apartment pictures

Well I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our apartment. I am most excited about Jacoby's room, but I need to finish painting a bookshelf in there before I take pictures. I'm also posting my canvases for a project challenge on UCreate. That site is great and has so many fun ideas.
So here is our bedroom and family room for now. I like a lot of color; I always have.

It's fun to finally post pictures of my wall art that my dad put together. Red and robin-egg blue are one of my favorite color combos and were our wedding colors. Jacoby is constantly hitting wiffle balls off the trunk (like it's a tee) and playing catch with us, but I've been lucky enough to have nothing break so far. Knock on wood.

I've been looking for an entertainment center for a long time, but finally found one I loved that is just my style.

winner

And the winner is #12, the nurse, Kristen, who said:

My favorite costume was when (as an adult) I dressed up like a nurse, with scrubs, a stethescope... the works. We took the kids around trick-or-treating, and had a great day. We decided to end at a nursing home that allowed the kids to trick or treat. The entire time we were there, old people kept grabbing me and asking me if I would take them back to their rooms... I had to keep explaining that I didnt work there. It was pretty funny.

Thanks everyone for entering! It was so fun to hear what all of you were for Halloween. Some of the different things you dressed up as were: horse, witch, Belle, crayon, Flinstone family, Pillsbury Doughboy, Winnie the Pooh, present, nurse, mermaid, pirate, and dice. Thanks and congrats Kristen! E-mail me at mlongroe@gmail.com your address and I'll get this in the mail!

fire truck

We went to the fire station this week for play group. Jacoby just loves fire trucks right now and was really excited to see a 'big truck.' He was a little confused that it wasn't red, but I just kept telling him it was a yellow fire truck. It was pretty fun!

Sitting on the front of the fire truck with Owen.

Looking for a yummy, fall recipe? My mother-in-law gave me this pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe a couple years ago and it's the best. It works well for muffins and bread and you can even make frosting for some extra yummy treats. Get the recipe here!

halloween decorations and a little giveaway

I love looking at crafting blogs and one of my favorites, eighteen25, had a spooktacular celebration of Halloween ideas. There were so many fun ideas. I was telling my mom about them and since I hardly had any Halloween decor, we talked to Becca and Steph, and we each made a Halloween decoration and did one for everyone. It was a lot of fun and everyone's stuff was awesome. Thanks to my wonderful Mom and sisters. Love you guys!

I made these candycorn wreaths. They are a lot of fun to do. The idea comes from the Women's Day magazine. I really like how it looks with the black and white polka dot ribbon. The only complaint I have is that it said to preserve it you could brush Modge Podge all over it, so I did this and it was a disaster. It made the color on the candycorns drip off and look runny and gross. I was so frustrated that they would suggest this when obviously they didn't try it before printing it in the magazine. I ended up redoing that wreath. :( I got together with some of my friends from here and did these. Brooke did one and since I was sending two home with my mom for her and Steph, Brooke said that I could have hers and she would make another one. That was very nice and thoughtful of her. Brooke and I got together a couple days ago and made some more.
My mom made these fun, colorful runners. I love the colors and textures, it looks just like Halloween.

My mom made these fun subway art frames. I really like how it's not like the normal subway art, but with the fun cursive over top. She is so creative and talented.

Steph did these fun plates. I couldn't believe how awesome they looked with the white vinyl against the black plates. I think it was a little bit of a pain for her, but they turned out really nice.

Becca made the fun garland. I really love the colors she chose. Now I want one of these for every holiday, you up for it Bec? Gee, thanks. :)

My mom went all out for this challenge and did these fun vinyl bats we'd seen on a blog. She had a bunch cut for all of us so that we could have more for next year. They're very fun.

Here's a close up of what's in the frames without a terrible glare. A picture of Jacoby the lion last year. I also made everyone the along came a spider prints.

Now for a little giveaway, I will be giving away one of these along came a spider prints. Just leave a comment telling about your favorite thing you ever dressed up as for Halloween. I want to send it out soon, so this giveaway will end Friday. I have to tell you that my favorite thing I ever dressed up as was a bride. I was a bride at least a couple years in a row and thought I was so beautiful. Ha ha. I will have to see if my mom has a picture she can scan so that I can post it. I think every girl dreams of getting married and being a bride and I just loved pretending I really was. Now go enter the giveaway!

I Love Visitors!

Wow, I had such a great time while my family was here. I guess I didn't realize how lonely I was down here without family and it really hit me after they left. It just didn't last long enough, but we sure had a great time.

