Thankful Photo Decor

I finally got around to changing out the three frames in my kitchen that I use for holiday decorations. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that the same finger-painted Christmas pictures stayed in the frames for a year or two before I changed it out a few weeks before Christmas last year for THIS. Then I put THIS Easter decor in the frames and it stayed there until now....yep, I had Easter decor in my house all the way through October. But I am making up for it now with this cute Thankful Photo Decor.

 I started out by opening up a file in Photoshop Elements. I made my page 8x10 so that it would fit in the frame {and also so I could print it out as at a photo center if I wanted to}. I chose the picture of each kid that I wanted to use and placed it on the right side of the 8 X10 page. Then I added in the words "I am thankful for:" using a mix of fun fonts that I downloaded from kevinandamanda.com

 I printed out the page at home {because I really didn't want to go to the store}, and I was pretty impressed with the quality of the picture that printed from my HP home printer.

 I test fit each page into the frame to make sure it fit well, then I gave the kiddos a Sharpie and a few instructions.
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Henry made a list along with a few numbered pictures....very analytic! You can tell he is the oldest for sure!

Grant was thankful for two things: his frend and toys....typical 6 year old boy I guess:)

Jason helped Eli who is apparently most thankful for pizza...I guess that explains why he wants to eat it 6 times a week!

I love seeing their cute faces along with the things that they are thankful for, but the best part of this project is that when Thanksgiving is over I will have something great to add to their memory books!

A Post About a Tweet

Earlier this week, I tweeted:

 Nature looking,

 leaf picking,

picture taking

 morning walk

with Eli.

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Cry Over Spilled Marshmallows

Two Pictures on Tuesday

I managed to get a few more than 50 pictures of all three of my costume clad children yesterday afternoon before trick or treating started.  Grant was feeling much better {thanks for all the get well wishes}, which I'm sure you can tell since he let me paint his nose with "sunscreen" and put his hair in a fauxhawk mohawk. Our little shark didn't quite understand that his fin was on his back so he needed to turn sideways for the pictures....otherwise he would just looked like a little boy in a gray sweatsuit! 

 We took the boys trick or treating to a few houses in my aunt's neighborhood...and Jason & I only had to carry the boys' surfboards about half of the time:) That is one major downfall of having big props that go along with your costume...but for some reason we seem to have props every year!

A Shark and Two Surfer Dudes:

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween...now on to Thanksgiving!

Monster Brownies & Halloween Costumes

I saw these SUPER cute Monster Brownies over at Amanda's Cookin' last year...and I have been waiting for a reason to make them ever since! I can't remember why I didn't make them for Halloween last year, but I knew they would be the perfect treat to take to our annual Halloween gathering this year! 

 I started with a box brownie mix. I know a lot of people who say they LOVE homemade brownies, but I've never made homemade brownies {and I've tried lots of times} that taste as good as Duncan Hinds Chewy Fudge brownies! I mixed my brownies according to the chewy {NEVER cake-like} instructions, let them cool, and then cut them into squares and rectangles. Then I made a quick icing from powdered sugar, water, and green food coloring. I piped a border around the the edge of each brownie, let it harden, and filled in the inside with the same icing. Then I got busy making some monsters with M&M's, mini marshmallows, licorice, and colored icing. Pretty cute, SUPER easy, and the perfect treat for the kiddos to help with! Make sure to head over and check out Amanda's Monster Brownies...they are WAY cuter than mine:)

 Here's a BIG little sneak peek of the boys' Halloween costumes for this year: A shark and a surfer dude!

You may notice that we are a man surfer dude down...that's because Grant has been sick since Friday. I finally took him to the doctor Sunday afternoon {thank goodness for after-hour and weekend sick appointments}, and he has pneumonia! Needless to say, he wasn't feeling up for costume night at Awana's last night! He started on antibiotics yesterday, and he is already feeling a ton better. I'm hoping to get a picture of all three boys in the costumes this afternoon...and I'm hoping Grant is feeling well enough to trick or treat at a couple of houses too!

Have a safe and HAPPY Halloween!