Seriously?!

We woke up to snow on Saturday morning.  What a strange sight to see snow on the fall leaves that are still on the trees.  The earliest I can remember it snowing was a few flurries on Thanksgiving. Usually we do not see snow until mid to late December.  The newspaper said we haven't seen snow in our area in October since 1972.

We were lucky to have only lost our electricity for several hours Saturday afternoon.  Many people in our area are still without power.  I'm hoping the snow is gone for trick or treating tomorrow night.  I'm also hoping that this early snow is not an indication of a long winter yet to come.  Although I do get excited every year for that first snow to fall...I was not as excited as a certain someone in our house to see it so early!

I do have to say though...we really had a great weekend
just hanging out together at home.    Maybe the snow caused us to slow down a bit...and it was just what we needed.


Hope your weekend was great too!
~Kerri

Fall Flashback Friday

Home Depot Boy

Grandma passing out candy at our house.

We're looking forward to trick or treating in our neighborhood

Monday evening!  Such FUN times!

Have a great weekend!

~Kerri

A Suprise In The Closet

Yesterday, I was looking in the front entryway closet for

 shoes that no longer fit Brady (for my friend's garage

 sale this weekend)...and what did I see?  Behind my

stash of wrapping paper and gift bags was Brady's backpack

from last year.  I had a funny feeling when  I saw it. 

And, when I lifted it up...I could tell something was in there. 

 Here's what I found:

Brady's lunch from the last day of school...back in June!  Yikes! How did I miss this?  (And I only have one child's stuff to keep track of!)  Thankfully there wasn't anything growing in

there....just a few goldfish and a half empty water bottle.

So, to my friends and family who think I'm always on top

of everything....now you know- I'm not!

~Kerri

Goodbye Barn Bed

Last weekend Eric disassembled Brady's barn bed and packed it away for keeps.  Eric put so much time into designing and building this bed for Brady....lots of love went into it for sure.  And, although Brady hasn't slept in this bed for months....I was sad to see it go.  It was to me, one of the last "little boy" pieces of evidence left in our home. 

But, we're moving on...and Brady's really excited to change his bedroom.  He's been sleeping in the spare bedroom because he likes the bigger bed.



I'd like to put this bed in his room...although I need to see it with

boy bedding on it so I can determine if it still looks girlie.  I might need to paint it and roughen it up a bit!

Eric and I have been looking at (affordable) comforters...but as with everything else, I think the boy selections are limited.  Right now, this one is topping our list.

Bed Bath and Beyond

We have everything off the walls in his room...Eric just needs to spackle a bit and then I can paint.  Brady gave me the okay to paint  his room tan.  I'd like to add a few tennis accent pieces without the room looking too theme-y.  I have been

collecting wooden tennis raquets...I might try and do something behind the bed.  I saw this on Pinterest....

...although it might not look right on the long wall that

Brady's bed will be on.  I'll figure something out.

Before I paint, we have to figure out what to do about this...

Eric said that he would copy down the exact measurements so

we could redo it on his painted wall.  We can't think of any other way to do it. 

It's been over a week since the bed was taken down and I am

trying to get excited about decorating a new room.  As for the spare room, we are going to look for a couch and turn that room into a Wii and hangout room for Brady.  Our spare room has only been used twice in the last three years...so it will be nice to see this room hopefully get more use.

(This was the first time Brady slept in his bed...before we bought a real mattress!)

And who knows...maybe Brady will use the barn bed one day for his children...or Grandma and Grandpa will have a cool bedroom for when our grandchildren spend the night! even if they are just living next door.

~Kerri

Fall Flashback Friday

To INFINITY and BEYOND!

Brady loved Buzz Lightyear and the movie Toy Story.

My dad bought this costume on eBay for Brady...

and he sure got his money out of it!

  He not only wore it for trick or treating...

he wore it the entire year.  What a sight for the

 neighbors to see Buzz Lightyear riding around

 our yard on his tractor.  Such sweet memories!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~Kerri

Pumpkins and Crafts And Bats.....



The first Saturday in October we went to a nearby Amish

Farm to get our pumpkins.  Brady was asking weeks before

to go...but I have a rule that we wait until October to go.  Pumpkins
in September does not make sense to me!

We decided to do a little craft that involved the screw gun and

spray paint.  These two things had Brady pretty excited from the start!  His kind of craft for sure!

