framing our artwork.

we had three empty frames hanging on the wall.

solution = each of us draw an animal, color it, sign your artwork, and frame that baby.

it felt as if cheez-its were necessary for our art time...gray agreed.

my parents gifted us this awesome fold-up blanket that we use all of the time - beach, picnics, living room art sessions, etc.

and grandma millie gave gray that cool, crayon concoction - who wouldn't love to have that many color options?!

pretty sure i enjoy the color options the most out of the three of us.

gray is all,

 'i need red, not razzmatazz' 

'kassie, could you please give me a blue crayon?'

i hand him a blue crayon.

 'well, it's not blue, it's wild blue yonder. can you find me the one that says just blue?'

can we briefly talk about how beautiful this next picture of gray is?

i mean, look at those eyelashes. 

love.

juice test.

gray had this brilliant idea where we would all participate in a juice test.

he had been mentioning this idea for a couple of days, so we finally pulled the juicer out.

gray searched the fridge for fruits and vegetables and then got down to business.

he likes to do his serious business while wearing just underwear.

stepping stool made by my dad specially for mister gray :)

now, for the finished products:

gray did not hesitate one bit before trying any of the juices...this is a very big feat - his taste buds/palate/openness to trying foods has grown leaps and bounds. it's awesome.

now, for a bit of a picture overload:

 

 

 

the verdict, agreed on by all:

the best, most tasty: carrot juice

the worst, least tasty: pickle juice (which was a juiced pickle, not just pickle juice from the jar)

Gray's UN-Birthday

Gray has a summer birthday.

His teacher assigned him an un-birthday during the school year, so he could celebrate with his classmates in the classroom.

Gray's un-birthday = May 6th.

Gray's real birthday = July 5th.

I'm going to be in North Dakota for his real birthday, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate early.

Gray was surprised and could not stop smiling...my favorite.

Every single party we have in this house ends up as a dance party...I'm pretty sure it's because of Dusty.
He associates parties with dancing.

And Gray loves it, as do I.

He always gets the giggles. 

Muscle flexing per Dusty's request.

Always per Dusty's request.

 There has also become a mutual understanding that there are no rules on party days.
I once told Gray this at a little party we had a while back and he has not forgotten.
I can just see his little brain working, trying to figure out what he should do since there are no rules...he struggles with this which I think is a good thing :)
He usually comes up with trying to get away with eating as many cupcakes as he can (we limit it to two).

And then tries for a 'no bath' night. A bath is always needed after a full day of school and then playing outside at camp for two hours.
He's unsuccessful at this request.

So, I suppose there are rules on party days, but he still gets to feel like there are not.
We stay up a little later.
It's okay if he jumps on the couch or really on anything.
We act sillier than normal.
If he suggests we blow up the air mattress and have a movie night, we do it. And we make popcorn while we're at it.
We have his favorite snacks on hand.
He drinks Sprite instead of water.
We make a point to have extra amounts of fun on party days.

Ever since our outdoor picnic, Gray has been requesting indoor and outdoor picnics.

So, an indoor picnic was to be had!
Gray now associates picnics with drawing because of our last one, and boy did we draw.

Case in point on the bath thing: do you see his hand/fingernails in the above picture?
Bath is ALWAYS needed.

Here are a couple of visuals of the drawings:

 I drew too, but these two decided to draw the same thing every time, which makes them more photo worthy.

Dusty thought the drawing above needed to be more exciting and mission was successful when the drawing made Gray laugh :)

Gray means business when he gets down to his underwear:

And the crayon behind his ear?
That means super-business.

Happy Un-Birthday, Mr. Gray.
I love you.



long weekend. thankful.

i'm really looking forward to the four day weekend.

mostly because that means dusty and i get to be together all of those days.

 

we have a bit of separation anxiety.

spending the day apart while working? neither of us like it.

what's that...you're running to the store? i'll come with you.

now, don't get me wrong. i'm pretty sure i need alone time more than anyone.

but, being apart for more than a couple of hours is not our jam.

i know, it's ridiculous.

i hope it doesn't ever change though.

