Family Photos 2018

If you caught Kasey & Ben's blogpost, you already know this, but when Kasey posted about their Limited Edition Cozy Cabin sessions on Facebook, I tagged Zac and told him I wanted it for our anniversary.

Truly, there is no better gift for me than a photo memory; I've talked about that before here.
So I was elated when Zac surprised me & booked it all on his own!

Take a peek at some (ok, like 30) of my favorites:

All photos by Kasey & Ben Photography

Couldn't you just EAT HIM UP!

Thank you Kasey & Ben!  We will cherish these forever.

And MERRY CHRISTMAS to all our family & friends.  We wish you the blessings of peace, the beauty of hope, the spirit of love, and the comfort of faith this holiday season.  

Getting the Christmas Tree

Welp, we waited for the yuckiest day in December (so far -- it's only the first week) and for Ellis to have a fever to get our tree this year.  Because we are stellar parents...

You see, last Saturday night we were at an ugly sweater party - adults only - when I got call from my mom at 7:30 pm... "Did you pack any Tylenol?  Ellis has a 103º fever."

FOR. THE. LOVE.

Zac and I had even packed an overnight bag & planned on getting a hotel room because the weather was turning bad, but we wanted needed a night out, and so we were going to *live it up* because neither of us could remember the last time we went out together.

But instead, we left the party, headed to the nearest Walgreens for Infant Ibuprofen and Tylenol and picked up Ellis from my mom & dad's.

Side note: almost two years into this parenting gig, and I should know by now to not have any expectations but that's a hard habit to break. 


By Sunday morning, the falling snow had turned to sleet and rain, but the good news was that Ellis's fever went down a bit, though he still wasn't quite himself.  However, we knew if we didn't get our tree that day, we might not end up with one because free weekends the rest of December are hard to come by.

So we bundled up the hot tot and went anyways.  Ellis is like his father, and would live outside if we let him, so he was actually really happy to get some fresh air, despite not feeling the greatest.
(And by fresh air, I mean wind, rain, and sleet.)

We went to the same Ma & Pop cut-your-own-tree place as last year; just a hop, skip & jump down the road from our house, but we reallllly had to hunt to find a decent tree this time around.

But alas, we found... the ONE!

And see, if you just looked at these pretty pictures, you would think we have it all together.
We don't......   (cue the cheesy tag line).... But together we have it all.

May your kids stay healthy throughout this holiday season, and Happy Decembering!


Previous Christmas Tree hunts, for your viewing pleasure:
2015 | 2016 | 2017

Family Date Night | Green Bay's Titletown

In the shadow of Lambeau Field, sits Titletown, which provides year round fun for all.  With a full-size football field, playground, lots of outdoor games, and in the winter time, ice skating & tubing -- play, stay, eat & relax is their motto, and so we did just that!

This was our first visit, and we'll definitely be back!

We sat under the heat lamps, and watched the ice skaters twirl around the rink, but Ellis's favorite part was actually watching the Zamboni -- he called it the tractor on ice.

Then we burned off some energy on the football field.

"Hey Rogers, I'm open!!"

We had arrived just in time to see the Winter Jubilee Light Show, which played every half hour, so we actually got to see it twice!

And then of course, we warmed up with some hot cocoa (and hugs! <3)

With Christmas music playing throughout the park, the trees lit up with lights, and freshly fallen snow on the tubing hill, it was a perfect little evening to kick off the season of Christmas.
 

Looking forward to a December filled with love, friends, and family!

Make: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I wanted to try my hand at roasting pumpkin seeds, since we took the time to save them from the pumpkin Ellis carved.

I searched the Internet for recipes, but nothing really stood out to me, so I asked for recommended recipes on my insta-stories.  I love doing this because I know "real" people will give me "real" recipes, and it won't be a #PinterestFail.

I had a handful of people message me with some yummy sounding recipes -- all different from one another.   But of course, I didn't have all the ingredients on hand for any one of the recipes.

And to be honest, I was sick of the seeds sitting out on my counter, so I just made up my own recipe, using what I had on hand.

The result?  AMAZING.

I don't know why I've never done this before, but you can bet your bottom dollar I will be doing it every year from here on out.

Prior to roasting them, I washed them really well and laid them out to dry for a few days.

I ended up tossing the seeds with Avocado Oil, then sprinkled with Lawry's Seasoned Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, and a drizzle of Worcestershire Sauce.  After they were mixed well, I spread them out in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  I roasted at 300° for 30 minutes total, periodically flipping them so they roasted evenly on both sides.

They were savory, salty, and very addicting.  I bet they'd be good in a trail mix too.

Maybe next year I'll try a sweet version -- butter, sugar, cinnamon... I mean you can't go wrong with those three ingredients, right?

Do you have a tried & true pumpkin seeds recipe?  Share with us in the comments below!

Halloween 2018

One of the things that I looked forward to before becoming a mom was making Halloween costumes for my kids.  Growing up, almost all of the costumes I had were homemade.  We were creative, shopped our house for supplies, and sometimes enlisted Grandma for her sewing abilities, but ultimately my mom always came through with a great costume for us.

My sister & I have at least 10 years worth of pictures, always standing in front of our fire place, showcasing our homemade costumes... And now we live in a world where you can pay $25 for a puppy costume on Amazon & have it shipped to your house in 2 days.

I still love the idea of making my kid's Halloween costumes, but real life is: ain't nobody got time for that.  And, usually the costume is worn for like half a second before they want out of it.   However, I am both amazed & jealous of the photos that I see sprinkled on social media of all the moms (and dads!) that "went all out" on their kids costumes.  Virtual high fives for you!

My ultimate Halloween dream: a homemade FAMILY costume... one where we ALL dress up. Themed, of course... and the dog included.

But until then, this equally cute / awfully gaudy puppy costume is still making me smile.

   

A few days prior to Halloween, we helped Ellis carve his first pumpkin.  At first he was a little hesitant to dig in, but once we got him started, he didn't want it to end. 

He had pumpkin guts and seeds stuck to him everywhere.  It was so adorable!

We hope you all had a wonderfully spooky Halloween!!