summer so far

Our summer is off to a great start. We've been spending time at the pool, enjoying evenings on the front porch and watching marathons of Naked and Afraid. Here's a few things that's keeping us busy...

I ordered this Octopus sprinkler from Pottery Barn Kids back in 2012. I had big plans for it and then it seemed to disappear. Mike and I both thought it had got thrown away with some other boxes and I was so disappointed. Imagine my surprise when we found it with some old Christmas decorations back during the holidays. We are loving it!!

 

Landon LOVES building forts and usually has one one built on our couch or chair at all times.  It's usually covered with all my throw pillows and blankets. He loves it, but it can get to be a bit of a mess. Well, last week my mom scored a Crazy Forts building set at a yard sale for $5. What a fabulous find!! He loves it and I'm so glad.  Just build the frame, toss some pillows inside and a sheet or blanket over the top and you're all set. She's keeping the yard sale find at her house and ordered this one for him to use at home. I'm so excited to have our living room back...and still let him have his fort.

We're doing a summer reading program that starts on June 25th. It runs for 6 Sundays. I'm excited that I'll have a few free hours for Target while he's busy learning. In the meantime, I found some fun worksheets here.

We're heading to Tennessee later this month to see the Titanic exhibit. I'll share more on that soon.


xoxo

 

five on friday

Happy Friday! We're kicking off spring break this afternoon....with snow. We're having the craziest mix of weather I've ever seen.  I can do without the snow, but I would like a thunderstorm that lasts for hours instead of a few minutes.  If only mother nature took requests.   I'm linking up with Five on Friday again this week. Here's what's going on for us right now...
 

I'm a little obsessed with Ancestry.com. I've been researching my dad's side of the family and it's truly amazing to go back and see records and stories about people you never got a chance to know, but still feel that connection to. The more you find, the deeper you want to dig.  If you've been thinking about researching your own tree, I definitely recommend it. Mike even has me doing a tree of his family. It really is interesting. 

I've been looking for an area rug for our living room.  I saw this allen + roth Kincora Beige woven area rug at Lowes and it's absolutely gorgeous. I think the colors would  work well in our room and the pattern is not too busy.  The price isn't too bad for an 8x10 size. I'm going to move our furniture around tomorrow to see if it could work. 

 

I have some Hilda cookie dough in the freezer, left over from Christmas. I'm going to use it next week for some fun Easter cookies.  I got these cute little Easter cookie cutters from Amazon last month and I can't wait to use them. Hilda cookies are very similar to Linzer cookies, but the dough has a cream cheese and butter base and it is so good and rich. My aunt's German mother-in-law passed down the recipe from her mom.  I like to use peach, apricot or blackberry jam. Check back next week to see the finished cookies. I'll share my dough recipe too. 
 

Landon can't get enough of watching "Sing".  He watched it at school last week and we purchased it on Amazon Instant Video that same afternoon. He loves singing along and performing.  Last night we downloaded the soundtrack. It's so cute to hear him sing along. He has such a good voice and some really good dance moves. We may just have to put him in dance class. My little Sinatra.

 

And now in book news...  I found a new cozy mystery series to try. The first book is Murder on Bainbridge Island by Dianne Harman.  It was a suggested title on Amazon, so I decided to give it a try.  The book is set in the pacific northwest and the main character has a catering business.  It's my first time reading this author and I'm hoping I enjoy the series.  I'll let you know!

Have a great weekend!

 

Easter Basket Ideas

Easter is fast-approaching, which means it's time to start thinking about Easter baskets. I love picking out fun stuff for Landon's basket. We got him a few things that I think he'll enjoy this year, along with the usual bubbles, sidewalk chalk and, of course, chocolate.
 

I always include books on any gift-giving occasion. I actually ordered him a few books to go in his basket, but these are two of my favorites.  I talked about some of our other favorite Easter books here.

:: If Jesus Came to Visit Me

:: I Prayed for You

 

I love this Alphabet Go Fish Letter Matching Card Game from Peaceful Kingdom. Landon is really into playing card games lately and anything that helps with his letters and reading skills is fine with me!

