Last Weekend

Last weekend my parents came in to town for the first time since Easter! The kids were pretty excited to spend time with them. Jonathan and my dad worked on breaking in his new Father's Day tools (working on building new pantry shelves!) and my mom and I enjoyed the kids playing outside in water (after she and I had an awesome clothes shopping trip.)

Sprinkler Fun! It's so hot out that the only way to spend time outside is to play in water!

Cayden loves hats and this bucket filled the bill.

Adalyn had to try out the bucket hat too.

What's better than one bucket-hat? TWO bucket hats!

Of course we had to do a photo-op before church on Sunday.

I love how much my parents love my kids and how much my kids love my parents! We are so blessed. I just wish we lived closer so they could spend time together more than once every 5 or 6 weeks.

Family picture.

We also had a race last weekend that my parents were able to watch the kids for so Jonathan could race sans stroller. That will have to be another post!  We had a great weekend with my parents and were sad to see them go. As always.

My First Vox Box!

So for a couple years, I've seen Jonathan receive random boxes of products to review. They were always men's products like shaving gel, deodorant, face wash, etc. so I never thought to ask if they had female products. I was reading Abby's blog a few months ago and she had gotten her first Vox Box and it looked so cool that I went and signed up for an Influenster account. I came home and told Jonathan about it and he told me that's what he's been receiving for years and asked why didn't I use his link to sign up so he'd get credit. Ha!

There's lots more to Influenster than their free product boxes so I clicked around and gave some product reviews until I was finally selected to receive my first Vox Box full of (free) products to try out and review! I was selected the TLC Vox Box for Mom's. I was pretty excited to open my box and see what was in it!

The thing I was most excited about was the coupon for FREE Breyers Gelato Indulgences ($4.49-$5.99). I had just told Jonathan (after watching one of the many commercials for it) how much I wanted to try the Gelato. I got the Caramel flavor and oh my. It is quite delicious! The container is super small but it's so rich that you don't eat much per serving. Ok, now I want to go eat a few spoonfuls of it:)

Neosporin Neo To Go ($4.97-$7.50). Of course in the couple weeks before receiving this box, Adalyn had a few pretty serious scrapes/cuts and had between one and three band-aids each day. We were using Neosporin on her cuts but when we got this box she had just healed up and thankfully we haven't had a need for the Neo to Go since then! I'm excited to try the spray since we usually use the regular ointment. I have it waiting on the kitchen counter because I figure we'll need it soon with how much the kids are playing outdoors.

Ivory Bar Soap ($3.99 for a 10 pack). I grew up using Ivory Bar Soap so I am a fan. I'm happy to have this to keep in our guest bathroom shower! Ivory smells so fresh!

Puffs to Go ($.49). I have horrible seasonal allergies. I am so over it! You can pretty much always find a Puffs to Go pack in my purse thanks to my allergies. There are certain things that I have to have specific brands and one of those things is Puffs. Don't go buying me Kleenex brand tissues. They are worthless. I only can use Puffs with Lotion!

AVON Anew Reversalist Express Wrinkle Smoother ($30). I was excited to try this since I am self-conscious of the lines that are showing up around my eyes. (Thanks to my 30's and 2 kids!) Honestly I've only used this one day. The day I used it, every single time I looked in the mirror at work, it looked like I had raccoon eyes and like my eye make-up had melted down my face. I don't know if it's the creamy texture of the product or what the problem is. I plan to give it one more chance in case I was just having a bad make-up day that day. (Although I use all Mac products and never have issues with my eye make-up running.) I've been afraid to give it a second try just because I don't want to look like Alice Cooper at work again.

Shell Fuel Rewards Card. Can I be honest? I opened my box and saw this card and I got so super excited that it was a free gas card. (Even $5 would have made my day!) But Jonathan looked closer at it and told me it was a rewards card. BOO! What a let down. I know using it allows you to earn free gas (like $.25/gallon off on your first fill up.) But we use Kroger gas with our Kroger points and the last time Jonathan filled up, he had $.50/gallon off. So we're not interested in using Shell when we're happy with Kroger.

All in all, it was a fun box and I hope I get selected for future Vox Boxes!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband and my sweet daddy! Our day on Sunday was a bit busy but we made time for Jonathan to open gifts! I tried to get a picture of my family in their coordinating clothes before church but I couldn't get a picture of everyone looking and smiling. They are cute anyway though:)

After church and lunch at Noodles & Co Jonathan opened his gift. (He opened a card and book from the kids before church.) Cayden wasn't feeling sitting still for a picture.

