Life Lately!

We finally convinced Caleb to sign up for an activity! He is just like his Mama and gets so nervous about trying new things, but once he starts, he usally loves it! They do a community basketball team in the winter, and that is what he decided to try. We went out the weekend before to get him some new shoes, a basketball and some athletic pants. He liked going outside and practicing with his Daddy. Neither of his parents are athletic.. so poor fella has to work extra hard, haha. He had a skills evaluation that Arnold took him too. He said he did well but was so nervous and kept letting the ball get away from him. I know once he gets more comfortable and more practice though, he will do well! 

Brooke joined teh chorus and they had their first performance at their school fall festival. Both set of grandparents came out to see her, so she felt special. They sang three songs, one of which was the Addams Family :) She has been having a great time so far. 

The other day my Mama celebrated her birthday! Since she was out of town the week of her actual birthday, I gave her her present when I saw her at the girl's homecoming game. I had framed a picture of her, dad and all 5 of their grandkids! She loved it :) I also got her a new book by an author we both love, and some bath and body works fall soaps :) 

Arnold had some unused vacation days this year, so he took off last Thursday and while the kids were in school we headed up to the mountains for the day! Looking at all the pretty leaves while we drove up there was fun :) We went back to where we had our honeymoon! We went to Boone first, but they were having a ballgame, so everything in town was so crowded. So we went to Blowing Rock and went to the outlet stores. I got the kids some stuff (of course) and even thought it was BEFORE lunch (gasp) we went to Kilwin's to get a yummy treat! I got a chocolate covered oreo, and Arnold got some big weird-looking caramel covered marshmallow? Anyway, he said it was good! Then we went to lunch at Canyons restaurant, also one of the places we went to on our honeymoon, and had a nice lunch! The view outside there is absolutely amazing! :) We had such a good day, just us, without kids! 

Brooke got invited to her friend Daisy's birthday sleepover Friday night. She insisted on taking her huge beanie boo that she got for her birthday :) She had a great time. Daisy's mom said they didn't go to bed until 2 am though! They were so sweet and got her ready for the ballgame the next morning and met us there. 

Arnold also took another day off work and went with Rachel's class on their field trip to the Apple Orchard! I had really wanted to go, but I had to work. Rachel loved having a special day with her Daddy. I even dressed her in her apple outfit for the occasion :) They got to go on a tractor ride, and they taught them all about the apple process on the farm. They took a picnic lunch with them. They also got to try apple cider slushies. Arnold came home with a big jug of apple cider he had bought. And they both brought home bags of yummy apples which we sampled that afternoon :)

Isn't she cute?! I'd pick her :)

The girls' cheer team had their pictures done the other night. This isn't the actual picture, just something one of the mom's took. But aren't they cute?! I wasn't there that night and didn't get to do the girls hair and put bows in, but oh well. 

The same night we took Brooke to her friend's sleepover, we took the other two to a church thing they have every once in awhile, called Friday night Jam. The kids stay for 2 hours in the big gym, and they have pizza, icecream, music, dancing, and door prizes. Caleb actually won a door prize! He picked a basketball! So now he has two to practice with ;) While the kids were there, Arnold and I joined our friends Erika and Billy and went to dinner at Chili's! Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for a table. We had a great time on our double date!! 

Rachel and Kenzie at the Friday night jam! They had a blast! 

This past weekend was the girls' homecoming game. It was a loooong morning.. we got there at 10:45 am and didn't end up leaving til 2:15 that afternoon. The girls were both on the homecoming court. They were both hating the fact that they had to walk with boys. Brooke said it was so very gross and she couldn't stop worrying about it. As you can see, she tried to stay as far away from her escort as possible, haha! The boy didn't look thrilled either! ;) 

This was Rachel's first time and she did a great job. She looked happy out there but she also hated walking with a boy and wiped her arm off dramatically when they parted ways, haha! :)

YES that is my husband! I can't believe it. 4 of the dads did a special halftime dance and they dressed up like women.. and it was for breast cancer awareness. Arnold wore my Easter dress, and borrowed a wig from a friend. The boobs are balloons! They ran onto the field and the crowd went hysterical. I couldn't stop laughing. But Arnold had a good time with all of it, and was a good sport. At the end they gave them flowers for doing a good job ;)

Rachel wore her pretty Gymboree pumpkin dress to church on Sunday, and her oversized orange bow ;) I had gotten that dress specifically for a trip to the pumpkin patch, and we never made it this month! Oh well, she still looked cute ;)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

My brother and his wife celebrated their 1-year anniversary the other day! I can't believe they have been married a year already! I am really so blessed to have a Sister-in-law that is so kind, thoughtful, funny, and smart.. not to mention so beautiful! I wish we got to see them more often! 

The girls had a makeup game the other night and it was at a local highschool. It was strange seeing them cheer out there while we were up in the stadium. It was such a big place to what we are used to, and they were a little nervous. It was like getting a glimpse into the future! I hope we are at Friday night football games when they are teenagers! 

caleb and Daddy watching the game

Caleb and I were taking selfies ;)

I will keep dressing the girls alike as long as they will let me! ;) Love these shirts from the Children's place! Perfect for this month! They wore them to dinner the other night. 

We took the kids to Oktoberfest last Friday night. It was a lot of fun but so crowded and of course you drop money really quickly there! We walked around and looked at the crafts and things for sale, and let the kids go on a few of the rides. Then we let them pick out a treat for dessert and they all wanted something different. Brooke got a candy apple, Caleb got a slushie, and Rachel got cotton candy. Arnold and I got icecream too ;) We went to listen to the band for a little bit too. Arnold kept asking me if he was a better guitar player than the guys up there.. I mean really.... ;) 

Love this family shot we got while we were there!

Saturday we went to the local library for Star Wars Day! I thought the girls would be bored but they had lot of fun for everyone! caleb even wore his star wars mask ;) We got someone to take a picture of us at the photo booth. They had tons of crafts for the kids to do like yoda lanterns and pool noodle light sabers and spin art. They had some people from a martial arts place there showing moves and having fun light saber battles. They had snacks and pizza for sale. And balloon animals. All the kids had a blast!

Caleb wanted to get his face painted!

And so did rachel! Brooke didn't want to sit still long enough to get her's done ;)

The other day I wore my new plaid flannel shirt from Kohl's! I love it and it was a so comfy! The kids laughed at me and said they weren't used to me wearing something like that. I think it screams southern girl in the fall though. Arnold seems to like it ;)

Still doing well on my health kick/lifestyle change. Been religiously tracking my calories and trying to be more active. I went walking by myself yesterday evening while the girls were at cheer practice. I felt silly walking alone, but I guess it was ok because it gave me time to think and listen to Dave Matthews on my phone ;) It was a beautiful night to be out also!!! 

I was off work today so I went to see the kids at lunch. Originally I had told them I couldn't come today because I had a lot of work to get done, but I finished early and so I went to surprise them. caleb chose his BFF Tucker to come over and sit with us. 

Brooke chose her friend Zoey to come sit with us. When she came in and saw me she got so excited. I am happy that at 9 years old she is still happy to see her Mama and not embarrassed by me yet!!!! :) The kids were also happy because I bought them icecream while I was there ;)

Life Lately!

Arnold and some friends got together to play at a local benefit the other weekend. They have done it the past few years. They have BBQ and music and raise money for someone in the community who needs help, usually for medical reasons. Unfortunately it rained most of the day and they had to cut it short. But the kids and I did get to go see them for a little while. 

They had community helper day in Rachel's class. They were each assigned a person and were supposed to write a little report on it, dress up like that person, and tell the class about it. Rachel got a baker. We put an apron on her and some gloves but couldn't find a hairnet last minute. So Arnold bought a shower cap! haha! So funny. But at least it got the point across! She said she did well on her report.. we just had to keep reminding her how to pronounce "culinary." ;)

I was so happy at the start of October because I got to pull out some of the kids' Halloween clothes for them to wear! Brooke wore her cute black cat dress from Target and RAchel wore her cute owl outfit and halloween bow to school. 

Arnold and I were able to have a date night when my Mom said she would watch the kids over night. We went out to dinner at Chili's and then to a late movie to see The Intern. I wanted to see it anyway because it had Robert Deniro and Anne Hathaway in it, but it was actually really, really good! It was funny at times, sweet at times and had a great message. I'd recommend it to anyone!

The other day was officially 10 years since Arnold and I went on our first date! I can't believe it has been that long! We will celebrate a decade of being married in January. We are trying to plan a fun weekend getaway to celebrate, so throw any ideas my way! And yes this is an old picture of us, and yes Arnold had long hair! everyone gets a good laugh when I show them this picture, they can't believe his hair was that long. He got it cut shortly after that because he got mistaken for a woman! haha! But it really was actually fitting to him and he has always been cute and I love him to death and don't care about his hair style ;) Well too much ;)

Last week on my day off, Erika and I went to visit our BFF Joanne at work. She works at a new Chick Fila in town. We went to have lunch, and when we met we noticed we were wearing the same shirt! Not planned! I Guess great minds just think alike! ;) I saw a few people looking at us strangely but oh well ;)

A friend of mine who helps me out at church surprised me with a "just because" gift the other morning. She saw these owls and picked them up for me! Arent' they they cutest?! She is so thoughtful and I really appreciate her help with the babies and toddlers on Sundays! 

I got to go visit my Bff and her new baby Holden and spent a whole hour cuddling him after church. He is so sweet and growing so fast! Time slow down! 

I went to the library the other day with the kids for them to pick out some books and I found this one that I had been wanting to read! It is good so far! 

Did anyone else watch the premier of John Stamos' new show? It was actually really good! Even Arnold liked it! And that man does not age!!!! Mmmm ;)

~The kids got their progress reports the other day and Caleb made all A's and B's! I was so proud of him! He made an A on spelling! He is like his Mama I guess! ;) Brooke is still struggling but she did pretty well on her report too. Rachel doesn't really have grades yet, but she is at a good level and doing well except the teacher says she talks a lot and is easily distracted. Oh boy. I hope we can nip that in the bud! 

~I have started a new lifestyle change, trying to lose a lot of weight. For the past week I have been using myfitness pal and counting calories.. and drinking more water, and working out. I even went to the park with my friend Karla and walked 3 miles! I was so proud of myself! It is hard to find time to workout when you're so busy, but it's worth it! And i weighed myself and had lost 5 lbs so far! I have tried this many times and given up, but I just have to keep going!