hAlloWEeN {2014}

Drum roll please......................Most popular halloween costume of 2014 goes to................ ELSA, of course!! We did our part - ha!

But what a beautiful Elsa she made! And she was sooooo happy which made hunting down the original Disney costume worthwhile. Thank you to the sweet grandma in Florida that sent it to me!!

Grace, 7 1/2
Halloween {2014}

And after flip-flopping every.single.day for weeks, this little boy decided to stay true to his roots!

Hudson, 5
Halloween {2014}

Our little Elsa and Darth Vader...fighting over who should stand where...sigh...

Stop #1 to see Noonie... 
{Papa J was still working - boo!}

Trick or Treating at the museum...

Stop #2...Mimi & Pop's house! Cousin Jade was there too!

Quick family pic...

...and off we go! Trick or treating with not one but TWO Darth Vaders!

A couple of stops and they were ready to go back to Mimi & Pop's "because they have the best candy anyway" - ha!

Before long we were back home with two littles ready to crash...but not Super Jaxon, noooo! He was still ready to take on the world!

Happy Halloween!

Vocabulary Parade!

Our school hosts an annual Vocabulary Parade for the second graders. It is adorable!! The students are given a list of words to choose from and they turn in their top 3 selections. The teachers then assign them one of the words. They have to come up with a costume that showcases what their word is all about.

Not gonna lie, when the list came home I immediately scanned it for "easy costume" words - ha! You know, just something we already had that we could make work. But then I just handed Grace the list without saying a word. {I'm learning you guys!! Baby steps, baby steps...}

She took the list and studied it like it was the Graduation Exit Exam!!! And finally she handed it back to me with 3 words circled. NONE were on the "easy costume" track - hahahaha.

Her mind was made up. And so it came to be. L U S C I O U S. Yep, my 7 year old daughter wanted "luscious". Even Lance raised an eyebrow to that. In her defense, the definition read: "adjective. having a rich, sweet taste". And in her mind, that meant baking. And if you remember back to {here} and {here}, a baker is what she wants to be when she grows up. So, luscious it was.

Then I remembered we had {this} costume. Never mind that it wouldn't fit through her head!!! She was 2 at the time, but who's counting, right??!

This mama was determined to make.it.work. So I called Noonie - ha! She cut it straight down the back and added ribbon ties and voila! The cutest little luscious chocolate cupcake you ever did see!

When it came time to sketch her costume for teacher approval, the little pumpkin had very specific plans. She is her mother's child, after all!

She came up with her sentence: "The luscious chocolate cupcake won first place in the baking contest." So I added a 1st place ribbon to the costume.

Then she needed a poster with the word and definition. She debated between measuring spoons, but in the end a shaker full of sprinkles won out. So I glued what felt like 5,000 little felt strips to make "jimmies" and added a little glitter glue to make the top "silver". Lucky for me, my friend Alicia drew out the shaker for me one day during tumbling practice - thank you, Alicia!!

And they were A-DO-RA-BLE!!! All of the littles.

And every one of them did so well! It was such a cute program!!

The girls in Grace's class...

The boys in Grace's class...

All of the Disco Kids together!

Grace with her sweet teachers...

Noonie had an important medical appointment but she was able to make it in time to catch the tail end of the program. Grace was so excited to spot her in the crowd!!

A quick family pic with our luscious chocolate cupcake right after the program!

The other second grade Room Moms and I worked together to make it fun for them with treats and punch and fun decor. I may or may not have raided my house to the extent that when we were sitting in the auditorium waiting for the parade to start, someone made a comment about the cute decorations and Lance looked at me and said, "Is this where all of our decorations went??" hahahaha!

So if you are an elementary school, looking for a fun, inexpensive program to do, why not give a Vocabulary Parade a try??!

Happy Saturday!

{happy mail}

In my dream of dreams I'm able to send happy mail to random people for no reason at all other than just to put a smile on their face on an otherwise ordinary day.  

Because who doesn't love to open up their mailbox and find something other than bills? Or the 482,765 advertisements that find their way into that little metal box??!

And though our finances don't allow me to send out box upon box of happy mail, I'm always reminded of this: 
"Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love....the smaller the thing, the greater must be our love." 

and this:
"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your heart to love them. So spread your love everywhere you go." 
~Mother Teresa

And I know she meant it in a much more meaningful, non-materialistic kind of way, but I think it still applies. We can all use an extra smile, an I'm-thinking-of-you, a your-friendship-makes-me-happy...a simple reminder that we are loved and treasured.

And besides, individual pUmpKIn shaped cupcake holders???! Yes, please!

Sprinkle a little love everywhere you go...you never know who might need it the most.

Happy sprinklin'!

autumn is flirting with us...

For weeks now we've been going back and forth between a certain crispness in the air and an everlasting Indian summer...

In between the days getting shorter and the skies showing off with their golden splendor, I keep searching for that time machine, but she is nowhere to be found...

Grace, 7 1/2

Hudson, 5 1/4

There's something about Autumn Fall in the South...and pick-up trucks...and Friday night lights...and cowboy boots...and Southern belles...

...and cute little fellas in checkered shirts...and driving down the road with the windows down... and pumpkins + mums on everyone's front porch... 

To every little thing that makes us stop and appreciate a little more...to slow down and soak it all in...to God be the glory for the beauty of it all!

Happy Fall Y'all!
{thanks for the awesome pics, DeAnn!}