73 Questions

I was texting with a girlfriend the other day and she mentioned a series that I might like that her friend from college had created. I had never heard of it, but it's a series of videos featuring a famous person and he interviews them with 73 consecutive questions. My girlfriend and I share a common adoration for Reese Witherspoon so she mentioned this particular episode at first. It was fascinating to watch and get a glimpse of the less dramatic side of celebrity life. Just a girl jumping on her trampoline. I thought it was so interesting that her college friend had created this idea and actually got celebs to participate! SJP! Anna Wintour!!! Amazing...

You can watch Reese's interview here as well as several other celebrities.

BG's Dream Ride

Sometimes I forget just how lucky we are and then nights like tonight happen. 

 

Blogging brought our families together. 

 

Blogging! 

 

It just amazes me.

 

Faith and her husband Chad has us over for quite the action packed evening, especially for BG.  Chad's parents have the most spectacular backyard (which of course I completely forgot to get a picture of) but after you walk through their "secret garden" you get to his dad's work equipment.  

 

 

Chad has been saying for awhile now that he wanted to take BG for a ride in this skid steer and tonight was finally THE night.  BG was so excited to ride in the "front loader" and took it all so very seriously.  He had the best time even though he looks so stoic.  Chad is so sweet with him.

 

 

After everyone took turns riding and playing outside we got the little's inside for a little pre-dinner playtime.  I just love this shot of them playing in Lolly and Pops playroom. They are always so busy!

 

 

 

Tonight we all brought different pieces to make a tasty meal...brats (that Chad grilled over an outdoor chimney!), the best potato salad (Faith got us hooked on this over the summer), baked beans and sauerkraut.  We actually managed to have entertaining conversations because the little's ate and entertained each other!  What a treat for everyone!

 

 

After dinner we had a toasty fire and made smore's.  We've never had anything other than traditional smore's before but I assure you there is no turning back now.  Faith and I coordinated the fixing's for ritz marshmallow reese's smore's.  SO.  GOOD!!! 

 

 

BG and sweet E sharing a marshmallow moment.  She preferred the ritz crackers so he just ate all of the marshmallows she'd already taken little bites out of. Ha! Perfect pair. 

 

 

I'm so thankful for the blessing that this family is in our lives.  They invite us into their home.  They let us (and expect us to) be ourselves.  They too cherish these fleeting days with our sweet babies loving on each other.  But most importantly, they help us to remember that family comes first.

Balloon Palooza

Two of our favorite little girls celebrated turning two this past weekend. My friend Faith planned a tasteful balloon party and I was thrilled to provide a special cookie or two for the tasty buffet that she set up.  

BG had a lovely time running around playing with some of his favorites. The party was held in a church fellowship hall and was just perfect for mobile toddlers!! This little sweetie, Miss B, kept ramming her car into BG sending him into giggles.  Love how simple games can entertain them so hysterically!

Fall-oween Decor

At lunch today my friends and I were discussing how quickly people are decorating for Christmas now that Halloween has passed. I can't say that I mind seeing the sparkly lights and garlands popping up around the city...but in our home, we try to celebrate one holiday at a time. I don't get crazy with Halloween decor, I just put out a lot of pumpkins and such that can transition from the first day of fall through Thanksgiving.

I found the big guy at Target and just loved the texture and POP that it brought to the dining room. The burlap guy was a surprising find from "at home" which is the new name for Garden Ridge (who knew? I hadn't been there in years!!!). The little guy is from last year at Target.

This little display is in our kitchen area. The painting is BG's sweet little hand print on a canvas. I got the idea from Fancy Farmer Wife! (Thanks for sharing, girl!)

I found these little pumpkins at Pier1 last year and love putting them in different spots around the house. They are a simple but festive touch!

I found this sweet little banner at a local boutique this year. I like the way it looks plus the added benefit of supporting such a great cause! After Halloween I just take the banner and witch down. And leave the "punk-in-knees" as BG says. 

Here's a close up of the tag from the banner. 

Pumpkin Patch 2014

We went to a farm that is down the street from our neighborhood. We took a hayride to a petting farm full of cows, goats, sheep and chickens.  Loving the beautiful weather with my boys. 

 

 

His hair just cracks me up some days!

 

 

I asked someone to take our family picture and he focused a bit more on his little girl in the background than I was hoping for.  Ha!

Be Gone, Cable

We decided to cancel our cable for many reasons but most importantly it was to focus on family time without the distraction of the tv. We don't have a cable box/bunny ears but we do have Netflix so we watch a lot of movies and shows at night once BG is down. I didn't think I'd enjoy being without cable as my days can get rather lonely and looooong but it wasn't too hard to adjust. I have the network apps and can watch most of the shows I liked before the next day except my abc shows which post two weeks after viewing on air (I'm looking at you Scandal and Nashville). So I just avoid twitter for spoilers. Everything else seems easy enough to find or forget -Except for these...

Game day. Oh how I miss watching my Wolverines...this hasn't been our strongest season but we are nothing if not faithful supporters. Nate has several ways to track the game but it's so much more fun to hear the excitement of all the games in our home. 

Christmas movies. We've gone through a whole season without them and although we have a million DVDs worth (thanks Mom!) it's not the same as having Hallmark on 24/7 for the month of December. (Any other Faith and Cody fans out there? I'm still hoping for a sequel.)

Bravo. Oh how I loved Bravo. I was a bravoaholic and I didn't mind one bit.  It's probably better that I don't have access to it because it really is pure trash and negativity for the most part - but it's 100% entertaining! I especially miss the RHO...shows. And if anyone cares to know, I'm totally Team Don!!!

Sons of Amarchy. This is the last show that I expected to fall in love with but they had me at Jax. I can't  find a single way to access this show online. I'm a season behind because my Netflix/amazon prime only go so far but I'm dying to see how this series ends. Any pointers on where I can find it?

Whatever

So I've been wracking my brain with how to restart this blogging journey and I keep finding reasons to not just jump in. 

The cookie order. 

A new diet. 

My hubby's crazy work schedule. 

Blah....

Enough

Jumping in - no big plans - no creatively clever titles - I just want to start getting my thoughts/words down again.