Whats in a name?

Before we found out that Carson would be having a baby brother, we (or I) decided that this baby would be named BEFORE going into the hospital. If you didnt know already, we had a hard time naming Carson before he was born. Every time we talked about names, I just could not picture our son being named that. I kept thinking "what if it's the wrong name?" or "what if I pick this name then change my mind later after everyone already knows?" When I went into labor (5 days early) we still were very unsure about what we were going to name our new precious baby boy. At the time, the choices were Carson James or Hunter James. Boy am I glad we picked Carson! Hunter is a nice name and I like it, but just not sure I can picture my son being named Hunter.
That brings us to naming this baby...
There is 1 criteria that has to be met in the naming of our children... one of their names must be related to a family name somehow. My brother, sister and I all have names from family members and Greg's middle name is his dad's name. Carson's middle name is James just like Greg's. Since we already honored Greg's side of the family I really wanted to use a name from my side of the family. Do you realize how hard it is to find a name that flows with Szymanski??? And to make matters even harder, it also had to go well with Carson. Immediately we were faced with "rhyming" names. I have always liked the name Bryce, but Greg thought it sounded like a nickname so I suggested Bryson. We both really liked it, but did not like how is sounded with Carson. Ok, back to the drawing board! What about Spencer? When I was pregnant with Carson, Spencer was a name that was always on my list, but never really considered. Greg liked it so that became #1 on our list. Now we had to find a way to use a family name with it. My dad's name is Stephen and that would be quite a mouth full of S's if we did Spencer Stephen Szymanski so it was back to the drawing board. Then I had an idea... what if we used the initials of my dads name??? My dad's side of the family is Jewish and a way to honor family members is to use their initials instead of their full name. (If I have this wrong, then i'm sorry. This is what I grew up hearing, or maybe I thought I heard it) Since Spencer and Stephen both start with the same letter, it worked :) Now I wanted to see if I could find a middle name using the same initial as my dad's middle name. That part was easy for me... Noah.
Ok, so I think I have explained way too much in this blog about how we came to the conclusion of our new baby boys name. We ordered new personalized Christmas stockings (super cheap after Christmas) so I guess it is official now...



Spencer Noah Szymanski!

Before Christmas Fun

Winter Break started at 11:01am on Friday the 17th and boy was I excited. My mom and sister were flew in that morning. Greg and Carson went to pick them up since I had to work and then Greg brought them up to my school. My mom and sister have never seen any of my classrooms or schools since I started teaching. It was nice to show my mom around and introduce her to some of the awesome people I work with. My plan was to get some copies made for the week back to school, but once they got there, I was ready to pack up my things and get home.
That afternoon/evening we stayed home and relaxed since my mom and sister had gotten up at like 4:30am to make their early morning flight. The next morning we headed to my cousin's house for a "Christmas" breakfast. Carson was excited to see Jordan (my cousin's 7 year old). Jordan and Carson got to exchange presents and Carson was just in LOVE with his new remote control train. He had to have it open right then and there. He did not put it down until it was time to go home, and even then he had to hold it in the car. When we got home Carson ran in the house to show daddy (daddy had a cold and stayed home to rest) and he had to set up the track that came with the train. That train kept him busy for the next several days.
I dont really remember what days we did what, but the the days leading up to Christmas were full of fun, shopping and spending lots of money. We took Carson to the gym, went to Glendale Glitters, made gingerbread houses, outlet shopping, saw Santa, went on a train ride, date night with the hubby, baked cookies, lots of shopping, pedicures and lunch with my sister, painted ornaments, "snow" at Desert Ridge (an outdoor shopping center) and church on Christmas Eve. Here are a few pictures from all of the fun leading up to Christmas:

Breakfast and gift exchange with The Politz Family (Jordan ran off before the picture)


Carson playing with his new train


Once we got home, he set up the track


Making Gingerbread houses




Glendale Glitters




Walking around the neighborhood looking at the lights before bedtime


Train Ride with Mimi


Sitting on Santa's lap


Painting Ornaments (made from salt dough and cookie cutters)


Running in the "snow" at Desert Ridge


Shaking the keys and singing Jingle Bells at church


After Church


Reading 'The Night Before Christmas'


On Christmas Eve we went to the 5:30 church service and then came home and had a delicious dinner, lamb, roasted potatoes and asparagus and noodles. Carson got to open 1 present before bed, his new ornament. I found the perfect ornament at Hallmark, Mickey Mouse on a Choo Choo. Carson loves it. Then we got our jammies on, left cookies out for Santa and read 'The Night Before Christmas.' Carson was so excited for Santa to come.
I will update more tomorrow with all of the fun from Christmas day.

