Mele Kalikimaka!

Mele Kalikimaka from Maui! 

Aloha friends! I hope you are all enjoying your Christmas Season with your friends and loved ones. We sure are. We have been enjoying some sun, sand & salt on Maui.  

Below is a glimpse into our trip so far via my phone, and lastly, our 2012 Christmas card. I had so much fun making this card, and looking back at the all the fun we had this year.  From our Ohana to yours, cheers to an even better 2013!

Enjoying some time looking at the pretty lights.

The gorgeous scenery on our afternoon walk the other day.

One of the many rainbows we've seen. 

One of my favorite places....my parents backyard.

Our ride back from the beach.

His first day at the beach....he was not too sure about it.

Grandma let him open a present early....lucky boy.

On our way to the beach. Poor little guy was so tired and jet-lagged.

My cute boys on Christmas Eve.

Another great view....

Life's a beach!

XOXO,

Christmas Gift Tags {Freebie}

Now that our Christmas Tree is up, and presents have started to arrive, I've started wrapping gifts.  After I had wrapped my first gift, I realized that I didn't have any gift tags. So....i decided to have some fun with photoshop.   Why buy gift tags, when you can download them for free?!

Tada!!!!!!:

I got some inspiration, here, by lovevsdesign.com

Download them here.  You can either print them on cardstock, cut them out, and tape onto presents. Or, you can print them on sticker paper, cut them out, and attach to presents.

Stay tuned for more.... I will be posting different tags & free christmas printables leading up to Christmas :)

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO,

Christmas Family Tradition: 25 Days of Books

Yesterday was December 1st. What does that mean? The Christmas Season has finally commenced!!

 To kick off the start of Christmas in our house, we started one of first Christmas family traditions.  I know this will come as a surprise to all of you, but the other day I was browsing around on Pinterest, and found a gem! Another mom had wrapped up 25 books, and let her kids open one book a day.  You can find the original idea, here. What a wonderful idea!  This is perfect for us, because Preston LOVES books.  

So, I went to target, and got a combo of Christmas books and non christmas books. We already have quite a few Christmas books from my awesome sister, who sends me tons of hand me downs,  so I decided to mix it up. I also found a few in the dollar section...SCORE! Books can be expensive....especially when you are buying 25 at one time!! I then got busy wrapping them all up. 

 Last night he got to open the first book. 

Here is how it went down:

What am I supposed to do with this?

Hmmmm.....

Mama....can you help me?

Never mind, I figured it out!

What is it?

Is it a book?

Yes! {smile}

This is awesome! 

Kinda looks like a car, too?

It IS a car!!

Dada, please help me open it.

Cool!

My awesome Target-Dollar-Section find, that has brought lots of smiles to my sons face.

The first day was a success! He loved it. Everything, from the anticipation of getting the present open, to seeing the "cool" dump truck book that was underneath, made my heart smile. 

Can't wait to do it all again tonight! :)

XOXO,

Family Photos 2012

I am bursting with excitement right now! Why? Because I am about to share some beautiful pictures of my family with you.  

I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends in my life. Seriously. I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for. They are always there for me...no matter if it is hear me vent & cry, share happy news, or catch up over a glass of wine.  In this case, my very talented friend, Adria {check out her beautiful work here}, took some amazing pictures of my family. Pictures that I will cherish forever. 

Ever since getting married and having kids, pictures mean so much more to me. They capture a moment, a special time in your life that you will never get back.  These picture capture us right now. One of the best times in my life. Life with my sweet little family keeps getting better and better. Every stage of Preston's babyhood has had its pros and cons, but right now pros outweigh the cons. He is happy. He gives big tight hugs. He plays and reads with me. He cuddles with me.  He {for the most part} communicates with me.  I love it all. Of course there is the occasional melt down & tantrum, but all that pales in comparison to how happy he makes me, and how much love he gives me.  Then, you throw my Hubby into the mix, and the love is quadrupled.  I am one lucky lady!

I hope these pictures can illustrate all of these wonderful feelings. I hope to look back in 10 years and feel everything I described above. 

I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

XOXO,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, from my family of Turkeys to yours!!

Free Christmas Gift Tags & Printables

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!

I hope you are all prepared for Turkey Day tomorrow!! Since the day after Christmas is the biggest shopping day of the year, and you will have lots of presents to give....here are some gift tags. Also...some free printables to add to your Christmas Decorations!

Enjoy tomorrow with your families, and please remember all of the things/people that bring you joy. I am so thankful for my family, friends, and all of you!

XOXO

Silly Christmas Gift Tags & A Free Reindeer Printable

I was browsing through my Pinterest Boards today, and stumbled upon these cute tags, by Mer Mag.  I've been wanting to make some tags for Christmas gifts, and fell in love with this idea.  She provides the link to the hat, reindeer antlers & nose, so all you need to do is find a cute picture, and photoshop them in. 

This is my final product:

Santa hat, reindeer nose & antlers found here.  Tag Clipping Mask found at jessicasprague.com

What do you guys think? 

Also, I am trying to find the perfect print out to put up on my Christmas Mantle. I created this little number today:

I hope you can enjoy this fun Christmas printable somewhere in your home this Christmas.