Weekends should be longer

This past weekend was packed full of fun! Here's a quick recap:

We stopped by to visit Daddy at work on Friday!

The kids left thinking that work was just about the coolest thing ever.

I took the kiddos up to Trenton to visit family, friends and the Missouri Days festivities. The parade is always my favorite!

And we loved the patriotic theme this year! (and those flags are going to come in handy for halloween costumes next week!)

Jackson was super excited about his foot-long corndog.

And Belle was glad to help finish it off!

Don't let her cuteness deceive you. This was her at 4am earlier that morning. I felt the same way about being up with her for over an hour trying to keep her quiet and not wake the other guests staying at Hotel a la Gram Gram. We ended up on a 30 minute car ride until she was no longer a crying mess awake.

Both of my sisters were home for the weekend to celebrate Ashley's birthday! It's a good thing Laura crammed in between the two carseats before we ate fried chicken for lunch. 

Jackson really helped by winning a game of "cuties".

Now Monday has come and gone and we're back in full swing of normal life! We've been utilizing our free time preparing for a very special birthday coming up this weekend. Can you believe that this kid will be FOUR?!

She's back!

Our favorite Dane is back!! According to Jackson, Julie is back from Capenhogen. Ha, it's close, right? 

Jackson has been especially hyper ever since we picked her up from the airport Friday night. He just can't get enough of her and he is glad he can finally have his birthday {we've told him all along that he will have his birthday party while she is here visiting}. 

We went up to Trenton for the Missouri Days festival on Saturday. Julie was Jackson's partner in collecting candy {and other goodies} from the parade!  

Jackson is so impressed that people actually throw candy {though not quite like last year-- please rewatch that video. So funny}. And he kept checking inventory of his loot.

And of course, Julie was excited to see Belle, who has grown so much in the past four months!

{In case that wasn't clear, it is Belle that has grown so much. Not Julie. She actually shrank a little.}

 And we happened to run into Chacey too! Chacey has major Julie withdrawal and apparently asks about her a lot. How cute are they?

Julie has used the phrase "our house" or "our home" a few times and that really, really makes me happy! We're going to have a great week- a busy week, but it will be good!

{be sure to check out the giveaway going on for party invitations and decorations!}