 

now, i made a list of options for possible activities to fill our weekend:

+ miniature golf

+ driving range

+ walks in our favorite neighborhoods

+ work on diy christmas presents

+ board games

+ hub stacey's for their yummy french dip sandwiches

+ garage sales/thrift stores

+ bonfire

+ hot tub

+ and of course, watch movies

 

before we can get started on our list, we will be preparing and hosting thanksgiving dinner.

i will be making a turkey for the first time.

wish me luck, and lots of it.
i'm also making a pumpkin pie, which will be the first pie i've ever made.
i would buy one that was already made, but dusty's mom gifted me a pretty pie plate that i have yet to use, so, now is the time.
the pumpkin pie will be made with a pre-made crust, fyi.

 dusty will be making his famous mashed potatoes with packet gravy and boxed dressing will be served.
oh, and canned cranberries were also a request...and warm dinner rolls are my favorite, so those will be on the menu.
chips and dip (made in crockpot) = appetizer
alright, well now you know what we will be serving.
that was not my intention, but it happened.
 

we will be missing everyone in north dakota very much, but thankfully we will be home soon for christmas.

so excited! 

 

also on the list for the weekend, counting our blessings.

happy thanksgiving!



Friday Five - Vol. 4

1. Remember that wedding we were supposed to go to last weekend?

Well, we may have been a little irresponsible and skipped it.

And instead, we may have stopped and picked up a small crock pot, meatballs, wieners, snacks, and orange soda so that we could veg out in the hotel all night.

Now, don't get me wrong, I was really looking forward to the wedding, but it sure was fun to feel like we were having our own little getaway...and I love me some hotel time.

2.  Abby Singer.

Abby Singer will be staying with us for the summer (possibly longer)...her mommy moved into a place where dogs aren't allowed, so she will be gracing us with her presence for awhile.

My feelings on this are still up in the air.

I love Abby Singer very much, but she can still get on my nerves like no other.

3.  Gray and I made these together...

He thought it was really fun, but then when it came to using them in his drink?

He tried it one time and never again.

4.  Word on the street is that Gray has never lost while playing the Memory game...the street being Gray's mouth.

Dusty was ready to test it...which involved the making of a Memory game since we somehow do not own one.

The verdict?

The word on the street is not always true.

He could beat his daddy, but not me. 

 Am I supposed to let little ones win?

I don't know...maybe, but it's just so haaarrrdddd.

When you know exactly where the match is, it's near impossible to not pick it up...anyone else feel this way?

5.  We have a little game going that involves hiding the scale.

The scale is evil, so we put it out of sight.

Gray's most recent hiding spot:

The microwave.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Since Dusty's passion is filmmaking and all things cinema, we watch a lot of movies at our house.

Occasionally, Gray gets in on this action.

And when it involves movie night with Gray, we like to hype it up.

We all put our pj's on, crawl into bed with popcorn bowls in hand, occasionally a few starbursts or gummy worms thrown in there too, and we watch the movie together.

Gray loves movie nights.

He watches every single minute of the movie...his eyes never leave the screen.

Maybe he will take after his Daddy :)

Enjoying the weather while I still can.

I've been loving going for walks lately...making sure to appreciate the current weather.

Being the experienced Alabama resident that I am (wink), I know that right around the corner is when the ungodly hot and humid weather will be among us.

I'm hoping I will handle it better this year, but it's unlikely.

Beach walks are my favorite.

Each time I go to the beach, I swear it's prettier than the last time.

My second favorite place to walk is the trail by our house.

It goes on for miles...and it makes me happy.
It's the little things.

Silly Saturdays - Vol. 7

Silly Saturdays - Volume 7.

Volume 7? Amazing! We are on a roll.

Dusty and I had a date day on Saturday (more to come on that)...anyway, our photo was taken during our date:

True love ♥
(Do you like my earrings?  They are red with white polka dots and so awesome :) If you would like, you can purchase a pair for yourself, or for someone else for only $8 right here: www.kgkproducts.etsy.com)

Silly pics:

I hope y'all are having a great weekend!

Silly Saturdays - Vol. 6

Well, this week I am five days late on posting about Silly Saturday  - please forgive me.

AND to top it off, I didn't even participate this week - please forgive me again.

I suppose this just means I'm going to have to really bring it this Saturday.

Luckily, Gray was in the spirit:

Can you find him?

My wonderful family was sending me silly pictures even without me prompting...

xoxo

I will see y'alls silly faces again in t-2 days...yes!



Indoor Camping

I think indoor camping just might be better than outdoor camping.

Climate control, everything is at your disposal, and no animals/creatures creeping around.

Gray didn't miss a beat when Dusty suggested camping in the living room.

He heard the word 'tent' and was off to get it out of the shed.

Teamwork at its finest:

Gray was quite the delegator:

"Daddy, you get the blankets. Kassie, you get the ice cream. I'll get the pillows."

 The result of trying to get Gray to smile for the camera:

Indoor camping really does rock.

We all snuggled up in the tent and watched a movie - we came to the conclusion that this indoor camping thing will be happening a lot more often.