until i can get the darn blog figured out

thank you all for your kind words and for all your advice on the blog...

i'm so not computer savvy so most of what you guys mentioned was pretty foreign to me... so i'm going to have dan read all the comments and help me figure it out this weekend sometime.

thanks so much for your love my friends... i have the best readers!

if you want to keep up with the goings on in my life (until i can get the darn blog figured out) feel free to follow me on twitter (although, i don't tweet that often anymore) or find me on facebook... just make sure you send me a message so i know you're a BacWoods Fern reader!

AND

if you're in need of a super quick and easy costume idea for yourself or your child, i just posted the easiest project on my facebook page... a hand sewn felt mask - check it out. easy, fun, free and you can get the kiddos involved!

i hope you all have a bootiful halloween weekend

xo,

kass

one and done

well guys, i had a post all planned for you but blogger is being lame and telling me that my storage for photos is full and that if i want to add more photos i need to purchase more storage... what the heck?! i don't have the money to waste on this (sadly) so therefore i just might be ending my blog...  since i HATE writing a post without a photo in it... and i'm not a fan of using other peoples photos... bummer. 

so on the day of my one year bloggiversary i just might be calling it quits

one and done

UNLESS

any of you can tell me how to get around this... i'm not sure how to delete the photos that are already in storage to make room for new ones (and yes keel, i tried what you said and didn't work) - have any of you come across this? and if so, how did you go about deleting photos?

we'll see if i continue this adventure or not...

i've enjoyed the ride, 'meeting' you and interacting with you via the web... it's been fun. thanks for a fun year my readers and friends.

till next time

xo,

kass

fall decor

you may or may not have noticed these little pumpkins in the previous post...

i wanted some fall decor, found this tutorial and decided to try it out.

they were fun to make but they would have been more fun if i had had the proper tools... i ended up chipping a chunk of my tooth pulling the needle while making the lines on the pumpkin.. that's the last time i pull a needle using my teeth!

so this morning i noticed daniel staring at me with a really ugly expression... he proceeds to reach for my hair as if he was going to get some fuzz out of it or something.

this is what happened next...

daniel (in a really disgusted tone): "you have a gray hair!" 

me: "ahhh don't pull it, i love my gray hairs!" 

daniel: "but it's nasty... it's so long"  

me: "don't touch me! leave it alone!" 

daniel: "ewwww that's just gross"

bummer, my plan was to just go gray naturally... guess that isn't happening anymore!

the fam and i are headed to santa barbara to see my dad tomorrow. my aunt from wisconsin is in town and my brother and his family will be in town from san francisco. we'll be celebrating my dad's 61st birthday. i love going up north and seeing my family! on sunday tyler has another WSA (world surfing association) contest in ventura so we'll be there bright and early for that. 

speaking of surfing, at our old local spot where my boys would surf (surf beach in lompoc, ca) there was a fatal shark attack on a sponger (body boarder) - scary! he was a twenty year old UCSB student... so sad. whenever we go up to lompoc to stay with my mom, my boys always surf near there... now it makes me more nervous than it normally does. ugh. 

my prayers go out to that boys family.

okay, that's about all...

oh wait...

happy birthday dad!

my dad and my sisters daughter, edyn, the summer before last

you are the BEST dad ever and an amazing big papa. i love you more than you know!

xo,

kass

joy laughter love

homemade banner made last year for tannyn's birthday

six years ago i delivered you

with my own two hands

after fourteen and a half hours of labor

with no drugs

and since that day

you have brought me so much 

joy

laughter

love

i feel so blessed to have you as my daughter

and i love you more than you will ever know

happy birthday my sweet and precious Tannyn Farrin!

tannyn, age 4

i love you mucho mucho grande!

xo,

mom

all its glory

 what fall looks like in california... well at least in my backyard

remember in this post how i mentioned my mossy tree stump? well, there it is in all its glory - i love looking at it while sitting on my patio having my morning quiet time and drinking my coffee.

it's been rainy here the last few days but let up for an hour so i took advantage and trekked up the hill to get these photos - stupidly i wore flip flops and got my feet covered in mud... 

today is the last day of tannyn being five. my little girl is growing up so fast.

xo,

kass

fall fun

this past weekend we took the kids (and tannyn's friend) to the pumpkin patch -

here are a few photos of the kids, dan and i having some fall fun. 

