Bennett Is Six!

Our charismatic and always smiling Bennett turned six years old today! We have had to ask Siri several times a week "how many days is it until May 9?" for MONTHS now so this day has been anticipated for quite some time!!

On Saturday we celebrated Bennett with his friends at our house. Bennett LOVES a birthday party and said he wanted a Descendants party at our house with a bounce house in the backyard so his wish was our command. He had a wonderful day celebrating with his sweet little friends and we were so thankful for the beautiful weather we had, especially since the days leading up to it felt like monsoon season.

Bennett loves the Descendants movies so he was set on a Descendants birthday party but he really wanted it to be mostly themed after the character, Carlos, which is his favorite character in the movie. We did our best to make our back yard look like the Isle of the Lost, Carlos style. 

Bennett has grown up so much this year. I had a feeling kindergarten would do that to him. He seems so much more mature and he's obviously learned a lot academically. He has taken to school so well (minus getting out of the door so early in the morning) and loves school, his teacher and all of his new friends. It's been fun to watch him grow and he has always been so eager to learn so he's doing awesome in school and we're super proud of him!

In his free time, Bennett loves being outside. We got him a new, big boy bike as an early birthday present over the weekend and yesterday he learned to ride it without training wheels. He literally picked it up instantly which is not surprising because he's good at everything he does. He's one of those kind of people, ha! Bennett also loves playing any kind of sport and riding his scooter. When he's not playing outside, you can find him playing his Nintendo Switch. He loves playing any Pokemon, Mario and Minecraft game. Bennett often wants to play board games and he loves nothing more than crawling in bed at night and having you read him a book. He loves grilled cheese for lunch and asks for a taco for dinner almost every night. 

Bennett has a really kind heart. He is so sweet to his brothers and friends. He's just a really good person. We're so proud of him and love watching him grow. Bennett is a fun kiddo and we love him so much!

Spring Break at Big Cedar

We got back from Big Cedar last night and, as always, we had the best time there! I love Big Cedar. It’s always such a relaxing and easy getaway. The property is so beautiful and I love staying in a cabin and enjoying the great outdoors. The last two years we’ve gone to Big Cedar to celebrate Campbells birthday and my parents and Scott’s parents always join us. It’s a less than 2 hour drive from our house to Big Cedar so it’s a nice, fun place to visit for a few days. 

We seem to always start our trip off with lunch at Arnies Barn followed by a golf cart ride. The golf cart ride is always my favorite part of the trip. I don’t know why I enjoy it so much but I do! It’s so beautiful and it just feels nice to drive around a pretty scenic space in a golf cart I guess! Ha!

After our golf cart tour we took the kids to Fun Mountain to play laser tag, a few arcade games, and bowl. Before we knew it, it was getting close to dinner time so we headed back to our cabin to eat.

We don’t really love the food at Big Cedar to be honest. We’ve tried all the restaurants and are always a little disappointed. So we’ve learned it’s just easier and more enjoyable to bring our own food for dinner. My mom had pre-made chicken spaghetti for us so we put it in the oven to warm up and it was delicious. It was nice to be able to enjoy the day and not worrying about hurrying back to cook dinner or make a dining reservation. Plus my moms chicken spaghetti is soooo good. 

We stayed in the Bass Pro cabins this time and we loved them. The two bedroom cabin was wonderful for our family. We had only ever done the, what I call, classic cabins in the past and I liked the Bass Pro cabins much better. The Bass Pro cabins have an oven and the others don’t which is a big bonus to me. My parents stayed in the one bedroom Bass Pro cabin (we always request our cabins be close together) and I will say, I prefer the classic Big Cedar one bedroom cabin over the Bass Pro one bedroom cabin, no question. The bass pro one bedroom is much smaller with no sitting area so if you’re going just as a couple, I recommend the regular big cedar cabin. As a family though, I think the bass pro two bedroom is the way to go.

On Saturday Campbell woke up us at the crack of dawn ready to celebrate his birthday and we were happy to do it. He opened some presents then we got dressed and headed towards the main area of Big Cedar. We piddled around the gift shop a bit and Wells loved playing with the big train table in the lobby.

We walked over to the Truman cafe for lunch. This is the only restaurant I really enjoy eating at here. I actually enjoy it a lot. The atmosphere is lovely and I love the soups and sandwiches. We usually eat lunch here every day when we stay at Big Cedar and I’m always really satisfied. The tomato basil soup and Turkey and Swiss sandwich is the best thing on the menu!

After lunch, we rented a boat to take out on Table Rock Lake. This is the first time we had ever done that and it was great!! The weather was cooler than we anticipated but it was still a lot of fun. We brought fishing poles to try to fish but we mostly enjoyed slowly cruising around the lake. 

