Pumpkin Art

A carved pumpkin, painted pumpkins, a pumpkin family and a pumpkin gift for Madelin's teacher...

Chris (he doesn't usually dress-up for carving pumpkins, it was a Sunday :)) and the kids getting ready to carve "the big one."

The kids (no, that's not Kate, that's the neighbor girl) painting their pumpkins. Thanks to the neighbor girl Kate's was painted, too! :)

Mad's work of art.

back row: Super-Madelin, Chris (the jack-o-lantern)

front row: Kate, Anders, Madelin and yes, I am the warty one!!! This is the gift for Mad's teacher. I found it here and had to make it. Minus the candy, everything was already in my house...wire, craft paint and a cleaned out salsa jar. Score!

Super-Madelin, Not-So-Super-Anders and a Sweet Little Leopard

Dressing up three kids for Halloween is quite a feat, especially if two of them are not having it at all! Thus, is the case in the picture below.

Weeks ago Madelin wanted to be a cheerleader then decided on a super-hero. And I thought what a great idea (two easy costumes to make)...Anders can be one too because he refers to himself as "Super-Anders" and can be heard running around the house saying "...to the rescue!" And thanks to my mom, Kate was decked out in leopard gear.

Kate and Anders were not digging this whole dressing up thing! God bless 'em!! And don't you like how Mad and I are just smiling through it all? Madelin and her super-hero pose...work it girl! Star shirt and mask (I don't quite have the mask making skills mastered!) compliments of mom. Super-Madelin cape compliments of mom. Anders preferred Shrek over trick-or-treating, fine by me...less candy for me to eat! ;) He didn't want to wear his handmade-my-mom lightning bolt shirt or this... Maybe next year he will wear his "A" cape.

Love it!!!!!

How sweet is that! :)

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

A Hansen family favorite...Poppy's Pumpkin Patch near Norfolk. Less evil and spooky stuff and more naturey attractions.

What would a kid attraction be without a barrel train?

Yes, Anders you've got a ways to go before you're "that tall!" Let's just pray you don't take after your mom in the height department! The two above pictures are the "story of my life"...me chasing after Anders and Madelin!!!

Kate's first visit to the pumpkin patch.

Apples, Some Flowers and Pumpkins, Too...

There's nothing quite as gratifying as picking your own apples and having lots of them to eat and bake with. It's those simple things in life for us... :)

Got to love those bright zinnias and those smiling faces.

The duo walking through the orchard. Notice Madelin's sweet outfit, she's dressed appropriately for a warm day (yes, those are rain boots)! ;)

Now, that is a good apple!

The trio posing for mommy with some girl's backside in the shot, thanks girl!! As some guy said to us, "Do you think she (referring to Kate) will remember her first trip to the Apple Orchard?" I wanted to say, "Um yeah, dude, probably not!!" but held my tongue, smiled and said something a little more polite. :)

"The Hansen Duo," Plus One

How is it possible that Kate is four weeks old? Yes, four weeks old!! And I know the weeks are only going to go faster and faster from here; I must say I won't miss the crying/screaming but I will miss the joy of a tiny one! Here's a look at the last four weeks... These Hansen kids don't come small!

or with little cheeks... :)

Serious business...

I took this picture right before Madelin went to school...so sweet!

Love those BIG blue eyes!

Anders wanted nothing to do with sitting by the girls...I'm sure this won't be the last time!

For the Girls...

Just an excuse to make more appliqued shirts.... :) A few tastes of summer!My best friend from high school, Laura, is due with her second daughter in October. I created this watermelon using the same technique (but I had to hand-sew around the pieces because I broke my sewing machine...oops!!!) I always use when I make appliqued shirts. I then added white beads for "seeds." Can't you see them? ;) This shirt was a gift for Laura's daughter's second birthday. I made it the same way as I made the watermelon. The "stick" is a piece of ribbon. A skirt, like this one, to match the popsicle shirt. The fabric was in my scrap pile and was the perfect "size" to make a skirt! :) This ice cream shirt was made for our niece, born in June.

I bought all of the shirts from Target for $5, each.

Fourth of July Fun

I'm not going to ramble on and on because I've posted alot of pictures from our Fourth of July weekend. Most years I'm doing good if the kids are wearing anything "Fourth of Julyish" on the fourth but since I've had more time to be crafty, the kids were all decked out in red, white and blue. To make Anders' shirt, I bought the shirt from Target and used the freezer paper technique to create the stars. Madelin and Anders were more than willing to help me paint them on...needless to say, I had to be VERY patient with both of them without losing it!!

Madelin's shirt was made using fabric scraps, Pellon Wonder Under, I sewed around each piece and finished the star off with white floss. I found this tutorial and HAD to make a skirt for Madelin. It's called the Simple Skirt but it took me 2 hours to make it, but it was well worth the time because I was really happy with the way it turned out. After all that hardwork and time, Mad didn't want to wear it on the fourth...oh well! I made these flip-flop pom-poms with yarn; I made them by refering to a Martha Stewart clip-out from a few years ago. Again, Madelin didn't want to wear them. 1 out of 3 not bad, right? ;) Now onto the lake (the weekend before the fourth)...Anders chowing down on "who knows what!" Looking for fish in the stream. A fish in the lake! Needless to say, after 6 hours of playing in the lake, Madelin took a long nap (which doesn't happen much anymore)! My favorite boys enjoying (?) the lake. Yes, Chris does eat!! ;)

On the fourth...the "Hansen Duo" in their shirts. Notice how Madelin is skirtless? And notice how Anders really doesn't like to have his picture taken? Can we say stubborn? I wonder who they get that from! :)Fun with sparklers...

Good times! :)