Let the countdown begin!

I am so excited about this new countdown! Every year I try to come up with a fun way for us to countdown the days to Christmas. And this one is sure to be a winner!

I can't take credit for this idea. I found it HERE. And the numbers are a free printable from HERE.

The idea is every night before bed the girls will take turns opening a Christmas book. Each book is labeled 1-24. We had 3 Christmas books at home and I went and raided our local library for the rest. I also bought the girls a new Christmas book for them to open on Christmas Eve. That way we can add to our collection and still count the new book as a Christmas gift!

I bought butcher block paper to wrap the books in and then used strips of scrapbooking paper to add some color. It took me about a hour to wrap them all.

The girls are so excited about opening the presents. They know the presents are books but it's fun because they don't know which ones I got.

I'm also working on a Christmas Scripture paper advent chain to go along with our book each night. That way we can read one fun Christmas book and then read a scripture about Jesus and the real reason we celebrate this time of year. You can find the download for that HERE.

New View

Now that Evyn is out of the webble wobble stage she's got a whole new view to enjoy. I especially enjoy the fact that I can actually see the front side of the grocery cart! I was constantly banging into things because I couldn't see over the car seat.

At the park: We tried the baby swings and she seemed to enjoy them.


In her stroller: It may just be my imagination but she seems to sit up a little taller. As if she knows she's a big girl now. Just don't take the turns too quickly...we learned that one the hard way! The stroller went right and Evyn went left. Thankfully she was buckled but it scared her!


And the grocery cart: That cart cover has served us well. We bought it when Elodie was getting ready to sit up. I remember specifically picking a gender neutral color. Just in case we had a boy. Ha! Jokes on us! Even still it has served us well and it keeps my cringes to a minimum. And in Wal-Mart that is hard to do!


And just for fun...

Elodie and Addysen in the cart and stroller HERE

Addysen in the swings HERE

Sneak

Because I'm pretty sure this isn't the one I'm going to use for our Christmas cards this year. Little things no one else would notice but me make it not the winner. Evyn isn't wearing her necklace and Addysen is a little too far apart from the other girls.

All the same...I'm thinking this would look AMAZING in a canvas print above our fireplace. I love these girls! They drive me crazy and make my heart swell all in one day!

And during this time of Thanksgiving and family time I feel so blessed to be their mom!

Arizona Part 3 & 4

I was so busy taking other peoples pictures that I didn't get a lot of snippets of the end of my time in Arizona. I had 4 photoshoots on Saturday, 5 on Sunday, and 3 on Monday. It wasn't ideal for me and clearly I would much rather just be back in Arizona and not cramming 13 photoshoots into one weekend but overall everything went really smoothly. Everyone showed up on time and I was able to have more than 30 minutes per family, which I was really worried about. I don't like feeling rushed! And I certainly didn't want any of the families to feel rushed either!

On Saturday, in between all the photshoots, Melissa and I had lunch at Barro's. Sigh. I may or may not have cried like a baby when we got there. It's such a familiar place for us. So many playdates, get togethers with other families and Saturday lunches. It's our go to place! I refuse to say was! It was hard not to feel homesick just being there! It really made me miss the girls and Chris too. It didn't feel right being there without them!

On Sunday evening Audrey and Jen and their families came over to Melissa's for dinner. We had a great time chatting and hanging out! Again, being around close friends made me miss my girls and Chris so badly!
{Man Jen! We are short!}

I feel really blessed to have so many great friends in my life! I also feel really blessed that in the 8 months we have been gone, Melissa has come to visit me, Chris made a trip out in October, and I was able to make this trip now. It definitely makes it easier to be gone when you are planning your next trip out.

I've already decided that I will be going back in March for the release of the 1st movie in the Hunger Games Series! And that makes it not so sad to say goodbye!

