The Weekend What

When the weatherman said that it was supposed to rain on Saturday, I was really hoping that he meant late in the afternoon. We had a very busy and fun day planned. First on the list, was Evan's soccer game. Then, Payton's first basketball game of the season. After that, we planned to eat lunch with Grandma and Papa, followed by a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Despite seeing gray clouds in the morning, I got the little girls pumpkin patch perfect. I laid out clothes for Evan and Payton to change into after their games, so they too would be ready for all kinds of Fall Fun. When we stepped out the door, I noticed that the skies looked REALLY dark! Here's Addi as we were leaving for Evan's game.

Addi & Karsyn too!

Karsyn told me that she needed a picture in her pumpkin shirt too. This is her new cheese face. Oh my! I can only imagine what our little family's Christmas cards are going to look like this year. ha!

Karsyn

As we were driving out to Evan's game, it started to sprinkle. As we pulled into the soccer complex, it started pouring!!!! Daddy and I decided for me to keep the girls in the van and let them watch Strawberry Shortcake. Daddy asked for my umbrella. I should have taken a picture of the look on Jason's face when I told him that I didn't have one. One mama, 4 kiddos, with one umbrella just doesn't work. I explained all this to Jason and I think his exact words were, "I'm getting an umbrella for the van." Then, our poor guys headed out to the fields. It was raining so heavy that the Ref called a 30 minute rain delay. Then, there was a flash of lightening and the game was cancelled. We had just enough time to get our soaking wet boys home to change, before it was Payton's turn to play ball. Here she is in action.

Payton just threw the ball in.

Nana met us at Payton's basketball game. The kiddos were all really excited when she bought them all popcorn! Addi and Karsyn both sat very quietly either munching on popcorn or playing a game on Daddy's phone for the entire game. I love that going to games is getting much easier with two little ones, but at the same time, it's a sign that that they are growing up. Evan gave us a play by play of the game. I'm pretty sure that he could be a sports announcer if he wanted too. He also really liked helping out by going to the concession stand all by himself. Yes, another sign of growing up. (And just so you know, if he wasn't in full view the entire time and if the game wasn't in a small church gym, this wouldn't happen.) Payton's team did a really good job, but they ended up losing. I was really proud of the way that Payton played. (She didn't get her jersey until we got there. I promise to have a post of Payton ready to play ball next weekend.) After the game, we had lunch with Grandma and Papa. At this point, it was still raining and the Pumpkin Patch was a no go. We decided to swing by the house that Grandma and Papa are flipping. Jason worked on painting the pool on Friday and we wanted to see how the paint job held up in the rain. It looked to be just fine. We spent a little time at the flip house before we parted ways with Grandma and Papa. Then we headed to the mall. We got Daddy some new work clothes and found a few good deals for Evan and Karsyn. We didn't leave the mall until after 6 o'clock!!! The kiddos were all starving, so we stopped for dinner at the Santa Fe Cattle Co.

Payton, Addi, Evan, & Karsyn

The kiddos all loved throwing their peanut shells on the floor! I stayed true to eating healthy and had grilled chicken with mixed veggies. Yum! Even though the day didn't quite go how we had planned, we still had a lot of fun! Hope you all had a great weekend too!!!

A Step in the Right Direction

When school, basketball, soccer, dance, speech therapy, and tot gym class started, I started feeling VERY tired. Trying to get everyone to where they needed to be and trying to keep up with all of my mommy chores was wearing me out. I was tired from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. I started to feel like I was just in survival mode and for me, that's just not good enough. That's not the way that I want to be a wife or a mama. I realized it was way past time to start exercising and eating right. Our little family decided to make these healthy changes together. We're only about 2 weeks into the process, but I can already tell such a difference in my energy and I'm seeing some downward motion on the scale. Our kiddos are really enjoying it too! Evan and Payton love to jog. Addi and Karsyn love being pulled in their wagon. We always have to stop when we find a pine cone - you know pine cones are treasures, don't you?  We've went on family walks for the past 3 nights. I really can't tell you how much I've enjoyed it.

Payton & Evan jogging.

Karsyn & Addi love riding in the wagon!

Karsyn, Daddy, & Addi

Evan

Payton & Daddy

Karsyn found a pine cone!

I'm really excited about making healthy changes. I'll make sure to report progress.. If you have any tips, please share them with us.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Before school started, I was on the lookout for healthy and filling breakfast recipes. Evan doesn't eat lunch until nearly 1:00 p.m. and I knew that there was no way that a bowl of cold cereal would hold him until then. I found Pumpkin Spice Muffins on Pinterest and thought I was a genius when I added chocolate chips to the mix. Apparently, I wasn't the first with this idea. ha!  In fact, Mix and Match Mama just featured them on her blog. The only difference between hers vs. the recipe I made is that I cook mine at a little higher temp for a little longer. Here's what you need to make them:
                        1. 1 package of spice cake
                        2. 1 15oz can of pumpkin
                        3. 1 bag of chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Coat your muffin pan with non stick cooking spray. Thoroughly mix your pumpkin and muffin mix. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for around 5 minutes, then enjoy! They are very yummy and even better, they have loads of Vitamin A! If you try them out, let me know what you think!

