Trying to Keep Up With My Jones'

Since I have not updated about Caleb for quite some time, I felt like it was WELL overdue. Especially since most of my readers in Texas only actually read to know what’s going on with the little guy anyway. I haven’t done an All About Caleb update in a YEAR and boy, is he tons different! 

He talks. CONSTANTLY. There are so many words all of the time. We have entered the ‘Why?’ phase in full force as well. He wants to know who everyone is, what everyone is doing, what everything is, how everything works, and WHY. Someone hand me all of the coffee. Or the Advil. But really, we do love his thirst for knowledge. So please just pray that we would foster this need for information and not just feed him snacks so he will quit talking. 😉 

He does have a few funny little things that he says right now that mamas of older kiddos are constantly telling me to impress into my brain so I’ll never forget the cuteness of it all. ‘”Lasterday” is what he says for yesterday, last night, or really any time prior to this very moment. He also calls his forehead his “two-head” which is so cute that it makes it real difficult to correct. The other one that Nick loves is that he calls a hamburger his ‘hang-a-bur’ which really comes out sounding a little like hangover. He also confuses “nothing” with “anything.” So if you ask him what is in his mouth when there’s nothing in there, he will answer “Anything!” The last one that we hear a ton is “mommy’s church” and “daddy’s church.” Our church has a main building (which is the building I work in) and then the student ministry building (obviously where Nick works). Hence his names of the buildings which really do make a lot of sense. 

This kid loves all things boy. Give him all of the rocket ships, astronauts, trains, dinosaurs, airplanes, cars, and balls. His imagination has kicked in big time and I love hearing him actually play with his toys by pretending. Lots of things get blasted off into space. 🙂

He loves the IDEA of painting. Definitely thinks it’s super fun, but he does NOT enjoy the messyness of it all. One piece of paint on his hand could send him in a tailspin. All of my always needing everything to be neat and tidy may be screaming at me from my 2 year old boy that doesn’t like to be a mess. Whoops. 

Our sweet boy loves deeply. He is always very concerned about all of his very favorite people. He wants to know how they are doing, if he can see them, why they are happy, why they are sad, etc etc etc. He loves spending time with the people he loves and is always sad for it to end. It’s very common to hear him exclaim, “We’re best friends!!” He also may assure you while hanging out, “I having so much fun.” And it doesn’t take much to convince this guy to give some kisses and hugs! 

It helps that he’s got a pretty great relationship with our children’s ministry director too. Especially when he decided to ask, “What Easter all about?” To which I sent him right in to ask Mrs. Lauri and she stopped everything and sat right down and told him. 🙂

A quirky thing about him (that his daddy started) is naming all of his shoes. Church shoes, fancy shoes (that are NOT fancy at all), Robin Hood shoes, hipster boots, snow boots, running shoes, house shoes, on and so forth. Yes, some make sense but some were clearly named by his father. 

The kid has a sense of humor and loves to laugh. “I’m cracking up!!” is a pretty common statement. 

His favorite things to eat is ANYTHING SWEET. This boy has picked up my sweet tooth in a fierce way. He can hear you open a candy wrapper a mile away. 

He does love to sit comfy on the couch and watch a show. His favorites right now are Umi Zoomi and Peppa Pig. Lord, help us. 

He absolutely loves learning. (Have I mentioned that he is constantly asking questions, specifically ones that begin with why?) He can name all of his colors, letters, shapes, and numbers 0-10. The kid surprises me on the daily with things that he knows. I would like to take credit, but I’m pretty sure I had nothing to do with it. He just wants to know anything and everything. 

The poor kid is still not quite sure about animals. He will talk to you about them all day long, but put him in the same room as a dog and he turns into a nervous wreck. We are working on it. 😉

Dancing and singing is totally his jam. He can’t not shake his booty if a song is on. 

I really am so thankful that I get to be this kiddo’s mommy. He loves to snuggle with me and always tells me I’m beautiful (which I’m pretty sure he picked up from his daddy). I absolutely can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for Caleb. 

