hat frenzy

so mali and i went to other mother's (our 2nd favorite store...target always earns the top spot but hobby lobby is starting to creep up there...although taking kids to that store is not an option for me - sorry, that was a really long side note) anyway, we were there and i found some cute hats for the girls and mali insisted on trying each of them on...over and over and over and over....it was keeping her occupied but me as well because she would scream every time she couldn't get a hat on just right. so then i'd help her and get the cutest smile...it was like another identity when she had the hat on.

wild child

we're not really sure what's gotten into her lately but b had the amazing idea to climb into a huge pile of pillows at costco when mommy and daddy weren't looking. we called her name and heard this faint giggle coming from underneath the pillows. i couldn't believe it. our sweet, well mannered, obedient child had turned into a "normal" child and now we are trying to understand what happened. i guess you can't be that lucky for too long, eventually all kids turn rebellious and test the waters! anyway, here are some pics of b in the pillow pit.


and now, being disciplined...

jersey day at school

it's kinda convenient to have a husband that owns a sports apparel store when your child has jersey day at school. thanks for bringing home the jersey babe, b will be the coolest kid in school...not like she isn't already :)

galloping grace pumpkin patch!

mr. max showing b the horse's teeth...eewww, gross!

look mom...no hands!


giving mr. max a high five!
b in the hay maze

picking out the pumpkins
eating the pumpkin we picked out

mali: i want this one mommy.

me: well, if you can carry it outta here, it's yours!



our friends have a pumpkin patch here in town so we went on saturday and had such a fun time! braidyn and mali got to ride a horse and braidyn braved a hay maze! we all picked out pumpkins to bring home and decorate. mali tried to eat hers then tried to pick one up 50 times her size! braidyn decided to get a wagon to carry all of hers...she didn't realize that she was only getting two - one to decorate at home and one to take to school. we had so much fun and would encourage anyone here in town to go check it out! 100% of the proceeds go to the galloping grace youth ranch which is such an amazing place!

another store update...it's getting closer!!

it's been cleared out. the obvious, enormous pole right smack in the middle of the store (which you can see to the right) is something they weren't expecting. but it's the main air supply that keeps rocky mountain chocolates so cold and delicious, so there's nothing they can do about it...except sue...but that's not something i'd like to discuss on this blog...
the temp store...getting decorated
shelving is up...yes, they will have more than four hats to sell...eventually :)
i'm just glad these boxes are out of my garage.

again, more to come! they are hoping to open this week if possible. as soon as the last of the orders are delivered, they can inventory the product, label it, hang it, and SELL IT!!

four little grandbyrdies

we survived hoot's

b's best friend's birthday party was this weekend at hoot's. we hadn't been back since "the incident" but we had no choice. braidyn had been looking forward to this day for a long time. however, we made it through, no injuries, just happy faces and a good ol' time!

hoots = exhaustion

mali fell asleep on the way home and when we got home, chris and i sat down in the living room and after a few minutes we wondered where braidyn was. we thought she might have gone to bed so i got up to look and i couldn't find her. i started looking around the house and i found her passed out in chris' office - no joke, this is exactly how i found her.

a birthday weekend

happy birthday lilly and aislyn!! we had such a great time celebrating your birthdays this weekend! we love you girls!

a delightful visitation

we had the privilege of spending some time with my dad's mom, the girls' great-grandmother right after hurricane gustav hit louisiana. because of the power outage, my dad brought nanan to albuquerque to stay in a fancy hotel that had electricity and air conditioning! she claims she was forced against her will to come but we were glad she came. she really enjoyed playing with mali (or watching mali play) and we really enjoyed spending some quality time together.

meanwhile, braidyn and aunt becky chatted on the bed about everything they had in common...is was too funny!

store update...

this is the temporary store - they have to keep the tarp up so they can work during mall hours. the ordering is complete, they are just waiting for the rest of the merchandise to arrive and then they can open...yes, that's right, i said THEY CAN OPEN!!!
this is the permanent location - due to be complete mid-november - keep those prayers coming!! it was originally a coffee shop and another smaller store behind that. this is what people will see when they walk into the mall entrance...this is a before shot!
this is...or was the inside of the coffee shop
and this was the inside of the other store behind the coffee shop
this is the baracade they put up around the store for the build-out process
the coffee shop no more
the back part of the store - this is looking towards the front of the store
there will be lots more to come as they are working on this every day. we will keep you updated as we get more pictures and we'll for sure let you know when the temporary store finally opens!! and we truly appreciate the prayer support, it means the world to us!