christmas cards.

Now that Christmas is less than a month away (yikes!), I guess it's time to start thinking about cards. Wait, what's that? I should've done this some time last month? I'm sure you're going to tell me that I should have already had our photoshoot done with photos edited too, right? Hahaha... you guys are funny!

But in all seriousness, we are pretty much the worst at procrastinating when it comes to getting our Christmas cards done and out the door. Sure, we still have to take our photos, but I have at least already picked out our outfits. If someone could just communicate with the weather to cool off, that would be awesome. Because taking our photos in 75º weather with winter garb on sounds less than thrilling. Thankfully the weather seems to be cooling off again this weekend, so we'll be heading out to do a shoot soon.

One thing we're not going to worry about this year? Designing our own cards. We've done it in years past, and while it is something we enjoy, knowing that Minted has excellent design choices makes it a simple decision for us. I'm crushing hard on the above designs! I also found myself falling in love with several other choices... so I think we'll see how the photos turn out to decide on a vertical or horizontal layout. I do have a thing for the foil designs, so you might see a little something sparkly in a mailbox near you at some point.

At this rate? It might be New Years though!

graham: first haircut.

Our littlest bit finally had his first haircut... only 19 months later! The mullet was starting to get a little out of control. And while the curls were super cute, this new big-boy 'do is adorable too. His first haircut also meant his first sucker. We couldn't get a cape on him, but he was completely happy to sit there with a sucker and let the lady cut away. No tears shed (on anyone's part), and even though I have no idea what I'll do with it, I did keep a clip of his first haircut. I mean, he has no baby book being third kid and all... Who am I kidding? The first two have one, but are they filled out? Hahahaha, nope. We do at least have these photos to mark the occasion, and that works for me.

one little indian.

Sawyer had his Thanksgiving feast at school today. The Indians (4k classes) and Pilgrims (3k classes) came together and had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. You know, chicken nuggets, rolls and fruit. Ha! There was also corn, mac & cheese and green beans, but our nugget didn't touch them. There were also oreos to finish off the meal. Again, completely traditional.

I hadn't really made any plans to go to the feast, but Sawyer said, "Mommy, will you please come to my feast?," this morning and I just couldn't resist. So Graham and I made an effort to go watch Sawyer eat food. But y'all, the second I walked into his classroom and he saw me... the look in his eyes and the grin on his face made it all worth it. Even if all we did was watch him eat. ::wink::

eating better.

We try so hard to eat well at our home. And things go okay for several days and then we're out somewhere and buy dinner and things just spiral out of control from there. We're not exactly spring chickens anymore and the metabolism is slowing down. Way. Down.

So we're cleaning up our diet. And by diet, I mean just that. Not some "lose weight quick" diet. But changing the way we eat. Our nutrition. While we're no experts, we are trying to eat a little cleaner, less processed. Are we denying our urges? Not exactly. Just trying to redirect them I suppose. And the kids still get some processed food. What can I say? They love fruit snacks! I promise we do try to feed them real fruit too. Just kidding, they love real fruit and we always have it around the house. But they love fruit snacks too. All in moderation, right?

With all that said, we are definitely trying to clean up our over-processed cereal breakfast act. We made overnight oats last night, and four out of the five of us love them. It's a tie between Sawyer and Graham as to who loves them more. But since Graham wore them much better, I'm going to say he wins.

fall hiking, 2015.

It seems like it's every time of the year that we get the itch to take the boys hiking, and this year has been no different. Except that we went twice in one week. And have plans to go again next week when everyone is on Thanksgiving break. You see, our boys, like most boys, have a ton of energy. And hiking gives them a place to release that energy. And we all have fun. So it's really just a win all around.

We ventured out to Moss Rock this past weekend for the first time. And we're wondering why we've never been out there before. The trails offer enough of a challenge that it wears most of us out, but not too much of a challenge that Jeremy or I can't carry Graham without completely exhausting ourselves. And it's free. That's an important one.

