::projecto:: menu chalkboard

i've been wanting to make a menu chalkboard for a long time now,
but was waiting till I found the perfect windowframe or single-panel door.
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never found it.
____________
instead, i just chalkboard spray painted the glass from an IKEA Ribba frame, added some
scrapbook lettering and grouped it with some other photos...
i really love how the whole grouping turned out.
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FINALLY something on our bare walls behind our table!
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ps - i used a gun attachment for the spray paint that was FANTASTIC! cost me about $2.50
but it made the paint application so smooth... can't wait to try it with a regular spray paint.
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pps - since i was staring at the walls in our house for hours on end last week while sick, i've
gotten some good ideas and am ready to finish the house! i'm getting serious now, folks,
so expect many more project-related posts in the near future.

::celebration:: halloween

since i got sick,

we didn't carve pumpkins,

watch scary movies,

(okay, that wouldn't have happened anyway),

or do anything fun.

but the thursday before halloween,

we went out to Tuacahn to get in the holiday spirit (can you tell?)

and watch the Odyssey Dance Company's production of Thriller.

(and that's probably why i got so sick)

chad came away...less than thrilled.

i'm not sure how high my recommendation would be either.

they were good dancers, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

except for frankenstein & the bride of...

that was genius.

::while they were running::

the race was from Springdale to Grafton, site of Butch's girlfriend's little town in the movie.
while they were running, we did a little more exploring around the town,
debated actual house of girlfriend, and listened to some cowboy music by Kenny Hall.
the weather cooperated perfectly - gorgeous fall leaves with warm sunshine..

pictured from top left: Kenny Hall singing in front of the leaves, Colton posing in
his Butch Cassidy bandana, Colton & Carter with the 10k signage, Ryan & Chad
crossing the finish line, the house from Butch Cassidy, approaching the finish line, old outbuildings, inside a remodel project by the town of Grafton

Thanks again for a great weekend! See you at Thanksgiving!

ps- i added this photo in a larger format but am wondering if it gets cut off on anyone's screens. please leave a comment and let me know if you can see both chad and ryan crossing the finish line on your computer? thanks!

::another race:: its becoming a family thing

this weekend, ryan and camie and the boys came down
so ryan and chad could run the Butch Cassidy 10k.
they did awesome.
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i think jenny may be the next sibling....?
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and with each race, the pressure is mounting for me to start runnig with chad. ugggghhhh.

see more sibling runs here & here

::hey, bay staters::

anyone recognize the scenery from The Proposal?

absolutely gorgeous, but definitely not Alaska...

Rockport, Mass, site of Chad's first lobster, 2008

::halloween weekend:: in thirty words or less

sick.

in bed.

bags of ricola.

bowls of chicken noodle soup.

lights out on neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

asleep in bed at seven o' clock.

coughing and choking.

no pumpkins.

sick.

::nerds:: not to be confused

chad thinks he's funny.

whenever there's nerds candy around, he makes the same joke,

"hey, here's a box of alisons"

________

this weekend at the trunk-or-treat,

the boys got some nerds.

chad explained that he calls them 'alisons'

_______

last night ryan called.

he told chad that

carter had asked if he could have some 'alisons'

ryan looked down and he was pointing at the nerds.

_____

good teaching, honey. good teaching.

::halloween:: with kids

we love having ryan and cami back in the state.

and we love that they let us join in on their holiday fun

{{thanksgiving, halloween, 4th of july, etc}}

though we weren't there for the actual holiday, last weekend we went

with them and the boys to corn bellies at thanksgiving point.

my favorite was jumping on the air pillow, the hayride that broke down,

and Carter proudly stating that he "wasn't afraid!" in the non-haunted monster,

AFTER we'd cut out halfway through...followed by his shrieks of "no, no, no" when

Chad said that they could go back in!

::homecoming::

Dad gave us tickets this year to the Homecoming game -

TCU trounced 38-7

but it's always fun to visit the alma mater and we still had fun...

(now chad's planning a visit to his school -

can you guess where that is? yep, he wears his colors proud.)

thanks for the tix, Dad!

{{and since we're doing flashbacks, here we are, same place, four years ago}}

::hello, ladies*::

this weekend we headed up north for Homecoming...
we only got about 20 minutes up Rock Canyon before the rain started...
so we turned around, and everyone prepped for the rainy game instead.
we'll have to plan again...it was great to see you for at least a little bit!

{{i met these two in a prep class for a Tanzania summer -
but school cancelled the trip and we ended up in Uganda instead.
ha! this is what we looked like FIVE years ago...
i know, we're stunning.}}

{{*j, i expect you to know the reference...}}

::debt:: the moral of the story

we're still paying off student loans.

and we finally got mine under a thousand dollars.

at the beginning of the month, we were debating

whether or not to just pay off the rest

in a big chunk.

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due to indecision, we never did it.

_______

i got a letter the other day.

uheaa told me that since

i'd been such a good borrower,

they were

FORGIVING the remainder of my loan!!!!

________

i'm having a hard time reconciling the moral of that story...

::backpacking:: the puppies

people always ask if we take the dogs when we go out.

and the answer is a resounding YES!

we take advantage of every opportunity to run them till they're weary.

but they do have to carry their own packs, too.

one carries their food and one carries their sleeping bags.

{chad carries their water.}

so does this make them spoiled or not?

they have sleeping bags, which seems pretty ridiculous.

but at least we make them carry them.

::backpacking:: Red Mountain

a hike that was remote & not-so-remote:

remote:: we didn't see any other people

not-so-remote:: we could see the lights of the city and hear traffic

we hiked a gradual uphill past some stunning views of Snow Canyon.

we saw only the one sign the entire trip, and it was at the beginning.

we carried over 20 liters of water, and still wound up short.

we hit the edge of the mountain.

and then we came down.

and that's why i'm sore today.

::recooperating::

we're relaxing at home this afternoon after an overnight backpacking trip across and down Red Mountain with Will & Sarah.
{{more pics to come}}

we're planning a return trip with Sarah to The Wave on November 20th and have

1-2 spots available on our permit. anyone interested? let us know...