Outside they had horse drawn carriage rides and they were a ton of fun! Jaci really enjoyed it!
I wish we had the pictures of her sittin on Santa's lap telling him she wanted a "tiger" but they wouldn't let us use any personal cameras! BOO!
I downloaded a ton of Christmas music, and we brought it over with us. Listening to Nsync and Hanson Christmas music really got me into the "Christmas spirit!"
This is, hands down, my favorite ornament. Every year that I have helped put up the Christmas tree, I always make him look like he is skiing down the icicles! hehe
HAPPY SHOPPING!
My grandparents.When I was younger, Christmas wasn't about "finding the perfect present" and in turn causing yourself to have a massive amount of stress. It was about getting together and spending time with your family.
Now, my family can't even make time to all get together more than once a year. I can't remember any of the presents I got last year for Christmas (actually the only one I remember is my sister necklace, which I wear ALL ZE TIME!), but I can remember dancing in my grandparents TV room to Richard Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies" when I was 3 years old.
What has Christmas come to? When spending over $800 on Christmas presents was a means of showing the Christmas spirit? I miss when the only stress I had in my life around Christmas was playing capture the flag in my grandparents basement in the dark.
If you want to get me a present for Christmas, I'll tell you exactly what I want. I want books to read my daughter before bedtime, and I want you to donate to an angel on the Christmas trees at stores, and I want you to all come home for Christmas. That's truly what Christmas is all about.
Now, let's not forget...there are only 38 shopping days left for "Christmas."
I recommend ANYONE and EVERYONE to see this movie in theatres. I know what you are all thinking, "It's RATED PG. Psh, that's for kids!" I disagree.
I was really REALLY nervous about going to this movie. I thought I wouldn't sleep for days. It's really not that scary. The only thing that'll make you jump is the random LOUD BANGS! they throw in the middle of the movie that would make even a deaf person jump.2. Eat ice cream right out of the bucket. I think Derek and I enjoyed this A LOTTTT for being "adults." We got cookie dough ice cream and it was amazingggg!
3. On Friday, Derek told me to "pick a place to eat." I searched all morning long and landed on a place called, Beer Kitchen. We drove down to eat there and it was very good! I don't think we were expecting it to be as nice as it was, but it was a very nice place!
4. Afterwards, Derek took us to this AWESOME bar downtown. (You'll have to ask him about his experience..I'll leave you all in suspense..)
5. Friday night, we went to another movie....DUE DATE! Derek and I had high expectations for it and it didn't fall short. It was hilarious! I recommend it to all.
6. Last but not least, the main event of our weekend!!! My cousin, Dan, got married.
Of course, I was the best looking date ever, so Derek was very lucky. =0p The wedding itself was absolutely gorgeous, and the reception hall was out of this world. (Actually, it was in downtown KC) They didn't serve dinner, but instead they served "heavy" hor'dourves. (spelling?) They were amazinggggg! I was obsessing over them....I love food too much, I think. Overall, another great weekend in Kansas City, but I sure did miss my Jaci Lane!
2. ...and we decorated our door with them!
3. We carved our pumpkin we got at the pumpkin patch!
4. We roasted our seeds we took out of our pumpkin. They were delicious!
5. TRICK OR TREATING!!!!!!!!! Jaci was a KU Cheerleader!
As you can see, we dressed up as our designated pie filling and made belts that said "3.14159." YESSSS WE ARE CREATIVE!! The only downfall was that only one person guessed our costumes right off the bat, otherwise, we had to tell them. It was still a lot of fun though!
We had a lot of fun out there, even though the hay made me itch like crazy! There were lots of fun activities for Jaci while we waited for our ride out to the actual pumpkin patch...and numerous photo opportunities everywhere we went.
Jaci also got a purple pumpkin with a brown stem painted on her face while we were waiting! She was very excited and sat very still while the girl painted it on.
Jaci also went down this ultra unsafe slide that was bolted into a hay bale. Yeah, only in Kansas, right? Caroline took her up there and helped her go down so that she wouldn't get hurt.
FINALLY, our ride out to the pumpkin patch came...
And, after much time spent looking at icky broken pumpkins, we finally found some that were adequate enough to call our own. Caroline and I have matching pumpkins and Derek found Jaci a small ALL GREEN one! Overall, it was a perfect day for our family to spend some quality time together..and Jaci had a lot of fun! Next time, we will have to make plans for Mindy and John to come with us!
The recipe called for "a box of instant vanilla pudding" which I thought was the only ODD thing about the recipe. So, I dump in a box of vanilla pudding and we bake these cookies that are to die for outta the oven. (We ate some of the cookie dough too...couldn't resist!)
However, when I woke up this morning, these cookies were like BRICKS! I couldn't believe how HARD they were...didn't the name of the recipe state SOFT? If you throw them in the microwave for 8 seconds they go back to being AMAZING but still, they are hard as rocks!
Caroline and me during Oktoberfest. 10/1/10
...When she chose to be a cheerleader, I panicked at first because there was a KU and KSU outfit. I wasn't too worried which one she chose though, because A) She would be smart and pick the KU cheerleading outfit, or B) She would pick the KSU cheerleading outfit and therefore we would face paint her and she would go as a "dead cheerleader." haha! My dad didn't find it as funny...
...but nothing worked! So when the time came to walk down the aisle, she cried the entire way and stopped at my pew and refused to walk any farther! She looked very beautiful doing it though.
She walked all the way down the aisle with her hand in front of her face...but that's okay, because every one thought it was cute (even with her socks unrolled) and so I consider it a success! GO JACI!
Oh yes, and this is a picture of my smokin' hot date (my boyfriend, Derek) and if you look at Jaci in the photo, you can see her super cute hairdo that Caroline did for her!! Congrats, Sadie and Chase!
Last week I made a soup pot full of GREEN BEAN DUMPLING SOUP for supper! It was so good that it only lasted til lunch the next day and it was all gone..I guess Caroline thinks GBD soup is a good breakfast and late night snack. haha I had to make a DOUBLE batch that next night just to tie us over for a couple days!
Green bean dumpling soup. Our weakness in our household..
HOPE EVERYONE HAS A SAFE AND FUN OKTOBERFEST!!
Needless to say, I won the contest, but only because I was also donning my sweet metal retainer. So as we are sitting there waiting for the mask to adhere to our faces and beautify our pores and skin tone, I get this idea. "CAROLINE! Let's get on chatroulette so people can laugh at us!!!!" Best idea ever? Or worst idea ever? You decide...
This guy was really cute, so naturally Caroline freaks out like maybe someday she'll meet him and he's going to remember her mug from Chatroulette. He got a good chuckle out of us but couldn't seem to make eye contact with the beauty that is "the Beilman girls."
Those boxers had us at hello...we laughed it off and hit the next button.....bad idea....
Oh my lanta!!!! Chatroulette is a disgusting place. Is it weird that it looks like he has the same bedding set as me? I need to invest in new sheets..this makes me feel dirty in my own skin.
