Fort Worth! (AKA, My Birthday Weekend!)

Two years ago my stepmom, step aunt, and I went out to Fort Worth to visit my sister, Kate.  Since she's graduating in December (yay!) and I was sort of in need of a little time away from my sweet, precious, always behaving little girls, I suggested to the group that we do it all again this year.  They might have sensed my desperation for some girl time in between my texting lines because everyone jumped on it, and our schedules just happened to work best over my birthday weekend!

It was so much fun, just like last time.  We did a few less touristy things and a few more shopping and eating things, which was just fine with us.  The couple of days flew by, but the two awesome nights of sleep, girl talk and shopping were just what the doctor ordered.  Not to mention Kate has the cutest little apartment and cutest little friends ever!

Thanks for an amazing weekend, ladies!!

XOXO

- K

Valentine's Day Fun!

It's no secret that I love putting together a fun party, all things girly, and Valentine's Day.  Lyla has inherited the love for parties and girliness, so I decided to throw her and Evie a little Valentine's Day party for their girlfriends.  We decorated cookies, played freeze dance, ate pizza and unwrapped surprise goodies.  So much fun!

After the party L and E had to get ready for their daddy daughter dance.  They both chose princess dresses - shocking - and had very specific thoughts on what their hair and accessories should look like.  Girls after my own heart.  ;)

Here are some photos!

- K

Waiting on a party to start is hard.

Happier with a little chocolate!

Freeze dance!

It's her party.  She'll cry if she wants to.

I don't know what this game is called, but you unwrap the saran wrap until you get a prize, then pass it on.  It was a hit!

We had a little impromptu girl band performance.  :)

Pizza!

We never got a picture together, so had to settle for a selfie.  :)

Dance prep!  Is there anything cuter than kids in robes??

Lucky dad.  Lucky girls!

So Far, So Good!

Last week a neighbor brought us a HUGE zucchini from her garden.  Lyla and I had just finished reading The BFG and we joked about it being her snozzcumber.  It was gigantic!  The best part was that I'd tucked away a little zucchini oat chocolate chip cookie recipe on Pinterest, and it gave us the perfect excuse to whip up some homemade cookies.

It's been a while since I've baked with the girls, and I'm pretty sure it was the first time Sis really got to get her hands good and dirty with some real baking, not just our simple no-bake cookie balls.  Ahh, I had forgotten the joy that is baking with a 2 year old.  I'm not joking when I say we completely started over twice, and it is a real live miracle that we ended up with something edible.

I had to fight back my frustration occasionally, especially when on our third attempt I turned around to see most of the bottle of vanilla poured into our mixture.  Luckily I could pour it out, and we went on our way with the rest of the recipe.  (I have no idea how much vanilla actually ended up in those things, but they did turn out - and even tasted pretty darn good!)

It's easier for me to laugh now, thinking back to Evie grabbing every.single.thing. and dumping it in the mixer, then looking at me with wide eyes, like "oops?"  Lyla was just too cute the whole time.  She is becoming the best little helper, always in a hurry to help me do anything and everything, and kept pep talking us throughout the spills and messes.  "So far, so good!" she kept saying, even when a mountain of salt ended up in my mixture.  (Not so easy to pour out.)  Her optimistic little spirit kept me smiling and reminded me that it's about the experience - not the messes.

They eventually went down for naps and I finished the actual baking part myself - in peace and quiet.  :)  After naps we headed to a friend's house and brought some cookies along.  The little girls dressed up and an impromptu tea party broke out - complete with real tea.  It was so darn cute

It's always more difficult, more messy and more time consuming having mini helpers in the kitchen, but it's also just about as sweet as it gets.  Their tiny fingers and excitement to be helping, their proud faces when they've completed the job, and the jumping up and down before that first bite.  These days can be so hard and messy, but they are the very, very best.  And a little dose of optimism never hurts.  So far, so good!  :)

- K

 

This girl loves posing for a picture these days.  :)

Cutest little helpers.

 



 

Love these tippy toes.

Those blurry, eager hands.  :)

Tea party time.  Cheers!

 



Sis opted out of the tea party.  Forever doing her own thing.  :)

The Perfect Fall Day

The other day Lyla, Evie and I met up with some girlfriends at a local orchard.  We met these friends a couple years ago through Instagram, which was completely random, and ended up really hitting it off.  They have three girls, so it's fun to get our little ones together.  Hazel and L are just about the same age and I don't think anyone's ever been as excited to pick apples as they were.  Clover, their youngest, is just recently in remission from liver cancer and was all smiles and babbles.  It's amazing how sometimes the smallest ones can be the most inspiring.

The orchard was beautiful and had so many fun activities for the girls.  They picked about 15 pounds of apples, went on a hay ride, climbed a hay mountain, saw farm animals and drank apple cider.   We even had a "fun" little game of hide and seek in a corn maze, which included just the slightest feeling of sheer panic that we'd never be able to find the little hoodlums again.

It was my favorite kind of Fall day with the most perfectly crisp air.  I can't help but look forward to the colorful leaves crunching on the ground, cooler temps, and I won't even mind it getting dark earlier, provided that means earlier bedtimes too.  :)

- K