Dress Up

Francesca turns one early November, so Jess thought it would be fun to have her first party in a dress-up theme.   It was at Jess' mother-in-law's house, and everything turned out so nice.  She had a taco bar, Jess made her grandma's enchiladas, and I made a bean dip and fruit salad.
 

 

 

 

The decorations were cute all

throughout the house.
 

 

 

 

These were the flowers

that sat on all the tables outside.
 

 

 

Jess dressed up as one of the

Pink Ladies on Grease,

and Francesca was Sandy  haha.
 

 

I even dressed up.

 

I bought a pinata for the kids, and later they took their turns hitting that thing as hard as they could, until all the candy fell to the ground.  It has been a tradition in our family to do the pinatas at every celebration.  Francesca even took a try at it.  ; )
 

 

grandma's presents
 

 

And the cake!

Jess' mother-in-law made a chocolate cake, and it was so Yummy.  I had a piece the next morning with my coffee. 
 

 

Francesca looked at the cake and didn't know what to do at first, so she slowly dipped in....
 

 

then she went to town!
 

 

Cousin Mia wasn't able to make the party,

but I wanted to show you her outfit.

She is a cute mermaid,

and Nel's dog is a shark hahaha.
 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful party,

and I can't believe Francesca is one already.
 

 

~Sheri

Getting in the Spirit

Halloween will soon be here!

Mia helped me decorate the mantel this year.

Jess came to visit with Francesca. We had so much fun checking off our Halloween festivities.

 

My favorite activity was making caramel apples, just like our mom used to do with us around this time of year. 

We enjoyed a few other spooky goodies.

I love the Halloween decor around town.

The trick-or-treaters will be knocking soon!

~Nel

Pumpkin Pleasures

Nel picked up a few pumpkin goodies the last time she was at Trader Joes.  She said the pumpkin cranberry crisps were so good, and she likes the pumpkin spice tea so much that she got two containers.

 

 

Jess also got a few goodies at Trader Joes.
  She even found a Harvest pasta sauce with pumpkin
and butternut squash.
 

 

And I got some pumpkin goodies at different stores as well.  I found this wall hanging and had to buy it, cause my mom used to dance in her kitchen all the time while cooking.

 

 

 

When Nel sent me this picture it really got to me, as I used to read The Berenstain Bears to my kids all the time.  To see my daughter reading to her daughter was a precious sight to me.

(photo taken by Renecke)

I had my first pumpkin pie of the season at my favorite bakery in the country.

 

 

I asked for two pumpkin cookies to take home, and she threw in a ghost too.  She is always sweet to me and made me a fresh pot of coffee.

 

 

I thought Nel would love this sign, as this is her favorite coffee during the Autumn season.

 

 

Pumpkin colored flowers

 

 

What's this little pumpkin coming towards me?

 

 

As you can see,

this is a pumpkin loving family.  ; )

 

~Sheri

Bizarre And Beautiful

I watched a movie recently, Finding Vivian Maier, and it was fascinating to me....the kind of movie that you are still thinking about three days later.  She was a great photographer, and I think anyone who loves taking pictures would enjoy this movie.  I often take pictures of the lovely, but I also like to capture the unusual, quirky, out of the ordinary, bizarre and beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

my grandbabies  ; )

(baby photos taken by Brian and Nel)
 

When I took a black and white photography class many years ago, I was asked who my favorite photographer was.  I didn't really have one at the time.  Now I do.  There's something very special and captivating about Vivian Maier's photos.  I can really learn a thing or two from this amazing and artistic photographer.  I hope you get a chance to watch this movie sometime.
 

~Sheri