Free Range Family

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! I hope that everyone is safe in their New Year celebrations tonight! Lon and I will be staying in and spending some family time with the kids, before turning in early for the night. Make sure that if you are planning on drinking, that you have a designated driver to get you home safely. With that being said, have a wonderful time tonight! We had a decent year this past year. Unfortunately, a new home for us was not in the cards but we did get a new car. Alan and Anna participated in many different activities, from basketball to gymnastics to soccer to dance to t-ball. They are very active kiddos! Lon and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary, as well as Anna's second birthday and Alan's fifth birthday. Even though we are still living apart, we managed to have a good year with our amazing children. I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for us! I hope that a new home is one of those things! Keep your fingers crossed! Here is ...

We had a pretty mellow Thanksgiving this year, it was surprisingly wonderful! My parents and siblings all went to Townsend to see family for Thanksgiving, so we spent it with Lon's family and my father's relatives in the Heights. We were hoping to go up to Townsend to see my mother's relatives this year but as that sounded good in the summer, we just didn't have the funds to actually be able to make it happen. With my car breaking down in August, we spent more money then we had originally planned and couldn't afford to save up for a trip. I am sad about it, but hopeful. Lon reminded me that it only meant that we would have to postpone the trip, not cancel it entirely. We can probably save up for it again after Christmas is over and go in the spring, maybe for our anniversary. That would be cool because we would be able to see everyone AND it would kind of be like a "surprise" or "spontaneous" trip for my family. We usually only try to go up to T...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my wonderful readers! <Via> I am very thankful for all of you! You are all so wonderful! I hope that your Thanksgiving is full of happiness, love, laughter and family. No matter who you are, where you live, or what your situation is, everyone has something to be thankful for. My family has a list so long, it keeps growing the more I think about it! We have had a rough year and some months, but we are getting back on our feet again. That is one thing to be thankful for right there! All of the support we have received from family and friends is another thing. There are many, many more! We are about to head out for our Thanksgiving festivities, so I will have to drop back in tomorrow and share my "Thankful List" with all of you. But I do hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and that everyone is able to spend it with someone they love and care about. That is all Thanksgiving is really about… Being thankful and being with tho...

Today is a very special birthday to me. It is my amazing, handsome, smart, funny, caring, loving husband. Happy birthday Lon! We have been together for over six years now, oh how much we have experienced together! Happiness and sadness, sickness and health, many different houses, several different jobs, two beautiful births of our amazing children, the passing of two loved ones, finding new friends and loving each other each and every day. I love you Lon! Here's to many more years spent together raising this beautiful little family we have! Happy birthday babe. Tonight, I am taking Lon out to eat for his birthday. I am not sure yet where he wants to go, probably Outback Steakhouse, knowing him lol. But I am excited to have a night to celebrate him, just us two! Thanks Mom for watching the children for us! Happy birthday sweetheart. We love you so much!

Oh my word! These are the BEST pictures I have ever had taken! I swear that I say this every year, but I loved the pictures so much! Miss Kelsie Peterson is such a wonderful photographer! She knew just the places for good lighting and just the pose to have us all in. She is also an amazing editor! I love how all our photos turn out, from our several photo sessions at Norm's Island to our Christmas sessions at home. Thanks Kelsie, you are the best! Thank you so much Kelsie! These pictures are just beautiful! 

So my wild child son could not come up with just ONE thing for his birthday. He has a love for gymnastics and all things tumbling (just like his mama) but he also is quite  obsessed with fond of Legos, just like his crazy  creative father. :P So he was torn between the two themes. We decided to have his "school friends" party at the YMCA Kids Gym. Then we would invite anyone who wanted to join in to the local Lego store, Bricks and MiniFigs. They could play and look at the Legos with Alan. He loved the idea! It ended up just being the kids, Lon and I at the Lego store, but Alan didn't care. He was instantly in hog heaven! :) Anna went over and played with the big bricks while Alan and Lon explored the Lego creations throughout the store. We currently have a Lego exhibit at our local art museum, entitled The Art of the Brick. One of the artist's creations was at Bricks and MiniFigs, a sculpture of the inside of an eye! It was so cool and entirely made out of b...