Christmas Countdown 2011 - Day 3

Day 3 - Festival of Trees

Wow! How does a whole week go by in a blink of an eye?! Although I haven't been up to date with blogging every day, our family is still doing our 25 Days of Christmas. Some days I'm a little more prepared than others, but no matter what...the kids are having a blast (and we are, too!).

Last Saturday (day 3) the kids and Daddy got to have a little day with just the three of them and they met up with his parents at the Festival of Trees in downtown Portland. I decided to stay home to prepare for my Holiday Bazaar the following day. It's not often that Daddy gets a day with just the kids (and his parents), so I knew it would be a fun day for them! We originally were going to go see Santa come in on a helicopter in our hometown, but last minute Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Charlie called and we decided to change the plans! Good thing we did because it was too foggy for Santa to fly in. It would have been such a big disappointment!

I lovingly encouraged (hee hee!) Ryan to be sure to take LOTS of pictures for me and he did amazing! I was able to see the fun the kids got to have through pictures!

This event was sponsored by Providence, so one of the treats of the event was that they each got to take home a stuffed bear. But, before they took it home, they had to fix each of their bears up from all of its boo-boos.

{Austin named his bear Arthur...I'm pretty sure he named him after the boy in the movie we watched the night before}

All fixed up!

And, of course it wouldn't be the Festival of Trees without pretty decorated trees! Each of the trees were being auctioned off to the highest bidder and the money would go towards a charity. They were each decorated with a theme and under each tree were supplies or toys that went along with the tree's theme. Those who bought the tree could then keep the items or donate those as well. Such a neat concept!

There were people making gingerbread houses, as well as some on display...

The kids also got to decorate sugar cookies...

These look yummy and I'm sure they ate every crumb!!

There was even face painting...

And best of all?

SANTA!!

Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma for a fun day!

And what a special day for Daddy and his kids!

fishing trip with dad!

Late on Sunday night (the day before an extra day off because of Labor Day), Ryan remembered that he wanted to take the kids fishing before summer was officially over and school started. We packed a bag of extra clothes, snacks, and water, loaded up the fishing poles and tackle box, and everything was ready to wake up early to head out for a fun day together with just the three of them. (You know this means I had a day all to myself, right? Guess what I did for FOUR hours straight? Nope, no crafting. Nope, no shopping. Nope, no sitting around and watching TV. Yep, I cleaned the kids' rooms inside and out going through clothes, closets, and drawers! Fun times...or not. But it felt great to get it done without the helping hands of my little ones.)

Guess who was the first one to catch a fish?!

Great job, buddy!!

He let Sis share in his glory...how sweet!

At their first stop along the river, there wasn't much luck for Mikayla. Ryan said she had a good time casting her line and then reeling it right in. Might not be the best strategy for catching a fish, but I'm sure it was a lot more entertaining than just sitting there and waiting (at least for me it would be!) He said she only "snagged" him once. Success!

They packed up after staying there much longer than expected (and I still don't know how he entertained the kids for that long!!) and headed to a trout farm down the road for another try. Ryan said it was a matter of seconds before catching the first fish. I guess they should have gone there first!

Great job, Sis!

And Austin caught another...

Each of the kids came home with two fish. Austin was super excited about making fish for dinner (which he's never had!)...so we'll see how long they stay in the freezer before we cook them up. Maybe Grammy can put her special Alaskan touches on a good "fish fry".

So glad that Daddy had this special day with his best two buddies!

daddy's work picnic

A little over a week ago Ryan had his company picnic and families were invited along for a yummy barbecue and some fun in the sun! The kids had a BLAST enjoying all of the activities...

Three-Legged Race!

Tug of War!
Water Balloon Fight!
Yummy Food!
Pinata!

And finished the day with goody bags!

yes...another birthday!

As you have read lately on my blog, July is FULL of birthdays. I wasn't kidding...as you'll see even more birthdays coming up on my blog!

Ryan turned 31 on July 22nd (he's such a young buck!). The day was a fun one (I hope for him!), but not one with many pictures.

The day started out with me making a smoothie for him to enjoy on his way to work! We have the yummiest frozen strawberries (picked by none other than Daddy!), so this summer we have been enjoying lots and lot of smoothies. It's one of Ryan's favorite treats and has become the kids' favorite, too!

Later in the afternoon, the kids and I took some ice cream treats to his work so he could share with his co-workers. It was pretty cute watching Mikayla pass out the Klondike bars to everyone and telling them it was her daddy's birthday. The kids also made a sign and card for him and LOVED being at his work!


For dinner it was Ryan's choice and Olive Garden was his pick! Thank goodness for gift cards...the dinner was technically free. Afterwords we headed home and just hung out outside while the kids played on their bikes.

Ryan already bought his own big gift "from me", but I wanted to be able to give him something he could "open" from the kids, so we got him a bucket full of goodies...socks, a Starbucks gift card, Sour Patch kids, and beef jerky. Such a manly gift!!

