Sweet Sixteen

I have nicknames for my girls. It's nothing weird or baby-ish or even embarrassing (I hope!). But I don't use them in public anyway. Just here around the Haven, when it's just us.

Last Friday, Alys & I went outdoors for a little photo shoot. I'm still working on improving my photography skills, and the girls are always willing candidates for my subject matter. There was a reason behind this particular session (which I'll get to in an upcoming post), but it was fun to take pictures of Alyssa, especially since she is really photogenic.

AND, because this is one of the BIG birthdays this year. Yeppers, she's turning sweet sixteen tomorrow! So in a way, this is a family history moment -- what she looked like when she was young, innocent, and just 16 years old.

Of course, I'm the mom, so I'm extremely biased. See what you think: I tell her she is unique, in part because of the mass of curly hair she has. With uber-straight hair being the be-all, end-all in adolescent fashion, I think her curls make her stand out.

(So, being six feet tall, barefooted -- also makes her really stand out!)

She's always up for some fun....

But still super intelligent, way talented, very confident, and definitely mature beyond her years.

So what's my nickname for her???

Gorgeous.

(Don't worry, Darcie & Em also have some superlative nicknames as well!)

I just want my girls to know that I'm behind them 100%, always cheering for them, and forever wanting the best for them. So, yeah. Is she gorgeous? You bet she is! And I tell her so, every time I call her by that nickname.

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Alyssa!!! Dad & I love you TONS!!

Fall Ball

We've had some beautiful November weather, so yesterday I sent the girls out to the back yard for some pitching practice. Standing behind the catcher is one of the few places I can catch the ball in the same frame as the pitcher: Darcie wasn't wearing her gear at first, but I convinced her to put it on. I don't need her injured, and Alyssa throws better and harder when she knows her catcher can take it.

You might have to click on this next photo...... because Alys is actually smiling on the pitch release! (Ok, so she was laughing because she could hear the continuous shutter release I was using on the camera)

Darcie was also wearing the new padded inner glove inside her catcher's mitt. It sure cuts down on the beating a catcher's hand takes.

And when Emma woke from her nap, she joined us outside!! She is definitely showing signs of preferring balls over dolls. I am loving these fall colors we've got!

Hugs all around! I think Alys should use this one for her Facebook profile. But that's just me talkin':

Em LOVES being outdoors! I think if today is as nice, we'll get some more throwing in, as well as jumping on the tramp.

Happy FALL!!!

In Concert

Last week, both the teen girls had their fall concerts for school. I think Emma is getting the routine down for this, and she sits pretty well for the performances. We didn't have to take her out at all.

It was Alyssa's first performance with Gold Voices. She enjoys that ensemble a lot. This year, they got new dresses for their performances. The new style has a sweetheart neckline, flutter sleeves and an empire waist. We know Alyssa is pretty tall, when she's wearing the longest dress there, and it's still slightly too short (no heels, either!). Alys is on the far right, back row.
She looks a little stiff..... must be first-performance jitters. She looks GORGEOUS in black, though!

And then at the end, the band played, in full marching uniforms. This is always impressive! Alys is the tall saxophone player, dead center of the photo:

And then, the very next night was the junior high's fall concert. Darcie plays in both regular band, and Jazz Band. They got new band t-shirts in time for this performance, so that was concert dress for the evening. Darcie is the natural redhead, in the second row here:

And then later, seated with the Jazz Band:

Congrats to the girls both on some great performances! We look forward to more, including next month's Christmas concert. YAY!!!!!!

Halloween is for Kids!

Just when my older teens were getting beyond the whole dress-up-and-beg-for-candy routine, along comes Emma Jo! This is going to keep me young if it kills me!!

Since she's such a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, we thought she'd get a kick out of being Minnie Mouse for Halloween: We were right -- she loved it!! It's hard to see the ears here. I really needed a better background. Her head was a bit small for the ears, and she actually couldn't wear them for most of the trunk-or-treat, because they kept falling off. And the Minnie gloves made it hard to hold her treat bucket, so those got ditched, too!!

