Messy, messy girl

Berlyn dove right in when it came time for pumpkin carving. She stuck her hand deep inside and ended up with goo all over her face. We sat her in her highchair and let her color her own pumpkin, too. Like a pro, she drew a gorgeous picture, then sucked on the markers. She is such a ham.

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight, we carved pumpkins. This is the first time we've done the pumpkin thing with Talullah, and at first she seemed really excited about it. Then, when dad brought his sticky, slimy arm out of the pumpkin with all that stringy orange hanging off his skin, she decided maybe this was not a good activity for her. Both girls did enjoy coloring on their pumpkins while Nick and I carved designs on ours. Talullah sat for quite a long time, making her masterpiece. I waited until the end to go capture a photo of the completed project, and by the time I got over to her she had used the rag to wash off her drawing!

SUPER POWERS!!!

I have lived with this darling little girl for nearly three years now. Until a couple days ago, I had NO idea she had super powers. How could I be so unaware?! I was taking a break from working, and Talullah informed me that she wanted to show me something. "Look, mom!" And this is what she showed me. I'm not even sure where she has heard the term 'super power', but I'm willing to bet it was over at Uncle Adam's house.

Pumpkin Pickin' Time!!!

It's become a tradition to go pick pumpkins with Rebekah and Cameron, aka: Aunt Booboo and

Uncle Cam.

We were so

bummed Uncle Cam couldn't join us this year, but we were glad to at least keep the tradition alive! Plus, it's baby Vivian's first year to pick pumpkins. She was such a good sport even though it was cold and foggy out in the field. Much to our surprise, we showed up to the Warren Creek Farm to find Uncle Nate and his family right behind us! Talullah couldn't have been happier to have her cousins to run around with. We found more than our share of 'perfect' pumpins, and we had to weed through them multiple times before we checked out. I wasn't about to fork over nearly $30 for a batch of orange squash... beautiful as they might be. We have enough for each of us to carve one, and then a few to spread around the house for fall decor. I love this time of year. ,,,Putting out the gourds and candles, hanging a colorful wreath on the door. Truth be told, I haven't actually gotten around to getting the box of fall decorations out of the garage. But I surely have a pretty picture painted in my mind of what it will look like once I get around to doing it.

More pumpkin patch

How can I blame her?

I love coffee, too.

The Salmon Creek Ranch

This was such an exciting Family Day, it will take multiple blogs to explain. Before each winter, Nick heads up to the Chapman's ranch to cut firewood so that we're ready for the cold weather to come. The girls and I always want to go with him so we can spend time with Aunt Jojo and Uncle Eric. It's always an added bonus when we get to see Mark and Tammie, as well. This trip, we only got to stay for the day, but it was packed with fun. Johanna played with the girls, cooked up delicious enchiladas for lunch, and made some deer and elk jerky. They even let us bring the left over jerky home! I'm pretty sure Talullah ate seven pieces already. She's in love with the stuff. We picked tomatoes from the garden, and we pulled some apples from the tree. To my surprise, Berlyn sunk her teeth into her whole apple, and walked around nibbling on that thing for at least an hour. I'm never cutting up another apple for her! We saw several little snakes sneaking around the yard. We sat on the deck and watched Jo throw sticks into the pond for Spice and Shasta to go fetch. Dad wowed the girls by catching a cricket and letting them hold it. Talullah was very impressed. Uncle Eric took us in his big truck to feed the baby cows. It's always a bit of a thrill to drive on the ranch and not have car seats or seat belts. Call me crazy. The day went by much too fast, and I was sad to have to leave. Someday, I'm pretty sure Aunt Jojo and Uncle Eric will build us a small cabin to use as a summer home just next door to their place so we can stay for weeks on end. Right, Jo and Eric???

Feeding the calves

Our VERY favorite part of our visit to the ranch was getting to feed the baby cows. These little guys, Sue and Justin, were only 5 days old. Talullah has decided that on top of wanting a white horse, a brown horse, a pelican, and a deer... she wants a baby cow, too. She told her dad that he can build a house for them in our yard. He did it for the chickens, right?! I love that she has full faith her daddy can do anything.

Sue was our favorite calf. He is the cutie pie with a lot of super soft white fur ( Is it called fur?) and a spunky personality. We like spunky. He fought and fought against drinking his meal, and Aunt Jojo had to tackle him against the fence until he got the hang of sucking on the bottle. Then we realized the nipple wasn't working and he just wasn't getting any milk. It's a learning process for all of us, I guess.

Johanna and Eric have to come feed these babies 4 times a day, even waking up in the middle of the night to give them their bottle. As much work as this is, I still think that it's a life I could easily get used to. I love visiting the ranch!

The Coolest House

Aunt Jojo and Uncle Eric have the coolest house, hands down. Who else has a carved bear with their initials on it in their dining room?! This friendly looking pig was Aunt Jojo's hunting trophy last year. Uncle Eric has a soft coyote fur hanging around as a warning to all those other coyotes to stay away from his dogs and Tammie's chickens. Is any more proof needed that going to their house is always an exciting adventure?!

How will I survive?

Sometimes I ask myself questions. Like...

Will I ever, EVER get a full nights sleep again?

Should I just throw out that bag of size small clothes that I've been holding onto until they fit again?

With 4 people dirtying a house, but only one picking it up, will it ever be truly clean?

Is it possible to save enough money to take a family of 5 on an extended trip to Italy before I'm 35?

Is there any way to get rid of these sneaky gray hairs or developing facial wrinkles?!

How much bigger will this belly get before baby girl comes?

How long will it take for this belly to be not so big once baby girl comes?

Am I crazy?

How will I survive?

Drum roll, puh lease.....

It's another girl. Yes, we will be having baby girl #3 in a few months. In my heart, I knew it already. But that didn't stop me from hoping. And praying. And hoping. And praying. And getting a long list of boy names ready. And thinning out the girls clothes stash. And... Still, seeing the little girl parts on the screen at the ultrasound this morning, I was in a state of shock. Three girls, three years and under? How will we ever afford the fashion upkeep? The endless hair products and accessories? The proms? The weddings?!?! Am I getting ahead of myself? As I lay on the table in the doctor's office, I just looked over at Nick and said.... "Well, Nick. In six months we can start trying for that boy!"

Tough Stuff

Well, Miss T got her first real shiner. She was rough housing in the bouncy house with cousin Logan... and here's the result. My baby girl's first black eye.

Giddyup!!!!

Uncle Adam took the kids on a little pony ride while we were at the swap meet in Roseville. The lady was so nice, she let the two little ones go around several more times than the sign stated. Logan and Talullah were pretty thrilled. You won't catch this frugal momma forking over $5 bucks per kid for a 3 minute pony ride. So glad Uncle Adam just wanted to see the kids be happy. I love family.

The Sacramento Zoo

We went for a weekend visit to see my brother and his family. Kathy and I had such a great time! We took the kids to the Sacramento zoo, which was a huge hit. The best attraction was definitely the giraffes. Poor Logan and Berlyn experienced much of the zoo while strapped into the stroller, but they were happy nonetheless.

The man I love

I'm so glad I get to live with this man and see this wonderful smile every single day.