Fall mornings

Cool mornings, windows open, family trips to the park, Apple crisp baking in the oven as smells of autumn permeate the air. This is fall and I love it! 

I cooked a childhood classic that my mom use to always make, this morning. I even remember the blue glass dish she would use! Apple crisp: peeled/sliced apples, dry oats, half a stick of melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of vanilla. It tastes amazing and smells even better! 

Tristan and Dwight played in the backyard while I cooked and Kennedy ran in and out of the opened back door. These are the moments in life I soak in and just smile. Thank you, Lord!!

Dwight had to go to work for a little bit so I took the kids to the park to play. They had a blast! Oh these sweet babies of mine. I wish I could just FREEZE time right here. 

Happenings

Fall is officially upon us! 

I spent most of the day Saturday decorating, organizing, and preparing for one of my favorite seasons of the year!

Kennedy aka my little side kick loves to "help" me work. If she sees me with a pen/paper or the laptop, she makes a bee line to me. :)

Every Thursday I am participating in an awesome women's Bible study.

We are going through the entire Bible over the next three years. Today was the 4th week and we are about to dive into the book of Numbers! I have already learned SO much and look forward to continuing to do so. There is nothing better than being with friends talking about the Word of God together!

After 20 months of living in our home, I am finally working on one of the 2 wall galleries I plan to do. This is a daunting task, and I'm still not done! I  have to get a few more frames and I need to make a trip to Hobby Lobby to find the perfect letter "C" to go in the top space. 

Ken is at such a FUN age. I go back and forth in my mind/heart about wanting ONE more baby...but I look at where this girl is, and it's perfect for our family right now! She is the apple of all our eyes and I love the dynamic she brings to us. I don't know what God has in store for us in the future, but for now, I am enjoying having little miss as the baby of our family. She is something else...and she is LOVING all the outside time we have been having lately. Me too, Kenny!

Speaking of Kennedy, she had a rough night earlier this week. Allergies got the best of her and she could not stop coughing. I got up with her first, gave her some medicine, water, and loved on her. She was okay for 10 minutes before needing some more TLC. Dwight got up this time and let me sleep. I guess Tristan had a bad dream because I woke up the next morning to find D on the bottom bunk with Tristan, sound asleep. I have to brag and say what a good father this man is. He loves his kids and our family so dearly. He walks the boys to school almost every morning because they think it is the best thing ever.  He plays catch or basketball with them as soon as they get home, and he is ALL in it. I'll look out the window and see him setting up cones for drills. Ha! He helps them with homework, schedules teacher conferences, and volunteers at their school. With Ken, oh boy, there is nothing he won't do for her!! That girl has a very special place in her daddy's heart and she knows it. ;) I love seeing my tall, manly husband singing "itsy bitsy spider", "if you're happy and you know it", and any other song she loves. He is so attached to baby girl that he still hasn't agreed to let her spend the night with either of our parents...mine live SEVEN minutes away. He says he isn't ready to wake up and her not be here. I don't know what he will do when she starts driving, dating, goes to college, or gets married!! But the thing I love most about my husband, is that there is nothing "off limits". If I can do it, he does it...cooking, cleaning, baths, carpool, laundry, and more. I truly am blessed to have him as my husband and father of my children. 

Kicking off the first day of fall with a workout with other mamas and kiddos at the park, then some playing afterwards!

This picture perfectly sums up Kennedy. Ha!!

Carefree, wild at heart, hilarious, fun, free-spirited!

She has this thing with being upside down...she loves it. Ha!

Kinetic sand with my boy after school. I've been making it a point to watch a movie each night with him, just the two of us. Sometimes I forget just how little he really is. Love him so. 

Dwight owns his own company, Team Juice. He has several select basketball teams consisting of middle and high school aged players. He has poured his heart and soul into this company and God is truly blessing it! Well, he keeps asking me to be his secretary and I keep quitting/getting fired! I kid...sort of. ;) I was in charge of designing new shirts for the moms/dads/players. It was a gigantic undertaking that might have scarred me for life!! But they turned out so great! It's hard to see in this picture but here are the mom's shirts. The basketballs are all sparkled out! Then last names and jersey numbers are on the back. Go Juice!

