Prairie Days!

 As part of our fall festivities with our local community, we attended an event called Prairie Days at a local conservation center.

My mom and siblings came for a parade that morning, and after lunch we all went to Prairie Days.

Several tried a Civil War-era saddle:

 Olivia was the only one of my girls who would actually get on the saddle, and then she quickly changed her mind. :) 

Examining copies of money, and different guns and pistols.

I got to shoot caps from one of the guns. This gun was a hybrid, used by the cavalry.

A prairie wagon, and tent. 

Ava could relate, as she is a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It certainly made parts of history understandable!

Sawing logs (in a non-sleeping way):

Grinding corn:

There were llamas! And a demo of how their wool was spun and woven. All very cool. 

Then the wildlife center, where we explored and learned:

We ended our time by watching the apple press, sampling fresh cider, and watching a candle making demo.

It was a time enjoyed by all!

Five

 You all know how much I love celebrating birthdays. 

(If you don't know, I LOVE celebrating birthdays!)

My oldest child had a birthday recently. 

She turned 5. 

FIVE.

(How did she get so old?!)

Her birthday was on Sunday this year, so we planned some special treats before church:

Her requested vanilla cake with chocolate frosting:

 

Cake for breakfast is the BEST.

After church (where the very thrilled birthday girl received many happy birthday wishes), we surprised her with a trip to the zoo.

Our friends joined us, much to Ava's delight.

Included was a trip on the train. Not a huge train, but the first ride ever for the girls, and Ava got to blow the whistle since it was her birthday. That made her day!!!

It was a very special day! 

We finished up at Wendy's (nothing too fancy, but time commitments back in town didn't allow for an extended meal). 

A couple days later, we went to Pizza Ranch with my side of the family and celebrated a few family birthdays that evening.

The following weekend, we were visiting Mr. Wonderful's family, and had another special birthday celebration with them.

Each celebration was special for Ava, and she felt very loved and enjoyed. :) 

................................................................................

Ava is in Kindergarten, and learning reading, writing, math, spelling, science, history, and all about her world. She loves school, and always begs to do her workbooks!

She prays well, and I know she prays with a clear faith-it is remarkable to see her prayers answered so evidently. One example is that on nights she prays for good dreams, she has them. This is a huge answer for a girl who struggles with scary dreams.

As Ava continues her fifth year, our prayer for her is that she continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of her Lord Jesus Christ. She has professed faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we see her growing in Him. Every day she makes choices to honor God, to respect her parents, to put others first, to be a helper, to use kind words, and to encourage her sisters. This is an enormous blessing and encouragement!

Ava....I love you forever.

Important

Family vacation, starting back to daycare, starting school with a preschooler and kindergartener...

it's safe to say I feel busy!

I thought I would share something different, and fun, that I had Ava do today.

She enjoys running the camera, so I handed it over and asked her to take pictures of things that are important to her.

Great insight into the mind of a (almost) 5-year-old.

sleeping bags (still packed after a weekend at grandpa's)

mommy (daddy wasn't actually home)

olivia (still working on her snack)

probably one of my new favorites:

of course her bear. formerly known as mr. sanders, now called "isabella"

(there were about 6 of these)

lucy (playing with her sensory bin of the day.)

big big bear. (they named him)

lucy with her own isabella. the twin to ava's bear.

stuffed puppy without a name. (her other puppy is named saliva.)

again, another favorite. 

and finally, lucy. (the doll she did all on her own...)

This turned into a good perspective piece for me, and I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Smoky Charcoal

 I was shopping at Walmart. 

Because when you live in a town not overrun with shopping centers, you get things at Walmart.

It's not all bad.

Anyway, on a whim, I wandered down the paint aisle, perusing the "oops paint". You know, the paint that got mixed and rejected by the customer, and gets marked waaay down, often 50% off.

Anyone have a guess as to what happened!?

Yup, I bought some.

It's by Glidden, called Smoky Charcoal.

You know, I could have more expensive hobbies. 

I could probably have simpler hobbies.

Mostly because my hobby is randomly redecorating things.

However, it was the basement bathroom. Poor, bland little bathroom.

I mean, look at it!

I thought the decor was cute, but I hated the wall color. 

Nothing very inspiring about tan.

This tan was particularly snore-inducing.

I already painted the bathroom once before, from a dark tan to a lighter tan.

So thrilling!

This transformation was a bit more distinct:

 Painting is pretty straightforward.

Put all the kids down for naps.

Tape all.the.things like a madwoman.

(Because it wouldn't be a whim without a time crunch.)

Rustle up a paintbrush and roller, and go like crazy!

(starting)

(during)

 And, the finished product!

 

Isn't it pretty??!!!

And for $12 oops paint, proof that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

(Yes, we do use indoor/outdoor Christmas lights in our shower. They are wired behind the shower wall, and turn on via remote. They are very cool.)

The walls are a little darker than the photos, and the whole room is so gorgeous now! I'm not entirely sure how I'll redecorate. I feel less need to cover the walls, now. :-)

There you have it, my latest little project! 

Sometimes, whims take you in the best directions!