Well one week later....

After indulging in an ungodly amount of calories over the past five days, enduring too many belly laughs to count, and working the cramps out of my face from smiling....we are in fact, alive and survived Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Cross Family. And I am so sad that it is all over. The time definitely went by way, way too fast. My parents got to Iowa last Monday night and we all enjoyed some pizza and beers along with some laughs and good conversations. They headed up to Wisconsin on Tuesday while Jordan and I had one last day of work/school for the week. We packed up all of our stuff and hit the road first thing Wednesday morning and didn't stop going until we made it back home yesterday afternoon!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving obviously but more importantly, it was Teagan's 5th birthday! Holy smokes, where does the time go?! I can't believe that she is five now.... She is growing up into such a smart and sassy, hilarious and beautiful little girl! It is so fun watching her grow up and I'm lucky that I have gotten to play such an active role in her life. It would make me sad being so far away from her and Kemper that they don't know me when I come around! Anyway, we celebrated T's birthday after Thanksgiving dinner. She was spoiled with gifts, had a blast beating up on a pinata and then topped it off with cake....which I made! Yummm homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! We capped the night off by having a bon fire once the kids went to bed....

We then quickly shifted gears and went right into Christmas mode on Friday! We watched the Hawks lose, again, first thing which was a total bummer. Not only did they lose to Nebraska which gives them a share at the Big 10 title but it also confirmed they are for sure not going to a bowl game.  Extra sucky. We got over it quickly with a few drinks that we had during the game at least. Then after successfully stuffing our faces again with the Thanksgiving leftovers, we let the Christmas festivities begin! My mom had planned a "fashion show" for all of us...she made all of us tons of awesome projects and crafts! It included some crochet infinity scarves and gloves, fleece hats and jackets and lots of new Iowa gear. Score! My mom just keeps blowing all of our minds with how crafty she is and it rocks! Presents were a big hit with the kids and watching their eye light up with each gift they opened was enough to keep all of us happy. They are so cute and were so thrilled with everything they got...very heart warming to watch! After the kiddos went to bed and so did our parents, things got real crazy. Us adult "kids" played a new game that Scott and Kat got that is called "Cards Against Humanity." Basically, it is like a very very inappropriate version of Apples To Apples. But ridiculously hilarious and awesome. I'm not sure if we have ever laughed that hard before while playing a game before.....it will definitely be played again at our next reunion!

Saturday morning however, came way toooo early! We all hit the road to Charles City and made it to Grandma's! Just when I was thinking I couldn't possibly eat any more food, I managed to stuff myself completely. Again. There's just something about Grandma's home cooking that is irresistible. We all played several rounds of cards together and Jordan finally won two games! Third year of being at the Cross Christmas was the charm and he hit the jackpot twice! Which made me happy because then I didn't have to pay in anything, mwahahaha! 

And just like that, our four days together came to an end once we all woke up on Sunday morning. We were all avoiding saying good-bye to one another because we knew what it meant. That our parents would be driving back to Texas and that meant that none of us know the next time we will see them. And that sucks. Just leaves a giant pit in my stomach. As if I wasn't trying hard enough to fight back the tears, hugging my Dad goodbye after he just said goodbye to his own mom and sister with tears in his eyes and his noticeably choked up voice, was really tough. My dad can always put on a smile though and gave one last bear hug before getting in the car. Let's just say I was a hot mess of emotions on the first thirty minutes of our drive back home....

I'm thankful beyond thankful for the family I have in my life and these past four days just weren't enough. But I am so grateful for the time we did get to have together, the laughs we shared, the hugs and love we exchanged and the memories with each other that we made. I love how much Jordan fits in with my family and how we can all have so much fun with each other without having to do much. I can't wait until we are all together again and am already looking forward to that. I hope the day comes when we all live within a few hours of each other again because this whole living in Texas thing sucks for all of us! Wahh real life! Well I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and the time spent with family and some delicious food! I know we definitely did and now I'm dreading the pile-up of school and work stuff that I have been ignoring...well, happy Monday!

Mad about Monday?

It's Monday. I got the afternoon off unexpectedly and my parents are on schedule to get to Iowa about 2 1/2 hours earlier than I thought they were going to! How can I possibly be mad that it is Monday?!! Ahh I'm so excited to be able to spend some quality time with them tonight and enjoy some laughs, cold drinks and good conversations before mass chaos hits on Wednesday and the whole family is together. I love them all, don't get me wrong, but with so many of us it can be hard to get a word in sometimes! I'm thankful to have such a close knit family and for the special times that we get to share with each other! Tomorrow afternoon is going to be my baking extravaganza because I got put in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it. I have quite the list of treats to make and it includes caramel apple cheesecake with streusel topping, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and my famous puppy chow! Yummmy! Can't wait for all the good home cooking and treats this week...thank goodness my metabolism is still on my side!

Wedding Shadow Box

Our wedding was well over three months ago and today I did my first post-wedding related craft! I had purchased a shadow box before the wedding that was on 70% clearance at Michael's so it was only $8.00 and I have been holding onto all of our wedding momentos to make the shadow box. I love these as a keepsake because it shows off our big day without having these items boxed up and stored away! It's like a scrapbook on display...perfect! 

Here is how I did it:
1. I found a piece of thick cardstock and cut it to the size of the frame. This is so I had a study base to secure all the items to.
2. I arranged everything how I wanted it and make sure the words and pictures were visible where I wanted them to be.
3. I glued down the paper from the program first with a regular scrapbooking glue stick. Then I layered the program, invite, picture, monogram and quote on top of that and glued them down with the glue stick as well.
4. To secure the garter, picture charms and boutonniere, I used hot glue and firmly pressed down on each of these. 
5. I let it all dry for about 30 minutes to make sure it was all secure before I put it in the frame. Then today Jordan hung it up for me! 

I love Lazy Sunday's and today has been a good one for us before we start Thanksgiving week! Tomorrow my parents are leaving Texas bright and early...and they are driving all the way up to our place! Yipee, I'm so excited to see them!!!! I'm thankful the weather forecast is clear of snow and other bad weather tomorrow and the rest of the week so that we, and everyone else, has safe travels as they go to celebrate the holidays with their family and friends! Whoo whoo I'm so thankful to be on Thanksgiving Break: bring on a week off from school and a week with my family! 

Thankful For November

Ah it's November already! Holy crap, can you believe it?!! I know that I definitely can't! With November, comes Thanksgiving, the start of many gatherings with family and friends and also that wonderful thankful/loving/giving/caring and sharing feeling that everyone starts to have. And it always makes me wonder...why don't we act that way year round towards everyone including strangers? Why is it just the "holiday spirit" that makes us more generous, more thoughtful and more caring? I know during the rest of the year we all get busy and caught up in our own lives everyday but I think it's important for people to take a step back from time to time and realize how much a random act of kindness could mean to someone else, whether it's someone they know or a complete stranger. So with that, I'm going to kick off the month of November by recognizing something that I'm thankful for each and every day. Today I am thankful for my awesome parents because without them, I literally would not be here today. But because of them, I am who I am today. They helped shape me and taught me to be independent, responsible, caring, giving, and respectful. They have always encouraged me and supported me, been there for me when I was wrong and gave me direction again. I can count on them as a friend but know they're always there for me as a parent. I owe them more than they know and hope my own kids look up to me as much I do to them. I'd be lost without them and love them both so much. Alright November, you're about to make my heart feel really full!