Minnie Mouse

Happy Halloween!  I hope you all have a fun, safe day today!  

When I was brainstorming what costumes to do, Minnie Mouse never made any list.  I'm not even sure when I thought of this, but as soon as I did, I knew it was one I wanted to do.  Why?  Well, back in 2015, I dressed up Tarcil as Mickey Mouse.  In fact, the ears and that picture of the Disney castle in the background are the same ones from all those years ago!  😍

Mulan

Mulan is another Disney movie that I really enjoyed growing up!  As frustrating as it can be that Disney is remaking their old classics, I'll admit that I was initially pretty excited when I heard that they would be doing a live action remake of Mulan.  However, I haven't actually seen it and I heard it's pretty terrible, so I'm not sure if I will see it.  I also don't have Disney+ so I don't even know if I could see it.  Oh well.  

I really didn't think that Laurelin would fit on this little bench.  I was shocked that not only did she fit, but that she stayed on it for so long!  She's such a sweet girl!  ❤

Pocahontas

I was very behind on getting costumes made for this year.  I almost decided I should skip it because I didn't think I could pull it off, since I didn't even start until Monday.  😬  But I am SO happy that I pushed through and made it happen this year!  I only made 3 costumes because I truly didn't have time for more than that.  But even with the bit of stress from the pressure to get this done on time, I enjoyed every minute and easily remembered why in the past, I would make a dozen costumes.  I just love doing this so much!  According to the info I have from when I got Laurelin, she is now 2 years old.  I really didn't think I'd even have the opportunity to dress her up this year, but I sure am glad that she's still around!  I love her so much!  💗

I picked Pocahontas because as a child, I really loved the Disney movie.  Now that I am older, I know that movie is far from accurate, but even now, I can still enjoy watching it.  After all, it's nice to be able to slip back into a world of make believe with happy endings.

Pumpkins

The forecast says 78 with no rain for Thursday!  Ahh!!  I realize that it's only Monday so there is plenty of time for the forecast to change, like a lot, but for now, I'm definitely thinking about painting the kitchen... again.  😅

Laurelin was extremely happy to get this broccoli and decided that she absolutely needed all of it.  However, as you can see in the last picture, it didn't quite all fit in her cheek, but she didn't seem to mind.  😂 

Tarmund liked the broccoli too, but he also seemed pretty interested in the pumpkins.  I'm fairly certain he bit one of them before I was done taking pictures.

Fili and Kili were not interested in the broccoli so I had a difficult time getting them to sit still enough to get some pictures.  They enjoyed exploring every little crevice they could fit into.

Brown Blanket

The older I get, the more I want to find balance between planing and spontaneity.  By nature, I am a planner, and Joe helps me be more spontaneous.  This weekend was a great reminder that some things are better with a bit more planning.  Thanks to painting on a whim, I've accidentally turned our kitchen into a Smurf's hideout.  I said I always wanted a blue kitchen, and I now definitely have a BLUE kitchen.  😅  Ah well.  We'll change it eventually.  😁

Laurelin is such a sweetheart, and I am SO happy I still have her!  I truly didn't expect her to live this long, but I'm so glad she's doing so well for her age.  I didn't think I'd have her around for another Halloween, but it looks like I could be wrong!  So I guess it's time to consider a costume or two for her.  Any suggestions??

Ah Tarmund.  He'll always be my stereotypical grumpy old dwarf hamster, but I love him!  Whenever I see pictures from when I first brought him home, I'm shocked at how grey he got.  He still spends a lot of time awake during the day which I think is so cute since all the other hams only get up during the day for a quick drink of water. 

I'm admittedly a bit obsessed with these two.  I think the main two reasons for my obsession are that they are the smallest hamsters I have and that whenever I hold them, I have two little faces to kiss.  Also, I refer to them as "the boys" so much that I've caught Joe calling them that too, which makes me happy.  😊

White Pumpkins

I'm excited that it's gonna be a bit warmer again this week!  I'm hoping to be able to make one last good push to get some of the yard work and various projects done before it gets too cold again.  I also am trying to enjoy the zoo as much as possible for the rest of this month until it closes for the season.  I've been pretty good this past summer at keeping my wildlife blog up to date, but I am definitely falling behind on it now.  I also haven't been sharing any of my pictures on social media except for my hamsters, so I probably should focus on sharing my other work again too.  😁  I don't want y'all to get the idea that I haven't been working this year, because I have been!  My specialty is babies, but I do plenty of other work too.  It's not too late to book a fall session while the weather is still beautiful and the trees are changing colors.  😊

I bought some fall decorations, but I wanted to keep it simple and make sure it blended in well with the decorations I already have.  These white pumpkins add the perfect touch of fall to my table.  Doesn't Laurelin look so pretty with them?!  😍

Tarmund was not interested in getting his picture taken, so unfortunately this was the best one I got.  There was a treat sitting there, but he grabbed it before I got a picture and then he was gone.  😂

Fili and Kili are just so precious together!  I barely can tell them apart, but Fili is slightly smaller than Kili, he is a bit more skittish than Kili, and he is generally less interested in food than Kili is.  Can I point out that when I first got them, Fili was much bigger and obsessed with food (trust me, I remembered who was who because I said Fili was Fat 😂), but at some point that apparently changed as Kili became bigger than Fili, which has made it even harder to tell them apart.  Now I remember by saying Kili is Kind.  😁