tea party in a tent

My brother & his family, who I Love to pieces, were here from Indiana for about a week. One day it ended up just being me and the girls here, and Benson was taking a nap. I started thinking about how fun I thought forts were back in the day, and the great memories I have building them with my Mom.

Suddenly out of no where an idea struck me.

The girls were watching a movie on my bed, so I closed the door and told them to stay put for a few minutes. I rushed down to Laylas' room and snatched all her blankets and sheets off her bed. I ran back upstairs to the office, and constructed a princess fort with all the pink, purple, and teal pillows and blankets on the premises. 

Then, another idea struck, so I ran back downstairs and grabbed and princess dress ups and tea party supplies. 

I took the dress ups in to the girls and told them I had someplace magical to show them, but only princess' were allowed, so they needed to put their gear on...and come up with their princess names, of course.

For the rest of the evening they were princess Pink, and Princess Purple. 

I had them close their eyes as I led them to the fort, and I wish I had recorded their faces when they opened their eyes....so adorable! It was way more whimsical in person...for real.

In fact, the magic in the air was so thick.....

That I turned into their Fairy God Mother. hahaha

We finished our tea party, then painted our nails, and did a little make up (blush and lip gloss) before heading to the ball. This was a special ball though, so we played freeze dance;) and I taught them the ballet positions, and a couple basics. I actually got way into it, hehehe.

I LOVE these girls, and hope we can make some good lasting memories together. It only would have been better if all the girl cousins could have been there:( next time I'll have to actually plan it before hand;)

Pumpkin Patch

 We have this fun little pumpkin patch in town called Swore Farms, and it's a must every year!  They change it up each year, so I never know what exactly we are going to find, but it's always loads of fun. This year they had a couple different versions of  the "corn maze", and the the real thing. Carter was a school, and Craig was at work, so it was just me, Benson and Layla....and Layla's entire preschool:)

On another note, we took family pictures here 2 years ago, and they turned out super cute!

 They had a bunch of these cute little picture areas set up all around, and who can resist smashing their face in a little hole?

 This is Laylas' Preschool teacher "Mrs. Jen". She is also my first Cousin.

 In this picture you can see the "tape maze" (I don't know what it's really called) behind the kids. This one was the funniest, because the kids would just run right under the tape. Layla made it through in record time and said, "Wow, that was SO easy!" haha. One advantage of being short!

 The Start

 I bought these adorable rain boots for Layla at a yard sale, but I was thinking we would wait a year or so until they actually fit her....she didn't like that idea. They are about 3 sized too big, and slush around with each step she takes, but she still feels the love for them...go figure.



Ok, so my camera has started doing this thing randomly where the pictures turn out like this (see above picture). It's like the shutter isn't closing all the way...or something, I don't know, but it's annoying.

Also, Benson's face in this picture kind of has a devilish look, don't ya think?

(there I go, leaving a question at the end of my post again:) )

ps. is again spelled wrong? I don't know how else to spell it, but the spell checker is having a fit!

wagon ride

We had a few moments of sunshine yesterday, so we ran outside to enjoy it.

Sweet little Layla decided to give Benson a "wide in da wagon" as she put it. It was priceless!

She was pulling with all her might, and moving at a snails pace. Benson kept looking at me, you know, the look that says "don't just stand there taking my picture, help me!". At least that's what I took the look to mean, but when I went to "save him" he didn't want to go.

So, I sat back and let them have their fun.

:)

bff's

These two go together like tom & Jerry!
They might do their best to get the other in trouble, drive each other crazy....and sometimes the rest of us in the process, but what would they ever do without each other? sometimes they can't seem to live together, so I'll separate them, and pretty soon I'll find one or the other sneaking in to be back together.
They are biggest rivals, and best friends all at once. What a pair they are.

 Here is Layla trying to make Carter feel better when he didn't find many Easter eggs

 playing with my phone, taking pictures of themselves

hanging out at the park, laughing at some crazy person.

They remind me of my arch enemy turned best friend...Paul.