So here I am again, ready to finish my recap of my long Texas trip from a couple weeks ago! Since the trip was divided into two parts, it only made sense to divide the recap the same way. Part One was all about spending the sister’s birthday in Round Top, TX! If you’ve never been, just go ahead and read that post now to inspire you to book your own trip there. 😉

When we got back from Round Top, it was all about hanging out with the kiddos again! 

I also got to meet one of my best friend’s babies for the first time. One of the hardest things about living far away is missing big moments in people’s lives so I sure loved getting to hold sweet baby Peter. And eating dessert with some of my very best friends is the icing on the cake. 

We got to visit my dad and stepmom and take the kiddos to Space Center for the very first time! They were ALL ABOUT some astronauts and rocket ships. And I’m pretty sure they didn’t mind all of the attention from G-Daddy and Mimi either. 🙂

And then it was time for the main reason of the whole trip!!! My mom’s wedding! Or if you asked the kids.. Nanan and Stevie’s wedding! Family started arriving on Thursday so Friday was a fun-filled day starting off with pedicures and manicures for the ladies.. 

And then the whole crew had Mexican food for lunch, because we were in Texas after all. 



Even our littlest princess got her toes and nails painted while a very concerned cousin watched…

The next day (the day of the wedding!!!), all of the ladies headed to the salon to get all dolled up thanks to Amy and Suzy. 

I’m pretty sure I have decided that I want Amy and Suzy to live life with me on the daily to always do my hair & make-up.. surely a SAHM has a reason for a glam squad?! Any ideas on how to pitch that idea to Nick are welcomed. 

Then it was game time! Everybody was dressed and ready to get Nanan and Stevey down that aisle (or hallway as Caleb called it). All of the decorations were ready and looking all adorable…

One little person wasn’t super thrilled about all of the waiting around, especially in the middle of dinner time..

But with a little food, he was able to rally and practice carrying his sign. (According to him, his sign said ‘Nananan, here I come!’)

Show time!!!

Now presenting Mr. & Mrs. Dawson!!

Caleb and Maddie’s first wedding was a success! It sure did help that she’s a girl that knows how to take charge and he’s a guy that would follow her anywhere. 

Our entire family is beyond excited for the bride and groom and for them to start this new chapter! 

The two little ones then danced the night away. To say this was their favorite part is beyond an understatement. I’m pretty sure they would still be there dancing now if we would have let them. Caleb even personally requested ‘Wheels on the Bus’ from the DJ and showed off the movements to the whole crowd. Unfortunately the only documentation I have of this hilarious event are videos and not any actual pictures of him. 

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The newlyweds had their first dance! Then it was time to dance with their mamas. Steve and his mom’s dance was beautiful and then my mom danced with my nana, which was pretty much the sweetest.

We all had a ton of fun celebrating the Dawson’s and our little family of 3 were so glad to be apart of the huge day. I think if you asked Caleb to rank the day, he would say dancing was beyond his favorite and his outfit he could have done without. But all in all, safe to say he loved his first endeavor as a ring bearer. 😉

Mom & Steve, we love you so much!! Congratulations!!! 



Mic check. Is this thing on? 

So I haven’t blogged in a sweet forever and some of that is for a very good reason. I recently spent close to two weeks in Texas at the end of last month/beginning of this month. Two huge life events were on the agenda: my sister’s birthday and my mom’s wedding. So since my trip was kind of divided into two different parts, I thought it only made sense to recap it into two different posts. Because I don’t wanna rush over all the details, amiright?? So we will start with part 1.. the sissy’s birthday! 

The little guy and I flew out on a Wednesday and I’ve gotta say, this was BY FAR the easiest flight we’ve had just the two of us. Him getting older definitely has its perks! He can jump in and out of his stroller, he can WALK, he can do the things I ask him to do, he can stay entertained longer with activities.. it is a GAME CHANGER. I actually read my book, y’all. Like what?! We arrived in Texas to be greeted by my mom where she took us to stay at her brand new beautiful house with her hubby-to-be! My sister and her 2 kiddos drove into town that day as well to stay at my mom’s too so it soon became a party! 

