Skull Boy and the Spooky Cat

While this post is supposed to be about pumpkin carving...there will be very few pumpkin carving pictures.



Turns out Maddox likes the idea of carving pumpkins more than the reality. Actually, I think he just prefers playing with his friends. And as we sat down in the driveway to carve pumpkins, a few of the neighbor kids came running over wanting to help.

Maddox completed just a few scoops before jumping up to run around and play.



So we were really lucky to have the neighbor kids around...free labor!

Sara and Ross worked the hardest...





Evey using her teeth to carve her tiny pumpkin...





My boy...



My girl...



Maddox NOT carving pumpkins...
;-)



Ross took a break at one point to let his sister Jenna have a turn. So he entertained Maddox with some skateboard tricks while he waited...



Evey making a goofy face at me...



Did you know you can hear the pumpkin patch when you hold a pumpkin to your ear? ;-)



She was actually using the pumpkin as a phone. Hello?



At one point we had attracted a total of 6 neighbor kids all taking turns helping to carve two pumpkins. Even one of the neighbor cats wanted in on the action...



Jay was in charge of the activities...



Maddox actually participating in the process - tracing his design...





And then back to goofing around...



A paper towel fight broke out...



Cuteness...



The finished products...





Skull Boy and the Spooky Cat...

Horror Photography

We have had a barn spider living outside our back door for a few months now. He has currently relocated directly in front of our back door which makes getting in and out tricky...but I have to admit it is quite fascinating to watch him. Don't get me wrong - I'm a complete arachnophobic when spiders are inside my home. But when they are outside...I find them very interesting and wish them no harm. Cross that threshold...and it's all over my friend. In fact, the other night I put Evey down on the floor in my office to play and a rapid wolf spider came running out from under a desk right next to her. I grabbed her and jumped up into my chair screaming. Not the most rational response - I'll be the first to admit. I do realize the spider is completely harmless. I can't explain why I react the way I do indoors only. If that had happened outdoors, I would have definitely picked her up...but minus the screaming and jumping. Perhaps therapy is in order. ;-)

Anyways! Since he has been with us so long...Maddox has decided to name him Phineas. Strangely enough...he is missing two legs. Four legs on one side, two on the other. I wonder what the story is there....
Here are a few pics of Phineas the Phriendly Arachnid. :-)



Busy spinning a web...







Phineas seemed like an appropriate post for Halloween...however, I admit these pictures are not actually scary or spooky. ;-) Not exactly "horror photography." In fact, I had no idea there was such a thing as "horror photography" until my mother showed me an article from the KC Star last week about Joshua Hoffine's work. So if you want to see some truly freaky images...check out Joshua Hoffine's website.

I'd say his spider photo is way cooler than my spider photo...



That is also the tamest photo on his website. So only check it out if you like really scary freaky stuff. I'm not kidding...some very graphic images. NOT for children and not for the squeamish. But in the spirit of Halloween...just wanted to spread the word about Joshua Hoffine's very unique body of "horror photography."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Fall Fun

I've been so busy lately - I realized it's been awhile since I've gotten any personal posts on the blog. And by personal posts...I of course mean Maddox and Evey. So I will be adding some recent family pics to the blog - starting right now. I believe these were from early last week - right before the icky weather blew in. I just absolutely love fall, definitely my favorite season. I wanted to get some pictures of the kids playing in the leaves so we headed into the backyard to have some fun.

Maddox will be getting a haircut very soon...



Evey will not be getting a haircut. I'm so happy she finally has hair! :-)



Always the ornery stinker, Maddox thought it was very funny to throw leaves at me.



So there was a lot of leaf throwing that day. And it went both ways. ;-)





Peek-a-boo...



Maddox requested a picture with his buddy, Cash...



An action shot that makes me laugh...



Cuteness...





Maddox shrinking me with his magic stick...
(I wasn't allowed to call it a wand...not sure why. Seemed very wandlike to me.)







Is there a word for it - when you vibrate your lips? I don't know. But that is what Maddox was doing when I took this picture. This image cracked us both up - we had a good laugh over it. :-P



So then we took more goofy pictures and laughed some more. :-)

Tori & Kevin...Wedding

We have been lucking out lately with the weather...for my weddings that is. We will have icky weather all week long and then *poof* a beautiful day appears just in time for the wedding day! Thank you Mother Nature! :-)

Tori & Kevin were the lucky recipients of yesterday's gorgeous weather. Here are some highlights from their special day...

Some of the ceremony details...



They were wed at Advent Lutheran Church in Olathe.



Kevin looking quite dapper...



I was a little obsessed with Kevin's flower...love the wire! And I'm always a fan of fun groom socks. :-)



I like how super tough Adam & Wes look here...



And how quite silly they look here... :-)



Tori looking fabulous...













This is Shelly (the matron of honor) with her daughter Aylea. Aylea was a rather shy and reserved flower girl...I had no idea what was to come at the reception. So more on Aylea later. ;-)



Jessica making her entrance...



And Tori making her entrance (with dad and brother on each arm)...





They said "I do" and kissed... :-)



Kevin & Tori rented a Bentley and boy, did I have fun with this car! :-)





It was a short walk to the car, so Tori & Kevin were showered with a whole lotta birdseed all at once. :-P



Tori & Kevin made a brief stop at Heritage Park for some pictures. The sun was setting - it was absolutely stunning light.

More Bentley fun...















My first ever bouquet/wheel shot... :-)
(The gorgeous flowers were created by Jennifer's Flowers & Events)



Then it was off to St. Andrew's Golf Club for the reception. Tori & Kevin love coffee and had a coffee bar set up for their guests to enjoy. They also offered some coffee beans as wedding favors. Very cool...



The highlight of the reception had to be the dance floor. This crowd knew how to get down!

Showing off some fancy moves...



Tori having fun with some of her students...





Wow!



While everyone had a fabulous time...the kids definitely owned that dance floor...



And no one threw down more than little Aylea. She had me in stitches all night. On the dance floor that girl has zero inhibition. And Mark the DJ kept her going with lots of great music. I'm afraid my still shots don't quite do her justice, but here you go...







I have never seen anyone of any age attack a dance floor with such reckless abandon. Well, with the exception of these two gentlemen who so sweetly joined Aylea on the dance floor at one point when she had been left to dance alone. Not that an empty dance floor was stopping her - but she definitely seemed to appreciate the company... :-)



Thank you Aylea and guests for a fun reception!

And of course, the ring shot... :-)



CONGRATULATIONS Tori & Kevin! You two compliment each other so well, truly a fantastic match. I hope you have a fantastic time on your super cool honeymoon!