VOTE VOTE VOTE........

I hope everyone plans to vote today, regardless of the candidate you choose, its an American right and privilege! As for this household, we will keep our fingers crossed for Obama. However, whoever wins, they have their work cut out for them, as we all want to see a change! Here's to a dream of Peace! :)

Trick or Treat!

The Halloween festivities started around 5:30 at our place. Connie came over with goodies for all of us...a new bag for me, some cocktails for Justin, and balloons for Jordyn.

Jordyn didnt have her trick or treating partner this year...sadly, Blaine moved to Steamboat, so Connie brought Pee Wee over to trick or treat with her.

We had a lot of houses to go to, and since there are no other kids up here, the folks really look forward to Jordyn stopping by. In fact, we are still getting phone calls regarding some houses we missed. Looks like we will have to make a formal announcement next year to make sure we include everyone :)

As difficult as it was to get her to keep her hat on during her photoshoot, it was amazing how she refused to go anywhere without her hat while on "official" trick or treat business. She even insisted on carrying her very heavy (full) cat bag all the way up a hill. I thought she was going to tip over...in fact, on the way down she did.

It was a fabulous evening, the first time in years we've had perfect Halloween weather, and we all had a blast! I even shot some hilarious video footage of her that i hope to post soon...so stay tuned!
In the meantime, we hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Corn Maze Fun ~

Last year Jordyn's grandma and i took Jordyn to her first corn maze, and we had such a great time we decided to make it an annual event. This year we went to Bartels Farm and it was loaded with fun!

There were pumpkins everywhere, a dozen or so inflated lawn decorations, scarecrows, wind spinners, a pumpkin launcher, petting zoo, and of course...a corn maze!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect corn maze weather :)

Jordyn had a great time running all around, gathering corn, and pulling grandma thru the maze!

We started to wonder if we were going to make it out of the maze without cheating...it was very hot...and we kept taking wrong turns...but im happy to report that we did indeed find our way out.

We found this pumpkin at the exit, which was helpful...its amazing how an orange round pumpkin shape will stand out among the corn husks, to help lead the way.
After the maze, we headed over to the petting zoo...

The pot belly pig had a bit of an attitude, but can you blame it. :)

This little goat was sweet.

But the chickens really fascinated Jordyn, and she kept running back over to them to see what they were up to.

And finally...the pumpkin launcher...i cant believe i actually caught the pumpkin in flight, but since the cannon was rather loud, it scared me when it went off and i pushed the button as i jumped :)
Hope you enjoyed our little adventure at Bartels Farm!

Carving and Cookies

More Halloween fun...anyone tired of pumpkins yet? Then i guess you dont want any of our delicious, homemade pumpkin cookies :) Okay, so they come out of the package that way and you just put em on a tray and cook em up...they're quick, easy and actually pretty tasty.

Jordyn carved her very first pumpkin last night and she really enjoyed it! I thought she would get bored after a while, but she enjoyed the entire process...she even tried to shove some of her dolls in the pumpkin when we were finished. We made this jack o lantern for Great Grandma as a surprise. We added a candle, tip-toed across the meadow to her window and waved him around in the window till she spotted him :) She loved her little surprise and let him burn all night. He's pretty cool...what do you think?

All Halloween Weekend!

Be warned...this is a photo intensive blog...
As mentioned earlier, we headed off to the city for some Halloween fun. On Saturday we went to my Uncle's VFW for a kids Halloween party. Jordyn had a great time with all of the kids, and she really enjoyed hanging out with her Godmom Christy. Here they are with her and her stepcousin Parker, lining up for the costume contest. I think folks had a tough time choosing a winner, so all the kids won a prize :)

They also received a bag of yummies...what would a Halloween party be without a giant bag of candy! Here is Jordyn inspecting her loot...

She played her first game of hot potato...or i guess hot pumpkin. She didnt quite grasp the idea of the game, so the kids on either side of her did most of the work.