So the plan for the weekend was that next morning me, my sister, her best friend, & my best friend would head to Round Top, TX! Caleb stayed with my mom and Ash dropped her littles off with her in-laws and off on our girls trip we went! 

Yes, we had matching coozies. And shirts. We were serious. #fortheloveofjunk

How to explain Round Top?? It is a tiny, tiny town in Texas that twice a year turns into one of the most ginormous antique fairs. But more than that, it’s an experience. Something about being out in the country with some of your very best girls, walking in your cowboy boots through a bunch of junk that could be cute in your house (with a little bit of help) is just FUN. And it’s something I love even more now that I don’t live in Texas. Except for the fact that none of that junk can fit in my carry-on. 

The day we went was my sister’s actual birthday and it was perfect being able to spend it with her in one of her most favorite places on earth. 

The two queens of Round Top are the Junk Gypsy sisters who pretty much rock at finding junk and repurposing it into something awesome. They now have their very own store in Round Top which is absolutely adorable and I’m pretty sure I could sit out on their lawn all day. It was super fun that we were able to get a picture with them and tell them that we were going to prom that night. (Oh yeah, more on that later.) But first, we had dinner reservations at Royer’s Cafe which is pretty much the best southern comfort food EVER. With a whole lot of character. 😉

We ate WAY TOO MUCH but still had room for their famous pie. Especially when we needed to celebrate this one’s birthday. 

After dinner, we went back to our room where it was all decorated for the birthday girl. And there were for sure some cookies. #mamatried

That night was the MAIN EVENT! It was time for Junk-O-Rama Prom put on by the Junk Gypsy sisters! It’s pretty much anything goes and hands down the best people watching I’ve ever seen. It was absolutely perfect that it landed on Ashley’s birthday because what better way to celebrate than with a pink tutu and a birthday crown?! 

And here’s just a little taste of how just anything goes it is…

Let’s just have it be said that for some reason when men hear that it’s all about dressing crazy, apparently their go-to is to dress like a woman. At least the Indian was a little bit original. Anyway it goes, it was a hilarious and fun night for sure! 

The next day we started out early and it was a day full of shopping!!! 

A break for sweet tea slushes? Yes please. 

And of course we had to end the day at the Junk Gypsy headquarters. 

They had the most adorable coffee stand in the front yard and you know I had to get me some iced coffee. 

The next day we hit up some shops in Brenham on our way home. And can you really go to Brenham without paying tribute to the best ice cream in all the land?! (A big HALLELUJAH to Blue Bell finally being back in Colorado!) Sad day that they were closed but that still didn’t stop us from our very own photo shoot. 

This girls trip was beyond a blast and it couldn’t have happened without some amazing grandparents! Our little people were WELL taken care of while these mamas got to go out and have some fun. Needless to say, part one of my trip to Texas was a success! 

Until next time, Round Top! 

One of my favorite type of blogs to read is a play by play of someone’s typical day. Just blame it on me being nosey. I’ve written one myself almost a year ago and I love being able to look back and see what life looked like then. So I figured it was time to do another one because obviously our little guy changes quickly and everyone says to cherish these days. So here I am cherishing. 🙂 

Just like last year, I chose to document a Friday since I work part time and want to show kinda both parts of my life and I only work half the day on Fridays. So I documented Friday, March 10th because it was just a super normal day in the Jones home. Here we go.. a day in the life of me! 

Rise and shine at 5 am. (And yes, I’m a bit of a snooze-a-holic.) Since I am so far from being considered a ‘morning person’, I figured out that I’m a better mom and just a better human all around if I am able to wake up before everyone and get some alone time. Believe me, my family benefits from this. 
So I immediately hop into the shower so I can get to this spot as fast as I can. 