I ended up ordering another fun Go Fish game just because I liked these cards too.  The design is adorable and I couldn't pass them up. Besides, can you really have too many card games?

Landon loves telling jokes, ESPECIALLY knock-knock jokes. I'm going to let him have this Easter Crack-Ups: Knock-Knock Jokes Funny-Side Up book on Easter Eve so he'll be ready to entertain the family on Easter day. I'm sure they will be delighted! I'm nice like that. *wink

We saw a commercial on TV for this Wobbly Worm game and Landon asked for it specifically. It looks like a lot of fun and I think I'll enjoy playing  too.  

So that's a peek at what our little guy will find in his Easter basket on Easter morning. Nothing too over-the-top or extravagant, but still fun.  

Throwback Thursday

I'm sharing a few pictures from Landon's first Easter today for Throwback Thursday. I remember so well the day I took these pictures and how much I  enjoyed those precious baby days. It seems like I blinked and now he's 7 years old. Time truly does fly by. I wish I could still stuff him in these small clothes and his little footed sleepers. I don't think he'd enjoy it though...

Have a great day y'all! I'll be back tomorrow linking up for Five on Friday and sharing a few Easter favorites. 

five on friday

Happy Friday!! We're officially back to school and getting settled into our new routine. We've got an exciting birthday-filled weekend  coming up, starting today. And I'm linking up with Five on Friday again. Here we go! 

Today is my mom's birthday. You guys, this woman is my rock. She is nothing short of amazing and I love her to pieces. We're celebrating tonight with a family dinner and cake. My sister is making her famous chocolate raspberry cake with chocolate ganache. Yum!! Goodness, there's lots of cake in my weekend. But I'm not complaining. 

Tomorrow is Landon's birthday. How is he SEVEN?!?!  Time flies by and all week long I've found myself having those "last xyz as a 6-year old" type moments. This morning I held him on my lap while we watched Tom & Jerry before school and I wondered just how many more times he'd want me holding him.  But enough sad thoughts. To celebrate, we're going to Chuck E. Cheese for pizza and games and then it's back home for cake, ice cream and gifts. (see - more cake). We got him this cute little magic kit and I know he's going to love putting on a show. 

If you've read here for a while, you know I can't resist cute pajamas for Landon. Yesterday I got these on Pottery Barn Kids for $16.50 and I had a coupon for 15% off. Hooray for good deals.  And since Christmas is always closer than you think, I love feeling like I'm a step ahead. 

Tastefully Simple just introduced their fall/winter line, including this pumpkin caramel sauce. I am so excited and can't wait til mine gets here. If it's as good as I think, I'm sure I'll be stocking up. They also have the pumpkin bread and pumpkin cheese ball. Hooray for all things pumpkin!! 

And because it wouldn't be Five on Friday if I didn't include a book... I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke. The latest installment in the Hannah Swensen series, it's due to be released on Sept. 27th.  I like this series because it's light and fun without being too fluffy.  I'll be giving away two copies, so check back for details.

Have a great weekend!
 

first grade

Well, our first week of first grade was a success. I was heartbroken that we switched schools, but it seems to be working out well.   We're enjoying our new routine and looking forward to a great year. We have a reading group meeting Monday evening and I'm looking forward to getting involved with a new PTO and being a home room mother. So many fun things to do

We have a busy week ahead of us, celebrating my mom's birthday on Friday and Landon's on Saturday.  I'm also working on getting our house ready for fall. Be ready for all things pumpkin coming up soon. I can't wait!!

Have a great week! 

favorite easter books

Easter is coming right up, so I thought today would be a good day to share some of our favorite Easter stories.  A few are old favorites and some are new additions to our collection. I love that Landon can tell the story of Easter to anyone who will listen. It warms my momma heart to hear our little boy telling the good news! 

 

 Guess How Much I Love You //  The Easter Story // The Berenstain Bears Easter Story

Ten Easter Egg Hunters //  Happy Easter, Mouse // Jesus Calling for Little Ones

 

I'll be talking about Easter basket ideas later this week. 