We LOVED to get each other in trouble, make each other cry, beat the other at anything and everything, and call the meanest name. But, if anyone else tried to do any of those things to us, we stood up for the other with all the loyalty and love in the world.

I'm Thankful for big brothers.

p.s. I've been sewing:) and soon will have a tutorial for your enjoyment. stay tuned.

Today is picture day for Layla at preschool.

I had 3 outfit choices out for her to choose from...and none of them were the right one.

She kindly informed me that she already knew what she wanted to wear today, so I dressed her in the one she picked herself.

She wanted to wear her brown uggs, but she didn't like the way her jeans felt in her boots, so she had to change into a skirt.

 Then her shirt didn't look right to her with the skirt, so she had to change her shirt too.

But, she didn't want to wear a brown shirt with a purple flower in her hair, so we re-fixed her hair.

Then, apparently, the whole outfit wasn't what she had envisioned herself in, or something, so we worked through that.

Eventually, Layla went off to preschool wearing pre-selected outfit #3.

ahhhhhh! What are we in for with this one?  I love her to death, but really?!?! I mean, come on. Isn't that just way too much worry coming from a 4 year old? Most days she couldn't care less what she is wearing, but maybe she had somebody to impress today;) I didn't think about that.

It takes me back to when I was a girl, probably about 4 now that I think of it. My Mom was going to lunch with the Aunties, and she invited me to come along. I was so excited! I usually never got to go to  lunch with the Moms, so that was a pretty dang big deal. Mom told me I needed to hurry and get dressed so we could go, so I ran to my room, and yanked my drawer out.

All of the sudden, all my shirts just looked so CUTE (the opposite problem then I have now), and I just couldn't pick one.....so I picked 6. I came running out to the horn beeping car, with all six of my favorite shirts on. One on top of the other, and the other, and the other, and so on.

Mom looked at me and smiled. She said "wow susie, those sure are cute shirts you have", and off we went.

I love that she gave me the freedom to wear 6 shirts to lunch with the aunties, even though I often looked like a little orphane child, I always felt loved. So, it seems now, that's really the most important thing isn't it? Just to make sure my little angel always feels my love.

new school year

The kids have been in school for a couple of weeks now, and we are getting into the new grove of thing. Carter is in 1st grade now = all day school 5 days a week, and layla is in pre-school = 2 hours 3 days a week. Carter feels like life is really unfair right about now, because he doesn't get to be home all day on Craigs day off, layla only has to go to school 3 days a week, and benson gets me all the time; so we have been trying to point out the advantages to him of his new school schedule. Here is what we came up with.

1. he get's to be the only kid at breakfast with me and Craig every morning, because Layla and Benson are usually still sleeping.
2. He gets to pick what treat he wants in his lunch box.
3.Chocolate milk!
4.walks home with one of his favorite friends everyday (if it's not raining, snowing, hailing, blowing, or iceing).
5. 20 exclusive minutes with Mom (me) when he gets home from school to go over homework, read, and catch up with each other.
6. and the biggest advantage to going to 1st grade....(drum roll)........The big toys!

Carter is super excited about the big toy. Last year he was on the other side of the school, and they just have an old school style playground on that side, so he's movin' up in the world.

Layla was a little nervous about that first day, but I think she has been enjoying it once the jitter bugs went away. I talked to her teacher about this next thing, and she said it didn't happen, so that makes it kind of funny. Every day when I pick her up and ask her to tell me about school she says the same thing. "my teacher was mean today. She made every one put their heads on their desk....except for me, because I was being really good." She heard Carter say that once, and I guess it made a real impression on her.

The other thing she told me about school is that she is worried she is going to get too smart, and her brain is going to get too big, and her head band won't fit anymore!

....Ya never know.


p.s. I have a new format for my blog, and I can't find spell check...which I normally rely on Heavily:)

Go team

Have you ever put a child in a sport only to find out they are super interested in grass, or picking dandy lions? Such was the case for Carter last year...and Layla this year. After last year with Carter I decided not to sign him up again for soccer, but he surprised me when he told me he really, really wanted to do it again. Layla, Carters little shadow, wanted to do it too of course.
Carter surprised us again when he actually really was into the whole soccer thing, and loved going to practice and his games. Layla on the other hand....really wanted to pick flowers, or play on the playground, but at least she looked super cute in her pink shin guards!