She did win a prize for bowling and getting a strike on the first try, by throwing (not rolling) the ball. It was a wonderful party, and everyone had a great time!

Afterwords, we all headed to the house for pizza and beers, while the kids ran around in the backyard enjoying their sugar high :)

On Sunday we headed out the the Denver Zoo...

this was my first experience with Boo at the Zoo, and it was AWESOME! If you ever get the chance you should go!

There were 30 booths set up all around the zoo for the kids to trick or treat...some fancier than others, but all fun!

It was jam packed, but the weather was great and all the parents, as well as the kids, were in great spirits. There was fun everywhere you looked...they had jugglers and other entertainment, food and drinks, and if that wasnt enough, there was always the animals :)

We missed bird world last time, so we made sure to check it out this time. Besides, Daddy was cold and wanted to warm up in the "tropical climate".

The sea lions were basking in the sun, barking up a storm. Jordyn thought they were hilarious! We had a blast!

Hope you enjoyed a peek at our fabulous weekend!

Over the River and Thru the Woods....

To the post office i went...to mail off my ALQS miniature to ___?_____! Of course, its a secret, so i wont let the cat out of the bag till my receivers package arrives :)
Anyways, im sure by the sneak peeks i gave over the last few weeks, that it was pretty obvious what the quilt looked like, but here it is again..."Wonky Pineapple Blues", being modeled on our glorious woodpile! Its 20 X 20, and was paper pieced with a washable leave in paper (that makes the quilt a little stiffer, and nice for hanging). I also finished and mailed out the Halloween table runners to my sisters in California, so that should be a nice surprise for them (i can mention them here, because they never read my blog :)
And lastly, i sent out a little "thank you" to Anne, for her generous gift of I-spy fabrics a while back. Sorry it took me soooo long to get it out to you Anne, what can i say...im lame. Anyways, now that all my latest deadlines are met, i can relax this weekend...which is great because we have a full weekend of Halloween fun planned, including a kids party at the VFW, and Boo at the Zoo, which i am quite excited about!

So stay tuned...

Photographing A Two Year Old

Its that time of year again...the annual portraits of my daughter in her Halloween costume. We take our holiday seriously, so no ordinary photos will do :) But photographing a two year old is no easy feat!

Of course, the first challenge is to get them into their costume...no, no Jordyn, leave your hat on...dont take off your tights...stop pulling your dress up...hold still, i need to get your shoes on...hurry up, we're going to miss the good light (okay, this is every photographers challenge).

The next thing is to get their attention...keep their attention...and get them to smile! No, Jorydn, stop spitting, smile for mommy...please....hey...look over here...smile...yoohoo! Finger snapping is sometimes a good technique! Yelling, however, is not.....

okay sweetie...im sorry, just look over here...you look so pretty...come on baby...cheese! smile! over here....

no...dont take your hat off...leave it on...c'mon Jordyn, look over here...hey, where are you going...

okay Jordyn, stop looking at the cat and look over here...hey, ive got an idea...lets call the kitty over here for a shot...come here Lump...come on kitty kitty...

okay, Lump...stay still...Jordyn stay still...hey you guys, look over here....
(great, now im herding cats)

okay, maybe some fun time to lighten the mood...as im not sure i got "the" shot yet, and she has way to much balled up energy! Spin Jordyn, spin! Weeeeeee!

Okay, how about we climb up here on these logs...c'mon Jordyn, you looks so cute..."mommy down...mommy down"....wait just a second, i almost got it, the light is great....no Jordyn, hold still...all right, fine...then sit here with this pumpkin!

No,i said sit still...why are you crying (probably because her moms a psycho)...hey, its okay kiddo...look up at mommy...c'mon...stop crying...please! Okay, fine, while you settle down ill take a photo of your pumpkin.

Only a few more...im almost done...hey....where are you going...get back over here!
I mean it!

After 200 photos and much frustration (for both of us), i am happy to report i did finally get a decent shot!

Dont ya just love the holidays!
My Little Witch :)