My family is so great and are so thoughtful of others and of me and made me feel so special. I really appreciate everything they do. We did lots of fun things while they were here, but also got to hang out a lot and just talk and be together. I really miss having my family so close because it's such a comfort knowing they are close by if you need anything.

This picture should be at the bottom, it's some treats I sent home with them. I also did one of these when Tyler's family came last month. I'm sure you've all seen these before, but they're fun to do. I personalized the labels to say different things such as: thanks for coming, we love you and miss you, you're the best, drive safe, don't forget us, and come back soon. I did them with Halloween paper and covered the carrier with a paper bag. My dad likes sunflower seeds, so those were special for him. It's always nice to have lots of treats while driving, especially on a fourteen hour drive.

Jacoby and I went to meet my family at the entrance as they pulled up because I could hardly stand it and he was so excited and confused that they were here. He grabbed their hands and starting leading the way to our apartment.

My parents got Jacoby this Phoenix Sun's Build-A-Bear dog. He sure loves it.

Jacoby loved sleeping with his Aunt Annie and Aunt Olivia.

We went the the zoo in Phoenix. It was pretty hot still, but it's a pretty awesome zoo.

They have a splash park Annie and Jacoby played in while we were there.

I really like this picture of my parents. They are great!

We went to a yummy pizza place that Guy Fieri featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."

We spent a lot of time at our pool playing games and watching Jacoby swim.

We ate lots of food like these banana pancakes.

Some of the things we did while they were here were: went swimming, went to the zoo, shopped at our mall, went to Jamba, ate at the pizza place, played some games, went to Krispy Kreme, at at In-n-Out, worked on projects, had a picnic at a park, and went to church. My dad also put some crown molding on a bookshelf in Jacoby's room. Devan cut it for us, thanks Devan. I'll post pictures of it soon. My mom made a quilt for Jacoby and it matches his room so well. I can't wait to post some pictures. I hope everyone had fun because we sure did.

This was right before church on the day they were leaving. I think we were all starting to feel sad. These two are so cute together.

We didn't really like saying goodbye, I'm not afraid to say that I really miss my family and that they are my best friends. I can't wait for you all to come back. See ya in a month!

the countdown begins

I don't know that we've been up to anything too exciting, but here's a little update.
I have always thought it was hilarious when kids fall asleep in their high-chair while eating, but Jacoby has never done it. The other day, he wouldn't lay down for his nap and so I got him some toast and went in the other room for a minute. I didn't hear him chattering after awhile and came out to this. I had to grab the camera. :) He looked so handsome in his little outfit that I had to get a picture.

Jacoby is the WORST shopper of all time and hates sitting in the cart or stroller, doesn't stay by me, and runs away. Well on this trip to the grocery store, I made him use his monkey backpack/leash and I bribed him with this huge sucker. He was thrilled and was a lot better than normal. It was a huge mess, but I don't even care. By the way, I don't know why people think leashes are a bad thing, please forgive me for trying to be a good Mom and take care of my kid. Grr...

I was so thrilled that Katelyn's husband had an interview at Midwestern. It was great to spend a little bit of time with her. I'm really hoping that Doug gets in so they can move by us. Jacoby and Krew had fun together swimming and playing on the toys at the mall. I love Kate and miss her lots. She even colored my hair while she was here; she does such a good job. Thanks for coming to see us! Oh, Katelyn agrees that Jacoby is a bad shopper and a very busy boy. Dang! Ha ha.

Jacoby had is two-year check-up the other day and it was a real nightmare. It was a new doctor's office, but I think he quickly realized what was going on and his memories of the awful stitches came back. They could hardly even do anything. I felt bad for him because he's been through a lot at the doctor's office already. We ended up going to get him Red at the Disney Store afterword. I think he's his favorite car yet.

He is loving cars right now and loves to line them up in a row.

Little girls push dolls in strollers, boys push cars.

Yeah, Jacoby runs around in a diaper a lot; it's hotter than heck here!

Tyler had his white coat ceremony on Friday. We're really proud of him and how hard he works. He's doing really well, but that's not a surprise.

I'm tellin' ya, it's hot here, check out that sweaty forehead as proof.

The countdown has definitely begun, my family is coming to see us in 4 days. It's been almost three months since I've seen them. I miss them so much. I'm really glad that we have Skype and can see each other and talk on there, but I usually start crying after I talk to them or while I'm talking to them. They really are the best. Can't wait to see you guys!