Wedding Bliss. . .

 

 

Over the last few days, I have been super crazy with helping my best friend with last minute wedding details. We have been friends 15 years. We have been there for births of our children, during sad times, moving, and so much more.

 

I was more than happy to help with her wedding. The wedding was a small one, right at their home. They are country people, so of course the theme of the wedding reflected that. It was an outdoor wedding, and the guys vest had real tree cameo on them.

Well you should know that if anything is going to go wrong it was going to. Friday went smoothly, we cut up the food, made the salads, got all the decorations together, and had the rehearsal. Then a huge thunderstorm came in. Which meant the wind was blowing and there was lots of rain.

Saturday morning came, and I got a wake up call at 7am. (The day of the wedding) The power had been out since 9:30pm the night before, and it wasn’t looking like it would be back on until 2pm. The wedding was at 2pm! Plus the garage had been soaked in the rain storm. Water all over the floor, and tables. (were the reception was going to be) Not to mention it was still kind of misting and rainy. Out the door I went, hoping I had everything I needed in toe.

It was just Monkey Man and me, and we went right to work. He pushed all the water to the drains, or out the door. While I went to work to finish the rest of the food. Thank goodness for a generator! Got the garage all cleaned up and dried up, and we went to work decorating it.

 

Maid of Honor’s Flowers

 

Brides Flowers

 

In the end, stress and all it was a beautiful wedding. The sun came out just in time, and the bride was absolutely gorgeous! I am so blessed to have been part of it. I was also the photographer, and I was super nervous about that. I hope I did a great job..

She doesn’t want all her pictures online, but I’m going to share a few of the ones I can.. Enjoy!

 

 

The rings.. (idea from pinterest)

 

 

My husband and I

 

A family picture from the day…

 

 

Memorial Day

 

 

Does your family have any traditions for Memorial Day??

We don’t do anything big usually… but we try to do something fun!

This year, it was a beautiful day… and Hubby didn’t have to work til late in the day.

So, we went to a local parade here in town… where my son was in it with his Cub Scout Pack.

 

 

After that, we brought hubby to work. Then headed to the playground for a play date with friends followed by dinner at McD’s. All and all it was a fabulous day!

Disney on Ice Princess

 

Thanks to a wonderful friend, we had the oppurtunity to go see the Disney on Ice Princess show this past weekend.

I didn’t tell the girl’s about it at all, cause as I’m sure you know they bug you with questions all day long. How much longer? When are we leaving? Are we there yet? When will we see them?? Etc…

I told them that I had a surprise for them, to get nice clothes on and get ready to leave. Got them in the car, and told them we had one stop to pick someone up, and then we would be on our way. Normally that wouldn’t be good enough for my 7 yr old Middle Monkey, but she was excellent about it. After picking up a friend and her daughter, we headed off to the big city in this state!

Upon arriving I then informed them of what we were going to see. Excited where they excited! They had been wanting to see this show really bad. With big smiles on their face, we entered the building and found our seats.

(best picture of all 3 of us, I could get)

 

 

The show was great! Just as I remembered it from 3 yrs ago! I just wish they would alternate shows here in our small state. The girls had fun though, and that is all that matters. Little Monkey went crazy when Mickey Mouse came out on the ice. You would have thought we had never seen him (or lived near Disney for the last 2 yrs)

 

 

 

All and all it was a fabulous show, with great friends, and the girls had a wonderful time!

Cause we all need some Girl time….

 

As I get older and reflect back… I have to say, life is way different than what you imagine it as a child, or teenager.  Of course we all had our hopes, and dreams as to what we thought it would be… For some of us, it may be just that, for others it may not be anything like we expected it to be… and then there are those that it turned out better.

I think that I ended up in the middle of both of those. Its not what I expected it to be, or even necessarily everything that I want it to be…but it is better in a lot of ways… So even though, I might gripe and complain sometimes, I’m thankful for the life I do have.

Now that I have said that… How many of you get away and have time with just your Girlfriends … no kids, no husbands, just you and the girls?? To get reenergized and refreshed?? I really have a handful of friends that I can rely on for anything… and that I would call true friends. Of course they are all scattered in different states with their own busy lives.. and though we may not always talk to each other, we know that if ever we needed each other we would be there…..

But it is nice to get out once in awhile and be able to just laugh freely and talk about anything but kid issues, or questions. It doesn’t happen nearly enough for my liking, but its great when it does.

Like yesterday… A friend of mine was down from Maine visiting and taking her kids to Disney for the first time. We were able to arrange some “Girl” time, and had lunch at the Olive Garden and then went and get Pedi’s. Oh, can I tell you my feet are so happy about that!! (helps that my toes look great now, and cute..LOL) Point is… it was wonderful to have that time, and made coming back to my chaos of reality so much easier! Sometimes, you need that refreshing (new batteries so to speak)

I’m thinking of trying to implement with all my friends a yearly trip… were we get together for a few days and just be fun, crazy, and ourselves… None of us have a ton of money… so something simple as renting a beach house somewhere and hanging for 4 days! Relaxing, fun, and reenergizing!! 

