Thanksgiving Wrap Up: Part 1

Hi friends! I'm back to blogging after taking several days off to enjoy Thanksgiving and time with my family! The days were much needed, and so enjoyed!

Here's a little look back at our week. 

Adalyn had pajama day at school last Tuesday and, she had a pizza party to celebrate winning a school contest! Pizza and pajamas- yes, please! 

After school on Tuesday, I rounded everyone up, and headed to the football office to pick up a puppy! My cousin purchased a labradoodle from right here in Tulsa, so we picked up the puppy and puppy sat for the evening!

The girls were so excited! 

We did have to give the puppy a quick bath because we noticed a few fleas on her and a tick. But, seriously, it was the cutest thing ever seeing DJ give him a bath in the sink! 

And the next day, he was all clean and playing with a few toys before we loaded up to leave on our trip. 

I spent Tuesday morning cleaning up the kitchen, packing like a mad woman, and making mac-n-cheese for our Thanksgiving lunch with the football team. Do you ever have those hectic packing days, where you just know you've left something behind? Well, when that happens, I roll on some  Stress Away, and say "oh well, we will just live without whatever I forgot" and deal with it! 

(Thankfully we arrived in Arkansas and I don't think I left anything behind!)

Before driving home to Arkansas, we ran up to the football office so we could have lunch with DJ and the team. 

We were excited for some food! 

This guy and I never get to spend Thanksgiving together. I can think of three years in almost eleven years of marriage, that we actually spent a Thanksgiving together. He's made me promise that I stay home next Thanksgiving and that people can come and visit us! 

After our Thanksgiving lunch, we said our goodbyes and the girls (and the puppy) and I headed home to Arkansas. 

4 hours later, we arrived..... here's a peek in to our Thanksgiving:

Wednesday night, my cousins came to pick up their puppy, and they took Gretchen home with them for a sleepover. Megan went down to my niece's house, and Adalyn tried too, but ended up coming home to me. 

Thursday morning, we woke up to watch the parade and I attempted my grandmother's homemade yeast rolls. 

Except, I wasn't too sure about the yeast step, and ended up adding too much sugar and too much water. Thankfully, no one seemed to mind, but it was pretty difficult making these without my grandmother watching over my shoulder this year. 

Addy and I were ready for lunch! 

And these two walked in matching from head to toe! 

These girls are 6 weeks apart and they have so much fun together! 

Before lunch, the girls colored and drew pictures. 

It's time for food, and we're excited!!!! 

We stuffed ourselves full of turkey, ham, rolls, green bean bundles, broccoli-rice casserole, sweet potatoes, and more. Everything was so yummy!

And then the girls crafted some more. 

They were entertained for hours! 

After everyone left, we attempted to get some family pictures. 

Gretchen wasn't wanting to cooperate, because I interrupted her reading time. 

And a silly one, just because! 

And one of just the sisters! 

And with our sister-cousin! 

We had the best Thanksgiving! It was so fabulous to see our loved ones, our extended family, and even some friends. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I'm so thankful for the people that walk along side of me!

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend flew by! I'm ready for Thanksgiving break and praying that I can make it through the next two days at work!

Friday morning, Gretchen was picked up by our local fire department and taken to school in a fire truck! She won the 3rd grade poster competition at our school back in October. It was adorable, the doorbell rang, and there were three firemen ready to escort her to school. 

They asked if Megan could ride along too, but Gretchen really didn't want to share, and I can't blame her! She worked hard on her poster and she won the reward, so Megan and I drove ahead in the fire truck. 

She's ready to go! 

The firemen buckled her in, put headsets on her, and Megan and I left while DJ stayed behind and did a facebook live video of her leaving the house. I made it to school first, and I shot a video of her arriving at school, and three of the 3rd grade classes outside watching her!

Work on Friday was nuts, and after school was crazy too. Gretchen ended up getting sick at school around lunch, and I had two scheduled meetings in the afternoon that I couldn't cancel. So, she layed in the nurses office and I finished up my meetings, and then we left as soon as I was finished. We ended up getting home a little earlier than usual, so we relaxed for a bit, and ordered pizza delivery.

After pizza, we watched a movie.... well, Gretchen and I watched a movie, the little girls played and raised havoc. Needless to say, they went to bed early. 

So, Gretchen and I curled up and watched Miracle on 34th Street.

The girls and I didn't really have weekend plans for Saturday. I had thought we would get the oil changed in my car and run some errands, but Gretchen still wasn't feeling great. Thankfully, she never threw up or ran a fever. Her stomach was just queasy feeling.

So I called it a stay home day, and worked on laundry and cleaned the bathrooms. Glamorous life I lead. 

These girls were trouble all day long. They played outside, and somehow Adalyn came in with mud all over her face. And when it was time for a nap, they melted my heart when Megan said she would tuck Adalyn in and put her down for a nap. 

And then I cleaned up the big girls rooms and put out their Christmas trees.

After dinner and baths, the girls went to bed and I curled up to watch the Tulsa football game. I was so proud of our team when they brought home that W! 

Sunday morning, DJ was pulling in as I was just rolling out of bed. Since the game was so late Saturday night, he stayed at the office and finished up some work, and didn't make it home until 8 am. He brought home doughnuts for the girls and then he crashed! 

