Turning 35 and Pumpkins

My "mama" came to Dallas for my 35th birthday. She organized a small family birthday celebration. The "star" of the party......sprinkles cupcakes! I did not get to snap the picture of my coming to the table and finding missing letters on several of the cupcakes. We had some little toddlers help themselves before the party started.

3 generations of "Savy Shoppers" LOL!
On Saturday, we took Nana to the Dallas Arboretum to get our
first glimpse of fall. The boys kept calling it the
"pumpkin park" I am sure it won't be our last visit this fall.
I wanted to get a classic triple smile in their Michigan gear, but I was
not successful at capturing the "perfect triple smile" so I put together
the collage below. We did pick out 3 pumpkins to take home
with us....that are now inviting fall to come and STAY from our front porch.

Want The Park All To Yourself? Go in the Rain!

A friend recently gave me the idea to let the boys take their trikes to a local park/play area. Nana is in town from Tennessee and this seemed like a great outing. We loaded up the trikes and headed to the park. Just as we were pulling in, it started to rain....I looked at my kids and said "Guess What? You'll have the whole place to yourself!" We loved playing in the rain and we had a BLAST!

Ava had to do exactly what she saw her brother do........

Until......

This is my new favorite picture of her. My little princess, with her cute boots and

matching bow sitting in a mud puddle!

Cute Little Bootie!

And yes, LJ was there too....he was just was too busy riding his trike to stop for a photo!

So Thankful

Tonight, Zachariah went to Awanas. Awanas is a national club designed to Reach Children with the Gospel, Teach children how to have a relationship with Christ, and Train them to Study God's Word and Hide it in Their Heart. (all in fun fun ways) This is the first time Zachariah has been in an organized "club". Every week he will recite his Bible Verses to a teacher and earn a patch for his vest. And as I watched him tonight...so excited to go to class, and so excited to wear his vest....I couldn't help but bow my head and thank God for remembering him and bringing him into our family. Interestingly enough, His birthmother named him...but I know God put the name on her heart. His name means "Remembered by God"..I am so very excited to see how God will use this young man! When I picked him up, he was happy and excited. He ran up and hugged his teachers goodbye and ran into the arms of his 2 year old Sunday School teacher as we were leaving.I am so grateful to be part of such a wonderful church...and to think of the life Zachariah could have had if God had not remembered him 3 years ago...but He did! Thank you Jesus for choosing us to be Zachariah's parents.

A is Awesome

My 3 year old fell out of a wagon over labor day weekend and fractured his collar bone. That is the reason for the brace in some photos. Our Dr. told us to have him wear the brace as he would tolerate it, so it is not seen in all pictures for that reason. He tolerates it for about 30-45 minutes at a time.

Our boys started preschool last week and in the 3 year old class they were learning about the Letter A. So I have decided to piggy back on their letter of the week each week at home.

I am not promising to blog each letter each week b.c it is time consuming, but I haven't blogged anything educational in a while...so I thought I would today.

This is an activity taken from "No Time For Flashcards" blog!!! An AWESOME website for great ideas.

Letter A Aliens. I loved watching the boys choose different colors for their painting.






In between these activities we did go outside for some down time, but when it was time for snack, I started the Letter A Scavenger Hunt. This was an original idea, although I am sure I am not the first person to think of it and its bound to be out there somewhere on a blog!

The boys got our their flashlights that Papa gave them a few years ago to search for their items. I showed them a card with a picture on it and they had to find the item in the house.

First up, snack time.... APPLES!

Next up, picking out the Letter A with Fridge Magnets.

It took Levi 2 times to get the right letter

Zach had no trouble finding letter A.

Their next picture showed something that we have a lot of in my house....it was interesting

to me to see which one they would go to first.

Airplane!! Nana found this cool vintage plane in an estate sale in Tennessee. Daddy cleaned it up for Zachariah's bedroom.

Their next hunt was to find A's in Ava's room.

Levi found this A so fast!

I gave Zach the hint to look on the wall and

he shined his light on these 2 things.

We have had a fun morning.....they are winding down right now with Jungle Book....no A's!

Ava's First Haircut

Well....I have been on a mini blogging vacation. Sorry. This week the boys started preschool, which gives me 2 days a week now to have some one on one time with Ava. This is actually a new concept for me, only having one child in tow. For new readers, my boys are only 8 months apart and I was on bedrest during much of my pregnancy with baby #2....so I rarely even took baby #1 alone anywhere. So I am rambling. Today....Ava and I went to the salon for haircuts.
My dear stylist, who has become a dear friend has cut my hair for about 12 years now. I have followed her through 4 salons I believe. I was lucky enough to find her right after graduating from DBU. And yes...I drive almost an hour to get my hair cut...but hey....a great stylist is one of those things worth driving the distance! So today was Ava's special day for her first haircut......

Enjoying herself in the mirror before the big cut!

Sitting as pretty as a princess.....

We love Angie!!!

And for the record, Ava sat and watched mommy get her hair cut too....something I would have NEVER EVER attempted with the boys!

My cute new hair cut...and thanks Nana for the bow to match my dress.

Angie's Salon is right by Daddy's work....so we met him for lunch!

"Hi Daddy!"