mom's of grace family bbq

On Sunday, July 31st, the Schar's hosted a family barbeque for the Mom's Of Grace group. We were excited to be able to attend an evening event for the group, since they usually meet while I'm working. :) I made a Raspberry Crisp following this recipe & it was so tasty!

The kids always get a kick out of checking out the Schar's chickens. She probably has more than twice as many as us! So fun!

Such a great gathering place for parties!

Happy Cedar!

Happy Tate!
These two were the only ones strapped in their seats, so they were the ones I could photograph. ;)

Yummy yummy!

Cedar & Mama in the hammock.


Sweet Emma, Cedar & Macey girl!
I really think the Green girls look alike in this photo! :)

Ava & Finn
This photo was posted on Facebook by Katie T. It cracks me up! Ava could see through the mesh on the back of the hat, but Finn's expression is so great. :P

Tayden, Finn & Macey wrestling over a ball. I *think* they were having fun! ;)

The little kids had lots of fun dropping rocks down the grate.


Malia got the littler kids in on the football fun! :)

Group photo!
Such a great turnout! I wish I could participate with this group during the week, but I am thankful for the events that I've been able to attend. :)

ronan's birthday

On Saturday, July 30th, we went to the Ruddicks' house for Ronan's 7th birthday celebration!

Gretchen made a cute concessions stand.

Their back patio is so beautiful!

The kids all lined up for the pinata - homemade by Ronan & Memaw.

Emma's turn.
All the kids got multiple shots - it was a strong pinata!

Finley's turn.


Cedar joining in.

Ronan with the metal bat. They ended up letting Ronan swing away with all his might & he was still unable to break open the pinata. Finally, Josh stepped in & took several strong swings before it broke open.

Much of the candy was crushed & broken, but the kids still managed to come home with lots of loot! :P Some of the army men that were in the pinata lost limbs! It was quite funny. The strongest pinata ever! :)

The Novemberists are ready to watch Ronan open presents.

A gift from us...

A Nerf battle axe & skinny jeans (at Ronan's request - he loves anything to do with skaters or rock stars)! ;)

Baseball cupcakes!

What a fun party, Ronan! Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your day! We love you so much & had a great time celebrating YOU! :)

birthday party

On Saturday, July 23rd, Kenton invited our family & friends over to celebrate my 30th birthday. He did a great job of delegating food items to some of our guests so that I wouldn't have to prepare a bunch of appetizers! Thanks to those who brought food - that was so nice! I did prepare some bruschetta that ended up being pretty popular. It was so yummy the next few days, as well! :)

We really enjoy having a big back yard, especially in the summer. In the evenings, it's nicely shaded & feels great when the weather is warm. I was lucky & got another sunny day on my party day (we've had such unpredictable weather this summer).

One of my only requests for my birthday bash was that I wanted to have mojitos! It's the first drink that I ever really liked & didn't try to just tolerate. Also, we make them with coconut rum & they're SO tasty! I was excited to share them with Amy, who feels very similarly to me about alcohol, & even more excited that she liked them too! :)

Kenton asked Finn what he wanted to get me for my birthday & he said, "A dress!" So Kenton took him shopping & they picked the above dress out together. Such great taste! I love it. :)

Paris themed watercolor prints from my mom. :)
They look quite nice in our bedroom, on either side of the bed.

I made a quick birthday "crown" for myself, inspired by these.

Mom & Papa

Cute babies & mamas

After I opened the gifts that were wrapped, my dad told me to close my eyes while he brought out this unwrapped gift!

My parents & siblings all went in together on a cruiser bike! I was super excited & even got teary eyed (big dork!) because I'd been wanting one for a while now. I had asked my dad to keep an eye out on Craigslist for a cruiser for me, knowing that he looks at bike listings often.


He was able to find the perfect bike, in perfect shape, just in time for my 30th!


I like this photo (despite the light bulb coming out of my mouth) because Kenton & I were laughing together about how I started to cry when I saw the bike. I'm a dork!

Kenton made a Coconut cake for me, following one of his co-workers' recipes. It was so good & everyone agreed! Can you tell I have a thing for coconut?! :P

My lovely sisters!
We missed you, Erik...thanks for the bike, though! ;)

Kenton cut the cake & Colin helped serve it. My mom also brought a rhubarb pie! Mmmm...

Kenton started a fire in our fire bowl - yay for using it for the second time! :P


It was getting cool enough outside that the fire felt nice.

I was really glad that it started to get dark before the party was over. I always want to be outside to enjoy the party lights, but we rarely gather with friends outside in the evenings. It's so pretty; I don't know why we don't?

Kenton played a VHS tape of my first birthday before the party wound down. It was such a great evening - I really had a lot of fun! Thank you to all who were able to attend. You really made my 30th birthday feel special. :)

a big birthday

On Wednesday, July 20th, I had a big birthday...one that was quite difficult for me. Still is. :| I turned 30. And it just sounds weird. But difficult or not, it was still my birthday & worth celebrating. :P

My boys were eager to give me my gifts before we had to leave for work.

Cedar looks a bit more excited than Cedar, wouldn't you say? ;)

Kenton took the afternoon off work & my mom watched our boys for a bit longer so that we could go to lunch!

We ate at Marche & were not disappointed! I was especially happy that the sun decided to shine on my birthday - we were able to eat outside! :)

We both ordered the Steak Frites, because it is so delicious!


After lunch, we picked up the boys & then went shopping at some local nurseries & farms. I picked out some flowers to plant in my yard & was able to work in the garden for a bit before dinner.


We went to dinner at El Torito & cashed in on "Kids Eat Free" Wednesdays. :)

It was a great choice for us to go to as a family!

Finn worked hard on the activity sheet!

Both boys enjoyed getting specials drinks with their free meals. They even got a dessert! What a deal. :)

A balloon artist came by & made blue swords for the boys.


He even made some extras in case one popped!

I noticed the people that were eating outside were getting a kick out of the sword fight that immediately commenced once we stepped out the door. :)

It was a great day, full of fun with my boys. Couldn't ask for more!