Enjoying Fall

I haven't blogged in awhile, so I thought I would do one post (it's a long one) to show you what I've been up to. Our fall always starts with this little guy's birthday. He turned 2 on Sept. 30th. Happy Birthday Brayden!

He loves Bob the Builder so I made him this cake. I got the idea from my favorite cake website, http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/ . This was a pretty easy one to make.

The gifts consisted of a lawn mower, weed eater, tool set, and some guns. He is the third child, so he has to keep up with his big brother and sister. I would never have bought my first son a gun for his second birthday. Things change people!

Brayden is our most spirited child, and most strong willed, but he adds so much fun and joy to our family. He is really starting to talk and even say sentences like, "Bryce pushed me" and "I love you mommy". It is fun to hear his new words and little ideas. He really makes himself known in our family. He does have a case of the terrible two's already, but is also such a sweet kid, that he melts my heart daily. You are special Brayden and I love you very much! You will go far in life!

He loves his Grandma and Grandpa. He actually would rather be at their house than our's most days. He calls them "paw paw" and "ge ma". I am very thankful that they are in his life!

I did my first sprint triathlon Oct. 3rd. The race consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I did it with a few of my favorite girls. Here is my sister and I before the swim.

She was my toughest trainer preparing for this!

My good friend and training partner, Amy talked me into doing the tri. I was not really a strong swimmer or biker before this. We meet early two mornings a week to run or bike. We have some great girl talk while we run. As you can imagine, it was COLD that morning on the beach! Finishing up the bike ride...Finishing the run....almost there!

Our families came out to support us which made it so much more fun. Our hubbys had to have the kids up and out the door by 6:30 to make it in time. Very impressive guys! It meant a lot that they were there. I look forward to doing another one. It was so much fun!
We have enjoyed some time outside using Brayden's new finger paints.

The other two love it just as much.

We've made a few trips to the pumpkin patch, but not as a family yet... I have discovered that white pumpkins are hard to find in the south and those are my favorite.

We have become friends with a horse that lives near us and have been bringing him snacks of apples and carrots. Brayden asks to feed him just about every day. Bryce stepped in an ant bed this day and had to lose his shoe.

Makenna took her first school field trip to the pumpkin patch. I actually learned a lot about growing pumpkins too. I might try planting some this summer and see what happens...

We just returned from a camping trip too. We had some good laughs around the fire and ate lots of smores, one of my favorite things about fall!

Played some games...

Drank lots of hot cider and hot chocolate...

Played on the rocks by the lake for hours...

And did some hiking through the woods... Lots of memories were made that I will never forget and hopefully the kid's won't either. Some highlights of our trip were:

*hubby having to "borrow" someone's canoe without asking to rescue a ball from the lake

*Brayden using his hiking stick as a horse and laying down during the hike, saying "horsey nap"

*Makenna holding my hand while we were hiking and saying, "I love camping"

*Laying on a big rock in the sun reading a book for a few hours while the older kids played together.

*sitting around the fire cooking hot dogs, warming our hands, and talking at night about granddaddy long legs and whatever else came to mind.

I have been doing some fall decorating too, although I kept it simple this year. I will share what I have been working on very soon.

Happy Fall to you!

Mom's 60th Birthday

Our backyard party to celebrate my mom's birthday and Independence Day was a blast!
It started with a yummy meal of traditional burgers, baked beans, watermelon, cottage cheese salad and chips. Nothing too fancy; everyone brought a dish and we ate way too much!
The kid table...

Then we celebrated my mom with her favorite Heath bar ice cream cake. You can find the recipe here. She doesn't look 60, does she?

A silly picture on the newly painted red bike.

Some fancy hairstyling on my sister, Melanie.

Some practice photography. The "mom" on the cup blurred, but I was trying to get it in the background. I am practicing for my future job as a stager/photographer for my favorite magazine. Follow your dreams right???
A few silly faces...

A fun fireworks show put on by "dad".
Lots and lots of sparklers.
The show would not be complete without a ladder rescue of the parachute guy from the top of the tree.

We even did a little dancing to some really fun music...and played my parent's favorite song for them to dance to. ("Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers)Happy Birthday Mom! I am so blessed to have you! What a cute couple you two still make!

8 Years Ago...

On this day, 8 years ago, this little boy changed my life. On May 1, 2002, I became a mom and will never be the same. The saying "it goes by so fast" seems to be so cliche, but I am realizing it really is true. Bryce has grown so much, but most of all, I am amazed and proud of the heart he has. He deeply cares for others and is such a faithful little friend. He already has impacted lives around him because he is not afraid to be a friend to those that no one wants to talk to. Even when he doesn't realize it, he is showing the love of Christ to those kids.

To celebrate his special day, our family had some old fashioned backyard fun. You will know what I mean after you see the pictures below. (We really aren't rednecks, by the way :)

Here is my mom and Brayden. I talk to my mom daily and now realize how much she did for me. Thanks Mom! I love you! Brayden loves hanging out with her.

Makenna was refilling her lemonade cup for the second or third time. I lost track, but sugar doesn't count on birthdays,right?

The kids roasted their hot dogs over the fire on coat hangers. (I told you it was old fashioned fun).

They still sit at this tiny picnic table they painted. Here they are acting silly. Cousins are so much fun!