Since it is Lent, I am currently doing a bible study that focuses on this season and encourages having seven candles to symbolize the seven weeks until Easter weekend. And every week, you blow out a candle until they are all blown out on Good Friday to show the darkness that our world felt when Jesus Christ died on the cross. Then on Easter Sunday, you light all of them again because Christ has risen and our world is full of His light! So I absolutely love the idea of this but I also absolutely feel like I’m lighting a seance every morning since it feels like such a large amount of candles. 

I sit down to do my study for the day. 

With my new favorite mug that my boys gave me for Christmas. It has a little ‘pocket’ to rest your hand in. Straight genius. I finish my study for the day and read some of my favorite blogs and finish just in time…

Because this little guy wakes up! This is his ‘It’s too bright’ face. But then he remembered that he put all of his friends to sleep on the floor so he instantly inquires if they are awake yet. 

After he tells me to wake them up, he asks that they all join him in his bed..

He is awake, laughing, and being silly! It’s safe to say that he got his morning happiness from his daddy. 

He decides ALL of his friends should watch his morning show with him so here they all sit. He finds this all very fantastic and hilarious. 

He decides that for a second he should snuggle in my lap. No complaints here. 

Then it’s breakfast time. He enjoys his cereal bar and milk on the couch with his show while I cook mine. Eggs and Raisin Bran are what’s for breakfast. I have recently become obsessed with Raisin Bran. I have never been a cereal person in my life but now I can’t get enough of this. 

Time for me to get dressed and get out the door. A shameless selfie only because of this post. 

I run into this guy in the hallway with ‘Digger.’ 

He requests a quick picture together. Or maybe I did. Hard to tell.

I tell these two crazies good-bye. Friday mornings are their boy time together. And they go to story time EVERY week. It’s pretty much the most precious thing ever. 

As I drive into work, I have to stop to let some animal friends pass by.  No big deal. 

Time for round two. 

Two different people brought donuts to work so the temptation was real. Mid-morning snack for the win. 

Nick sends me this picture of our little munchkin at story time. Can you spot the kid with the hat on? Because he’s all about following daddy’s legacy in the always wearing a hat department. 😉

I work until noon on Fridays and then it’s time to head home..

..with an astronaut outfit for my husband to try on. No big deal. These are the kinds of things that happen when VBS season is upon us. 

I arrive home to this. When mommy is away, daddy and Caleb will destroy the house.. I mean, play. 

Caleb is napping and Nick is in the basement working out so I make my lunch. Leftover BBQ chicken and cucumbers & hummus is what I choose. I actually work on my ‘Friday Favorites’ blog while I eat and enjoy the silence. 

When Nick comes upstairs, we start watching his new favorite obsession. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. When we met, Nick didn’t watch cooking shows. But I may or may not have converted him and now he probably watches them more than me. (And likes to impersonate them in the kitchen.) 

Somebody is awake! 

And immediately distracted by ‘Daddy’s show.’ I think he loves it almost as much as Nick. He always points to the tv and asks ”This guy called?’ (which is how he asks for someone’s name) but the host’s name is Guy. So the convo goes a little like this:

Caleb: This guy called?

Nick: Guy. 

Caleb: No, daddy. This guy CALLED? 

(AKA tell me his NAME.)

Nick: His name is Guy. 

Caleb: No, daddy. This guy CALLED?

Nick (gives up and tells the guy’s last name): Fiere.

Caleb: Ohhhhhhh. Thank you Daddy. 

I mean, can you even get enough of these two together? They’re my favorite. 

While they snuggle, I eat one of my favorite snacks.

Which instantly gives me a friend in my lap. This kid loves him some food. We then take this opportunity to send silly Snapchat videos. 

We get the little man dressed and ready to go. He takes a minute to play on his truck (which Nick has named Guy ironically enough). 

And we are off! We are headed to JoJo’s school to go visit her classroom and of course her too. She’s an elementary music teacher which means she has LOTS of fun instruments for Caleb to play with. Needless to say, the guy in the backseat is pretty excited! 