Moss Rock offered waterfalls and rock climbing. And caves. For kiddos with big imaginations, this was the jackpot of hiking trails for us. I'm already looking forward to getting back out there and discovering the other trails we didn't get a chance to take.

greaser sawyer.

Sawyer has a Hippo Hop at school today... aka a 50s dance party. They're working on the letter H this week, so what better way to celebrate? Getting this child's hair to lay down is a challenge; I mean, he's known for some pretty crazy bedhead. And he's got cowlicks for days. Days! But somehow Jeremy managed to get it almost lay flat! And I think the greaser look is one that could work for Sawyer, right? Except for the tucked in shirt. We had an epic meltdown over that part... But no worries, as long as he's distracted with something else, he forgets about it. Also? When did my kid become a child model?

little superheroes.

Once upon a time there was a third brother who looked everything like his older brothers. Then he started getting older and looked like neither brother. And then he got a little older and decided to start being a chameleon – changing who he looked like depending on who he was around. (Truth!)

So here are the younger two playing together. Complete with same exact head tilt from the back. And same open-mouth profile when playing from the side. I couldn't have staged/photoshopped these photos any better. Because I didn't. It's real life. And our real life happens to be three adorable little boys that look so much alike sometimes that they look nothing alike. How's that for some confusion? You're welcome!

(Also, Cayden's third birthday party favors are the gift that keep on giving. These capes are working toward four years of hard work. Well, except for one of them. I found one last blue cape lingering in our closet when we moved and Graham has recently claimed it as his own. But I have a feeling it's going to get a lot of play too...)

the cove: living room

Because you can't really have a makeover post without some sort of before photo, right? So how 'bout three of them? You're welcome! As a side note, I've realized that I need to design some sort of floor plan for y'all to see. We've had several people come over and declare that the layout is nothing like they were thinking. And as a confessed nerd/dork, doing something like that sounds fun. Grab some graph paper and go... I'm thinking there's probably a digital site that'll do something like that for me fairly effortlessly though. Anyone got any ideas?

Enough rambling, right? The after photos kind of speak for themselves. We painted all the walls a fabulous light gray. And while the color is cooler during the day, when the lights come on a night, it's a really great warm color. So a win in the color department for sure. Which is a good thing because the color extends down the hallway. And will eventually go in our den too. Happy gray, happy life, right? No? Hmmm...

Anyway, as I've stated before, that feature wall was already here and yes, we still love it like crazy. This rooms boasts four windows and has amazing natural light – another huge selling point for us. We added white blinds to all of the windows to brighten things up, yet give us some privacy too. We've also added some artwork around the room to personalize the space. I still have plans for artwork over the desk area and coat hanging area. I know what I want to do, it just takes money to do it, and we're doing things as we save money.

Speaking of saving money, many people have asked if we purchased a new couch. The answer? No! We just bought a new slipcover – which was 100s of dollars less than buying a new couch. And it changed the entire feel of the room. I still love the look of the white cover, but the gray cover, and the texture it has, just seems to fit our point in life at the moment. We have saved the white cover, and at some point it may return. After a good washing and thorough bleaching, ha! We were also completely surprised that our sectional fit in this space. We thought for sure it wouldn't considering the size of our last living room was much larger. We love that it fit though, and it keeps the room cozy.

Overall, I'd say this room is probably 80% done? We still need to give the ceiling a fresh coat of (white) paint. The trim could all use a fresh coat of paint at some point too. And that fixture in the foyer is a big, fat nope in my book. We'd like to do a clear orb fixture of some sort possibly. I am crushing on this one. The fact that it's acrylic and not glass sounds like a brilliant idea in our home full of boys.

I have a couple of other updates to share. Just have to take the time to photograph them. One is the big boys' room. Which takes cleaning and styling... because no way would I show you what it looks like on a normal day!