Life Lately...Through Pictures

First up, Blake's 29th Birthday.

We started our celebration at Candlelight Ball (it was 2 days before his birthday).

We had a blast!

We celebrated later that week with his family at our favorite Hibachi spot, Hananoki!
Yum!  This was Carter's first time....

and I think he LOVED it!

Happy Birthday to our favorite Guy!

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Chloe and I read on the way to school every morning.

It's a good way to get her mind going and for us to squeeze in just a bit more reading time during the day!

She's progressed so far...I'm very proud of her!

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St. Patrick's Day

was spent in a little town called Erin for their annual Parade!

It's a huge deal & I now see why.

There was a huge (and very long) Parade, vendors, and TONS of good food!

The kids had a blast!

Chloe wasn't excited at all....SEE!

 

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Publix's Deli.

YUM!

Currently in love with their Boar's Head Sandwiches!

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A few Chloe randoms.

We painted her nails last week.

This is the way the 'cool' kids wear their nails according to Amanda!

So we gave it a go!

Chloe loved it!

I also figured out how to french braid...FINALLY!

This was the very first attempt!

Not the greatest, but not the worst!

Chloe has been rocking the side french braid and side pony tail for about a week now! I'm hooked!

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A Day at Centennial Park

Last Sunday after Church, we decided to head to Nashville to eat and spend some time at the Park.

Very last minute, but very fun!

We ate at J. Alexanders--well, let me clarify:

Chloe and I ate the first half of the meal together; Blake and Chloe ate the second half together.

Carter had to eat outside because he refused to sit at the table and eat!

I guess that is just life with a growing boy (who is finding his independence)!

I am in LOVE with this picture of Chloe.

Lots of fun had by all...and good naps taken afterwards!

We are excited for our upcoming trip to Naples!

Looking forward to fun in the sun with the kiddos!

March Photo Challenge: 1st - 15th

Well, we are 1/2 way through March already....

which means we are 1/2 way through the March Photo Challenge.  

I love taking part in these photo challenges because it forces me to snap at least 1 meaningful picture a day {meaningful to me anyway!}.  

I post daily through the Instagram app: @franjenkins

Here are days 1-15:

3.1 Up.

{Looking up while eating at the Blackhorse with Blake}

3.2 Fruit.

{My morning yogurt parfait with strawberries and granola}

3.3 Your Neighborhood.

{Our home since 2006}

3.4 Bedside.

{The books are piling up...need to get to reading}

3.5 A Smile.

{Carter & Papa-My Dad}

3.6 5pm.

{Typical night at the Jenkins household...oh, and it was 6:30 not 5....oops}

3.7 Something you wore.

{A great clearance find at Dillards..they are suede and leather}

3.8 Window.

{Raining cats & dogs}

3.9 Red.

{Playing hooky from work for a few hours since Chloe was out of school. We enjoyed some yummy Cracker Barrel}

3.10 Loud.

{Carter. Enough said}

3.11 Someone you talked to today.

{Blake. Best night in a long time}

3.12 Fork.

{Learning to use our utensils}

3.13 A sign.

{New family rules. Love.}

3.14 Clouds.

{Isn't it winter? You wouldn't know it by the temp. Beautiful afternoon}

3.15 Car.

{Anxiously awaiting this beauty to arrive...hopefully in the next 2 weeks}

So excited for the rest of the Challenge!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Candlelight Ball 2012

This past weekend, Blake and I headed up to Nashville for the 28th Annual APSU Candlelight Ball. 

Let's start with Friday though...

Chloe was out of school, so I stayed home with her in the morning for a few hours until Birdie could pick her up.  

What do 2 hungry girls do?

We headed to Cracker Barrel of course.  Yum!

She's really into peace signs right now...can you tell?