After our boat ride we went back to our cabin to grill steaks and watch the Razorback game. While dinner was cooking, Bennett and I walked around the cabins for a bit and noticed people swimming in the pool. It was freezing outside so I had to feel the pool water to see what it was like and that’s when I discovered, after all these years, that the pool is heated. What?! I had no idea. There is also a hot tub. Bennett couldn’t run back to the cabin fast enough to tell Campbell. I scarfed my dinner down because the boys couldn’t wait one more second longer to go swimming. I have to say—it seemed like a pretty perfect way to end Campbells birthday!

The next morning we had breakfast and lunch at the Truman cafe. Took the boys back to fun mountain for rock wall climbing, bumper cars, and another game of laser tag. Then we packed up our car and headed back home.

We had a great time, as always. We’re already looking forward to going back!

Campbell Is 8!

Our sweet Campbell turned eight years old today! He is growing up at lightening speed these days. I truly remember my days where it was just he and I like it was yesterday. Campbell was such a hard baby but ended up being the easiest toddler and continues to be an easy going kid with a sweet demeanor and tender heart.

Campbell loves all things Pokemon. He loves collecting the cards and figurines, he loves reading pokemon books and he loves playing Pokémon games on his Switch. When not obsessing over Pokemon, Campbell loves riding his bike, playing gaga ball, reading books (Dogman is his favorite), and playing baseball. Campbell loves collecting things. He is for sure a homebody but he enjoys school and we’re so proud of how much he is growing and learning in his academics.

Since Campbells birthday always falls over spring break, we decided last year to start a tradition to come to Big Cedar with the whole family to celebrate it. We had a blast last year and now we’re back! We love our time here to hang out and have fun with family. Campbell gets to do a lot of really cool and fun things and he always has a great time. 

Happy Birthday Campbell! I don’t think I could ever articulate into words just how proud I am of you. I love your sweet and gentle spirit. I love to watch you get excited about things. I have loved watching you grow into a kind young man. I hope you never change. You are everything I ever hoped you would be and the last eight years have been the best of my life. I love you!!

Ivy & Madison Are Ten!

 My sweet little girls are ten years old today! I can’t believe they’ve been with us for ten years now. These two are still as spunky as can be and for that I am so thankful. 

Ivy and Madison are my constant shadows. Scott always says if he’s looking for me, he just follows the trail of the girls. They love a good snuggle and when they see me grab a blanket they get excited because they know it means we’re about to chill together. Madison sleeps on my pillow and as soon as I turn my alarm off, she gets in my face and wants a good morning kiss. Ivy patiently waits until I get the boys off to school and settled with my coffee before letting me know she needs some momma snuggles and a lot of loving. They both are so consistent with their wants and so predictable with what they need!

I love these two so, so much. They are the sweetest little love bugs and are adored by everyone in our family. Happy 10th Birthday Ivy and Madison! 

Wells Is Three!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my baby boy Wells!! 

Today my baby is three years old and he is sweet as sugar. Wells LOVES Cars so today we celebrated him Radiator Springs style!! Wells has loved his big day and all of the Cars decorations and he has worn a grin on his face the entire day. 

Wells is a momma's boy through and through. He loves to crawl in my lap and "nuggle." Wells spends most of his day playing with his Cars. He spends hours and hours quietly lining them all up on the playroom table upstairs, occasionally letting out a "Vroom!" sound. When Wells isn't playing with his cars, he loves watching Mickey Mouse. Any Mickey will do. Anything from Steamboat Willy to Mickey's Funhouse, this boy loves all the Mickey and it's almost always what he requests to watch. Wells also loves Pooh, Toy Story, Frozen, Paw Patrol, and of course, Cars. 

Wells loves to read before bedtime. His favorites are any Disney Baby book and he loves the Little Blue Truck books. Wells loves to brush his teeth, eat "wolfish" (goldfish), and take baths. He is always up for being my little sidekick and running errands with me. Wells loves his brothers (and they absolutely adore him) and does his best to keep up with them but he knows he's the baby in the family and he definitely likes it that way! Wells is always asking "where daddy go?" and if he likes something he is sure to let us know "I like it!" 

This precious little boy is spoiled rotten by every member of our family. We all adore our baby Wells so much. I bet I kiss his cheeks a thousand times a day and my favorite time is our quiet mornings just the two of us while he watches Mickey and I drink my coffee while we nuggle. This sweet boy is a dream come true and we all feel so lucky that Wellsy is ours! Happy 3rd Birthday Wells! We love you so, so much!!

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve

Merry Christmas! I didn't realize how long I stayed away from here. Yikes. Fall is a busy season for me then Christmas follows right behind so it's just a crazy season in life with not a lot of extra time to blog. Any extra time I do have, I enjoy spending it with my family, crawling in bed early, or sitting on my sofa doing nothing. But I don't want this little space to get completely ignored so I thought I'd share some Christmas photos I've taken this season. Christmas photos are my favorite and my IG gets flooded with them for 25 days but I love them!

All of my Christmas and grocery shopping is done, the boys last day of school was yesterday, and we are looking forward to a cozy few days, watching Christmas movies and eating lots of sweet treats!