Wranglers, Cake Pops, Ikea and Donuts

Back in March, me and my friend Keri decided to drive to Atlanta to meet up with my sister Erin for a quick girls trip.  We all love The Pioneer Woman, and she was coming to the Borders in Buckhead for a book signing.  There was no way we were going to miss it.  Her new book Black Hills to Tractor Wheels had just come out, so we all bought the book and loved it! Meeting her and getting our book signed would be the icing on the cake!

The signing was on a Friday night, so Keri and I headed out early Friday morning.  We drove to ATL and meet Erin for lunch before heading to our hotel.  We ate at Jason's Deli and it was so yummy.  I had this:

While we were waiting for Erin to get there we noticed a World Market next to the Deli.  Keri and I had a great time browsing. I got some coffee and a few little treats for Ike and the girls. I could have spent a fortune in there.

After lunch, we headed to our hotel to check in.  In true Pioneer Woman style, I decided to take a pic of the hotel room just like she does.  Although mine isn't nearly as cool as hers, here is is:

After checking in, we headed to the bookstore to pick up our wristbands.  The book signing wasn't until 6pm, but they started giving out the wristbands at 2pm and we wanted to be near the front of the line.  After securing our bands, we headed across the street for some shopping at a really neat 2 story Target. It even had this really cool escalator for your buggy!

After target we went to a really nice mall with lots of really nice stores like Tiffany & Co.  Way out of our price range, but had a really good time window shopping and people watching. Starbucks and their yummy cake pops were the best part! They were great!  Here is a before/after shot:

Around 5pm we headed back to the bookstore to line up. The line wasn't too bad, since everyone was lined up based on the letter on their wristband, but we still had to wait about an hour once we were lined up. We were group B. The line went quick, and we were at the signing desk in no time. Ree was super nice!  She signed all our books, and even took the time to let us snap a photo. Marlboro Man and two of her kids came too, which was a nice surprise.  Marlboro Man was really nice too. He took time to answer questions and signed books as well.  He was even more handsome in person than I imagined.  We had a great time meeting them!  I am so glad we decided to go!

After the signing was over, we headed to Macaroni Grill for dinner and it was yummy! I ate this:

The next morning we got up, packed our stuff and went for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts.  Yummy!

Next, we went to Ikea...can I just say: I love Ikea! I could have spent all day there.  So many different things to buy.  It made me want to redo my house! I really want one of these couches!

After Ikea, we closed out our trip with lunch at Five Guys. It had been a while since I had eaten a cheese burger and it was delicious!

The weekend turned out to be so much fun!  I can't wait for our next trip!  Erin...Keri...Where are we going next?

Flashback Friday

First off, I know that I am super behind on my blogging. I really am going to try to catch up on what's been going on with us, but today I just wanted to do a quick picture post. So, here ya go...Flashback Friday!

This is Ike and I on our wedding day, May 26, 2001.

This past weekend Ike and I celebrated our 10th anniversary (a little early since it's not actually until May 26th) with a "wedding redo" photo shoot. The pictures turned out great, and we had a good time getting all dressed up again! Here is a preview of our session.  Our wonderful photographer Kelly Williams did an awesome job! Check out her work here: www.thebondbetweenus.com

I am not sure about you, but I think we look even better today than we did 10 years ago!  Thanks again Kelly for all your hard work on my "wedding redo" project!

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas, Finally!

I'm not sure what the deal is, but it has taken me and unusually long time to get my decorations up this year.  I just couldn't get in the mood or find the time.  So, over the weekend, I finally just buckled down and did here.  Here are a few pictures of my decorations.  We don't normally go all out or anything.  With small kids in the house, I just would rather not spend all of December telling them not to touch things.

My Precious Moments Nativity.  I collected the pieces over a few years, but since we got the piano this year, I decided that this would be a safe place for me to put it.

This beautiful ornament was part of our Christmas portrait package from Kelly Williams of The Bond Between Us.  I think is it awesome!  She ordered them from a seller on Etsy.

