dark chocolate covered peppermint jojo’s from trader jo’s & a cup of coffee. oh.my.goodness.
they are seriously helping me get through christmas crunch time! our internet was spotty yesterday–so i am catching up on emails. happy thursday!

i met our friends at the beach on sunday to let the kids run and take some pics. here are a few of my favorites…




thanks cheneys, for letting me practice on you. it was a blast!!

we were blessed with an amazing saturday, so i took the boys, my silver wreath and our new tripod to the beach. we had a blast. the boys were such good sports! i love the bottom picture where they are burying my wreath.

these boys need a trip to the snow–they have no idea what winter means!!

bundling up. eating pizza. running kids. sipping cocoa. marching band. twinkling lights. seeing friends. snuggling close. packing up. driving home. tucking in. sleeping soundly.

the sweetest little bug. a sterling charm about 1/2″ is hung from sterling chain. if you’d like to order one, please order tiny squares necklace and in the notes request the ‘little lady necklace’.

make sure to request 16″ chain for little girls!

*just a reminder, place all christmas orders by december 7th for holiday delivery. after the 7th, i will do my best to fill orders, but i can’t promise christmas delivery!!

i really want to learn more about photography and my camera. i’ve been wanting to take a class at a local camera shop, but time is tight!! lightbulb! my camera came with a few DVDs that have tons of tips and tricks. So fun, so inspiring. I’ll probably have to rewatch them a few times to make sense of it all, but the process is so fun. And David is practicing his keyboard A LOT!! What do you want to learn more about??

seemed like a better title that ‘three completely unrelated things’.

lindsey over at imperfect is making custom capes. it’s been really nice to have a superhero in the family. i highly recommend it. matty’s has a big ‘m’ on the back and you can choose your own colors for the inside and outside. go check out her blog and email her for more information.

here’s the party dress. it is from target. pretty basic, but it did the job. i wasn’t sure about the ruffles, but i only had one day, so i couldn’t complain! the boots are from ross. $20 and very comfy!

need a few christmas gifts?? chrissie (my twin sis and the genius behind flip flops & applesauce) is giving away a $100 gift certificate to lisa leonard designs. you just have to do one of her fun, easy projects with your kiddos and link back. so fun!!

the tree is up, it smells like cinnamon and the house is almost orderly (at least momentarily). a tree with white twinkling lights is my favorite…with a cozy blanket and a cup of cocoa. tomorrow i’ll break out the stockings and the manger scene. what’s your favorite way to decorate for the holidays?

just a few photos from sea world. highlights–feeding the dolphins, the beluga that swam right up to matty, david’s smiles and lots of bonding with cousins. oh yeah, and junk food. diet starts today.

our house is a dis.as.ter. maybe we should just move and start over?? steve put up the christmas tree last night (fakey, need to buy cinnamon candles to scent the house) so that is definitely motivating me to straighten things up. also on today’s agenda, i MUST find a dress for a holiday party tomorrow night. target…i am counting on you!! don’t let me down. if i find one, i’ll post pic. happy monday!!

we’re back after three days at disney, two days at sea world, lots of family time, a quick visit with old friends, one kid throwing up and all of us happy but tired! let’s unpack the bags and get going because it’s christmas time–yay!!