the princess and chinese girl

Introducing the princess and the Chinese girl (for lack of a better name)....

When grandma asked Ry in the store, "do you want to be a princess for Halloween?" I knew she had sealed the deal. Which actually worked out great because g'ma bought her the princess dress (her only hope of having a cool costume). Sophie's costume was an outfit we picked up during a trip to Hong Kong.

Thank goodness for 'Trunk or Treats', if it wasn't for them Ry would have no idea people passed out candy on Halloween.

Sophie had a blast walking around and shoving candy into her bag, which I am currently using as my own stash. Mama has a sweet tooth. Ry loved it and is excited to eat all the skittles, starburst, and the other pure sugar candies...and is giving the yucky chocolate candy bars to dad.

Hope you all have secret candy stashes too.

cleaning up shop

I know some of you ladies out there have WAY more jeans than this. This is 8 years worth...not bad.

3 weeks + 3 days

The count down is on until graduation!

I'm in the process of packing and purging.

So long Luckys from high school with the slits in the hem (do you know the ones?).

Goodbye freshman 15 jeans...I vow you will never fit again.

And lots of other junk from around the house. Feels good to minimize my life.

birthday do over

Kev's b'day came and went the beginning of October without any singing, cake, or presents.

BUT, I did send him to school with cupcakes...like any good mom (I mean wife) would do.

AND, he did go on a man trip to New Orleans with all his classmates for a conference.

so don't feel too bad for the guy.

The next weekend I declared a birthday do over and redeemed myself a little bit.

I surprised him with a date (a round of golf).

We went out to dinner with the kiddos (secretly wishing we were still on a date).

Then we came home to cake and presents!

Sophie eating her cake...

and Ry's cake

still not satisfied, she moved on to the rest of the cake. You can see the damage she caused.

Dad showing off his loot (helmet and bike jersey).

The cake was one big experiment.

Started off with Kev's favorite chocolate chocolate chip zucchini cake.

Substituted the egg with flax and water (for Ry).

Substituted most of the sugar with honey.

Substituted most the flour with wheat flour.

Substituted the oil with apple sauce.

And used the dairy/egg free chocolate chips (for Ry...which are fantastic).

I also added almond butter to the frosting (which made the consistency totally weird).

And still used 10 lbs. of sugar for the frosting.

It was tasty and I felt a tad better as I devoured half the cake.

reupholstered

I had one of those moments a few weeks ago when I was really craving a project.

(those cravings are few and far between, but strong and must be satisfied).

So I got it in my little brain to try to reupholster a chair.

It requires hardly any sewing (and no patterns) so it seemed right up my alley.

Plus I have mad skills with a staple and glue gun.

So anyhow...after finding a $10 chair, and pulling out a bazillion staples (and punching myself in the sternum after one particularly stubborn staple) here is the result.
The before is on the left. I'm still a little sad I painted over the pretty wood. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result although it is far from professional quality and I had some major issues with puckering material (don't look too closely at the pic).

another angle

And of course my handy dandy helper. I was so determined to finish this all on my own but I needed a staple gun with a little more mmph (hint hint...upcoming birthday). And let's face it...I also need a little more patience and a whole lot bigger attention span.

Thanks for your help Kev. I know old used furniture is starting to grow on you...no matter what you say.

May I add I've browsed the Craig's list for El Paso and it is pathetic so I'm planning ahead for any future whims of projects I may want to do. I am currently hoarding used furniture in my garage much to Kev's dismay.

love us some visitors

We had some visitors this past week.

Grandpa & Grandma Mc and Grandma Lou came to hang out.

My girls are so lucky to get so much love and attention.

First up, Grandpa and Grandma Mc.

Some snuggle time during General Conference. I actually got to hear the speakers. So nice the sessions and naps coincided.

An Autumn drive and picnic (and hanging around for a couple hours to kill time since they closed the road right after we arrived). Thanks to Grandpa Mc for "walking" Ry around the parking lot.

Next up...Grandma Lou's visit

I somehow ended up with zero pictures of this special lady.

We did however do a photo shoot of the girls in their new Dora jammies from g'ma.

Ry is Dora's biggest fan. She can use the Spanish she has learned from Dora in El Paso.

Went to a Pumpkin Fest, lured there by the promise of a "pumpkin patch". The real deal...a bunch of pre picked pumpkins scattered on the ground, a pumpkin launcher that mislaunched and could have taken someone out, and three flat tires on my double jogger from those stupid goat heads (thorn...not actual goat head). But there WAS delicious kettle corn ...so a good outing.

Thanks for coming. Please come again.

it's official

A few weeks ago Kev and I went to an interview out of state (location disclosed later for dramatic effect). We left our kids behind with some of our favorite friends, the McDonoughs (thank you, thank you, thank you). Traveling without kids in one word is DELIGHTFUL! Kev and I even held hands through the airport.

So...it's official. The McMinns will be moving to El Paso, TX come November. Shocked? I was too, but I'm excited and more importantly confident in our decision.

We will be sad to say goodbye to Colorado, which can only be described as being THE perfect state for us. But I will not judge you El Paso by your close proximity to the most dangerous city or your lack of snow and grass. Looking forward to our next adventure.