Family Vaycay!

This weekend we went with The Farmer's fam to Arnold's Park, IA and stayed at the Bridges Bay Resort on East Lake Okoboji! It has an indoor water park, which the all the kids loved! 

McCoy's fave was riding on the lazy river with The Farmer. Merritt's favorite was everything! That child loves a "little house" and adored the "pool!" All the kids got along great and had a big time! 

Being a non-water-loving-gal (ha!), I enjoyed having extra hands to help, getting a little time to read (Shopaholic to The Rescue), not having to cook, and getting to play Ticket to Ride (love that game!) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! :)





























It was really great to get away and coming home to most of the snow melted was fab!! Here's to an easy stress free week...but first to unpack!! :)

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This and That!

Happy Friday! Just had a little break from packing and I thought I would share some pics :)

Found this fun feather banner at Target, not sure I'm in love with it, but it matches my bedding perfectly!

My MOPS secret sister is the BEST!! All my favorites! So excited to try out the pens in my planner! :)

This little nut is obsessed with shoes/boots!

I got both the boys these shoes for Easter/spring and McCoy insists on wearing them all the time! :)


Hope yall have a great weekend! High of 55 tomorrow!! Woohoo!!! 

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What's Up Wednesday!



What we are eating this week? Pulled pork sandwiches, pulled pork nachos, tacos, chili mac, and white chicken chili!

What we've been up to? Preschool, Kindermusik, and enjoying the nicer weather...while it lasted!

What I'm reminiscing about? Spring! I LOVE when the weather finally warms up after a long winter! So nice to go outside and play and not have to put a million layers on to leave the house, not to mention slipping and slopping through the snow and ice everywhere you go! Oh Spring, where are you?!?! :)

What I'm loving? 
-You have to try these Cambell's slow cooker sauces, SOO easy and super yummy! They have them for pork and chicken too.
-It's sad, but true...Robitussin is very high on my love list this month! 
-Have yall tried adult coloring books yet?? They are so fun and relaxing! Perfect activity for me when my boys are coloring/crafting! 
-This alarm clock (Kid'sleep Globtrotter - from Amazon) we got for Merritt is so fabulous. He was coming in to my room around 5:00 every morning and yall know that is just to early for this Momma! ha! Now he knows he can come in when the little sheep wakes up! I set it for 6:45, and I think he might sit up and watch for it to change since he is jumping in my bed every morning at 6:45 on the dot! hehe! 
-HyVee Aisles Online had to make an appearance on the love list...yall, it is simply fabulous! I live to far for them to deliver, but just the convenience of staying in the car, why they load up my groceries, that I shopped for in the comfort of my own home, is nothing short of amazing!! LOVE it!! :)

What I'm Dreading? Cleaning up my bedroom...i think my "dreading question" always involves cleaning something! ha! It has just really gotten away from me since Christmas...I have a real problem hanging my clothes back up and unpacking after a trip! Blah! It's easier to just shut the door! 
Lets just pretend it looks like this all the time ;)

What I'm excited about? June! Only three more months! We are going on our annual pilgrimage to Mississippi and I can't wait! As always, we will be in horse show mode most of the time...but hoping to fit in a mini beach trip (Merritt has been asking to go...not sure if he remembers going or just knows there is lots of sand there! ha!), for sure a New Orleans visit, and who knows what else?!?! Stay tuned! :)

What I'm watching/reading? Downton, The Middle, Modern Family, Scandal, Parenthood (we have been trying to watch this for ages, but only on season 3), final season of Mad Men... really looking forward to Fuller House and House of Cards to start streaming on Netflix!


What I'm listening to? The Wicked soundtrack! I'm planning to take my niece this summer, so I have been trying to re-learn all the songs!! Can't wait!!

What I'm wearing? I dressed up a little more this month (mainly while at the Black Hills Stock Show) I have some pics, but they aren't that great, and you really can't see the outfits! Sorry :)
-Loving this navy/yellow/pink fair isle-ish print sweater.
-I thought this fur, polka dot, turquoise jewelry combo was super cute for a night at the rodeo.
-I picked up this black and white tribal print sweater at Target in December, love it so comfy!
-I have had this fur trimmed cardi from Loft for ages, love it paired with this western-esque outfit.
-Got the cute printed top from Zulily last month, so fun! I wore it to my last MOPS meeting with a navy cardi and long coral tassel necklace, but forgot to snap a pick!

What I'm doing this weekend? Family Vaycay! We are headed to an indoor water park..hoping to beat these winter blues!

What I'm looking forward to next month? Spring/Easter! Already planning the boys Easter egg hunts, I love this, and so do they! I have one regular hunt with fun simple prizes in the eggs, then we also have a glow-in-the dark hunt at night!! Merritt has decided that McCoy gets to do the night one this year too, so I am on the search for anything that glows! hehe! I already have everything for their Easter baskets, so I am feeling very prepared!! We are also looking forward to Merritt starting his first swimming lessons in March (for 5 weeks), so that should be fun! He is soo excited!

What else is new? I got to do a little sewing this month...it has been awhile, so it was nice to do a fun little project!
Merritt and McCoy have recently become big fans of PJ Masks on Disney, and when I showed Merritt these dress-up masks, he said, "please please please make them Mommy!!" How do you say no to that!?!? They turned out super cute! Merritt got Cat Boy and McCoy got Gecko...although I couldn't get him to pose for a pic :)

What is your favorite Easter Tradition? I guess this would be dyeing eggs, I always LOVED this as a child and now I adore doing it with my kids!! Also love our glow in the dark hunt, so fun!  


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Baking Cabinet, Revisited!

I have been meaning to get my baking cabinet organized since we moved in, two years ago! I just couldn't decide how to do it, so instead, I shoved everything in and forgot about it... until I went to bake and everything fell out on top of me!!

I had gotten some cute teal organizers in hopes they would work for this project! It's not perfect, but it is sooo much better than it was!!

The pictures below are of my baking cabinet at our old house in town, I loved it because it really showed off my big glass jars....but the cabinet at the new house is more narrow and long, so it just didn't work! (blog post here)




This is the new baking cabinet, that also houses my canned goods. I forgot to take a before pic, but just know it was bad..hehe!! :)


 The top portion holds specialty cake pans and decorating tools on the first shelf. 


The middle shelf is for cake mixes/icing, oatmeal, extra peanut butter (that I keep just for baking), and all of my cookie cutters (they were in three of those big glass jars, which I loved, but it was just taking up too much space. Now they all fit in one big teal bucket/bin). I re-purposed the glass jars in my laundry area to hold Tide pods and dryer sheets! Very cute!


The bottom shelf holds my most used, baking chips/candies (I had soo many baking chips, because I never knew what I had on hand, good thing they have a long shelf life!), along with marshmallows, brown/powdered sugars, and all my sprinkles in the two red stackable bins!


 This is the bottom half of the cabinet. Canned goods are on the top two shelves, and the rest of my baking stuff is on the last shelf.


The front bin is full of icing and candy melts, the middle bin has all my cake decorating supplies and food coloring, the back bin keeps all my cupcake liners in one spot! 

Hoping this will stay organized, and I wont be pelted by flying baking supplies when I open this cabinet from now on!! :)


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