Piano Girl

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday 

And the manager gives me a smile

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see to forget about life for a while

And the piano, it sounds like a carnival

And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar

And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"

Sing us a song you're the piano girl
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feeling alright

 

Welcome Back

Three months ago, we said goodbye to some dear friends. You don't remember? Read about it here. Well, about three weeks ago, I got a call one that truly surprised me... They were moving back!! I felt like it was a second chance. A second chance to plan play dates even when the house is a mess and I have a thousand things on my to do list. A second chance to have family dinners so our husbands can get to know each other better and we can have some girl time. A second chance to talk, I mean really talk, get to know each other better and help each other become better friends, moms, wives, sisters. Needless to say, I was overjoyed and I'll do a better job cherishing friendships.

Welcome Back Bauer Family! 

(glad those years of chalking in college are paying off)

All five kiddos. Happy to be back together! 

airplanes

Saturday morning was just like any other Saturday morning, we got up, watched a few cartoons, and ate breakfast. Then the kids noticed the boxes. Mason was the first to ask if they could color them, of course the answer was yes. Then came the fun part. "Look mom, I am making buttons for the airplane," and from that moment on, the rest of our morning was spent turning boxes into planes.

I sometimes forget that we don't have to plan family outings or huge events to have fun and create memories with our kids. Sometimes all we need is some markers, duct tape and a little imagination.

Reagan flying on the coffee table.

Mason was ready for take off and Reagan added a passenger!

Right when Mason put his arms out, the wind started blowing and his hair was flying and he closed his eyes. Best moment of the day.

A wedding

Over Labor Day weekend, we headed home for a very special occasion. My cousin Jenny was getting married! We were all so excited for Jenny and Colton and who doesn't love a reason to celebrate. This was Mason's second wedding and a first for Reagan and I think they did awesome. It helps that they had a DVD player, Pez dispensers, coloring books and gummy snacks. All before dancing! Needless to say they were on the dance floor non stop. I love a good party but more importantly I love celebrating family, and we couldn't be happier with our newest member!

Jenny and Uncle Bill walking down the isle. 

Four of my favorite people.

Oh my goodness. I loved the tie.

Yes, there is candy in her mouth. It seemed to keep her quiet during the ceremony.

My boy and his TOMS. LOVE.

I can't wait to see all the pictures from the photographer. (especially since I didn't take too many) she is amazing. Check our her post about Jenny here.

some days you gotta dance.

I never met a girl who loved to twirl like her. And I never met a girl who loved a twirl dress, more than her. Over Labor day weekend we headed home for a wedding (more on that later) and since we had some time, Ann and I made Reagan this dress. I am so happy with how it turned out and I think I can do it all on my own again so I'm gonna try. I mean wouldn't you if you could make a girl THAT happy?!?!?
 

 Some days you gotta dance

Live it up when you get the chance

Cause when the world doesn't make no sense

 

And you're feeling just a little too tense

Gotta loosen up those chains and dance

I got the pattern for the dress from here on Etsy. It was pretty easy and had amazing directions and pictures to follow!

It's Been A While

I know, I know, it has been three weeks since I last posted. Life has been crazy! The hubs had to head to California for a week for work and it happened to fall during UTK's sorority recruitment (which I volunteered to help) so needless to say- it was a busy, busy week. And I think it took another one to recover from it!
Lucky for me, I have amazing sweet parents who live close enough and were willing to come up and help out for a few days. The kids always love having Papa and Grandma Kathy around, and my sweet, sweet dad, helped finish up some projects we had on the back burner. You may remember we bought a play structure back in February, well we decided to add a house onto the bottom part so the kids would have another place to play. Steve made the floor a few months back and then we slowly added the walls. But we hadn't finished the counters or the door and it was driving me crazy. I am happy to say it is finished! My dad did an awesome job on the door and he even had time to stain the whole thing for us.  I know we would have eventually finished it, but it is nice to have it done and the kids LOVE it!

Reagan testing out the new door. We decided to go with a butler type door so that it wouldn't make it too dark and it is under the slide so that would have made it more tricky.

The window! The house has two and M & R love them.

We made two of the walls- half walls with little window sills so they could play diner, or talk in and out of house.

I love it, but more importantly Mason and Reagan love it! We play everyday outside in the house.

Thanks Papa (andy) and Dad (steve) both of your hard work paid off and the house looks AWESOME!