Cute dogs and stuff.

For some reason, there are a lot of dog pictures in this post.

I think we have cute dogs.

Really cute dogs.

The kids aren't too bad either.

Here is Googles and Jasper.  

Check out that tongue.

Here is Monkey C and her tennis partner winning a tournament.

Just a fun fact for ya...

her partner is my tennis partner's daughter.

Pretty cool, huh?

The girls and their pumpkins.

I kind of forgot to buy pumpkins for the whole fam this year...

great mom, huh?

As fate would have it, Monkey A had homework and couldn't carve anyway,

so Trev and I helped the girls.

My boy did his own.

At least we got 3 awesome jack-o-lanterns.

Costumes!

My mom hosted a party this year, so we still got to dress up

and have fun.

Did you know that Trev and I are secretly Trekker nerds?

Yup, it's true.

JoBug's friend Jeff joined us this year too.

(cowgirl, army guy, ninja, army guy, janitor, Star Trek)

More dog pictures.

I could eat them up.

Especially that Jasper boy.

Another fun fact for you...

we call our dogs Cottonball Jones and Jasper Jones.

I am  not sure why.

Our last name is not Jones.

This little guy loves sunny patches too.

Just like me!!

See?  He belongs.

I told you...lots of dog pictures.

This body pillow case was warm from the dryer.

They stuck him in there, and he didn't want to get out.

Daddy and daughter.

They borrowed the hats from my son and hung out together.

Too cute.

Holidays are coming!

Yay!

I'll end this post with the perfect quote I found.

Remember how I LOVE fall?

Well, I have enjoyed it immensely this year.

I know it is almost over but... 

"Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth 

seeking the successive autumns."

 - George Eliot

Last camp out.

I think you know we are an outdoorsy family.

We wanted one more camping getaway before it got too cold.

So we packed everybody up and went to Hepner, Oregon for the weekend.

Good campground, beautiful trails and trees, & not too far from home.

And of course we took our quads & bikes.

Good Morning me! 

And dogs!

Yes, my camper is wonderful.  LOVE it.

Started the day off with a good breakfast!

Oatmeal, raspberries & toast!

Say yummy!

We hit the trails.

Why do I love all the blond hair coming out from my daughters' helmets?

Because they are all cute tomboys?

Don't know why, but I do.

How many times have we posed on these rocks?

Pyramid Rocks.

We all still love to stop here on this trail and climb.

And pose.

And their true natures...

Our turn.  

Hee.

Is that a dirt biker totem pole?

Or my son?

The girls on our hike.

It was a beautiful day.

Not too cold, not too hot.

So fun to see the fall colors.

Collecting roasting sticks in the forest.

Had such a great time with Trev and the kids.

My favorite parts were just hanging out with the family,

the hike with the girls, roasting marshmallows with the sticks

the girls carved, and watching Raising Hope together before bed.

Have you seen Raising Hope?

Love it.  It's a laugh and a half.

Well, I think that's it for our camping this year.

Good bye lovely camper!

See you next year!

Homecoming, Two Peas & an Apology.

I think it would make sense to start this post with an apology & an explanation.

I don't know how many people look at my blog.

And although it is nice to have followers, 

I blog for four good reasons.

My children.  Monkeys A, B, C, & D.

I make books from my blog posts.

They are sort of journal/picture books.

My kids already love to look at them, and read about themselves.

I think it is nice for them to have an inside to my thoughts and feelings.

Maybe they can know their mom a bit better.

That is my explanation.

Now for my apology.

I'm sorry children.

I used to make blogging a priority.

I have fantastic intentions, but as you all know, we are one busy family.

Please forgive me, and know that I am doing my best.

Because this family of ours is so so important, I want to capture all of it in a book for you.

But I also want to live it.

I'm trying to find the balance.

So don't give up on me, I will try to keep the posts coming!

My sweet oldest girl went to Homecoming!

Her first formal dance.

And you can tell because we took tons of pictures.

(Sorry if this is a repeat for those of you who Facebook).

I thought they looked stunning.  And excited.  :)

Her cousin Chelsea came over and did her hair.

Thanks so much Chels, you did a beautiful job!!

