Parents Thanksgiving at Elm Tree Elementary

Yesterday I got to go have lunch with Bailey for the "Parents Thanksgiving Lunch".
She was so excited to see me there. I told her I would be there but still when I showed up, she was so surprised. I love that little things like lunch make her so happy. 

Oh and this girl loved her Thanksgiving lunch. She ate almost everything on her plate with enthusiasm. It was so funny to watch. School cafeteria food is not the greatest, but she didn't seem to mind one bit. 

We had a great lunch together and I dread the day when she doesn't love it when I visit her at lunch for school. Please don't get too cool for me sweet girl. 

Then today I had lunch with my sweet Tanner boy. Luckily he isn't too cool for me yet either.
He ran up to me and gave me a big hug when I arrived. Then he helped me get my tray of food and we found some friends to sit with. Tanner didn't love his lunch like Bailey did, but he ate pretty well. 

It was cute to watch Tanner interact with his little friends. I just love this boy and all his sweetness. 

In two more days we are out for Thanksgiving break and I cannot wait. I need a break for our routine and I need some time with my kids. I'm so excited. 

Bring on all the food, family, football and fun. 

Christie's 30th Birthday Surprise

My best friend, Christie, is turning 30 in a few weeks and to celebrate I drove over to Texas and surprised her. And man, was she surprised. It was awesome. She was just so shocked to see me at her door and then just over joyed. We had the best time celebrating and partying together.
I had coordinated the entire visit with her sweet husband and so when I got there, he had babysitters lined up and was prepared to take off work early to help out.
We had so much fun! 

So I arrived around 11 am on Thursday. After Christie got over her initial shock, she quickly got ready and we dropped off her 3 year old at one of her friend's houses to play. Then we were able to go have lunch together and do some shopping.
Our first stop was "Tom & Chee". It's basically this famous grilled cheese and tomato soup restaurant. With direction for Christie, I ordered and really enjoyed my grilled cheese sandwich. So yummy!

After lunch we went to Target and walked off all the calories we had just consumed. We browsed happily without children and it was awesome. Then we grabbed some cupcakes and headed back to Christie's house to pick up her girls from school.
When we got home, Steve- Christie's husband, was also home early and we all went to get the girls from school. Then Steve took them home and Christie and I left again for more fun.
We went shopping and ate dinner at one of Christie's favorite places- "Zoe's Kitchen".

The next day was Friday and after Christie got her girls off to school we ran some errands with her little guy, Oliver. Ollie and I really bonded on this trip. 

Before we started our errands though, Christie introduced me to Starbucks' "cranberry bliss bar". Seriously amazing. How did I live before tasting this amazing treat. Sadly, it's seasonal and will be gone after Christmas.  I may have to go home and buy a few trays to freeze. So we got our Starbucks fix and then we headed to Wal-Mart to get a few things. 

Then it was back to Christie's house to hang out. Around lunch time Steve got home and he got the kids packed and ready to go camping. Christie checked the girls out of school early and then Steve and the kids all left to go on their ward camp out. 

That just left Christie and I and our eternally starving stomachs.
We decided on Chick-Fil-A for lunch because we share a common love for CFA. 

It was weird however, to be there without any kids. It was kind of amazing. Oh and I introduced Christie to their amazing chocolate chunk cookies. YUM!

After lunch we did more shopping. I basically bought out "Carter's" and Bailey is officially set on fall/winter clothing now. 

Then we got pedicures and got to relax and chat while someone made our toes look pretty. 

Then we got massages. This was basically the most amazing massage. I fell asleep because I was so relaxed. Seriously- the best. That's why I look so tired in this picture- I had literally just woken up.

So fun! We totally pampered ourselves. 

From our massages, we raced over to a dine-in theater in downtown Fort Worth.
We barely made it in time, but we found our seats and then ordered our dinners.
How amazing is that? We got to watch our movie and have food brought to our seats. It was so nice.
We saw "Murder on the Orient Express" and we both really enjoyed it. 

We ended our day of pampering at "Hopdody" with some amazing custard milkshakes.
(Can you tell we love food? It's one of the foundations of our friendship)

After dessert we went back to Christie's very quiet, kid-free house.
We spent the next couple hours going through the clothes we had bought and organizing her girls' closets. (Yes, I let Christie use me for my organizing skills. I'm such a good friend like that)

Saturday we headed down to Waco, Texas to visit the home of the reality show "Fixer Upper". I'm not a huge follower of the show, but I think it's fun to watch. However, Magnolia and the Silos did not disappoint. It's so stinking cute and everything is just darling.
We had a great time. And my sister Sarah was also there, a total coincidence, visiting with a bunch of her friends. So we got to have lunch with them at the Silo food trucks and hang out with them a little while.. 

