Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Well, my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving) is over and the Christmas season is upon us.  I love Christmas time, but I love teaching the kids to be thankful before the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.  Thanksgiving is a calm and soothing holiday and I just won't decorate the tree or my house before we celebrate and show our gratitude for all we have.

We found the perfect tree and we love it!

Gary strung the lights and I hung the balls on it, but the kids played outside and we enjoyed the wonderful warm weather, so we didn't fully decorate with the other ornaments.  Our tree seems to have a little lean going on.  Oh my!

She's a a pretty tree!  I just love her and soon she will be full of ornaments from years past!

friendsgiving roadtrip!!

Yesterday we decided to take a road trip to Chattanooga.  I was bummed because we'd have to take two cars and I thought maybe we could rent a van.  Everyone thought it was a wonderful idea. Yay!  Our day began with the guys getting the van and us hitting the road for our Tennessee adventure!

We stopped in at Ruby Falls.

And the we decided to visit the downtown area.

The waterfall steps were my favorite!

All selfies today compliments of Layla's selfie stick!

We ate a yummy lunch at Big River.

Then we visited the local cupcake place and I got my favorite classic vanilla cupcake. Layla also got a classic vanilla also, while Hayden got a peanut butter chocolate and Gary indulged in a mint chocolate chip flavor. Mmmmm!  So delicious!

On our way back to Georgia we visited Chickamauga National Battlefield Park.

We went 136 steep and circling steps to the top of Wilder monument.  It was so fun because we didn't realize how high it was and as we swiftly walked up the stairs we could feel the top was near, but we kept going and going and going.  We laughed and giggled through the thigh burn.  The laughter echoed through the cement monument and it's a memory I'll never ever forget.

I was a little freaked out at the top.  I'm not a fan of heights. I was worried one of the kids would fall all the way down the steep stairs, and I barely looked over the sides, yuck!  

I love the little side holes the soldiers shot guns out of.  I'm not a history lover, but it was really cool to tour the battlefields!

We made it back down and took picture looking back up at the top. It was pretty cool!

On the drive back to Georgia I was feeling sentimental.  I'm thankful for a fun day with friends and the ability for all of us to celebrate this holiday together!

go carts, rope course and games

We went on a fun adventure to ride go carts!

Hayden was so proud to take his very own helmet!  I'm so happy he could use it.

The kids had a fun time flying around the track.  Hayden went fast and Layla was more consevative like her momma.

Layla rode with me and she was annoyed by how slow I went. ha!

Gary and Hayden zipped around the track and ended up getting into a minor collision.  I knew it would happen.  They're such dare-devils. 

Layla got all tethered up and headed up to the ropes course.  She was so brave and rocked that thing.  

We watched the virtual pirates movie. When the kids told me it was a roller coaster feel I was scared I'd barf, but it was so fun.  We shot all the pirates as they tried to attack us.

What a fun day with friends!  We're so blessed!

friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving 2015 has begun.  We're starting off by having Mexican food at our favorite spot!

The guys are getting all manly in the back yard making a zip line course.

And Mia is playing us some awesome tunes on her guitar.  It's gonna be a great week! 

Friday Funday

It's Friday and that means the last day of school before Thanksgiving break.  Wooohooo!  Another break y'all.  Georgia loves to take school breaks!

The pups are getting groomed and momma is cleaning the house.  Yay for Friday!

soup soup soup

My favorite broccoli cheese soup from way back in 2012 is still a family favorite!

Tonight we decided to buy some huge rolls and make our own bread bowls.  I think that makes this the best Wednesday ever!  The kiddos were fans fo sho!

brunch is the best

strawberry slush

The kids love strawberry drinks.  I throw frozen strawberries in the blender with apple juice and serve it right up.  Do it!  It's amazing!

one day in our life

I instagrammed an entire day and it was a lot of work.  I enjoy browsing instagram, but actually posting all day is time consuming.  It will be fun to look back at our day a year from now though, so I'm glad I took the time to do it.  I wanted to share it here too!

My alarm goes off at 6:10 every morning.  I don't get up until about 6:20 though!

We get breakfast served and lunches packed and then we sit with the kids until it's time to go to school.

The kiddos get dropped off at 7:20 and then we head home to grab a cup of coffee before Gary heads to work.

The pups settle down for their morning naps.

I had to write a quick note to a friend I'm sharing oils with, so I took the time to write this while Gary showered.

I made him an egg sandwich and packed his lunch and off he went to work.

I grabbed a protein drink and sat down for some devotional time while reading.

Then it's off to the basement to workout.

Once my workout was all done I showered and did my hair and face.

I have an oil station, if you will, in my bathroom and I made up the oils I'm sharing.

Before I headed out to lunch I put a load of laundry in the wash and folded a load,

I ate a yummy Greek salad at Panera and had some girl time!

Then it was off to Kroger to grab a few items and head home to wait for the kiddos to get off the school bus.

It's been raining here for DAYS, so I snapped a picture of the sky at a stop sign!

I walked in the door and let the pups outside and someone had barfed on the couch, so I got to clean that up!  yuck!

I put dinner in the slow cooker!

And then it was 2:30 and the kids ran home from the bus stop!

We did all their homework and read for 20 minutes.

I was hungry again and while the snacked I also snacked.  I had sliced chicken and celery with hot sauce and  leftover sweet potato.

I have decided that I need to up my calories because I am not losing fat the way I'd like to since I've been lifting weights.  I upped the calories and protein and I'll start eating more tomorrow.  Hopefully this will feed my muscles more and help banish the flap!  It's worth a try and I like food! ha!

We all just laid around for a bit waiting for Gary to get home from work.

We had cream cheese chicken with saffron rice, cauliflower and baked beans.

Lily Jack wanted some food.

After dinner we all just sat around and solved the worlds problems until Hayden had to get into bed.

Layla stays up a tad bit later than Hayden.

Then we rubbed her feet with Thieves oil and tucked her into bed by 8:30.

Daisy Mae fell fast asleep while we were picking out a TV show to watch.

We settled in for our shows and I got myself a handful of candy corn!

We finally decided to hit the hay around 11:00 so we can get up and do it all over again tomorrow!