A walk in the forest

We took the kids on a walking trail in a nearby "forest".  It is right near where Ryan used to live with his mom.  Him and I used to take walks in there when we were dating...

SO much fun to be able to take our two kids there!

They both LOVED it!  

Collin was watching out for our dare devil Madsy

CHEESE

Hello world

Goin' on a bear hunt...

collecting his "bear hunt clues"

Madelyn was on a hunt of her own...

and did NOT want to be interrupted!

Someone made this amazing chair out of a tree stump!  

Perfect picture prop in the middle of the forest!

Lots and lots of running...

with two curious munchkins...

is enough to wear anyone out!

Summer Snack
~ Grape Salad


I was blog hopping the other day and found this yummy recipe for Grape Salad.  Don't remember whose blog it is from but we made it today and it is a perfect sweet summer treat!
Grape Salad

1 pound seedless green grapes
1 pound seedless red grapes
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,
softened
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 (6 ounce) package slivered almonds

Wash grapes in a colander under running water, and remove all stems. Place in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the cream cheese and marshmallow creme until smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture over the grapes. Using a rubber spatula or large serving spoon, fold the mixture into the grapes until well coated. Fold in the almonds.

This salad may be served immediately, or covered and refrigerated for 1 hour to set slightly, and to allow flavors to blend.

So yummy!  Sorry I can't remember where it came from!  :/

She loves her daddy...

Her prince came....

His name is Daddy!

Field Trip

Daddy decided to take Collin to the airport this morning to watch the airplanes.  They got to ride the employee bus from the parking lot to the terminals.  Of course Collin thought that was fantastic!  Daddy took Collin to the gift shop and they enjoyed an ice cream.  Collin came home grinning from ear to ear.

I asked him where he had been and he answered...

"airplane land"

Oh to be a child again!  :)

Born to Shop

Her momma l-o-v-e-s to shop, 

And let me tell you, this girl has shopping in her genes...

Madelyn is elated every time we enter the stores.  

She finds it very hard to hide her excitement.  

She is shouting an exuberant "HIIII" to everyone she sees.  

She flashes this sweet smile when they greet her back...

People usually carry on about how cute and friendly she is, 

she gets lots of attention. 

They can't help but giggle when she gives them her frantic 

yet oh~so~cute good-bye wave 

while shouting "BYYYEEEE"!

The girl never meets a stranger...

She is happy at most stores but  

Target is her favorite...

can I get an AMEN?  :)

She ohhs and ahhs at e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g

shouting (and I mean SHOUTING)

WOW and WHOAH no less than a hundred times.

Today we went to visit GG and decided to take a quick trip to Target.

While strolling along and shouting her usual wows and whoahs 

she hit me with a new one...

"Ohhhh das cuuuuute"

She said it while in the clothes section ladies,

mmmhhhhmmm, I knew it,

no training needed...

this pretty little thing was born to shop!

Our forever...

First we had each other...

and then we had you...

All of our dreams came true!!

We had a great anniversary!  Grammy and Papa and Uncle Dude (Michael) kept the kids while Ryan and I had went out to dinner.  We were going to go somewhere new but both decided we wanted an old favorite...PF Changs!  It was delish and we were stuffed!  It was gorgeous outside and we strolled around for a bit.  I love having the chance to have Ryan all to myself!  We stopped at Cheesecake Magic for dessert, but sadly they were closed.  Hmmm guess that was our sign that we didn't need any magical cheesecake tonight...
That's alright, who needs magic
when you have blessings like these!  ;)

Happy Anniversary!

8 years ago today,

I was surrounded by my closest friends and dearest family,

 my dad walked me down a beautiful church aisle 

and I joined hands with my forever...

And here we are 8 years later enjoying our forever 

with our beautiful babies!  They are more than we could have ever dreamed of!
I woke up this morning to Madelyn's sweet voice streaming through the baby monitor.  As she babbled to herself, I laid with my eyes closed  just hoping for a few extra minutes.
A moment later I heard this...
"You are as beautiful today as the day I married you"...

Dreams really do come true!

The sell out...

Ryan decided to take Collin to 7-11 for a slurpee and invited the girls to "come for the ride".  It was going to be a 5 minute trip since 7-11 is right around the corner but we went anyway.  Ryan and Collin went in to buy the beloved slurpees and Madsy stayed in the car with me frantically trying to keep her eye on the boys.  When they came out with a baby slurpee for her she was screaming WOW WOW WOW!  I was happy for her but sighing inside as I knew all too well that the red slurpee would surely be spilled all over her outfit.  

Whatever, get over it mommy, carry on...

I watched her like a hawk in the car and sure enough,

I knew it would happen,

she spilled it...

She screamed when I took it away and Ryan jokingly said

"Madelyn don't make me pull this car over"

Collin asked...

"What are you gonna do when you pull this car over?

Ryan laughed and said...

"spank butts"

Collin wondered out loud...

"Madelyn's butt?  Only Madelyn's butt?"

Ryan laughed again...

"Yep, Madelyn's butt"

Collin gave the go ahead...

"Alright daddy then pull this thing over!"

He totally sold her out!

But don't be fooled...

This little boy loves his sister 

and she thinks he hung the moon...

and this momma knows that soon enough

these two will be 

keeping secrets for each other

to protect the other one from trouble!

Simple pleasures

Oh

the

joy

a

sucker

can

bring...

Until it's taken away...

We love the park

We took the kids to a park that we haven't been to since last summer.  

They have this very cool boxcar right outside the park...

Perfect place for pictures.

Madelyn is sick of the boxcar photo shoot

and is attempting to break into the park...

That face looks like trouble to me,

or maybe she is just giving someone "mattidude"???

Until next time...