Pumpkin Patch

Boy...I am just going to make it in here with our Pumpkin Patch Hayride pictures! Tomorrow is the end of the month!! I wanted to do this earlier in the week but I was one sick gal. Figures...right? Well, I am just happy it was me and not the kids and that I am going to have time to recover before I leave for Disney!! Anyways, Edmund and I booked a hayride and invited some friends along for a little adventure. It was a beautiful but chilly autumn day...early afternoon...say 11 am...and very bright out. A perfect day for this kind of event!!!

They had this cute little tractor for pictures....all the kids loved climbing all over it!!!

We boarded our hay-filled trailer and set off for the unknown!!!
After about 20 minutes, we stopped in the middle of a field and got out. We had to hunt for pumpkins!!!!! Lots were still green but eventually we found some pretty orange ones!!!




Then we boarded up again and set off again!!!!




We arrived back after about a 45 minute trip~So fun to laugh and talk and just enjoy being outside!! I think I over-dressed cause I wore my heavy winter coat....I think I would have been fine in my fleece but ohhh well. The kids had a grand time!
The girls help "organize" pumpkins while we were waiting...its so funny to watch them think up a game and explain the rules to each other then play it out. They do it all the time...Devon even righted the overturned buckets of flowers!
Here's my favorite picture of the day....all the kids and their pumpkins out in the field!!!
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So, I don't know if you noticed in the pics of the hayride but Sarah got her hair cut for Disney and she even got a few highlights. She was super excited!

Speaking of Disney....lol....I finished up sewing for Disney last weekend!!! Yaaaa!!! I made a sleeping beauty tee for Brooklyn to wear with her pink petti in case we run into Aurora in MK or Epcot. I realized we had left her out and we love her too so I was lucky to have a cutie applique by Heather to do a shirt with.

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We have school pictures to share!!!



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And lastly, the weather cooperated so nicely last weekend that we were able to go on a little treasure hunt on the beach. I think I mentioned about Lime Ricky World....well they had one last party and the kids participated in all the fun! This time it was a Captain Kid Treasure Hunt.




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So the next installment will be chalk full of vacation pics I hope!! My husband called to tell me they had an "interesting" flight to Florida with tarmack wait-times of 45+ minutes. Uggggg.. he is NOT a happy camper. Poor guy. But they made it there safe and sound! Hopefully everything will go smoothly until I get there...please send pixie dust their way!!!

OK everyone have a safe and happy weekend! "Talk" to you soon!! God Bless!!!

We're Packing!!!

Hello Everyone! I knew October would fly by and it has! Work has been intense but rewarding. I really love working with freshmen. We've been studying motion and forces and there's all kinds of labs and hands-on things they've been working on to learn the concepts better. So that brings me to this weekend. Tonight marks one week till my family takes off for Disney without me! (Don't worry, I am flying down later!) I really give my hubby lots of credit for flying with the girls alone. Fortunately they are generally pretty well behaved and I am thinking with Disney on the line....they will be especially good! LOL!

So I have been busy finishing up my sewing...still not done...and doing some last minute shopping in order to pack. As you may know, my hubby told me that the girls could have carry-ons only as he was not checking baggage. So... I figured I would try to fit as much as I could in their carry-ons and put the over-flow in my checked bag. So I started the long arduous process of assembling their belongings.



So step one is to throw everything on the bed!

Then I organize clothing into piles according to the day. I make sure each outfit has all its parts!

I add a few extra things like sweatshirts and leggins and shorts and some extra tees. I checked the weather for Kissimmee and right now the highs are in the low 80's and the lows are in the high 60's .... did you get that??? So I am hoping layers won't be needed. Its actually supposed to rain for the next week so hopefully that will be gone by next weekend!!!

OK back to packing. Next step I iron and fold all parts of the outfit and label a zip-lock bag with the name and date and place she will be wearing it.

And this is the fun part. Iput the outfit in the bag and close the zip-lock leaving about an inch opening. I roll the bag so all of the air escapes. Then quickly finish zipping it shut.....whaalaaaa....the bag is sucked in around the clothing and holds the entire outfit secure.
So I continue until everything is labeled and bagged.....these are Brooklyn's things....
These are Devon's piles... I was really amazed that all those outfits shrunk down to this:
So for the last step I threw all the bags in the carry-on. This is before I even pressed them down and I stepped back amazed. Everything fit in the carry-on!!! I couldn't believe it.
And here is my cute model earlier tonight showing you the three carry-ons all packed and ready to go! The girls practiced rolling their bags and it seems they can handle them well enough. I will pack a few toys and things in their backpacks for the airplane and we're all ready to go!!!!
I still have to pack for myself but it may be that I don't need to check a bag at all. Really the deciding factor is that huge wedding dress for BBB. I bought space bags so I am hoping I can suck all the air out with a vacuum and fit it all in my carry-on. Ok, well this ends my packing spree!

