Dear Santa,

Please come. We've been really good! (at least that's what Grandma says)
Sincerely,
Paige, Zoe, Livee and Miles

Miniature Golfing.

For Chase's birthday (he's 15!!!) he wanted to go Miniature golfing. I use to work here like 100 years ago, so it was fun to go back and see how it's changed.
Paisley loved the view from way up high on Uncle Craig's shoulders. I don't think she'd ever been that high before. :)
Just being silly.
Miles definitely got the Bowler tongue.
How is she so tall and grown up already?!
"FUDGE!" She missed her shot.

Oak Glen, CA

One of my favorite places to go when I was little was to Oak Glen. Whenever I get the chance, I love taking my kids there now.

My little tough guy wasn't so tough around these big bad goats. :)
My animal lover loved the petting zoo!
My cute little sister, and my cute Paisley.

How do you like that sign?
Me with my mom and sisters, Letti and Sydney.
Nan and Pops with 8/17 of their grandkids.
Of course we ended our trip with some yummy apple treats from one of the bakeries. No pictures of that. We were were too busy eating. :)

Crazy Hair Day!

Halloween Bum.mer

It aint easy being (half) green!

Can you tell what this little guy is for Halloween?
:)

thirteen!

This cute little chubby cheeked girl is now a teenager!!!
Here are 13 facts about my favorite oldest daughter:

1. The girl loves chocolate. Plain. No nuts. No nothin'. Just chocolate.
2. She loves to sing.
3. Favorite color: orange
4. Will not eat ham or any kind of pork. (well, okay just bacon and sausage. but they don't really count. right? :)
5. Recently is a little obsessed with her looooong hair. But it still usually ends up in her trademark braids.
6. 5'5" (sorry Pops)
7. Lucky to have her best friend live right across the street.
8. Happily working on her personal progress goals.
9. A recent project is being submitted to the newspaper by her science teacher.
10. Her least favorite thing is cleaning. (quit laughing Letti!) But she does it anyways with minimum complaining. (she's getting better)
11. Currently serving as Beehive secretary and National Junior Honor Society Treasurer.
12. Will be performing in Seussical Jr. in November.
13. She makes the yummiest cinnamon toast!

I could go on and on about Paige! She is seriously one great kid! I am a little sad that she is growing up so fast, but I love seeing the kind of person she is becoming. She definitely has a quality about her that draws people in and makes them happy to be around her. She is a blessing to our family and I am excited to see how she continues to grow. She is a good example to Zoe and Livee and I already see them wanting to be just like her. Zoe wants her hair fixed the same as Paige and now Livee and Zoe are wearing mismatched socks too. :) I love you Paigee!

*I know this post is a little late. oops! I forgot my camera when she was opening presents. Luckily Aunt Celeste took some. Now I just need to get them. When I do I will add them here.

My Middle School Girls

Yesterday Paige came home from school with a note from the school counselor. This is what it said:
Congratulations! Your child has been nominated by her teachers to be a member of the Welcome Committee. This is an honor, as the teachers are asked to select only 8 students from each grade level that will represent the student body. The selected students will welcome the new students to our school by helping them get their books and ID, giving them a tour of the school and sitting with them at lunch....
Paige was so excited, and I was so pleased too! Out of the entire 8th grade, she was one of 8 chosen by the teachers. How cool is that!!

Today Zoe came home from school with a note from the counselor. It said the same thing!!!
I am so happy with my girls that they have made such a good impression on their teachers.
The Carmack Girls are Representing at NWISD!

The best margherita recipe!

Margherita Pizza
I found the recipe here at The Sisters Cafe.
It is so so so yummy! We have made it twice now. Their pizza dough recipe is the best I've tried too!
Make this!!!

Even my girlies that don't like tomatoes like this pizza. :)

(so does Ezra)

Fashion Show

My girls are Supermodels!
;)

Amelia's school program that she works for was asked to provide models for a back to school fashion show at Belk. She needed a few extra super cute girls, and she knew where to find them. :) They had so much fun. I loved watching them practice their walks and poses for a few days before the show. Here are a few pictures.