Lots of dancing always happens in the car. 

So much fun in JoJo’s classroom! Talk about this kid’s heaven. He LOVES music and JoJo LOVES that he loves music. So it was safe to say they both had a blast. And Nick too.. he was the main reason we had to shut the door because he played all the noisy instruments. 

Then it was time for dinner with JoJo at her favorite restaurant, On The Border! Him getting to sit next to his best friend at dinner pretty much made his life. And I was too busy eating all the chips and salsa to document any of the food. We played at JoJo’s house for a little while after dinner and then headed back home…

…with a new hat! 

And it instantly made him be super silly while we were getting our jammies on. 

Our bedtime routine now consists of playing with our shadows on the wall. Once he discovered shadows, there was no going back. We play, dance, and laugh with our shadows every night. Obviously we know how to have a good time. 😉

After the little man goes to bed, I immediately put on my own pajamas to get comfy. I have never been a pajama set girl but my mom bought these for Christmas and I’m pretty confident I would live in them if I could. Including the house shoes. 

I post my blog that I was working on earlier that day. 

Then it’s time to catch up on my DVR. Am I the only one in the land that is still watching this show? It’s so not what it used to be but I just can’t quit a show when I’m in this deep. (I’m looking at you too, Pretty Little Liars.) 

My view across the room. Caleb also came home with a gigantic bear named Paddy O’Neill for St Patrick’s Day. Paddy was also enjoying all the drama at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. 

After that, it was bedtime for me since I really know how to party on a Friday night. My view of my nightstand now includes my new best friend, my humidifier since we live in dry Colorado. Although I didn’t take a pic of the time, I can pretty much guarantee it was no later than 10:00 pm. Because that’s just how I roll. 

And that my friends is a simple day in the life of our family of three! I’m sure the days are coming where Caleb will have no interest in spending his Friday nights with his parents so for now, we are most certainly loving every moment. 🙂

So we have emerged from a cloud of sickness and I am ready to share some favorites with y’all! Because let’s be honest, I wanna focus on some happy things. So get ready for a whole bunch of random favorites coming your way…

The only favorite from the sickness was all of the sweet cuddles. The rest we could have really done without. 

And the random falling asleep in the car when it’s nowhere near nap time. Holding his baseball glove.  

We also tried real hard to learn how to play hide and seek. Some of us still need some practice to really quite get it. 

But it sure does help to be sick with a friend. Because at least then there’s SOMEBODY outside of the family that you can be around. And of course cookies help. 

We did escape out of our house to take the little man to the arcade. Wanna know a favorite about this age? We spent an hour there and didn’t spend a dime and he thought he played all of the games. #parentwin

The indoor playground at the mall is also a favorite of the little man’s. He always asks to go play with the snake and the frog and thankfully Nick knew what the heck he was talking about. Somebody get me a translator over here. 

But a REAL fave is being outside and riding his bike! I am beyond ready for summer because summer in Colorado equals spring in Texas. Come on, sandal season!

We have also been preparing for Nanan and Stevey’s wedding and this guy has a REAL CUTE outfit to wear. This picture was also taken right smack dab in the middle of his now infamous robot dance. 

A real cute tradition that has started in our family is Caleb insists on a family selfie every Sunday morning before church. I guess he enjoys when we snazz it up a little. 

It’s no secret that I love coffee and so obviously coffee mugs are a big fave of mine as well. My sister in law gave this one to me for Christmas and it gives me all the heart eyes. #texasforever

So amidst all the sickness, we had to cancel TWO date nights. You know how hard that is when you hardly ever go on a date?! BUT we finally got to go on one to a super fun place that we found through Restaurant Week. So I got to go on a date with my stud of a husband and eat lots of delicious food. Win win. 

