Couldn't resist

2007

2008

2009





Goodness they are growing and changing sooooooo fast.

Will post 2010 pics tomorrow.

Halloweens past

This year I thought it would be fun to find some pics of D1 and D2 from Halloweens past. Seeing as most of our pics from this time frame are on slides, AC could only lay his hands on a few of the many, but I am sure the girls will get a kick out of seeing them. Join me for the walk down memory lane if you like.

In the pic below we see D1 in a Little Bo-Peep costume that my mom made for me! Yes, me! I found the dress in a dusty old box and did the best I could to clean it up and fluff it out for D1. Still looks a bit droopy though doesn't it? I had to make a new staff, but the rest of the costume was intact. I couldn't believe the detail that my mom had sewn into a costume. She used yards and yards of material, did intricate stitch work on the collar and trimmed it all with lace and bows.
I followed in mom's footsteps and made most of our kid's costumes, but I resorted to paper, glue, old pillow cases, old curtains and whatever trim I could find in the craft drawer.

In the pic below we see D1 in a clown costume thrown together with scraps of this and that. Topped off with a paper cone hat trimmed with old curtain fringe.
Although the costumes below might not be PC today, D1 and D2 looked cute in them many years ago. I made them out of an old sheet, curtain fringe and coloured trim. I even made moccasins out of cloth to wear over their shoes. Where did I find the time?
We did have to buy the hat and gun in the pic below, but the rest of the outfit was made from a scrap of material left over from a dress, and some fringe from the craft box my mom had.
Ah, one of my favorite costumes worn by D1 in the pic below. Wonder Woman! I know I have a picture of D1 showing off the whole outfit including the boots - all made out of paper and bits of material, but this is the only one we could lay our hands on right now.
Last pic today is of D1 in high school, once again wearing a home made costume. The ears are old shoulder pads sewn onto a hair band, the rest of the costume consisted of a black leotard, a bit of red ribbon and some face make-up. Didn't cost anything but time and imagination.
I don't know where all the pics of D2 are, but I guess they are at the bottom of the box of slides and haven't been scanned in yet. Slides were the way to go years ago, but a pain to get at now.

Catch-up

AC had his camera over at the kid's place this week and I am just now catching up on all the pics he took while I was off doing other things. He has published most of them already, but here are a few more. I love this one of the Smudgster.
She is full of the imp though isn't she? She just has that glint in her eye in the picture below.
Jboy has that glint in his eye too. What a pair.
We had such nice weather this week that Buppa had them playing outside almost every afternoon. They have the whole big yard to play in, but where are they in the pic below? In the small space between the shed and the back fence.
I don't know who was the leader, but it looks like it was Jboy this time.

More hats

When I walked in to start my day of babysitting earlier this week Smudge's old pink hat was on the floor by the front door. Hmmmm, what's up with that I wondered. I soon discovered that Jboy was the culprit. He thinks sister's old hat is just grand and wore it around for most of the morning. Sister not wanting to be outdone in the millinery department soon asked me to hunt up her Hello Kitty hat...
and warm little heads ruled the day.

Buddies

Yep, the best of buddies looked so cute sitting on the foot stool in their jammies I just had to grab my camera.
As soon as Jboy saw the flash....he had to turn and smile for the camera. Sister on the other hand completely ignored it. Typical!
Rascals...both of them.

October Picnic

Wet snow showers were called for on Saturday, but the day dawned sunny instead of wet and snowy. Oh joy, maybe we could squeeze in one last picnic in the park. I packed up a lunch, stopped at Tim's for coffee and we were all set. The car was toasty and warm on the drive there, so we assumed it would be warm enough to sit at a picnic table and munch our lunch. Wrong! As soon as we got the feast set out on the table the sun darted behind the clouds and the wind picked up. BRRRRRRR! We soon hightailed it back to the car and ate our lunch indoors even though we were out at the park. After lunch the sun made another appearance so we took our coffee and sauntered along the paths.
Most of the trees had lost their coats of many colours, but a few held onto their garments, and put on a show for us..




We sure enjoyed the last hurrah of autumn.

Gettin' ready for the weekend

Looks like Jboy is starting to pull his costume together for the weekend.
At least he has the perfect hat.
Sister is not quite sure about hers though.
I'll keep you posted.

Schroeder

Schroeder...
and his sister.

The morning paper

Smudge was here for a sleepover last weekend, and I took this picture while she and Buppa were enjoying "the morning paper". I think Buppa found the house cool on this particular morning, but Smudge thought he looked like he had his Halloween outfit all ready ahead of time. The scary sight didn't detract her from her morning paper though.
She is really making leaps and bounds with her artwork. On this page she had a blank pumpkin to work with, and she positioned the eyes, nose and mouth perfectly on the pumpkin face. I was quite impressed.
Yes it was a good time with the morning paper for one and all.

The latest game

Oh my, the fun never ends. The kids have boxes and bins full of the latest and greatest toys, but what is their new favorite thing to do? Line the dining room chairs up in a row and crawl through the tunnel they make.
Then we cover the lined-up chairs with a blanket and voila - they have the coolest tent to play in. Smudge is sitting on the chair at the far end, and Jboy is sitting in the chair closest to the camera. They have books and a flashlight under there and have a grand time taking to each other and reading books.
Jboy doesn't mind peeking out for the camera...

and Smudge even makes a brief appearance before ducking back under the blanket.

Great-Grandma's smocking

Both of Smudge's Great-Grandmothers smocked. The little while dress was made by AC's mom and the orange dress was made by my mom for Thesha, their first grand-daughter.

Smudge was here for a sleepover the other night, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a few pictures of her in the dresses that her mom wore. She sat still for the first two pictures and then it was a free-for-all.





What an IMP! She would NOT sit still and pose for us.
History of the dresses.
In the picture below we see Smudge's mother, Thesha, in the dress her maternal Grandma made for her. Can you see Smudge in her mommy? I sure can, but Thesha would sit still and pose not like her impy daughter.
Here is Thesha again, this time in a little red and white smocked dress that my mom made.
AC took these pictures and developed them himself and in homemade darkroom.
A few years later daughter number 2, Althegal, wore the same dress for a family portrait. Yes, that is my natural haircolour!!! It changed drastically a few years later when D2 set off on her back-packing trip in England and Australia - ALL BY HERSELF! Yikes! When she got on the plane to go to who-knows-where, and I had no way of contacting her until she touched base with me from an internet cafe to let me know she was alive and well, I could feel the gray hairs growing! I made an emergency call to my hairdresser and asked her to order in some haircolour in bulk. I have been blond ever since.
The white dress below is one that AC's mom made for Thesha.
A close-up of the intricate design. Beautiful work huh?
My mom's smocking was totally different from AC's mom's, but each had their own beauty and detail.

Treasures, each one!