once upon a time...

...there lived a bumble bee, cupcake princess & pink elephant. they were the cutest in all the land.

...and they lived happily ever after♥

happy halloween♥...

....from my little pink elephant to you!

♥

last minute carving

this almost didn't happen.
okay so somehow we would have at least done something festive, but my goodness am i am behind this year.
i did a last minute purchase of halloween costumes a couple days ago, and those pumpkins...well let's just say they may have been on clearance cause no one buys them this late.
i am so ready for our days to calm down a bit once our move is complete.

here is the finished product.
everyone, including riley, was very much into carving this year.
ella and chloe both drew their faces onto their pumpkins and daddy did his best to carve out every detail. those eyelashes were not so fun.
barth and i unknowingly had the same idea. this is halloween...Jesus style♥

best buds

these two are just the cutest ever and i love them. 

that's all. 

not your typical granny

i bet you can't find another grandma who can do this...

yesterday my amazing sister played the role of "granny boppy" for ella's grandparent's day. 

with grandpa and grandma out of the country i was so grateful that simone so graciously made the trip up from san diego so that ella would not be alone for this much anticipated day. 

she was so excited and proud to have her auntie with her.
i snapped a few photos of them before they headed off to school...

donuts with daddy

donuts & daddy. i don't know if there is a more perfect pair. 

yesterday was a special day for all the daddies at chloe's school. 

she was so excited and proud to have barth there. 

when he asked her what he should wear she confidently replied, "no scrubs or doctor stuff are allowed daddy." 

i love these two with all my heart. 

my pumpkin

i am taking photos for my dear friend and ella's teacher from last year for a school project she is doing.
i am making myself take advantage of every opportunity to take pictures.
making? yes making. i still get so nervous about taking pictures of anyone other than family. i just don't want to disappoint.
today i was asked to take photos of each child in a fall setting.
it's not a photographer's ideal conditions with over 20 something kiddos to photograph, doing it as quickly as possible and making the most of particular space that is not the prettiest.
i know my teacher friend will be reading this and is sure to get a laugh over that last sentence.
but practice makes perfect...well at least better in my case.
riley was gracious enough to be my model while i adjusted my camera for lighting.
i love my little pumpkin♥

we're moving!!!

oh my goodness it feels so crazy to type that! 

after a year of prayer and heaps of patience, God has so graciously provided a place for us to call home. 

this is our 6th move in the nine years that we have been married. needless to say i am so ready to be settled. 

the timing couldn't have been more perfect and the steps leading up to this big move just continued to fall into place. we are so grateful. 

we went and picked up the keys this evening...it's our home. thank you Lord for your blessings! 

in the words of ty pennington...welcome home riedel family, welcome home. 

one more just cause i am bursting with excitement. 

our street. love everything about it!!

let the packing begin...

just one more...

after i dropped off ella at school i made a quick detour to the park with these two....

lucky for me i had my camera with me. not so lucky for them.

they of course wanted nothing to do with picture taking. this seems to be the case these days as riley often starts crying at the very sight of my camera. 

this too shall pass...right? 

until then i will keep snapping away. just one more girls, just one more....

1-2-3

GO! 

sitting still {if that's possible} for the camera was so not an option today. 

oh how i love my girls...always keeping me on my toes♥

t'was the night before call week...

yes, it's that time again. 

why does it seem like the days between call keep getting shorter and shorter? 

it's been a crazy busy month altogether and i have a list of to do's that just keeps getting longer and longer. 

and so i will post this picture that makes me smile and is a reminder of the blessings in my life. i love these three. 

thank you Lord for these sweet faces and for another great week of call! amen♥

the pumpkin patch {field trip edition}

we took our second trip the patch. this time in field trip mode.
thanks a million times to my mama for watching my babies so i could tag a long with my first grader.
it was a perfect day. the sun was shining a cool mid 70's morning.
i have grown to love this class a ton. the kids are amazing and so cute.

here is ella with her bestie. miss elee. my goodness i love these girls.

time for an introduction and a ride on the tractor. the kids were in heaven.

the discovery zone. we learned about just about every pumpkin under the sun. some that glow in the dark and which ones to use when baking a pie. i had no clue, who knew.

time to pet the goats.
this is where these timid girls spent most of their time..on the other side of the fence, far away from the scary goats.

pumpkin picking time. this became quite the process as each kiddo meticulously sifted the bin for the perfect pumpkin.

and what would a trip to the patch be without a group picture....

the besties with their mamas. i love u miss carla♥