Happy Anniversary!

[Forgot to post this yesterday..]
One year ago we were living in Sioux Falls and packing up our life [again] to move back to Michigan. On April 29th, 2011 I woke up like any other day to prepare another day of student teaching. Except this day was different. I woke up in the middle of my living room because our bed had been moved there to make space for packed boxes in our bedroom. And instead of waking up at 6:00am I was up at 3:45am! I quietly made my way to the kitchen where I made a cup of tea, grabbed a cookie and then snuck past a sleeping husband to the couch. I snuggled under a blanket and grabbed the remote.

I turned on the TV which instantly brought up the Royal Wedding guests being ushered into the church. Nothing says excitement like seeing Elton John on your TV screen at 4:00am. For hours I watched history unfold! I had butterflies in my stomach, could barely sit still and had a huge smile on my face watching this beautiful couple become husband and wife! I was fascinated with Princess Di as a girl - watched her funeral, witnessed these two young boys at their mother's funeral, have done speeches on Princess Diana, and watched movies and documentaries. All of this made this morning extra exciting to witness! 

Prince William and Prince Harry on their way to the church.

The Groom!

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

First glimpse of the beautiful bride!

The day Pippa (and her fabulous body!) became famous!

There she is! I believe at this point I clapped out loud and giggled which woke up Ben. 

Kate and her dad

The famous back-end

Entering the church!

The butterflies in my stomach got super intense here! So excited!

A photo likes takes me back to my own wedding day! 

The excitement in her eyes and the smile on her dad's face is priceless!

 Here they go!

The groom finally meeting up with his bride. Love that goofy grin!

Love this one!

Exchanging rings.

The front of the church.

My mom and I were texting back and forth throughout the morning. 

I did miss the famous kiss (had to go into school). 

I wasn't the only insane one up at 4am from JFK Elementary. I sat in the staff lounge and exchanged stories with the staff about their morning. Some talked about Princess Diana's wedding and I got even more excited! Some of my kids were up in time to watch part of the wedding too. Overall the whole day was super exciting!

Happy First Anniversary William and Kate! 

Smoothies, Parks and Friendship

Smoothies! 

Ben picked up a new toy for us this week, the Magic Bullet!! 

We have made smoothies a couple of times and iced coffee - YUM! We are excited to throw in some extra nutrition into our diet by hiding veggies and other goodies into our smoothies. 


Right now most of our smoothie is composted of fruits but as our garden grows we will start throwing in some greens as well. 

The first smoothie Ben made!

One banana, a handful of blueberries (we picked!), a few strawberries (we picked!), milk (raw!), and a few ice cubes!

I was pretty nervous. I don't like bananas and was afraid I would not like it. 

Ben was nervous too! haha

Come to find out I didn't like it... 

So we put the mix back in the bullet this time we added more milk, a little sugar, more blueberries and strawberries. Then the banana wasn't as overpowering and I enjoyed my smoothie! 

The morning after we got the bullet I made an iced coffee drink.

Just poured in coffee, a little sugar, creamer and some ice cubes! 

Parks and Friendship

Ben and I had a little visitor yesterday!

I added a new toy to their basket and Addison loved my little birdie friend! 

We love having a park across the street. Addison loved it too!

We were so impressed with her independence and courage on some of the "big kid" slides!

She loved it!

So did Ben!! Ben went down on his butt, belly and backwards! 

Hanging out with my dear little friend was a great way to end a stressful week! 

Making: Camo Cupcakes

I wanted to make something fun for my brother's birthday. What says Justin more than CAMO CUPCAKES!! I got the idea from here on Pinterest. 


They were super easy to make and I foresee myself going through the same process in the future with fun color combinations! (Please forgive me for the bad photos towards the end, my brother came early and I was RUSHING to get the cupcakes baked and put away before he noticed!)

Make the cupcake batter and divide it into thirds.

(Note: I only used half of the cake batter, the other half was used to make a separate cake)

Make three camo colors; I made dark green, bright green and brown. 

Add blue and yellow to make green. I added extra green dye to one cup to make a vibrant green. For the brown I mixed a ton of food colorings together. 

Starting with one color add in about a tablespoon into the cupcake liner. Then add the second color. Then the third. The batter separates as you add each color leaving the cupcakes looking like this. 

 Then take a butter knife and swirl around the colors. 

Done! 

I wanted the guests to see the camo so I didn't frost the cupcakes. I dyed vanilla frosting bright green and let the guest frost their own. 

3 Birthdays, 3 Days, 1 Party

My family and Tia's (my brother's fiancee) family came to visit for Easter. While both families were together I thought it would be fun to celebrate my brother's birthday. After talking to my mom about this plan she suggested we also celebrated my dad's birthday (two days after my brother's). When talking to Tia about this she mentioned her dad, Ricky, has a birthday in between my dad and my brother. 

Justin: April 14

Ricky: April 15

Randy: April 16

I wanted to celebrate all three birthdays with one party! I used a primary color scheme and added a personalized cake for each person. I made the decorations, cake, etc. in the 24 hours leading up to the party and for most of if both my dad and brother were around. I had to be super sneaky (and it helped the boys spent hours outside). 

Entering into the dining room. 

Happy Birthday Banner

Balloon Garland and Pinwheels

Our dining room was transformed quickly before the party began.

My mom and I had just over an hour to decorate, frost the cakes, etc.

Gift/Drink/Treat Table

A closer look.

I made this sign and hung it on the wall next to the gift table. 

I saw a similar idea online and came up with the Rocks one on my own. 

This was the cake table (I forgot to take a picture of the cakes!)

Over each cake was a sign for each birthday boy. On the sign was fun facts about the year they were born.

Here is Justin's.

We all ran inside except for the birthday boys who sat outside talking about Justin's new truck. When they came up we all sang to them but I think it took them each some time before they realized the party was for them. 

Ricky checking out his facts and "cake." 

The boys blowing out their candles. 

Justin had camo cupcakes (tutorial to come) and guests frosted their own cupcakes.

My dad, Randy, had a gravestone cake (he turned 50).

Tia's dad, Ricky, had a piece of Mackinac Fudge. 

The boys opening their gifts!

Ricky, Randy, Kelly (my mom), Tim (Tia's brother, Tyler's friend"

Tyler (Tia's brother), Maria (Tia's mom) and Tia