Valentines Week 2015

We thoroughly celebrated Valentines day this year at our house. I loved all the fun things we did for Valentines this year! Charlotte had a little party at her school and she got to bring valentines for all her friends. She decided on these adorable crayon ones and I love how they turned out! We may just recycle them next year. Ha! 

She was proudly sporting her red and white that day to school. She had gotten really into wearing bows and I'm loving it! It's hard to believe that this is our last party at preschool forever!! Where has the time gone??

Wednesday we had a Parent Valentine Lunch at Harrison's school. We drove straight there from gymnastics and got to have lunch with this handsome guy! They had a surprising yummy lunch of baked ziti, veggies, breadsticks and chocolate cake. I'm guessing it's not the norm for school lunches. ;) Their class ate lunch later so it would just be 2nd grade and parents in the cafeteria so we checked Harrison out after lunch and he got to enjoy a nice afternoon at home.

I didn't any pictures of Madeleine's valentines. She did some skittles ones for her friends at school, but they didn't have a party.

Harrison's party was very cute. They had a Valentine photo booth and made ice cream sundaes. So fun!

They had to make a Valentine box this year. I'm not a crafty mom, so this is the best I could do. But, he was happy with it and that's what matters. He did the same pop rocks valentines that Madeleine did a few years ago which were a hit! Poprocks are always a winner!!

We checked Harrison out early (again) after his party and headed home. Madeleine was going home with a friend for the night so we went home and got in our PJs for a few hours. Then we had dinner at our favorite Mexican spot and went to Sams. We sure know how to pack the fun into a Friday night, huh?? Saturday we had dinner and movie night with the kids to celebrate Valentines. We watched Alexander and the Terrible...Day and it was super cute. We gave the kids each a new book, a pack of their favorite gum and a heart shaped box of skittles. It was a great week of celebrating LOVE!

UPWARD 2015

Harrison wrapped up his first season of basketball last weekend. It has been such a wonderful experience for him and he has learned a lot and grown so much! This was his first year to play ball and I wasn't too sure what to expect, but he did so well. He is quite the defensive player! 

His shooting improved a lot over the season as well. During one of their last games, Harrison stole the ball from the boy he was guarding with about 7 seconds left on the clock, ran down the court and made the shot right at the buzzer. It was awesome! I think everyone on both teams cheered for him -- it was just such a fun play! 

I know that Upwards isn't super competitive, they don't keep score and they teach during the game. But, it is a great environment for him to learn in. They emphasize good sportsmanship and pray before each game. The refs are great. Harrison has such a good attitude and this was a great spot for him. He is such an encourager on the court. He give his teammates pats on the back and high fives after they score. He cheers them on when he's on the bench. Matt and I were so proud of how well he played, but more than that we were proud of his attitude and how much he is a team player. 

We had some sweet coaches that worked with Harrison and encouraged him.

He was so proud of his Upward goal that he got after the season and his coach gave every kids a special treat with a note from her on it. :) Mimi and Grandad came to see his last game and we celebrated a wonderful season with breakfast at McDonalds after the game. All of our games were played in the morning --most at 8:15 with a few at 9:30. Yes, it was early. But, I loved watching him play. And being part of a small community, we played with friends and against friends each week which was fun for Harrison.

This will be the only year that Harrison will play Upwards ball. In PG he can play ball starting in 3rd grade through the school, so next year he will be playing with everyone he goes to school with which will be so fun! But, Charlotte is already talking about playing Upward next year so we may not be done yet!

Charlotte's Princess Party

We celebrated Charlotte's birthday with a fun party for a few friends the week after she turned 5. We had it at Glitterbox which is an adorable little girl nail salon and it was just perfect! She invited a couple of friends and they had mani/pedis and then we had cupcakes. It was simple and easy and the girls had a blast. That's my kind of party!!

I ordered cupcakes from Ricks and made these cute little toppers for them. I love how they turned out!

We made goodie bags of nail polish and ring pops and put them inside cupcake wrappers and tied them up cute.

She had a fun day and I think she felt well celebrated and loved. :)

Turning 36

I had a fabulous 36th birthday -- and now I'm officially closer to 40 than 30. :) My birthday fell on a Friday this year and I'd worked hard all week and the laundry was done and the house was clean and I'd planned to have a fun day with Charlotte. It turned out to be a little different than planned, but fun all the same -- we spent a big chunk of the day up at a new gym for Charlotte -- getting her placed and enrolled in "real" gymnastics. And one of the classes was that day so we killed some time and came back for it. 

We picked up the kids and headed home so I could get ready for the evening. Matt had a sitter coming that night so we could go to dinner. We went early to my favorite Carrabbas -- soo good! -- and then came home and had cake with the kids. Matt ordered my favorite strawberry filled cake and it was super yummy!

The kids had some sweet gifts for me -- my favorite candles and the first season of a show I love. And, they all had cards for me. The cards are my most favorite part of my birthday. The kids worked on them and I loved them!