

On Saturday, October 16th, Carolyn & Jesse invited me & the boys to drive to Corvallis with them. Kenton was out of town for the day for a Heroscape Tournament, so we took them up on their offer & headed back to my college town for a quick visit. :)

We had fun exploring underneath the GIANT Cedar trees. :)

Big boy with a new haircut!

(Photos by Jesse, by the way) :)

So happy to have quality time with my sons...& to have friends to help entertain all of us! ;)

Always up for climbing!

Carolyn, Cedar, Finn & Katrina

Gathering acorns to add to my home decor! ;)

I had eager helpers.

Proof that Jesse was there! :P

We spent some time at Central Park so the boys could run around before dinner.

Cedar looks so different to me, now that he has shorter hair.

He loved climbing on the truck! One of his favorite things & favorite words to say ("Cuh-cuh"). :)

More climbing on the truck.

After the park, we went to Bomb's Away for dinner. The kids both ate really well & it was not nearly as stressful as eating out can be. Especially with the extra help! Thanks for the fun trip, Carolyn & Jesse! Corvallis is always a great idea. :)

josh's birthday party

On Saturday, October 9th, we celebrated Josh's birthday at his house with pumpkin cheesecake! Yummy! We helped pitch in for a patio heater for their backyard. :)

It came with fun Styrofoam with which the kids (& some grown-ups) had so much fun!

Sadie in jail! :P

Silly Cedar!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

We had so much fun & really enjoyed eating yummy desserts to celebrate YOU! ;)

preschool open house

On Thursday, October 7th, we got to attend the Grace Community Preschool Open House! :)

Finn was very excited to show off his spot at the table & his crayon box. :)

He's working hard on his cutting skills!

Cedar spent a very LONG time emptying & refilling Finn's pencil box. He colored a bit too, but was mostly interested in transporting the crayons back & forth. :P

Finn showed Dad his favorite books too!

Finley & his teacher, Miss Debby.

He is having a great time at preschool & is so lucky to get to be in class with his cousin, Griffin. He's getting to know new kids, too! So cool! Today, Kenton asked me the name of "my really cool teacher" from OSU. After I responded, Finn said, "My really cool teacher was Miss Debby!" We love Grace Community Preschool & Miss Debby! :)

prescott's birthday party

On Sunday, October 3rd, we went to our neighbor, Prescott's, 2nd birthday party! They planned a treasure hunt in their front yard & scattered brightly colored beads in the gravel for the kids to find. :)

Cedar was more interested in finding rocks.

Prescott with his Mom, Stephanie.

Finn was very excited & found LOTS of treasure!

The kids & their parents looking for treasure

After the hunt, we went inside for delicious Dulce de Leche cupcakes from Sweet Life! Stephanie bought kid-sized & adult-sized cupcakes! Yum! :P

Prescott with his Dad, Lewis, Mom & a birthday cupcake!

Happy Birthday, Prescott! We are so glad that we get to be your neighbor. Thanks for inviting us to your party! :)

apple daze

On Saturday, October 2nd, we went to Detering Orchard for their Apple Daze celebration! This was a bit of a rough event for Finn. This photo was just after getting kicked in the head by a woman who was stepping over the kid's hay maze. :\

Cedar was busy eating his lunch as we watched Finn explore the maze.

Waiting for the wagon ride through the farm.

Carolyn, Finn, Jesse, Cedar & Kenton on the wagon

Our family
Cedar at 17 months, Finn at 3 & 11/12ths (almost) :P

This was just before Finn tripped (while getting off the wagon) & hit his chin on the metal hand rail. He split his chin open, but someone at the farm was quick to offer a band-aid. We were a little worried we'd have to head to Urgent Care, but the bleeding slowed down quickly & it turned out to be a small cut. Scary & sad, but we did manage to pick up some apples, veggies & a caramel apple (that was tricky to eat with an injured chin, but cheered up the boy nonetheless) before taking off. We also stopped by Johnson's Farm on the way home to check out their scarecrows & mummies! A lovely fall afternoon in Oregon...aside from the owies. ;)