Arizona Part 2

This is it!!! The day we had ALL been looking forward too! Well, I guess I should speak for myself! We were all SO EXCITED about Breaking Dawn! All the girls got together on Wednesday, the day before I flew in, and made shirts for the movie. One year we all met up at a t-shirt shop and had shirts made! That was so fun but I'm pretty sure the shop owner was ready to kick us out! Did I mention we brought all of our kids with us when we did that!? Good times! Melissa was nice enough to make a shirt for me. Thanks Melissa!

Melissa and I spent the entire day decorating and preparing food for the party. We decorated the house with quotes from the movies, tissue pompoms (which didn't come out nearly as cute as the Martha Stewart tutorial) and glittery balls, Christmas lights, and we even thought to display the books. It was so fun to be cheesy about it! And if I must say, I thought Melissa's house looked awesome! Especially once all the food and drinks were out. The morning of the movie I had an idea to make a cake for the party. I had seen one online and couldn't get it out of my head! Amazingly it all came together! So yea for last minute ideas!

We met up at the movie theater about 2 hours before the movie was to start. In years passed this was absolutely necessary! From our experience (HA!) the line would be out the door. Because we had such a big group, we wanted to make sure we saved enough seats for everyone coming later. Well, when we got to theater we realized that we would be first in line for our movie time! Getting a good seat and saving seats was no problem at all! Better safe than sorry! Besides, I think the wait in line just adds to the excitement!

Me and Jen. First in Line!

I thought the movie was great! I've heard from a few friends who didn't really like it but our whole group had nothing but good things to say about it! Sure there were some cheesy parts but overall I felt like it was very entertaining and they stayed very close to the book! I'm excited to see it again with Christopher.



After the movie, we headed back to Melissa's house to eat and gab about the movie. I don't think I got in bed until close to 2:30am!










Very fun times! I can't imagine seeing this movie with anyone but my book club! I'm so thankful to Chris for taking over at home and making it so easy for me to take this trip! I love my friends and had so much fun with them

Arizona Part 1

Did you know my camera's memory card holds over 1200 pictures? Who knew? I didn't because usually I don't go that long in between uploads. Besides seeing my friends and going to Breaking Dawn, I had 13 photoshoots. I started out with 15 families but had 2 cancellations after i got to Arizona. I was a little grateful for those cancellations because I was one busy girl over the weekend! It was so fun seeing families that I have done pictures for for the last 4 years!

I had one photoshoot a hour after I landed but after that I was completely free! Melissa, Jen, Audrey, and I made plans to go to dinner. Afterwards we went back to Audrey's to do some crafting. We have done this so many times in the past-pretty much every craft I've made I have made along side them! it was so great to be with them all again!

Evyn Kate 8 months

Today Evyn Kate is 8 months. It never gets easier. With every month, year...I see my little girls growing up. And every day I am more and more thankful for my blog. For the day to day experiences I jot down. Just a few days ago Chris took a stroll down memory lane with the 2 older girls and my blog. I loved watching them light up when they saw baby pictures of themselves. I loved watching them giggle over videos of their milestones. And with every post I knew. This is why I do this. Why I can't go a few days without throwing up all of my feelings on my corner of the web. Why I will never say life is too crazy or I am too busy to keep a record.

Maybe it's because it's so close to Thanksgiving.

Maybe because I just came back from Arizona and my friend cup is overflowing.

Or maybe there is no reason at all....

From the details.

I had an AMAZING time in Arizona....i'm in the mist of unpacking, jumping back in to homeroom mom duties, and settling my house back together after being gone for 5 days. My memory card and my heart are full!

But I couldn't let today pass without typing out what has been running through my brain since I got on an airplane last night and left the valley of the sun.

1. I have an amazing husband! There wasn't a person I told who wasn't impressed that Chris took off work and had all 3 girls to himself so I could make this trip solo. I knew he could do it. I'm just reaffirmed that I do indeed have a good man.

2. I feel very blessed to have great friends. I am so lucky. I soaked them in and pretended like "see you later" meant sometime next week.

