Landon's Paw Patrol Paw-ty

A Beautiful Life

Some pics from Landon's Preschool Graduation (!!) and basic summer lovin'. We've been so busy enjoying the summer, working on lots of home, yard, and garden projects, as well as planning for Landon's big 'paw-ty' Saturday ;) Stay tuned for some really great posts and giveaways coming up soon! 

Father's Day gift ideas!

Just one more week until Father's Day so I wanted to share a few of our favorite gifts for all those special, hardworking men in your life! We love to pair all our Father's Day gifts with a little something extra something homemade, which always makes things extra special, especially when from the kids.
These have been some of our handprint/footprint crafts we've done in the past:

The first handprint craft reads:

Daddy, Take my hand in yours and you will plainly see,

How very much I need you now to love and care for me.

As my little hand grows, I will need you even more,

Everything I do in life, I have never done before.

Teach me to be kind and loving, sharing and forgiving,

Show me through your acts of love the pure joy of living.

The years will pass by quickly and one day I will be grown,

I will pass what you have taught me onto children of my own.

Hold me always in your thoughts and remember when we are apart,

The special love between a child and a daddy's heart.

Footprint Poem reads:

"Walk a little slower Papa," said Landon oh so small, 
"I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast, Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower Papa, for you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up, you're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right, And know that I was true;
So walk a little slower Papa, for I must follow you."

This year we got Chris a store bought gift, with this cute 'daddy questionnaire' tucked inside his card:

It was super fun to do with Landon now that he was finally at an age to respond to any questions asked of him. Loved seeing his responses ;)

You can find the above Father's and Grandfather's free 'questionnaire' printables here.

In addition to the small crafts, we also got Chris some clothing since I either lose all his clothing I steal from him or otherwise ruin it in the wash. We got him some cute items from Charles River Apparel which is a site guaranteed to have something for anyone in your life! Very similar to L.L.Bean in my opinion - they are a Massachusetts based company that offers a wide range of high quality sporty, outdoorsy apparel for both men and women. We got Chris this cute quarter zip up sweatshirt, plus this lightweight windbreaker/raincoat. (& I have my eye on this rain jacket for myself in buttercup...does this always happen whenever you shop for someone else?). 

If you still haven't figured out a gift for one of the Father's on your list this year, definitely check out their site - you are sure to find something for even the pickiest of dads :)

Country Livin'

We are loving life out here 'in the country' and we've been spending so much time outside literally getting our hands dirty in nature as summer approaches. There is so much natural beauty here that we've been fully taking in and appreciating. I've been spending less and less time on my phone, at my computer or the tv, and have just been outside playing with the kids, going for strolls not to go anywhere but just because, and walking around the yard and observing them in their natural element - so curious about the world we live in, the growing herbs and plants that we bring inside to eat, their excitement over the beautiful deer that seem so majestic to them out in our backyard every night. Sometimes I get so lost in the beauty of watching their young minds grow and I'm just feeling so grateful for this season we're in.