Do you have any rituals with your Girlfriends?? Do you get together once a year, month, or even every week? Do you find it helps you to be a better wife or mom? Share your thoughts… I’d love to hear them!

Fourth of July ….

 

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful 4th of July!

I know we did!

This year we had a nice big Bbq here at our house… with our family and friends.  It was nice to be joined, by our friends from “A Caring Heart”.

Along with fabulous food, we had a fabulous fun! The kids made wonderful Firecracker Hats, and played with Bubbles. As well as played in the rain. (Hey we had to make the best of the weather right??)

 

 

While us adults cooked, and played some games! It was really one of the best holidays we have had since moving here… I think because for the first time, it reminded me of something we would have done up north…

Then we headed to our local park for some fun! It took us almost a half hour to find a place to park.. but it was worth it. We got to see Joe Diffie perform, and the kids had a blast dancing. 

 

Unfortunately the clouds started getting really dark and rolling in a again about the time fireworks were suppose to go off… Which means, we got completely soaked from head to toe! May I just say… I thought it was worth it, and so much fun! Great adventure to end the day. Sadly we didn’t see any fireworks, they never set them off.

Great day anyway!!!

What did you do for the 4th???

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

 

 

Do you remember this movie??

Have you ever thrown a themed party??

Well one of our friends decided to embark on this…. She threw a Cloudy with a chance of meatballs party today for the kids.  What a way to end the school year!

My kids were thrilled at the idea of it. They have been counting the days down.

The day arrived yesterday… and excited where they excited.

To get ready we had made cupcakes the day before… and not just your regular cupcakes. We made Huge cupcakes (used a big muffin tin, instead of a standard one)

 

We headed to our friends this morning, and upon arriving the kids sat down and watch the movie. After that we moved them outside, where we served them Spaghetti (falling from the ski and all) and meatballs. They ate with there hands… It was so funny to see some of them that were afraid to get dirty! Not two of mine!

We also gave them huge chunks of watermelon. After they were done eating, we washed them up, and off to the pool they went.
What a great time they had!

Have you ever thrown a themed party??  Do tell?

I’m thinking of doing a couple more this summer, what a great way to spend a day. Plus the kids can get imaginative and help with the details.

This same friend is thinking of doing an Unbirthday Party towards the end of summer. Can’t wait!!!!

 

I may be….

 

 

MIA for a few days… 

 

I can’t go into great detail cause it is not my story to share. I will say that one of my Best Friends, is getting ready for a major surgery tomorrow. Therefore, I am helping out with her kids… and whatever I can. With that said…

 

I may not have a chance today or tomorrow to get on and post anything. So, I wanted you all to know. I will be back by Friday at the latest, and have everything posted, and giveaway winners up! Thanks for understanding!

 

Keep us in your prayers, and have a wonderful week. I will try to keep some updates on my twitter… if your interested.

Our First Official Girl Scout Trip

 

 

Wow, it seems really weird that my kids are old enough to be heading out on trips with the Girl Scouts! Where has the time gone?? They are so cute in their uniforms though! :)

Last night we headed to a local city, and watched a baseball game. The girls were able to go out and do a pregame parade…but our girls found a balloon guy that makes hats… Yup, that was far more interesting! Well, see for yourself!

After the game, we got to set up our tent on the field… and snuggle in for a movie on the big screen. The girls were super excited! Here are a few shots from our night…

 

 

We had a great time! Despite not going to sleep at all, and the girls being up til 2am. But Hey! That is part of the fun right??? We are excited to do way more things with the Girl Scouts over the years!

Elephants, Ponies, & Clowns… OH MY!

 

 

For Hunter’s birthday one of our friends got us free tickets to the Circus… Not only just for our family, but a total of 18 tickets! So, we gathered up some friends, and family, and the 18 of us, ventured off to the Circus!

To say my kids were excited was an understatement. Hunter & Rachel had been once before but they were both fairly young… I believe something like 18 months, and 3 yrs old. Therefore, they don’t really remember it at all. Of course I have photo’s, but that is not the same.

So it was all the more exciting to have such a big group of us going this time. We arrived in time to get settled in our seats, and get some autographs from clowns. Check out some other things going on, and make a quick potty run! Our first laugh of the day?? Was the everyone with their clown noses!

Daddy even got in on it with us!

Rachel was so very excited to see what they were going to have. The show was just amazing! It was about 3 hrs long, but kept the kids pretty well captured the whole time.

Here are a couple of our favorites:

The Trapezes of course

The two sisters, who are in that little box! Yes grown women were flexible enough, to bend to fit in that box! It was amazing to watch.

And of course the kids favorite… Rosie the Elephant!

After we left we got some pictures of the kids in the clown planes, and they check out a camel. It was a great day, and lots of fun! 

 

Happy Easter!!!

 

 

From our family to yours!!!