This girl and all her hair!!

I fed and bathed the kids tonight then loaded them up in the car to get some dr pepper and chocolate. I am fresh out of both, not okay!! I had Tristan go to the machine to get my dr pepper and had to take a picture of him in his pjs with those long legs. He is the cutest!! I love having a baby in my home, but there are some MAJOR perks with older kids, too!!

Party #2!

My mom threw Tristan an underwater themed family birthday party at her house on Saturday. As usual, she went all out! Tristan has really taken a liking to all things sea life and knows so much about saltwater fish, habitats, and all the facts surrounding the ocean. I love seeing his little brain grow bigger and bigger! He is so passionate about the sea, my parents gifted him a 55 gallon saltwater fish tank (to keep at their house, they know better!). 

My sisters were all there, one surprised him by flying in from Colorado, the other we had not seen since her wedding! It was so fun. 

Tristan was certainly celebrated and loved on, Kennedy too...of course she still has to be in the spotlight too. Total baby of the family. ;) Ha! 

Party #1

Birthdays are a big deal around our house. My mom always made ours so special and it's something I cherish about my childhood. So, I've carried on the tradition with my own children! 

Friday morning, the 18th was Tristan's actual birthday. He woke up at the crack of dawn. I went to go check on him and Amari and they were fully dressed and playing with the balloons on the bedroom floor. It's always been a birthday tradition in our home to wake up to a room full of balloons! Dwight and I stayed up the night before blowing them up together. Of course Daddy has to blow his up as BIG as he can. I kept telling him it wasn't a contest. He did not listen. Ha! You can imagine the laughter when one popped right in his face. I told him that would happen... ;)

Tristan woke up to a a few presents; a new football and soccer ball, his choice of orange cupcakes, fruit, and juice for breakfast, and Mimi and Ashley stopping by to join us! 

The boys went outside with daddy to play catch with the new football before school. 

Seven!! 

Amari tried his hardest to be a supportive brother. It's hard watching someone else get all the attention! But I explained to him that it was Tristan's special day and we need to celebrate him, just like he will want to be celebrated on his birthday next month. He shed a couple of years and agreed. I'm sure I'll be having the same talk with Tristan in a few weeks. Ha!

Lunch of your choice on your birthday, tradition #2! Since T's bday landed on a school day, we took it up to him and ate with him. Amari joined us, too! The boys giggled and told us all about their days. Sweetest times of my life, I'm living right now. 

I made myself (and Dwight) a promise this year. A promise to scale back in the birthday department and ask myself, "who am I really throwing this party for?" It's so easy to get lost in the aspect of impressing others, living up to Pinterest boards, and wanting everything to be "perfect"...but I've come to realize those things just don't matter to kids, it's more for the adults. Kids just want to be celebrated! Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to throw a huge, detailed party...I've done my fair share...it just wasn't fun for me anymore. So I went a different route. 

This year we decided to keep things extremely simple. Tristan wanted a "boys only" party, so we did just that!! He invited 15 of his friends over for pizza, cake, and backyard games. Dwight put on his "coaching hat" and took control of all the games! He was in his element and the kids had the BEST time! They played knockout on the basketball goal, soccer, and touch football. It was perfect. The kids ran around laughing, chasing, and just being kids!! It was such a sweet time and probably one of Tristan's best parties. The kids left sweaty and tired, and Dwight and I fell into bed exhausted! I would say it was a success!! 

Someone enjoyed the cane...no names necessary. :)

Tristan got a new heavy duty bball goal for his door from a friend. It was a abortive for sure! He spent his night playing on it.

Pierce stayed the night and they played their little hearts out. Making memories! 

I had to post these pictures of Kennedy from the night before. She spotted the cake and cupcakes I for for T's class. She threw the biggest fit because she wanted them so badly!! Poor baby just needed some sweets. Ha! ;)