Holiday Cheer

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Family, Holiday, Life 3 Comments

Since we all could use a good pick-me-up every now and then, here are some photos to hopefully brighten your day. A longer post will be forthcoming, just not quite yet.

So enjoy!

Holiday Gnomes that we won from Wee Folk Art. They seem to like their new home, don’t you think?

Kids building a castle. These were last year’s Holiday gift to the girls from Grandma Martse and Papa Dennis. They love them!

Our holiday nature table.


One of the oaks just outside the dining room window.

Painting on a cool sunny day.

Color in the garden still, and a little visitor as well.






St. Nicholas left some treats for the girls on December 6th. They sure were excited.

Hope your day is bright!

Peace!

The Race, Part II

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Life, Photos Comment

Just as I promised. More on the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot here in town. After Lola’s race we decided to walk around that part of town. It is down by the capital, just about the heart of downtown, and we never get out that way. So we had a little adventure of our own.

There is a path that runs down by the waterways under the streets of the city. I’m sure at one point they were just beautiful, but time and more people have made them less so. Although, I have heard that there is a plan to redo all these paths so they are more of an enjoyable riverwalk of sorts. But we had fun exploring anyway!


Some of the architecture along the waterway shows that it must have been a beautiful place to enjoy the water. This building was built in the 1800’s.


More bridges.

After our walk we went back to see more of the race. The 5 mile and 1 mile were both going on, so we found a spot a block up from the finish line and cheered them all on! Thousands of people were racing. And along with them were many characters. Including…

A fairy, or two:


The Incredibles:

Canines:

Crazy hats:


Turkeys and other costumes:

Dad’s and babies:

Hippies and babies:

Grandpa’s and babies:

And everyone in between:

I even saw 2 very, very pregnant women, but didn’t want to appear rude by taking their pictures. Same with the woman who I swear had to be close to 90! It was so much fun seeing everyone.

Great fun in Austin! Peace!

Thanksgiving Morning And Proud Parents

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Family 5 Comments

Our morning started early…very early. Lola had convinced us to let her run in the Turkey Trot for charity, and today was the day she’d been counting down to. It was the first time for her to be in a real race and she’s been pumped for weeks about it! And even though we got up blurry eyed and in the dark, what a great morning it was!

We got there at 7:35 am, got her registered and then had a few moments to meander through the crowds after getting her number all in place of course!



Xiola was very excited as well, ready to cheer on her big sister.

We spent time at the kids section doing crafts and basically people watching. Finally it was time to get ready for the run, and Jason took Lola to the point where all the kids met up and then walked together to the starting line. He was going to run with her as did alot of parents or grandparents of the younger kids.

It took awhile for them to get through the crowds. Xiola and I were trying to keep up.

We finally made it to a spot near the starting line. The big turkey was a hit at the beginning of the race.

And they’re off!

Lola was in the very back of the pack with about 100 kids ahead of her. I couldn’t even see her at the start. Jason said they were in the last row though. The first kid, who was in the very front at the start, came running up. Then the second kid, who was also one of the first out the gate. Then, out of nowhere, I see rainbow leggings going fast, really fast.


And then, my little girl, who was in the very back, came flashing past the kid in front of her and got 3rd place!

As you can see from the look on her face as she was approaching that finish line, she was ecstatic! She loved it so much she wants to do the full mile next year and then the 5 mile after that. I was never a runner, or athletic in any shape or form, but it’s in Lola’s blood and she has a hunger for it all.

During the race I was overwhelmed by emotions several times. I was so proud of Lola for putting her own money towards this (she paid for half the entry fee with her allowance and we pitched in the other $5) for a good cause. Watching my little girl be so excited about her first race, seeing the families all running/walking together, seeing smiles everywhere I looked, knowing that all these people came out to participate in the name of charity and fun, just made me choke up a few times. What an awesome Thanksgiving tradition! I am so proud to be living in this city and was really happy to be a part of a tradition here that is so beloved by the citizen’s of this town. There were tens of thousands of people there, 12,000 participated in just the 5 mile alone. There was the kid’s k (with probably 500 kids ranging in ages from 9 on down to about 4 – Lola was in the 5 year old division. All the divisions ran their races separately), the 1 mile and the 5 mile. Easily 50,000 people. After Lola was finished we walked around downtown along the course and watched the other racers. That was so cool! My next post will document all we saw during that time. But just to peak your interest, there was everyone from the oldest of ladies, to very pregnant mamas, to dogs on leashes. This morning’s post is dedicated to my little racer though and her selfless act towards charity and the fun she had doing it. Way to go Lola!!

And a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Peace!

Wee Folk Art Gnome Giveaway

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Uncategorized Comment

If you haven’t checked out Wee Folk Art, you really need to get over there. They are having their holiday giveaway and the winner gets two super cute holiday gnomes! Kimara has such a gift for the craft, and these gnomes definitely are perfect examples of this. I love her blog so much, having just discovered it through my dear friend’s site, Frontier Dreams. So many great patterns, and inspiration.

So go see what she has to offer and enter the contest while you are at it!

Peace!

Wee Folks Have Beds

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Crafts 1 Comment


Did these last night. I am loving this creative streak in me. It is really making me happy to use the things I already have and turn them into something fun for the girls. Our homemade holidays are quickly approaching so I need to work a little faster now. Haha! But I’m pretty confident I’ll get it all done. I’m trying to do the small projects first, one every night. Then the bigger projects in between – Lola’s sweater, which I’m still waiting on my yarn for. I ordered it from a co-op weeks ago and it still hasn’t arrived. And Xiola’s Waldorf doll – have the head started which is half the battle.

I’m going to finish Lola’s leg warmers tonight and then start on her mittens she requested. I want to dye some yarn for Xiola’s mittens and leg warmers too, but won’t get to that until maybe Friday.

So much to do! Peace!

ETA: I feel like a dolt, but I completely forgot to thank Kimara over at Wee Folk Art for the bed pattern and constant inspiration. You really need to check out her blog! Thanks!

Knitting Machine Music

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Crafts 1 Comment

I saw this over at Wee Folk Art and was just amazed. I knit and am knitting quite alot for the holidays this year, so this captured my attention and I just had to share it with you all. Plus the music is really beautiful.

The band is called Tricot Machine, which literally means knitting machine. The video was animated from more than 700 real wool knits done on a knitting machine. Just beautiful.

Enjoy!

Wee Folk Addiction

Published on: by catballou24 Category:Crafts 3 Comments

We are having a homemade holiday this season, and so I’ve been planning, knitting and now creating. These are two little dolls I made this evening for the girls’ St. Nick gifts in their shoes. We are going to celebrate St. Nicholas day on December 6th this year, as well as Christmas. We are not religious, but the idea behind the festivities is something that we are attracted to. And we can use all the cheer and glittery distractions after the year we’ve had.

So the first one is for X and the second for L. They stand around 3 inches tall and are really addicting to make. I didn’t have a pattern, but have seen these little dolls all over the Waldorf forums, so I created my own. Enjoy and Peace!