Halloween at the Magic House

This year our girl is an Olympic swimmer for Halloween.  She's got the warm up suit, swim cap, goggles, and gold medals.  It's pretty cute!

They had donuts for us at the Magic House and she remembered a  picture from the summer when daddy took her and they shared donuts.  This is her re-enacting the face from that picture.

And here's the original - from May

Climbing on the big lily pads

Just for fun - our ballerina from 1 year ago at the same party.  What a difference a year makes!

Block Party

We had lots of fun this weekend block partying with our neighbors.  We got permission to block off the street and it was cool to get to know everyone more.  We had TONS of good food and 2 fire pits.  We also set up lights and played washers in the middle of the street.  Violet is the only kid on our block and that got her lots of attention.  I highly recommend having a block party ASAP!

Hey guys, it's fall.

 Just in case you didn't get the memo.  The weather is chilly and gorgeous.  The leaves are gloriously beautiful.  Violet is worried about the leaves falling down and getting boo boos.  Good times!

Nate took his annual pilgrimage to Hawn State Park and  captured this

She asked daddy to throw her in a leaf pile.  He's a good dad, so he did.

She said she liked it!  But, she doesn't want to do it again. 

If you don't have a picture of your kid in a leaf pile, you need to get on it ASAP.

We need hats and mittens all of a sudden.

This is a mama shot - connects right to my heart.

Our nightly walk around the block

Trip to Tremont

 The Tenholder girls took a trip to T-town to visit the Steffey family and to see Logan's last home football game.  We always have fun running around the farm and seeing all of the animals and farm machinery.  The little girl was particularly glued to the mama and a touch whiny.  The big girl couldn't stop eating carbs - something about the altitude or something makes us all super hungry when we visit.  It's a weird phenomenon that deserves research.  Seriously.

Grammy put together this AWESOME kitty cat bed for Violet complete with matching pajamas and plates.  And this is the best face she could produce?  She really did love it, you guys.  Note that loving it and sleeping in it are not synonymous. 

Another pouty face with Aunt Riley.  What the?

She just wanted to be outside.  Every day.  All of the time.

Adding some color to this farm!

Loving some dog dog time

"Ok dog dogs, don't push me down.  Ok dog dogs.  That tickles me!" 

To Sophie the obese cat : "You like my kitty cat pjs??"

Tractor time

Papa loved teaching her about football at Logan's game

The game was cold and rainy so we spent some time in the bleachers before we headed to the car for half time.  We didn't make it until the end because it was so gross outside!   We went to see Logan's game and didn't even get to stay the whole time.  And we don't even have a picture of him in his uniform!  It was great to see him so invested in the team and the game and he looked super handsome in his uniform :-)

Review of Gone Girl

Ok, so I've had several friends ask what I thought about this year's big novel "Gone Girl."  This is my first book review, so take it easy on me.

 I can sum it up in one word: Intense.  Like, super mega intense.  It's kind of slow to get going, but picks up around the middle and is full-speed ahead until the end.  It's a really interesting and sometimes profound look at the human condition. One part I remember well was about how we all wear various masks that have been rehearsed time and time again and we pull them out for the right situation.  And in relationships we're all reading from the same dog-eared script.  Whoa.  Very "what does it all mean??" and "who are we all really??"

A woman goes missing on her 5th anniversary. Through her journal, some backward glances at their relationship, and current-day story, you start to get to know the characters.  These people are messed up.  They seem pretty normal at first.  Then you think they're just a little weird.  Then maybe have some psychological issues.  Then they are just MESSED UP.  But, underneath it all, aren't we all?  Whoa.   You don't want to relate to them, yet you totally can.

Try to predict the end.  Just try.  Write it down and cross it out.  Keep writing how you think it will go as you read it.  Keep crossing it out.  It's that good.  And that MESSED UP. 

Do I recommend it?  Yes.  Will it haunt you?  Just a little bit.  I give it 4.5 stars (out of 5) for the narrative ark, rising action, and suspense.  (Those are all of the words I can remember from lit class, ha!)  Oh, and somebody is definitely a foil to somebody else, but I can't quite remember what that means or how it works.  Just throwing out another vocab word, friend. 

Bonus points for taking place in Missouri and Saint Louis - holla!!

Around the house

I conducted a version of the "marshmallow test"  last week with Violet. She picked out a rainbow cookie from a bakery down the road and I told her she could eat it when we got home.  She just couldn't eat any of it until I said so.  Would you know the girl held onto the bag containing the cookie the entire way home and waited at the table while I unloaded groceries until I said she could eat it?  She passed with flying colors and impressed me with her delayed gratification! 

Whoa!  It's all hers.

This big and blank wall was starting to get on my nerves.  I have been wanting to do a little re-decorating on a budget and I came up with a plan.

A trip to Hobby Lobby (hadn't been there in years!) helped me get going.  Also, pinterest. Totally pinterest!

I found a frame I liked, painted it, and painted the glass with chalkboard paint.

I think it looks much better!  I get to display a few original prints and artwork we've picked up from Portland and local art fairs. 

We also decided to paint the hall closet door with chalkboard paint just for fun.

It totally worked!  Violet asked for a rainbow and the moon and stars.  That's about as far as I can take my limited drawing skills.  She, however, is working on making the bottom half into a mass of circles.  So happy to have a change around here!

Daytona Beach

The best view!  Seriously, all we did was lay around for the entire trip.  We laid on the beach and by the pool.  Then ate something and took a nap.  Then laid around again.  Then occasionally got dressed and went out for dinner.  We read books, napped, sat in comfortable silence with waves as our background music, and ate.  It was fantastic and just what we needed and wanted! We knew that Violet was having fun with Grandma and Papa Tenholder and so we could rest easy. 

On the boardwalk

If you know me well, then you know I LOVE getting rental cars.  I just love driving other cars. It's a weird thing about me.  We cruised around the strip in this cherry red Chevy Sonic.

The "ocean view" from our balcony - thanks, Priceline.

Beach time!

What's he thinking about?  Contemplating thermodynamics?  Who knows?

The books we brought for 4 days - we read almost all of them!

Lounging poolside.  See what I mean?

On the boardwalk

Gratuitous ocean shots

When we found out our hotel didn't provide beach chairs, we were bummed.  When we found out we could rent them from a vendor for $30 a day, we were miffed.  Nate got inventive and dug us out custom beach chairs.  It doesn't look like much, but they were super comfy and lasted throughout our stay.  He even dug us out cup holders for our margaritas!

Enjoying my (free) custom chair.

Blinded by the lights at our only "nice" outing - The Cellar restaurant.

More boardwalk action.  Should I have grouped the Boardwalk pictures together? Yes.  Am I still feeling delightfully lazy from our trip and don't feel like messing with it?  Double yes.

Proof we were at Daytona Beach.  See the tiny sign behind us? 

One of the best restaurants in Atlanta happens to be in the airport - it's called One Flew South.  We had just enough layover time to eat there and it was delicious.  Here's my chicken dish.

Enjoying the last of our trip in style! 

Then waking up to the best view of all - a smiling 2-year-old!  She was really excited about her Daytona Beach snowglobe.

And a light-up cup!  We had a great time but are happy to be safely home :-)