So one of my favorites right now that I’m obsessed with is Bitmoji. I know I may be late to the party, but consider me the life of the party now because EVERYONE is now receiving Bitmojis from me. And my all time fave thing about it?! One of my besties and I realized we dressed our Bitmojis in the exact same outfit. That’s when you know the friendship is real. 😉 I mean, look how cute we are. 

And that is all of the randomness for now! Off to enjoy Friday with my adorable fam! 

Linking up with Momfessionals.

I grew up in church all my life. Every Sunday school and big church service. Every Wednesday night youth group. Every children’s and youth event during the summer. Every VBS and Sports Camp. Every youth camp. Every mission trip. Pretty much every time the doors to the church were open, I was there. 

But I did not truly know Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior until the middle of college. 

Sure, I knew a lot of things about Him. I had learned most of the stories from the Bible. I knew what it looked like to lead a ‘Christian life.’ In middle and high school, I would have even claimed that I was a Christian. Because it was before I actually knew what it meant to be in love with Jesus and seriously desire to follow after Him. 

But you know what happened in high school? I didn’t feel like going to church or youth group anymore. I was really liking what the world had to offer and wanted to enjoy that more. Church started to feel very goody-two-shoes to me and I didn’t want that life anymore. I wanted to know what it felt like to live my own life with my own rules and hang out on the weekends making choices that church was going to make me feel bad about. 

And yet, my parents still made me go. Every Sunday morning. Every Wednesday night. That boyfriend that was probably bad news? They even had the audacity to humiliate me by requiring him to go with me. Did I argue and try to find every excuse in the book to get out of it? Of course. But every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night, it was an expectation of our household and so I was there. Did that mean that my choices on the weekend got better? Absolutely not. But I was at church hearing the Gospel preached into my life whether I wanted to be there or not. 

And then college came. When I finally got to make my own decision about attending church so I didn’t go. Maybe for a week or two just because it felt so ingrained in me, but that was it. I was finally free! So I lived my own life with my own rules. Until emptiness set in. The feeling that there had to be something more. The void in my life that I just couldn’t shake. 

The summer between my sophomore and junior year, I was at home from college and it was a Sunday morning which meant attending church with my parents. And that’s when God grabbed me. Reminded me of my emptiness and of the fullness that I could find in HIM. Showed me there was a difference in attending church and actually living out the Gospel. And that’s when I made the decision that would forever transform my world. I wanted to have a relationship with Christ and live my life following Him. After so many years just attending church, I finally GOT IT. 

I know how easy it could have been for my parents to just let it go and given me the out. Fears of me being driven away from the church could have paralyzed them. Doubts that they were doing the right thing could have kept them from making me go. And I am so thankful it didn’t. Because even though I may have been a teenager that wanted my own way and thought I knew better, God was using that time to plant seeds in my life and expose me to Him. I may not have noticed it or even cared, but it was happening. And ultimately when I finally realized that huge void in my life, I knew it was because I was missing Jesus. 

As a parent now, I understand the burden of spiritually shepherding the little one that the Lord has given me. It brings me to my knees the hard decisions that will need to be made. Living for Christ and our culture do not always agree. In fact, they rarely do. The world is fighting for our children’s (and our own) attention and we have to decide what will be priority in our home. It can come in simple ways such as busyness that will easily distract us away from the Lord. It may even be ‘good’ things that we want for our children such as excelling in school or a specific sport. But at what point do we choose good things at the cost of the Gospel? 

I am keenly aware that one day my child may tell me he doesn’t want to go to church. Or maybe he doesn’t feel like it. Or maybe he doesn’t have time because school/homework or extracurricular activities may seem more pressing. I pray that I would be willing to place God above my child’s comfort or my own convenience. I pray for those conversations of why we strive to put the Lord first in our lives above all else. God is so clear in His Word of the sacrifices that we will face but that because Christ loved us and died for us, His love should always compel us in our lives to look to Him first. 

I completely understand that growing up in church is not the only way God pursues and saves His people. But I also know the more we are exposed to the love of Christ, the more of an opportunity my child has to fall in love with Jesus. And that is BY FAR my greatest desire for my child. So I pray that our family would always choose the Gospel over the world. Every time. 