Saturday was the day!  I look forward to Candlelight Ball all year long.  This is our 3rd year attending PLUS I was on the committee (which was so much fun)!  We all worked hard to make everything come together.  We planned to head up early this year to take advantage of some adult time....but, not before me and my girl ran a few errands Saturday morning and made a Starbucks stop!

Having Green Tea for the 1st time!

I don't think she loved it as much as I do!

The Event was held at the Downtown Hilton.

We checked in early, ate some snacks with friends (and enjoyed an adult beverage or 2), got ready, and headed downstairs for the Cocktail hour.

The Bestie & I 

The Gov joined in on the festivities this year! 

Good times! 

The hubby & I 

Mary, Me, & Haven  

The entire Candlelight Ball Committee.

Great job ladies!

After we had our fill of fun, we changed and headed downtown to dance the night away! 

We went to our all time favorite bar, "The Big Bang," and stayed until the wee hours of the morning...ughhhhh, didn't factor in daylight savings time.  I needed that extra hour of sleep on Sunday! :(

I did, however, make my pit stop at the hot dog vendor on the way back to the hotel!  

Thank goodness for small miracles!

While we were enjoying our weekend, Don and Sandy headed to the lake with the kiddos!  

Here are a few pictures we received on Saturday:

Chloe wrote "Love The Lake House" 

Don & Sandy said Carter wasn't too keen on the grass so he hung out on the driveway all day! 

Chloe helped pick up "gumballs"...she loves a task!

Glad the kids had something fun to do!  It was such a beautiful weekend to be outside!

Hope you had a great weekend too!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday!

It's Wednesday & the week is flyin' by!

I'm linkin' up with Jamie today for...

Lots of family happening to catch up on...

First up, I'm Lovin' spending time with the kiddos in our bonus room.  We don't use that room often but that is where ALL their toys are!  We are starting to take advantage of it.  It's nice to have a space that the kids can totally destroy and I don't care one bit!

In the midst of playing the other day, Chloe showed me this:

Its our first toy casualty.  I know it won't be the last with a very active boy around...but, Chloe has always been so delicate with her toys.  She was sad that Cinderella's arm fell off...sadly, it is not fixable :(

I'm Lovin' that Chloe wanted to play with my "people" from when I was a kid.  This is really one of the only things I  have from when I was little.  I cherished these things.  It's funny, their feet say 1987.  Shows you how old they are, but they are in perfect condition!

I'm Lovin' these 2...

Last week we had terrible storms roll through.  We were home when the big one hit...hail and all.  The kids were very intrigued by the hail outside

I'm Lovin' this picture of sweet Carter...he is quite active these days, and I am constantly picking up his trail of disasters...but I wouldn't change a thing.  

Look at this face!

I'm Lovin' that Amanda has put me on a good 'clean' meal plan.  She said it isn't necessarily a diet...but, to me...it IS!  So far, I've done pretty good {only 3 days in}!

I'm Lovin' Chloe's new sandwich cutter...a heart for my girl!

Isn't it cute?  Helps make a boring sandwich a bit more fun!

I'm Lovin' this new "Family Rules" sign I picked up from Kohl's!

Every Rule perfectly applies to us...and serves as a good reminder.

It's in the kitchen which is where we spend ALL our time! 

I'm Lovin' that over 2 weeks ago, we successfully took Carter's paci away.

Here is the hiding spot for them...up high out of  his grabby hands.

I have now retired them officially!

Kind of sad though. 

Finally, I'm Lovin' this green tea from Starbucks.

It's good...yeah, but here is the real reason I'm Lovin' it:

Saturday, I was headed to visit my good friend Shannon and her sweet new Baby Girl, Lucy.

I stopped by to pick us both up a drink.

When I got to the window to pay, I realized I forgot my wallet.

Really?

Yes.

The guy at the window was so nice and told me it was on the house.

I apologized over 10xs easily and went on my way.

It just goes to show you that there are still nice people in the world!

Thanks Starbucks Guy!

What are you Lovin' today?

Link Up!