photos {colton's cowboy party} - part 2

here's part two of the pictures. if you didn't catch the first post (featuring the decorations), be sure to check it out. if you have any desire to see all 125 photos from the party, click here.

the birthday boy...

older cousin of the birthday boy

colton on his new horse

john michael (#3 of the three boys in a row)

dylan

brody

and of course, my little cowboy! (he loved the horse)

well, howdy ma'am...

colton went face first into the cake!

proud parents

yummy!!!

photos {colton's cowboy party} - part 1

of the three boys in a row on our street that were born within three weeks of each other, colton was first. last sunday marked the first "big day"...the FIRST birthday party. wow. where does time go. just as tara and i went through our pregnancies together, and through the first year of being new mommies together, we went through the party planning process together. tons of fun. i love the theme she chose! i took a ton of pictures (so she wouldn't have to worry so much about doing it) and the party details are below. you can see "people" pictures here. if you are interested in seeing all 125 photos from the party, click here. most of the handmade items featured are from a seller on etsy.

there were a few of these mini "signs" in mason jars.

planning ahead, tara purchased a pre-made scrapbook to hold party photos later.

star-shaped rice krispie treats (with "1" or "C" on each one). she used several of these bales of hay in the decor. all ballons were tied with raffia instead of ribbon - love it.

sign hanging from the light fixture. i love how she added the little "fillers" around the lights. great detail.

each guest got a bandana to wear at the party.

matching banner

plasticware wrapped in napkins with raffia

one of the favors were the rice krispie treats in these super cute boxes. the boxes and treat bags are from hobby lobby (but the "howdy" tags are from etsy).

the birthday boy's "big" gift was the horse you see here. the box of horses are more party favors.

twizzlers (a.k.a. 'rope') in mason jars

tara made the cupcake tower herself. it's super cute!

**challenge to you**

as a part of my blog party, i'd LOVE to learn more about anyone that reads my blog. on another blog i read, the lady calls the people who keep up with her blog "faithfuls". i would like to come up with something to call you as well and i decided on subscribers. this can be taken literally since you can actually "subscribe" to a blog. but since this place is known as the chronicles, i thought it was fitting! 

NOW...i have a few challenges - and some motivation to help you WANT to participate!!!

i will randomly select winner(s) for a prize or two or three. i am not *telling* what the prize is because it might vary slightly depending on who wins. to be entered, do any of these things. if you do more, you'll be entered more.

ways to enter:
~ respond to this post with answers to the questions i've listed below (choose the set that is relevant to you).
~ recruit one person to come check out my blog (have them leave a post, stating by whom they were referred) -- if you recruit multiple people, you will get one prize entry per person that comments!
~ add a post to YOUR blog about my blog party (with a link) and then leave me a comment letting me know you've done so. don't forget to give me a link to your blog so i can check it out too!!
~ subscribe to my blog through blogger or using a reader (if you've already done this, just let me know that too!). there is a "follow me" button in the sidebar that you can use.

QUESTIONS:
if you are already a "subscriber"...
1) about how often do you check in (daily, weekly, monthly)? how do you do so? (you just stop by when you think about it, you are reminded by the link in my email signature, you "follow" me through blogger, you have added the blog to a reader, etc).

2) what first brought you to my blog and/or how did you find it? (you are a friend? you are a scrapbooker? etc.)

3) what types of things do you like to see here at the chronicles?

4) do you have a blog you'd like to share? if so, include the link.

if you are new to the chronicles...
1) how did you end up here? (referred by someone? linked from another blog post? etc)

2) what types of posts would have you coming back to visit frequently?

3) do you have a blog you'd like to share? if so, include the link.

SUBMISSIONS MUST BE IN BY FEBRUARY 24th (Coleman's Birthday!!!) and I will announce prizes and winners by the end of the month. Yes, I know this is a long time to wait, but I want to give plenty of time for people to get involved!

{happy birthday dad}

today i'm giving a special *shout out* (hate that phrase!) to my dad.

happy birthday dad!!!

my dad is: father, camper, brother, husband, music lover, fisherman, friend, grandpa, lover of water and boats, computer techy, outdoorsman, mr. fix-it, photographer, reader

coleman and his grandpa (at the beach last summer)

dad with my sister sherry at the oyster roast on new year's day

dad with cooper (our dog, on the right) and traveller (his dog, on the left)

**heart day ideas**

with valentine's day right around the corner, i thought i'd share some things related to that special day of love.

super adorable (and very personalized) valentines

if you are interested in doing some homemade valentine's from your kids (to their friends) becky higgins has shared cute, but easy, ideas for the last few years. check them out. click on the link above each photo to hop over to the related post and see the details on creating each one.