We even did some relay races. This one was their first time doing the 3 legged race. Makenna was not fond of this one and quit half way through with a hurt ankle.

Then came the "potato" sack race. No, those aren't potato sacks, they are garbage bags. The guy at Publix would not sell me any of their potato sacks. And yes, that is me on the far right. I believe in adults acting like kids every now and then. It's good for the soul!

Then came the wheel barrow race. This one is an old favorite, but harder than I remember.

This is the "pass off the egg on the spoon" relay, after you walk down and back. The kids were serious about this one and it showed... we did not lose any eggs. Whew! They were Eggland's Best and those are not cheap!

They each got to take some whacks at the car pinata. It held on for a while, but finally gave out and dumped candy for the kids to gather up. Brayden got into this one. He liked getting to hit something with a bat and then eat candy off the ground. What a treat!

Here is the "Mario" cake I made. This is the first time I have done much "artwork" on a cake, but it turned out pretty good. I use this cake website every year for my kid's birthdays and they have pictures and directions for just about any cake you can think of. Bryce said it was the coolest cake I have made him. That makes it worth all the extra time and effort. I actually had fun doing it and contemplated going to work at Publix to decorate cakes. It was just a brief thought...

Make a Wish!

Time for presents! Bryce just loves opening presents! This is probably his most favorite part.
He had been waiting all day.

Here is his most favorite present. Grandpa and Grandma surprised him with a Star Wars blaster. He said it was "sweet". He has been asking for that one for a while now...

Bryce, thank you for blessing my life for 8 years. I pray that you will continue to live for God and seek Him in all you do. I look forward to watching you grow and consider it a privilege to be your mom. Happy Birthday! It was a fun day. I love you!

FIVE

My little Makenna turned 5 on Dec. 3rd and we celebrated with a "candy store" party. Here is the birthday girl in front of her SWEET table. She is sporting her fancy tooth necklace she got from the dentist.

The table of goodies is ready for some shoppers. Elise helped me set up the table. She is the "jar queen" thank goodness. I had some jars and she let me borrow the rest. Thanks Elise! She also made that adorable candy wreath you see behind the table. I will put that on Makenna's bedroom door for Christmas from now on. It turned out so cute!

It would not be a candy store without a striped scalloped sign so I made this one out of a scrap piece of beadboard that I had in my garage. I cut it with a jigsaw and painted it. I hot glued the lolipop ornament on it. This will now go in her room too.

Here is my niece, Bailey, writing on the chalkboard that we put on the front porch. It will say, "Where all your SWEET dreams come true." Bailey, Alyssa, and Bryce were such a help to me during the party. They wore their cute aprons and worked the candy store and helped with the crafts. I could not have done it without them!

That sweet wreath again. I just love it!

I made this sign from a 97 cent plaque I got from Wal Mart. I cut fabric with pinking shears to make the lollipop. I decopaged the fabric on after I spray painted the plague green. Those fabric candies are what the girls made for the craft.

A yummy view...

SWEET TREATS

My hubby was a real sport and even wore his apron while working the store. He LOVES his little girl and will do anything for her! Thanks honey!

This was their pre "candy binge" snack. I was trying to prevent belly aches. I don't know that it helped any.

Here is the girls making candy bracelets. I used red licorice, life savers, and fruit loops. I wanted them to make neclaces, but the Twizzlers were too short. I would recommend using the shoe string licorice if you can find it. It is longer and tougher than the Twizzlers. They broke easily, but were so cute.

They played "hot cupcake". It is just like hot potato, but using a chenille cupcake. They had fun doing this. They kept wanting to play over and over again.

These are the bags that they took home with their fabric candies they made. I put a label on each one with their name saying "Lilly's Candy Cottage" etc... I am hoping they will go home and use them in their play kitchens to have their own candy store.

Each guest took home one of these. They would need a good tooth brushing after all that candy!

The cupcakes. It looks like a lollipop was stolen! Oh well.

It took Makenna three tries to blow out the candle. She was really trying hard with those puffy cheeks!

Makenna's friend Sarah was enjoying her cupcake. Don't you just love her gingerbread dress? You should have seen her polka dot tights and sparkly shoes. So cute!

I made rainbow cupcakes that I saw on the Whatever blog. They were so fun to make. She put detailed instructions on her blog if you want to try them. You can make a rainbow cake too.





Makenna got her first American Girl doll. This is Kirsten Larson. She is retiring so Makenna asked for her. I NEVER thought I would buy one of these expensive dolls until I went to the store... I had to eat my words!




I can't believe Makenna is 5 already. I still think of her as my baby girl. She brought me to tears when we were making her cupcakes and goodies together. I told her that next year I would be bringing cupcakes to her kindergarten class at school. She said, "yeah, I won't be doing this (baking) with you anymore." I got a lump in my throat when she said that, but I told her that we will just do it together the night before. Makenna is my kindred spirit. We are a lot alike so I understand her and know that her free spirit does not always lead to task completion and organization, but she is so much fun and the things she says keep me laughing! She loves life and appreciates the little things. Her memory of the details amazes me. Thank you Makenna for 5 fun filled years. I look forward to lots more fun birthday parties with you and yes, we will always do the baking together!