happy halloween

savanna has had a fun filled day beginning with cupcakes for breakfast. then it was off to a playgroup party {sorry, no pictures! this mom forgot the camera} the BIG finale was pizza for dinner and trick or treating with friends. savanna was a die hard by the second house. she ran to keep up with the big kids and started chanting "tick or teet" from the sidewalk. we kept asking her if she was tired or if she wanted to go back to the house. her immediate reply was "no way" and off she'd go with her "bucket" for "canny". i'm not sure who had more fun, her or us. it was fun to see her enjoy the holiday and hear her say please and thank you. i planned well with the costume and she only took off the hat because it would fall off if she ran. we hoofed it up and down the hills and stayed out for an HOUR! she's a trooper and ubber-excited to devour her hard earned "canny". i'm already excited for next year!

the crew: ethan; kaylee; savanna; caleb; jackson; baby brookie

goodie mail

thanks nana "d" for the halloween goodness & "peepurl pants" outfit. i love it all! *i consumed ALL of the candy within seconds of my mom leaving me unattended...it was delicious!

this one cracks me up. she's saying "cheese" for daddy.

trick-or-treat

saturday was our wards trunk-or-treat, but due to bad weather we were forced indoors for the festivities. savanna refuses to say "trick or treat" but instead just holds out her bucket and gives a quiet "peez!" sure enough, she came home with a bit of candy. luckily her friends are all about the festivities and so savanna wants to get in on the action. she won beads on the cake walk, lined up to take a swing at the pinata, and posed for pictures. chris and i dressed up with a group of friends as survivor castaways. too bad we didn't hold a tribal council, i'm curious as to who would've gone home.

*i must give a shout out to kim for the greatest costume EVER! she made that werewolf costume. . .and happened to capture chris's dancing debut. check it out here.

Boston 101

1. prime parking & enough quarters for meter. . .check

2. take a stroll through the "shopping district". . .check

3. do the happy jig as you pass BAC knowing

you will never set foot inside again. . .check {twice}

4. teach daughter 3 important words - Go Red Sox!. . .check

5. walk through mall and fantasize about taking home a little blue box. . .almost

6. return to car with time to get back and view hubby's favorite TV show. . .check

like mother like daughter. . .Newbury Street always brings a smile.

with Tiffany's being closed, i found joy in watching chris keep savanna from

submerging herself in the mall's water features.

we couldn't leave without capturing the famous CITCO sign

{and a classic savanna face--zoom in, it's worth it!}

taking advantage

i know it's been a while, but for good reason. we were living it up in b-town with daddy. while he went to work everyday, savanna and i played and enjoyed taking full advantage of the luxeries provided by the hotel staff :) we went shopping, to the zoo, played games, and took naps. it was perfect. no agenda or chores that need doing. just quality time to enjoy being a mom. we even managed an impromptu trip into the city one night. we hoofed it down newbury street to the prudential center where i enjoyed the best "cafe rio wanna-be" food the east coast has to offer. the only thing we didn't do was go swimming in the pool. with the weather being frigid and rainy, something about suiting up for the pool just wasn't appealing. after a fun filled week ending with a pizza party & near death experience in order to pick some up some fresh honey crisp apples, we are happy to be home.

savanna LOVED the zoo! her favorite was the "wion. . .roar!" too bad i didn't get a picture of him. poor lion was trying to nap and she kept yelling for him to "yake up!" she like the monkey's and the "big monkey" {gorilla}. they even had a little play area for her to run, scream, and climb. we made it out just before the big rain drops started coming down. next time i'll make sure and bring a wagon. savanna kept wandering over to strangers hoping for a ride, but to no avail.

money pit

so you know the show with tom hanks and he buys the old house and it sucks him dry. . .well, i'm beginning to think that i am living that movie. things could be worse. our walls could be caving in, or we could have an infestation of varmints, but seriously, what's next? first, the driveway-or lack there of; then we added much needed closet space; recently our roof has started leaking into the attic; our basement is WET!; now our furnace! Ugh! the nice man who came to fix it basically suggested that i am a horrible parent to have my child in a home with "this boiler". the second he walked in the door he started repeating "this is not right." seems our boiler has been omitting CO into our house all this time {low amounts-but still NOT good!}. the system isn't venting correctly & if things keep going south i have a feeling a large bill is to be expected--as in NEW boiler!! seriously if that's the case--we're switching the WHOLE system!! no more oil! no more oil! today i feel that we have purchased out own "money pit" house.

