Merry Christmas!

a post for Stacey....

because our family photo attempts really are entertaining. 

ENJOY!

ArTsY FaRtSy

Speaking of handprint art, I decided to frame a few of my favorites and hang them in the laundry room, along with an "art line" made with twine and clothespins...SO MUCH artwork comes home with these little sweethearts of mine, so I was running out of places on the fridge. This seemed like a logical solution. I can still enjoy their little masterpieces without having them cover every wall of my house. Ha! Sidenote...Aubrey is SUCH a morning person that Dave and I are still trying to figure out where she came from. We accidentally slept in until 7 this morning, but Aubrey was dressed and ready to walk out the door by 7:21. That is pretty good considering we usually wake up around 6:30. TGIF, people! Have a fabulous weekend.

bragging alert!

I might just have the most amazing little seven year old on the planet.  She is so sweet and so precious.  She has a best friend.  Her name happens to be Adelyn, who is yet another precious little girl I know quite well.  Aubrey brought this card home from school today:

I thought it was just another cute little Thanksgiving hand turkey that I would file away with all the other hand art I've collected over the years.  Until she opened it.  And read these sweet words to her best friend, the person for whom she is most thankful:



yellow word translation: you are super good at making people laugh


To say that I am a proud mom would be an understatement.  I am in love with these daughters of mine!



I am thankful for Council Oak Preschool!

The Thanksgiving festivities have begun!  We attended Adelyn's last Thanksgiving feast at her preschool before she is a BIG KINDERGARTENER next year!  During the feast, I mentioned that it was her last one and she got really quiet.  A little later, she told me that she didn't want to turn five because she wouldn't be in preschool anymore.  Their preschool is THE BEST.  All three of my brothers went there when they were kids and it is still wonderful.  I only wish Aubrey could've gone there when she was little.  BOO on the Iowa preschool where she went {it is NOTHING compared to this one}.  The teachers LOVE LOVE LOVE the kids and my kids LOVE LOVE LOVE their teachers.  We started the morning with a breakfast celebration in Blake's class and then went back in the afternoon for Adelyn's feast, catered by Bill Miller.  Looking forward to Thanksgiving day, where we'll start the morning with Dave's family at the Turkey Trot (such a fun tradition!) and breakfast; then we'll move on to our house where my uncle will cook our Thanksgiving turkey (I've actually bought it the last couple of years at Bill Miller, but he nixed that idea this year and said he wanted a HOME-COOKED turkey.  Good thing I got my Bill Miller stuffing fix at the preschool!  ha!)  I am thankful for so many things in my life, probably too many to list.  I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

my precious *almost* five year old

LOVE the Indian name...Adelyn New Moon. future Twilight fan, maybe?  ha!

Blake with his wonderful teachers!

Blake's class did a breakfast celebration...the banana chocolate chip muffins on the right were AMAZING!

showing us his fnished turkey

sticking the feathers in his turkey.  he loved this craft.

love this boy

such a cool kid. 

Dollar Tree Love

I love me some Dollar Tree, people.  I am always amazed at the awesomeness that abounds there.  With a little tweaking, you can go from Dollar Tree cheap to simply chic.  Behold, my latest Dollar Tree treasures:

I am helping my mother-in-law with a shower at her school.  I spent a total of $5 making 18 invitations.  The plain invitations came from Dollar Tree.  I added paper flowers (1.99 for a HUGE pack at Tuesday Morning) and a sticky rhinestone (0.68 for 18 on clearance at Target)



These adorable favor boxes were 10 in a pack at Dollar Tree, and I filled them with Hugs & Kisses to hand out at the shower.




This plain-jane chalkboard got spiced up with a burlap ruffle (just hot glued the burlap to the frame).  Total cost was about $1.50 (if that, burlap is CHEAP)

 Adelyn is having a "glow in the dark" bounce party this weekend so I bought glow necklaces at Dollar Tree today.  SO much cheaper than buying them from the actual bounce place.  So, there you have it.  You don't have to spend a fortune to create something cute.

to rug or not to rug?

that is the question.

I can't decide if I want to put a rug under the bed.  I feel like I need something for contrast since the bed and the floor are almost the same color. It would be something simple, like this: 

but on the other hand, we got rid of carpet for a reason...so I am at a loss.  Opinions?

was this just a dream?

The pictures are proof, it really did happen!  Dave and I celebrated our 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY in Maui a few weeks ago.  It was a fabulous trip, an excellent escape from reality, and an amazing way to toast ten years of wedded bliss...;-) 

on the ferry to a submarine...

uh, yum. basically an alcoholic's milkshake.

just before sunset at the luau

in front of our resort

we made it to Hana in one piece...beautiful trip on a mostly one-lane road.  scary especially if you know what kind of driver Dave is...

the shaved ice had ice cream at the bottom.  oh. my. waistline. 

AMAZING macadamia nut pancakes with COCONUT syrup+mimosa= breakfast heaven

black one-piece.  holding in the gut from all the amazing food we consumed...

at the resort

10 years.  wow.

just another amazing view from our convertible

driving a Mustang again. ahhh, the good ole days.

we spent a lot of time in Lahaina

the view from our plane window as we landed.  we were in store for a beautiful trip!

sign says it all

I actually asked someone to take our picture.  Go me.  :) 

at the luau

this is what it's like to relax...

coffee on the beach.  doesn't get much better than that.

best part of the luau!!

you know, just going to work....in the SHARK TANK.

fabulous aquarium!

one of the reasons I love this guy---never gets old taking these ridiculous pictures!  lol!

maybe we should've hit up Mystic Tan before we headed out...

Hula, hula

what a beautiful trip!!!

A GIANT THANK-YOU to my MOM,  dad, and grandma too)  for watching the kids for an ENTIRE school week while Dave and I enjoyed ourselves.  We are so blessed!