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

I love Shutterfly. I have ordered Christmas cards from them in the past and I have never been disappointed. They have so many cute cards to chose from. It always takes me several days to decide. I have also made a few calendars. I made each set of grandparents a calendar of Carson's first year and my mom still has hers in a drawer.
After Greg and I were married I made a super cute desk calendar for my desk at work. I got so many compliments on it. I really should make another one :)

I just took at look through all 274 sample holiday cards to choose from and it is hard to pick a favorite. Since we havent taken our family pictures yet, it is hard to pick one to go with the colors but I am really in love with this card:



There are also over 700 Christmas Cards to choose from as well. I will be taking a look at those later on after Carson goes to bed :)

Shutterfly is giving away 50 FREE holiday cards! Yes, you heard right, FREE!!!!
Now, if you love Shutterfly as much as I do, then click here to check out this amazing offer!

Survey Says...

I was tagged so now I must fill out this lovely survey. Megan over at Meg & Tom Plus Brayden is an east coast friend of mine. I know Megan from playing field hockey and lacrosse with her in high school and Greg graduated with her. Now we are bloggy and facebook friends and we love sharing crafts and talking about our adorable little boys. Well here you go Megan... this one's for you!!!

1. If you could be friends with any fictional character who would you choose and why?

~Hmmmmmm I would say Carrie Bradshaw and Charlotte York from Sex and the City. LOVE all the fashion and getting to live in the city

2. What is the best date you've ever had? (It could be with the person you are with now or someone from the past)

~It's hard to think of the best date... it's been so long since I have been on one. I would have to say our 1 year wedding anniversary. We stayed the weekend at an amazing hotel and ate some of the best food ever that weekend.

3. What was the last good book that you read?

~This is not something you usually hear from a teacher, but I dont really like to read... I do enjoy children's books though

4. Someone gives you a hundred dollars and tells you that you have to spend it today - on yourself. What would you buy?

~WoW $100 on me?!?! I am going to have to take Megan's answer and say a manicure, pedicure and massage (if there is money left after the mani/pedi)

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world what would your top 5 places be?

~Italy
~France
~Greece
~Australia
~London

6. What are 2 or 3 items on your "bucket list"?

~Thats a tough one... I guess I would say travel. I would love to make it to any of the places on the list above.

7. If you could live the life of one TV character who would it be, what show are they from, and why?

~Charlotte York from Sex and the City. Amazing clothes, great job (in the gallery), finds her true love and has a beautiful family.

8. When you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks what will you say that you are most grateful for this year?

~I am thankful for my very supportive family and friends. I am also very thankful for my husband, son and my bun in the oven :) I don't know what I would do without my husband and my days are so much brighter when I hear my son laugh and giggle.

Now I need to tag a few people to complete this survey. Since my blog is not so popular I only have a few followers. I will tag Kara @ Mine for the Making and hopefully she will fill out the survey and tag a few of her followers :)

Here are your questions:

1. If you could be friends with any fictional character who would you choose and why?


2. What is the best date you've ever had? (It could be with the person you are with now or someone from the past)

3. What was the last good book that you read?

4. Someone gives you a hundred dollars and tells you that you have to spend it today - on yourself. What would you buy?

5. If you could travel anywhere in the world what would your top 5 places be?

6. What are 2 or 3 items on your "bucket list"?

7. If you could live the life of one TV character who would it be, what show are they from, and why?

8. When you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks what will you say that you are most grateful for this year?

YAY I WON!!!!!

Kara, a teacher and mommy friend of mine, is super crafty and has an amazing blog over at Mine for the Making . Kara has offered a few giveaways over the last few months and of course I have entered all of them. Last week, Kara had a 200 Reader Giveaway and she was giving away some super cute Fall Blocks. Well guess who the winner was?!?!?!?

ME!!!! I am so happy to win (I never win anything) and I can't wait to put those super cute fall blocks with all of my scarecrows and leaves that I already have out.

