Wanna Join Me?

There's an amazing opportunity to join my Tastefully Simple team in May or June for only $50 (or even less!) so I couldn't help but share it here, too.  If you know me at all, you know how much I love this company.  They're so good to us consultants, and my team is so unbelievable.  I can't speak highly enough of them!  I'd love for you to 'date us' ~ give us a try for 4 parties and see if you fall in love with TS like I did 4 years ago.  This is a great time to try it out for minimal out-of-pocket costs!  Let me know if you want to chat!

 

Wordless Wednesday

{Happy Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa!  We all miss you both so much.}

How am I going to pick?

Can you believe these are school photos???  Last month, we got info about Gavin's preschool pictures.  They were using a new photographer this year, and siblings were invited to come up if we wanted to be included in the session.  I was really excited about the opportunity, so I decided to take Riley, and I'm so glad I did! 

I'm definitely getting these two printed to hang on our walls...

 But I am having trouble deciding which of these is my favorite to get printed of the two of them.

And his class picture just cracks me up!   Look at all those girls...and how squished Gavin looks.  Haha!

Backyard Fun

Spring has arrive {well...you wouldn't know it from the weather the last couple days, but was here briefly and we're hoping it will come back!}  We celebrated a couple weeks ago by having our first fire out back of the season with friends.  {Happened to be the same evening as Harper's birthday party, hence the same clothes!}

I LOVE some of these photos I got.  I think they turned out so great.

Gavin is such a funny kid, and half the time he won't let me take any photos of him, but the other half of the time, they turn out like this...

Riley's personality really shows in these photos.  She is in love with bubbles right now, and when she tries to blow them herself, the wand goes into her mouth every.single.time.

One of my favorite photos I've ever taken...

Yeah, let's drink the bubble solution.  That sounds like a great idea!

And even though he was just pretending to be asleep, I love this one of Gavin, too.  This little chair Jarrod bought for him is so cute, and he loves sitting by the fire in it.  Now, we need another for his sister.

Can't wait for more fires this spring with friends, new and old!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday, Harper!

A little over a week ago, we headed up to celebrate our friend Harper's 2nd birthday!  The kids had a great time.  She had a bounce house in her backyard and got a Power Wheels as a present.  What more could you possibly ask for to make a great party, huh?  Well, the pulled pork sandwiches were delicious and the cake was absolutely amazing!  :)

 The pretty birthday girl, who was afraid to get in the Bounce House :)

Harper wasn't so sure about actually driving her new Mustang, so Gavin stepped in and took the birthday girl for a ride around the backyard.  They looked so cute....like they were on a date!

We're really excited; the friend that made Harper's amazing cake is making Gavin's in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait to share photos.  I can only imagine how awesome it's going to look!

Easter Photos

Catching up...  Time to share some Easter celebration photos.

The Friday before Easter, we were invited to Andrea's house for an egg hunt.  The weather was gorgeous and the kids were so excited to be outside.  It was really nice to be there and meet new friends, too.  Play dates are always great for the kids, but even better for the mamas!

I took probably eight photos of the two of them together with their Easter baskets...and this is the best one that came out!

On Saturday, we colored Easter eggs.  We did something a little different this time so that Riley could participate...we did 'spin-a-egg' or something like that.  Cute idea, Riley had fun, but it wasn't the greatest product.

On Easter Sunday, we were invited to go to many different places...aren't we popular?  Haha....kidding!  But, we decided to have a low-key day.  We woke up and had monkey bread for breakfast with the kids, went through Easter baskets, and enjoyed a lazy morning of snuggling.

 

Then, we walked up to a brunch at the Lee's house.  {Back in late February, I hosted a playdate here, and invited Jessica, who I had met from MOMS Club, and she asked if she could bring Amy, who lives in our neighborhood, so we could meet her...and it's been great because her little girl just turned two so we have a new friend that is a two minute walk away to spend time with during the day!} 

  

We spent the rest of the day doing yard work, and then went for a nice walk to the subdivision next to us to play on the playground.  Gavin found a 'walking stick' on the way... :)

We ended Sunday night with Riley in bed early (thanks to no nap that day!), Gavin and Daddy watching a movie together, and I got to relax with a great book I recently started.  It's really making me think about my relationship with Gavin, and I'm loving it.

Such a great weekend!  I love family weekends like this one.....love my little family so much!

Saying Goodbye

I've been putting this blog post off.  Blogging it will just mean it's official...but I guess it's time.

Last month, we said goodbye to our awesome friends, the Famini family.  We knew from the first time we met them, that their stay here in NWA wasn't going to be forever, but I secretly hoped it would be for longer than they were expecting. {Ok, not secretly...they knew how much I wanted them to stay.}  But, ultimately California won and got to have them back.

We did our family dinner goodbyes, and planned one last playdate a couple days before they were leaving.  Of course, schedules were crazy, so we decided to meet for Yum Yos one last time that Wednesday night.  As we were finishing up dinner, Amy called to tell me that Lucas had a fever and Yum Yos was canceled.  Gavin was heart broken, as was I.  But...we couldn't risk spreading germs.

On Thursday, we went over to say our goodbyes, but to minimize the risk of my kids getting sick right before our Texas trip, we kept the visit really short.  I, of course, had my camera in hand, but didn't get the pictures I was hoping for. :(  Here are the last shots I got of the Famini-Pate friends.

Gavin picked out some presents for Lucas before they left, including a two-pack of Star Wars action figures that they each got one out of, so they can always think of each other when they're playing with them.  So sweet.

And then, there are these two...

Don't they make such a cute couple?  Seriously, Caleb really started making the moves on Riley over the last few weeks they were here.  There was a lot of kissing involved!

 

And of course...the real reason we had frequent playdates...so these two mamas could get their time to hang out. :)

We've already had a Skype date and let the kids talk, and we're really happy for the Faminis, but will miss our Sunday night Mama Fu's dinners, Yum Yos dates, and our Pumpkin Patch pals.

Love you guys, even if you're in Cali!