Harvest blocks

I had a few requests for directions on how to make the harvest blocks. They are very easy and very cheap to make. Here goes (sorry if I am too detailed...it's in my nature):
1) Buy a long 2x4. Cut seven pieces with these dimensions: 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 (you need two of these), 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 (you need two of these), and 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 (you need three of these).
2) Sand the edges of the blocks. Paint the blocks with craft paint. I like to see the grain of the wood so I put a very thin layer of born on mine. I even watered it down b/c I didn't want it on thick.
3) Make friends with someone who owns a cricut. This is vital. :) My aunt has a vinyl machine so she did it for us. She does ship if you want to order the letters from her. I can give you her contact info. It might take a a few test runs b/c you need three different sizes of letters (my aunt used two different fonts too). Put the vinyl on your cute fall paper (that you already cut a slight bit smaller than the above dimensions to give a cropped look).
4) Next, put the paper with the letters onto the blocks with mod podge (I used matte finish)using a paint brush. Then put a layer of mod podge over that, making sure to continue past the edges of the paper and onto the block, adhering it to the block. You don't need mod podge on the entire block, just the front side. That's it! Good luck!

Some friends came over and mod podged these adorable "harvest" blocks. Thanks to Jana for the idea and vinyl lettering. My finished product is above with yummy caramel apples made by Lincoln and Ella themselves. See below.

What is a girls' night out without chocolate molten cake. YUMMO!!! If you want this recipe it's on our Jewkes family recipe blog (link on the right). It was super easy and incredibly moist and delicious.

I can hardly resist all the marketing ploys during the fall season. There are a million yummy things to make, lost of things to decorate with, and fun activities to do. What can I say....I am a sucker for anything fall and we start the fall celebrations early at my house (in case you couldn't guess that from the painting pumpkins post). Here are some fun fall things we did this weekend.





We got your first pets this weekend! Well, I guess that's not quite true. We are not pet people but three Christmases ago we caved into the pet craze and bought a bunny for Ella that we named Hamilton. Again we are not pet people. Case in point: I accidentally left the garage open when the bunny was "roaming" (we strive for free-roaming, ethical treatment of all animals) ...needless to say, I am pretty sure it was a tasty treat for a fox or some other wild beast that roams these parts. This weekend though we found the perfect pets. CATERPILLARS! Seriously, how can you go wrong? I guess the fact that I have no idea whether or not they are poisonous and could kill my children is a start. Oh well. They are funny looking green caterpillars that we found on our tomatoes in our garden (yum, I know). They have these weird white things on them. The pictures are very blurry but it's the weirdest caterpillar I have ever seen. The type you see on Baby Einstein videos that are exotic.

Someday my prince will come....

Someday my prince will come. That seems to be Ella's mantra these days. She asks me about "her prince" at least a couple times a week. The other day she asked with a tone of exasperation and exhaustion, "Mom, when am I going to find my prince?". Then tonight she asked Jason the same thing and then said, "I think I am going to be shy about my prince". She is hung up on this prince idea and seems to think Lincoln could be her prince. She even asked me how she's going to find him. This is when I chimed in with the good old-fashioned talk about character and finding someone to take her to the temple. Never to early for that. We are a little concerned that she is totally boy crazy. And I might add, that all the boys in her class are crazy about her.

Lincoln has this wonderful (inherently male) habit of picking his nose whenever he is in the car or idle. So we were on our way to church and I noticed he was at work at his nose. He looked victoriously at his finger...he had definitely retrieved some matter from his nostrils. I handed him a kleenex and asked him to wipe it on there. To which he angrily replied, "No, Mom! I am looking at it!". Gross. Only boys. I have NEVER and I really mean NEVER seen Ella picking her nose.

One other absolutely note-worthy conversation I had with Ella this week. (Keep in mind I am very pregnant and getting bigger by the day.):
Ella: "Mommy, is your tummy gonna break when the baby comes out?"
Me: "No."
Ella: "Ooookay. Are you sure?" (I mean really, how else could it get out of there?)
Me: "Yes."
Ella: (with a tone of sudden enlightenment) "OOOOhhh, is it gonna go way down your toes and then come out?".
Me: (hardly restraining my laughs) "Kind of".


These three absolutely precious pics are pics of pics. Obviously. These are her school pictures that I was sure I would not get sucked into buying. How could I resist? I have no idea which one/s I will pick. They are all adorable.
And this is the picture I took when I dropped her off at school for picture day. I guess I was hoping the school ones would be so ugly that this would do.
Pumpkins were $.64 at Wal-Mart and the yelping and begging that ensued when my kids saw them ceased immediately when I decided to spend the $1.28 and fulfill their Halloween fantasies. So, they painted these with me and then the next night, when I was at a shower, they put hair, eyes, and all other parts on with Jason. They were such cute finished products. Then they were destroyed when Ella took hers to class for show-n-tell.

What's more fun than sharing chocolate chip cookie dough with your brother? Nothing.


Lincoln in need of a high-spin cleaning.
The kids and Cooper at a local animal rehabilitation center.