Thank you Kara!!! You have totally made my day :)

Long weekend in Maryland

Carson and I flew to Maryland Wednesday night ans stayed until Monday morning. We had a great time visiting family and friends.
Wednesday night, Carson was great on the airplane. He was such a big boy and sat in his seat the entire time. We played games, read books, colored, ate snacks and watched movies. Carson was so excited to go to Mimi and Pop's house. As the plane was flying into Baltimore Carson was looking out the window saying "there's Mimi's house" at any and all the little lights he saw. When we landed it was midnight so we couldnt wait to get back to my parents house so we could go to bed. Carson slept in until 11:30 Maryland time so we got a late start on the day. Our only plans for Thursday was to go to the pumpkin patch so we ate breakfast/lunch and got ready to go. I really wanted to take Carson to Butler's Orchard for all of the fun stuff they do, but since it was during the week, none of the fun activities were going on. We decided to go to a different farm where we could also pick apples and they had animals for us to see. Carson really enjoyed all of the pumpkins and couldn't decide which one he wanted. He tried to pick up several that were way too big for him. When we finally found one small enough for him, he carried it and "threw" it in the wheel barrel. Then we were off to the orchard to pick some apples. Carson had so much fun finding the good apples and picking them. As he picked them he said "turn, turn turn" and he would turn them until they came off of the tree. It was so cute. Too bad for me, my camera died shortly after we started :(
We ended up picking enough apples to make an apple pie and even had a few extras to snack on.
Thursday night Carson and I went over to my best friend, Kara's house to see her and those 2 little cuties, Evan and Landon. They were not feel well, but that didnt stop me from cuddling on them and Carson had fun playing with their toys and he even helped me feed Landon.
Friday was not a very exciting day, we just went shopping. Friday night, my other bestie Cari, dragged me to the high school football game. Some her her co-workers were going to be there so she told them she would go. Cari teaches middle school Spanish so she saw several old students who were now in high school. Let's just say I was ready to leave after 5 minutes. Games are not them same 10 years later.
Saturday was another lazy day. I did some more shopping with my mom and got to eat some Rita's Italian Ice :) Then it was time to start getting ready for my 10 year high school reunion.
The reunion was nice, but definitely not was I was picturing. I know the planners did their best with what they had to work with, but it was a little dull. Oh well, at least I can say I went.
Sunday was a long day... we decided to drive to Salisbury to visit my sister. It was probably not the best idea to be driving in the car all day the last day in town, but oh well, it was nice to see my sister and her boyfriend. For those of you who know what Salisbury is like, you know that there is NOTHING to do there. We went out to lunch and then took Carson to the zoo and park. The Salisbury Zoo is not like any zoo you have ever been too. This zoo has about 5 animals and and lots of trees. Carson did have fun hanging out with Tyler and wanted Tyler to carry him around. There is a very nice park at the end of the zoo and Carson had a lot of fun playing. By this time Carson was tired and ready for a nap so we headed back to Samantha's apartment to drop her and Tyler off and then head back home. Carson fell asleep after a few minutes and slept about 2 hours. Once we got back to my parents house I had a long night of laundry and packing. I needed to make sure everything was done before I went to bed because our flight was at 7am and we needed to leave by 4:30am.
The next morning, we woke up at 4am and headed to the airport. Carson started out in a great mood. It wasnt until about hour 2 of the 5 hour flight he started flipping out. He no longer wanted to sit in his carseat. It probably wouldnt have been too bad if it hadnt been a full flight. Carson had to sit on my lap since he wouldnt sit in his seat and that got old quick. I finally got him back in his seat for the last hour and we watched movies and ate some cookies. When we landed, Greg was waiting for us at the gate. I was so happy to see him. I was exhausted. We got our bag and headed home. Carson and I both fell asleep in the car. Carson slept for 2 hours once we got home and I slept for about an hour. Bed time came early that night and Carson was in bed at 7 and I was in bed at 7:30. I slept for almost 10 hours and boy did I feel good this morning. I did have to go back to work today though. It was a long day and I am glad it's over. It will be another early night tonight.

I will leave you with some pictures of our trip:

Fun on the airplane :)




Pumpkin Patch






Uncle "Deedle" (Daniel) helped Carson get an apple that was high in the tree


Picking apples with Mimi


Salisbury Zoo
Carson and his buddy Tyler





"Flying" with Aunt "Mantha" (Samantha)

It's October!

Wow, I cant believe it is October already. Before you know it, it will be Christmas! The weather here in Arizona is still hot... high 90s :( I really can not wait for the fall weather to finally get here. Until then, I am enjoying my pumpkin spice candles.
Not much new going on here. Carson and I will be headed to Maryland on Wednesday night and we will be there until Monday morning. I am looking forward to some relaxing time with family and friends. This vacation is coming at the perfect time. I need a break from stress and reality for a while. I will be sure to update when we return. Of course I am sure I will need a vacation to recover from my vacation.

