Fall Break, Mischievious Little Boys, and Smocked Dresses

We had Fall Break yesterday which means today is our "Monday".  I sure hope his teachers are ready for him today, because look at this little face...can you see the wheels spinning???

Oh, those sweet giggles. I want to bottle them up!

He sure was Mr. Personality this morning!

I know our days of smocked dresses are coming to an end, but this little number was hanging in her closet, still new with tags from last year, so we had to get at least one wear out of it! Since it was a DRESS and required no PANTS she was more than happy to wear it. And oh my, it was waaaaaay too long last year and look at it now!

There's something so sweet about little girls in smocked dresses...

I love when I get a picture from other parents who are at school visiting for lunch!  Makes my day!  Thank you, Alicia!

We're looking forward to a fun outing tomorrow after school and Fall Carnival on Thursday...hooray for a short {and fun!} school week!

lightning fast and round-n-round...stopping to count my blessings

That's how I feel our days are going these days! I even broke out our highlighters and color coded our family calendar just to be able to keep up! *hangs head in shame* Yup, I've gone to the dark side.

Here goes a bunch of random stuff...

This little pumpkin is looking more and more like a big girl with every passing day. *tear* One of the many reasons why I'm over-the-moon excited to be spending an extra special weekend coming up with my best girl, just the two of us.

Flowers. I love flowers! I think I get that from my sweet grandma. Flowers make me happy. Wish I could keep fresh ones on my table year round. The hubby surprised me with a bouquet and a couple of days later my staff sent me some as well. Two in one week. I felt very loved...and spoiled!

Super fun Friday nights! Feeling blessed with sweet friends. Love watching our littles grow up surrounded by all this love.

Donuts with Dad
{my two favorite guys}

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting...yum!

It makes my mama heart happy to see how excited he gets when it's his turn to bring snacks.

And speaking of food...I'm still having fun packing lunches for the littles...now, if I could only get them to eat them consistently! Aaaaah!

Boo!

Almost ready for a not-so-spooky halloween! Somehow we ended up with an underwater theme this year...

Babies! We've been friends for 18 years and though we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, when we do it's like we never left each other's sides. Super excited to add a little babe to our circle!

Vote!
{I took the little pumpkin with me...she had lots of questions!...but she sure was excited when I let her cast my vote!}

Celebrating fabulous report cards!!

I got to meet Beth Holloway.  The story of her daughter Natalee is even more heartbreaking than what I knew from listening and watching the news when she went missing. But her message of hope and overcoming adversity is so uplifting. She is one inspiring woman!

Coming into their own.
She picked out her outfit, I insisted on the bow. I picked out his outfit, he insisted on the shoes!

I wonder how much longer I can get away with matching them???

We have a new car! So thankful and grateful. But as silly as it sounds, I had a hard time saying goodbye to my 11 year old, 190K miles 4Runner. That car was good to me!

Boo!
So super fun!  Love when our days start like this...

And in the middle of all the craziness we call life, I still love trying to put a smile on people's faces, both big and small.

But most of all, I love catching little glimpses of their love for each other...their bond. Way up there on my list of blessings. Way, way up!

And the biggest blessing today...
My mom had her first mammogram since her breast cancer surgery today and the results were A++++++ I can't tell you the joy that filled my heart the moment she gave me the good news. My stepdad received some awesome news today too. So happy for you, Papa J!  I am overwhelmed with gratitude to our mighty God whose healing touch changes lives. Thank you, sweet Jesus!

And that's a wrap of what our little family has been up to.  Hope your October has been full of silliness + treats + spooky fun!
 

Hawaii Five-0 {a birthday party for the sweetest principal}

Last month, Grace's principal turned the fabulous
5-0 and we celebrated her with a fun hawaiian-inspired surprise lunch in the faculty lounge.  She was such a great sport to don on this outfit!

Our "Teacher Treat" mom group pulled together and came up with this fun spread...

A local baker made this yummy cake...

We had lots of sweet and savory treats, like hawaiian pulled chicken, sweet & sour meatballs {my first time to make them and they turned out yummy - yay!!}, pineapple & ham skewers, coleslaw, a delicious fruit dip, the cutest palm tree veggie tray, and an adorable fruit display...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it all - ha!

We served sweet and unsweet tea from this fun drink station...

The sweets table, including the awesome cake and the delicious macademia nut cookies...

Lots of fun decor all throughout the lounge...

And my favorite...the little fish in vases!

I loved how excited she was when she saw everything!

Such a good sport!!

The teachers gave her this fun book full of sweet sentiments and gift cards!

I think everyone enjoyed it!

And one of the sweetest moments...they came to sing her happy birthday!

I hope you had a fun lunch, Mary! Thank you for leading our wonderful school!!