A Bean Sensory Bucket

If you have little ones and have been on Pinterest lately, I'm sure that you've seen some type of 'sensory bucket' or 'sensory bin'. After looking at several different types, I decided to make a bean bucket. It looked like a lot of fun, with the least amount of mess.  While Addi was at school this morning, Karsyn and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up our supplies.  Here's what we used:
                    1. Two plastic shoe boxes.  Make sure you get the matching lid.
                    2. Small plastic shovels
                    3. A package of paper cups
                    4. Beans - I used 4 pounds of pinto beans and one pound of red beans.

Here's what ours looks like

After we bought the supplies, it was time to pick Addi up from school. I made the buckets and told the girls we would play with them after lunch. Karsyn and Addi were so excited!  We played with our buckets outside.  The girls loved scooping, dumping, making 'soup', and more!



Karsyn



Addi

Karsyn



I love Addi's thinking mouth.

We also played a few 'brain' games, like sorting and patterns.



Karsyn bean sorting.

Good job Karsyn!!

Addi made a 'speckled bean'/red bean pattern

Addi and I also played a game called "Which is More?"  Ms. Susan, Addi's speech therapist, told us to work on this concept. After playing our game today, she has it down. =)  The girls really enjoyed playing with the beans and did for almost an hour!!!  I can't wait to try out other fun pins.   

Our Sunday in Missouri

Day two in Missouri was just as fun as the first. Jason, Addi, Karsyn, and I went and grabbed breakfast soon after we woke up in the morning. On the way back to the hotel, we saw about 7 deer! The girls LOVED it! Addi told me no less than 5 times that I needed to be quiet, because I might scare the deer away. ha!

Anyone else notice the 6 legged deer? LOL!  Right as I snapped this picture a little guy turned and ran back into the wooded area.

We got back to the hotel and Addi and Karsyn enjoyed a breakfast picnic. =) Aunt Ashley called to tell me that both Evan and Payton had a lot of fun at the sleep over. Evan was the first to sleep, which is not a big shocker. He works hard, plays hard, and sleeps hard. Payton and the other girls were up giggling for a while after Evan went to sleep. No big surprise there either. We got ready and met with the rest of our family at church.

Addi & Karsyn

After church, we had lunch at Burger King. The kiddos all loved this for two reasons. One, they got to have some fun in the play area. And two, because the kids meals come with ice cream. After Addi finished her ice cream, she decided to take a few bites of Karsyn's. As you can imagine, that didn't go over too well. Payton decided to fix the problem by giving Addi the rest of her own ice cream. Payton is such a big sweet heart. The things she does for her sisters always amazes me.

Addi, Karsyn, & Evan



Payton & Emily

Natalie & Ashley

After we ate, we visited the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage. At one point, it was quite the tourist attraction. It had light shows, live music, and a show similar to the Passion Play. A lot of those things have stopped, but they still do an hourly tour of their chapel and have some other neat things to see. Karsyn loved the pretty flowers!



Karsyn ran to the flowers!!!

Very pretty

The pretty fountain in front of the building was a perfect place for a cousin picture!

Evan, Stephen, Emily, Addisyn, Jessi, Payton, Karsyn, & Natalie

Here's the fountain sans the kiddos.

As we were walking into the building, Karsyn reached up and grabbed Natalie's hand. It totally blessed my heart. It's always a sweet thing to see cousins bonding.

Karsyn & Natalie

We got inside the building and the kids were all in awe. There was so much to take in and look at.

Jessi pointing out the Christmas tree.

The Christmas tree.

Evan & Stephen

Kary & Billy

Me, Jason, & a Big Angel.

Karsyn & Natalie

This Precious Moment Firefighter and Baby was designed after a photo that was shot right after the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. It was very touching.

We walked out of the main building and towards the Chapel.  The kiddos all enjoyed the statues and fountains along the way.

We couldn't take any flash photography in the chapel, but it was beautiful. We caught the last half of the tour. Mr. Butcher, the designer of Precious Moments, sure had a heart for the Lord. He wanted everything that he designed to point our eyes towards Jesus. After our tour, it was time to head home. We had such a great time in Missouri! I can't wait to go see my sister again. I promised Jessi that I would be there to watch her play basketball after soccer season, so we will be going back very soon!

