Bike Parade

Nothing is quite as festive as a parade!  My friend and neighbor, Ashley, hosted the Parade and Popsicle party and the only thing that could have made it better was a cooler to sit in!  It was a sweaty, sweaty parade, but we had a great time!  Everyone brought things to decorate with, then we threw them on a table and went to work making our bikes look like symbols of freedom!

Everyone went to work taping things onto their bikes...

 

and before too long....

...the table started to look a little empty.

The finishing touches were being made

and the riders were getting ready to parade the neighborhood...

...looking cute as could be in their red, white and blue!

Naomi opted for a ride in her friend's wagon instead of riding her decked out tricycle.

The parade made it's way through the streets of "the hood"...

...past the houses and moving trucks (a regular site on the military base).

Some were pushed...

...some walked "all by themselves"

And others scooted!

When we finally made it back for the popsicle portion of the party, the heat had gotten to us all!

It was time to cool off!!!

We had a great time and partied until the sun was heading down and the moon was upon us!  

Thanks for planning such a fun event, Ashley!  This will surely become a tradition for us.  Maybe without the sweat next time, if we're at all lucky!

Jingle Jangle

It's that time of year again!  December begins tomorrow and so arrives our annual house guest!  Well, kind of.  Being that we're far away from home and our sweet little Elf on a Shelf is back in Mississippi, Santa has graciously sent us a stand in elf for this year.  See him???

Jingle the elf will be reporting to Santa each night as to how the children behaved and return the next morning in a brand new perch to be found by the smaller members of the family!  But, before he settles in to keep watch, he has one other duty to fulfill! 

Filling the mini stockings!  Last year we had a big ribbon full of handmade envelopes stuffed with goodies and decorated with numbers as a countdown to Christmas.  This year that just couldn't be pulled together!  So, mini stockings it is!  Well, a mini stocking a a mini mitten.  Jingle returns with a surprise for the kids each day (isn't he the greatest?!) and they can find out what it is as soon as they've found his new hiding spot!

What kind of surprises will Jingle be bringing, you ask?  Well, fun things like stickers.....

and goodies, to name a few!

To kick things off for the year, it appears the wee ones will wake up to find some new friends hanging out by their mini stockings!

And just to be sure that they started off on the NICE list, we baked Jingle some cupcakes and left them out for him to nibble on!  Of course, we tested them to be sure they were as good as they looked.  They totally were.  I may have even double checked after the kids went to bed...

It really is the most wonderful time of the year and we will be packing as much fun, magic and excitement into this holiday season as we can!  Happy December, everyone!  May your days be filled with joy and goodies!

Sweets and Sweethearts

My Funny Valentines

Sweet, Comic Valentines.

You Make Me Smile With My Heart.

You Are Laughable, Quite Photographable.

Yes, You're My Favorite Works of Art.

There have been kisses flying at our house this morning.  And treats.  Our day started with Belgian waffles from scratch and a sauce made from the blackberries I picked out of our front yard last summer.  Topped with organic whipping cream from a local dairy, Lawson thought he'd died and gone to heaven.  I am now waiting for the giant cupcakes to cool so I can smother them with cream cheese frosting and mark them with X's and O's for all my Valentine's.  Yep, it's the day of love and goodies and there is no shortage of either around here!  Dustin is hanging up my bathroom door today, which is just about the best present I could think of and then we're headed to the beach tonight in search of a piece of driftwood to make a shelf out of.  Saying "I love you" is a daily occurrence around here, so today doesn't change that, but it is a great excuse to eat goodies and go out to dinner.  So Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope yours is as full of sweets and sweethearts as ours is!