Happy Birthday to an amazing daddy and husband!
How were we lucky enough to hit the jackpot?!

puzzled?

Have you been a bit puzzled why you haven't seen much of me lately? I kind of took a bit of a blogging break there for awhile...unintentional, of course! I almost went a whole week...what's up with that? I haven't really been into the groove of my usual blogging self. As a matter of fact, my crafty self either (besides making cards). I guess it's true that the summer sure does open itself up for some outside fun and there's a lot more motivation to be out doing things when the weather is gorgeous! I'm actually really far behind in sharing all of the fun things we've been up to. I hope to make my rounds to come visit and check in...don't count me out quite yet!

(If you're interested, head on over to my Stampin' Up blog to check out the card we made at my open house last night.)

And speaking of being puzzled...

Need a quick, sentimental, and crafty gift idea?

I already had a couple of things that I was giving Ryan for his birthday, but there was one more thing I wanted to do for him. I always like to do something a little creative for him. (Although it's getting harder and harder trying to come up with something I haven't done before)

I printed out an 8x10 picture of the kiddos on cardstock with a little birthday greeting. I laminated it for extra durability...my first time with our new laminator we found at the Joe's closeout sale for $2.00!!! More about that laminator later, I'm sure. Hello!? Awesome find!!


I cut it up into squares approx. 2x2-inch...


Wrap the pieces up in a cute little box ready for daddy to open...


And now, you have a puzzle that the kids and daddy can do together! Mikayla couldn't wait to put it together. She's a whizz at puzzles!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Ryan's 29th birthday (such a young buck!). I am so blessed to have such an awesome husband who I adore and love more than anything.

Thank you, babe, for the amazing person you are. Anyone who gets to know you is extremely lucky! You are a thoughtful, considerate, funny, caring man who has so much to give. You are the best daddy two little ones could ask for. Hope you have a very special day!!


I thought it might be fun to ask Mikayla a couple of questions she could answer about her daddy as a special little birthday surprise for him...

*Mikayla's answers are in red.

How old is Daddy? 4 (only off by 25 years)
What is Daddy's favorite color? black (not sure...I think it's blue)
What is Daddy's favorite food? pizza
What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? wrestle
What does Daddy say when he comes home from work? let's go outside
What is Daddy's favorite dessert? ice cream
Where does Daddy like to take you? at the park
What is Daddy's name? Ryan
What color of eyes does Daddy have? green (oops! they're actually blue)
What color of hair does he have? black (actually, brown)
What does Daddy like to do? play games with his friends
What does Daddy do at work? eat lunch (nice)
Who is Daddy's best friend? me, I'm his best friend
What does Daddy wear? "back to work" clothes
I love my daddy because I like him


Sidenote: After I was done asking her these questions, she said to me, "I want more magic words." Which, after asking her what that meant...she said she wanted me to ask her more questions. How cute!

And, just for daddy, here is a special birthday greeting from his little songbird...

blogger's block

Anybody else suffering from blogger's block? I'm having a tough time trying to come up with something creative, witty, or funny to share. I got nothin', I tell ya'! Nothin'! Not only am I suffering from what to write...I'm hitting a creative plateau (to my craft it forward ladies - your gift will come soon...I promise!!).

I'm hoping that this all passes real soon because I DO NOT LIKE IT!

But I do have lots of love for these blue eyed boys...



And this gorgeous girl is right up there with them...


And one just for Wordless Wednesday...

My husband's gonna love this! Kind of like when I shared this one.

Happy Wednesday!!
Hope you're all having a great week!

**And, don't forget you {still} have one more day to participate in the Monthly Craft Challenge - Ribbons! I'll be choosing the winner on Thursday evening and will share on Friday who the winner is and what the next challenge "assignment" will be. Thank you to all who joined in this month...I hope you felt inspired.

happy birthday daddy!

This is coming a day late, but Ryan celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday. I tried to do some fun things for him to help him feel loved on his special day...hopefully I succeeded! Love you, Babe! You are an amazing husband and daddy and we are so blessed to have you in our lives!

The morning started off with one of Ryan's favorites...blueberry coffeecake. I made it the night before because I knew that I probably wasn't going to get up early to do it. I joked with him that maybe when he turned 30 I would.

We surprised Ryan at work with a homemade smoothie in a cup that Mikayla helped decorate with crayons and stickers. She was very proud of her masterpiece and Ryan said he carried it back to his desk proudly.

For dinner we headed out to Busters BBQ where I told Ryan that he MUST get the ribs (he usually doesn't splurge on this, but it was his birthday for goodness sake!) On our way home, we picked up Baskin Robbins for dessert.

For Ryan's present, I made him a book about the "Top Ten Reasons We Love Our Dad" complete with pictures of the kids. I also got him a new wallet and a book to read with the kids.