Halloween Night

Halloween night was a blast...usually we try to fit in too much, but this Halloween we just went trick-or-treating!

We had a Hippie Flower Power Girl!

Velma from Scooby Doo!

A Ninja!

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Audrey alone, but she was a ballerina!

Here are all the cousins at Emily's house...

We are so excited to have a little cousin!

Pumpkin Carving Party!!

The week before Halloween we went to a pumpkin carving party at a friends house. They have this party every year. This below is a picture of the winners of the three categories ... kids, stenciled, and free hand. I think it's safe to say that our family took this competition by storm!!!Sydney is cleaning out her pumpkin. Her and Charlie were actually gagging!!

Charlie won first place and the girls were runners up. (They happened to be the only kids at the party). When they announced their names I said, "Katie and Sydney you won!!!" When we got home that night as I was carrying Sydney upstairs to bed she looked at me with a funny face and said, "I don't know how I won." I asked her what she meant and she said, "my pumpkin was not good." We walked a few more steps and she said, "I mean, it really wasn't good!" Our family laughed about that for a couple of days.

This is Katie's pumpkin. Pretty good for letting her design and cut, huh?

Charlie did not enjoy cleaning out his pumpkin....again, he was gagging the whole time.

Katie really didn't mind the yucky stuff, she just a great actress!

Babysitting

We get to babysit Rory every other Friday while Amanda goes to school. Katie is our best babysitter and Rory LOVES her....here's our perfect example! We visited Grandma's after we went to the pumpkin constest and she taught all the kids to knit (well she taught the older kids, Audrey just sticks the needs in and out of the yarn).

This must have been after one particular hard day. A lot of people may say they've never seen Sydney sleep. This is such a rare occasion that we had to capture it on the camera.

Massive Pumpkins!!!

I'm a little behind, so there should be a few posts in the next couple of days. In the beginning of October we went to a massive pumpkin growning contest in Gervais, Oregon. David's friend Brian participates and so we decided to go see what it was all about! They had these swings that we made out of old tires, shaped like a horse. Audrey thought they were pretty cool!

Scary Spider!

I loved this sign...

This was Brian's pumpkin. It was huge. He got 3rd place and

I think it ended up weighing about 1350 lbs.

All the huge pumpkins lined up to be weighed.

First Day of Preschool

Sydney and Audrey had their first day of Preschool on Tuesday. This is the day I've been waiting for (I get to be alone for a couple of hours a day!!!). They were really excited...although Audrey seemed a little overwhelmed and looked like a deer in headlights. Audrey insisted on bringing her Strawberry Shortcake backpack! Sydney was really ready to be the big sister and help Audrey out.

Quilt Class

This post is mainly for my mom...I took a quilt class yesterday, it was a series on what to do with your scraps. Two of the blocks I made in the class and then I made 2 more this morning. Here's how it turned out....

Napping

This looks like it's going to be a GREAT afternoon!!!

1st Day of School....Finally!

I just returned from dropping the kids off at their first day of school. Katie started 1st grade at her new school and Charlie started 3rd grade. This morning Katie told me that her stomach hurt because she was a little scared! Both kids are going to Buena Vista (the Spanish Immersion School) and are excited to be at the same school. It sure felt wierd walking two BIG kids into their classes today. They grow up too fast, don't they?

What Have We Been Up To???

Last weekend we went on a little day trip to Roseburg. We hiked Susan Creek Falls. Notice the 2-year old had to carry everbody's water....she insisted, I swear! Aunt Emily spent the enjoyable day with us....she needed a serious nap when we returned!

The cuties!

Then we went to Wildlife Safari. It was a great day!

We've also been canning pickles. I loved this picture of the pickles soaking in my sink!

Sliced and ready to go in the jar. Up next....pears, then salsa!

Camera Found!!!

I finally found our camera that has been missing for a few weeks. I also just finished a quilt that I made for Audrey. I am really proud of this quilt and let me tell you why...

1. I made it completely from scraps that I had ... except for the border on the front (David insisted that we put monkeys on it).

2 . I pieced the back with random things and sizes of fabric. 3. Each block is different.

4. This is all made of things that Audrey loves.... ie. Princesses, Dora, Care Bears, Ballerinas, Teddy Bears, Monkeys...etc.

5. I machine quilted it in the ditch (quilters will know what I'm talking about).

I am so proud of this quilt and Audrey loves it!!! She lays on it and points to things and tells us all what they are. The only problem now is that Sydney and Katie want one.

Next project.... a quilt for Sydney with appliqued little dresses. It may be awhile before that one is done!!!

Rory Alexis Mason

A New Baby!!!

Amanda had her beautiful, healthy baby girl this morning at 5:33 am. She weighed 6 lbs 2 oz and is absolutely gorgeous!!! We are all so excited about the new addition to the family. We think the name is Rory Alexis Mason (Amanda and Jed say they are trying it out). Congratulations Amanda and Jed, we are so proud of you....and Happy Birthday Rory!!! Isn't she beautiful??? More pictures to come later today!

Trip to Gold Beach

On our way to Gold Beach we had a little car sickness issue (this may just be because of the clip that our driver was taking the curves, but of course he blames it on Dairy Queen). We've never had this problem and let me just say from now on we will be traveling with buckets! About 10pm on Thursday night we were driving south on the winding Highway 101. Charlie said he felt a little sick and within 10 seconds was throwing up all over the back of the car. David pulled into the first parking lot he saw and we all jumped out and immediately started cleaning up Charlie, the car, and the poor little girls that were in the vicinity at the time of all the action. Keep in mind it is completely dark, except for the little lights coming from inside the car. All of a sudden we heard a huge "ROOOOOOAR!" It sounded like two cougars fighting. David and I looked up at each other and quickly said, "What was that?" About 2 seconds later, David said, "Look where we are!" As I looked up we were at the West Coast Game Park Safari. There was a huge painting of a leopard. And behind the fence we were just in front of there actually were lions, leopards, and tigers. Moral of the story....be careful where you pull over in the dark!

We had a wonderful weekend in Gold Beach with our friends, the Elder's. They know just what places to take us for a great time. We hiked up to a cool little tree for this family picture. Here's one of our only pictures of all the kids. It's quite difficult to have 8 kids happy and smiling all at the same time.

And rarely do I get a picture of Charlie. This is only because our friend Travis took the picture.

We played at the beach!

We got a little wet!

We had a blast and can't wait to go back. The kids were very upset that it was time to leave!