Rachel's Birthday Halloween Bash

the party, as predicted, was indeed a stone cold blast. i really don't mean to toot my own horn, but come on. a halloween themed birthday party for our little girl was probably one of my very best ideas. we never get to see all the kids in their costumes because we are out trick-or-treating. 

we had her party Sunday afternoon. which lead her to believe it was her birthday all weekend long.

my very proud little witchy girl!

 some of the decor from the party. and little witch hat cookies i made - thank you, pinterest.

 presents, presents & more presents. our girl is definitely loved & set for barbie dolls from now until the end of time.

singing happy birthday, she is looking at her big sister right here.

speaking of big sister. Olivia was Medusa.

here are those crazy brownies.

party people. rachel with her best friends. and a pic of my best friends together.

the kiddos (clockwise) - emma, karlie, aubrey, walker, keller, & ellis

we had a wonderful time. thank you to all of my family & friends who obviously love my little Rachel so very much. happy 5th birthday, Rachel! we love you so much!

leaves. they are a fallin

my least favorite part of fall has begun...falling leaves.

most of the time, it's a gradual process --> enjoy the pretty colors. a leaf falling here & there. eventually they all come down & we are settled into the stark naked trees & impending winter doom & dispair. woe is me & all that jazz.

but seriously this year, every tree in our yard lost all of their leaves on the same friggin day. {please note the extra green grass. the lawn bounced back after the drought this summer & this is the greenest it has been in months.}

jarrett is the official leaf raker in our household.

and the girls are the official leaf pile jumpers/destroyers/players. 

mama is the official photographer of said activities.

playing in leaves is excellent cardio. and exhausting, as you can see.

she might have taken a nap out there if it hadn't been 45 degrees & the wind gusting at 25 mph.

 this big boy is not to be outdone by the girls in this house. for my sweet sweet jersey-boy loves a good leaf pile jump too. i didn't get pictures of the actual leaps, but let me tell you, it was quite a sight to behold.

date night

anniversary date night went off without a hitch tonight. i ate my weight in roadhouse rolls & cheese fries.  i wore the necklace & earrings i wore on our wedding day. call me crazy, i actually thought my husband would recognize them. when i said "these are from the wedding, remember?" he said "your wedding?" hahaha - that would be the same has HIS wedding, so yes OUR wedding. silly silly boys.



i don't want to work anywhere that requires line dancing. for real, they all look super pumped.



pure deliciousness



and then there is this hanging on the wall right by where we sat. is this a real animal? or is this the jackalope from americas funniest people? seriously, i want to know.

Rachel Turns 5

that's right, this girl is 5 today!!!!

first things first, how did that happen? where has the time gone? and all other things every mother says...

My Dear Little Rachey Girl,

Today you are 5 years old!!! I can hardly believe it. You have grown into such a beautiful and charming little lady. You are funny. You are sweet. You are a Daddy's girl a million times over. You are one of the two very best gifts that has ever been given to me. I am so blessed to be your mother.

You are learning so much. You love to play homework with Olivia. And you actually do the homework sheets she makes for you. You write all your letters. You write all your numbers. You are even doing some math.

You are a sensitive soul. You cry at sad parts in movies. Sad songs make you cry. You still like to snuggle with me every now & then.

You love to sing & dance. You love to make people smile.

Happy 5th Birthday,

Rachel Claire!

We love you so much. And I hope you enjoy your special day!

Love always & forever,

Mama

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

10 years

120 months
521 weeks and 5 days

3652.42 days (trust me i googled that - leap years throw everything off)

Jarrett & I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary today!

That's a pretty big deal.

Happy 10 years to us!

Jar, I love you. I look forward to many more anniversaries with you by my side.



Day 1                                                                                             Day 3652.42

10 down & a lifetime left....





good fall family fun

we made our trip to the local pumpkin patch sunday. the weather was gorgeous! it was the nicest day we have had in a while.

the girls had a ton of fun. we came home with several pumpkins. and we didn't get lost in the corn maze. it wasn't in the best shape this year. i think the recent weather has done the corn maze in. all the tops were broken off so you could see right through the whole maze.

enjoy some pictures from our trip to the ol' wagon wheel pumpkin farm.

pumpkin decor is set up outside. and i snuck a little time with daddy before he went to work.

no joke, this harvest is dragging on & on & on. we couldn't buy a drop of rain in the summer. now it can't go more than a 4 day stretch without some rain. but i'm not complaining. bring on the rain. we need it to get everything back to what it is supposed to be.

this is a big week for the totten family. rachel turns 5 on friday. jarrett & i celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary on friday. by some stroke of luck, i got friday off of work to spend with my girl. i assume jar will be working. rachel's birthday party is sunday. it will be a stone cold blast. i'm super pumped. it's a halloween party, i will be in costume - as what, i don't know yet. i'm still trying to talk jarrett into a couple of different options.

let's see...what else is going on in totten-land?

olivia is still doing wonderful in school. she was elected into student council and is beyond thrilled. jarrett has the yuck that rachel & i both had a couple of weeks ago. the bears won & the cardinals lost --> i see this as a win win. haha!

pics from the phone

the hubs & i went on a date night for my birfday Saturday night. it was totally awesome.

yummmmmmm shrimps



LOVE the endless shrimp event at the dead lobster



picture day at school



 halloween decor outside houses is awesome. although, this particular display is quite disturbing.



scary scary scary (and it was pouring when i took this pic from the car)

 

the backyard is done up too.



rachel & i were a couple of sickos. we got the snots & cough. and the mucinex makes us both very grumpy.

 

this huge dog is a huge wimp when it rains. he likes to think he's a lap dog.



 

duh...

so, in case you didn't notice from our new family pics...i got mah hair did.

oh man, did it need it. like super bad. here are some pics just for the hell of it.

before

during - it got super hot under that dryer

gonna find out if blondes really do have more fun



my plan was all over color. but, i don't know really how that works on horribly dark roots & already colored hair. so we went with highlights & then she colored the roots between & all over. it looks pretty awesome. i'm very pleased.

i cannot let it go that long between any more. the grays & whites were taking over.