South Pole Elves

Christmas week I decided Mike and I would make some doll beds for Liv's American Girl dolls. The cheap plastic-y ones at target were 45.00 dollars and I knew with my husbands mad carpentry skills we could whip one out for way less. Little did I know that a divorce costs way more than the target beds.... but I digress.. In usual Leisa fashion I find a cute plan on ana-white.com, decide we will make 6. You know 4 for us and 2 for friends, I mean how long can it take, right?

Notice the box of cheap beer under the table... I think that was a step in the process.. Just kidding Mike's dad helped get us started. He is a master carpenter.
Yes, they are adorable, yes, it takes two people to assemble, and yes, I called my husband a bastard in our back yard when our missionary neighbors were out back on their porch. And yes, I covered by loudly proclaiming, " I'm sorry honey, it's just so hard to get all these finished for the poor orphans...."
These still had to have about 5 billion more coats of paint. You can see the finished product with home made quilts in our Christmas day pics.

And I am sure our neighbors thought Santa was bringing us a divorce for Christmas, but hey that's just how we ROLL ;)

Bugsy Malone Jr.

Maddy played Lena in the show. Her character was hideously, hilariously awful!! She sang "Show Business" in this horrible nasally voice and then tripped, forgot lines, and stood on poor Walker! It was so funny!! What a fun part....

Ballet Recital

Liv also started Ballet this year and we had the pleasure of watching her Christmas performance. Her class were deer that found the half dead little girl after the forest fire....Enough said...

Ethan turns 6 ! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe my sweet little baby could possibly be 6. This is how I see him..

And a baby this small would not be getting a skate board!

Rodeo

This fall Liv has taken up horse back riding and would like to become a rodeo princess. I can now appreciate why my parents resisted when I caught the horse bug.. It is EXPENSIVE!! Where am I going to put a horse? Should I build a barn next to the chicken coop? If I get a pony can it co-habit with the chickens. I am sure this might just push my neighbors over the edge. Luckily Liv's momma Rhonda has 5 acres and a pasture full of horses. Now all I need is boots, saddle, helmet, entrance fees, buckle.... We may have to discuss having more than one expensive hobby at a time. I thought the American Girl thing was $$. Maybe I can convince her that she just wants an AG doll horse ;)






On a side note. The Rodeo is hosted by a local church and they do a wonderful job with the kids. It is all free except an entrance fee if you ride. They have crafts, teach roping skills on the ground, there is a park, and a cook house. My kids have such a great time and they do it the third Saturday of the month. It is very laid back and welcoming.





I love this picture with Liv and Rhonda.

Halloween 2011

As usual Halloween was a big to do in our house. Maddy made a tutu and decided she was going to be a fairy/vampire/princess/valley girl... or something like that.. Liv wanted to be Rufus off of the TV shoe So Random on the Disney channel. Ethan of course was a Jedi knight. Mike went as Spider man and I am still a witch in training, although Maddy thinks I have already earned my masters in that area.. We trick or treated in a friends neighborhood, and had dinner in the drive way. It was fun, but the highlight of the evening was Dianna, Myself and Melissa taking the kids to a haunted garden which we accidentally took the kids to the wrong house, and they got their first taste of something equivalent to Halloween Horror Nights. By the time we realized our mistake there were kids being chased by chainsaws, and dead babies laying around on the ground.. I'm sure this will go down as a halloween memory they won't soon forget. I felt horrible taking 2 car loads of crying kids back to our friends house... Good Times!!

Use to be..

I have been looking back on my blog and I must say it has been kind of disappointing. Bittersweet at times. I feel like we use to do so much, and get together more often, and do more things. Or maybe we did other things... This post may ramble and it may not even make sense. Maybe I took more pictures or made more of an effort to document our life, but lately I don't want to dress Ethan up for cowboy day, I'm forcing myself to plan a graduation party for him. For Liv I couldn't wait to have all the friends (Jake, Joe, and Sara) over for an end of the school party. Then that night I had a girls slumber party/game night. Where is my enthusiasm?? I usually have a passion for something. I don't just sew, but I make a quilt, I don't just garden but I plant /can 78 tomato plants and raise chickens. If I paint, I paint desks, and tables, and rooms! So usually it is not hard for me to find a passion and throw myself into it but I feel a bit "unenthusiastic". I'm halfheartedly gardening, halfheartedly enjoying the chickens, halfheartedly doing the preschool thing... I am taking a long summer break, and hope to find a spark for the upcoming year.

So have we changed so much?
glance through my school tab and see what our use to...use to look like...

The Aftermath

When I decided at 8am on Easter morning that I would go and spend Easter dinner with Rhonda. This is what happens. Church was at 10:45 and I needed to make a chocolate ganache cake, a ham, mashed potatoes, and get all of us ready!! I walked out the door with my kitchen looking like this!





And Hannah and Maddy came home and cleaned it for me at the end of the day!! Angels, I tell you!!