Five on Friday: What We've Been Up To Lately

Happy Friday!
Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

One

A couple weekends ago we had our neighborhood block party and it was so much fun! A fire-truck came and McGruff the Crime Dog stopped by as well. We had food and fun with all of our neighborhood friends!

Two

 This past weekend, Jackson, Jake and several of the neighborhood dads and sons went camping together at one of our neighbors family property. They were able to swim and fish and have a great time. This was Jackson's first time ever camping!

Three

Avery had her first soccer "game" of the season this past weekend. I put game in parenthesis because it's really more of a practice than a game, but they call them games. She did okay. The first half was doing drills and then the second half they play a little scrimmage game. She was shy and didn't do much running, but she got out there. There were a few times when Jake or I would go out on the field with her and run around with her to get her moving and she did good as long as we were out there. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it and learn to enjoy it more soon... I hope. ;-)

Four

Last Tuesday night, Avery's pre-school sponsored LECE night at the Magic House! We went last year too and it's always such a fun night. That night the Magic House is only open for the Lindbergh Early Childhood kids and it's so fun for the kids to see their friends and teachers there.

Five

I have been super busy with Storybook Photography Lately. My busy season has officially started. Its such a blessing to have this little side business of mine. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

Have a great weekend!

Our Weekend

It was a great weekend for us! I hope you all had a great weekend too!

I'll start with Friday afternoon. My boss gave us a long lunch so I decided to surprise Jackson and go have lunch with him at school! He was so surprised when I walked up at the playground. He was not expecting to see me at all!

Then that night we had a movie night at Jackson's school, so we went with our neighbors to that. They showed Boss Baby outside on the lawn. It was such a nice night and everyone had a great time.

Jake was out of town all from Thursday morning until around noon on Sunday on a golf trip so it was just the kids and I. We spent Saturday cleaning and running some errands and then I had a photo session that evening. Then that night we went to dinner with my mom and dad and aunt and uncle at San Jose near our house. It was a beautiful night to sit out on the patio.

Sunday we got up and went to church and then we had Jake's family over for a September Birthdays get-to-gether. We have 3 September birthdays so we celebrated them all with BBQ and swimming (for the ones brave enough to get in the freezing cold water). 

I was off work yesterday as well, so while the kids were at school, I went to get some work done on my car and ran another errand before picking Avery up from preschool. Then she and I did some shopping and took Hunter to the vet for a nail trim.

Then we went back home to pick Jackson up at the bus stop. A little while later, I took Avery to her first dance class at Charmette. She did great, but was a little shy doing some of the movements. I'm sure she'll come out of her shell a little more as she gets used to it. It's a large class so it might take some getting used to for her.

Avery is at the very end in this picture, closest to the wall.

After dance class we ate a quick dinner and then we went outside to play with our neighbor friends for a little while before it was time to get ready for bed.

It was another jam packed weekend full of fun!

Labor Day Weekend

I hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend. We sure did! It was jam-packed full of fun!

Friday night, we went out to dinner at Smugala's with our neighbors across the street. It was a beautiful evening so we sat outside on the patio and the kids had a great time playing and eating dinner together. :-)

Then Saturday, we got up and met my Dad's side of the family for our annual Family Picnic at Rend Lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and our pavilion was right on the lake so it was beautiful. We BBQ'd and had so much great food and fun. It was so nice to see family I don't see very often. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins outside all day!



Then Sunday, the kids and I went to my sister's church since Jackson's been begging to go there. My nephews love their class at church and had been telling Jackson all about it. So he finally got to visit and he was so excited!! It was a wonderful service and we all enjoyed it.

Then after church, Jake and his brothers took their kids to see The Goonies at the movie theater. A theater in St. Charles has been showing a few old classic movies on Sunday afternoons for $5 during the Summer. So they decided to all go and take the kids. Avery was a little bit too young and I didn't think she'd care to see that movie so she and I went to lunch at Mod Pizza and then went and got her new Tap Shoes for dance class that starts next week. Then we also took some library books back and got a few new ones to read.

After we were done with all of that and Jake and Jackson got home, we had decided to spend the evening at Six Flags. Six Flags is running their annual flash sale on Season Passes so Jake and I decided to get them for our family since we all seem to enjoy it so much. So the kids were super excited to get to go back and spend a few hours there Sunday evening.

Then yesterday, Jake played golf in the morning while I did laundry and cleaned the house. Later in the day we had my sister and her family over and our neighbors over for a little swim party. It was a really fun day!

I hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend.


**Just a quick reminder... only a couple more days to get your entries in to win a free 16x20 Canvas Factory Canvas. Click here to enter!! **

Friday Five

Happy Friday!
Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

One

I have a Canvas Factory Giveaway going on right now and I'd love for you to enter for a chance to win a 16x20 canvas for free! Just click here to enter.

Two

I recently had a sign party that was so much fun! You just plan a little get-together for you and at least 10 of your friends. You all choose your own sign ahead of time, from the many options they have, and then she brings everything to the party that you'll need to make the sign. It was with Mommy's Design Farm here in St. Louis. Check them out if you live in the area. Here's a picture of a sign I made at a party I went to back in May and a picture of the sign I made at my party a couple weeks ago. It was SO much fun!

Three

A few weeks ago I signed Avery up for Dance at a studio near our house. Over the Summer we had her in a little dance class at our city community center just to see if she'd like it. She LOVED it, so we decided to sign her up at a real dance studio. Her beginner class is every Monday evening from 5-6 p.m. and they'll have a recital in June. I'm so excited for her!! They had a special sign-ups event earlier in August where we could check out the studio. They had some of the Disney Princesses there and Captain America. They also had face painting and other little activities for the kids. Such a fun studio and I can't wait for Avery to start on Sept. 11th!

Four

The weather here has been cooling down some and it's been really pretty outside. I decided to take a nice long walk yesterday on my lunch hour and saw this pretty butterfly!

Five

With Jackson having lost 2 teeth now, I was thrilled when I saw that a woman on a local craft Facebook page was making these little personalized tooth fairy bags for only $5! I went ahead and ordered one for each of the kids. They are so much cuter than the plastic baggie we've been using. Ha. You can check her Facebook page out here.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone and Happy September!