Happy Halloween!

This year SK was SUPER pumped about Halloween. She has truly figured out the joys of sugary goodness that is candy. So, she had a full several days of fun! On Sunday night we went to our church's fall festival where they had games, all sorts of inflatables, hot dogs, and yes - candy. Then on Monday (Halloween - day) her school did trick or treating around each class and she came home with even more of a candy stash. Finally that night we went to our friend Danica's mom's house, who is the Queen of Halloween! She decks her whole house, has all sorts of candy, and lives in a great neighborhood for trick or treating. SK was a little skiddish of the decked out house, but was super into trick or treating. She sang the whole way up and down the streets. On a fun note - her princess dress had LED lights sewn into the slip, so she literally sparkled. That was not only pretty, but super practical for trick or treating - no flashlight needed!Here is one part of the house all decked out - imagine this level of cuteness everywhere!

Mentone, AL - Who Knew?!

Last weekend David saw that the running and running of the previous weekends meant we needed some down town. Know me like he does, if we stayed at home I would just be organizing out a closet or cleaning something, so he found a deal in Mentone, AL for a two bedroom cabin for a much need family trip. I had heard a few people talk about Mentone but had never been before. It was so cute! The cabin was really nice, the weather was PERFECT (in the 30's at night!), several cute restaurants, and right next to DeSoto state park so we had stuff to do. While it is no Gatlinberg, it is just an hour and a half away from home so for weekend trips - Mentone has two big thumbs up from us! I took a lot of pic's this weekend and posted them below...

It's like his and hers waterfalls! There were two beautiful falls just minutes from the cabin!!!

A pumpkin patch was open in a neighboring town, so SK got to go and play! She loved the slide and louging in the tub of corn (below), but the train ride was OUT - the girl does not like loud diesel engines. Maybe that means I won't have to worry about some yucky boy in a souped up truck in about 13 years!
Sarah Katherine's very own little pumpkin - the girl went straight for it, it was meant to be!

Swimming with Daddy on the back porch. She LOVED it, can we get one?!

In honor of the first cool weekend of the year and our family outing, Sarah Katherine got to try two new "firsts" - hot chocolate and roastin marshmallows. Is there anything better to kids that sugary goodness when they know it should be bed time?!

Consignment Loot!

I have been working the consignment season this fall! Not only does SK's birthday fall at the perfect time to get a great fall / winter wardrobe, but I am also and buying Christmas for my nieces and nephew (finally actually buying before December rather than just saying I should!). So, I am thrilled to say Sarah Katherine got an amazing girlie wardrobe from her birthday money and my nieces and nephew will get some great stuff from their bargain hunting aunt!

Before you think she is COMPLETELY rotton, I got all this for under $100! Love it, and note that SK has LOTS of pink to choose from. :)

One Last 3 Year Old Milestone Post...

Ok, last SK birthday related post. This is the least fun part - the 3 year old well child visit to the doctor. We thought it was going to be a shot-free day, but sadly she did have to get one shot and the flu mist. Not too horrible for the doctor's office though. Here are her stats (mostly for my own posterity)...

Height - 38-3/4" (90%)
Weight - 34 lbs (75%)

My tough girl did great and ended up walking out with princess stickers AND a Little Mermaid book. Not too shabby of a haul for one shot!

Pic's from the Big Par-tay!

Here are some pictures from the big jump-jump party courtesy of my great photographer dad! As you can tell, Sarah Katherine had an absolute BLAST. To anyone wondering where to have a party - Jump Zone was a great experience! Nothing like paying a fee (with coupon, of course), bring some cake and drinks, and then sit back and watch the kids play (not a whole lot of stress - it's all inflatable so serious injurires aren't probable). Can we party here every year?!

Happy Birthday Sarah Katherine - PARTY Edition

So the big third birthday culminated with a party at Jump Zone for Sarah Katherine and ALL her friends and family to go crazy! We invited about 30 kids and all but maybe 4 or 5 came. It was so much fun having Sarah Katherine's favorite people in one place - family, church friends, and school friends! Our little social butterfly had a blast running around playing with everyone and jump-jumping everywhere.

After about an hour and half of jumping excitement, the staff called us up to the party room to have PINK princess cake, drinks, and presents! Sarah Katherine's cake had a crown on it, so she of course wore that for the rest of the day, as she was the birthday princess. She got so many nice things, we are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives! Thank you to everyone that made my baby girl's day so special!!!!

My dad was able to come and took lots of pictures and video of the big event. Below is a link to the footage compiled to a Jones family favorite - They Say it's your Birthday by the Beatles. Every May 7th at 7am that was blared at me, and I fully expect the same tradition to go on with my kiddo!

(I tried to get the video to embed in the post, but I am apparently not skilled enough for that, below is the link to the you tube site - enjoy! I'll pull photo's in the next few days and post later.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3wZDByMpR8

Happy Birthday Sarah Katherine - Home Edition

After school got out SK and I went home to wait for daddy to get off work, then it was time for more celebration! We opened her presents and cards as soon as daddy got home, and apparently this is the year of not looking at the camera EVER. :) Oh well, the memories are captured somewhat! She got some books, a princess castle with 3 princesses, and a kid's digital camera that takes real pictures. As I expected, the camera is her very favorite thing and she has been snapping pic's of most anything! I think she will take after her G'daddy and be a great photographer.

For dinner we asked what she wanted to eat and we would go wherever she wanted. I fully expected "french fries" and was prepared for Chick-Fil-A, but my girl surprised me. For her birthday dinner wish she requested chips - yes chips! So, we loaded up and went to a Mexican restaurant where they keep those chips a-comin'. We had yummy food and then the whole server team came over and sang happy birthday and Sarah Katherine experienced fried ice cream for the first time (she is definitely a fan!).

After we stopped by a friend of David's for a house warming party and it happened to be his wife's birthday too. They were nice enough to sing to both SK and his wife. So this girl got quite the heaping helping of special on her day! It was so much fun because this year she really got "it" and loved her special day.