I will leave you with a few newer pictures of Carson :)








Dont you just love Carson's shirt ;)
(this was a sneak peak for those who actually pay attention to my blog)

Chef Carson

This morning I thought I would make pancakes for breakfast. Carson immediately started helping. He wanted to get everything out of the pantry and cabinets. I told him to go get his stool so he could help mommy. He was so excited. We started by measuring and pouring the mix then added the milk, eggs and oil. Then Carson began stirring. He was saying "stir, stir stir" the entire time. It was the cutest thing ever. He even got mad when I took it from him so I could get the lumps out and start pouring the batter into the pan.
Here are a few pictures from our fun morning.






My mom used to make Mickey Mouse pancakes for us when we were little so this was my attempt at a Mickey Mouse pancake for Carson.


Carson enjoying his pancakes :)

New Name, New Design, New Grade!

I decided I wanted to give my blog a face-lift and with that came a new name. I think it fits me much better :)
Well, a lot has been going on over the last few weeks. I went back to work on August 3rd and boy has it been hard getting back into a routine. I am lucky that Greg gets Carson up and ready in the mornings. It would just be too hard for me to get both of us up, ready and out the door by 6:45. I love that I can get to school around 7am and get things done. It makes leaving after school so much easier.
Now I really just need to get something off my chest....

I LOVE 3rd GRADE!!!!
I can not begin to tell you how much I am loving 3rd grade. I have a fantastic class and great parents. I am having so much fun learning the curriculum and the kids actually like it when I have my Kindergarten Moments. I just tell them "This is my first year in 3rd grade too. We will learn together" and actually a few of them have gone home and told their parents that. So cute!

I am still trying to get my room completely organized so that there is enough space for everything so hopefully I will get that finished over the next few weeks. I am in the process of changing bulletin boards around (long story short- principal as decided no fabric this year) and I am excited for my "Everyday Goal" board :) Hopefully I will get some pictures up here soon.

Well, Mommy duty is calling. Hope you enjoy the new layout and new name. Tomorrow is Hump Day!!!

Back to School Crafts

So about a week or so ago I got the idea to make gifts for my new team members at school. I have been wanting to Mod Podge clipboards since I received one as a gift in February from a student. I already had most of the materials, but I did need some more ribbon and 2 more clipboards so off to Walmart I went at 10:30 at night. While I was there I saw super cute wooden letters and thought I could Mod Podge those as well, bu this time I would make them for my old teammates in kindergarten. Walmart is my new favorite place to go to for craft supplies. Although their selection is limited, they do have great prices on what they do have.
Anyways, back to the crafts. I started crafting as soon as I got home and I was up until 2am. I decided to start with the letters so I picked out some scrapbook paper from my stash. I traced the letter on the paper. Be sure to trace on the back of the paper AND you must turn the letter so that the front of the letter is down on the paper or else it wont match up. Then I painted the sides of the letter with a coordinating color to the paper used. Once the paint was dry I "painted" a light layer of Mod Podge on the top of the letter and carefully placed the paper on the letter. I then "painted" an even layer of Mod Podge over the paper and the sides of the letter. I had to do about 2 coats to make it even. Be aware that you may get a few ripples in the paper when putting the top layer of Mod Podge on the paper. I freaked out and tried very hard to smooth it out, but once it dried the ripples were gone.
When everything was dry, I used ribbon and some bling to embellish it a little.

*Here's a tip: after reading the internet and watching a few you tube videos I found out that it is best to let the paper and first layer of Mod Podge (under the paper) dry over night before putting the top layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper.

Here is a picture of a few letters I made for some great friends and fellow teachers: (I dont know why it is sideways, it is not saved that way on my computer)






Now on to the clipboards!
I pretty much did the same steps for the clipboards as I did for the letters. I forgot to take pictures of the final products, but I am in the process of making another one and I will be sure to take pictures and post them.

The Power of Priceline

I remember way back in the day when my mom would go on priceline to get good deals on groceries, but I really didnt think it was still being used. Last summer, Greg and his friends did a guys trip to California to check out some breweries. They used priceline to get some great deals on hotel rooms. While we were planning our trip to Maryland and Colorado, Greg was all about using Priceline for our hotels. I was a little annoyed because Greg was spending hours and hours on the computer reading and searching (he knows some websites that rate the hotels and people leave their reviews).

The only bad thing about Priceline is that you have to book online prior to arriving at the hotel.