Miles made cookies.

And they were so yummy! Can you see the huge bite he's taking in the background? :)
Miles' Snickerdoodles

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 t. vinegar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 3/4 c. flour
3 1/2 T. sugar
3 1/2 t. cinnamon

Cream together butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix in vinegar, baking soda, salt and flour until well combined. Make small balls of dough and roll in cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 400 for 8 minutes. Let them sit on the pan for about 5 minutes. Eat. Enjoy!

Zoe had a birthday!!!

She's 11 now!
Zoe wants to be a chef when she grows up, so of course for her birthday she wanted to try a new recipe. Together we made some yummy cream puffs. They turned out really good. Everybody loved them. She also requested steak, mashed potatoes, and homemade rolls.
She loves her new green scooter. Now her and her BFF can be seen riding through the neighborhood on their matching rides. :)
Happy Birthday Zoe!
Our family is so lucky and blessed to have you. You are the giggliest girl ever, and nobody can stay in a bad mood for long around you. I love it!

Library Books

My family loves to go to the library. We go once a week, and each person chooses two books. That means we have to keep track of ten books at a time. I decided that we needed a specific spot to store them while they weren't being read. I wanted a permanent spot, we had tried the book bags, but then we had to look for the books and book bag when it was time to return them. So I had an idea.
This dresser in my entryway/hall is hiding it.
Here it is! I found the vintage wire basket at the little antique store in town for a few dollars. I got the two knobs at Home depot for less than a dollar. I used a Cricut to cut out the vinyl. It was such an easy project. I love it!
And I love that the kids actually use it! No more lost library books around here! :)
*I didn't have any vinyl in that aqua color. All I had was black and white. Spray paint to the rescue. :) I cut out the vinyl first, then sprayed each piece. Worked perfectly!

sweet sister

This girl can be such a tender-heart. Last week, Paige, Livee, Miles and I went to Grapevine Mills Mall. Paige wanted to shop a little, so she brought her wallet with forty dollars of her babysitting money. Well, she accidentally left her wallet in a bathroom. Five minutes later we went back and it was gone. Of course Paige was pretty bummed. We all were. We checked at lost and found, and gave them our information in case somebody turned it in. (haven't heard anything) We went home and a little later Paige left to go to a Young Women activity. This is what she found when she got home:
Livee had put her savings into a little bowl, wrote this note and put it on Paige's dresser. When Paige showed me, it brought tears to my eyes. What a sweet sister!

t-shirts

Tiffany and I made these super fun bleach t-shirts. They were really easy too. First, borrow your favorite neighbors Cricut. (unless you are lucky enough to have one of your own) Next, cut out any words or cute images on cardstock. Then, using spray adhesive, stick your cut-outs onto your shirts. Make sure all edges are pressed down firmly. After that, take your shirts and a spray bottle of bleach outside and spray away. That's it.
We did take it one step further with Paige's and Livee's. We just googled altered t-shirts, found some tutorials on YouTube, then just started snipping away. This was the first time we tried it and I can't wait to make some more now that Zoe is home. You guys gotta try it!

The 4th

I feel so blessed to live in the USA!!!
What a great reason to celebrate!

Tiffany, Kodi and Degan were here for the weekend, so we got together with Cousin Kellie for a picnic at Lake Grapevine. We found a cute little wooded area where we ate an early dinner. There were lots of trails for the kids to explore. They loved it!

A little later, Livee needed to find a little girls room. (no roughing it in the woods for that girl :) So we packed up and tried to find a better area for watching the fireworks later. We ended up finding a perfect spot. The kids played in the water for hours. They were really good entertainment for Tiff and I, and the other people sitting around us. They splashed and danced and ran and laughed and embarrassed their moms (Tiffany) all night long. It was just a fun, easy day.

I love you USA!