A Big Thank You & Going to MO

First, I just want to say a huge thank you to my blog friend Sherry! She was so very kind to offer to do this amazing new blog design. Sherry, I really can't thank you enough. It looks wonderful!!! You can check out Sherry's blog by clicking here. This weekend, our little family went on a little road trip to Missouri. Back in July, my younger sister and her family moved there and we just couldn't wait any longer to go see them. We were so excited that Nana, Papa, Grandma Shirley, Grandpa James, Uncle Billy, Aunt Kary, Natalie, Emily, and Stephen all came along too! As I'm sure you know, every good road trip starts out with two things - yummy snacks and a selfie. Jason and I have a little road trip tradition of snacking on Ranch Flavored Cornuts. We've done this for 13 years. In the past couple of weeks, we've decided that it's time to eat healthier and start a new tradition. Fresh fruit and yummy honey crackers will be our new road trip fare. (I'll talk more about the healthy eating on another post, I'm sure.)

Yum!!!

These are so yummy!!!

My Road Trip Selfie with a little cutie in the back!

We had our choice of two routes to take to Ashley's house. Both would put us there at about the same time. We chose the route that led us through a small section of Kansas. The kiddos were all really excited, because that puts all 4 of them at a total of 10 states traveled. This was about all of Kansas that we got to see.

I love little old towns and I also love how all of the highway signs in Kansas look like sunflowers!

We made it to Missouri just in time to see the last half of Jessi's soccer game. She was so excited to see us, that when she saw us pull into the parking lot, she waved at us from the goalie box. It was fun to watch her play.



Jesse is the one in blue at the back of the pack.  They won 2-0!

After the game, we all went to Ashley's house for lunch. The kids were all so excited to see each other. The bigger kids had a picnic on the back deck.

Cousin picnic time!!!

After we ate, the kids all headed down to the basement for a jam session. My brother-in-law, Chad, is a worship pastor. So, they have quite a few instruments in their house - some for him and some just Jessi's size.

My drummer girl Addi!

Mr. Stephen playing the guitar

Karsyn had a lot of fun too!

I think Addi wants some drums now!!

After playing a little music, everyone congregated back up stairs. My grandpa just loved Ashley's dog Daisy. He had a bull dog when he was little and I think it brought back great memories. I love his big smile!

Daisy, Grandpa James, and Grandma Shirley

Grandma had the same big smile when Addi cozied up to her. I think I've mentioned before, Addi is the kind of girl that you really have to earn her love. She's the exact opposite of her big sister. Payton loves to cuddle with everyone in our family. Addi's always been a little stand offish towards Grandma, but that all changed on Saturday. If grandma moved her arms from around her, Addi was quick to grab them and wrap herself back up in a cuddle.

Addi & Grandma Shirley

They weren't the only ones who enjoyed a little cuddle time. Papa, Payton, and Jessi did too!

Payton, Papa, & Jessi

Ashley decided that we should all sing Karaoke. Most of the kiddos really enjoyed this. There was pretty much no way Evan or Emily would join in!

I think they were singing Mighty to Save here!

Jessi looked down right terrified when it was Ashley's turn. LOL! Let's just say, her singing voice sounds like mine. We both love to sing, but we weren't gifted with good singing voices.

Ashley & Jessi

Karsyn and Addi cracked us all up. The music playing in the background didn't have to match the song they were singing.

Addi

My Karsyn Blue Eyes

We decided it was time for dinner. Grandma and Grandpa decided it was time for them to head home. Before we left, I took a couple of pictures.

Jessi & Addi are so much alike!

Ashley & Me

For dinner, we ate a super yummy BBQ place called Woody's. We loved that we could fit all 16 of us at one table.

Our Big Family

After dinner, Nana and Papa decided to head home. Nana had been fighting off a sinus infection and still wasn't feeling too great. Here they are right before they headed out.

Papa & Nana

After dinner, our little family separated from the rest of the family to go check into our hotel room. Karsyn was so sleepy! She fell asleep in her car seat and didn't even wake up when we got into our room.

Sleeping Beauty

The rest of our family went back to Aunt Ashley's house to change into their swimsuits. They met us at the hotel for some swimming fun. Daddy didn't mind staying back in the room with Karsyn, because he was pretty tired too. He took a little nap while we went swimming. I decided not to take my camera to the pool, so the kids posed for a quick picture right before we left.



Addi, Payton, and Evan.  And yes, they all need to take swimming lessons.

We swam for around an hour and then headed back to our room. Evan and Payton got cleaned up and Daddy took them back over to Aunt Ashley's house for a super cousin sleep over in the basement. They were all so excited. It was a really fun day! Our next day in Mo is coming right up. But before I end this post, I just want to say thank you to Sherry one more time for my blog make over. I love it!!!