Fall festivities

So... I seem to be averaging about two blog posts per month now. It's all very discouraging really. My intentions are so much bigger than this...I'm just sayin'.
Our annual trip to the Apple Barn happened a couple of weeks ago. It was a gorgeous fall day and I did take the camera.  Here is the evidence that things are still happening with the Symonds family.

On the hay ride.


At the patch.


The kids went for caramel apples but Daniela and I opted for some very hot, delicious roasted corn on the cob.


Happy Fall!

Photo blocks

I saw a version of these in a magazine years and years ago and have been wanting to make them ever since. After spending the afternoon at a vintage market with a very encouraging friend of mine a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to bring this idea to fruition.
These little blocks are about 1.5" and I can see them playfully stacked on a mantle or elsewhere, but I particularly like them held in a decorative bowl like this one.
It is no secret that I love photos and that I love to craft with photos. And as much as I love scrapbooking, the albums aren't out in the open all the time to see and touch. These little blocks are a fun and tactile way to show off family snapshots. The kids can stack them, hold them and count how many times they can find their own face. As much as I try to make that one even, one is always complaining that their brother shows up more times than they do.
I want to try these out in different sizes. I think if I can do a block that is about 4 or 5 inches, you would really only need one to make a statement.
This has got me thinking about other creative ways we could display photos, other than in an album or behind glass in a frame on the wall. Hmmmmmm.........

Thanksgiving in Whistler

It was so nice to be able to get away this weekend. It meant we had to turn down some Thanksgiving invitations but having time away from home with the 6 of us was really worth it.
It's been 3 years since we have been up to Whistler and not too much had changed. I thought there would be more new things since the Olympics were there last year but we didn't notice too much.
There was however a fantastic new playground right in the village, right near the Starbucks, which was a really great place to hang out. We spent quite a bit of time there sitting, drinking a coffee, watching the kids play. Really that was most of our weekend. Hanging out in the village, lots of swimming in the pool and hot tub at the condo, more hanging out in the village, lots of Starbucks and general family time.
The weather was just about perfect until Monday when the rain came in full force. That was our day to head home anyway so we didn't mind too much.
The weekend...in photos. What better way to share.

Breakfast at the condo. Ate all our meals here, except one dinner out. Even cooked our Thanksgiving dinner here. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yorkshire puddings, carrots, beets, and corn. We went for a walk in the village afterward to get ice cream for dessert.

Seattle

With Tony having season tickets for the Seahawks this year, it means quite a few trips into Seattle. So far, the boys have all been taking turns going with him. This weekend was Hudson's turn but instead of just sending the two of them on their way, we all joined them and spent the afternoon in downtown while they were at the game.
We dropped them off by the stadium and all the crazy tailgaters. You can see by Hudson's smile here that this is a super good day for him. Football and Dad...nothing better.

Then we drove back the few blocks to find a place to park over by Pike Market. I haven't been to the market for years and years so it was fun to be there again and just hang out for a while, see all the fresh produce everywhere, bins and bins of beautiful flowers, and the smells everywhere of all the different foods being sold on every corner.



After we had wandered the market a bit we headed up Pike Street for Cooper. He really wanted to go to the Seattle Seahawks Pro Shop and Nike Town. Taggart did not enjoy this part of the day. Shopping is not his thing.

Luckily, Nana had an idea to go on the monorail. We took that over to the Space Needle and Taggart enjoyed the ride. His only complaint was that it wasn't long enough.

We didn't go up the Space Needle but there was enough green space over there to keep him happy until we headed back over to the Market area where we would soon meet up with Tony and Hudson.


Then we all reunited back at the market just before the rain started to fall. A perfect time to head home.

If you are asking "Where's Reagan?" She spent the weekend living it up in downtown Vancouver with some friends. We missed her but I think she quite enjoyed her 'brother-less' weekend.