(1. scary man 2. the girls pretending to be scared 3. jump house fun 4. giving dan a titty twister 5. mock boy fights 6. skipping)

 tannyn loved her crown... and it fit perfectly!

(present time at tann's family party this past sunday)

today is my kind of day... pouring rain and magnificent lightening and thunder - perfect fall weather if you ask me! 

enjoy this lovely day

xo,

kass

*all photos edited using picnik

inspired

 i had to step outside to get better lighting... it's dark in my house today due to fog and drizzle (which i love)

i got inspired by a post over at elsiemarley - she made a pretty birthday crown for her daughter so i thought i would do the same for tannyn. mine didn't turn out nearly as pretty as hers did... but i'm hoping that tannyn will like it. tannyn turns six next thursday so this weekend she has a friend staying over for a sleepover and we're going to take them to the pumpkin patch (at tannyn's request) on saturday then on sunday we're having a family birthday for tannyn at our house where i'll give her the crown - i hope it fits!

what are your plans this weekend?

xo,

kass

ps. thanks for all the compliments on the new hair - you guys rock and totally made me smile!

new do

thanks so much for all the kind words from the last post... isn't it nice to realize that the little things in life can bring so much joy?  

tayli and i are watching Babies right now... have any of you seen it? we are so privileged in this world we live in... i'm in awe of the mothers in this film. it makes me realize more than ever that material things just don't really matter...

on another note, i hijacked my sons camera and was able to get a couple of photos of my new haircut. a couple of weeks ago i cut a couple of inches off my hair (i've been doing my own hair for years now) but i wanted to go shorter, so my mother in law came over and cut a few more - this is the shortest it's been in three years and i love it.

okay, that's all i've got for now... 

enjoy your tuesday!

xo,

kass

oh, i've gotten a couple of emails from readers... and i've lagged in a response - sorry! i'll try to get to it today - i appreciate getting emails - thank you!

finding joy

random photo: crab we found last weekend at the beach

dan's on commission only with his new job and it's hard on us financially, we have no health care, we have one car that works, tayli broke my camera, i've had a cold and have been soooo tired the last couple of weeks... but despite those little things that are not particularly great, i'm still finding joy in some little things... 

i'm loving this weather we're having right now... it's been drizzly and cloudy the last couple of days and it's raining today - pure bliss

i had a nice quiet time reading my bible outside on the patio with the rain falling around me this morning

the mossy tree stump in my yard makes me happy - if tayli hadn't broken my camera i would take a photo of it to show you... it really is so pretty

i made a super yummy, super easy mac-n-cheese last night

(if you want the recipe let me know)

reading books with the girls after tann gets home from school

watching the girls sing and dance and practice their swan princess moves

finding out that tyler is texting a girl that he likes while under his covers when he's suppose to be sleeping

(he's growing up so fast)

my nightly jogs with ruca dog and enjoying the beauty in my neighborhood

playing solitaire on dan's ipad and having him get jealous that i win almost every game while he can barely win one

coffee and alone time while tayli naps

at home movie dates with dan my man almost every night

since my camera is broken and as of right now i can't afford a new one, you can expect random photos on my blog that have nothing to with what the post is about (i'm a fan of using all my own photos... no weheartit for me) and probably some wordier posts... 

i hope you are enjoying this week and finding joy in the small things

xo,

kass

love it

our homemade calendar 

i love october... so many birthdays, fall weather (hopefully), and halloween

love it

what do you look forward to in october?

xo,

kass

just that much better

when i'm not feeling well or am having a bad day...

 my bright colored little kitchen nook

fun colors make it just that much better

xo,

kass

what happens

when mama's not feeling well...

this is what happens

 the girls outrageously messy room (and this is not even half the mess!)

the girls watching big top pee-wee in our messy living room

hoping your weekend is cleaner and healthier than mine is starting out to be!

xo,

kass

oh, tyler has another WSA contest this sunday - praying he advances and gets in the top twenty!

delish

 grilled chicken with lemon basil pasta

find the recipe here

i usually eat a lot healthier than this but i was craving something super tasty and hearty and this meal sure filled that craving - delish!

