Flowers and Gingerbread Houses

Earth Flowers are some of the best flowers grown.

This bouquet, Orion picked it out for me. :) He chose a beautiful one! I like the mixture of yellows and golds with the pinks. Nice fall colors with a hint of pretty and pink.

They brought them home to me the week before I took these pictures - on about the 10 of November. I had to toss them out this last Sunday. And that was only because they had bugs. The chrysanthemums and the daisy looking things still looked pretty. They lasted a month. Easily. Like I said, they are amazing!

I got to know Homer a little while I worked at The Merc and he is one of the nicest people you'll ever come in contact with. If you are ever in need of flowers - try Earth Flowers, I don't think they have website, but you can purchase them at The Merc and possibly at Henrys' Plant Farm.

And that, above, is a purple, spiky, grassy plant thing that Zac bought when we moved into this house. It was basking in some Saturday morning sun and it totally drew me in as I walked around it. So then I had to photograph it.

Look at those eyes:

My mom, Brandy, McKenzie, Maebelle, Orion and I built a gingerbread house for the Topeka Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays.

Here's the finished product.

And the kids were able to make their own house after we viewed the others and voted on the best one at the show.

Maebelle likes to eat the frosting more than she likes to use it on the house. Therefore, she tried to save as much as she could. Since she was trying to use the frosting so sparingly, the roof kept falling off. Brandy tried to help her, below. But by the time we got to the car, both her house and Orion's had already fallen apart. O'well. It was fun to make them!

After the gingerbread houses, we went to Gage Park and the kids played while my mom and I had a chance to talk and hang out. It was a wonderful day! Girl talk with my mom doesn't happen very often and it was a great time! And with that, the holidays begin. :)

Camping, Pumpkins and Candy

Last weekend, Zac took Orion camping. It was a cold trip, but they had a blast!

Orion got to do some adventuresome climbing! The ground was only about 25 feet down. ;)

His favorite part of the camping was going on this hike.

We have this beautiful hibiscus blooming in our dining room. It seems so delicate and flowy and pretty. And in this picture, I love the depth - the bright outside petals, and the dense middle. So beautiful!

On Halloween, Mom and I went to lunch, then to watch the kids' Halloween parade and parties. It was wonderful to have an hour to just visit with her. We don't get to do that often enough.

The kids paraded around the gym of the school, which wasn't as much fun as parading outside, like they did last year. But it was fun to get to see all of the costumes. Orion was Peter Pan and Maebelle was Wendy. 

Then back to the classrooms to have treats and fun afternoons!

Back tracking here, but while Zac and Orion were camping, Maebelle and I went shopping for fabric for her costume and we made it that weekend. It is so soft and something she'll be able to use all winter hopefully!

Halloween was an early release day, so Orion asked to be picked up right after school instead of going to Boys and Girls Club. Maebelle loves Boys and Girls Club and wanted to stay for it. When Orion and I got home, just us two, we decided to carve the pumpkin that he has been waiting to carve for almost 2 weeks now.

Then when Maebelle came home from Boys and Girls Club, she got to carve hers.

They did a wonderful job. They drew the face themselves, then pretty much did all of the carving. :)

They are getting so big!

After a short dinner of sandwiches, we got costumes on and ready to go trick or treating!

We decided to try going around our block here since it's new territory this year. Last year we tried to trick or treat in our neighborhood, but there were no lights on at all.

So this year, we started out and sure enough, we found plenty of houses with lights on. We really only went around the block. It took about an hour, which was plenty long enough. The kids were tired by the time we got home, but their strength and patience lasted the full hour.

And as far as candy goes, they found plenty! Their bags were heavy by the end and they each had a large pile when they dumped them out on the table.

It was a fun night! And Maebelle and Orion actually got to wear their costumes to a neighborhood party last Sunday and a friend's party yesterday. So we got good use out of them. :)

Hope you are having a wonderful fall!

Fall Leaves!

So Maebelle lost her sixth tooth a few weeks ago.

I love this next one. She is so sweet!

We decided to rake some leaves last week. We didn't actually have anything to put them in so they are spread back out around the yard now along with about a million other leaves that have blown into our yard. But the kids loved playing in them this day!

Orion definitely threw armfuls of leaves at Maebelle more times than Maebelle threw armfuls at Orion. Not surprisingly. :)

They threw armfuls of leaves at each other over and over and over. I don't even know how many times. I thought for sure they'd get worn out, but no. And like any good kid, eventually they turned on me. Sorry, Maebelle, for cutting off your face. I didn't have much time to snap the shot before I needed to run and hide the camera. :)

And the lonely pile that attack left behind:

What a cheesy smile, Orion!

LOVE this next one. It is truly Orion to me:

These flowers Zac brought me one night. Oh how I love him!

Halloween pictures to come soon!

Visual Appreciation of our New Home

Before we really moved into our new house, I had a chance to appreciate it with pictures.

One of my favorite things (Ha! I'm constantly finding new "favorite things". I've got so many that I can't even keep track anymore) about this house is the light. Mostly the fact that there is some.

Our last house was very much light deprived. By the time we left Canterbury Lane, I felt shriveled and starving for light. Real, natural, beautiful, yellow and orange light. All shimmery and shadowy and spectacular.

After a couple of days of living here, Zac said something about how amazing all of our plants were doing in this house that gets the beautiful (and did I mention much needed?) East and West light.

I am definitely the same way...I need the light in all its glory to function. It gives me something that my body and mind yearn for. It heals my soul. And so does this:

Oh how I love these kids :)

And the toys they leave out. These pink skates have found new life in a house with wood floors instead of carpet and stairs. 

The change renewed something in the kids as well. Living on one level with all the rooms opening toward each other has impacted our closeness. We have a fresh sense of family and together-ness. (Is that a word?)

And the small details of this house are fantastic! The orange and yellow tile in the bathroom, this wonderful wallpaper, the vibrant yellow shades on the kitchen windows (see the first photo).

:) aaaahhhhh (that was a big, deep breath in and a wonderful, long, slow breath out)

Thank you for looking at my appreciation of our house. We are moved in now and it feels good to be here. I am sure I will develop wanderlust again before too long, but for now, I am happy. Content. And it feels good.

I hope you are too ::smile::