Valentine's Day Getaway

 On Friday my sweet, amazing husband whisked me away for a super romantic weekend.
This awesome guy planned the whole weekend himself and surprised me.
He arranged babysitting with my siblings and booked the hotel himself. It was just so nice. 

I love this guy of mine so much.

So Friday night we dropped the kids off at Sarah's and took off.
This is us in the car, leaving their house. Can you tell how excited we are??

We drove straight to "Gaskin's Cabin" in Eureka Springs and indulged in our favorite prime rib!

Seriously the best meat I've ever tasted.
We went here 7 years earlier for our 5th anniversary and I thought for sure I had built this place up in my mind, but no. It totally held up. Such an amazing dinner!

Sarah sent me this picture before bed on Friday and it made me so happy. The kids love Aunt Sarah's house and they were having such a great time. 

Saturday morning Chris and I explored Branson. We ate breakfast at a little country cafe and then did some shopping. We found each of our kids a little surprise at "Dick's 5&10". It was so fun. 

Then we did some more shopping. Chris really enjoyed "Bass Pro Shop" and we also got some thank you gifts for Sarah and Johnny. It was so fun to just walk around and shop together and enjoy each other. 

Saturday night we went out for a nice sushi dinner.
It was such a relaxing weekend. We napped during the day. Ate all the yummy food we could get our hands on and just enjoyed talking to each other without kids interrupting. 

Sunday morning Sarah and Johnny took all 7 kids to church. They are such troopers. They told us the kids were angelic all weekend and they really just enjoyed them.
It was so nice to hear. 

Sunday morning we slept in, found some yummy breakfast and then headed home. 

The weather was freezing and their was supposed to be snow/ice coming so we didn't want to stay out late. Our weekend was wonderful but we were so happy to see our babies too!

We drove to Sarah and Johnny's and they fed us all, then we drove home with all our babies. It was so fun to see them all again. We might have a million crazy kids, but they are our crazies and we love them. 

Thank you to my sweet sister, brother-in-law and my husband for making this weekend possible.
It was the best. Best Valentine's day we've had in a long time!

Tanner's Rise and Shine

Today we got to go see Tanner's Rise and Shine showcase.
It was seriously amazing. The kids did so good. It was all themed around Black History Month and they talked about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. It was informative and well done.
The kids read their scripts and it was so good.
I'm so proud of this boy. He did great on his part. 

I didn't get a full class shot with everyone looking, but I love this one of Tanner hugging his friend Carter. They are such cute friends. 

And this one of Tanner, Carter and 

I adore Tanner's teacher and she is so perfect for Tanner. She advocates for him and helps him and is everything I could want in a teacher for him. She really inspires the kids and they did great on their showcase! Way to go Mrs. Rachel's Third Grade Class!

The First Snow of 2019

Today we had our first snow fall of the year today and spent as much time as we could handle playing in it. It was freezing outside, around 20 degrees, So I pulled all the kids around for a while on the sled and they loved that. 

Then each of the kids got to have a turn by themselves

After I was completely worn out, we went inside and warmed up with hot cocoa. 

Then a couple of hours later we decided to go try the front yard. When our driveway freezes over its perfect for sledding. Benson wasn't a fan of the cold wind, but he put up with it enough to try sledding with Mom. 

Benson and Dad went inside after a bit, but the rest of us kept playing. 

We spent the rest of the day hanging out around the fire, watching movies and playing with toys.
It wasn't an official snow day since we didn't have school anyway, but it was still a nice day together. 

Christmas Break

Since our Christmas break started right before Christmas day, we still had a little less than two weeks off from school when we got back from Mtn. Home. We had fun in Mtn. Home, the kids really loved playing with their cousins.

We even got to see the Harbers while we were visiting. They came over with their five kids and we all got to hang out.This is what 22 years of friendship and 9 kids between the two of us looks like. 

I love Adrian and the amazing mom that she is. And I adore all her sweet little ones.
I would have never predicted that Adrian would have 5 kids, but she is such an awesome mom. I am so glad we can survive this parenting gig together.  

We spent the rest of our time in Mtn Home just playing at Nanny and Papa's. It was mostly too cold to play outside, so we played a lot in the basement and the cousins played hard non stop. 

I was cracking up watching Benson play in the basement. He is finally getting big enough to really play and it so fun. 

Tucker enjoyed playing in the basement too. 

These two boys are pretty cute. 

Tanner got in some quality game boy time with Aunt Laura while we were in Mtn. Home. 

We also got to go see Nanny and Papa before heading home Thursday afternoon. We went to their office so we could finally meet all their new staff. Papa's business has grown so much, its pretty amazing. 

After getting home, we played some more. The kids were thrilled to have all their new toys to play with. It was pretty fun. Bailey really loves her easy bake oven. 

She made us all soft pretzels with her new oven. 

This cute boy. He is such a happy baby. 

Everyone came over to NWA for New Year's Eve and even Aunt Sarah and Uncle Johnny arrived home from Utah in time to party. 

After NYE, Aunt Laura stayed over and the kids loved that. She flew back to Japan out of NWA and so she got to hang for a few days before leaving. 

I found Tanner and Aunt Laura playing "wizard's chess" one day and that was pretty adorable. 

Before Aunt Laura left, we had lunch with her at some of her favorite American restaurants

We ate lunch at Red Lobster with Nanny and Papa before they left to drive back to Mtn. Home after NYE. The kids really loved Red Lobster and have already asked to go back. 

We also took her to one of our favorite Sushi places. The kids loved it. My kids have some seriously eclectic palates. 

It was hard to say goodbye to Aunt Laura, but we will get to see her this summer. Which isn't that close but we are still really excited. 

Bailey also learned how to ride her bike. I guess that bike seat she got for Christmas for her doll was all the motivation she needed. She just hopped on and started riding. It was a miracle. 

We enjoyed some awesome weather during Christmas break and Benson was so happy to be included on the bike rides. 

Tucker enjoys riding his bike but he also really enjoys the ziggler. 

I also got to go to the temple with some girlfriends during Christmas break. It was so nice.
I love starting off my year at the temple. Such a great way to start the year off on the right foot. 

I often found these two cute boys snuggling together. They are seriously the sweetest. 

I love these little brothers. 

Today we went for a bike ride up to the playground with some friends. The weather was amazing and the kids had a great time playing outside !

We are not ready to go back to school but school is starting regardless.

  Wish us luck tomorrow as we get back to the daily grind.