We got ready and made it to church! 

After church, the little girls wanted their weekly photo by John Wesley, and then we ran some errands and had lunch at Panera. We visited the new Home Goods store, and I was slightly disappointed. I had high hopes because we had a fabulous Home Goods store in Indianapolis when we lived there, and this one is much smaller. We made it home for a little bit, and watched some of Elf on t.v. before heading back out to do some shopping for our Christmas child. Well, children....... our church is sponsoring children from several local community groups and I told the girls we could pick out one name after church. Well, they couldn't agree and we left with three names! I'm thankful that we will be able to show three children love this Christmas time. This is the first year we have purchased for children on our own. Each year, their classrooms sponsor children and we just buy one present for them. The girls had a ton of fun shopping for their child!

And then we ran to football for our last weekly dinner and home again to get ready for bed! 

Here's to a two day week my friends! 

Show & Tell Tuesday: Christmas Wish List

I'm pretty sure it's been a sweet forever since I've linked up for Show & Tell Tuesdays! But, yay, I am finally linking up today! ...... It's probably because Andrea wrote a reminder on her blog yesterday! 

Today, we're sharing what we "Want, Need, Wear, Read" for Christmas! 

This post is pretty timely, because I haven't made a list for DJ, and I'm pretty sure this will make it much easier, because he can just read here :) You're welcome babe! 

want......

I've been wanting one of these Kendra Scott necklaces for a while now. And hey babe, I'll take it in gold ;)

A few years ago, I purchased a Stella & Dot engraveable bar necklace. Over the summer, it got tangled terribly bad, and I haven't been able to get it untangled, so I'm wanting a new one of these too. Engraved with our anniversary date of course. 

need.....

More than anything else in the world, I need a Roomba... or a house keeper, but I'm thinking a Roomba might be the way to go since cleaning is somewhat therapeutic for me. I just cannot stay on top of the vacuuming, and y'all, I'd vacuum every single day if I had the time. But, since I don't have the time, I think I need a Roomba to do it for me. 

wear....

I've been wanting a pair of Frye Riding boots for about a year, but I cannot bring myself to pay the price for them. So, babe, if you're reading, I need a 7 1/2 please. And hey, these are on sale! 

read...

I've been wanting to read The Energy Bus for some time now because I've heard that it's amazing!

And, I'd love to have a Elin Hilderbrand book to read over the winter break!

So, that's a short Christmas wish list for myself! I can't wait to read through everyone's post today! And, if you don't blog, leave me a comment, and let me know what you'll want, need, read, and wear for Christmas! 

And, maybe I'll remember the next link up: 

Friday Favorites: All the Activities

Hey, hey Friday!!! (And friends!) I'm so glad you're here! 

This week has flown by! And man, am I grateful! I was honestly expecting this to be #thelongestweekever since it's the week before Thanksgiving, but it hasn't been so bad! 

I'm linking up today with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favorites! If you're new here, then leave me a comment and say hello! I'd love to "meet" you! 

Every Friday (okay, not every Friday, because I've been blogging slacking), I share my FAVORITE moments that I've captured from our week! 

Sunnies are our favorite! As we were heading out the door Sunday night to our football dinner, I grabbed my sunglasses, and Addy grabbed hers too! 

I love getting pictures from Addy's preschool teacher! Earlier this week, she was painting  and working on making her Thanksgiving placemat for their Thanksgiving lunch. 

Gymnastic nights our Adalyn's FAVORITE because she gets to see her friends! While Megan tumbles away, and Gretchen plays basketball, Adalyn soaks up some time with her friends, who all happen to be mom's of kids in the gymnastics class. Addy also enjoys playing with my phone, taking random pictures, and asking me to take pictures of her. 

Timehop is a daily FAVORITE! Look at Gretchen.... almost 9 years ago. I mean, when did she get this big: 

Exhibit A: 

Gretchen is taking musical theatre this year, and this week we were able to sit in and watch a little of her class. 

This facial warm up is my FAVORITE!

But, this one is probably hers! 

I'm so excited for her winter performance! 

Megan brought home some tracing paper so she could work on her handwriting. Anything school related is her FAVORITE!

And, my FAVORITE bedtime essential oils? The other day, I grabbed these out of the oil cabinet, and used them all before bed. Peppermint for the hammer pounding in my head, frankincense for my skin (you guys this is THE BEST oil for your skin), and Tea Tree to rub through my hair, because some of our kids at school have little critters running through their hair. Tea Tree is also great for your skin! 

Every day, I'm so thankful that I'm turning to essential oils and not using harsh chemicals on my body. 

Yesterday was Adalyn's Thanksgiving lunch, DJ and I were both able to go and surprise her! She wasn't too excited about her lunch, but she was excited that we were there to see her! 

I love this little girl! 

And, when we tried to take a family picture, she wasn't cooperating. She just wanted to make silly faces. 

Whew, it's been a good week. Tonight is our weekly pizza and a movie night, and since it's suppose to turn cold, I'm hoping to cuddle inside and relax this weekend. The girls and I may run some errands and we plan on watching our football game Saturday night! 

Have a great one my friends!