 First I had him drill several holes into the top of the pumpkin.

We then collected thin branches and Brady gave them two

coats of spray paint.

Brady put the branches into the top of the pumpkin.

Later that evening, we traced bats onto black construction paper

and then cut them out.  We hung them with yarn onto our tree.

And here's our bat tree...

I found this little crow at the Dollar Tree.

I think the bird is a nice touch!

Everytime we sit at the table, Eric turns the bird away because it creeps him out to eat with that bird near him.

  It makes me laugh. 

~Kerri

New Wheels!

When Brady was 5, he got a bike for his birthday.

He had a little bike before that, but didn't really have any interest in it.  He wasn't all that thrilled with his new bike either.

He rode it a few times with the training wheels on.

He also tried one summer without the training wheels.

But, he never came close to being able to ride on his own.

One thing about Brady, he's always been very safe!

We didn't have to worry about him climbing or jumping when he was little.  He wouldn't want to hurt himself!

Last summer we put his bike in our yard sale...he outgrew it.

The bike looked new.  We suggested getting a new bike...but he said he didn't want one.

Eric and I worried he'd never learn to ride a bike...especially since he had zero interest in it.  Is it possible to go your whole life without ever learning to ride a bike?   We would surely have failed as parents if this were the case!

Well, two weeks ago Brady suprised us and asked for a bike.

I couldn't believe it.  What changed his mind?  Or maybe who changed his mind?!  A new girl moved down the street from us right before school started and she's in Brady's class.  She rides her bike over to our house and they mostly play on the playset.  This is where the need to have a bike all of a sudden was coming from!

So, yesterday we took Brady to get a bike.  Normally we don't just run out and buy things Brady wants.  (Although Brady rarely asks for anything)  But, I was thinking soon it will be winter and too cold to be out bike riding.  I was also thinking this would be a nice distraction from tennis.  :)

He did it!  After just a few tries...he was riding around the neighborhood with his friend.  Eric reminded me that this new bike means that Brady will have a little more freedom....hmmmm.  I think I prefer him playing in the backyard!  Actually, I'm thrilled that he finally learned to ride a bike...and now I want one too!

Have a great week!

~Kerri

Fall Flashback Friday

They grow so fast....

(3  1/2 yrs. old)

I can hardly believe this was five years ago...seems like yesterday.

Have a great weekend!

~Kerri



I Have The Nicest Blog Friends

A couple weeks ago I saw a picture on Jenny's blog of her

 kids playing with little skydiver parachute guys that

 I remember playing with as a kid.  I asked Jenny where

 she found them and she said the grocery store. 

Jenny is a busy mom to these four super cuties:

So, yesterday I go to the mailbox and Jenny suprised me

 with a package of 4 parachute divers to give to Brady. 

 I couldn't believe it!  So very thoughtful of her to do that. 

 She is busy with her little ones, trying to sell

her home and trying to keep up with her husband's

 work schedule (he is a principal)...and took the time

 to brighten my day.  Thank you Jenny for being so kind!

Brady was excited to try them out!

I knew he would like them!

   

Ten on Ten {October 2011}



Ten photos in ten hours on the tenth of the month.

Trying to capture the beauty in the ordinary moments of our day.

(I wasn't feeling too creative with my pictures today.  I'll just blame it on a busy weekend!)

Here's a peek into our day!

You can check out all the other ten on tens on Rebecca's blog.

~Kerri

Today I Am Enjoying....





my new Autumn Wreath Yankee Candle.

(I bought it at HomeGoods for $7.99 and it smells so good!)

and hanging out with this guy....

(who has a four day weekend!)





Have a great weekend!

His Signature Look

Brady has worn his share of sweater vests over the years!

Friends and family often tease us about this....but we don't care.

Here are a handful that I found on the computer.

Yesterday was picture day at school.

Eric picked out this shirt and vest at the store the other day.

See, it's not just me that likes the sweater vest!

I took this picture right before the bus came.

After I posted it on facebook...I got to wondering why I

always feel that I have to purchse school pictures.  I have

always bought them, even though they don't

usually turn out all that great.  We pay for the pictures before

we even get to see how they turn out.

Why couldn't I just put this one in a frame

 and call it his 3rd grade picture?

(It's a much better picture than I'll ever get from the school!)

Well, it's too late now, I already paid.

Mabye next year. 

 What about you?   Do you purchase school pictures? 

~Kerri