Turning Two

It's no secret that Emme loves Elmo.  As her second birthday celebration approached I knew that furry little monster would be a part of the festivities!  

We had her party at one of our favorite places The Kiddie Park with lots of our favorite people.  I was so touched by my sweet little Carter who came early, focused, worked hard and helped me set everything up.  She is such a wonderful big sis...

We managed to get everything taped down just in the nick of time (it was a little windy out)...

And I was tickled pink with Emerson's Elmo cake...

Our guest started to arrive and we got the party started!

It means so much when sweet family and friends come together to celebrate your little people...

I think birthday's are such a good reminder to take a deep breath and remember what is really important...

And for making wishes...

And for eating cake (of course)...

Birthdays are good for best friends...

Family...

(Nate swore he didn't realize his shirt matched Emme's leggings but I think he was fibbing! That guy speaks my love language...it's called color coordination!)

(and speaking of love languages my sister surprised me by taking off work so she could come...now that is my love language...as in it totally made me cry.)

Birthdays are also very good for turning two (which only happens once in a lifetime)...

A BIG thanks to everyone who celebrated with us and made this day such a happy memory!  It was one of those "Best DAY Ever" kind of days for sure.

Emme's Birthday

We all get a big kick out of the way Emerson talks these days.  It's all "Emme this" and "Emme that" it's all third person all the time.  But Thursday really was Emme's day.  Her birthday which we celebrated with plenty of special and a lot of love.  She actually had her first taste of birthday fun on Wednesday when she shared cupcakes with her Mother's Day Out class...

The next morning we treated her to a little breakfast serenade of "Happy Birthday to You".  I love the sweet look she gets on her face when you sing to her...

Later that day she spent a little time on her new favorite activity, watching Aunt Kim's Survivor Video...

And of course hanging with her good buddy Elmo...

Later that night Kim and Bryan joined us for pizza and cake.  Emme had been dyyyiiiiinnnnnggg to eat a piece of cake all afternoon so when it was finally time her smile said it all...

And I can't get enough of the look on her face when we sing....

Friday we had a little down time after all the celebrating and got to rest up for her party...

I'll be sharing all her party pics soon but here's a little sneak peak at our Elmo Extravaganza....

More to come...

She's a Survivor

This is nuts with a capital N.  I have to admit Wednesday was about as fun as it gets.  To finally be able to tell friends and family or even the lady checking me out at the grocery store that my sister is going to be on SURVIVOR (ok so I'm kidding about the grocery store bit but don't put it past me!) was so stinkin' fun.  

My first thought when I woke up yesterday was, "Yay, It's still true!"  This whole thing would be SO exciting even if I had never watched an episode of the show.  But the fact that I would consider myself a diehard fan pushes the whole thing to the "I'm like a kid at Christmas" phase of excitement.  I mean how many people can say Jeff Probst thinks their sister is smart?! (Click here to see what else he had to say! I'm particularly fond of the, "she's a favorite to win" part!)


Sure I've had seasons that have been ho-hum or that I've even considered jumping ship after.  But I always come back and for some reason this show has just become one of those can't miss things for me.  Watching it is something that my sister and I have shared and to get to watch her now going through the whirlwind of actually being on it is a little surreal.

It's hard to believe that prior to Wednesday you could google Kim Spradlin and find your average facebook page or some old blurb about her from high school.  All it takes now is "Kim Sp" and you can read more about her than you've ever dreamed!  I realize this could be a problem because a.) obsessing over reading everything that is said about her could become a full time job and b.) there are some bitter betty's and bob's out there who somehow missed the "if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all" bit.  

I realize everyone is entitled to their own opinion and of course mine will be in the semi biased "I think she's the most awesome person they've ever had on the show" category.  And while my opinion may be a biased one here is something that is pure fact...my sister is real.  


She's a real person that has been one of my favorite's for as long as I can remember.  Kim has always been someone that people cannot help but love.  She is magnetic, she is the life of the party, she is the person that lights up a room.  


She is a real person that works hard for that gorgeous physique that everyone is going cuckoo for cocoa puffs over.  There is a lot of sweat that goes into a six pack like that!  Trust me I know.  She took me under her wing as a workout buddy (something I will be forever grateful for) and 20 lbs. later I realize that being in shape at 30 does not come for free!  

I guess what I'm trying to say is that for a lot of people my sister is about to become a picture on their screen or a person on their TV (craaaazy!).  I'm sure it will be easy for them to love (or hate) her based on what they can learn in a short amount of time.  For us its L-O-V-E all the way.  Knowing her like we do it would be impossible not to!!