Christmas in the City

As we get ready to head back to Kansas for the holidays (which we are all very very excited for) we thought we would do some Christmas things here before to get us in the spirit.

Of course the house got decorated with the trees, garland, music boxes, lights up outside and the favorite of the year the snowballs (we have daily snowball fights when dad gets home from work).  We got the new ornaments for the kids on their tree.  I have loved decorating a new house.  It took me a little while to find everything a home, but we did and I think it looked nice.  My favorite decoration had to be my new mantle decorations which were a Pinterest project I had been wanting to do.  After a few minor fixes, I think it turned out GREAT!

Usually we get to drive through the parks at home and see the lights.  I wanted to see what we could find up here.  I was told about Christmas in the Park in Lees Summit.  It did not disappoint, e once we figured out how to get in.  My husband was very patient with me trying to figure it out finally having to resort to going into Walgreens and asking.  Lukas had a plan of just driving through the fence.  He is quite the little problem solver.  We enjoyed an evening of frosting and decorating cookies.  I think eating them is the best part though.

This week we finally got down to Union Station and Crown Center to check it out.  Erin and I are probably looked at poorly because we didn't wait in the line to see Santa.  The boys didn't notice and we loved looking at everything else.  Hopefully Santa will make an appearance at the Strube Christmas (hint, hint) again this year and we can get our yearly picture of the boys screaming with the man in the big red suit.  Back to Union Station, the model train set up they do is really neat, especially to our boys that love trains.  They are very detailed in decorating it and making things special for Christmas.  We went and walked around Crown Center and saw the lights and the toys the kids can climb on.  It was a great evening with nice weather to enjoy.

Last night we had the boys open their gifts from Erin and me.  We wanted them to be able to play with them a couple of days before we head back for the holidays.  Lawson got a tent and Lukas got a big train set.  Both of them seemed to love the gifts which ended our Christmas here perfectly.

Now for the tough part, getting everything packed and loaded.  It is easier with the mini van though :)

Thanksgiving in the South

Thanksgiving is always a chance to sit down and think about how blessed we are in life and give thanks for it.  This year was no exception.  I have amazing families, both mine and my in-laws, great friends (even if not living close anymore), two adorable and loving boys, and a husband that has been my rock.  I thank God everyday for everything he has given me.

This year for Thanksgiving we did something a little different.  We took a family trip to Oxford, Mississippi to visit  Evin, Kayla and their family.  I was a little nervous of the boys traveling but they did really well.  If we weren't fighting colds for the past week things would have been great.  We missed seeing everyone else, but with Christmas right around the corner it won't be long before we are back in Kansas for awhile

While in Mississippi we did a lot of just hanging out.  Maddox entertained Lukas with all of his toys and Lukas left calling him his best friend.  Emmy and Elsa were a little unsure of Lawson, but he just went about his business playing with their toys and bothering the older boys.  Kayla and I got to do a little shopping on the square Friday morning, then the guys took Maddox and Lukas to see "Frozen".  Apparently it was great and we have had the music playing at our house all week.  Evin and Kayla made a delicious Thanksgiving meal and we even found a pecan pie to make Erin happy.  It was a great couple of days and we look forward to seeing them all again in a few short weeks!

Ready for the trip

Snack time.... Lawson's favorite time

Kayla with Emmy and Elsa

Maddox showing us how he climbs the wall in the back yard.

So of course Lukas had to follow

Hanging out by the fire watching the turkey cook

Erin got to play some football

My boys

On our trek back home we got some exciting news from Elisha, Erin's sister.  She and Josh got engaged and couldn't be happier!  Loghan is excited as well.  We couldn't be happier for all of them.  Let the planning begin :)

New Hair Dos

I usually cut everyone's hair. It saves money and considering usually it is just buzzed, its not too difficult.  Lawson is the first one though that has fine enough hair that we actually want to keep a little length on it.  That causes a bit of a challenge for me.  Although I always wanted to be a beautician, I don't know exactly how to do all of their little tricks.  I will keep trying and just take them to an actual hair salon every now and then.

I had seen an add for a kids hair place and wanted to check it out.  They have the fun seats, cartoons, and all sorts of toys.  I guess it went well for us, but not sure we will go back again.  Bargaining with Lukas to get a hair cut ended up a hair cut and a new train on the way out.  I'm a sucker for his "please" and smile.  It was fun though and the look good!

