Christmas Season Kick-Off

Those fleeting moments of the day, where the sparkle in your kids' eyes are breathtaking and magical.  I try to soak them up in the generally chaotic minutes between playing, mealtimes and overall day-to-day happenings.

This morning the pipsqueaks had an appointment with The Man in Red...that's right I said an appointment!!  Not only did they get have their 5 minutes with Mr. Clause, but they got to ride on a little choo choo train right after!

Ahh the sounds of the Christmas music playing in the background!!

Tonight, Tara and I got to have a girl's night out tonight with her friends!

Who could say no to a musical?!?!  Let alone a Christmas musical!!  We had dinner at a Latin Boutique called Mundo, first then hopped across the street to the Smith Center to enjoy this little number.  I truly sat and enjoyed my time out with my sister-in-law and the girls.

What you can't hear is the laughter, the music and the conversation that took place tonight.  It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!!

xo

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday was the 8th Thanksgiving Trevor and I have spent together.  It's amazing to me how fast time flies and how much things can change in blink of an eye.  I never expected all those Thanksgivings ago that I would be a mother of 3 amazing boys and wife to such an incredible man.

But here I sit 8 turkey days later happier, content and more complete than I've ever been.  I spent my day marveling over the 3 perfect children I have and loving them with every  fiber of my being.  I am thankful for these pipsqueaks and for the privilege of being their mommy...filling their days with smiles, laughter and unconditional love.  And I know how truly blessed I am that Trevor came into my life and loved me unconditionally...I couldn't have asked for a better husband and a better set of in-laws!!

We lit up the Clarkson house with laughter and love; drank wine; watched our favorite characters in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; dined with both mine and Trevor's family; and, played fun card games while the pipsqueaks ran around in the yard.  A glorious day indeed!!

My cup runneth over!

xo

Thanksgiving Eve {2015}

We're wrapping up an exceptional Thanksgiving Eve down here in Las Vegas.  We didn't spend our day doing food prep for tomorrow...or anything else truly productive as far as those sorts of things go.  Instead, our super fun bunch spent the day jaunting around town on all sorts of fun outings.

First, Uncle Esad came for a quick visit.

Next, we jetted off to Madi's school to watch her sweet little class do their Thanksgiving show.  Well...turns out it was just a Thanksgiving feast, and not an actual pageant type show, but her teacher was so sweet and let the boys join in.

The better part of our afternoon was spent enjoying Disney's newest movie "The Good Dinosaur".  It was Daxton's first actual movie theater experience, and I have to say he did exceptionally well.

I take back my prior statement about not doing any food prep...my mother-in-law spent her evening making pumpkin, apple and cherry pies for tomorrow night's dinner...while my awesome sister-in-law hosted 4 of the 5 pipsqueaks at her house for fun and movies.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xo

Cold Weather Fun

As y'all know this is my favorite time of the year, however, the cold, windy weather is not my favorite.  But I DO enjoy snuggling up in front of a cozy fire with a hot beverage and good book!

Yesterday was a cold one!!  The wind started, then the rain and then finally the snow.  The kids and I went out and "danced" in the snow for a few minutes but we were quickly turning into ice sculptures so we headed back inside for a Mario Kart race war!

After we had enjoyed homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner, we settled down to watch the Seahawks game with some hot coco and cider!  Definitely a must on a snowy day!

Now I must go heat up another cup of coffee and try to pull myself out of this terrible case of the Mondays!!  Stay warm!!

xo

Bowswer Birthday Bash

Though we are a little over a week past Carter turning 4, we celebrated the Bug with friends and family at Jump 'n' Shout yesterday!

Carter wanted a Super Mario Brothers theme, but more specifically, he wanted a Bowser Birthday.  What better place to have a Bowser Birthday then a bounce house place??  No decorating required and no clean up for me!!  It was a win/win!!

After singing "Happy Birthday" the littles settled down to eat some pizza and then of course cake!!!  In between the pizza and cake they discovered the giant sticky hands in their goody bags and couldn't contain themselves.  They were grabbing everything with those sticky hands...and then turned to slapping each other with them!

As soon as we got home Carter insisted we open presents right away!!  He faired well with all sorts of Star Wars goodies, legos, jammies, and super hero toys!!

It was a splendid celebration honoring one of my most favorite kids in the world!!  I'm off to start my Sunday feeling exceedingly grateful for the past 4 years!!  Phew now I have to get used to calling him my 4 year old!!

xo