Soccer Mom

Ethan joined his first organized sport team this Spring. With this new activity, I officially became a mini van driving, soccer mom. 

Ethan has practice once per week for 30 minutes and one game every Saturday morning. I'm getting a small taste of how busy life is going to get in the future with the kiddo's activities. 

Gingerbread House Party

Earlier this month, Ethan hosted a Christmas party for his friends from daycare. 

We started off the party with hot chocolate and sugar cookies. Following our snack, we played Pin the Red Nose on Rudolph. 

The main event was decorating candy houses that I assembled the day before out of graham crackers. 

Each child received an apron that they could take home and got to work on their creations.

I wrapped each house up in a cellophane bag so the kids could take home their candy cottages. 

The party was a success and I was so thankful to my Mom and good friend/fellow mommy, Samantha, for helping with the house assembly. Their extra sets of hands came in very useful for piping on frosting and holding on candy to dry.

Thanksgiving Family Pictures & Recap

I loved Thanksgiving this year! I had an excuse to eat for two and wore elastic waist pants with no shame. I may wear elastic waist pants every year, pregnant or not, going forward. 

When we arrived at my parent's home for dinner, I grabbed my nephew and made him take some quick pictures of my little family in the backyard. I can't remember the last time we had a picture with all three of us in it at the same time. (Actually, I guess it's all four of us ---> check out that baby bump below.)

For being quick pictures taken on my cheap camera by a 16 year old, I think they turned out great!

During the day, I spent lots of time in the kitchen preparing for the big meal. I made dinner rolls, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie, a relish tray, and sweet potato gratin. 

I made Bobby Flay's Sweet Potato Chipotle Gratin by popular demand. The recipe only has three ingredients but has such a depth of flavor and has a "wow" factor presentation. The recipe is from my Mesa Grill cookbook by Bobby Flay but you can find the recipe online on Food Network.

I tried a new recipe for dessert this year. It was also from Food Network and is Sunny Anderson's Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie. The pie had a very creamy texture that was a mix between cheesecake and traditional pumpkin pie. I found the recipe on Pinterest and am so glad that I tried it even though I'm not a huge fan of hazelnut. Several people commented to me that it was the best pumpkin pie they had ever tasted. It will likely become my go-to recipe for pumpkin pie in the future.

Food photos from foodnetwork.com. I was so busy running around on Thanksgiving that I completely forgot to take any pictures.

5th Birthday Celebration

Ethan turned five years old on Oct. 5th. I can't believe how quickly he has grown. To me, five just seems like such a big boy. Officially out of the toddler ranks and completely in the little boy category. Luckily for me, he still wants to cuddle up with his mommy and I'll happily share cuddles and bedtime stories with him as long as he'll let me.

Ethan chose to have a Construction Vehicle theme this year for his party. We decorated all the tables with various construction vehicle toys and invited our immediate family over for cake and ice cream.

I made Ethan's cake and was pleased with how it turned out. Ethan advised me on what colors to choose for the lights and where they should be placed since he is much more knowledgable than I am when it comes to bulldozers. He also loved eating the chocolate rocks and dirt. 

Since the large chocolate donuts I used for the back tires only came in packages of 12, I placed some of the extras on plate with a "Spare Tires" sign.

Birthday boy turned shy when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles.

A happy birthday boy!

After eating cake and ice cream, it was finally time for presents. Since his birthday had been four days earlier than his party, it had been hard to wait. (Of course, we'd given him our presents on his actual birthday so he wasn't that deprived.)

Happy birthday my dearest baby boy! I have loved being your mommy and you make me and Daddy so proud...and laughing all the time with your silly games and looks with your mischievous eyes. I love you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. 

First Day of Preschool

Ethan started his second year of Preschool last month. He was excited to go back to school and to reunite with all of his friends. Such a big boy.

Farmer Boy

My little Farmer Boy.

Ethan has gotten to help Grandpa bottle feed the bucket calves a few times this summer. Giving "Bubba" his bottle has quickly become Ethan's favorite farm activity. 

I think I have the best of both worlds by marrying into a farming family. I get to live in town but my son gets to be raised around the animals, work ethic and the values and heritage of the generational, family farm. 

Summer Vacation to Red Feather Lakes, CO

We went back to Red Feather Lakes, CO to where my Aunt and Uncle own a lake front cabin for our summer vacation.


Our first day of vacation, we stayed the day in Denver and went to the Denver Zoo.

While up in the mountains, we enjoyed numerous, long hikes.

We saw signs of wildlife, like these antler rubbings from moose, and came across a few deer and smaller animals.

But the wildest creature we came across was Dexter. He is a true mountain dog at heart!

Rock climbing was a favorite activity of Ethan and my nephew, Austin. (We were excited to bring my 15 year old nephew with us this year. We also had both sets of Grandparents along for a portion of the trip.)

As always, the scenery of breath-taking. We were even blessed to experience a double rainbow over the lake.

We tried our hand at fishing one day.

And horse back ridding another. A first time riding horses for both Ethan and Austin.

We enjoyed spending quality time with family...

Spending lots of time outdoors...

Laughing and having fun...

And...I even managed some relaxation time.

 



Bliss!

Strike!

We've had bowling fever lately!

Ethan and I went up to Kearney, NE to meet up with one of my cousins and Ethan got to go bowling for the first time. We don't have a bowling alley here in town, so this was a special adventure.

My little cousin.

Shortly following our first bowling adventure in Kearney, we went to Topeka for a weekend getaway. Ethan and I had so much fun bowling earlier that we decided to take Daddy bowling to show off our new skills.

The earlier practice must have paid off...I won! Jim and I use to bowl frequently in our college student union and I never once won. I was excited to finally win against Jim! I think I better hang up my bowling shoes now and quit while I'm ahead.