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. 

It is very rare that our family finds a whole weekend that does not consist of a ton of plans already mapped out for us. But this past weekend was just that and we were able to pack it with fun, family filled events. 

On Friday afternoon as soon as little man woke up, we headed to the children’s museum. But the amateurs that we are, we realized that it was only an hour until closing time. So we moved to Plan B.. the aquarium. 

Now our little guy may not be signing up for a house pet anytime soon, but he sure does love him some underwater friends. He ran from tank to tank, exclaiming ‘Look!! Look!!’ 

He was even braver than his mama and was all about touching the fish. #nothankyou

And what’s an aquarium without a tiger? I’m pretty sure there was a whole sign about how tigers are really important to the underwater ecosystem but those details have somehow already been lost in lalaland of mom brain. 

But there were sharks as well and that I DO understand. 

Afterwards, we ate dinner at the downtown Mellow Mushroom because pizza and Fridays should always be friends. No pictures though because we were too busy with all of the eating. 

The next morning Nick became husband of the year by watching two of Caleb’s little friends so that way their mama could go with me to a Lularoe party. (Is everyone obsessed with these clothes yet?) He sent this picture as a ‘cry for help’ and we knew that they were doing JUST fine, because hello cuteness. 

I absolutely love that Caleb loves being friends with these boys because I sure love being friends with their mom. And how clear is it that Josiah is the one holding these three together??

That afternoon, we met up with JoJo for the little man’s first movie in the theater. We went to see Sing! because we were thinking he loves songs so surely this would keep his attention. NOPE. Poor kid was bored and restless about halfway into the movie. The only thing that kept him sane (and us!) was giving his JoJo kisses and sitting with her. #JoJoforthewin

And if our weekend wasn’t already full of festivities, we had a youth group event on Sunday night at Casa Bonita. To describe it is as one of the most bizarre places I’ve ever been would be an understatement.  An amusement park line to get in, cliff divers, gun fights, haunted cave, arcade, fortune teller, gift shop, and a million different rooms to just name a few things this place has. So needless to say, a fantastic spot for a youth group. And a two year old. 

The perfect way to end a super fun weekend! And sure beats the heck out of Monday’s which equals the buying of the groceries and all of the loads of laundry. Here’s to Friday coming quickly! 

Doesn’t it feel like life is always super busy? But I’ve gotta say, right now it is full of a lot of favorite things. And today I’m linking up with Andrea to share all of those things because it’s..

First off, Caleb has begun wanting to ‘take pictures’ with my phone. When he first started doing it, I thought he was just pretending until I found a wide variety of different pictures in my camera roll. And I’ve gotta say that this one is beyond my favorite. I’ll love these little feet forever.

And give me a puffy vest any day and I’ll give you all the heart eyes. 

My boys’ favorite has become playing in the snow together. 

The little man LOVES eating snow. 

We also made our (meaning me and Caleb’s) very first snowman ever! 

I have a new favorite of my own and I think this shirt that I should own should about sum it up. 

Last Friday, our little fam went to the stockshow because apparently Colorado has one of those. #whoknew

It gave me all of the Texas feels and Caleb was absolutely loving all of the animals and all of the festivities. 

He even pet the animals which was pretty much a shock to Nick and I both. 

Caleb started AWANA this semester which is a huge favorite of his. This past week was ‘Western Night’ which made me realize that I’ve failed my child as a Texan because we don’t even own a cowboy hat for him. But he was more than happy to call this hat a ‘cowboy hat.’

And to complete my favorites for today, I must end it with the face of absolute GLEE. Because if anything, I at least passed along my love for sweets. 

Now I’m off to spend the weekend with my little family that I love doing more of all of the fun things! Hope everyone is able to do the same 🙂

Happy first Friday of 2017!!! Does anyone else have trouble remembering to write the new year?! I told someone the other day that sometimes I still write 2014… so here’s to stop going back in time!! 

