Fall!!!

I should have posted this sooner, because this last week it's been more like winter!
I've decided I really like fall. I love the crispness in the air - but not the chill we've had this last week! I wanted to have a cute fall tablecloth, but I didn't want to spend more than $5.00 on one. Cheap, I know. I went to Wal-Mart. They had plastic Halloween ones, no thank-you. They had those plastic vinyl ones, no thank-you. They had some cloth ones for $9 or $13, no thank-you. Then I thought I could make one easy enough. I could buy some material, sew the edges, and have a cute, easy, simple table cloth. It cost me $3.75 for the fabric, a little bit of time, but I ended up with exactly what I had in mind! I love it! I already had the leaves, so I thought they went perfectly with the tablecloth.
The other thing I like about fall is pumpkin! I love pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, dinner in a pumpkin, but not pumpkin pie. I've loved making all of these things. Yummy! Now I want to make pumpkin bread. If any of you have good recipes that you love for above listed pumpkin cravings, please send them to me. I'm always looking for good new recipes! Here's my fun halloween decorations! Not very many, but enough for our place to be festive!

Freedom Academy Halloween

The school I'm teaching at right now is called Freedom Academy. I'll tell you more about it in a different post. We are having a school carnival tomorrow - I'm excited about that! They asked the teachers to make a decorated box that we could sell at the carnival. A student can buy a box, and the following week the teacher will bring lunch for that student and each lunch with that student. It sounds like fun! Here is the box I made for it. I love how it turned out!
This is my favorite part - there are cobwebs going into the box. You can't even see the box. Stick your hand in there, and you don't know what you'll get!!!

Great Present!

In Relief Society about a month ago we made these little journals. You can do it with all recycled paper, which is what a I used to make this one. You can use one sided printed paper, fold it in half, and that's the paper you put in the book. Then you take a cereal box (or any other box) and cut it to be the size you want and the print you want. Then line up the paper, (fold on the outside) with the 2 boxes (these are the covers) and drill holes down the spine of the book. Once you got that, take embroidery thread (I use crocheen (spelling?) because that's what I have around) and thread up and down the holes you've made. You can add beads or any other details you want. It's easier to do when someone shows you. They are super quick, cheap, and easy. If you want to do it sometime, and need help, I can show you.A couple weeks after we made them, I thought it would be great to make a coloring/activity book for my nephew for his birthday. I went to the Crayola website, where you can print off tons of different coloring pages and activity pages. I did them double sided and tried to find things my nephew would like. Following the pattern of the journal, I made my own cover. I used cardstock I had for the cover, then made the front with lettering I have. Awesome! The best part - it probably cost less than $1.00 to make! It cost more to send it than to make it! Hee hee. A couple weeks after that my niece was over for conference. The girls were all doing crafty stuff, and she wanted to be a part of it. So, I got some white cardstock, cut it down to the size I wanted, and she put pictures on them. Once she was done, we made it into a little book like the other ones. I should have gotten a picture of it. She loved it! It was super easy to do, and it helped her feel special and important. She loved having her own book.
This little journal making idea has come in so handy! Love it!!!

So many posts! Where to begin? I'm way behind! Sorry!
This last weekend was fall break, and it was great! Loved it! Matthew's sister, Karissa, plays soccer for Idaho State University. She had a game last Thursday and Saturday, so we spent those three days up in Pocatello. She won both games, and scored a goal in one of the games. It was so fun to see them win! What great games to be there for! Her in-laws own and manage The Black Swan up there. You can check out their website and other sweet rooms at http://www.blackswaninn.com/. Matthew and I spent Thursday night in the Egyptian room. Here's some pics from that. We got a sweet discount, otherwise, there would be no way for us to be able to afford to stay there. Thanks David's family!!! We loved our room! The shower had 2 shower heads, and was also a sauna - loved it! It was very relaxing, very much needed, and very cool!
Karissa's mother-in-law did all the painting and decorating in all the rooms. They look so cool!!! I am so impressed and amazed.
Karissa's husband and father-in-law built these statues, as well as others in The Black Swan. Incredible! These alone, were so big!!! That's amazing!We watched the proposal on this sweet screen. Not the biggest fan of the movie.
They had a massage table in the room. Who knew Matthew was such a good masseur? I definitely was and am spoiled!
The jetted tub was so cool - the water, as you can see, came shooting out of the the snakes mouths - so fun!!!
Kitchen area
On Friday, we played an exciting round of Yahtzee, then Matthew worked the rest of the day. He is such a hard worker! What a stud! While he was working I went up to Rexburg to spend some time with Natty. It was fun to see her again. I only wish I could have been there longer. It's just never long enough!!! We chilled, relaxed, and talked. We made chili together - a first for both of us, yummy! My grandparents live up there as well. While I was there, they said they had some extra pumpkins if we wanted them. So we visited my grandparents and got some awesome pumpkins! I was wanting some pumpkins, but didn't want to buy any, so this was exactly what I wanted. They look great in our apartment!
Look at her cute halloween decoration she made!!!
Stay tuned for more posts! Gotta go play - I mean work - but I'll post more this afternoon - hopefully!