Despite the 10 mile run we completed yesterday (ridiculous, I know) we had a relaxing day hanging around home. We decided to go to an early dinner at Bucket List Burgers (a new place in town) and then hit up the Festival of Lights downtown (along with ten million other people). Blair is obsessed with Christmas lights so we thought this would be a win for her. Turns out the horse drawn carriages were much more exciting and I'm 100% sure she signed "please" whenever she saw one. If a pony doesn't end up under our tree on Christmas morning I'm coming after you Santa...

daddy and the dirty blankie (real life)

we ran into Papa and Lala which was truly a miracle since it was beyond crowded

posing by her favorite attraction...the horse

staring at a horse I'm sure

and another horse...

finally, she noticed the lights!

blurriest selfie ever!

We finished the night off by going through a Starbucks drive through which worked out perfectly since "buying a stranger coffee" was uncompleted on our Advent calendar. We then patrolled our 'hood for lit up houses. The one above was the winner. And while we love hanging out with friends and family it was kinda sweet just the three of us. I know I will treasure these memories forever. :)

OH and you won't wanna miss our 2013 Christmas music video...HERE!

I promised a little extra holiday cheer over here during this last holiday weekend so here we go! I've been swooning over everyone's cute front porches (with their strategically placed Hunter boots) so I decided to whip one up of my own. And while I don't own a pair of Hunter's  (insert tears here) the pair I do have is still pretty cute. ;)

we didn't have any gifts that were small enough to shove in my boots. Faux ones next year!

not pictured are the huge lace up bows in the back!

i do love a simple craft paper wrapping with twine. the glitter tags add just enough shine

Merry Christmas! Hope this inspired you to dazzle up your front porch!

Merry Christmas from the Bushman's! I decided to humor your with our cards from years passed like Natasha did. My how my picture taking/card choosing skills have changed. And for the better I might add!

2013

2013

2012 such a chubby healthy baby!

2011

2011

2010 looking well rested. ;)

2009 when Bella was our baby

and 2007 at our first home

2008 is MIA but I hope you enjoyed our cards from Christmas' past! Stay tuned this weekend I may be posting extra because there is so much Christmas stuff I haven't even gotten to yet! Extra posts for my fabulous readers. Merry Christmas! ;)

This year Erinn over at Strawberry Swing and Things thought of the genius idea to do a Secret Santa gift exchange for our littles. She organized the whole she-bang on Elfster and it worked out wonderfully!
I was so happy to be included and below are the moms and littles who participated:

Erinn at Strawberry Swing and Other Things

Natasha at Schue Love

Julie at The Girl in the Red Shoes

Michelle at Ten June

Natalie at Nat Your Average Girl

Jessica at Little Baby Garvin

Veronika at Veronika's Blushing

Erin at Hello Erin

Emily at Dear Owen

Colleen at Meet the Sullivans

Vanessa at Sunflower State of Mind

Megan at Hello Newlywed Life

Natasha at Hello Happiness

Sara at Running from the Law

Natasha and Caroline over at Hello Happiness sent us the cutest gifts! Blair loved the festive paper...

a Melissa and Doug princess mirror!

Melissa and Doug super stackers!

of course she went straight for the ball

this provided tons of entertainment (and mommy free time!). the best kind of gift!

and when i told her to smile this is what i got...what is that?!

Blair and I were in charge of gifting to Arden and we had lots of fun picking out her gift especially since she is Blair's age. Head over to her blog and see what she got! Thanks again Erinn for organizing this. We had a blast!

PS today is M and my 16 year anniversary from when we first started dating! I remember that day in 8th grade like it was yesterday. Love you babe!

They're here! My mom's chocolate covered peanut butter ball recipe is a hit every year. People usually seek us out and hunt us down to get a few delivered to them. And I'm not gonna lie...we are pretty stingy with them. What's that? You brought us some store bought cookies in exchange for PB balls? I don't think so. Hit the road Jack.

This year Blair got to participate in the fun (until nap time hit of course) but the silly girl thought it was play dough. This actually worked to my benefit because I didn't worry about her eating too many sweets. She rolled it around her high chair and never once tried to eat it. Rookie mistake, Blair.

testing out her sweet apron from sur la table!

mommy was rockin' workout clothes and B was rockin her jams. sometimes this is as good as it gets

pb, powdered sugar, and butter

perfectly shaped balls

Lala is the #1 dipper

warning: your stove will be a living nightmare to clean

teaching her young

tell me your mom/gramma doesn't have these same ingredient cards? i never got the duck memo. (thank goodness)

it really should say "Natalie" since I was the true worker bee but I'll throw B and M a bone

loving twine and kraft tags this year

not even a set up for the picture...i really did have to ear one. ;)

These will not disappoint (unless you have a peanut allergy). The combination of chocolate and PB gets me every time. Let's hope I deliver these quickly before I eat them ALL! Merry Christmas!Don't forget to check out the link up party over at Schue Love!

Last weekend we attended a wedding for Matt's cousin. It just so happened to be in the same church where we got married! It was pretty surreal to be back in the place where we tied the knot with our now 21 month old! We decided all weddings need to have a "cry room" in the back of the sanctuary. M and I camped out in there while B explored unfamiliar toys. For once we both enjoyed the ceremony and weren't sweating bullets over her squawking.

rockin' the dress she wore on her birthday and her clown hair ;)

party of three!

 On Sunday we (finally!) picked out our Christmas tree and started decorating it. B LOVES putting ornaments on and is quite the helper.

her favorite: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

and the first of many handmade ornaments...this one comes from her Bible Study

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for my Mom's famous peanut butter ball recipe. I will be linking up with Natasha from Schue Love.