 

Happy Monday! 

 

 

A (Bigger) Big Boy Room

Right before Landon turned three, we redid his bedroom. It hasn't changed since, but he's outgrown the airplane theme and also needs new furniture with more storage space. We've been talking about how he'd like the room to look and he's wanting to go with an outdoor/campy theme. I don't like to go crazy with a theme, but I've found a few ideas that I like. 

This  is actually a board I saw for a bathroom, but I think it would make a great bedroom too. 

I really love this Adventure Forest by Tiffany Jayne art print. 

But what I think I'll end up doing is designing the room around this print. It's just perfect because our boy truly is our greatest adventure! And here's a peek at my rough draft design board. The colors are perfect for a young boy and it flows well with the colors through the rest of the house.  I'm excited to get started and hope to have his new room ready before summer break. I better get busy! 

Have a great day! 




 

Christmas Reading List

Reading is one of my favorite things to do with Landon.  I got him several new books for Christmas this year and we usually read two every night. It gives us quiet time together and also helps him with his monthly reading goal at school. 

Here's a few of our favorites this year.

Our Little Deer
This one is actually a bit young for Landon, but it's fun and sweet and gets lots of giggles. I always add Landon's name as I read, making sure he knows he's the star of the story. 

One Shining Star

Who Is Coming To Our House

A Very Merry Christmas Prayer

A Bed for Baby Jesus

Little Golden Book Favorites

Santa's Toy Shop

And one of our new favorites...

Little Blue Truck's Christmas 

I hope you'll add some of these to your Christmas collection. 

Happy Reading! 

 

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A Visit with Santa

 

We always go to our local library open house to see Santa. The library is at the local high school, which is nice and convenient. The show choir does a holiday performance and then it's time for Santa. It was especially nice this year because my niece is in show choir.  There's also cookies and punch. Oh my goodness, I LOVE punch. I may have drank all of Mike's and then made him get seconds. It's that good! 

 

Landon was excited to see Santa this year and had his list ready to go. He's asked for a new Thomas the Train set, a sleeping bag and rain boots. I think Santa may be able to handle that.  Of course, in the picture below, he seems to be thinking over his options. LOVE it! 

 

 

And here's a little glimpse into Santa through the years. Time really does just fly.

 

Favorite Thanksgiving Stories

Besides pajamas, I also LOVE buying books for Landon. I'm always coming across new books for him and also enjoy sharing old favorites from my childhood. Is there anything better than snuggling up with your baby and a good story?

Today I'm sharing three of our favorite Thanksgiving stories. I usually pick out a few of our favorite seasonal books and put them on Landon's nightstand with his bible story book so they become our go-to for that month.

Here's what we're reading in November.

 

1. I Love to Gobble You Up - If kisses were gobbles, I'd gobble you up! Landon is at the end of the recommended age for this one, but it's still a lot of fun and gets lots of giggles. 

2. What is Thanksgiving - A fun rhyming book to help kids understand the real meaning of Thanksgiving. We've been reading this one for a few years now, so it's a fun tradition. 
 

3. The Night Before Thanksgiving - Everyone’s favorite fun-filled, family-filled, food-filled holiday is almost here! Follow along as the feast is prepared, cousins are greeted, and everyone gathers around the table, all with an extra helping of holiday fun.

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving books?  I'll be sharing our favorite Christmas books on November 23rd. Lots of fun books, so don't miss it!

 
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Oh, how the year went by...

The Graduate

 It seems like only yesterday that Landon started Pre-K, yet we've already had his graduation ceremony. It feels like we just had his Halloween and Christmas parties, yet two weeks ago we watched him walk up the aisle in his little cap and gown. I cannot believe how much our sweet boy has learned this year, and how much he's grown. He had such a great year and two amazing teachers, both of whom I am so thankful for. 

 

Last Day of School

Now we have two full months of summer to enjoy while we're getting ready for kindergarten. I can't wait to see what the next school year brings, but I'm definitely looking forward to the lazy days of summer too.  

 

1st Day of School 2014-2015