Welcome To The Family!!!

Hosmerville is bursting at the seams in excitement over our newest cousin Grant Jeffery. His surprise arrival is the best thing that's happened all week. All month. 

By far. 

I know mom & dad are going to be super, amazing parents as they begin this new season in life. I look at my little brother & still can't hardly believe that he is a daddy now. I'm so proud of them both. 

Introducing little man Grant~

Vegas, Baby!

I'm beginning to realize that if I have any hopes of exploring the world beyond Michigan that these opportunities will most likely come in the form of traveling with Tom on his business trips.

Not exactly romantic vacations, but we'll take it when we can. More often than not, I'm entirely too consumed with everything involved in the day~to~day duties of operating Hosmerville. 

But this trip happened to land on a week in which the calendar wasn't completely inked in with obligations, appointments, & events. Add in a grandma who jumped at the chance to be the kiddos' personal chauffeur, maid, & playmate for the week & there was no reason to not spend a week in Vegas with Tom. 

Lest you be jealous of my time away, let's be perfectly clear & understand that this trip wasn't done in "glamorous traveler" style. Nope. This trip was more along the lines of "momma Hosmer escapes all forms of life responsibilities" style. And I was perfectly okay with that. 

Just sleeping in a big, squishy hotel bed without one pressing thing on my agenda for multiple days in a row is vacation enough for me. So these were the highlights of my time away~

I slept in. 

I had Starbucks. Every. Morning.

I {obviously} gave some much needed attention to the blog. 

I uploaded 1200+ pictures from my phone to Snapfish. No more irritating messages that I can't take a picture because my storage is full. 

I spent some time at the Canyon Ranch Spa Club. Are you envisioning me with cucumber slices over my eyes, mud on my face, a masseuse at my side? Yeah, that's not exactly what went down. I just find that saying I went to the spa is more glamorous than saying that I sweat for an hour on the cardio machines. Which is what I did. 

Tom & I ate i<3burgers .="" three="" times.="">

Dante burger with fried pickles & a caramel corn milkshake. 

We dined at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab. Twice. Incredible meals. Stone crab. King crab. Filet mignon. Loaded hash brown potatoes. Mac~n~cheese. Roasted Brussels sprouts. A really great Cabernet. The best banana cream pie with fosters sauce I have ever had. Havana dream pie the second night. A crazy good mess of dulce de leche cake with caramel drizzle, strawberry slices, & fresh whipped cream. The stuff my food dreams are made of. 

The view from our room. The sun was shining but it was an unusually cold week in Vegas. No poolside lounging for me. 

Loved the fall decor in the hotel's lobbies. I wanted to take more pictures, but you guessed it, my storage was full. 

 Couldn't take a selfie without cutting Tom's head off. Clearly, I need some practice with my angles. 

Or I can just let Tom handle the picture taking duties.  Whatever. 

Game Time

Let's be honest. I'm not really into football. Except when there's food involved. And when you're invited to watch a Lions' game from a suite you can probably bet your weekly grocery money that there's going to be food. And drinks. And lots of it.

Count me in.

So while everyone else was into the action on the field, I was totally digging the turtle brownie action in front of me. 

I almost couldn't even tell you who the Lions were playing that nite. Except I remember that there was a lot of hype about a certain Peyton Manning playing on the field. 

And, sorry, I most definitely couldn't tell you the final score of the game but I can tell you it was brownie~1, me~0. 

Tricks & Treats

It was a busy month of October, for sure! All of the everyday business of life left me scrambling to pull together costumes for the kiddos.

Thank goodness for some pinterest inspiration & costume ideas that required minimal materials to shop for {yay for dress up boxes & an overstocked craft room!}

A shadow~

A nerd~

Minnie~

 

And, of course, big bro couldn't resist the temptation to tease his sis. So after the festivities were over, a nerdy shadow made a brief appearance in Hosmerville. 

Shower Time

In anticipation of Baby Moss' upcoming arrival, the fam headed west to celebrate. Along with Lindsey's mom, I helped host a shower for a group of lovely ladies all anxious to meet the little guy.

Our theme was "fall/li'l pumpkin" with homemade chilis, bread, & pies. A hot beverage bar & cider completed the menu. 

As much as I love planning a party, it doesn't compare to my love for this baby boy. How can you love someone so much even though you've never met??? I don't have the answer to that question. All I can tell you is that I do. And I can't wait to properly introduce myself to him!

Northern Catch Up

One thing you don't see down South {and one thing I actually missed about Michigan when we weren't living in state} is the apple orchard. So when some long lost friends suggested we reconnect at an area apple orchard & cider mill, we readily agreed.

Unfortunately, Michigan fall weather can be completely indifferent toward your planned outdoor activities & so despite an incredibly gorgeous & beautifully mild fall, this day was not. 