Birt Baby.... Boy or Girl???

Over the weekend we had a little gender reveal party for Christy and Mitch and the baby on the way.  Jana and I had decided to throw them a reveal party because it was something we had never done before so would be fun to try.

We had all sorts of ideas (mostly from Pinterest) that we put together to make it our own.  We had everyone wear the color of their guess.  It was a pretty split party of pinks and blues.  When they arrived they put their name in the jar of their guess.  Once it was reveled, Christy picked a name out of the correct jar and the winner got a gift that they brought.  Erin ended up winning the prize :)

Since all of our their family couldn't be here we decided to do a "Votes from Afar" thing.  This way we could include those that couldn't be here in person.

  I always like to read all of the wives tales and see how it compares.  Christy though was pretty split on these as well.  We did the key test, palm test, and ring on a string test at the party.  The key and palm both said boy and the ring on a string said girl.    

We had different snack type foods to pick at throughout the afternoon.  It must have been good because we didn't have much left over.

We let Christy decide how she wanted to do the reveal.  There are so many ideas out there now with the cake, silly string, confetti, and the box of balloons.  She decided to go with the box of balloons.  Mitch and her found out the gender on Wednesday at their sonogram, so she was able to get the balloon box taken care of without anyone else finding out.

How cute are these two!

Smiles all around for Grandpa and Grandma Keeley

 These two little ones were excited about the pink!  Reese could not contain her excitement :)  Lawson was probably just loving the balloons.

Me and the Momma-to-Be

Some excited uncles and aunt

We are all so excited for another little lady to arrive in March!  

Halloween

We did Halloween a little different for us this year.  A coworker of mine told me about the Trunk-or-Treat their church was having the weekend before.  Since the weather was nice and it gave an excuse to dress the kids up another time we decided to check it out.  Christy was watching Cade and Reese for a bit so she brought them up and we made it a family affair.  It worked out great and the kids got started on their collections of candy.

Cade and Lukas had it figured out

On Thursday for Halloween Erin's team had their last game of the season.  We had some friends in the neighborhood I wanted to go by before so we got an early start and took a little wagon stroll through the neighborhood.  Everyone loved my little Minions!  We went ahead and wore the costumes to the game.  They would help keep them warm so I figured why not.  It was a lot of fun and the boys got too much candy!

Ready to head out into the neighborhood

Happy Halloween :)

Table Talk

I have become a huge fan of soups.  I think they are easy, lots of flavor, can do in crock pot, and great leftovers.  So many positives for this mom.  Most soups I make are really for Erin and me.  This one however both my children LOVED!  Both of them followed me into the living room with my bowl and stood there just waiting for their bite.  It was adorable.

This recipe came from our holiday soup supper last year.  Amanda brought it and I could not get enough. You have to try it out.  I am looking forward to making it many more times as the weather gets colder.
(sorry no pictures this time)

Hamburger Soup

1 ½  lb. ground beef

¾ cup chopped onion

¾ cup shredded carrots

¾ cup diced celery

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried parsley

4 T. butter

3 cup chicken broth

4 cup peeled & diced potatoes

¼ cup flour

2 cup cheese ( I use Velveeta )

1 ½ cup milk

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

¼ cup sour cream

Brown ground beef; drain and set aside. In same pan, sauté onion,carrots,celery,basil and parsley in 1 T. butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 min.. add broth, potatoes and beef, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 to 12 min.. meanwhile in a small skillet melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 min. reduce heat. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.

Fall Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I were hanging out on a Sunday afternoon.  Erin was at football meetings and I had this bright idea to go and take some pictures of the boy at a near by walking path.  I had been wanting to get their 1 and 3 year pictures taken and just never look too far into finding someone to do it.  I decided I would try myself and see what I could get, if it completely failed I would have them taken professionally.

It was a bit of a cloudy day, but I wanted to try anyway.  I am very happy with some of the shots that I got.  It gave me some to update around the house which is what I really wanted.  I know they need some editing, but my trial version of photo shop has expired so this is the best for now.  

Since I took these the trees here have turned colors and look amazing.  I may have to try and convince the hubby to go back out this weekend and get some more :)  It is just too pretty to ignore!