On the long to-knit list this fall was a new hat and mittens for Parker and MaKenna.  The colors will come as no surprise to those that know my babies- green (specifically "spring green") and pink are their favorite colors and anything knit in them will be well received.  The yarn for both is Quince & Co. and details can be found on my Ravelry page.  This has been my go-to yarn as of late...so soft and durable, perfect for children's wear.  Right now, I am working on Kenna's first mitten and hope to have both done by the middle of the week.  Lucky for us, here in the south, mitten weather usually doesn't appear until after the holidays.  Although, they are predicting a colder than normal winter, so who knows!

And I can't believe it is mid November already.  Just the other day I was thinking that Thanksgiving was in two weeks.  When I realized it was in fact in only week, a small panic rushed over me!  Christmas/Solstice/Hanukkah is just around the corner and that means I really need to start moving on the gift list!  I am scaling it back a bit this year.  In part to ease some stress from that time of year and in part as the kids don't need much.  In preparation for our trip up to NY after Thanksgiving, we will be starting the first round of gifts this weekend! Oh, I do love all the craftiness associated with this time of year!

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

Yesterday, we headed over to the Sheepdog trials that were being held at a local historic site.  It was our first year going and I think the boys were a little unsure as to whether or not they would have a good time, not really understanding what a sheepdog trial was exactly.  Well, we ended up having the best time!  Parker especially was interested in watching the border collies herd the sheep through the course.  I think he could have watched them for at least an hour.  They also had some other events going on demonstrating the different types of activities you could participate in with your dog.  Our favorites were the dockdog jumps and flyball.  It was a dog friendly event so there were lots and lots of doggies there to love on as well.  I must say, it did feel a bit odd not having one of our own.  Perhaps next year we will :-)  And because it was held at a historic site, they also had open hearth cooking in a replica cabin as well as a blacksmith on hand.  This was the boys second favorite "event" of the day.  I suppose anything to do with fire is pretty cool in their eyes.

We also had our family Martinmas celebration yesterday.  We kept it simple...warm meal and then the lantern walk around the neighborhood.  Our lanterns turned out great and were a lot of fun to make!  MaKenna is still carrying hers around today, sweet girl.

Today, Daddy is away on a business trip and the big boys are at a birthday party for the afternoon.  So it is just the "little" kids and I.  It always feels a bit strange when family members are missing.  We already ran a few errands, had some lunch and I can hear them painting as I type this up.  Hopefully, we will also get to a bit of yard work and a bit of baking before the big guys come home with their friends for a sleepover!

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

This week-
On Monday, the boys had their last soccer games of the season.  And it was a cold one!  Kenna and I spent most of the time wrapped up in blankets and sweatshirts.  After the medal ceremony and group picture, we practically ran to the car and turned the heat full blast.  Today it is supposed to get to 70..that is Autumn in the south for ya!

Time change is always hard for the kids and it usually takes a week for everyone to adjust.  With the fall time change, the kids were waking up an hour earlier despite adjusting all other time.  This meant some pretty tired and cranky children.  So we had a slow week to help ease the transition.  Lots of reading, game playing, and handwork in front of the fire.  We have been eating dinner slightly earlier so we can play a game or two before slipping into our bedtime routine.  It feels perfect for these now darker autumn evenings.

Tonight, we will have our family Martinmas celebration.  We have spent the past couple of days making lanterns (will post pics of those later).  While we were waiting for our new lanterns to dry, Parker and Jacob pulled out our collection from over the years.  We will light them up and set them on the table and eat our dinner by the glow and then we will take our lanterns out for a short walk around the neighborhood.  In preparation for tonight, we, well MaKenna and I, have been singing songs and the kids have been listening to  stories about Martin all week.  This story happens to be one of our favorites.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!