As wimpy as I am about the cold, the smell of fresh donuts & hot coffee was just too much to resist. The friend time was great too!

Always My Baby

I make a conscious effort to not treat Lexi like the baby of the family that she is. But oh my! She's the only kiddo that still really lets me snuggle & kiss up on her baby soft cheeks. Her quirky little comments & her words of encouragement are just so sweet. There's so much to love about this sweet child of mine!

Her daddy was away on business a couple of weeks ago & she quickly claimed his spot in bed. As I headed to bed, I realized there wasn't a whole lot of room for me;)

My Man Child

This guy also continues to change right before my eyes. He's well settled into 7th grade. Lots of good friends. And always sports to keep him busy.

Braces, phase 1. A trip to the ortho's office is a great excuse to sneak in a bit of one~on~one time too. 

 

 

7th/8th grade retreat. I love that he was excited about going to spend time with friends & grow deeper in his relationship with God.

 

His last pair of basketball shoes were a size 6, which he insisted were too small. With a new season right around the corner we headed out for a bit of shopping. Turns out, he's in a 9 now. {And his doctor measured him at 5'6", more than an inch taller than me. He is absolutely thrilled.} Stop growing, already!

 

And basketball with his Greg Grant league is in full swing. Love watching this guy play!

This Little Lady

This kiddo is growing up faster than I can blink. As a fifth grader, she's the oldest of the elementary school & taking on lots of responsibilities & opportunities. I'm loving this front row seat of my little girl's transformation into little lady. 

Safety Patrol~ holding the doors for all the elementary students at the end of the day.

 

5th grade band with her momma's clarinet.

 

 

 

5th grade basketball.

 

Solar system science project. With rainbow loom planets, of course. 

B2S

Our summer went way too fast. In fact, it felt more like an extended weekend rather than 2 1/2 months off from school. So much so that I didn't even feel the need to make special "first day of school" signs.

When I lined them up to take the obligatory pics, the kiddos asked for their signs. I told them to hold up some fingers for the grades they're starting. 

Done and done. 

And not even a hint of a "first day/uniform is bothering me/I don't want to cooperate" meltdown from Audge. 

Summer 2k15~ Days 60-86

Ok, we're into November now, so let's be honest. The only way I'll ever have hope of finishing up our Summer o' Fun, 2k15 edition is if I cram it all into one big post. So here it is~

Days 64 & 65~ Lemonade stand and garage sale with my bestie & her kiddos. {Audge worked especially hard in her preparations for the stand where she & Lex sold handmade rainbow loom creations.}

Day 67~ Haircut time! The girlies hadn't had their hair cut since last summer in Memphis. They were both ready for some fresh do's. 

Day 69~ Making pizza rolls. Gave those kiddos a rolling pin & put them to work!

Days 70 & 71~ While the kiddos had a sleepover with their cousins at grandpa & grandma Hosmer's, I headed west to help my most favorite 5th grade teacher ready her room for the upcoming school year. 

Days 74-80~ Gatlinburg vacation!

One cannot travel south without eating Zaxby's. 

Our "home" for the week. After more than 10 hours in the van, this was the most welcome sight for everyone in Hosmerville.

Kiddos went straight from the van to the hot tub. 

Coffee on the porch every morning, taking in this beautiful view~

Drove into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in search of bears & adventures. 

A little rain didn't slow us down! Picnic in the van. 

No bear sightings during our entire 6 hour adventure. Then, within 15 minutes of returning back to the cabin, Audrey spotted this little guy ambling thru the woods about 20 feet off our cabin's deck. 

Breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. I was the only one in the "clean plate club" that morning. It was so yummy!

Because when you can have Hudsonville ice cream specially delivered to eat in the hot tub, you just do. 

Walking off all those delicious pancakes. 

A little shopping at the outlets in Pigeon Forge. 

Playing Jelly Belly BeanBoozled. Austin got a gross one. 

Zaxby's, part 2. 

Some mountain coaster fun. 

Tie dye shirts so that I didn't have the mess in my own house;)

A bit of friendly competition on the go cart track. 

The fan section. 

River Rat tubing time. 

Celebrating someone's birthday a day early. 

Vacations can be totally exhausting. He tucked himself in long before I was done packing for the return trip home. 

Happy 9th birthday, sweet girl!

A little detour on the way home. No success in getting Duke to tell us his secret recipe. 

Bristol Motor Speedway. I stayed back at the hotel with Ed, but when Tom texted me a picture of the kiddos eating frozen moon pies, I had instant regret that I didn't tag along. 

Headed home. Somewhere in the hills of Kentucky. 

Day 86~ Celebrated my father~in~law's retirement with the whole Hosmer family. 

And that's it, summer 2k15 all wrapped up.