weekending :: lots of fun edition!

Happy Monday! We had a very full but fun weekend! 

I didn't take many pictures at all on Friday, but Friday afternoon I went to our little downtown area and did some shopping. I needed to get some birthday gifts for a party we had Saturday and then I noticed that one of my favorite store was having a sale. Score! Friday evening I took dinner to some friends from church who just had a baby and then our family went over to some friends house for dinner. Hudson and Emma had so much fun playing with their boys. 

When we got home Friday night it was 9:00 and Emma was so crazy. 

She popped out and said, "Peek boo mommy!" Love her!

Saturday morning we headed to Walt and Sam's 2nd birthday party.

It was SO COLD but the kids didn't care at all. There was a bounce house and a petting zoo!

The animals were Emma's favorite part.

We came home after the party and the kids and I all went down for naps. I had the worst cramp/crick in my neck. I got it Friday night and slept HORRIBLY Friday night so I was exhausted. I found some muscle relaxers and that helped me rest so I could get in a good nap. I still have a lot of pain but it's not near as bad. I'm thinking now that I must have pulled a muscle working out last week. Who knows but it's crazy painful.

Saturday night we made a last minute decision to take the kids to a hibachi restaurant for the first time. I texted my friend Amanda to ask her again which sushi rolls were their favorites and they ended up joining us. It was such a fun night!

The boys were hilarious when there was fire. This is totally unstaged...their real reactions when they first saw fire. haha!

Our chef was awesome and let the boys crack the eggs. He threw away probably 7 or 8 eggs. ha!

Emma was so tired. She sat in my lap the entire time falling asleep. She never ate anything and went to bed as soon as we got home. I'm guessing our late night Friday night and the full day wore her out.

Sunday morning we went to church and then after church went out to eat for Mexican food with a couple other of the staff families. Our kids filled up on way too much salsa and queso and came home and took epic naps. It was so nice. 

Sunday night our church's preschool ministry had a Family Praise Night. The preschool ministry at our church is so so so wonderful. I love that they are so intentional with preschoolers and invest so much in them. 

We started off making some crafts. The first one they made was a little card to give to a friend.

Then they made chore charts! This was my favorite. ha! I've been wanting to start chore charts with the kids. They love stickers and I think this would be really helpful.

After the crafts we went to the preschool worship room (yep, a room just for preschool worship) and the parents got to experience what our littles do each Sunday in preschool worship. It was so much fun to watch all of the preschoolers sing and praise Jesus. Then they listened to the bible story of Zacchaeus and he even made an appearance through the time machine!

Such a special night! We ended the evening in the gym so all of the kids could jump in the inflatables. 

It was a fantastic weekend and we are so thankful. Have a great week, friends! xo

Chapel Choir Tour: Denver! Part 3

So on Thursday we drove to Overland Park, Kansas and that night we had senior night at a banquet hall. It was such a special night honoring the seniors of the Chapel Choir. We had a delicious dinner, a video with the seniors talking about their favorite Chapel Choir moments, and then they passed out awards to the underclassmen. Here is John with the seniors.

On Friday we drove and drove and drove and ended up in St. Louis for lunch. I wish we could have had more time there! 

We had lunch in Grand Central Station at Landry's. 

After lunch we got back on the buses and finished our driving for the day. We ended up in Dexter, Missouri for the evening. Eric is from Dexter so the students performed a concert at his home church. 

After the concert we had dinner at the famous Hickory Log. Amazing ribs and we had brisket! We can't get brisket in Alabama. 

A crazy picture with all the sponsors. 

It was kind of nice breaking up the drive home into 3 days with an event each evening. But driving the last part of the trip on Saturday was the longest day ever! We were SO ANXIOUS to get home to the kids!!! When we got home they were waiting for us in the church parking lot. It was the best homecoming ever! They also got to explore the big bus! Hudson sat down in a seat and said, "I'm ready to go on a choir trip now!" sweet boy!

Reunited!

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go on this trip. And so thankful that my mother in law came to keep the kids. They had the best time with her!

Chapel Choir Tour: Denver! Part 2

Monday morning we got up and drove to Estes Park, Colorado. It was about an hour away from Denver and the drive was gorgeous! Again...I apologize for these pictures since I took them from inside the bus. Eww bugs!

I'm pretty sure I've said this already, but the weather was incredible while we were there. 

It was WONDERFUL. Estes Park was simply a play stop for us. We got to spend a few hours there doing whatever we wanted. We started with a long lunch and this was our view.

We made our way down to the river to snap a couple pictures. 

Bear hats. Because sic 'em.

Everywhere you looked the scenery was beautiful.

Ready to explore Estes Park!

I am so glad that our besties were on this trip! 

That afternoon we went to a Salvation Army music camp outside of Estes Park. We put on a little carnival for the campers complete with a photo booth.

There was this beautiful mill on the property. They can actually grind their own wheat!

On our drive back to Denver we spotted a couple elk on the side of the road. So awesome!

Tuesday morning we went to downtown Denver to Harbor Light. 

The choir sounded amazing as usual.

After the concert we served lunch and then had dessert outside. The tables were hot. :)

Me with some awesome junior girls!

That afternoon we drove way north to Harvest Farm. The students got to spend some time exploring the farm...after the insane storm passed and then had a concert. 

On our way home there was the most incredible FULL double rainbow! I've never seen a full double rainbow with colors that vibrant. Unfortunately...the iPhone can't even come close to capturing how amazing it was.

Late night freshman girls party in mine and Brittany's room. It was our last night in the dorms and these girls are awesome!

Wednesday morning we were back in Colorado Springs. They sang at Focus on the Family.

Then we got to taste the WoFaChoSo (World Famous Chocolate Soda). It was so yummy!

That night we were supposed to go to a dude ranch but because of the bad weather, the highway to the dude ranch was closed. We ended up having California Pizza Kitchen cater dinner at our hotel and then took the students to a local mall. Of course, we rode the train. :)

Our last morning in Colorado. So beautiful!