Are you looking for a fun and cute Fathers day gift that you can do with your kids? I found this super cute "super hero kit" on www.alphamom.com that the kids and I are doing for our Daddy.
I hope you are having as beautiful day at your house as we are at mine:)

Somehow Layla and I ended up having the house to ourselves, and no pressing appointments, so we decided to get some girly time in. We started the party off by making the chocolaty goodness you see pictured above, yum! I Love baking with Layla, the way she puts her little apron on, rolls up her sleeves, and is more then happy to "test" things out for me. We saw these Micky Mouse Caramel apples when we were in Disney land, and we could hardly wait to try it out ourselves.
After baking, we did our nails, and Laylas hair. Of course, we both had to put something pink on first, per request of layla. Haha, I love that little lady.

So What have you and your little Chicky's been doing to feel your summer days?

princess!

If you don't know Karen Hall you are missing out! She is one of the most creative, fun, hard working people I know, and the best Grandma Hall my kids ever had:) She planned this super cute activity for her ward for the Moms and girls, it was a princess tea party! Are you kidding me? That is basically every little girls dream to have a princess tea party with her Mommy!

The room was decorated just how you might imagine it, with the brightest most feminine colors and textures you can imagine...but all I could take pictures of was my own little princess. She was absolutely in HEAVEN! Can't you see it in her eyes!?! Layla giggled, danced, and skipped every where she went, it was the sweetest thing ever, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Karen had 4 long tables end to end lined up full of beads for the girls to make jewelry, 4 tables full of stuff to make headbands and hear flowers, and an area to make princess skirts. layla arrived at the tea party as a pink princess, and left as the Queen of red (which is totally her new thing by the way).

A great big Thank You to Karen for inviting us to her magnificent tea party (which was actually on her birthday), We love you very much Grandma Hall, and are so thankful to have you in our lives.

kids say the darndest things

The other day when we had the balloon launch for Mom, Layla was looking up toward heaven blowing as hard as she could. Her face was turning read, and her little body was shaking because she was blowing SO HARD. I asked her what she was doing, she said "I just sent a kiss up to Grandma, and I want to make sure he gets to her". So sweet, it made me cry.



This story is most definitely inappropriate to share...but too funny not to. So I'm telling you now, if you are going to let yourself be offended...don't read it! Layla was in my room talking to me as I was getting dressed and ready for the day. I told her to turn around for a minute while I got dressed, but I guess she just had to peek. She suddenly stopped what she was saying mid sentence and exclaimed "Wow, you have REALLY fat ankles Mom!", I laughed and said "what?" as I turned to look at her. She then lifted up her shirt and said "my ankles are little, but I think they'll get fat when I'm a mama too". Haha, I don't have a clue why she thinks they are called ankles...but we'll just leave that one alone for now.




The other day I was at the pita pit (love it btw) with Carter. There were these two cute Hispanic families there, and they started talking to each other in Spanish. Carter looked at me and said "what language are they speaking?", I replied "That's Spanish". He considered that for a moment, and thoughtfully said "I wonder if they speak human?".

Little Dancer

Layla started dance lessons this year with 3 of her sweet little friends. They had their Christmas show last weekend, and they were super cute. If I can figure out how to post it I will. Let me just say, Layla was hilarious! I love this little angel so much, and love to watch her grow.

when I grow up

The Chickie's and I were driving in the car the other day, and we had the funnest conversation.

Carter- After I grow up and marry the girl I love I want to work with Dad and Grandpa at Daddy's work...but I'm really going to miss you Mom.

Me- will you still come visit me sometimes?

Carter- Yes, can I come everyday?

Me- you can come as much as you want to, because to me you will always be my little boy.

Carter- OK, good.

Layla- When I get big I want to be one of those guys that builds roads (road construction worker), like at grandmas house...or a mommy.