Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Fall Break 2014

Whew.

Road tripping in the truck...

where all 3 kids can touch each other is intense.

But the load ones finally fell asleep giving us some relief...

And we made it to South Dakota!

Sans Mary Flair's license plates...as they vibrated off her somewhere between Colorado and South Dakota. Oops. #vintagelicenseplatebracket

But hey, we didn't get pulled over all the way there and back.

We went to Bear Country and saw lots of wildlife!

We went to The Cosmos per AJ's teacher's recommendation. AJ is still baffled by the gravitational hot spots. We didn't tell him it's just a cabin built at a 25 degree angle on the slope of a mountain...

The kiddos went geode hunting.

And did a lot of exploring around the campground.

Love this picture.

#mountrushmoreorbust

We made it!!!

AJ took this pic for us.

We went to Crazy Horse.

Apparently mountain craving is all the rage in South Dakota...

Then we came home. And I promptly put new Jamberries on! #pumpkinspicejn

Abby chose Shine Bright. Do these not bring you back to the days of Rainbow Brite?!

Then a friend and neighbor gifted me with Candy Corn M & M's and a Starbucks card! Holla!

Best fall break ever!

 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Insta-Sunday

And just like that another week came and went.

So many beautiful moment amongst the crazy ones.

#strawberrywineandbatman

How this mama rolls.

Mama and munchkin selfie.

Not gonna lie. I'm his biggest fan.

I was struggling with what to do for a boy actor. I just wasn't feeling flowers for him. Then a friend suggested hot wheels! Genius! A hot wheels bouquet was perfect! He LOVED it! And it only cost $6! Holla.

Our Cider Days tradition with Nana and Papa continues!

Tractors, donkey rides, petting zoo, inflatables, barrel train, and making fresh cider! So fun and so freakin' fall!

AJ started his first reconciliation prep. It's so awesome to see him grow spiritually.

I went bowling with my Young Life Capernaum kids. I had one strike and a lot of gutter balls. I was way more into the pizza, breadsticks, and company.

Abby and I went on a special trip just to get Halloween decorations together. It's pretty rare these days to get one-on-one time with the kiddos. She was over the moon and tried to buy the entire Halloween isle. It was super fun to see her so jazzed about decking out our front yard.

Brody loves it. He says, "Our house DECORATED!!!" Every single time we drive up.

My Jamberry hostess rewards came in the mail.

Holy Jamberry Batman! It was like Christmas Day!

This little boy just about bursts with happiness every day.

Out of the blue on the way to school the other day he said,

"I love you mom! I love people! And trees! I love trees! And people's trees! I love people's trees!"

#mylittletreehugger

So why didn't I know Jamba Juice had a pumpkin drink till now?!

#yummo

The kiddos had their Fall Fun Run at school this week.

Together they ran 60 laps.

Andy had initially pledged $4 per lap. What the what?! We'll work out a reasonable pledge total. That is not $240.

Anyway, they were a tired hot mess of a crew that night. Oy vey.

At Abby's Kindergarten parent teacher conference Abby's teacher described Abby as a free spirited artist...someone that will probably always live in the moment and care more about being creative than about academics.
I think she nailed that one on the head.
I'm not gonna lie, the teacher and OCD planner in me struggles with this.
But when I let it go, and just let Abby be Abby, it is a beautiful thing.
#lifewithabby
#abbysmermaids
Fall break officially began Thursday night, and it is an awesome thing.
I rang it in snuggled on the couch with some hot tea and The Lego Movie with the kids.

We spent Friday morning swimming with good buddies.

3 hours splashing and jumping in and going down the slide and lounging in the hot tub and floating in the lazy river.

It was so perfect.
Then the kiddos went to a Nana and Papa's, and Andy and I had a date night...dinner and stocking up on camping supplies.
We had pumpkin creme brûlée for dessert.
It was amazing. It was everything magical about fall in my mouth.
I'm gonna daydream about it for a long time.

I spent Saturday in a CPR and First Aid class. The CPR part of the class was fascinating, and I started thinking that being a rescuer would be really cool...

Then the First Aid part of the class happened.

And during the video my stomach started feeling kinda yucky and my palms began to sweat and it was suddenly really really hot in the room...and I thought oh shit I'm gonna pass out.

So needless to say, if blood is involved I'm no help to you. At all. I pretty much go into shock and medical help myself.

But if there is no blood and you stop breathing or your heart stops, I'm your gal.

After the trauma of the First Aid video, we loaded up Mary Flair, went to bible study, and got a good nights sleep for our big fall break adventure!
We started with a flat tire, but were shortly back on track.
Wheels down by 11:20am.

#mountrushmoreorbust

Friday, October 3, 2014

Insta-Friday October Style

Hello October!!!

You're my most favorite month of the year!

I love the colors in October, and the cool, crisp air and all the pumpkins popping up everywhere and snuggling up in cozy sweaters and wearing skinny jeans with tall boots and getting ready for Halloween!!!

Andy and I had a lunch date at Mod Market last weekend. I had the coconut Thai salad and a cream soda!
Mango peanut dressing, shredded coconut, grilled chicken, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes! So refreshing!

I'm loving these spooky colors against our black front door! So bright and fun and festive!

Burlap and sparkly ribbon! Are you kidding?! So rustic, yet funky at the same time!

I spy a yellow.gingham.button! Sewn on with a contrasting color thread!

Be.still.my.heart.

I mean how seriously charming is that?!

But wait! It gets better!

A vintage floral print!
And trimmed with lavender ribbon...adorn with yellow hearts and some steadfast advice!
My forever MJ *In Search Of* finally surfaced at an awesome price, and I snatched that sucker up!

You know me...I love me some ombré nails with a fun accent!

That rainbow leopard print takes me back to my days of Lisa Frank folders and notebooks in elementary school.

Lisa Frank was all that back in the day.

Yeah, so I love fall. But not terrifying freak hail storms.

Seriously Colorado?!

Another new roof?! Our roof is only ONE YEAR OLD from the last hail storm.

And $2,000 worth of damage to the swagger wager. Not.cool.

#blah

October 1st meant MJ had their third release for their fall line.

It was full of purple.

I'm a sucker for purple.

And this corduroy skirt is just frolicking in a field of flowers on a crisp fall day made manifest in a piece of clothing.
I had to have it.
End of story.

This boy plays hard and crashes hard.

Love him up.

I'm not gonna lie, one of my fave parts of teaching religious ed is planning and making crafts.

This cutie pie tough guy Munchkinlander had his opening night this week.

2 performances down, 3 to go.

You might see this kid on Broadway one day. Ya never know.

Ab loves Fancy Nancy. I love Fancy Nancy.

I love that Ab loves Fancy Nancy.

Mmmmmm. Vanilla Spice.
With the promise of energizing the body and focusing the mind!
Sign this mom up stat!
Jade ruffles.
Leopard print flats.
Pretty much the most awesome outfit ever.
So two of my favorite things collided, and this happened.
#halloweenjamberrynails

A ruffle.

A pocket.

A cute button.

Funky Halloween prints.

All in one bag.

My undying love.

True story.

Have a great weekend!

I'm going to watch that Munchkinlander on stage, make some homemade cider, hang out with family, praise the Lord, and watch some football.