Hope everyone had a great Easter! I know our weekend was full of fun. Still not the same as being back with our family up north. However, we are finding our way with new friends and family.

We started our weekend out with watching movies on Friday night. Since a few of us (mainly me) were still sick, and just not feeling up to par. Then on Saturday we headed to a local church here in our town, that puts on great events for the kids throughout the year.

The kids were able to participate in an Egg Hunt, play in some bounce houses, play games, eat popcorn, and snow cones! Great fun!

Then on Sunday they woke up to their Easter baskets! Excited where they excited! After some breakfast and cleaning up, we went to join some friends for our annual Egg Hunt.

We had a great time! Ending the perfect weekend with a great meal, and some quiet relaxing time!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

A Trip to Disney

 

with our visitor Holly. Well after a few days of Rain to ruin our plans.. We finally were able to get to Disney. Thanks again to our great friend Jessica for helping us out with that!

On Saturday morning Hunter, Me, and Holly headed out to check out Disney. Were we met up with some more friends there. It was a bit windy but in the 70’s, making it a beautiful day to be outside. We were going to head to Magic Kingdom first but due to crazy amounts of people, also wanting to share in this beautiful weather we ended up at Epcot first.

We checked out the Coke Cola place first. Were we managed to trick holly into tasting the Italy one. I wish, I had gotten her face on camera for that! To funny!

Then we headed over to see a few characters. You can’t go to Disney and not have your picture taken with Mickey right??

After we did that, we headed over to see the Tinkerbell Display. Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival was going on. It was beautiful, here are a few of the pictures I took in there.

After that, there really wasn’t to much for the kids to see, so we decided to take a boat to Hollywood Studio’s. Were we got some lunch, and checked out a few places. Mainly just some character spots, and the Playhouse Disney area. Here is a picture of Holly way to excited to see Handy Manny!!! (can you tell we have kids)

From there we caught the bus back to the Magic Kingdom. By the time we got back there it was dinner time, so most people were headed out. (still millions of people in there but you know) Our first stop was Tom Sawyer Island for Hunter but it was closed. He was rather upset about this, so we went on to Splash Mountain. Where is is FINALLY big enough to ride it. We got fast passes for later, and went on the train to Toontown. Got on the Barnstormer Roller coaster, and then headed to the Race track. Hunter wanted to drive, so I agreed. He gave me wicked whiplash!!! Oh my goodness!

After a few more rides it was time to head back to Splash Mountain. What a blast! Hunter loved it, and of course Holly and I got SOAKED! So worth it though. After that we watched the last Spectro Magic Light Parade, and then called it a day, as we were all tired, and we were beginning to get cold!

It was a fun day with great friends, and memories that will last a lifetime!

YAY! A special vistor:

 

I was so excited, when my best friend from Maine told me she was coming down on her spring break from College. It has been a little over a year since the last time I saw her. Which is a long time for us. We grew up together as kids, and so we are a more like sisters. We tell each other everything, even if its hard. I’m happy to have such a great relationship with her. I’m very blessed.

We keep in touch by writing, calling, texting, video chatting, and instant messaging several times a week, but its just not the same. Its hard for me not, to be there having our kids play together or just going shopping together sometimes, ya know??

I’m happy that she was able to come spend a week here with us. I’ll post more about our visit through out the week!!

Check this out!!!!

 

My friend is having her very first GIVEAWAY! I know, how hard it is to get people to your blog, so I’m helping her out. Head on over to Cara’s Life and enter to win!

Do me a favor and go check her out. She is giving away Rainbow Brite Doll. How cool is it that our old favorite cartoons characters are coming back now. What little girl wouldn’t love that!

Enjoy!

 

Santa Cookie Making Fun:

 

I needed to make cookies for Santa, but my husband was working overnights and needed to sleep. As you all know kids can’t be quiet when excited about things like that. So, I decided to see if my friend was up to making cookies, and just go hang out at her house, to make them. This is what kind of fun we had!

 

Holiday fun:

 

The Glitter, Glisten, and Shine Festival has now officially become one of our Christmas traditions. Since coming to Florida, a few of our traditions have been lost, and new ones gained, or being developed. I mean after all Traditions are the best part of Christmas right??? 

The kids love this festival for many reasons, but the biggest being that there is a big pile of SNOW to play in. After all how many places in FL do you know of to play in snow? With this being said it is also the biggest attraction for all these kids!

Along with the snow they have schools that come in and do caroling, and some skits. Which are very cute… along with a couple of dance schools in the area. Always a joy to watch. Plus they have crafts for the kids, cookie decorating, hot chocolate, sleigh rides, and of course SANTA! Best part of all??? Almost all of it is free! How can you go wrong???

This year it was a cold day, but prefect for the kids to get a chance to use their gloves. Before we were through it started to rain, so we left a bit early…but we came home to have hot cocoa, cookies, and watched a Christmas movie with our friends. We were so happy to have our friends join us this year, and hope that this also can be a part of our tradition!

What are some of your favorite traditions?