"not-so-official"

Tomorrow is the first "not-so-official" day of tot school for miss Spicer. I've been working hard to get all this ready for her and it's still a work in progress! I guess that's how things like this always are or at least that's exactly how they were when I was a classroom teacher. :) We'll give the "tot trays" a try tomorrow along with a few other activities/lessons. It's going to be a great day! I'll post pictures soon! :)

You can learn more about "tot trays" at (http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/TraysforTots.html).

Party time!

My little sister is now officially "ENGAGED!" YAY! I'm super excited for her. She has dated Ryan, her fiance for a little over 5 years. They plan to marry sometime next fall or spring.

We (the fam) threw the happy couple an engagement party last night. Mindy was so surprised! This was my first attempt at party planning. Mindy thought it looked great and that makes me happy!

I'm no photographer, but here are some pictures from the evening...

entry table



dessert table



drink table - drinks


surprise!


our family


me with the bride to be! i didn't get one good picture of the ring-- it is gorgeous!


the very happy couple

Get that ball.

Spicer and daddy love to play together. And when they play, they play hard. The other day they were running around the house playing with a ball. Jared started kicking it and then Spicer tried to do the same. She then shouts out, "Get that ball." She repeated it over and over as they played their little game. Jared and I could hardly hold back the laughter. So, I guess, "Get that ball." is her first official simple sentence-- at least first understandable sentence anyway! :)

Here's a recent picture of Spicer and her play buddy, daddy!

shoes

Oh how I love sweet Spicer Beth and her little "obsession" with shoes! She has loved shoes for as long as I can remember. Every time she watches the beloved "Fresh Beat Band" (lol) she has to grab her pair of shoes that looks like theirs. Oh Spicer - Always so, so funny! She also likes to prance around in a pair of my shoes whenever she gets the chance! :)

Thank you Jesus for my healthy, happy, shoe lovin' little princess!

home away from home...

This past weekend we headed to Branson, MO for a little fun and relaxation. Branson has become a home away from home for us. Every time we go, at least 3 times a year :), I don't want to leave. We absolutely love everything about it! I think it's become so special to us because of all the sweet memories we've made there. The very first time I went to Branson was with Jared, Jared and I got engaged in Branson, we celebrated part of our honeymoon there, and then eventually took our sweet baby girl there for a visit! We look forward to making many more awesome memories at our home away from home, Branson!

a little white water action...

jared's mom and sister joined us...





spicer beth stepped on a bee while we were eating lunch... her very first bee sting. awe, so sad.