The heat is on...

Our furnace has finally kicked in for the season. Hence, the happy fat cat hogging the heat straight from the vent.

Palm Desert

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to get away with 4 of my girlfriends. We left really early on Thursday morning and flew down to Palm Desert for a weekend of relaxation. It was such a blessing. We relaxed in the pool (it was 110 degrees and therefore we couldn't sit by the pool... we had to be in it.), we tried to read, did a little shopping, ate great food (including a trip to In-N-Out Burger), one of us did Karaoke, and we laughed a ton.

Thanks girls, for a wonderfully refreshing time! Can't wait to do it again!

And.... thanks to my incredible husband who worked his tail off at home while I was enjoying my time away. My sister called me at one point to tell me what an amazing job Sean was doing! I am so blessed... my cup overflows.

This is what I came home to on late Sunday evening.... I immediately burst into tears when I pulled into the driveway :)

My new favorite indulgence...

Here it is.... my new favorite indulgence. (Thanks Maegan!!!) I like to refer to it as "a chocolate covered pretzel in a cup".

Starbucks Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate
This delicious sweet and salty combination brings together our rich, indulgent Signature Hot Chocolate and the flavors of buttery caramel and smoked sea salt. It is topped with whipped cream, a swirl of caramel and a sprinkle of our sea salt topping - a combination of artisan sea salt and Turbinado sugar from Hawaii.

If you are like me... and you like the combination of salty and sweet, then you need to get in the car, right now, and go to your nearest Coffee Giant and try this. Come on, you know there is one just up the street. And if that one is too busy, then just go to the one on the next corner.

Be sure to let me know if you try it!

So much to blog about.... so little time!

Okay, so I could probably find the time. Maybe it's lack of motivation!

Here are some posts I need to work on:

1. My weekend away in Palm Springs with girlfriends.
2. My incredible husband.
3. The weekend we spent at the Iverson's lake house
4. More pictures from Bella Beach
5. My amazing husband.
6. A new favorite indulgence.

Okay, you get the picture. I'll get crackin'.

The tour.

Check out my sister's blog to see what we (mom, grandma, sister and I) did on Saturday night!

It was SO fun!

The First Day of Preschool...

Monday was a big day around here.... it was Reagan's first day of Preschool! She has been waiting for this day for quite some time--- and it was finally time! Reagan was more than ready to be in school and needless to say, she had the best time! We are so excited for this new step and to watch her grow and learn.


The best part.... when we picked her up and asked what her favorite part was... she said (with great enthusiasm) "Mommy! I got to have a snack!" It's the simple things, I guess.


We love you Reagan and are SO proud of you!

Her breakfast choices... cereal, yogurt and a smoothie. She ate a total of 5 bites. Too excited to eat!

Check out my new backpack!!

Seriously Mom? More pictures?In front of the school...

There she goes!

Breakfast with the Princesses... P-town Style.

Our local Parks & Rec Department hosted a "Breakfast with the Princesses" this last weekend. Reagan had no idea where we were going until we walked in the door. The look on her face was priceless. We left Ian with Papa so Sean and I could treat her to this special morning.

We took pictures with the princesses, ate breakfast, made a craft (a magic wand, of course) and we danced. It was very special...

Shoot. She can spell.

We were in the car the other day and Sean and I were talking about what it would be like to have a dog (I would rather not, Sean would love to). I said jokingly "If we got a puppy, Smooches (our very protective cat) would try to k-i-l-l it! (If you didn't catch that, I spelled the word "kill" so Reagan wouldn't hear me say it.). From the backseat, Reagan says " Mommy! Why would Smooches try to kill the dog?!"

Dang. Maybe teaching her to spell isn't such a good idea.

Bella Beach Part 1

Here are some pics from the first 2 days of our vacation to the Oregon Coast. We got here on Wednesday and are having a blast! We LOVE it here!

It is only the end of day 2 and I've taken 215 pictures already.... so believe me when I say this is just a sampling! :)

Tomorrow is shopping day for the girls! YAY!

Ring....ring.....ring....

Last night after putting the kids to bed, Sean couldn't find his cell phone anywhere. We decided that the easiest way (duh) was to call his phone from mine and listen for the ring. We'd be sure to find it, right? We kept hearing the faintest ring, but couldn't find it. So we kept calling and calling.... until finally it dawned on me. I was hearing the ring through Ian's monitor. It must have fallen out of Sean's pocket when he put Ian to bed. Sean tip-toed into Ian's room to get the phone, hoping it hadn't woken him up. The picture below is what he found when he got into Ian's room. Apparently he had fallen asleep in the middle of a very important conversation. We laughed really, really hard.... and we couldn't believe that he slept through our many calls attempting to find the phone. It was literally ringing in his ear!!!

(and... yes, he sleeps with all of those animals. No matter where they are in the bed when we leave the room, they end up circling his head as he sleeps. Hey, whatever works, right?!)