Here are our total savings for our trip:

Joplin, MO: Holiday Inn Normal Rate- $95/night
Priceline Price- $30

Louisville, KY: Park Inn Normal Rate- $109/night
Priceline Price- $40 (we stayed 2 nights)

St. Charles, MO: Country Inn and Suits Normal Rate- $99/night
Priceline Price-$37

Hays, KS: Ramada Normal Rate- $59/night
*Hotwire Price-$39

Colorado Springs, CO: Fairfield Inn normal price- $89/night
Priceline Price- $35/night (we stayed for 5 nights)

Without using Priceline, we would have payed $916 plus taxes.
Using Priceline, we paid $361 plus taxes. We saved $555!!!

I have to admit, I was a little annoyed that Greg was spending so much time on the computer and there were several times I wanted to say f*@% it let just pay when we get there, but now looking back I am so happy we used Priceline.

***Disclaimer- some rooms were not up to my standards and I would not have stayed there for more than 1 night. Most of the reviews left by other people were right on, but there were a few that were way off. Some of the nicer rooms we stayed in actually got low ratings on Priceline.

I would totally recommend staying at the Park Inn (Louisville), Country Inn and Suits (St. Charles) and the Fairfield (Colorado Springs).

4 Days 9 States (Maryland to Arizona)

This is part 2 of our cross country journey.
We left Maryland on July 6th around 6 in the morning (I think). We drove just past St. Louis, MO and stopped for the night. Our hotel was with in walking distance to an old town that had several cute little shops and restaurants. We knew we could not sit down and eat dinner anywhere because Carson was full of energy so we got dinner to go from a cute little brewery and took it back to our hotel room. The next morning we headed out and made our way through Missouri and Kansas. We decided to stop in Hays, KS at a (not so great) Rhomada Inn. The only thing that made this hotel ok was the fact that they had a pretty big indoor swimming pool with a super fun water slide. Carson was a very happy little boy that night. We spent about an hour in the pool going down the water slide over and over again.
The next morning we headed out for our 5 hour drive to Colorado Springs, CO. We were planning on staying there for 5 nights and spend some time with family. Several of my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents we all there for our cousin's wedding. It was so nice to see everyone. Most of them hadn't seen Carson for over a year and there were even a few who had never met him.
My cousin's wedding was beautiful. The day started off with blue skies, but about an hour before the ceremony was suppose to start, the rain came pouring down. The sky was gray and the clouds were not moving very fast. When we got to the county club they told us that the wedding had been moved down stairs to one of their rooms. I knew my cousin was probably very upset. Her wedding was suppose to be outside, at the foot of the mountain on the golf course. With the rain at a standstill, we got word that the ceremony was pushed back an hour so they could set up the outdoor location since the rain had stopped.
Long story short: the rain stayed away so my cousin could have her dream day and it was beautiful! The reception was very fun. Carson had a blast and danced the night way. He had all the chicks dancing with him. His new best friend was the flower girl, Zoey. The two of them were so cute and Zoey even gave Carson a smooch or 2 :)

On Monday, a few of us went up to Golden, CO to tour the Coors Brewery. It was a good experience, but definitely not something I probably wont do again. After the tour Greg and I took my brother and sister to the airport to head back to MD.

Tuesday morning, we got up and packed up the car. I was so excited to be heading back home, but I was not looking forward to the 13-14 hour drive. It about a 7 hour drive to the 4 corners and I was excited to be in 4 states at once (I know, call me a dork). By the time we made it to the 4 corners we came to a lovely sign that said...

CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION!!! I was so bummed. Oh well, back in the car we went. 6 more hours til home.

Well, we made it home around midnight and boy was it nice to sleep in my own bed.

I think this is enough for tonight. I will try and add some pictures later. Most of them are on Greg's camera. I will leave you with a few pictures from my cousin, Katie's, wedding.