 Sweet girl is looking so old!

 Cayden was having fun running around being crazy.

 Sweet boy. I can eat him up! I just love that one tiny little freckle on his cheek.

 Helping daddy open his present.

 What dad doesn't love power tools?

It wasn't a relaxing Father's Day for Jonathan but that's the season of life we're in. We got to enjoy each other and the kids this weekend and that's what matters. I really appreciate what an amazing daddy Jonathan is to my babies.

Memorial Day - More Pictures

I prematurely published my previous Memorial Day post. I looked in my phone today and realized that I had forgotten a bunch of cute pictures. So of course I have to post them:)

Adalyn and Cayden having fun with their new friends.

On Monday at the picnic, while the boys were playing baseball my cousin Julia took all of the younger girls for a walk in the park. She got a ton of precious pictures of the girls together.

 Seriously. I love that Adalyn just picked up and played with my cousins' girls even though she only sees them about twice a year. Can you tell how much she loved them?

My kids love horsey rides from my dad. Every child in our extended family has loved horsey rides from my dad:) He's quite known for them. Of course both kids wanted a horsey ride at the same time so of course he obliged.

 One last picture before we had to say goodbye.

Memorial Day Weekend

It has taken me a sweet forever to find the time and energy to write a post about the rest of Memorial Day weekend! Such is life these days... sigh. After we spent the day at the Zoo on Friday, we decided to just hang around my parents' house on Saturday and relax and let the kids play outside. They love having 100% of Nana and Papa's attention!

My parents love working in their yard and their yard and gardens are beautiful so playing outside is a treat. We could only wish we had a yard half that amazing. (Ours is a steep hill in the back.) They of course had to spoil the kids with toys. They gave Adalyn a fun Princess bubble blower and Cayden a bubble blowing lawn mower. He was serious about it. Serious.

 This was precious. He really thought he was cutting the grass with Papa.

 The funny thing is that he preferred dragging it behind himself instead of pushing it in front so that the bubbles would blow.

My parents have a sweet family who lives next door. They have 3 boys ages 2, 4 and 6. The 4 year old and Adalyn hit it off. The mom let us know that Adalyn and Cayden were welcome to their swing set and tire swing any time. They LOVED it. The tire swing was hung from a super high limb so it was a smooth ride! During the weekend we spent a ton of time at this swing with Adalyn's new friends. The sweet little 4 year old boy left a picture of Adalyn and him riding the tire swing in my parent's mailbox the day after we left. He kept asking when we were coming back to visit. So sweet.

 The part that hit me was that I have pictures of Adalyn in a baby swing on this same tree limb from a Memorial Day past. Oh my heart. How are my kids big enough to be riding a tire swing already?

We also enjoyed my parents' back yard and their hammock. Of course Jonathan and I were trying to get some alone time...

 And then we were bombarded with these little balls of energy.

 Adalyn loves the hammock, but Cayden wasn't as fond of laying down for no reason. Ha!

After church on Sunday we spent the entire day at my aunt's pool and I didn't take my camera with us. Just believe me that we enjoyed the sun and water. And we learned that Adalyn has turned into even more of a fish than last summer! She loved jumping off the side and swimming all over the pool in her Puddle Jumper. She didn't want to leave!

Monday morning we woke bright and early to go to the park to enjoy family breakfast cooked by all of the men. The family all dresses in red, white and blue so of course Jonathan had to go overboard:)

 Adalyn had so much fun playing with my cousins' kids. 

 Of course Cayden wanted to keep up, so his big cousins were helpful in helping him up the stairs and down the slide.

 Catching up with my cousins! I wish we had more time to spend together. Of course I didn't get pictures of all of my other family that was at the picnic. I have a hard time remembering to get my camera out when I'm enjoying myself.

 Another part of our tradition is that there is always a baseball or softball game that happens. Jonathan got into it this year!

 Our breakfast cooks decked out in their USA hats and shirts.

 I love my family.

It's always so hard to visit my parents because each time we visit, it's harder to leave than the last! So glad we had an extended weekend to spend together. The kids were so sad to leave and so was I. I think we're ready for another visit:)