With kids in the house, and advent calendar is a must.  I got this one from Hallmark when Emma was little, and I just love it.  All the little ornaments have magnets and stick onto the tree.  The star even plays a song when you press it.  The best part if the hidden pocket between the bottom two tiers of the tree where you keep all the ornaments.

This shelf in my dining room is filled with random items that really don't have another home. Madeline has already enjoyed rearranging them, and even breaking one of my snowmen.

Our Christmas tree, all decorated and ready for presents. After I took this picture I realized how sad it looked with no presents, so I wrapped some, but didn't take any photos. :-(

Here she is again, all lit up.  I turned the lights off for this shot, and I really like how all the colored lights are showing on the wall. 

Thanksgiving recap - just in time for Christmas!

I started off Thanksgiving with a week long visit from my sister Erin, her husband and her little boy, who is 6 months younger than Madeline. We had a great time. Since she lives far away, we rarely get to spend that much time together at once, and we made the most of it. We baked for a whole day, we crafted, we shopped, and we even ventured out on Black Friday. We were in line at Old Navy at 10pm for a midnight opening, then headed to Walmart after that. Although the trip was a little stressful, considering the crazed redneck lady that tried to break in line at Old Navy once the door opened, it was a successful trip. I was able to get some Old Navy jeans for $15 for me and Ike, and I got our whole family fleece jackets at Walmart for $7 each! I love a good deal!

The actual Thanksgiving meal was at my mom's house this year, and it was full of activity. We ate, played, and just enjoyed each others company. The house was so full. We had two little ones under 2, two 7 year olds, and one in between those. So to say the house was nuts is a little bit of an understatement. The kids had a great time together though. My sister Erin and I made the kids cute shirts with turkey's on them, and I think they turned out well. I did not come up with the turkey shirt idea by myself though, I got it from an Etsy shop, then just drew it out.  I'm not very creative on my own, so I have to "borrow" ideas from other bloggers and crafters.

Here are some pics of the kids in their cute shirts.

Wordless Wednesday for Decemeber 1, 2010

Camp out - Take two

Emma is always asking to go camping, but it's just such a pain to have to actually go to a campground, and I don't think Madeline would sleep in a tent.  Last year we tried to camp out in my mom and dad's backyard, and we had a decent time, but it got cold after the sun set, and Emma wouldn't sleep in the tent.  She also complained about the noise of the traffic coming from the road near my parents house.  So, basically we put up the tent, sat in our camp chairs, made smores and played with sparklers.

This year, Emma wanted to try it again.  So, a few weeks ago we decided to try it out at our house instead.  We live in a really quiet neighborhood, and it was looking like the weather would be good, so we just went for it.  Ike helped me, and we spend a good part of the day cleaning off the back porch, getting the tent set up, readying the fire pit, and moving around the patio furniture.  By the time Emma got home, everything was ready to go.  We spent the afternoon and night playing outside in the backyard as a family and it was so much fun.  Emma and Ike slept in the tent, and Madeline and I went back inside to sleep.  I just didn't feel comfortable having her in the house alone.

Here are some pictures from our night.

Our new fire pit/bowl.  It worked out great, and we can't wait to use it again.

Madeline loved playing in the big tent.  

Ike had a great time cutting up some limbs for us to use as firewood.  Ha!

This was Emma's play tent from when she was little. Madeline loved going in and out of it.

Check out Madeline trying to eat one of the GIANT marshmallows that we got to make smores with.

Madeline loves to be outside!

I had to put this shot of her with the marshmallow in her mouth.  It was so huge!  She wanted to do it all by herself.

It was a full moon that night, and I tried my best to get a decent shot of it.

Madeline had a blast bouncing around on Ike's air mattress.

Trying to get a good picture of Emma these days is getting harder and harder.  She never wants me to take her picture, and it's like pulling teeth to get her to smile.