3. I have a special place in my heart for the valley of the sun. I have no doubt in my mind that we will be back.

Until I can unload my memory card. The End.

All in the details.

When I told Chris I made 3 lists, one for each girl, I said "I'm not trying to micromanage but...." He said "A list is micromanaging" I said "No, a list is just a recommendation of how things should be done." ......

So yes, maybe I am micromanaging just a bit. But in my defense I did tell him that he didn't have to go by the list hour by hour. It's just there to help to make sure all runs smoothly during the day. Mostly for Evyn.

This leaving home by myself sounded so much more fun 2 months ago. Now in the moment, trying to get all the details finalized, it feels easier to just stay home. Which is why most women don't go any where by themselves. It's just easier to stay put and do it all yourself! But I need it. It will be good for me, for the girls, and even for Chris.

There are a lot of details but when it's all said and done, if everyone is safe and happy does it really matter if Evyn had a vegetable for lunch and a fruit for dinner? Or if there are a few dishes in the sink? Not really.

I know I will be excited about this trip once I am on the plane happily reading my new book. Did you know I haven't flown alone since before Elodie was born! When the lunches are made, Elodie is at school, the last of the laundry is done, Addysen is at a playdate, and Evyn is napping quietly at a friends house until Chris goes to pick her up. He is working a half day tomorrow so it will be just a few hours in between when I leave and he swoops in.

I am so thankful for Christopher. He knew this was important to me and made the effort to take time off of work so I could go to Arizona. So thank you Chris! You will do great just you and the girls! I'm sure you will be happy to go back to work on Tuesday though!

I'm so excited to see my friends. I need this. I miss them and can't wait to soak them all in! To do some photoshoots. And most importantly see BREAKING DAWN!

So heres to safe travels, a good book on the plane, a dad with his girls, soaking up friends in the valley of the sun, and a high dose of Edward Cullen!

PawPaw Whitney

My mom sent this over to me this morning. A copy of this was printed and displayed at PawPaw's funeral. I love it. PawPaw looks so happy in all the pictures. Just the way we want to remember him.

A turkey and a winner...

Before I tell you who won the banner....I found this cute idea for a Thanksgiving decoration on Pinterest. The directions can be found here. It seemed easy enough and doable during naptime. And it was. Instant gratification is great! The bonus of this craft was the cost. Total CENTS spent....52. I had the paint, scrapbooking paper, mod podge, craft sticks, and the ribbon. I found the wood in the scrap bin at Home Depot for 50 cents. Home Depot didn't charge me anything to cut it and the turkey face was made using a paint stick and those were FREE at Home Depot too. SWEET! I'm thinking of giving these out to the girls I visit teach. My turkey is a little on the skinny side but for 52 cents I'm not going to sweat over it!

And the girls picked a winner for the Thanksgiving Banner.......

Audrey

Congrats sweet friend! I can't wait to see you AND give it to you in person!

Thanksgiving Banner

I haven't completed my mantle for Thanksgiving. Truthfully I don't own a ton of Thanksgiving decorations. I need to add to it as I'm a huge believer in celebrating Thanksgiving separately from Christmas. The Thanksgiving banner is a great place to start!

The color combination came from the subway art I got from Eighteen25. I love the pop of blue in there!

I say this every time but I just love this burlap fabric flower! And I dug into my scrapbook stash and used some of my letter rubons. I love that too!



Who wants it? Leave me a comment and I'll have one of the girls pick a winner on Sunday evening. It will go in the mail on Monday...3 days before I leave for Arizona! But who is counting. And if you win and your in Arizona...I'll deliver it in person!

Our Thankful Tree

For Family Home Evening last night we created a Thankful Tree. I had wanted to do one last year but thought about it too late into the month so I made sure it was on our list for this year! If I had really been on top of it, we would have done it last Monday night but with our trip to New Orleans we wouldn't have been around to add to it anyway.

