We Need Addresses!

Jon's mom took a family photo of us in her backyard. It turned out great! We love it! We finally have a nicely framed photo of ourselves in our living room.



I also ordered cards with the photo on it as Christmas cards. Can everyone email me your addresses so I can send you one????

carrieksnider@gmail.com

Thanks & Happy Thanksgiving!

My Awesome Sister & Awesome Decorating Deals

My wonderful sister Vanessa came last weekend for a visit. It was so nice to have her here! We hung out, chatted, ate yummy food, and did crafty things. Oh and watched a girly movie and drank hot chocolate. Pretty much it was the best weekend ever!



Vanessa is really handy with a sewing machine and picking out fabric & colors. She bought this fabric and whipped out these valences for the two big windows in our living room so fast! I love them! They really add a lot of color to the room and tie things together.




One of the craft stores in our area has a huge event every year, and it fell on the Saturday while Vanessa was here. So we stood in line and got some good deals! One of my favorites was this house that is now on my piano. Now my colonial/Thanksgiving people have a place to live! And it will work as a Christmas decoration, too.


I also got a good deal on vinyl lettering, "Enjoy" which is pictured on the candy jar (which I found at Goodwill for $1). I can change out the candy depending on the season, and I just love how it turned out. I also got the pumpkin at JoAnn's for 70% off. I just love fall decor!

Dallin - Self-Portrait

He's a pretty advanced artist, wouldn't you say? :)

Dinosaur Halloween

My two little dinos.

Sad News

Yesterday around lunchtime, our little puppy escaped out the back door and got hit by a car. She died instantly.

We are so sad! We just got her in July. Dallin especially took it hard, but he keeps talking about getting a new puppy. We'll see.

Goodbye Lily! We miss you!!!

Gym Kid

Dallin had a lot of fun running around a kids' gym the other day. And by running, I mean running... and by gym I mean the entire building.

Not that I was surprised.

Jon's cousin works there, and so we went for a free class to see what it was like (you can pay and go regularly). Dallin isn't known for his listening skills, so half the time he darted to wherever the wind took him, or he was too distracted to know what was going on. He did have some bright moments, though. It was kinda funny to see him in between all the pink leotards (it seemed like all the girls were so much more well behaved, or they were just regular attendees and knew what they were doing).


Dallin did get the hang of following his teacher by the end of the class. He also did really well at all the physical activities, and he seemed to like doing them. I'm tempted to sign him up so he can learn to follow directions and sit quietly in a group instead of socialize (does this description remind anyone of Jon? :)

When it was over, Dallin had burned up some energy and had a great time. His teacher called him a "dasher". I always thought he bore a strong resemblance to Dash on The Incredibles.

Love at the Fair

Seven years ago in October, I moved to Yakima and went to the fair with some new-found friends. Seven years ago, that first weekend, I met Jon in the sundome. Little did I know how my life would change!

We've met up at the fair every year after that, in 2003 by accident. We weren't dating yet, but I ran into Jon while walking around the fair with my friend Tori . Any guesses where Jon was when we ran into him? Yep, by the singing Ecuadorians. :) Oddly enough, Tori later broke her leg going down the stairs in the ag building while talking to Jon, who also came to the hospital to make sure she was ok. Tori later played a big role in getting us on a date (thanks Tori!).

Of course from 2004 until now we've gone to the fair as husband and wife. We love walking around, eating fair food, and keeping the love alive. This year we stopped at Candy Nation, and they had a little True Love candy heart just for us (well sorta).

Uncle Conrad's Car

We spent the weekend at my parents' on the farm, and Uncle Conrad came over from Boise and showed us his cool car. It can go 50 mph! Although it does get into lots of crashes, but Conrad likes to fix it. Dallin and cousin Athena loved watching it go.

Dallin's Turn

Dallin is a sucker for peanut butter. And he can eat crackers like nobody's business. Put them together and he's in heaven!




We got some free stickers in the mail the other day, and Dallin totally went to town. First he put them all over his chest, but then once he put a shirt on he went for the next biggest vacant skin area--his runt-like legs.

Just Because He's Cute

What a handsome little guy! Justin is so sweet.

He can say "mama" and "dadda" and "go" and "dog" now. He not only walks, but he runs... especially if he is playing with something he's not supposed to. How can you not kiss those darling cheeks?

New Drapes

I *loathe* vertical blinds. So of course a set came with our house. Every time I opened and closed them, I thought "Ikk I need to make drapes!!"

I finally decided to actually get off my duff and spruce up the place (we bought the house almost 4 years ago, after all) and make some drapes already. Our poor sliding glass door was feeling seriously bland and neglected.

I've been following The Nesting Place blog for a while, and I *love* her window "mistreatments" and found many ideas there. But, I am a little picky, and a little too thrifty (hey, that rhymes!), so it always take a million years for me to get down to business. But I finally did it! Here is the run-down of the shopping list:

*neutral fabric at Joann's = $18 for 3 yards
*dark fabric I already had = $can't remember
*trim I already had =$1 on sale
*curtain rod at Target = $16
*curtain clips at Target = $10 for two packages
___________________________________
Total =approximately $45



The result:

Can I just say that curtain clips are the best invention ever?

I'm so happy!!!