Thanksgiving in Boise

This year we headed to Boise for Thanksgiving. It was extra special because my whole immediate family was there and we all got to spend the holiday together. The boys had a blast with their cousins, and all of their grandparents. The weather wasn't as freezing as we expected so we even got to spend time outside. 

Bradley's first wagon ride ride. I have a feeling these two will be getting into all kinds of trouble together one day. :) 

I'm so thankful and beyond lucky to have these three in my life. 

Papa and his little birthday buddy. 

Caleb loves olives and was stuffing his cheeks full. I was trying to show him the fun of putting them on his fingers, but before I could show him he'd stuff it in his mouth. 

Family!

Lucas followed Gavin around all week. He sure loves his big cousin!

It was such a fun week, and I am so thankful for this wonderful family of mine!

xoxo, Kara

Sole Hope - Party With A Purpose

This past weekend I hosted my first Sole Hope shoe cutting party. When I first was browsing the Sole Hope website and saw the numerous pictures of young children I thought of my own sweet boys, the same age as some of these children, and I knew I wanted to do something. I discovered their shoe cutting parties and began planning one of my own. I invited some of my favorite women over for a girls night of eating, chatting, tracing, cutting, and learning more about Sole Hope. 

Sole Hope is an organization dedicated to bettering the life of children in Africa by providing them with shoes to help prevent foot-related diseases. The shoes are cut from denim jeans, then sent to Uganda where Sole Hope provides jobs to African shoemakers and tailors to assemble the shoes. These jobs help provide for their families, all while helping the children in their communities. 

{I picked up these awesome jeans at good will. They provided more than a couple pairs of shoes, and some good laughs!}

{My beautiful friends working hard.}

{Our little helper, just wanted to be near everyone.}

{I'm blessed to know these ladies.}

My heart was so full at the end of the night. Serving others with amazing friends is so good for the soul. I went to bed giddy and excited about the fellowship we shared and more importantly the 23 pairs of shoes we cut. You can learn more about Sole Hope and how you can get involved at www.solehope.org. 

xoxo, Kara

We love you Grandpa Dude.

This past month my father-in-law passed away after a long, brave battle with brain cancer. It has been a huge loss for our family, and an incredibly difficult time. Carlos was an amazing man, with a love and passion for others that was contagious. He was one of the most encouraging people I've ever met, always telling us to be the best we can be, and ready to tell us how proud of us he was. I say us, because he wasn't just this way to his son, my husband, but also to me since the day I met him. He was a hands on, goofy grandpa, whom the boys adored. We miss him so much. 

 {Meeting Lucas, July 2010}

{Playing cars, November 2012}

{Meeting Caleb, May 2013}

{Bonding time on the beach with Caleb, September 2013}

We love you Grandpa Dude.

Happy Halloween

We spent Halloween in Boise this year and the boys had a great time. This year Lucas wanted to be a dinosaur and when I asked if it was okay for Caleb to be a dinosaur too he said, "Of course!" I made their costumes, and was so happy with how they turned out. 

Lucas showed Caleb the ropes in the world of trick or treating. While Lucas loved knowing he was getting lots of chocolate, Caleb's favorite part was putting candy in and out of his treat bag, and saying "bye" at each house. 

ROAR! 

His "cheese" face. It's too cute!

Going for the candy!

Oh, that face!! <3 p="">

Trying to catch up to daddy and brother. 

First house for Caleb to trick or treat, and Lucas showing him the way. 

At the end of the night Caleb was dancing in the garage with a chocolate face and cookie in hand. He has us all cracking up. 

Brothers <3 p="">

xoxo, Kara

30th birthday! Surprise!!

I'm not sure what I did to deserve the most amazing friends and husband, but I sure feel like the luckiest girl in the world. A year ago I wasn't looking forward to turning 30, but as it got closer, I embraced it. My life is filled with so many blessing, and turning a year older is definitely one of them. Matt suggested we go to Vegas for the big 3-0 so we invited our friends Serena and Jim, or at least thought that was who we only invited. They were in on the surprise and I was completely in the dark. Before dinner Matt suggested we grab a drink at the Chandelier Bar. He knew I would like it because it was literally a bar in a huge chandelier. As we walked around the corner all of my closest friends were standing there. I seriously couldn't believe it, started to cry, and just wanted to hug all of them! Some of them don't live near us, so we don't see each other as often as we'd like, so it was the best surprise to have them all there in the same room with me! My heart was so full!! Matt pulled off an amazing surprise. He knows how much I love my friends, and miss the ones that live far away. It meant so much to me that he took the time to put this all together for me. It was the best birthday to date, and I'm not sure it will ever be topped!

Thank babe for the amazing weekend!!! And to the best friends a girl could ask for! Thank you girls!!!!

Field trip: Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

Lucas's preschool went to Bishop's Farm for their fall fieldtrip. As usual, it did not disappoint, and the kids had so much fun. Train rides, hay rides, animal petting, pumpkin picking, and cookie eating, what's not to love?

{This pretty much sums up trying to get a picture of the two together: fail.}

Until next year.

xoxo, Kara