I'm Baaaacccckkkk! (a randomness post :))

So, apparently I have trouble posting more than once or twice within several weeks lately!  I'm still alive . . . but we have been super busy!  My sister and family arrived in NH last Tuesday night, and we have been spending a lot of time with them, which has been wonderful!  Since it's been over 2 1/2 years since we last saw them, we are trying to take advantage of their 3 weeks in the area with lots of fun activities and just hanging out!

The first weekend, my parents treated all of us to a 3 night vacation up in Pittsburg NH.  It was SO refreshing and fun . . . we stayed in a large cabin on a beautiful lake.  The weather was beautiful almost the whole time, and we spent much of our time on the water in various boats--canoe, kayaks, and paddle boat.  The kids had a blast!  We listened to the call of the loons every night and heard them sometimes in the morning, too.  We enjoyed meals together, had Bible time every night (each night led by one of the guys), went looking for moose (but didn't see any), and drove to the top of a crazy dirt road for a scenic view (that was well worth it).  Right now I really wish we didn't have dial-up internet, because I would post more pictures from our trip . . . we took over 500!  Then yesterday we went to Reid State Park in Maine for the day, and I took over 200 more pictures!  Not that I would post them all, but I'd likely put up more than normal.  Oh well.  I don't feel like downsizing any of them right now, but look for a post hopefully sometime this week, with some pics of our adventures.



In other random news, here are a few things that have been happening in our corner of the world:

• We got a cat.  A CAT!  I am not really a cat person--I prefer dogs.  Big dogs, small dogs, doesn't really matter . . . but we got a cat, because someone Jim knows was giving it away.  He's 4 years old and his name is Gabe (of all things).  I would personally like to change his name to "Dusty Miller" or one of the cool cat names from other LM Montgomery books, but since he was already named and comes when called by that name, I guess we will keep it. :)  He is a good outside cat and is supposedly a good mouser (haven't seen evidence of that yet).  His bed and litterbox are in the garage (thankfully!) although he is allowed to hang out in the house now and then, but not on the furniture.  I'm mean that way.  :)
• We are somewhere in our 5th week of school.  I'll be doing good to get in a full week during these 3 weeks of having family visiting, but I planned ahead for that and it is totally fine.  Last week we got in about 1 1/2 days, and this week so far we have done 1 full day.  The hard part will be when we jump back into the regular routine on October 10th! But I am SO glad we homeschool and are able to have this flexibility.  It would be a total bummer to be carting kids back and forth to school while trying to enjoy the time with extended family.  
• I finally got some sewing done a few weeks back!  I made matching skirts for Julia and me, and another coordinating skirt and sleeveless top for her.  Okay, so it's a little late in the season for a sleeveless top . . . however, I made it plenty big so it will fit her for at least another summer, and hopefully two.





Julia and me in our new skirts a few weeks ago . . . 



I love her expression in this one!



I am shamelessly (or shamefully?) addicted to Pinterest these days.  I don't actually spend a ton of time on there, but when I want to search for a specific recipe or craft idea, that's my go-to place.  Love it.  Eye candy galore!!  Just tonight I've been pinning recipes for apple slab pies, and looking at my recipe board got me to dreaming about making donuts.  This is a must-do fall baking project!!  Last year I made some fabulous cider donuts and also some pumpkin donuts.  Mmmmm.  Makes me crave them just to think about it.  Fall is the best time for baking things!  By the way, if you would like to follow me on Pinterest, please let me know . . . I know most of you have already found me, but I don't want to put the link here on my blog for privacy reasons.
I need to set some new goals for this month (since I totally skipped September), and hopefully I will get a post up later today with those.  I cannot believe we are into October already!  Only 3 months till the end of the year . . . it just seems crazy!  

Well, I will close for now, but I just wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone!  I hope your October is off to a beautiful start! :)  Stay tuned for more pictures soon (hopefully)!