So we ate lunch at one of the food trucks that happened to be another grilled cheese place and  it was delicious and totally worth the wait. Then we explored the grounds  for a bit. 

After shopping at the Magnolia store (where we got coordinating t-shirts) we got in line at the Silos Bakery. So amazing. Seriously. I didn't get any cupcakes, but I stocked up on their amazing cookies. 

We are basically the cutest best friends. Am I right?

Oh and with our combined miles,  it was about 550 miles to Magnolia. Worth every mile! 

We had such a great time together. 

We said our goodbyes to Sarah and her friends, grabbed our purchases and started the drive back to Fort Worth. It's only 1 1/2 hours from Christie's house and so it wasn't bad at all. We just talked and laughed and when we hit traffic 30 minutes from her house- we just passed the time by  jamming out to 90's music - like backstreet boys and N'sync. Nothing weird about that. 

Saturday night we went back out shopping and bought a few more things and we ate at this new taco place downtown- because we are cool and hip like that. 

Then we went home to Christie's and I made a birthday cake for Ollie. He turned 4 today and it was fun to be a part of the celebration. So we stayed up until midnight making Oliver a Spider man cake- because why not? 

Then today, I had to leave to come home. It was sad but the sadness was softened by Ollie's reaction to his spider-man cake. He loved it! 

In one last show of true friendship, we wore our matching shirts today.
I left around 10 am and drove the 6 hours home. 

It was so sad to leave, but we had such an amazing weekend together.
It's not everyday that your best friend turns 30 and I'm so glad we got to celebrate the big 3-0 together!

Thanks for all the fun Christie! And we better start planning our 40th birthday celebrations now, because this may be hard to top! Happy Birthday!

Elm Tree Elementary Fun

Last week the little boys and I went to the kids' school to watch them run in the Wildcat Fun run. It was the day after Halloween and it was freezing. But we survived. Little Benson spent the whole time snuggled up in the stroller. He was so good. Tucker helped me cheer for the kids. 

First up was Bailey's run- the first graders were a little more unorganized but they pulled it together. 

Bailey loved it. The lap were tiny and so the kids felt like it was doable. Each kid ran 30 laps. It seemed like a lot but they did great. 

Tucker gave Bailey hugs whenever she did a lap. They are such cute little friends. 

I love this girl and her sweet smiles. 

After each lap the kids got a mark on their shirt and it indicated how many laps the had completed. 

Every 5 laps or so was a silly lap- like walk backwards, bunny hop or dance. It made it fun for the kids. Bailey loved the bunny hop lap. 

I love that a friend caught this picture. This was after Bailey finished her last lap. Tucker and I were so proud of Bailey. He kept cheering for her. It was adorable. 

Look at these cute little first-grade friends (Bailey, Chloe Caresia and Jonah Schilling.)

After the first graders finished their run they went inside and then the second graders lined up.
Tanner's class won the pledge contest and so they were announced first. It was pretty cute. 

Tanner has so much enthusiasm for everything he does in life and I love that about him. 

First they did a pace lap to get everyone moving. You can see Tanner right at the front. Loving his life. 

Then they were off running. Tanner finished really fast. 

He also got a special shout out for the MC for his amazing dance moves during the dance lap. He was so thrilled and showed off all his cool moves. I was cracking up. 

I know this isn't a great picture, but I love him giving me a thumbs up. It's so cute. 

So proud of this boy. After he finished he stood at the sidelines and cheered for all his classmates. 

So even though it was freezing cold, both kids had a great time at their races and we had a great time cheering for them. Hopefully next year their "Fun Run" is during a warmer part of the school year. November 1st is too cold. 

Then today I went with Bailey's class to the Amazeum for a class field trip.
First graders are so energetic. I was worn out after this field trip but it was so fun to see Bailey with her friends and totally in her element. 

These piglets were the biggest hit. All the kids loved playing with them. 

This is Bailey and her friend Morgan, they were so cute together. 

The group of kids I was in charge of were all really great. I had three girls and three boys and we had a great time playing together. 

I'm grateful for good Mom friends who watch my little kids so I can go to things like this.
It was lots of fun and Bailey loved having me there.