Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Thanksgiving // 2016

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays but it is part of the whirlwind of the holidays so this is the one I tend to get the least amount of pictures. This year, I tried to be very intentional and snap a few shots!

After lunch, our peeps gather to play cards. Chaz is always Gaga's partner. This is really such the tradition! Love my family!!
And it really wouldn't be a family gathering with the kiddos piled on Kelsey's lap playing on Snapchat.
She is just SO good with them! When she is around, nobody else exists!
Love these faces!
Even being a silly goof!
This.game.is.serious! BAHAHA!
Gaga, don't you know this is serious?! HAHA!
Ham. SUCH the ham!
I love her! I am so glad when we actually remember to take pictures together!
More goofiness!!
My husband strikes again! This is how he leaves his mark, cutting the middle out of the pumpkin pie.
And naps. Isn't Thanksgiving about food, family and naps?!?!?
And then we were off to the Hills.  Where weird stuff like this happens. Yes, that is Katie... the dog, in her blanket.... which has her name on it.... and she has had all her life. Yep, the dog.
And yes, the boys rarely wear shirts. Thankfully, it is just the younger ones, the adults just wear shirts that say random things like "I pooped today!!" #lifegoals
And pure cousin sweetness before my camera battery died and I spent the rest of the night enjoying the fam! Happy Thanksgiving!!

November // 2016

November always equals the fast and the furious end to the year! I swear it is August and then I blink at it is the new year! Between school starting, celebrating our 15th
anniversary,  both kiddos bdays and birthday partyfun trips, lots of friends bdaysHalloween, Thanksgiving, my parents 50th this year and then Christmas, I have whiplash! 

But lets cover November before we close up the year with a bang :)

So something kinda fantastic happened this month. Something I was fairly certain would NOT happen in my lifetime. Something both me and the hubs had been hoping for since we were younger. Something that had my Papa dancing and celebrating in heaven. #wewerecubsfansbeforeitwascool
Yep, the Chicago Cub won the World Series! My FB posts for the series often had apologies to the neighbors as we were quite excited and loud with every win. We also had to watch the series on the back porch as to not wake the kiddos. This late night in November was no different, well maybe it was a little louder!

And the hubs thought the dogs should be involved in the celebration too! They were a wee bit confused. 
 And we found these in our mailbox the next morning! Thanks to our other Cubs loving neighbor!!
 I mean. AWESOMENESS!!
We found someone making these and bought 1... or 5 and then sold 4. We may have gotten a little excited :)
Did I mention lots of birthdays in the Fall?!? Well, this little sweetie on the right is hands down one of my favs and of course we has to gather together to celebrate her! Misti is one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met! We have been friends for several years now and I just love doing life with her!
Lots of us gathered to celebrate her. To say she is loved is probably a pretty big understatement! Two tables full and a mannequin challenge (which shall not be posted HAHAHA) were absolute perfection!
Happy peeps and smiling faces just can't be matched!
It takes lots of shots in a dark room to get it even close to right! Love these two so much!!
The ladies! 
Surprise!!!
And the majority of our November slow time, which is really just fast time in between sporting events, school, appointments, get togethers, etc, is spent shopping and trying to figure out what to do for Christmas gifts.  Some of which resulting in some pretty funny moments. #tiredkidinaplushfootballhelmet
But a quick stop to the roller coaster ride game will certainly cheer him up!!
Sweet boy! And yes we are sporting Cubs gear everyday.allday.
And when you can dress in shorts and roll up your shorts like a goob in November, you do!
I can't even with these two. They are just stinkin' hilarious!!
Football in November is the best! And shorts to boot!!
And sunsets on the mountain are magical!!
Dane has been here. Clearly.  Looks like some Lord of the Flies stuff going on here.
This kid is just something awesome!
And sometimes you have friends over and dress your dog up in Ninja Turtle gear. Whatevs. Poor Wrigley. Yes, yet another Cubs reference. 
Such a good dog!
And we give weird friend hugs. These two are a riot!
And Cracker Barrel brunch dates with Gaga and Papa are a MUST!! The rocking chairs and my family are just so peaceful and awesome!
Have you ever heard me say my kids look identical but they are SO different?? Here is your proof.
And my family, well except the hubs/driver, is the king of car napping!! How can this even be comfortable?!?!
Creepy moon and clouds. 
We did do some normal things.. like the JOYOUS activity of visiting the dentist. He was looking at me like "Save me Momma!!"
But put some earphones and a movie on and this kid is money! Both my kiddos have always been fantastic at the dentist. Actually, Dane had a meltdown about a year ago as I had to work and his daddy took him. Funny for me that it happen on his watch. Poor Daddy.
And then, of course, we just had to Bunco!
My crazy friends (+ Lily.. who is also my friend!) are something awesome!!
We did a little skate party for Jackson's birthday! The hubs is an excellent skater. I am ok. The boy loves it and I barely ever even catch a glimpse of him and the baby has fun but it is kind of a chore!
And why wouldn't I buy this weird glow-tooth-cap-thingy for my kiddo. Everyone else is doing it!
Afterward, it was a cousin sleepover to further celebrate. Well, cousins + Uncle Cameron.
And this boy was zonked. Skating is hard, yall!!
The next day we went to pick up brother at the Jones Center. Dane wanted some pictures outside with this Rainbow turtle. Goober. 
But SUCH a cute goober. 
And the big boys were doing this! Laser tag!
And then it was time to deck the halls!! YAY!! I had a little helper this day!
A happy little helper!!
The day of Bunco is when this adventure actually began... And it started with these two images I sent to my hubs. Well, he is simply amazing and strung the lights on the tree while I was at Bunco. #winning


Family movie night sometimes ends up looking like this. But I will take it all day long. Precious boys!
This is how you travel to your friend's house for a sleepover. Mercy, why does he look like a teenager?!?!?
And then he returns the next day and we snuggle and nap because he is worn out.... and he is once again my baby.
This kid. No words.
Christmas decor is going up and my heart is happy.
And I turn to see this. LOVE!!
And then it was time for projects.. Always a project! This one was for a Christmas gift exchange.
And I LOVE how it turned out! The best is my momma ended up with it at the exchange!
And another for the game room!
These two and Snapchat...priceless!!
And now for the funnies!

With the holiday season starting, remember.... HAHA!
A little throwback I found. Chaz was very excited about this elf hat I bought him. Promise.
One of my favorite Santa pictures ever! Sweet boy!
Sometimes your friends are just awesome. Nothing like going to bed to a text like this. #loveyourtribe
Every.single.day. #momlife
Chaz has always loved jokes so when I come across something, especially a pun, I screen shot it to show him in the morning. He loved this one!
Just being honest here. BAHAHAHA!


Not today! I am pretty sure Juneau, Alaska is not calling me. #eyeroll

I pulled this because it is her birthday month and I love her like a sister. My sweet cousin is 2 years younger than me and I wish I saw her a little more often BUT this picture makes up for it all. I am that boy looking kid on the right. What in the world? Seriously? I was always jealous of her hair. Goodness, I was NOT a cute kid. Happy birthday, Lindsay!