2008

last year

this year

thoughts on love

becky higgins also had a good post with some thoughts on love. i enjoyed reading it and you might as well.

read her thoughts here

gift idea

lisa leonard designs has some adorable jewelry that would make a great valentine's gift. some of it is customized, such as the necklace below, which is my personal favorite. i'd love to have one of these.

party ideas

if you're thinking about having a special *heart day* party, here is some fabulous inspiration.

lovely valentine's day dessert buffet

look at those drinks - how fun!

early valentine party

Valentine's Day Party Ideas for Kids

**blog party**

hello blog readers!!! do you know what today is??? it's the FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY of chronicles of a southern scrapper. it's hard to believe it's been that long. every year, i've let the anniversary slip by without any fan fare. but not this year! not only did i remember it, but i decided to host a month-long blog party! i got the idea from elsie flannigan's blog. elsie's "blog party" was a day filled with tons of posts, which I considered. But, with my being on a business trip on this anniversary, i thought it'd be easier to spread things out ... make the fun last longer!!

so, you're probably asking yourself...what's a blog party? well, i'm not promising anything ground-breaking, but my plan is to post something at least once a day for a full month. i will touch on all of the aspects of *me* and my blog - scrapbooking, family, reading, tv, writing, photos, faith, organization, you name it!

so, to get started...let's go back to the beginning. click here to read my very first blog post. the general idea of why i blog really hasn't changed much. "This online home will serve as an outlet for my ramblings – of which I have plenty, a gallery of sorts for my scrapbooking creations, and a studio to which I can post the latest and greatest of my photographic obsession." yup, i think that still pretty much covers it!  check out the family photo - we've changed a little, wouldn't ya say??? since that day, we've all aged four years, we've added another four-legged fellow, and of course, a sweet baby boy!

this week {2.1 to 2.7}

~ i changed the wallpaper on my computer since it's now february ~

~ i worked at home monday and friday ~

~ matt was still quite sick for the first half of the week ~

~ aj and the local schools were closed on monday because of the snow/ice ~

~ i put together contact information and notes for the BTMS events committee ~

~ i paid bills ~

~ coleman brought home a craft from daycare ~

~ i wasn't able to attend the hoa board meeting where we met with a management company potential ~

~ i worked on uploading some photos and scrapbook pages for printing ~

~ i shopped at michael's, party city, cvs, target, bi-lo, books-a-million and hobby lobby ~

~ i got breakfast at mcdonald's one day and dunkin donuts the next. then i felt guilty. ~

~ i bought a cupcake/cake caddy ~

~ i cvs'd for the first time in a long time ~

~ we had our taxes done ~

~ brigitte and sydney came over for a visit ~

here is sydney playing with rio and coleman

~ coleman actually slept well for two nights in a row ~

~ i made a flyer for the dhf golf tournament ~

~ i emailed instructions to my family on how to save high resolutions photos from my flickr account ~

~ i emailed instructions to my mom on how to set up a free online email account ~

~ i bought birthday gifts for coleman, colton and john michael ~

~ coleman threw up at daycare. scared matt and i to death. (he was fine) ~

~ i missed the BTMS committee meeting because coleman was sick ~

~ coleman finally started feeding himself finger foods!! ~

~ spencer started archery practice (as a team) and brought home information on their first tournament ~

~ i found the most adorable red canister set (something i've been wanting) ~

~ matt turned coleman's car seat to face forward (in his truck) ~

~ we took matt's mom out for her birthday (to longhorn steakhosue) ~

matt's mom eating her birthday ice cream

just in case wonders why monkeys are an appropriate theme for his party..

~ coleman and i went to tara's house for a visit on satruday ~

our walkin' boys

~ scott came over saturday night ~

~ i bought toddler 411 for tara ~

~ i ran into deneane at books a million. she is a for real author :) ~

~ i ran into some old neighbors at the grocery store ~

~ in the parking lot of hobby lobby, some (very young) kids told me i look like taylor swift ~

~ i slept in until 9:00 on sunday (thanks matt!) ~

~ spencer went snow tubing for a friend's birthday ~

~ matt, coleman and i went to colton's birthday party ~

this is just a tee-tiny sneak peek. i took over 130 photos at the party :)

~ we watched the super bowl ~

~ i procrastinated packing for my trip to ohio ~

{coleman's birthday party}

~ at michael's, i purchased some basics like icing color, sprinkles, clear treat bags, favor bags, etc ~

~ at hobby lobby, i purchased lots of cardstock and patterned paper ~

~ at party city, i purchased a lot of solid colored tableware and a few other odds and ends ~

~ online, i ordered the brown items that party city doesn't carry ~

~ from an etsy store, i ordered the baby party favors ~

~ i got the invitations printed, matted, and ready to mail ~

~ i started printing and assembling some other party items ~

 {pedometer challenge}

total steps = 31,640; average 6,328

high = 8,264

there were three days that i'm pretty sure the pedometer malfunctioned.

{savings tracker}

spent = $169; saved = $137 (45%)

annual savings = $481 (40%)

*today*

*today* i'm in a funk and i'm not really sure why

*today* i ran late getting out of the house and felt guilty for ask aj to feed coleman his breakfast

*today* i smashed my finger in a drawer

*today* i got in the car to realize i was on empty

but

*today* i told myself to stop sweating the little things and it was going to be a good day

however

*today* i'm feeling a little bit incredibly overwhelmed

*today* my to-do list feels impossible (professional and personal)

*today* i need some serious snuggle time with my baby boy

*today* i have so much to be excited about and can't muster it up

i guess we all have our days...at least it's only for *today*