And it was so fun!

Ta-Da!

I'm sorry, but I will just say it.

I couldn't get over how beautiful she looked and how excited I was for her.

And I want you all to know that this girl's inside beauty matches the out.

All moms say that right?

I don't care.

It's true.

I loved being a part of the next picture.

Chels & I were the make-up & hair crew.

Just had to celebrate.

They were both a bit nervous at first.

What do we do with these corsage thingies?

Cute.

How do I pin this thing on?

We all loved that it was Trev who jumped in and helped .

They had a great time!!

Hooray!

And...

remember the Breast Cancer Benefit I do every year with Elece?

It came a little earlier this year, but we made sure we were there!

We love this one!!

"For The Love of The Girls"

Warming up!

A shot of the group.

They gave us pink towels with our team name this year!

We love these!

"Two Peas In A Pod", that is us.

We played against other teams that had great names like...

The Maidenforms,

The TaTa's,

The Double D-faults...

Didn't get a picture with Elece at the end,

but we got to take home these lovely first place flower baskets.

Thanks Lecey Lou, it is ALWAYS fun with you!

And I saved the best picture for last.

A typical morning for my GG.

A bowl of cereal in a sunny patch, reading Calvin & Hobbes.

I love my kiddos.

And my peas.

hee.

Garden Tour 2011

I always think of September as a new start.

The start of a new school year.

The start of better diet & exercise after an ice cream filled summer.

The start of shorter days when the sun goes down sooner than you think.

The garden starts to lose its perky growth.

And the mornings are crisp, hinting at the new season ahead.

"Autumn...The year's last, loveliest smile." - John Howard Bryant

First days of school...

Freshman boy, & 6th grade girl.

2nd grade Googles.

Upperclassman this year...Junior...yikes.

While Trevor's Aunt was visiting this summer,

she looked out into our backyard from the upper deck.

She commented on how my blog pictures didn't do our yard justice.

So here is a little garden tour.

I still don't think the pictures do it justice, but maybe if you imagine 

the birds chirping, the waterfall soothing, 

and morning sun warming your skin...it will help.

 We have 4 varieties of seedless grapes on the split rails.

Those are the bunches you see right off the patio.

The big island in the middle of the yard I call "The Perennial Garden".

"The Round Garden" is behind it to the left

and "The grass garden" is directly behind it obscured by the tree.

"The Rose Garden" is off to the far right out of the picture.

Our small waterfall off the right side of our patio.

The fading summer blooms surrounding the bird feeder

in The Perennial Garden.

The path & arbor in The Perennial Garden. 

Honeysuckle vine, trumpet vine, & climbing roses trail up the arbor.

 A different view.  The sedum (behind chair) is going strong right now, and

I planted Hot Pokers (in front of chair) this spring...I am loving them.

If you walk under the arbor and out a bit, you come to The Round Garden.

This was my new project this spring.

Might do a little tweaking next year, but all in all I really like it.

I ate lunch out here on the benches quite often with my quail friends.

They like it too.

A few steps off to the right brings you to The Grass Garden.

I call it this only because it has many different grass plants.

It is a more naturalized rock garden and does not have colorful blooms.

Just grasses, trees, lavender and some whirling butterfly plants.

This is where the killdeer always lay their eggs.

I'm thinking of planting a few black-eyed susans in here next year though.

The Grass Garden.

And this crazy thing is all from seeds.

I love zinnias.  Just for kicks, I will call this my Zinnia Garden.

So I planted MINIATURE ones with some supposedly

taller nasturtiums and 4 o'clocks.

Well...these zinnias went CRAZY and are almost as tall as me.

They ARE beautiful though, aren't they?  Sigh...

The Rose Garden is along the fence.

I also have one in the front yard.  Sorry, no close-ups this time.

A view of the grapes.

 These are so so sweet.

A view to the left from the upper deck.

 And then out to the right.

And that will complete our Garden Tour 2011.

Lots of work?

Some...but I feel joy every time my hand touches dirt & flower.

And just looking ahead, I think these pumpkin ideas

from Women's Day magazine are simply stupendous!

FUN, right?