Birthday Recap- part two

*small disclaimer: Now that I have my new camera I take a T.O.N. of pictures- almost every day. It's like another body part and with me all the time. You'll probably get sick of looking at our pics long before I get sick of taking them :)


Okay so....Sunday we celebrated Brooklyn's birthday with family & a few friends.
Brooklyn was adorable, as always!



We found an amazing deal on renting a bounce house for the day. (Seriously $45 for the small one, but since they didn't rent out their 12x12 they gave us a free upgrade) Mimi & Pap got Brooklyn a small pool for the back yard & we brought up the ball pit (from Aunti Becki for Isaac's birthday) from the basement. When the kids got up from their naps we had the backyard all set up to have a GREAT time outside. And did we ever!!!











The food was good!
Can't beat a backyard BBQ during the summer!

On to dessert.
This girl is not shy with anything, and certainly not with digging into her cake.

Waiting patiently...


Oh, For me?


Seriously- I can eat all of this?


Don't mind if I do...


That was good! Born a chocolate lover...just like her Mama.


Some more playing....






And seconds on dessert



I can't tell you how head over heels in love we are with this little girl!
She is just a bright light, full of laughter, and so much fun.



And her hugs can't be beat! If you've had one you know what I mean.

Birthday Recap- part one

Well what a weekend of fun we had celebrating
Brooklyn's 1st Birthday!!

The kids & I had a fun day even though we weren't having her party until Sunday.

I don't know if there is a girl who loves her carbs & cheese more than this one.
So why not combine them- Mac & Cheese for lunch it is


Then after lunch we mixed food coloring with whipped cream & 'painted'.



But mostly we just ate it....mm..mmm...good!

For dinner we had...carbs yet again.
It's what she would have asked for if she could say spagetti.

Then we opened presents. I was really surprised how well Isaac did being patient & letting Brooklyn get the first second or two with her new toys. We just put them all in one box & let them go wild whipping what they were interested out.



Brooklyn got her first doll house. A big hit!



Isaac showed her how to push the button on the car to get it to make baby noises & play music. Brooklyn immediately started dancing when she heard the music. The girl loves to get her groove thing on!





It wouldn't be a good day without wrestling Daddy



Then some fruit for dessert



Isaac immediately said, "Now Isaac's turn to sing Happy Birthday. And Candle too!"

Then we headed out to the park.



All in all it was a great day spent together as a family celebrating the life of our little princess!

What a year!

Hard to believe "baby Brooklyn" turns one today!!

A year ago you looked like this

What a beautiful little girl you've become so far!!

Loved by so many people!!

And so loving in return (you'll come in for a quick snuggle and then you're off quickly to do something exciting)

Adventuresome would be a huge understatement

You're obsessed with slurping up any stray water on the ground.

Big kids or equipment don't intimidate you in the least.

You initiate a LOT of wrestling matches with your brother


You didn't come with a quiet button ( I know, I've tried to find it)





Whatever you're doing you do it with....passion

We are so blessed to have you in our lives!
We love you more than words can say princess- hope today is just the first of many incredible years we share together!!

Here we are!!

So to all two of you who have missed us posting.... we're back.
After computer issues & a vacation &.....blah...blah...blah.

You don't want to know why, you just want to know what we've been up to. So here are is a snap shot into our lives for the last few weeks (more details to follow....I pinkie swear).


Isaac sporting his new cowboy hat & working on his riding technique. Pap isn't an obedient horse- he just wants to buck you off.




A few of Isaac's newest obessions- his paci & blanket (nothing new here), cowboy boots are apparently for any outfit & a fun necklace Mom just bought.


Our Stay-Cation with the Anders included a date night to the Power & Lights district. It's been a long time since any of us have dressed up for a night on the town without kids
(thanks Mimi for babysitting!!)

Brooklyn put to work in order to earn her turn to ride in the car


Getting to meet Luke Friend & visit with his brother Casey & Mom Crystal. Isn't he A-dorable!!


What can I say....we start with our sports loyalties early in this household. We're looking forward to enjoying the newly renovated statium as a family.


We're doing a L.O.T. of swinging


Yes I did grab my camera & watch her eat dog food- it was funny & you're laughing now too!


What more could a little girl ask for in a Daddy- there's none better!!!

A Lunchtime Winner!

Who doesn't love a sweet tasty treat?

Well my kids L.O.V.E. smoothies, and I love making them as a fun snack or addition to a meal.

I just cut up fruit that's close to going bad & throw it into the freezer-except bananas, I just leave those in the peels & freeze whole. Then when I'm ready to make a smoothie I toss a handful with some yogurt or applesauce into my food processor, hit on and let it whirl!

Pretty simple & D-lishious!!! Plus a great way to keep food from going to waste!

What are your favorite tasty treats to whip together?

The Bang Theory

Well I have been playing around with different hair styles for ~1 yr now-

long...short...medium...layered...straight ends...

I decided, after seeing pictures of some friends who recently got bangs to try it. Why not?

I've seen pictures of the horrid mullet-like bangs my mother pranced me around in as a little girl & thank the Lord she wised up & grew them out when I was starting school. From then on Mom forbid all suggestions of bangs. So being the obedient middle school age Sarah that I was I cut the slightest wisps of long bangs & hid them from my mother by going to school with my hair wet and slicked back every morning. When I got to school, I quickly went to the girls bathroom & 'fixed' my pitiful attempt at bangs-of course with lots of hairspray.

Fast forward to Saturday- I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I went for it anyways.

And I'm so glad I did!!! I think it looks great (Zach concurs- which is important!). Maybe it's what I've needed to do this whole time. Does that mean I need to go back and try all those hair styles again, but with bangs this time? hmmmm...
(Also bonus- I can keep headbands in my hair now, when they would always fall out over & over before. I guess I have a ginormous forehead, but none of you told me)

I will post pics when my new Canon Rebel xs comes in the mail THURSDAY!!!!!!

Spicing Up Rainy Days

This Kansas spring has been cold and rainy....

Cold- I can deal with that. We can bundle up & still play outside. Both kids thrive when outdoors & this keeps Mama sane.

But when it's raining what do you do?

We'll I'm fed up, so I've started planning 1 or 2 fun things to do each day despite the rain- so there!

So what have we been up to this week?

We've used the garage as an extension of the outdoors. Bubbles are soooo much fun in the garage! And while bubbles are a challenge in the normal Kansas wind, this is not a problem in the garage. Ride on toys, chalk, and games of chase work great in the open space of the garage.

I had to get over my fear of messes indoors & let the kids 'paint' with chocolate pudding inside. And you know what? It was so much fun for all of us!!! Isaac was busy driving his tractors through the 'mud' while Brooklyn ate the pudding by the fist full. When that ran out she dove face first into her tray to lick whatever her little tongue could reach. And I just laughed & enjoyed watching the kids have fun!!

One day it was warm but raining, so after dinner we all went for a walk in the rain. Isaac splashed in the puddles & ran and burned more calories than he's consumed in days. Brooklyn pushed her hippo walker up & down the sidewalks. We were all soaked, but had huge smiles on our faces when we came in to dry off & get ready for bed.

So despite the weather I have to make every effort to do my best job as a mom. Not every day needs to be filled with huge memorable events, but the little things do matter. I hope when they're older they'll sit around & talk about, "Remember when: Mom took us to... Mom let us.... Mom helped us make..."

So since more rain is in the future I'd love to have some other tricks in my back pocket. What are your favorite rainy day activities?

**FYI- our camera is dead & we're shopping for a new one**
**Sorry about no pics, we'll resolve that soon!!**