Hugging her Minnie Mouse -- they're lookalikes!!

It was raining for the trunk-or-treat, so we took the canopy to stay dry at the back of the Suburban. Please note the carved pumpkins on top. Yep, those all came from the Haven garden this year. (good thing you can't tell most of them are flat-backed!! Ha!!)

And afterwards, we went to Grandpa & Grandma's for our now-traditional Halloween pizza dinner. Emma can't quite pronounce their names correctly. She transposes letters. So "grandma" comes out as, "Maw-gaw". And "grandpa" comes out as, "Buck-kaw". It is SO adorable!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Those Who Sleep Under a Quilt....

It's Fall. There's a change in the air. What better time than now to change a few things up?

In the process of cleaning out the spare bedroom (moving stuff into the new craft room), I reached the pile of quilts. I don't have a lot of them, actually. And each one has a story behind it. (Isn't that supposed to be true of all quilts?)

So, on a whim, I decided to put one of them on our bed. This is one that came from an old Huffaker Family Reunion..... let's say it was a few years ago. It was made with extra length, specifically for tucking up over the pillows on a king-size bed. In fact, one unique thing about it is that it was made by Todd's uncle.


Yep, that's right! Men can quilt! So, I haven't been able to figure out if it has a pattern, or not. I'm not really all that big into sunflowers, but for a couple of months this fall, I thought it would be fun to have it on our bed, instead of the regular store-bought comforter.

I'm sure it goes against every current design trend right now. Quilt are just not "IN". But I confess I've got the desire to learn how to quilt now. I even bought a "Quilt in a Day" book. (THAT'S a misnomer if I ever heard one!!) The book will remain one to pore over for a while, as I certainly don't have time to tackle a quilt project.

If you know what pattern this may be, I'd love to hear from you! And the end of that quote in the post title....... "Those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love."

Peekaboo!

The kitchen at the Haven has a wonderful U-shaped layout with cupboards on all three sides. One side has a peninsula cabinet to the dining room, with bar stools along the counter. The cupboards over the peninsula have doors on both the kitchen side, and the dining room side. The idea is, that you can put clean dishes away from the kitchen side, and then access the cupboards from the dining room side for setting the table.

In the last couple of weeks, Emma has discovered these cupboards: She thinks it's great fun to stand up on the bar stools and open the doors on the dining room side while I'm unstacking the dishwasher. She peeks through at me and says, "I see you!!", and it becomes a wonderful game to her.

With natural, built-in fun like this, who needs toys???

I'm just waiting for the day that she discovers the play nook under the stairs.......

Homecoming

What is more classically small town, than the high school's Homecoming game? It's even better when you win the Homecoming game, too.

HOWEVER.........

Um, the Half-Time Show is pretty awesome!!!!

So, yeah...... the football team lost their game. There were enough turnovers to serve a few rounds of dessert. 44-3 is a pretty pathetic game. But we went to see the band play in the half-time show. Alys is a squad leader in the marching band, and she promised it would be good. This is her in the stands with one of her good band friends: When it was time for the show, the band all had to stop and put their hats & plumes one. We LOVE these new band uniforms, and they look really classy and updated. Here, Alyssa gets help with her plume from a purple-haired band kid: (mid-ground in the photo)
Here's part of the show! Alyssa is the one on one knee, third from the left.
Mr. G., the band teacher is truly an AMAZING guy. He has so much knowledge, talent, and enthusiasm, that he makes every performance great. Here, the band is in their "L" formation. Alyssa is in the front row, second from the left.
I have to give Alyssa kudos -- she's only a sophomore, but she said yes to being a squad leader, and has the ability to literally keep the other kids in line. Good for her!!

(So the game was also pretty darn cold. We were all up for a round of hot chocolate after that!)