conway

This weekend, we headed down to Central Arkansas to visit Jack and Kristy.  They moved to Conway in July so Kristy could go to grad school at UCA.  We LOVE Conway and this was our first time to visit the Branscum's new home.  The trip was way too short but we loved getting some time with Jack and Kristy!

 I LOVE the drive to Central Arkansas in the fall!  Isn't God so cool with all these colors?!?

 Hannah really enjoyed helping take Maggie out for a walk!  Such a big helper!

 The girls before the UCA game....all decked out in our purple!

Jason and I headed to the UCA Homecoming game Saturday night to see a few of his friends from college.  Have I ever mentioned Jason was in the band at UCA??  Well, this is what his Saturdays used to look like in college.... Ha!  I love trying to make fun of him for his band days but seriously, he mostly enjoyed it and he got a free ride to school so who can complain??  And if you ask him, he might even whip out the saxophone we still have. (Probably not, but it is worth a shot!)

UCA has the weirdest/coolest football field.  It takes a minute to get used to but I seriously didn't even notice the purple and gray stripes during the game!

 Do It Like A Big Bear! GRRRR! :)

Hannah got to stay and play with Uncle Jack and Aunt Kristy while we were at the game.  They played hard because when we got back from the game, Hannah was tired and ready for her first experience on a blow up mattress! Ha!  Such a big girl!

We had a great weekend with Jack and Kristy and can't wait to visit again!  Thanks for being such great hosts for a fun weekend!

weekend in oxford

Over the weekend, Jason and I were invited to go to the Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game in Oxford, Mississippi with our dear friends the Harris'. Flint runs a sports website so it's his job to go to college football games all season. It's always fun to get his perspective on everything going on in the college football world.

So we went to Memphis Friday night to stay with some of Flint's family before heading to Oxford for the game Saturday morning. Saturday morning we got up early and made the trek to Oxford, about 1.5 hours from Memphis. We ate an A-MAZING breakfast at The Beacon. Seriously, so. good. 

After filling our bellies, we went on to The Grove where everyone tailgates before Ole Miss games. It is honestly the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I SO wish we had something like this in Fayetteville! Tailgating is basically a way of life in Oxford. And these people go ALL out...from decorations to food to outfits, it was an experience!

 Kickoff was at 11 and the game wasn't pretty. What should've been an easy win for the Hogs became a battle but fortunately, they pulled off a win! So that definitely mad the trip more fun!

After the game, we went to this gas station that is famous for its "chicken on a stick." And that's exactly what it is: a chicken finger on a stick. Ha! It was pretty tasty though.

We then headed home.  It was a fun weekend and we are so thankful for Flint and Rebekah and their generous invitation to let us tag along.  We can't wait for another football road trip next year! :)

birthday girl!

Today was Hannah's actual birthday so we spent the day celebrating!  She and I had a fun day while Jason was at work before we had another little celebration just us tonight.
We started the day off with Hannah's first official haircut at Pigtails and Crewcuts.  Hannah loved it!  We've been cutting her bangs since she was about 6 months old but I could never bring myself to have her hair actually cut.  However, it has finally reached that mangled mess stage and a real cut was the only solution.

After getting her hair cut, we headed to Chick fil A for a little birthday lunch.  The staff even noticed her birthday shirt and added some special sprinkles to her ice cream.  I love Chick fil A for making everything so special for kids!

After lunch, we walked over to Toys R Us to browse the toys.  Maybe not the best idea since I had already purchased her birthday presents and she began walking down each aisle pointing out what she wanted.  Ha!  But we had fun and I got some Christmas present ideas. :)

She requested noodles for dinner.  Plain noodles, of course.

Hannah opened some presents:

 new silver Toms

  new Tickle Monster book

 and, her favorite toy, a new cash register

Then it was time for candles, singing and a cupcake.

And she received multiple phone calls throughout the day from aunts and grandparents.  She loves to talk on the phone and I'm sure I'll be seeing this picture a lot more in the coming years!

Then I got to cuddle and read a new book before bed to my THREE year old.  It is surreal and time is definitely going way too fast.

LOVE this little girl so much!

bee party details

So for Hannah's party we did a bee theme at Boingo Bounce!  It was so fun planning all the little details of this party and I think it turned out pretty cute! :)

 I love that the party room at Boingo Bounce looks like the outdoors...absolutely perfect for our bee theme!

 cute beehive cake courtesy of Rick's Bakery

 make your own lemonade water bottles

 black and gold cupcakes from Sam's

 yummy kid friendly snacks:

Honey Nut Cheerios

Honey Teddy Grahams

Honeycomb Cereal

 Honey Graham Crackers with Fruit Salsa (huge hit! I'll have to post this recipe!)

 Hot Honey Ham Sandwiches (another huge hit! recipe to follow)

 simple centerpieces: I created a tissue paper flower in a glass bowl and scattered Bit O Honey candies around each table

This party was SO fun to plan and even more fun to put together!  I loved brainstorming "honey" snacks for our guests and making everything black and gold!  Such an easy theme to use and my busy little bee loved it too so that definitely made this momma happy! :)

bee shirt courtesy of Gymboree

little lady

On Sunday, we had the entire family over for more celebrating!  Hannah's big gift was this thing that now takes up the majority of our backyard.  Ha!  But she LOVES it and I see us spending hours outside playing in this "playground"...as Hannah likes to call it. :)

The theme for this party was ladybugs for our little lady! :)

 

I LOVE this little gift bag that my sister made for the party! Perfect!

She also got this new little roller coaster ride from my grandparents.  Several of our friends have one and Hannah has always loved playing on it so I knew it would be hit.  And it was!  She giggles and runs like a crazy woman on this thing!

Opening presents....always Hannah's favorite part of any party!

Of course, we had to dig right in and start playing with EVERYTHING!

 

 playing with the Minnie Mouse house from with Khaki and Lynlee

a fishing for jewels princess game with Daddy...I'm not sure Jason knows what to do about all the pink princess things we have acquired in the last 24 hours! :)

My sister bought Hannah this magic princess oven and the little girl on the box has on a Cinderella dress so Hannah thought she needed her princess dress on too while she played with the oven.  Too cute!!

 

waving her magic wand to get the cake to rise

 and decorating the cake just right

It was so fun ending our birthday party weekend with family.  I am so thankful that we live so close to family and that Hannah will have the opportunity to really know her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents as she is growing up.  We are truly blessed!

busy bumble bee

On Saturday, we celebrated our busy little bee with a bumble bee themed party at Boingo Bounce!  It was a blast!  Hannah loved every second bouncing and playing with her friends.  We are so blessed with lots of great families and friends who love our little girl!  Jason and I couldn't be more thankful for those that took time out of their busy weekend to help us celebrate Hannah turning 3.

Hannah even sang "Happy Birthday" to herself! Ha! Seriously, this girl LOVES birthdays!

 I love these little girls and their mommies and I'm so thankful Hannah has such wonderful friends to grow up with!

These little boys keep us on our toes and make everything more fun!

Opening presents with a little audience and several helpers. :)

The girls loved all the fun princess stuff!  I see lots of playdates in princess dress up clothes in our near future with these little friends!

SO thankful for my family who came to help with Hannah's party!  Love them!

 

Can't believe my little girl is 3!  It's all going by way too fast!!!  But I love the look of joy in this picture...it makes all the stress and worry of party planning and having a 3 year old totally worth it! :)

(I'll do a post about all the party details soon!  I LOVED how everything turned out with touches of honey, yellow and black! :))