autumn splendor

i LOVE fall! i try to get out and take a drive more often than not & if there's an alternate route to our destination, i'm likely to take it this time of year! sunday i talked chris into going for a drive to see the leaves and put savanna to sleep. we happened upon a little "festival" in a neighboring small town and flea markets were everywhere. i made chris stop so i could "look" but as soon as i neared the item i had scoped out the seller announced "Everything on that tarp is FREE!" what!?! i grabbed the nearby canning pot and set to work. . .it's not technically shopping if it's free, right?!? next we loaded up some 20 old windows the guy was getting rid of and we returned home. too bad we didn't have a bigger car--there was a dresser i wanted off the side of the road too! due to technical difficulties with our camera pictures are few and far between these days, but i did manage to capture a few in order to say "NEEINER, NEEINER" to my non-new england living friends and family. good thing we bought our leaf blower this year, for as much as i love the fall, i HATE raking up all the leaves. . .jumping in them, i will do!

mission completed!

tag

i was actually tagged awhile ago and forgot--whoops! here it goes. . .

the rules:

1. use google images (make sure SAFE search is ON!) and type in YOUR answers for the topics below

2. pick your favorite picture on one of the first 3 pages of results

3. i tag: kayla, amber, and christa

FIRST NAME:

MIDDLE NAME:

LAST NAME:

MY AGE:

MY NICKNAME (kimmy, kimmerz, kimbo)

MY FAVORITE COLOR (currently: orange--it changes all the time!)

MY FAVORITE KIND OF FOOD (Mexican)

PLACE I WANT TO VISIT (Greece)

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE TREAT (anything with peanut butter)

MY LINE OF WORK (vinyl lettering, stay-at-home-mom)

i don't know what it up with blogger, but i can't seem to get the spacing in my posts to work right, grrrrr! sorry if it bothers you, it's driving me nuts!!

happy list

so much has been going on and time is short, so here's a few things that have made my "happy list" this last week.

• finding THESE shoes for Savanna {and they were on CLEARANCE. . .what!?!}
  

• fun Halloween decor. . .cracks me up every year! even funnier was Savanna's reaction the first time she noticed it, "OH NO!! what happened?"

• little miss testing out her costume. seems she's a bit confused. . .i've been trying to teach her to cackle, but instead she runs around in her hat shouting "yeehaw!"

• general conference weekend. just when life seems to become a bit more than i think i can handle, it's that time again and i receive a much needed spiritual and emotional breath of fresh air. i love our prophet and his apostles. so direct and straight forward. so loving and accepting. if i wasn't sick i would have added to this list the great conference weekend snacks we consumed, but it was all i could do to stay alert

• planting our grass. yippee! the front yard is still a work in progress, but my hubby has accomplished the most important. but i'm warning you that come spring and NO grass, i'm calling scott's lawn and giving them a piece of my mind.
  



• accomplishing so much with my little business. it's almost there. . .almost! etsy shop to come too! wow! it's really happening. . .i'm going to be my own boss--oh, wait! i already am :)
  
  
  
  
• pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, picking pumpkins, carving pumpkins, just pumpkins in general...but dunkin doughnuts makes a mean muffin that is so good i almost forget it's packed with calories. almost! i can't leave out my friend KIM's pumpkin fruit/ginger snap dip--YUM!! 1 bar cream cheese, 1 jar marshmallow fluff, 1 can pumpkin, 1 tsp. cinnamon & some nutmeg to taste. mix together and enjoy. it's even better the next day!!

apple picking

I must say that eating a store bought apple may be in the distant future. It just doesn't get any fresher than this folks. Crunchy, crispy, juicy, and DELICIOUS!

I have come to take joy in the impromptu adventures that we take together. Savanna loves her friends & I love her friends Mommies, so it works out great. We live in a little town, surrounded by little towns and little farms. March Farms has become a favorite. Besides their great fruit, friendly owners, friendly owners "puppies", goats and cows; they have the greatest "Hayloft Playscape" a farm has to offer AND it's FREE!

We posed by the "widdle punkins" and BIG ones too! We greeted the animals --

Played for a bit, then loaded up and gratefully drove to the apple orchard. . . walking was just out of the question! There were soooo many apples. I admit that this was my first ever apple picking adventure and I will be going back. $1.00 a pound! Are you kidding me? That's cheaper than the store and yummier too! Savanna was so proud to be my helper. She even carried the fruits of our labors :)

{we love you Emma}