most thankful.

For my family, their health, and the love and smiles we share everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

the big 27.

Happy Birthday to me! I had a wonderful birthday this year, thanks to my sweet family. Tim spoiled me with a laminator, this beautiful bouquet of flowers, lunch and fun! I also lucked out with this cute handmade apron, a mini shopping spree, 11th row tickets to the Jazz game and dinner. If you look closely you can see the best gift...my new kitchen in my new house! Hooray! Thanks to all for your help and kindness - we could not have made this move without you! We are truly blessed. And thanks for the sweet birthday wishes - ya'll know how to party!

halloween princess.

Halloween was a hit this year. Our little princess truly dressed the part...Princess Sophia! Pink from head to toe. The dress caused Sophia pure joy - it added instant smiles, giggles, twirls and put a little skip and a hop to her step. What fun! Door to door trick-or-treating was a delight, of course, but nothing compared to letting your true Princess shine through for a whole day...

swap sign-up.

I am so excited for our fall swap this year and our theme of Gratitude. There are so many wonderful things about this time of year - I'm sure we can come up with many lovely ideas!

How it works: You create a fall gratitude themed package that you will carefully and thoughtfully prepare and mail to a fellow swapper.

The best part? You receive a lovely package -- full of fun, new, interesting, useful and lovely things that make you happy! You might even make a new friend too.

If you want to participate please leave a comment & send the following information to susanwhitchurch{at}gmail{dot}com by November 6th:
~Your name
~Your email address
~Your home address (or shipping address)
~Your favorite color
~A little bit about you (mom, student, art lover, risk taker, etc.)
~Your previous swap partners

Your swap partner will be emailed to you by November 9th and your packages should be in the mail by November 20th, at the latest.

Invite your friends! Anyone is welcome to participate.
Happy swapping!

*You are not obligated to spend large amounts of money... the limit is $30.
**Please be accountable for your responsibility to send a well-thought out package, on time to your assigned swap partner.
***Please be aware that packages are shipped to ladies all across the USA.

fall swap.

Another swap is on it's way. Our theme? Gratitude.

The swap is set for November. Plenty of time for brainstorming, creating and getting your gratitude on! Stay tuned. More details to come...

librarian look.

Sophia loves to dress up.
She also loves all books.
I think she rocks the Librarian look.

pumpkin picking.

We picked out our pumpkins last night. Sophia was very excited to befriend the pumpkins. After trying to pick up even the heaviest pumpkins she gave each of her favorites a big hug! We welcomed three lovely pumpkins into our family for the season...Happy Fall!

my little helper.

Sophia loves to help Momma all around the house. She makes dinner, washes dishes, does the laundry... What a great little helper!

yellowstone.

We spent several days in beautiful Yellowstone with my brother Scott and his family. We lucked out with some beautiful weather - sunny and breezy - although, the last night I thought we might freeze in our tent as the temperatures hit a low of 29 degrees. Brr! We hiked to Mystic Falls - a great little hike with pretty views. Sophia is such a great hiker - she loves to sit in her backpack and take in her surroundings. Way to go Tim, he was a great daddy horse! Of course we hit other spots like Old Faithful, Mammoth, Yellowstone Falls, etc. Of all the beauty we saw it was especially fun to spot the wild animals: two moose, one wolf, many elk, many bison, one bison up close and personal, and zero bears (thank goodness) among many other less exciting creatures. We had a great time getting dirty with our family. Sophia was especially a fan of the dirt. We often caught her getting cozy with mounds of dirt from her head to toes. Needless to say we are grateful to be home and showered! Hope to have another fun adventure next year...thanks Hales!

cover girl.

Sophia is definitely all girl! She loves purses, jewelry, combing her hair, and playing with makeup brushes in the mirror. This time she got hold of mommy's real makeup stash. Isn't she pretty?!

fun in the sun.

Sophia is loving the sun this summer. I think she looks so cute here relaxing under her umbrella, sporting her sweet shades and snacking on BBQ flavored chips. This girl defines summer! After only a few visits to the pool, she is becoming more and more brave in and around the water - putting her face under water and lifting her feet to kick as she holds the side of the pool all by herself. Of course she loves every minute of it. Thanks to the cousins for coming down to play for the day. We love ya!

queen contest.

Once again it's Rodeo time in Morgan County. This week started with the Queen Contest. My niece McKenna is the Morgan County 2nd Attendant for 2008. She was in charge of setting riding patterns and introducing the new 2009 contestants which included her sister, Reganne. Both girls did an awesome job with their walks, speeches, horsemanship, etc. In the end, McKenna was able to pass her crown down to Reganne! Way to go! These girls work so hard to keep themselves and their horses healthy, strong and well trained. They surely deserve to wear the crown! Stay tuned for more fair fun.

the fourth.

We love celebrating our dear country with family, friends, hot dogs, baseball, staying up way too late and sitting on handmade quilts watching fireworks. Happy Fourth!

family reunion.

We've had lots of fun spending time with the W's the past few weeks. A few of our favorites were visiting Midway, This is the Place Park petting zoo, the Alpine slide, Tim Tam slams, playing with the cousins, Adam's mission farewell, the Oakley Rodeo, eating lots of yummy food and swimming at the rec center. Phew! After all that fun I think it's time for a vacation!

dads.

Happy Fathers Day to my two most favorite Dad's. Love you!

burnout.

This was Grandpa Hales second year participating in Cruisin' the Boulevard Car Show and Burnout. Dad had a great spot on the street and was greeted by many interested car guys - someone even offered to buy his beautiful Corvette! No way! He taught the young guys a few good tricks and his secret weapon for a good burnout - smothering your tires in Armor All gel and spray. Ha ha! Sophia even enjoyed watching the pretty and loud cars parade up and down Main Street. We love the car show and are looking forward to next year already! Great job, Speed Racer...I mean, Grandpa!!

treehouse.

We took a trip to the Treehouse Museum with some Hales' cousins. What a fun place! We especially loved dressing up, legos, looking at pretty dolls, driving a fire truck, playing musical instruments, playing a huge game of chess, posing as the President of the United States, doing crafts, and much much more! Sophia could have stayed all day. I'm sure we'll be going back soon!

color inspiration.

If you own an iphone and love Benjamin Moore than today is your lucky day. The new Benjamin Moore iPhone app lets you snap a picture of any color inspiration and instantly match it to one of the more than 3,300 divine paint colors. FUN! This app makes me want an iphone...almost.

trials.

Ugh. Long story...here's the short version.

We got a flat tire.
Plan A: Easy fix! Change the tire. Wrong! Our rims are custom, therefore our tools did not fit. Plan B: Call our friends the Burt Brothers. They let us borrow a tire pump and a special tool. Hooray! Wait. Huge hole in tire = tire pump is useless. On to the handy tool. Crap! We broke their only tool. Plan C: Call the tow truck. Haul our little car away. Oh, and here's the best part. Road side assistance is not covered by our insurance. {Insert swear word of your choice here!}

wisdom.

Uncle Adam got his wisdom teeth removed. Yikes! Ouch! Eeek! Poor Adam.
We dropped off some videos to keep him entertained and he answered the door wearing his lovely bunny ears. It's really quite an ingenious invention however silly it may look. Anyway...Sophia thought those bunny ears were loads of fun! Thanks for giving us a laugh Adam. Hope you get feeling better soon!