mom and littles go to utah

At the beginning of November, I took the two little ones with me to Utah.  We were only there for about five days, and we crammed fun and activities into every minute we were there.  Just the way I like it!  Here are some of the awesome things we did:

Playing with uncles!

Everly was completely obsessed with my brother Andrew!  From the first time she saw him, she was in love.  She followed him around, and really wanted to play with him.  It was like nothing I've ever seen from her.  After that first night, we thought maybe it was a fluke, and that he caught her in just the right mood.  But, the next time she saw him, her eyes instantly lit up as soon as she saw him, and they were inseparable after that.  What can I say?  Andrew's a cool guy!

One of the main reasons I went when I did, was so that I could attend Pinners Conference with my mom, where we learned how to run a business, take better pictures, make gourmet cupcakes, plan parties, refinish furniture, make Christmas goodies for friends, and so much more.  We also did a little shopping while we were there.  It was so fun and so inspiring!

I got to meet some women I really admire as I have followed their blogs over the years.  I have learned from them, and been inspired by them, and it was fun to meet them in real life.  Above is Mandi from Vintage Revivals, and below is Cara from Maskcara.

We had an awesome time at the children's museum at Thanksgiving point,

Of course, Everly's favorite thing at the children's museum were these rubber boots.  Silly girl!

I got to spend time in this beautiful temple where Bart and I were married 12.5 years ago!

We fed this little girl some Cafe Rio, and she absolutely loved it.  Smart girl!

These two cousins had fun together.

Everly got to see my beautiful grandma.  She doesn't look very happy about it, but she got a little tired of being left with strangers while mommy went out playing that weekend.  She was afraid I was going to leave her again.  I promise, she has nothing against my grandma!

After attending the fun cupcake class at Pinners Conference, we of course had to make some gourmet cupcakes of our own. These were lemon meringue cupcakes and they tasted as good as they look.

It was fun to spend some time with this little guy when I wasn't distracted by the million things that are always on my to-do list.  It helped me remember what an awesome, fun, funny little boy he is.

But, even though we had a great time, we were excited to get back on the plane and come home to see daddy and Kade and Ky, because we sure missed them, and it's better when we're together!

halloween 2015

I've said, it before, and I'll say it again: I love Halloween.  Especially with young children.

I love decorating and making costumes for my kids.  I like dressing up myself, and Halloween parties, and Trick-or-treating, and candy!

My sweet little fawn looked adorable as ever in her costume.  

This was our first attempt at real face paint for Halloween, and I think you would agree it was a success!

When the little brother finds the Darth Vader costume mom made a few years ago, and decides right away that that's what he wants to be, and then begs his older brothers to dress up as Star Wars characters with him, and they agree to it because, well, it's Star Wars, everyone is happy!

Hunter, mama deer, baby deer.  Love dressing up on theme with these two!

All ready for trick-or-treating!  Notice the perfect "deer in the headlights" look coming from the baby deer!

One of my favorite nights of the year, spent with my favorite people!  Couldn't have asked for a better evening!

And of course, she loved it!  She refused to let me help her carry her bucket.  Even when it got really heavy.  Even when her little hands were cold because she wouldn't wear her mittens.  I think she's going to be a feisty one!

krew's 4th "bird"-day!

At the end of October, Krew turned 4! As I was helping him think of theme ideas for his birthday party, as soon as I thought of this idea, I knew it was perfect for him: a "Bird"-day party!  Krew has always liked birds, and has spent a lot of time the past several months, going "birding" with his brothers.  Every time we go to the library, he wants to check out a book about birds, and usually he has a specific kind in mind.  First, it was bald eagles, and then it was ostriches, and so on.  So, a bird-day party it was!

Aren't these bird cupcakes the cutest?  Let me tell you, there are not a lot of ideas on Pinterest for bird themed parties, unless you want Angry Birds, or little baby bird parties for baby showers, or something.  So. instead of copying everyone else's ideas, this time I had to actually be creative on my own.  

The morning of his birthday, we had a little birthday party playgroup with a few of his little friends.  He was so excited to play with his friends, and he was completely excited about each gift he got.

For party favors, I gave each child a little bag of gummy worms that were labeled as bird food, some bird stickers, and one of those bird warbler whistles that you put water in.  I remember getting one of these when I was young, and I kept it forever.  I was so excited to see that someone still makes and sells them, because they were perfect for the bird birthday party.

Later, we celebrated his birthday will our little family, and I let Krew decorate his own cake.  He asked for help writing a 4, but otherwise he did it all by himself, and he could not have been more pleased with his birthday cake.

We sure love this little guy.  He so perfectly fits in our family, and I don't know what we would do without him. I love that I get to celebrate all his birthdays with him!

2015 wisconsin physician assistant of the year

In October, Bart was informed that he was one of the five finalists for the 2015 Wisconsin PA of the Year award.  So, we were able to attend an awards banquet where all of the finalists were recognized, and the winner was announced.  Well, it should surprise no one that Bart was named the 2015 Wisconsin Physician Assistant of the Year!

 Before it was announced that he was the winner, he kept saying that he didn't deserve to win.  But he was wrong.  He couldn't be more deserving.  Everyday he works to serve the minority groups in this area, he has mentored and taught several PA students, he serves on more than one committee to help improve the care that his patients receive.  He is well liked by his patients, and staff.  He loves learning more about medicine, and is always striving to improve as a PA.

 He got up after his name was called, and gave the most perfect acceptance speech.  I cannot believe that he didn't have it planned out word for word beforehand, because it was amazing!  He made people laugh, he made them cry, he was inspiring, and humble and confident.  I know I'm biased, but his acceptance speech was the most interesting part of the whole evening.

 I am just so proud of him, I could burst!!

It was a really special night, and I feel lucky to be married to such an awesome man!