More gifts!

After the fun Sunday night of a surprise dinner and gifts, we headed to Dayton on Monday.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to meet up with Valinda like we'd hoped, but did get to see both of Jarrod's old managers, visit his old club, and get together for a brief visit with Tori.  Of course, I didn't take my camera in so I have to wait for Tori to send me pics of our visit.  Gavin had so much fun playing with Zoe and I had so much fun holding her chunk, Jack.  

After Dayton, we headed to Travis and Ashley's for LaRosa's (YUM!) and to open presents with Jarrod's family.  Once again, Gavin left very spoiled.  I think you'll notice in these pictures that the boy is still OBSESSED with Thomas! 

 Hugs for everyone!  (except Uncle Travis - we missed him because 

he and Daddy were down in the basement talking guns...)

The beginning of the gifts...

I can't believe how many gifts Gavin received last week!  He is such a loved little boy.  

On Sunday, after Sara left, my whole family left for what I thought was a sports banquet, and Jarrod and I headed to Pomodori's for dinner.  Well, we showed up to find everyone already there waiting for us!  He'd planned a surprise dinner with both of our families as a mini-celebration for the success I've had with Tastefully Simple here.  How sweet is he???  It was nice to have everyone in the same room!

When we got home, we decided to do some gifts.  Gavin opened gifts from my parents and Rose and Sandy, and we let Ty and Bri open their gifts.  He was so excited to open them all!

Finally!!!  He got Alfie the Excavator (from Thomas).

He got some really cool gifts that night.  Personalized books (with his name, his friends' names, address, etc.), an iXL game, a Tag Jr., Toy Story dress up clothes, cooking utensils and an apron, and so many more!  

And that was just the beginning - we still had to do gifts with Jarrod's family and Megan and Kyle!  Wow!

Visit with Sara

Time to start blogging our trip!  We arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday, and ended up having such a fun night!  We played cards and laughed more than I've laughed in a loooong time!  Gotta love having a crazy family!  It was great.

Then, on Sunday, Sara was able to come visit for a few hours.  It was so nice to see her.  We hung out with Gavin for a little bit, but once he was down for his nap we were able to sneak away for lunch. 

 Afterward, we took advantage of the gorgeous November weather and took Gavin to Ault Park.  The kid loves to swing!  Daddy and Beepa took turns pushing him.  :)

Photos from Sunday night to come....

Back after a long break!

After spending nearly a week visiting family, we're back and into the swing of things.  I have so many pictures to post and things to share, so it will be a busy week of catching up.  First, I wanted to share a couple pics I took the night before we left.  Gavin was being so silly!  

First, I wanted him to keep busy while I finished packing, so I hung his backpack on the door and asked him to pick a few toys he wanted to take with him on our trip.  He filled it to the max!  I couldn't even zip it up, so I had to do some eliminating when he wasn't looking.  

 Then, I heard him yelling for help from the bathroom, and when I went in he said he needed his toothbrush.  I asked why, and he said because he needed to brush Mr. Potato Head's teeth.  How cute is he?

Journal Jars by Jen

Notice the new Journal Jars by Jen tab at the top of the blog...I've decided to put a hold on the Etsy page for a while because to be quite honest, I just wasn't spending enough time over there to promote items, etc.  So for now, I'll add new pics here on my blog when I make some and if you're interested in ordering any, just email me or comment on the blog.  Jars are $15 and I have an 'Original' for women, a Teen Girl Jar and a New Mom Jar.  


Thanks!

Tot School and Craft Time with Mommy

It's been a while since I did a Tot School post and we've been doing so many crafts so I'm combining them all into one....Lots of photos below!

 Here are some things we did at the end of October for Halloween:

 And more recent things for Thanksgiving, including a new sensory tub!

 I made him and Gracie a Thanksgiving matching game with pictures of Pilgrims, turkeys, cornucopias, the Mayflower, etc.  And we're starting to work on writing letters!

Fun with a batch of homemade playdough 

I got the idea on the right from another blog, My Sweet Chaos.  He hammered golf tees into one of those green styrofoam things that you use for flower arrangements and LOVED it! 

 Community helper matching game we did on the felt board to show people we're thankful for.

Thankful Thursday

One more week until Thanksgiving (and in our case, our first Christmas celebration, too!)

Just some random things I'm thankful for...

...chocolate, Crocs, hot tea and yummy creamer flavors, Archer Farms fruit strips (since some days, they are the only way to get Gavin to eat fruit), our Walmart discount card, Christmas lights, my pillow, coupons, our fenced yard, our jetted tub, my camera, Huggies flushable wipes, leftover Halloween candy, Friends DVDs....