Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We just had an awesome Thanksgiving here in Arkansas, complete with a visit from one of my best friends and old roommate from college.
Christie and her family drove over Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, all the way for Fort Worth, Texas. They got in around 1am Thursday morning after a 9 hour drive. (That's the test of true friendship) and needless to say, I was a little excited. I couldn't fall asleep that night, haha.

Christie and I were roommates my freshman year of college (7 years ago) and we are still best friends today. I literally talk to her atleast once everyday.

The next morning, Chris had to work so he left a little before 7 am and we wouldn't see him again until Thanksgiving dinner at 5:30 pm. Christie and I spent the day making pies, side dishes and rolls- all the while trying to keep our kids from fighting and destroying the house--- IT WAS AWESOME.

We made green bean casserole, sweet potato pie casserole, rolls, caramel apple cheesecake dip, chocolate cream pie, banana cream pie, lemon sour cream pie and glazed apple cream pie. PHEW!!!! It was a bunch of baking!!!

Before heading over to my parents' house for dinner we snapped a few pictures of our kids in their turkey shirts. I had made these matching shirts the night before and I'm not going to lie- I love how they turned out.

Seriously, how cute are they in their matching turkey shirts???



Christie's adorable little turkeys

And my little turkeys, yeah Tanner's shirt is just a tie made from the same fabric I made the turkeys from. But he loved his tie shirt.

After pictures we headed over to my parents house for the latest Thanksgiving Dinner in history. I was starving by the time we sat down and I'm fairly certain I scarfed down the entire meal....

That night Christie, Julieta and I left to do some "Black Friday" shopping. The dads took the kids home and put them to bed- thank you dads! We left my house at 8:30 pm. We drove to the Wal-Mart in Flippin, shopped a little and then drove on over to Branson Missouri. We got to Target at 10:45 pm. Target was fantastic. We got a ton of cute stuff and there were NO lines. So fun.

Then we dropped Julieta off at Kohls and Christie and I headed over the the Tanger Outlet Mall. I feel like we went to pretty much EVERY shop in that mall. It was SOOO fun and so tiring!!!
We spent about 3 hours at Tanger and then we went and picked up Julieta. We finally got home from our wild night at 5:45 am.

We passed out for a few hours and when I woke up at 7:15 am, Chris was gone and Christie's husband, Steve, was watching all four kids. Such an awesome guy. I tried to stay awake and help, but I literally couldn't keep my eyes open and I fell asleep again on the couch.

I woke up again a couple hours later and Steve was getting all the kids dressed to go play outside. Again, so awesome. My kids loved it.

Eventually about an hour later Christie and I finally roused and got ready for the day. We fed the kids lunch, put them down for naps and after went into Mountain home and met Chris for lunch/dinner. We ate at "Back Forty" and had their delicious barnbuster burger. SO GOOD.

Then the Dad's took the kids home and Christie and I headed over to the theatre. We met my mom and Julie Arndt to watch "Breaking Dawn, Part 2".

Honestly, I thought it was pretty good. Definitely the best movie of the series yet. It was fun!

When we got home, we put out kids to bed, then we put our husbands to bed and we popped in a chick flick. I'm fairly certain we both fell asleep about 10 minutes into that movie. We were soooo tired!!!

Here are a few pictures of us the night beforet they left!

 

Christie's kids were already in bed at this point and for some reason mine really wanted to be in these pictures. They were super cheesey and everything. Speaking of cheesey- check out Steve in the last picture...haha.

Anyways, the next morning Christie and Steve woke up early and headed out so they could get home and relax before it got too dark.

It was a short trip but loaded with fun. I'm so glad they came to visit! Thanks for making the super long drive to get here Christie!!! And as soon as you move into a house- You know I'll come visit you!!!

 

My first 5K- "The White River Marathon for Kenya"

Today I ran my first 5K. It was the "White River Marathon for Kenya" It was awesome. I was part of something that was just amazing. There is a camaraderie among the runners that is contagious and it makes you feel so energized. It was so fun to be a part of it.  And if was even more fun to know that all the proceeds were going towards the kids of Katito in Kenya. That's a good cause, right?
I woke up at 5:30 this morning with butterflies in my stomach. I was super nervous and I was worried because it was 32 degrees outside. I don't run well and I run even worse in the cold.
Despite those fears, I got dressed and ready and then my parents came over around 6:15 am. My Dad stayed with my kiddos since it was too cold for them to wait at the finish line for me. My mom came with me and was my own personal cheerleader. (Such awesome parents)

Here is a picture of me before leaving the house this morning- and yeah I'm rocking my "Marathon for Kenya" t-shirt. Isn't it obnoxiously bright and awesome? I'm pretty proud of it.

We got to the start point and lined up and before I knew it, we were off. My running partner couldn't be there so I was on my own. I also forgot my watch so I had no idea how fast I was running.

I just ran and ran and ran. Luckily, the first mile is downhill so that gave me a nice start. Then it was just a matter of not stopping.

Eventually I started hearing the music from the finish line and I knew I was getting close.
I couldn't believe it was over so quick.

I finished my first 5K in 30 minutes and 54 seconds. Not bad since my goal time was 40 minutes.

I placed second in my age group for the women's division and I placed 16th overall, out of 58 women.

SOOO excited! It was a great experience even if my legs felt like jelly afterwards.

Here is a video my Mom took of me crossing the finish line- don't mind my strut as I run in- I was pretty pumped!

Here is me after my run!

