One Year Older and Wiser Too

My little Dawson turned 5! How can it be?? He seriously is growing up too fast and if I think of him in kindergarten next year I get anxiety. Anyways, he had been waiting for his birthday for what seemed like forever and a day so when the day FINALLY came (thank goodness I don't think I would of survived another day of him asking!) he was over the moon excited. We decorated his door Transformers-style since that was the theme this year. He of course loved it and we proceeded to have his favorite breakfast of cinnamon rolls, oranges, bacon, and juice.



He opened his first present of the day...the Batcave from my parents. He has wanted it so bad and to say he was over the moon in an under statement. I'm pretty sure he has played with it every day since!

After we headed to the clubhouse to set up for his Transformer party. The boys all arrived and they first did their Autobot "training" to offically become Autobots to help destroy Megatron (aka obstacle course.) They got cool transformer sunglasses and a temporary tattoo after.



Next was pizza, presents, and then cake! He was spoiled for sure and loved all the gifts! PS I love the picture of his buddy Landon with the frosting smile!




We ended the party with a scavenger hunt to find Megatron. He had the Allspark and it had the goodie bags inside. My awesome hubs made Megatron and the Allspark. The boys got to take down Megatron (aka knock him down and go nuts) and after took turns hitting him down with a bat (again my awesome hubs would re-set him up each time...oh and they all wanted to do it twice so I think he re-set him up like 15 times!) The boys all had fun and Dawson exclaimed "this is the best day ever!!" so I think we done good.



After clean up and naps we headed to Build a Bear to do our tradition of the kiddos getting to pick and make a Bear. This year was a Koala with a birthday shirt, jeans, and cupcake. He wanted to name his Birthday Koala Bear so we shortened it to BK Bear.

We then headed to Cracker Barrel (his pick!) for Birthday dinner with the Olsen/Olsen/Jesperson clan. He found a stuffed fox there once and fell in love with him...I didn't let him buy it and there were some tears shed but I told him he could put it on his list. Tammy gave it to him for his birthday and he was so excited to see that fox! His name? Foxy. (Notice he is pretty literal with their names...he also has a doggie, turtlie, etc.) After a delicious dinner we went home and all crashed after a fab day!



My friend Jill had a Optimus Prime cake pan and so we borrowed it and made a cake for Sunday night. I baked it and since Dawson is really into drawing/coloring/etc. I let him frost it. He did not too shabby as far as putting colors in certain spots according to the picture. We had cake that night with my sisters and a few of Lisa's friends. Dawson loves her friends because they pretty much play with him nonstop whenever they are around. So we had one last celebration and called it an awesome birthday weekend. Thanks to everyone who celebrated and spoiled Dawson....he is one loved boy and we are thankful for you!

Our Sister Surprise

My sister Missy and I decided she needed to come visit sometime this fall for funsies. What would be a more perfect time than Dawson's birthday? None! So we decided to keep it a secret from the kiddos and my sister Lisa who lives out here and surprise them. I took Dawson to preschool one morning, picked Missy up from the airport, and returned to pick Dawson up from preschool with Missy in tow. Dawson was shocked to run out to the car to see Missy there with me and was so excited to see her...his face was priceless! We then headed to Old Navy to surprise Lisa. Her boss went to get her telling her there was a mad customer waiting for her, but she came out to see Chris, the kiddos, and me then Missy stepped out from behind a rack of clothes. Again another priceless reaction...she almost had a heart attack I think!! It was pretty funny.


For the rest of the trip we were pretty much on the go; eating, visiting places, and celebrating D turning 5. We went to the VIP night of H&M thanks to my friend Brandy and scored some cute clothes, went to the mall, ate at Cafe Rio, visited Gardner Village, ate at Italian Village, had Dawson's party, etc. It was a blast and so fun to hang out with Missy! Thanks for visiting us and making Dawson's birthday!

Wedding Day Bliss

Our friends Brittney and Michael got married beginning of November and little Miss Em got to be the "flower girl" aka the cute little girl dressed up for the reception...she's the cutest flower girl ever if I do say so myself! Dawson looked pretty studly that day too ;) Oh yeah, and the bride and groom weren't too shabby...kidding! Brit was gorgeous and Craigo was a handsome groom!

Color Me Mine

I got an awesome Groupon deal for $50 worth of studio time at Color Me Mine for $10. I knew me and the kids wouldn't use the whole 5 hours worth of studio time before it expired so we invited our friends Jill, Parker, and Dixie along to use up some time and get our paint on! Parker is Dawson's age and Dixie is the same age as Emerson so it works out perfect...oh and Jill is my age so we all have a buddy :) When we got there there was a table ready for us and a lady to assist. Jill and I wondered as to why this lady works at a place like this with kids because to say she is kid friendly is a joke! But we still had fun nonetheless. Dawson picked out a gecko as well as Parker, Emerson an owl (surprised I'm sure!) and Dixie a pony. The boys did awesome carefully painting parts and the girls did what we call a rainbow tie dye swirl effect ;) They also made something else I can't mention yet though cause it's presents for Grandmas that is sure to be loved! We ended by grabbing lunch at Cafe Rio and us mom's chatting while the kiddos goofed around. Here are some pictures of the kiddos getting their paint on:

Fall Time Fun

This year for the month of October I decided to do 31 days of Halloween with my kids. I planned a different activity/meal/craft/treat everyday for the entire month and it ended up being a lot of fun for the kiddos and I as well! Everyday Dawson was so excited to see what we were gonna be doing that day and I think it gave them something to look forward to. I am not gonna go over the whole month but here are some highlights!

*We decorated a Haunted Gingerbread House. It was pre-assembled and I didn't check it so of course it was cracked. We made so and re "glued" some pieces and even added a graham cracker panel. It was a bit ghetto but it worked.



*We went to Ride to a Witch with our friends Jill, Parker, and Dixie. The kids had fun and the witches were pretty funny. Us Mommas even snuck in some material and bead shopping! PS check out the picture of Dixie and Emerson. They are best buddies and I just love how they are posing with their arms around each other!





*Of course we had to go to a pumpkin patch and get pumpkins...tradition, right?


*We decorated Halloween sugar cookies as a family! Well, Emerson globbed frosting on one and starting eating right away and Dawson carefully decorated (he did good!) and then said he wanted to not eat them and keep them forever....yeah...that didn't happen!




*Dawson got to dress up for preschool. They made trick or treat bags, decorated cupcakes, then the kids in his class trunk or treated to the moms outside.


*We went to the library Halloween story time with the Holyoak's and Andrus'....the kids got to listen to stories, sing and dance, then trick or treat around the library.


*We went to a Halloween party Jen ans Jer threw then one the Jesperson's threw and had a fabulous time at both. Chris and I were Mary Poppins and Bert.


*We went to Boo at the Zoo with Aunt Jen and cousin Kohen. It was definitely crazy crowded but I figured it would be so I wasn't surprised by it. I was surprised and impressed though with how many trick or treat stations there were and how much candy they got!



*We carved pumpkins with our family and Lisa and a bunch of her friends. It was a really fun night with a lot of laughs...poor Alexus and Chris had these pumpkins that were practically petrified and almost impossible to carve!





*We ended the month with trick or treating of course! We had a bunch of friends over (Andrus', Holyoaks's, Peterson's, and Tuckett's) and Aunt Jen, Uncle Jer, and cousin Kohen to eat, play, and go trick or treating. It was crazy wild with a dozen kids but they had a fun filled night trick or treating together.