*i ended up adding garlic, not using cream and i used organic whole wheat pasta

try it, you wont be disappointed!

i'm heading to santa barbara with the girls in the early afternoon to meet my dad for some shopping, picking up dan from his training for his new job, meeting back up for dinner with my dad and step-mom and then driving up to lompoc to stay with my mom and step-dad. saturday we'll be heading over to my granny's where she is planning on feeding us dinner and her famous lemon meringue pie for dessert. i can't wait to see my family, i miss them all so much all the time. on sunday we are meeting up with our wonderful friends kim and jeff and then heading off to our friends wedding at the santa barbara zoo. a fun-filled yet busy weekend.

what are your plans for the weekend?

xo,

kass

tall ships

this past weekend was the tall ships festival in dana point. 

we had been seeing signs around town and thought it sounded like a fun thing to do as a family... 

we listened to some music, spotted captain jack sparrow (tannyn was very excited about this), checked out the awesome ships, saw pirates mingling throughout the crowd...

watched a cannon fight between pirates and the british - i screamed when they set off the first cannon it totally took me by surprise... 

 and let dan take a photo of me in my cozy nautical sweater and admired how gorgeous the ocean looked with the green mossy rocks.

how was your weekend? what did you do?

xo,

kass

hangout spot

dan nailed a few planks of wood into one of the many trees on our hill so that the kids could have a hangout spot. i'm just hoping no ticks live in this tree because the kiddos seem to like it there...

maybe one day we'll build them a real treehouse.

enjoy your weekend my friends

xo,

kass

anthro whore

it's no secret that i'm an admitted anthropologie whore... my family and friends are well aware of this so you can imagine my excitement when i get anything from anthro. last weekend we made a quick trip to santa barbara and while there we stopped in at my dad and step-moms for dinner. my step-mom surprised me with this gorgeous candle from, you guessed it, anthro! it's the capri blue candle set in this pretty container that reminds me of an antique mirror. i've been lighting it just about every day since i got it on sunday and i love it. not only does it smell terrific but it's just so darn pretty too!

thanks, barbara, for thinking of me while on your trip up north... you're awesome.

are you a candle girl?

what's your favorite scent?

xo,

kass

on the first day

Now, Billy Joe McGuffrey
was a really clumsy kid.
On the first day of first grade
I'll tell you what he did.
He tripped over a pencil box,
flew up in the air,
landed on a kangaroo
who pulled out all his hair!
He needed first aid in the first grade,
first aid in the first grade,
first aid in the first grade.
You could buy a zoo with all the doctor bills he paid.

song by: veggie tales

ty and tann started school today - tyler in eighth grade and tannyn in first grade. the morning went off well, dan and i got up early at 6:30 which was a tad bit hard for me since the kiddos have been letting me sleep in till 9:00 all summer long. i got tann ready, did her hair, dan fed her breakfast and then it was time for photos. i made ty get up even though he doesn't start school until an hour after tannyn and he was NOT happy with me about it as you can see in the photo of him, tann and tayli but i really wanted a photo with all the kiddos. i'm a mom, it's how it is. we took tann to school and she did great - apparently she has the best first grade teacher in the school and she was very happy to see some friends from last year in her class. after dropping her off, we came home to get ty, i got one more picture (he was in a better mood this time) and then we dropped him off. as ty was walking to class dan yells out "i love you tyler joseph bacquet. i love you son!" it was pretty funny. i think tyler was just glad that dan didn't wear his cut off jean shorts and wife beater and walk him to class. ha.

now all is mostly quiet with tayli just home... ahhhh.

do any of you have any embarrassing stories from your first day of school? 

did your parents ever try to embarrass you?

xo,

kass