Busy times since Halloween

November and thus far in December have been crazy busy! Thanksgiving was wonderful with family and friends and the week before Richard and I took a short trip to San Fransisco, Sonoma and Napa! Much needed for mommy and daddy~ so beautiful!





We just got back from our annual Branson trip with Richards sisters and their families. Although it was so much fun, it was pretty cold and fresh outside! We bundled up and headed out to Silver Dollar City all day Saturday.










We got to have lunch with Santa and all the elves which was a highlight!







Last year seeing Santa was horribly traumatic for this little girl...
but this year was much better! Although not totally warm and excited to see the man in red she knows now that he brings the gifts so she was not about to meltdown in front of him.




'll leave you with this photo of Finley and santa.... for all those who know her it's pretty classic!
We call it the "Santa told me I was on the naughty list" picture-ha

Halloween Festivities

Oh how much fun we had this year on Halloween. Like I said before we were supposed to have something Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights but Thursday's Spook City downtown got rained/monsooned out which was a blessing in disguise. We had plenty to do to make up for it.
Thursday Finley had a Halloween party at MDO/"school" that I made cookies and treats for. She had so much fun and is still talking about it. Ms. Sheila and Ms. Flora are the best....


the cookies I made for Fin's class

Then Friday night we had our Sunday School party at the Farmer's house and it turned out to be perfect weather by that night. It rained most of the day Friday but then about 4 the clouds broke and by the time we walked down there it was absolutely wonderful. The hayride got cancelled cause they wanted to still have a yard, but they improvised with indoor activities and we still got to roast s'mores over the fire pit. Everyone had a great time and almost everyone there was dressed up.... even the adults. Richard went as Paulie Bleeker and I went as Juno.... one of our favorites!

sweet Sophie

Richard as Bleeker

the superheros were talking stratagy!!- ha

Evie and Finley cracking themselves up

Drew

they set up cookie and cake decorating stations in the garage and it was a hit!

Saturday was a laid back day. It was perfect Halloween weather... cool, crisp and clear!! We knew that night would be exciting so we tried to take it easy during the day.
Finley and her 3 best friends were Superheros and I have to say that they turned out super dang cute! They were Super Finley/ Super Drew/ Super Evie/ Super Megan. We never got all 4 of them to be still long enough to get a good picture but we'll try maybe this week when they are not on a sugar high!

She really got into character


trying to get a decent pictures with our cousins Thomas and Emily(AKA- Hans solo and Ariel)


There was no one home at this house and they didn't understand... it was so funny cause they just kept standing there and looking inside!
cousin Emily
Laci and Finley
awesome full moon that night!

The night ended with us coming back and passing out candy then running out of candy and having to turn out the lights. I think Finley loved that just as much as trick-or-treating but when she found out we were out of ring pops she had a slight nuclear meltdown... I almost did the same when I found out we were out of chocolate- ha!!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween

Band-aid Bandit strikes again

I mean really..... are band-aids really that cool?? I guess I can't leave the kid alone for very ANY length of time... she was supposed to be watching Princess and the Pauper and this is what I found...

Good 'ol Berryhill Park

A couple of weekends ago we were in Searcy while Richard was out of town. Mom had a Friends for Life walk at Berryhill so Finley and I decided to tag along. She LOVES parks so I didn't have to twist her arm at all! Being there with her brought back so many memories from my childhood and teenage years. Of course I grew up in Searcy so I am constantly reminded of things when I'm there visiting but just something about this day felt different. I remember vividly playing there as a little girl when we were visiting my grandparents and then later when we moved back playing volleyball with my church youth group there and softball practice. I remembered the night my brother almost got arested while we were in high school by some "barney fife" cop when he was pretending to mess with the christmas lights display... (Searcy is know for thier holiday of lights and they take it very seriously- ha!!) I remembered countless other things that happened there but I couldn't help but think that life is coming full circle before my eyes. I loved that my parents raised me in Searcy and that they still live there so I can go there whenever I want. The older I get the more I realize how uncommon that is and for that I am grateful. Here are a few pictures from that morning....

It's the most wonderful time of the year??

A new season has officially dropped on Arkansas and I'm loving me some October! Fall has arrived!! I absolutely love the cold crisp air and the changing colors. i love the pumpkins and mums on porches and the pumpkin patch trips. I love that lots of people in our neighborhood put up halloween blow-ups in their yard~~ kinda random i know, but it brings so much joy to Finley every time we drive or walk by. (I have resisted putting one up in our yard (much to my husbands dismay) but I may have to consider one for next year!?!?) It's the best how they get so excited about such little things. I love the homecoming football games and hayrides. i love all the pumpkin spice candles and dressing in layers! I love how Christmas is just a couple of months away and Starbucks has their new holiday flavors and cups already! I think there is just something very nostalgic about this time of year for me and certain smells and places instantly take me back to my younger-carefree days!

Now as a parent we have been crazy busy and I'm not sure it's going to slow down any time soon. We have halloween activities Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then of course on Saturday. I was thinking back to last year and how we thought it was so awesome that Finley could point and say "punkin" and now she says "look mommy the leaves our changing and they are so beautiful!". WOW- what a difference a year makes! I won't bother writing the cliche statement that every mom is thinking right now but you know it's so true! She is so excited about it this year and therefore so are we.

And last but not least today I am grateful for washable markers!! I literally walked away for just a couple of minutes and this is what I found. She was unzipping her PJ's so she could find more bare skin when I found the little rascal. There was just ONE lone marker in the group of crayons and she managed to have a field day with it! Oh well- just another day in the life....

Another Blog??

Yes...I've done it again. All of you who have "tried" following my blogs (yes, plural... blogs) I'm here again! I'm here to admit my failures and start fresh! I'm really good at starting things but sticking to them has always been a little harder for me. But coming off of nearly a full week of daily saying- "i really need to write that down!" or "i hope i remember that" I have come to the conclusion that I must try this once again. I'm not going to promise daily entries... I'll try or weekly or maybe monthly recaps- ha! I'm going to try and post things other than things about Finley or pictures of her... although I can't promise you anything.

We don't have that exciting of a life to most but it's ours and we love it. We are far from perfect and there are many days that we feel like pulling our hair out but we are trying to be the best parents to a feisty 2 year old we can be and to honor God while doing it - much harder than it sounds!! Hope you enjoy a look into our crazy, blessed life!