Cast ... away!!

AND ... cutting off the cast!!!!! YIPPEE! Look at the smile on that kid's face! This week the cast came off!! That makes a grand total of 12 weeks. (5 weeks in the boot & 7 weeks in the cast). It's been a LONG summer. Jonah is a happy boy now!

Here is day 1 with the blue cast. (above) ...

... and this sad boy was the morning after the fall. With just the black boot on.

I much prefer the smile he wore Wednesday when they cut the cast off. :) What a trooper!!! And ... I don't think he'll be riding any scooters down any hills against parental advice (again) anytime soon!

FALL comes to Massachusetts

This is our side front yard, by the driveway. The leaves are just beginning to change. This is one time of year I really love living in New England. The weather cools, colors come alive. It really is quite a sight. I'm sure I will have more fall pictures in the near future. And to my parents & other western family members: NOW is the time to come VISIT!!! Book your flight now for next year. You won't be sorry.

The view out our front door.

And these geese were seen wandering the lawn of Jonah's school! Someone needs to tell these guys to get back to class!
I love seeing the geese this time of year, as well. Another sign of Autumn.

SOCCER! ...or not. Hmm...

On picture day, we ran into Jonah's friend Emma, who was in his preschool & kindergarten classes. I could not get Jonah to pose for a solo pic but he was happy to pose w/ Emma! (he's a sucker for a pretty face)

And this is the soccer team that may never be. For Jonah, at least. He still had his cast on come picture day. Not having played a day on this team, the coach invited us to join them for picture day, since we've already paid for the season & we're hoping to catch up & play the latter part of the season, now that his cast is off. However, it's been 2 days without the cast & I think Jonah is still surprisingly sore, with stiff/weak muscles. He walks w/ a limp. He hasn't bounced back as quick as he thought he would. (Next week starts physical therapy. We'll see what they say.) But Jonah's soccer team has 4 games left. Hopefully he can at least make one of them!!

***UPDATE: Jonah made it out for the last 2 soccer games - YAY!! He even scored a goal or two in each game! We're so glad we were able to catch the end of the season. Jonah LOVES soccer. And not to mention the all-important end-of-season pizza party. That was great, too. :) Here's to a bone-healthy year!

You're a Grand Ole Flag!

I have been on the hunt for a flag to put somewhere in our new house. Finally scored this one from Pier 1 & it now hangs in playroom/office. It's about 2 feet by 3.5 feet & fills the space on that wall nicely. Come see for yourself!! :)

A Few Home-y Touches

The boys recently made these adorable caterpillars with Grandma Dolores. The photos don't do them justice. The body is made w/ painted cardstock, cut out & glued so they're overlapping each other. The legs & eyes are also cutouts, glued on. They're just so cute, I had to put them up somewhere.

They have a showcase right above my computer in the playroom/office. Perfect!

I made these sweet little picture frames for the boys' rooms. I saw this idea on a friend's Facebook & made my own. They're super easy & super cute.

This is the living room wall near the front door. I managed to find 3 pictures with the boys' backs turned to the camera. I also managed to capture 3 seasons, as Jared noted.
(First pic is at Old Sturbridge Village, Next is at the Ft. Bragg, CA coast, & Last one is in our backyard, 2007.)

More cute picture frames for the boys' rooms. If I had my way, their rooms would be cowboy, farm, zoo, jungle or camping themes. But alas, they're getting older & have their own ideas about how they want to 'decorate' their space. Keep in mind that on the wall adjacent to these cute little frames hangs super hero posters & ... more super hero posters. So sometimes I sneak in & put things like this on their walls. Because I can.
(I just want to keep them little forever.) Perhaps someday I'll need my own room just to showcase my cutesy boy pics.

And obviously I didn't use current photos for these "I am a Child of God" frames. I'm constantly looking for opportunities to break out the baby pics. This looked like a good one.

School picture day -- a sneak peek!

So Jonah is always looking for excuses to wear 'church clothes' to school ... so he can "look handsome for Madeline". No joke. I really should find out who this Madeline girl is! But anyway, we decided that picture day was an appropriate day to dress up. For school. Sheesh. We're gonna be in trouble come those teenage years, I have no doubt.

But he is one handsome kid, if I do say so myself! :)

STORY: Somehow, all but one pair of dress pants has managed to disappear from his dresser drawers. Jonah had originally chosen a different shirt & tie that he wanted to wear that day. Well, they didn't match his black dress pants so I convinced him to wear this outfit here. And it took some convincing, I can tell you that. Anyhow, once dressed, I was telling him how cool & handsome he looked. "Like a million bucks!" I must've said more than once. Well after realizing that he had been outwitted into wearing something other than his first choice, he proclaimed, "I look like zero bucks in these clothes!" LOL!! Hilarious child of mine!! So I assured him that no, he looks like no less than a million bucks. And off he went, smiling into the school that morning.

TIME OUT!

Flor, Rebecca, Kim & me .. at a "Time Out For Women"!
So four of us from the ward traveled to Hartford, CT for a Time Out! For those of you who aren't familiar with this event, you are missing out!! Check their web site ... http://deseretbook.com/timeout ... you will not be disappointed. This was a wonderful day-and-a-half of inspirational speakers, amazingly talented musicians/vocalists, and hilarious entertainment. Time well spent!

Alli, Hilary Weeks, & my friend Rebecca! :)
I am a huge fan of Hilary Weeks, so it was awesome to watch her perform in person & to meet her. She has a beautiful singing voice & is a whiz at the piano... often combining the two. She writes her own songs & even puts the most hilarious, family-life oriented lyrics to popular tunes to perform on stage. She's witty, charming, inspiring & insanely talented. Time flies when she's on the stage. She's amazing.

Hilary Weeks at the piano. So great! Here's her web site... http://hilaryweeks.com/

Alli, Jenny Oaks Baker (violinist), & Rebecca.
This little beauty plays the violin like I have never seen. She is a master. I was quite unaware of her talent prior to Time Out For Women. But she has quite the resume & I quickly learned why others rave about her. She was beautiful to watch. Schooled at Julliard in NY and a member of the American Symphony Orchestra for 7 years. She doesn't do that full time anymore, after deciding to devote more time to her 4 children. But she is amazing. And a sweetheart! And she also has a website ... http://www.jennyoaksbaker.com/