Since I barely blogged like AT ALL in December because we were so busy with all of the festive things, I decided a recap in the form of fast-paced favorites was the way to go. So get ready to hear all of my favorites, Christmas edition…

We wore adorable Christmas jammies next to our Christmas tree..

..and danced our hearts out at the Christmas Family Worship Night (along with sitting for a bit next to our best girl)..

And Santa even came to visit before we left for Texas! (Because apparently he had space issues in the car..)

We headed to Texas for our first 12 hour road trip as a family of 3!!! And little man was a CHAMP. 

We were BEYOND excited to see our people at the end of the day. There were lots of squeals and hugs when we arrived! 

We got to see some of my very best girls and their families. No big deal when 10 adults and 16 kids get together for dinner. 

We had a whole Christmassy day planned but first, books on the stairs. #priorities

Lots of looking at fun things at the Gaylord happened…

Mexican food also had to happen while in Texas. Which gives me and this cutie all the excitement. 

Downtown Grapevine is known as The Christmas Capitol of Texas so we of course needed that in our lives. 

Every day me and my bestie read Erika, Andrea, and Shay’s blogs and then discuss all of the things. So when we planned our Christmas trip, we knew we HAD to visit the infamous downtown McKinney to visit all of the places. And it did not disappoint! (Thanks for sharing your lives with us, ladies! It definitely made for a fun girls & kids’ day!) 

A Polar Express to the North Pole in our jammies? Count us in! 

A meeting with Santa was on the agenda too. We don’t mind that he was utterly confused and thought the kids were twins instead of cousins. 😉

A huge Christmas Eve celebration with so many family members was pretty much the best. 

Who knew just a few hours later THIS would happen?! 

Best Christmas favorite EVER!!!

But don’t worry, the kids still did all of the unwrapping of the gifts. 

More of our favorite people showed up and we were sure to introduce them to Baby Dylan! 

We said our weepy goodbyes to a favorite of ours.

And we did more of the adoring of baby Dylan. 🙂

And then more of the unwrapping of gifts…

We also squeezed in the building of a gingerbread house somehow..

Dancing cousins became a thing. 

And then it was time for good-bye. 😦 Thankfully the little guy still did amazing in the car, even with the broken heart of leaving his Maddie Moo. Hats are the cure for everything in this family. 

And just like that, Christmas is over and we are on to the new year! Happy New Year to anyone that somehow endured this long blog..Cheers to you!! 

Thanksgiving week was for sure one I am thankful for. (See what I did there?) The time off with my boys was so needed and we had such a great time being together for an easy-going week. Especially as we are about to dive head-first into the hustle and bustle of Christmas time! 

Caleb’s favorite Aunt JJ flew in from Texas and was sure to get lots of snuggles in. 

We also had a day of playing around in downtown Denver even though it was snowing. It finally feels like Colorado! 

Thanksgiving day was full of food and family time! 

And the little man definitely showed us all up in the cuteness department. 

After Thanksgiving, it was finally time to get the Christmas tree! Caleb thought the whole process was hilarious and loved that Daddy put the tree on the car. 

That afternoon, we went on a spontaneous free carriage ride around a shopping center. Gotta love Christmas, amiright?!

That evening we saw Santa light up our downtown area with some friends! 

This weekend, we also hosted our first annual fiesta friendsgiving! And we may or may not have all planned to wear our adorable blanket scarves..

I used tree trimmings from our own tree to set the table and I was pretty much obsessed with it. 

And don’t you worry, I’m sure I will blog all of my Christmas decorations sure since I know some of y’all care so much. (So basically my mom.. ha!) 

I also started my Advent study from Sacred Holidays and already loving it. You can still go online and order a digital study today since it’s only day 2.. and they have so many options (men’s, women’s, families, teens)! 

So it was definitely a fun-filled but relaxing week all together. Now on to all of the fun that is the Christmas season! It’s the most wonderful time of the year after all!!!!