The girls had so much fun helping me color the trunk of the tree and the branches. It's easy to see where they got tired of coloring and just started scribbling. Addysen did more of the scribbling than Elodie did. I was tempted to go behind them and fill it in but I stopped myself. It was their tree and they were happy with it!

We all wrote things we were thankful for on the leaves and during the month of November we will add to it. My thoughts are that it will be so full by the end of the month you won't be able to see the branches!

If your interested in making your own it was super simple. I just used 2 pieces of poster board from the dollar store and construction paper I already had for the leaves. I wanted mine to take up the whole wall but clearly you could make yours any size you want!

The girls have had so much fun adding to it so I have a handful of leaves cut out so they can write/scribble on them whenever. I'm trying to get them to really think about the things they are grateful for. I think it's easy right now but as the month moves on it will take a bit more thought to think of blessings.

Next project. My Thanksgiving banner. I still have my Halloween decorations up!

New Orleans Weekend Part 3

Our last day in New Orleans. Mace and Melissa had to be at the airport at 1pm so we had the morning to walk around the French Quarter one last time. One last photo opportunity too! I'm glad Saturday was not our first day there- It. Was. Crazy. Crowds and crowds of people everywhere! Totally different from Thursday.



We had such a fun weekend with our friends! I'm so happy we got to go with them. It was hard to say goodbye but thankfully I will be in Arizona in 2 weeks....and hopefully again in March.

We love you guys, Mace and Melissa. Thanks for such a fun trip! We have to do it again soon!

New Orleans Weekend Part 2

Friday is when the real fun began! You could definitely tell it was the weekend because the crowds really started to thicken up around the French Quarter. The street performers were in full force! We enjoyed walking up and down the streets listening to different bands and watching all kinds of performances! Very fun. I can't imagine what kind of life the street performers live. We couldn't believe that this was their only job. And it was crazy how many of them were performing right in the middle of the street. A lot of them would just rope off a section of the sidewalk and start their little act there. We thought maybe it was illegal but the police, I'm sure, had better things to do! It was all very infectious. The crowds, the music, the noise. We kept comparing it to Disneyland but that's only a compliment to Disneyland and how well they duplicated the city. We all enjoyed it!
















Walked around the French Market.



We had a snack at Cafe Du Monde.


And ended up at the Acme Oyster House for dinner. This was a fun, very NOISY, restaurant. We got our sight full of "the locals" and you could feel the mood shifting into weekend mode. The highlight of this night was when we were standing in line waiting for our table. Everybody had to wait outside and the group behind us had gone across the street to a bar to get some drinks. Of course as soon as they bought their drinks, their table was ready. The hostess told them they couldn't bring their drinks in with them so they all huddled together trying to guzzle their beers. At this point we were all rolling our eyes at them! It didn't work out for them because the hostess was rushing them so they ended up putting their drinks in the trash. I'm not sure if they put them in the trash with the intention of coming back for them or not but they all seemed to neatly place their cups right sides up so they wouldn't spill. A few minutes after they went into the restaurant, 2 homeless men came by carrying big thermos cups. They took a peek into the trash can, saw the cups of beer, and without hesitation dumped the cups of beer into their thermos! It was so crazy! I had never seen anything like it and couldn't believe they would just take someone elses drink FROM THE TRASH!!! They were completely not bothered by it and went on their way. The funny part was one of the homeless men's cup had a hole in it so he dripped all the way down the street! We laughed that he would get to the corner and look into this cup and it would be empty! He was probably too drunk to notice though!

We tried their famous Boo fries (according to Man vs. Food)- fries covered in gravy and cheese. They were yummy! Mace and Chris tried the oysters. And Melissa and I each had a cheeseburger. It was all very good. Now I'm thinking about that cheeseburger....



We were so crazy after dinner. We made it back to the hotel by 8pm! Around 9:30pm we decided to go to a restaurant next door and have dessert. It was fun to have the option of doing that. We could have never done that with the girls in tow! I didn't bring my camera but we each got a different dessert and shared.

Very fun day!