sander tause came!

The Christmas season was super busy for our family this year. With programs and events at church, Christmas parties, and the hustle and bustle that goes along with the McAdenville lights, it has been full to say the least. The last week has been such a nice change of pace. Jesse and I have both been off of work and free to enjoy family, friends, and time to do absolutely nothing.

We spent the first half of the day today taking down Christmas decorations. It was bittersweet. While we won't have a little boy trying to sneak and grab ornaments and lights anymore, it means a wonderful Christmas has come to an end. Now that Eli somewhat understands that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and a bit about "Sander Tause" and our Elf on the Shelf, Oran G., it makes for a lot of fun in our house!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

hats for sale!

When I entered the title of this post I immediately thought of the book that I've read to Eli a thousand times entitled "Caps for Sale". It goes something like "caps for sale!...caps for sale!...fifty cents a cap!" He loves it when we shout the words together :-) I definitely feel like shouting "hats for sale!" with great excitement right now because I've been wanting to get these ready for a while and I'm pretty happy with the finished product. The only problem is that I wanted to keep every one I made! Hopefully, you'll like them too!

Size~ Adult S/M

Size~ Adult S/M

Size~ Adult S/M

Size~ Adult M/L

Size~ Adult S/M (this hat is light gray in color)

Size~ Adult S/M

Size~ Adult M/L

Size~ Adult M/L

Size~ Adult S/M

If you're interested and/or have questions, please message me at summerbachman@gmail.com :-)

big socks...

For a couple of years now, we have been stockingless in the Bachman house at Christmas...yes, I said stockingless! No fun, right? I have been refusing to buy any because I wanted to make them. This past weekend, I finally set my mind to the task and made it happen. It was such a quick project that I can't believe I waited this long. I wanted something non-traditional...and I'd say that's what I got. Oh, and Eli calls them our "big socks" :-)

recap...

Looking back, I think it's safe to say that we've packed as much as we could into the last month. Here are some pics of our October fun!

new project...

Lately, I've been spending some time getting re-acquainted with crocheting. I haven't worked on anything since last winter, so it's taken a bit of time to get in the groove again. My first goal for this year was to learn to crochet a hat of some sort. Eventually, I'd like to learn how to crochet many different hats, but I've tried to stick to a realistic goal for now. I've got lots of colors and patterns in mind for more of these and can hardly wait to get started on them. I've just got to find some time, tweek a few things that I learned the hard way with this one, and get a LOT faster.

wheels & hills

This past weekend, we loaded up our bikes and headed to Staunton, Virginia for the Shenandoah Valley Fall Foliage Festival. Although it was a bit of a drive, it was good timing with the leaves being SO pretty. My Dad was able to go along with us, so it was really nice to spend some quality time with the three very special men (including little man) in my life. We spent the first half of the day on Sat. and Sun. riding bikes. The scenery was break-taking and once I got past the shock, the chilly air was really nice. E tagged along in his bike-trailer, eating goldfish, checking out the cows, and taking a nap every once in a while. We also spent a bit of time in some cool parks and rode the trolley around town, which E liked a lot. And, last but not least, we ate some really yummy food and drank lots of yummy coffee while we were there. I'm hoping this trip may quickly become a Fall tradition of ours :)

prepping for the first ride...

we're ready...

really cool old house on our Sunday route...

after the Sunday route...

6 years!

Jesse and I spent this past weekend in Asheville to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It was a fairly quick trip, but the weather was perfect and we had a great time. It was so nice to stroll around downtown and enjoy lots of yummy food. One of our favorite things to do lately when we get a chance to go on dates is to restaurant-hop. We choose a place to have an appetizer, another to have the main course, and another for dessert! This is really a great way to check out a lot of cool eating places when you don't have a lot of time or don't get to go out as much as you'd like. So...needless to say, Asheville had tons of great places to choose from when it came to food. We took our camera, but didn't take one picture. So...I'm posting pics from the web of the spots we enjoyed so that maybe one day you can too :)

Tupelo Honey Cafe~ My Dad had recommended this place and we knew from the hour-long wait for lunch that it must be good.

They served a warm biscuit with amazing blueberry preserves to start...

Jesse had the sweet potato pancake and I had the oh-so-yummy pimento cheese dip :)

Table restaurant...we had our main course here. Loved the cozy, modern feel of this place. And, of course, the food.

French Broad Chocolate Lounge...

We made our last stop here at the recommendation of our waitress at Table. The two-page menu of homemade desserts made it very difficult to choose, but I didn't regret my choice of the Highland Mocha Stout cake one bit. It was probably the best cake I've ever eaten. We definitely saved the best for last!

Okay...all of this typing about our get-away makes me want to go back, so I'm gonna stop now :)

(I do want to say "thanks" to my husband (of six years now!) for making the weekend perfect...I love you)

father's day & a new toy...

We celebrated Jesse's second Father's Day on Sunday with a trip to the Knights game. It was Eli's first baseball game and he seemed to really enjoy it for the first few innings. After that, though, he was ready for bigger and better things, like the carousel and bounce house :) On Sunday night, Jesse had to leave town to be in New York for the week. Having him away reminds me how much he means to me (and Eli) and how much he gives and sacrifices for us. It's nice to have times like this to remind me not to take things and people for granted...unfortunately I need these reminders fairly often.

So...since Eli and I are alone this week, (my grandparents and Dad are vacationing too), I've been trying to stay busy and entertaining. Last weekend, we bought Eli a balloon-powered boat at Books A Million. He and I tried it out the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. It works well and Eli seems to really like it! So...if you're looking for a simple, inexpensive toy that seems like it will last a while, check it out.

He was sooooo... funny and persistent with trying to blow up the balloon...

and...just couldn't keep those little hands out of the water : )