Grandpa in Town and a Date Night

This weekend, Bryan's Dad stopped in for a little visit.

He put together puzzles with Jackson and went on long walks and played countless games of Uno with Sarah. (I think she beat him most of the time!)

He was also so sweet to babysit so Bryan and I could go out for our official anniversary date. Once we put Jackson to bed, Grandpa and Sarah popped in a movie to watch together while Bryan and I headed to our favorite little restaurant for a lovely night out. It was our first out-of-the-house-without-the-kids-date in 4 months. We had a wonderful time quietly talking, eating delicious food, and holding hands at the table. Thanks again, Grandpa!

Outside Fun!

Lately, the weather here seems to be different every day, so when it's actually a nice day, we've been spending as much time outside as we can, and we've been having a blast!

Although Jackson's blurry here, I love that you can still see his smile! He loves swinging, and Sarah loves pushing him--usually as high as she can! : ) So pensive....

A little smile to go with his crazy hair!

Love her face!!

Daddy would love if Jackson became a soccer star too--just like he and Sarah are!

This was right before Jackson went down the slide by himself for the first time!

This is his landing!

I love how they play so well together!

I was on the bottom of the see-saw here!

Gotta love sidewalk chalk!

Sarah and I were practicing her spelling words.

Bubble time!

Donkey Slippers

Jackson loves Daddy's donkey slippers. Usually when Bryan wears them, Jack hugs donkey! But the other day when Bryan took his slippers off to go outside, Jackson quickly made them his!

Sarah's Birthday!

I don't know how it happened, but Sarah turned 9 years old yesterday! We love birthdays around here, and we always try our best to make them so fun for the wee ones!

A balloon surprise!

Sarah opening her gifts from us.

She was really excited to get a Taylor Swift DVD. She adores her...so does Jackson!

New Fancy Nancy books! I love that Sarah still adores reading these sweet little books despite the fact that she's usually buried in 300-page chapter books! Before we tucked her in last night, I read 2 of them to her, and I could not have been happier!

Notice Jackson holding onto to the DVD of his girlfriend--which was later found in his toy basket!

Her favorite gift was a Harry Potter wand that she requested!

Bubs helping Sissy by removing her new clothes from the bag!

Next, we headed to our favorite outdoor mall so Sarah could spend her birthday gift cards.

I love this picture of Daddy and Sarah holding hands in Barnes and Noble!

Sarah wanted to eat lunch at our favorite pizza shop in the mall!

After lunch, I had to take pictures!

Sarah smelling perfume she tried on--and then bought--at Bath and Body Works.

Showing off her new lip gloss from Bath and Body Works!

Then, she made a new friend at Build-A-Bear!

Afterwards, we left her stop for a special treat at Marble Slab! This is her I'm so excited I get two desserts because it's my birthday face!

Jackson enjoyed some strawberry ice cream!

Jackson's newest trick is sticking his tongue out! He's not being mean or anything--because he doesn't know it's mean!--he's just proud of his new skill!! I love it!

New sunglasses from Justice!

After dinner, Sarah blew out the candle on her homemade carrot cake.

Carrot cake is Bryan and Sarah's favorite, (and really high up on my list as well!), so the two of them usually request this for the birthday. Every other time, I've made it using a cake mix and adding a few of my own special touches, but this year, I made the cake and the frosting from scratch! I was really nervous, but Sarah said it was the best thing she's ever eaten!! Hot dog!

We had a wonderful time making today as special as we could for our little princess. And I think it worked--she kept thanking us and telling us she loved us all day! Her lovely appreciation and happiness is what it's all about!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

9 years ago today, God blessed us with our first born. She is our little princess, and despite how old she is, Sarah will always be our baby. We love you, Sarah. Happy Birthday!

Fun at the Park!

Wednesday was finally a nice day here, so after naptime, Jackson and I went to the park. He absolutely loved it! We had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to take him back...once it stops raining...again.

The swings were his favorite! I love how you can't see his mouth in this picture, but you can tell he's smiling!! My favorite!

I could just eat his face!!

He enjoyed just walking around too.

He likes exploring.

Isn't he just so dapper?!

You obviously can't tell from a mere picture, but he's saying "whoa!" here. It's his new favorite word!

Nothin' like a cold cup of apple juice after playing at the park!