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And finally a sewing update! I am super excited to show you this new and upcoming pattern! The child version (Emily Tunic) was already released and this one (Shana Bell Tunic) is coming out any day now! Its another fabulous creation by Carla (Scientific Seamstress http://scientificseamstress.blogspot.com/2009/10/belle-of-ball.html ) and Jennifer (SisBoom http://jenniferpaganelli.typepad.com/sis_boom_day_dreams/2009/10/as-promised-1.html).

It's super comfy. I tried it on after sewing it in only a few hours. I wore it the rest of the day! I just LOVE it!!! It has cute bell sleeves and you can make it in several lengths!!!

So as I was finishing sewing last weekend, Devon asked where her Jasmine outfit was. I had promised to make it for her at the beginning of the summer and here it was October and still no outfit. I did have an excuse. When I bought the materials in June, I included things like tulle and gold lame and gold braid. And the fabric was a bit thick and stiff. I just couldn't imagine working with those materials would be any fun. Fear. Of the unknown. I knew the pattern I would use right away...Carla's Simply Sweet had a version that included a short ruffle bottom. Plus Carla has been doing these wonderful blogs on how to "princessify" her patterns so I added sleeves inspired by that. The pants were simply Easy Fits. My friend Heather made some for her daughter by adding elastic at the bottom. So I did the same thing. As it turns out, the blue fabric became very easy to work with and made assembly easy. The gold lame frayed when cut but it went thru the ruffler ok and I attached it to the bodice then zig-zagged the edges twice. The belt and tulle took some doing but really, it wasn't so hard if I went slow. I zig-zagged the braid on the edge with gold thread. The Jasmine applique was Heather's cute design and it stitched out so nicely. I put two other appliques on the pants. They were by Diva Duds. They too stitched out well. I really like her designs because she goes over each step three times. Anyways....here is Devon in her outfit! She was soooo excited that I made it for her!!! I hope she gets to meet the real Jasmine in Epcot.




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So this is the end of my little blog update! This weekend we are doing a fun hayride and I am sewing up a few more little things and I am all set to go! I think haircuts are in order too! My hope is that everyone stays healthy and that all of our family and friends who are going stay healthy too!!!! I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and spending time with my favorite people in my favorite place!!!!
Have a fun weekend everyone!!!!

Two Weeks!!!!

That's right...two weeks till the Disney Family Reunion!!! We are busy preparing final outfits and packing this weekend! It's a rainy one so hopefully we can accomplish everything I have in mind!

Last weekend we attended Coast Day at the docks of a local seafood restaurant! So fun but crowded!

Sorry for the blurry pic...but look at that huge pumpkin!
Ya I know....the touch tank again....Devon and Brook LOVE it!!!


They had these cool hammerhead shark rubbings....the shark was cut out of fine sandpaper and glued to the board. The kids rubbed crayons and whalaaa....a shark appeared! Cool stuff!


Sarah got to spin the wheel......
and won a free tee!!! Yaaaaa!
A little further down was a man holding a huge turtle!!! I don't know how he managed cause it was so squirmy!

CLOSE UP!!!
Ahhh the beginnings of a little scientist!!! LOL!
Last update I promised to show you a sneak peak at the secret Giselle wedding dress from the movie Enchanted. Here's my version of it...it has puffy sleeves, a butterfly and pretty ruffles on the skirt. Now the question becomes how am I going to pack this thing??? I was soooo fortunate that a friend lent me the dress....thank you sooo much! I hope Sarah is pleased!


Here is the final set of matching tees for my friend and I and all our kiddos!!! I used an embroidery set I bought from my friend Heather on Etsy! They stitched out great and I made all 7 in just a day or two! I actually combined some images and resized and then added the word "Celebrate" to the top. Disney's theme this year is a Year to Celebrate! How many of you have gotten into the parks for free this year????



If you sew or think you may sew someday....Youcanmakethis.com is promoting their website and offering two free downloads! Sweet!!!! Here's the link: http://www.youcanmakethis.com/index.htm


Sorry for the short update! I am actually working on the momma version of Carla and Jennifer's latest pattern.....its soooo pretty! Be back later with more! Have an awesome weekend everyone!!!