Short and Sweet (but better than nothing!)

This post is not only long overdue, it's going to just be a teaser, in the hopes that once I've got a promise of more info out there, I will be able to follow through rather quickly!

As I have 2 girls waiting to play Monopoly Jr. with me, I will keep this brief, and summarize what's been keeping me away for so long!

First, we had 2 whirlwind, back to back trips to Southern California.  More on those later.

Random picture of the 3 girls.  Emma is wearing a t-shirt that Don's niece made.

Next, school.  I had forgotten how busy kindergarten keeps parents!  Take that, and multiply it by two....yeah, any wonder why I haven't posted lately?  The girls are doing VERY well, though, and genuinely love school!  Both Abby and Emma were chosen for September's Student of the Month for their class.  Yes, both of them at the same time...their teacher said they were both worthy, and she was trying to make it easy on our family.  As their prize, they each received a free personal pizza from the local restaurant, and were very proud of themselves!  Aside from that, in the 1 1/2 months of school, we've had 1 back to school luau, 3 fundraisers (with one more tonight, and one starting next week!), 2 parent/teacher conferences (1 each), and plenty of homework.  Oh yeah, and I volunteer in their class on Tuesday mornings.  For that, I am truly glad that they are in the same class!  More on school to come!

Also, the garden has gone CRAZY!  I've been canning like mad to try to keep up with how much produce we're getting! I've canned jalapenos, chiles, catsup, pasta sauce (2 kinds), marmalade, taco sauce, BBQ sauce, pickles (multiple kinds!), corn, pinto beans, relish, salsa...the list goes on, and will be touched on again later!


Abby, Emma, and Katie, at our backyard campout.

I went "backyard camping" with the girls one night, and they had a really good time.  I'm not sure any of us slept very well, but it was fun!

My new Ugly Purse and accessories.

A brief sampling of the bag mania that has gripped me for the last 2 or so months!  This was knit and felted from leftover balls of wool yarn, and as I used every color I had, the girls dubbed it the Ugly Purse.  I don't care, I love it!  I've knit several other purses lately, no two alike.  Why?  I don't know why either.  Because I wanted to see if I could, I guess!

My mother-in-law's auction basket, all finished!

Of course, I've had many other knitting projects in the works.  And cross stitch.  And baking.  And other crafting.  Lots more to follow on this!

And to round out my weeks, I babysit a 7 month old on Wednesday mornings, so his mom can volunteer in her daughter's kindergarten class, have Bible study on Wednesday nights, and MOPS has started again, as well as the accompanying book club meetings.  Is it any wonder that when I stop moving for a minute, my kids take pictures like this:

Although I want it noted that this is RARE!

But, at least I'm in good company:

Maddie, taking after her dad...puts on a tv show and falls asleep on the couch!

Take care, and I promise to come back soon with more details!