I felt like belting out "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" - not that I was the champion, just because I FINISHED!!!!

Oh and for placing second- I got this cute little backpack. haha. Nothing big, but I was still excited.

All in all, I'd say my first 5K was a great experience and I can't wait to do my next one!

November Fun

I  cannot believe how fast time is flying by lately. It's already the middle of November and now Thanksgiving is next week....It's CRAZY!

Well last week our library hosted a "Teddy Beddy Bear Storytime" and can I just say how stinkin' adorable it was. Tanner and I dropped Bailey off at her bestie's house (Maddie) and we headed to the library.  It was in the evening and all the kids came in their pj's.
The theme was panda bears. They read panda bear books and watched video clips about panda bears.

Then the kids got little kits to make panda masks.

Here is my little panda bear Tanner.

Man I love this boy.

Tanner loved his mask. Seriously, a week later and he is still wearing it everyday

After the stories and movies were over, they brought in a panda bear - or as close as we're going to get to a panda bear. Tanner was super excited to give this panda bear a hug. Too cute! 

Then as we were leaving they passed out bedtime snacks to all the kids. There were black and white oreos to go along with the panda theme and little panda thermis cups. I love taking Tanner to things like this. It reminds me how big he is getting and that makes me a little sad, but as he gets older everything just keeps getting more and more fun!

 

 

Then over the weekend I took the kids to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. We met our "Mommy & Me" group there and it was soo fun. There were 6 mommas and 7 kids. It was a GORGEOUS day considering how late in the year it is. It was so nice they had the petting zoo open and the giraffes were out. We had so much fun!

Here is Bailey chillin' in her stroller in her rockin' sunglasses. I'm not going to lie, I was worried about handling both kids alone, but it went relatively well.

Tanner loved this little waterfall

Kangaroos- soo adorable

Tanner loved feeding the goats at the petting zoo. This little goat licked his face. Tanner started laughing. It was so cute and a little gross.

feeding the goats

Even Bailey fed the goats this time. Although when the goats ate the pellets out of her hand she kinda freaked and ran for it. She didn't cry, just didn't want to go near them again.

Even the black bears were wrestling. You can't see the other bear but he's below this one. They were rolling and wrestling together. Tanner loved it!

Tanner watching the black bears. I swear this kid thinks he's part bear. He's constantly growling and roaring!

Sweet Bailey

Bailey exploring

Tanner and Bailey loved this stone tiger. Bailey even started saying "iger"

After lunch we headed over to the giraffes. We got to feed them and it was so fun!

Isn't Tanner's little face so cute after the giraffe licked his hand.

Bailey gave it a shot but she wasn't a huge fan of the LONG gross giraffe tongue

I love the picture of Tanner looking at the giraffe

Me and my babes. We had so much fun and I'm so glad we went!

After walking the ENTIRE zoo, we let the kids play at the playground for a bit. It's a two hour drive to the zoo, I figured every bit of exhausted energy makes the drive home a bit easier.

After playing we loaded up and the kids were asleep about 2 minutes after leaving the zoo. They slept the entire drive home. It was a great trip. I'm so happy the weather was so nice and the kids behaved.

Next up, thanksgiving. Can't wait!

Family Trip to Springfield

Last weekend we drove up for Springfield for stake conference. Chris had to work on Saturday until 3 but he was able to get off for Sunday. After he got home we packed the car and drove the two hours to Springfield.

We got in around 5:45 pm and we were all ready to eat. So we headed over to "Incredible Pizza"

Wow- we loved this place. Awesome pizza buffet with pasta, hot dogs, salad and yummy desserts. We ate and ate and then ate some more.

Especially Bailey. I couldn't believe the amount of food she put away. 

Here is a pic I tried to snap of the kids and I at our table. Chris was getting some food- I know I totally cut my head off, but the kids look so cute, I still love it.

Tanner enjoying his dessert pizza. 

Sweet smiles

After we stuffed ourselves with pizza and other yummy stuff, we headed over to the arcade room. Such fun! It had arcade games, go-carts, bumper cars and laser tag.

Bailey had sooo much fun walking around and pushing every button in sight.

Tanner loved every game that involved shooting some kind of gun.

See?

Even Bailey had a turn playing games

Probably one of our favorite games.

Sweet girl!

After spending about an hour playing games we redeemed our tickets for some prizes. Tanner got two little cars and a bouncy toys. Bailey got two bracelets and a doll- which she completely loves!

Then we headed back over to the buffet to get some dessert.
Here's Tanner with his ice cream

Bailey with her purple-haired doll

By the time we left the pizza place it was almost 8. We headed over to our hotel, bathed the kids and put them to bed. Then I headed over to the oh-so-wonderful-Target. How I love their little kid clothes. So darling. I wanted just about everything in that store.

When I got back from Target, everyone was asleep.

Here are the kids the next morning. Love their sleepy hair. haha

After we woke up and ate breakfast, we got the kids ready for church.

Bailey all dressed for Stake Conference. LOVE her silly happy face

Haha- I love this picture. Bailey is looking for her belly button, but because she's wearing a onesie she couldn't find it. Love this girl!

Handsome boy all ready for stake conference.

Me and my kiddos!

Growing up I remember stake conference trips being so fun. Even though we have to drive 2 hours to go to stake conference, my parents always managed to make it fun. I wanted to carry that tradition on to my kids. So even though it was a quick trip, we were able to spend some fun time together. I love my little family and I'm grateful for every minute we have together!