Thanksgiving fun

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first birthday party: yeehaw!

I cannot believe my baby is one!

We had a little party for him on Saturday and it was a blast :)

My sis in law designed the awesome invites for me. Check out more of her fun stuff here.

For decorations, I went pretty easy. I made a banners of scrapbook paper and natural twine.

I didn't get a picture, but I had blue and white paper chains in the kitchen and living room too :)

The table cloth is fabric I got from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.

The cake is from Costco (so good).

I made rice krispy treats and "eggs and bacon" from this recipe I found on pinterest.

The little hay bale I found at Michael's and the sign is from Hobby Lobby last year.

The little barn is actually a John Deere piggy bank :)

Have to represent! ;)

 I made cowboy boot and cowboy hat sugar cookies as favors.

It's hard to see, but the little sign says "hats off to you for celebrating with us!"

Thank you, dear friends, for celebrating with us! We had so much fun and are so thankful for you :)

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One Year!

my baby is one!

Happy birthday, little man :)

we love you!

xoxo

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Iowa Trip: October 2011

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he's home!

My brother, Josh, is back on US soil! The USS Hopper made port this morning at Pearl Harbor!

I am so thankful that they made it home safely....I can't wait to hear his stories of things that he saw while "sailing the world" ;)

Sadly, we couldn't be there to meet him...and we don't get to see him until around Christmas. :(

His friend, Amy, was there to meet him (the above photo is one she took this morning)...and I think there were some other friends to greet him, so I'm glad he had someone there to hug him!

Anyway....welcome back, little brother :)

love you!

xoxo

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friday quick 5

I sometimes find myself lacking for blogging, and this way I can at least get one post in a week ;)Although, lately with all the travelling, I've had plenty to share :)
I'm borrowing the quick 5 idea from this lovely lady, whom I have only met once at a wedding in Burlington, IA when I first met and was staying with my bestie, Joni. She is super honest and so encouraging and fun....check out her stuff :)
So here we go:

1. It is 57 degrees here! It downpoured last night and sprinkled this morning. The trees are starting to turn. The sun peaks out once in a while. I couldn't be happier.  :) Hello, fall.
2. I treated myself to my first eggnog latte of the season in honor of the chilly gloom. Then took Mason to get his flu booster shot. Adelyn was grumpy and got mad at the nurse when she "hurt my brother!" and she actually hit the nurse on the leg! I didn't know what to do! We had a long discussion and I made her apologize to the nurse (who was so gracious)....oh my...I have to be honest, we do spank once in a while. We always give her a warning that we will do it if she disobeys again (that way we know it could be coming and we don't spank in our own anger or frustration). When she hits, though, I feel like spanking can be counterproductive... so I really tried to explain to her why Mason was crying and how we don't hit others, etc.....as someone wisely put it (I wish I could remember where I heard this, but it has been stuck in my mind)...Punishment is easy, discipline is exhausting.
3. I have realized that my love of sleep negatively affects my family. Instead of having the kids be my alarm clock, I'm trying to get up a good hour before they do, so I can have some house work out of the way and spend some quite time....that way when they get up, all I have to do is get them ready before we head to the gym....ask me in 2 weeks how it's going :)
4. We successfully made it to Iowa and back with few meltdowns. Thank you, Lord!  My kids rock at air travel ;). The ipad was a lifesaver. Suckers and books also came in handy, and we were blessed with having awesome people around us all 4 flights who were so gracious with my kids and willing to take Mason if I needed my hands...thank you!
5. Nick left today for a week. Boo. I can't even tell you the last time he was home for a full month. I am so glad he loves his job, but the travelling gets old. It really wears on the kids...thankfully, Mommy Survival Mode always kicks in and we do okay, but I crash the minute he gets back.

So there ya go. My first Friday 5 :) I'm going to try and get photos uploaded from our trip back to IA for next week. Enjoy the weekend! Happy Friday! :)

*ps...I think I got the comment situation figured out, so say hi! :) I'm telling you, comments are to bloggers what cards are to the lonely! ;) No lie...

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