At the end of September, the girls went to spend a week with Nana & Papa, so I got busy tearing the house apart! Things needed to be done that were pretty much impossible with kids around. First thing to go was the tractor-themed playroom. I didn't repaint it when we moved in 2 years ago, and I was ready for it to be gone!
It is now a pretty girlie pink, green, and white. I painted the walls, bookshelves, put up chair rail, put up new shelves in the closet, and got rid of some toys!
Since I wasn't busy enough, I decided to paint the living room too. I tried my hand at "rag rolling." Let me tell you, it's not as easy as it looks! We don't have a lot of wall space in the living room to start with, so what took me about an hour to paint the base coat, took from about noon until 10:30pm (with an hour taken out for supper & a trip to the store to get more glaze). I was exhausted when I got done. My legs hurt from numerous trips up and down the ladder. But, I have to say, it looks pretty good. Its hard to tell in pictures, since its a very subtle color and effect, but here's the finished product.
Doug & I headed up to Illinois to pick up the girls very very early Friday morning, and made it there in time to take a trip the apple orchard that afternoon. It's been a tradition since before I was born, and I think that there has only been one year that I haven't gone to Edwards' Orchard at least once a season. The girls love the orchard and Kenzie talks about picking apples and riding the ponies all year round!
Lillia getting her first apple of the season! She loves apples - every fruit is an apple to her!
Kenzie and her first apple!
This is one of my favorite pictures of Lillia - shows her fun, playful personality perfectly!
The last two years, Kenzie has ridden a pony named Riley - and we heard about Riley ALL the time, but this year, Riley was back at the barn, so she rode Timmy. One of these days, I wouldn't be surprised if she talks her dad into buying her a horse!
I have to include the story of Tiger, the miracle cat. Doug & I still cannot believe that this cat is still alive. In August, we got 2 kittens, Tiger & Patches. They are definately very playful kittens, and they are very brave. We knew from the beginning that we'd have to watch for them when we started the cars and left. But that wasn't the beginning of Tiger's escapades. Less than a month after getting the cats, Tiger snuck into the husky pen when the girls and I were in the barn feeding them. Unfortuntaly, Bo spotted the kitten and cornered her against the barn wall. I'm not exactly sure of what all happened, aside from Kenzie screaming that Bo had her kitten and Lillia crying because Kenzie was screaming and I was yelling at the dogs. He at some point had Tiger in his mouth, I don't think he intentionally was trying to hurt her, he just likes to play, and pretty roughly, I might add. It was pretty touchy that evening, not knowing if Tiger was going to be ok. I moved her into the other barn, where the cats are fed, and hoped that she would survive. Slowly, over the next week, Tiger was getting back to her old self - following us around and up to the house. Fast forward a couple weeks - Tiger decides to hitch a ride under a friends car as she was leaving our house one night. We discovered she was missing when we went out to feed the cats later that evening. Doug had seen a cat down the road when he came home, so he went to make sure it wasn't her. It wasn't Tiger, because she ran out in front of him, and would have gotten hit, had he not been on the look out for a cat and driving slowly. So now, Tiger has nine lives minus three. But she's not done yet. Just a couple weeks ago, Doug calls me from work and asks if the kids had been outside yet and played with the cats. It was a little chilly that morning, so we hadn't been out. When I ask why, he informs me that Tiger was at work with him - about 5 1/2 miles away from home. He had been in the office and happened to look out the window and see a black calico cat out in the barn lot - where a couple of the guys were talking. Doug went to see if it was one of our cats and sure enough, it was Tiger. And just last night, Tiger had her greatest trip of all. I had a few things to pick up at the store, so we decided to just eat out before we to the store. Fifteen miles and 45 minutes later, we finish up at Wendy's. As I was fastening Lillia into her carseat, I hear a meow (not a common sound when we are in town right at the busy street). I look down, and who else is at my feet but Tiger. At first we thought she had been inside the car, but we soon realize that as wet as she was, and we hadn't heard anything the entire trip to town that she had to have been under the car. Unbelievable. So the count is now - Tiger - 9 lives minus 5. The question is now, how far will she ride the next time?
The last couple pictures are from out trip to the pumpkin patch Sunday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast! And, isn't Indiana beautiful in the fall! I am so blessed to call this my home, and God reminds me everyday with the beauty of his creation in the changing seasons.
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