Not Leaving It To The Professionals

I couple of weeks ago I bought our Christmas cards at Costco when they were having a sale. 

Since then I've been thinking about the lack of quality photos I have of the boys. 

I had been planning on taking some while we were at the pumpkin patch last week, but a few things went wrong. With a new memory card and newly charged battery in my camera, I set out after breakfast to get a few pictures in our backyard. 

Ryder was a pretty good sport - he normally doesn't love having his picture taken. 

 Lynden, on the other hand, was overdue for a nap. 

He didn't last long.

 Sweet boy. 

 Then Ryder requested that I watch him 'Go So Fast' on his tricycle. 

This boy is almost ready for a bike!

Out of 117 photos taken, I hope that 1 will be good enough for our Christmas card. 

Haha, I don't know how professional photographers do it!

Life With Littles

I love reading with my boys. Even if I'm in the middle of something and can't exactly read, I love talking about what's going on in pictures and hearing Ryder try new words. This morning he sat up on the counter while I fed Lynden. 

Go Dogs Go! 

One of my favourite books as a little girl. 

The dog party in the tree at the end of the book always seemed pretty awesome to me!

Yesterday afternoon a box filled with Usborne books arrived in the mail. I'm so excited to read through these fun educational books with the boys. I'm not sure if I'll be able to save them for Christmas!  I'm looking forward to hosting my own Usborne book party tonight too!

Since our guest speaker at MOPS yesterday was an occupational therapist, I decided to try some of the activities she suggested for working on fine and gross motor skills with children. Ryder loved the Put-The-Toothpick-In-The-Hold game. For a boy that didn't walk until 18 months, I think he's doing pretty well.  :)

We had some fun Mama & Ryder play time outside while Ryder napped this morning. Ryder was thrilled when I showed him that if he rode his tricycle through the puddle it left a wet mark on the driveway. It's the little things!

And I have to take just a minute to brag on my husband. 

He works so hard! 

This is the workbench that he's in the process of building.

 I love how his woodworking hobby enables him to spend time with Ryder out in the shop.

What a great Daddy!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I just have the best of friends!

This last weekend a sweet friend hosted a lovely little 'Happy Fall Y'all' dinner party. 

The table scape was beautiful. 

The company was sweet.

Everything looked and tasted deliciously of Fall. 

If you know me, even just a little, you know that I love to bake. I was excited to contribute a desert. 

When I'm looking for something rich, decadent, and buttery - I look no further than 

The Pioneer Woman. 

To add a little seasonal flair to my chocolate cake, I Pinterested (that's a word, like Googled, right?) a fun chocolate leaf garnish. Here's the super simple tutorial if any of you are interested.

It took a few attempts to figure out the logistics, but I ended up with some somewhat recognizable fall leaves to top the chocolate cake slices. 

Now that that's over with, I'm on the hunt for a few more pumpkin recipes to whip up before everything turns to Christmas. 

I can't believe I'm saying that. 

Christmas already! 

But in the meantime...

Happy Fall Y'all!

Picking Pumpkins

This morning we met up with some friends at the pumpkin patch.

 I had grand plans to take a million pictures (like last year) and hopefully come up with something for our Christmas card this year. 

My camera had other ideas...  

A lost memory card and a dead battery turned my great plans upside-down. 

It's funny how something so little can get your day off on the wrong foot.  But, we did our best to recover and just enjoy the experience - not the 'wasted' ironing. 

Haha!

We settled for regular old iPhone quality photos and enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

Ryder loved his cow train ride. 

Of course we chose 'Owen' in honour of our sweet friend back in Washington. 

I couldn't resist including a throwback from last year. 

Choosing just the right pumpkin is no easy task!

 Happy Fall!

 And just a few more from last year...

'Tis The Season For Fall Fun!

 The trees may not have colourful leaves but we're well into Fall now. We set aside a little family time this last week, after Braden being out of town for a week - to go the to corn maze at a local farm.

Of course, we had to dress the part, Lynden included.

Ryder's got a plaid shirt on under there somewhere!

Sometimes I can't believe just how blessed I am in this beautiful family. <3

It wasn't long until we were walking in the dark. 

Ryder loved to be in charge of the flashlight.

And before long we were each carrying a baby.

 What a fun night!

Local friends, be sure to check out the corn maze at Lattin Farms! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, we didn't quite make a feast out of Canadian Thanksgiving this year, but we were thankful!

What we did do was spend some time together (got to love nap time!) to make a few pies from scratch crust to caramel sauce. These baking (or cooking) dates are some of my favourites!

The Pioneer Woman's Scrumptious Apple Pie is our favourite fruit pie recipe. Pumpkin is a Thanksgiving must-have and we filled the buttery crusts with some pretty yummy ingredients. The apple pie was topped with chopped streusel, chopped pecans, and this decadent caramel sauce. Thanks  Pioneer Woman!

It was fun to have a couple of friends over in the evening to help us enjoy these sweet treats.

And as a result of our pie making date, I've not had to make myself breakfast for the last two days. 

My reasoning is simple:

Vegetable - pumpkin

Dairy - half & half, butter

Protein - eggs

Carbs - flour crust

Breakfast of Champions.

Enough Said.

While Thanksgiving is a great time to enjoy my family and eat some delicious food, there's a much greater reason to celebrate. 

God's greatest gift to us is Jesus Christ. 

Without Him we are hopeless.

In Him we find joy unspeakable.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

Family & Friends!

Boys And Their Daddies

Boys & Their Daddies.

It's a beautiful thing. 

One of the best parts of being a Mama is watching my little guys look up to and love their Daddy constantly. I love to hear Ryder clomping into the house in his boots after being in the shop with Braden. I love sitting with him on the front steps and waving goodbye to Braden in the mornings and then watching him push his chair up to the window and watch for Daddy coming home from work.

 These little guys sure are glad to have Daddy back after a week away. 

And so am I!

Sweet Ryder-boy picked these flowers for me while he was playing outside with Dixie this morning. <3