2016 Halloween

As I'm currently sewing this year's costumes... here's a flashback to last year's costumes!

Ev was a beautiful princess Cinderella! 

Pattern: M4M's Cinderella Dress

Fabric: Stretch Velvet/Velour/type stuff from Hancock in their going out of business sale.

James went as a dinosaur... but look! He has on his mommy-made hat at least :D 

We took the kid's to the Corn Palace for a Harvest Festival.

Doesn't every princess need a picture on a vintage tractor?

Oh, and there's a football player and a crazy fairy (you can't see my wings, but they are there!). Homemade for me? My very first pair of Peg Legs (free leggings pattern from Patterns for Pirates)!

Fabric: Brushed Poly from Raspberry Creek Fabrics

And she has worn that dress so often since Halloween... I'm sure I'll have a few "Handmade in the Wild" posts for it, haha!

Handmade in the Wild: Hiking, Hiking, Hiking

We hope to instill a love of the outdoors with the kids, and we look forward to lots of outdoor adventures as a family!

Enjoying the trails around the local lake... this was probably after Dan took them both out on the kayak first. Don't ask me why he's not wearing pants because I can't remember!

My parents have a small trail that winds through their shelter belt. We love hiking it during the spring, summer and fall! I'm thankful that my dad has taken so much time to create this trail!

Ev is growing up! She insisted on pulling her brother in the wagon while we were on just a short walk around the neighborhood. Little brother always appreciates the attention :)

Skirt: Blog Post

Grey Floral Pants: Made for Mermaids Bonny Leggings made from clearance leggings from Walmart

Sweatshirt: Hatteras Hoodie pattern from Hey June Handmade using a upcyled flannel pillowcase and oatmeal french terry from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

Handmade in the Wild: Mermaid Girl

I made this mermaid dress out of a remnant over a year and a half ago. She didn't wear it much the first summer, but she chose it often last summer!!!

It was perfect for Evelyn's first theater experience... we had a mother-daughter date to the area's community theater production of the Little Mermaid. She was a little scared of both King Triton and Ursula, but she still loves to talk about it every time we pass the theater!

Enjoying the bike trails!

We love how close the bike trails are to our house, and last summer we were on them at the perfect time to enjoy a train going by. I so look forward to more evenings like this once the seasons change :)

Sundress Blog Post

Handmade in the Wild: SD State Fair

I'm a loyal 4-H girl, and I've missed attending the SD State Fair in recent years - actually, it's been since my senior year of high school since I've been there! Eek, that's longer than I thought! Anyway, since the kids are getting bigger, we thought that this year would be a good time to start the tradition back up! It helps that we live only about an hour away ;)

We went up for one day and the kids had a lot of fun! Ev kept asking for the rides - it was really hard for her to focus on anything else, since we saved the rides for last! But, she still loved seeing the animals and a few other exhibits. 

We were surprised with James' shyness around the animals in this petting zoo, but he loved seeing them when they were in their own pens ;) 

Then it was time for her favorite part! This was her first time on a "roller coaster" and she LOVED it! 

Waving to Daddy!

She rode a few other rides, too. James will be ready to join her next year! I'm excited to keep bringing them back and introducing them to more aspects of the fair. Hopefully, they'll be excited to be in 4-H when they're older!

E's dress: Felicity Dress by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop (blog post)

E's hat: 4-in-1 Sun Hat by Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop (blog post)

My Top: Lane Raglan by Hey June Handmade (Hasn't been blogged yet... Art Gallery Knit for the sleeves, unknown solid for the main)

Handmade in the Wild: The Tea Party Peplum

The hardest thing to get E to do during the winter is to wear a sweater, so we have to have lots of long sleeve shirts that can go under sleeveless and short sleeve tops. Flashback to last summer, when long sleeves and sweaters aren't needed!

The kids love watching Daddy change the oil on the vehicles. E also learned how to ride a big girl big (with training wheels) last summer. It was amazing to watch her practice and practice while still needed us to push her to get started, and then all of a sudden she could start and turn with no help. Now we need to work on leg strength to ride on the gravel roads by our house...

Here, E is trying to show little brother how to blow up balloons (even though she can't really do it herself). He was her little shadow last summer, and some things definitely haven't changed yet ;) 

Tea Party Peplum Post

Starting Out ~ Wall Drug {May Family Vacation}

Dan had a work training in Rapid City last May, so we decided to go out a day early for our first family-of-four vacation :)

We left on a Monday morning, and planned to stop once between home and our hotel in Rapid. Somehow, we made it to Wall Drug without stopping, which worked out well... we were able to eat a picnic lunch that we had brought and then enjoy all the fun photo-ops in the "Backyard."

I need to go look up my pictures of the main 2 trips I remember stopping here - once when we were on a family road trip en route to a family wedding in Washington and another time as a Senior in high school en route to the state track meet. 

I'm so glad we have these pictures of the kids! Fun for me to take the pictures and fun for the kids to play around and stretch their legs before heading into the car for the last hour to our hotel. 

PS: As I look at these pictures I remember being disappointed about going so early in the season since it was a little chilly out, plus some attractions weren't open yet in the Hills because it wasn't officially "tourist season." However, how fun was it for the kids to run around Wall Drug and not have to worry too much about waiting in lines to sit on these props or having a mommy too worried about losing track of kids in a crowd. No worries there, haha!