Greg and I


Dont mind Katie's face :)


Mr. and Mrs. Nick John


Carson, dancing with Zoey

4 Days 9 States (Arizona to Maryland)

Well, on Sunday, June 20th we headed out on our adventure across the country. We left around 6:30 pm and drove through the night. Greg was a trooper. He made it til about 8:30 am before needing me to take over so he could nap. I drove for about 2 hours or so then Greg was ready to switch back. Our first big stop was in Oklahoma City where we met up with a friend of ours for lunch. Carson did not sit down once in the 2 hours we were out of the car. We took turns chasing him around the restaurant. There was a little downtown area to walk around so we walked around, took some pictures and watched the ducks. Then it was time to get back in the car and keep driving. By this point Carson and I were done with being in the car, but Greg wanted to get to St. Louis. St. Louis came and went and Greg was still driving. We finally stopped around 6pm on the 21st in Joplin, MO (Holiday Inn). Since it was dinner time we decided to get take out from the hotel restaurant and eat in our room so I could sit in bed and Carson could run around the room.
The next morning we left Joplin and started our drive to Louisville, KY where we were planning on staying 2 nights. Not quite how long the drive was, maybe like 10-12 hours (it was dark when we checked in to our hotel, Park Inn). The next morning we got up and got ready for our day. We had a day of fun planned for Carson. We went to a cute little breakfast/lunch shop called Toast on Market. It was delicious. I would have liked to go back to try more things but we didn’t have time. Our first stop for the Day of Fun was to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. It was pretty cool to go on the factory tour, but I don’t recommend going if you have a very hyper toddler who doesn’t like to sit in the stroller for longer than 5 minutes. Greg really wanted to get Carson a personalized bat so we headed to the gift shop before leaving. It was about an hour wait for bats so that gave us time to take Carson to the Children’s Science Museum. It was $15 for adults (I think) and $12 for children 2+, so it was a little more than I wanted to pay but oh well, it was a day for Carson. *By the way, we did not pay the $12 for Carson. We cheated and said he was under 2 because I do not see a need to pay that much for someone who can only “play” with less than a fourth of the things there (due to a whole exhibit being closed for changing). I would have no problem paying if there was more for him to do. Carson had a blast in the small little Under 7 section of the museum, but then just ran around the rest of it.
That night we went over to a friend’s house for dinner. Greg was friends with them before I moved to Arizona and then they moved to KY about 4 years ago. We hadn’t seen them since. It was nice to see them and catch up.
Thursday, time to head to Maryland! We left KY and started on our 9 hour drive or so to my parents house. I remember thinking that we would never get there. Who knew that West Virginia was such a big state and took FOREVER to drive through? It was about 8:00pm when we finally got to my parents house.
It was so nice to be home. We didn’t really plan a lot for our stay in MD. We really just wanted to relax and visit with friends and family.
Stay tuned for the rest of our trip. I also plan on blogging about Greg’s money saving ideas!

You're going to do what?!?!?!

Well school has been out for 4 weeks and they have gone by so fast. We have already been on 1 family vacation and we are about to go on another. On Sunday we will embark on a 3 day drive to Maryland to see my family and friends. I am so excited to be going home and Carson is excited to see Mimi, Pop, Dandle (Daniel) and Manta (Samantha).
We hope to start our first day of driving Sunday evening and drive through the night in order to get as far as we can while Carson (hopefully) sleeps. If all goes as planned, we will drive at least 15 hours the first day and that should get us to somewhere in Oklahoma. The next day our goal is to get to Louisville, Kentucky where Greg has friends who moved there 4 years ago. After spending a day or 2 in KY we will head to Maryland. We should arrive on Thursday if all goes as planned.
We will be in Maryland until July 5th then we will start our drive back home, but this time going the northern route. We need to be in Colorado for my cousin's wedding so we figured might as well make it part of our journey. We hope to make it to CO on the 8th and we plan on staying there until the 13th.
Now I know you are probably thinking "she is crazy" and I totally agree with you! This was all Greg's idea and I am being a loving and supportive wife. I will be sure to update you on our trip as we get to our stops.
Wish us luck!!!!

Handprint Tradition

During the 2008/2009 school year I was introduced to the wonderful world of Becky Higgins. Her son was in kindergarten at my school and his teacher (my good friend) told me how crafty she was and how she had a website full of fun stuff. So of course I had to check it out and I immediately became sucked in. One of the first things I found that I wanted to do was the Handprint Tradition.
Today I decided to do Carson's 2 year old handprint and I cant get over how much bigger it is in just a year.



I think I might re-do his hand print because it is really bothering me that he wanted to do his left hand instead of his right.

The most handsome little boy EVER!

Today Carson had a photo shoot with my good friend Heather. She recently got an awesome camera and wants to start doing photography as a side job. Heather asked me if she could use Carson has her "toddler model" and of course I said yes. Any excuse to have more pictures of my baby boy and of course I love Heather and will do anything to help her out. Carson was definitely not in the mood to sit still and it was hard to get any family pictures with all of us looking at the camera, but I love all of the candid shots and I can not find a favorite out of all 120 pictures. Here are a few of my favorites: