Rag Doll

Halloween will be right around the corner and Lauren wanted to pick out her costume this year. She changed her mind a half dozen times and we finally settled on her being a rag doll. I am so in love with this and cannot wait to dress her up. I am sure this will be the last time she will be anything so cute or something I will have fun putting her in. Enjoy it while it lasts.




Yesterday, we had Amelia's baptism. It was such an honor to be her godparents. I cannot wait to watch her grow. I love that Lauren, Lyla and Amelia will all be 2 years apart. I know they will have lots of adventures growing up together.

Corndog Muffins

Made something that most kids and even some adults may love! Corndog muffins and believe me, right out of the over, they taste just like corndogs.

You'll need:

2 boxes of corn muffin mix

2 eggs

1 cup milk

5 hotdogs chopped up

1 can of corn drained (if wanted)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar (if wanted)

Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes

I used corn, but no cheese this time around.

Since school starts a week from today, I made a ID tag for Lauren's backpack.

Aqua and Red

I adore this color combo right now. It is so bright and eye catching, yet sweet and fun. I have decided that this is the color pallette we are using for family pictures on Sept 12th. Well, the kids will be in aqua and red. Us adults are going for a more blend in look with black and jeans. Anyway, I just bought this gorgeous handmade outfit (in aqua and red) from Etsy for Lauren for the pictures. I am so in love with it.

Do A Little Dance...

Another weekend has come and gone. Just 2 weeks till Labor Day. Whew...only 9 days till school starts. Last week, Lauren had her final dance class of the summer. While she loves to do her own thing, I gotta say I was quite impressed with her dancing at the small show they put on. I video taped some of it with my camera since our video one died. Anyway, here are some pictures from the show. She picked out her own outfit for the big performace...what can I say she liked to stand out.

First they had to do warm-ups.

She loves to check herself out in the mirrors.

Look at that form.

An arabesque

Her own moves

Dancing to "You Are My Sunshine"

Leaps over the pom-poms

Fun with the ribbons at the end.

We still had a bday cake that we never cut into, so candles once more.

Birthdays and dancing wear a girl out!

Tutus

I am getting a head start on Christmas gifts this year. I have decided to make my niece, Lyla, and my best friend's daughter tutus. I finally decided on a fun and sweet color combo and ordered the materials. I am going with a lavender and kiwi scheme with hot pink flower that can be taken off the tutu and worn in their hair. Hope they turn out cute.

Fashion Friday

I came across this ad and really loved the outfit and how it was put together. While it is very casual and chic, it has a hint of glam with the sequin/beaded top. I love sequins and ruffles. I love how they can be worn with just about anything...day or night. I am really looking forward to fall as well, since layering is about the best fashion there is!!

Happy Friday All!!

Do You Bento?

First of all I would like to wish my sister in law and brother in law (Jennie and Scott) a happy 10th anniversary!! Conrats to you both and I hope you have many more!

Onto a new topic. I have been trying to find the perfect lunchbox/containers to pack Lauren's lunch in. I want something that is functional and cute. I want to stop using baggies and such. I finally stumbled across Laptop Lunches. This seems like the perfect option. Then I saw all the talk about Bento Boxes. Created in Japan, it promotes healthy eating....PERFECT! You are able to be so creative with what you serve as well as how you present it.

A Little Bit Of This...A Little Bit Of That

These are some pictures from the past week that I have yet to post about. A Hall of Fame banquet, a yummy dinner and Chuck E Cheese. Boy, think you can handle all that??

On August 12, my father in law was inducted into the Bowling Hall of Fame. He bowls professionally and travels quite a bit during the season. We were all there to celebrate this amazing accomplishment in his life. Congrats Dave!!

Dave asked me to design some thank you cards that were special for his achievement to send to some family and friends. This is what I came up with. I plan to add the words Hall of Fame to it yet. The hat signifies he was the 116th person inducted in.

Next, I made personal pizzas on Lauren's birthday. I made them from Grand's Biscuits, then added pizza sauce, onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, hamburger and cheese. They were really very good and so easy to make.

Monday night, Jas and I took Lauren to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate her birthday as a family. It was pretty dead there, so it was the perfect time to go. We had a blast together playing games, eating some pizza and just hanging out. We capped off the night with a couple games of Hungry, Hungry Hippo and Connect 4.

Tickets!!

Look at that concentration.

Trying her hand at bowling.

Lulu's 4th Birthday Bash

So Lauren's first big birthday bash with friends (not just family) this year went really well. The kids had fun and I had less work. All in all....a homerun! We had the party at The Little Gym and they were wonderful. I would definately do it again. Be prepared for a ton of pictures...I took over 300 and narrowed it down, so consider yourself lucky.

Never too old for a cuddle with your daddy.

Her birthday outfit

Prepare for her silly faces sequence...

Cute, right?



On Sunday we had her big friend party at The Little Gym.

Getting high fives from everyone since she was the birthday girl.

Dancing to some silly songs

They asked whose birthday it was...of course she made sure they knew.

Fun with the parachute!

A little balance beam action.

And somersaults!

Lauren and her school buddy, Summer.

Lauren and Lyla

Lauren and her pal, Aubrey.

Lauren and neighbor friend, Alyssa.

Lauren and Jackson...her first date last year! LOL!

This was called the penguin slide.

Lauren and Will

Lauren and cousin, Carter.

Lauren and Ava (Jackson's sister)

Playing hide n seek.

This was so cute. They all had to sit on a dot and Lyla was on the other side of the room so she picked up her dot and moved next to Lauren.

On the air track....this was a hit!

Cake time...or in our case...cupcake time!

The cupcake toppers

YUM!

Group shot...can never get everyone to look.

Jackson's funny face!

Then it was home to celebrate with the family. Cousin Caleigh helped Lauren open her gifts. Lauren adores Cal. She's like a big sister.

Carter being the Easter Bunny!

I really wanted to get pictures of Lauren with all her family members this year and I did it, but sometimes not everyone smiled so nice.

Lauren with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Dave

With Grandma Connie and Grandpa Mike

With Uncle Scott and Aunt Jennie

With Grandma Linda and Papa Ken

With Uncle Brent, Aunt Jill and Amelia

And a family photo

Gotta goof around sometimes.