{Favorite Things // Blogger Link-up}

Two of my sweet blogger friends came up with a "Favorite Things Blogger Exchange" and I joined in. Jess actually hosts a favorite things party for her and her friends and I have always loved the idea. So, when Jess and Sarah announced the favorite things link-up I couldn't be more excited.

I was paired with Sara @ Crazy Cozads and Danielle at Sparkles and Lattes. To see what favorite things I sent them, check out their blogs.

The first gift I received was from Sara @ Crazy Cozads. She and I have been following each other's blogs for a really long while and I was excited to be paired with her. She sent us the Bunch O Balloons...those really cool self sealing water balloons! Seriously, what did we do before these? They are so fast and convenient. They have quickly became a favorite of ours. These were actually on my shopping list to buy before our vacation, so now I can cross that off! We can't wait to play! She also sent me a Sephora Pomegranate Mask! I am so, so excited to try this. It's an Anti-fatique and energizing mask. I will be doing this before we leave on our trip. I love that in the card she says this mask will guarantee 15 minutes of relaxation. Yes, please!!!!

The second gift I received was from Emily at Three Boys and a Girl. Her blog is actually new to me! That's one of my favorite things about these link-ups, meeting new people! I can't wait to get to know her through her blog. She sent me Living Proof dry shampoo, the no crease hair ties and some peanut butter M&Ms. I am most definitely taking this dry shampoo with me on our trip! I know there will be days that I will not feel like fixing my hair just to go to the beach! And the hair ties, believe it or not, but those were on my shopping list too! It's amazing how quickly hair ties get lost.

Sara & Emily thank you both so much for the awesome gifts and for sharing your favorite things with me. And a big thank you to Sarah and Jess for hosting this awesome blogger exchange.

Did you participate in this exchange?

{#StarSpangledKids // Splashpad Fun}

Is there anything cuter than seeing kids all decked out in their red, white and blue? {the answer is no!} I love that my sweet friend Liz hosts a link-up called #StarSpangledKids to showcase kiddos in their all-American best! This year she has invited a few of us bloggers to co-host and I am so excited to co-host with her!! I hope that  you'll join us either by linking up, or sharing your photos on Instagram with the hashtag #StarSpangledKids - Also, I hope you'll visit each of the awesome hosts of the link-up.

Hosts:
Liz from Ellie And Addie Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me Jess from Secrets of a Stay at Home Mom Whitney from Work It Mommy Julie from The Girl in the Red Shoes Jen from And Hattie Makes Three Courtney from A + Life Meghan from The Adventure Starts Here Sarah from Seeing All Sides Crystal from Hall Around Texas Beth from Our Pretty Little Girls Liz from Chasin' Mason


I have slowly been adding all the red, white and blue things to Mason's closet. I love those colors on him! And I am kind of obsessed with all things patriotic right now. Memorial Day and The 4th of July are two of my favorite holidays. 

As Mason gets older he is more difficult when it comes to taking pictures. I kind of have to be sneaky! For the first set of pictures I just dressed him and gave him a popsicle. For the second set we loaded up to go to a tiny splashpad at a nearby church and I just so happened to deck him out in stars and stripes. He doesn't mind me taking pictures so long as he has something to do. 
   

    
We are heading out for a weekend of festive 4th of July camping and I will be sharing more #StarSpangledKids photos on Instagram. And, there may even be a part two on Monday.

Also, I shared a Fourth of July Scavenger Hunt on the blog today! Post here.

An InLinkz Link-up

{#Boymom box swap}

When Stephanie, Liz and Sarah announced that they were doing the #boymom box swap I couldn't sign up fast enough! We had so much fun with it last year and couldn't wait to do it again. Mason loves to receive mail and I love to send mail. Perfect!

We were paired with sweet Liz from Ellie and Addie. I just adore her sweet family and couldn't wait to shop for her sweet littles. She has a two year old and a two month old little boy. I haven't shopped for a toddler or a baby in a while so it was fun to do so! Head on over to Liz' blog to see what we sent them.

We actually received our box just as we were walking out the door on Saturday. I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold Mason off from opening the box, so I put everything down and grabbed my camera. He opened the box and I snapped pictures while Nate waited in the car for us.

            Mason got a Batman Lego set and some glow necklaces! This was absolutely perfect for him. Mason's favorite things right now are all things Batman and Legos! And the glow necklaces will be perfect for our annual 4th of July camping trip!! Liz sent me the cutest collection of stationary and crafting supplies! She also sent me a Mama Bear keychain {that I am obsessed with} and a Starbucks giftcard.

Thank you so much Liz. We absolutely love and adore everything. And thank you to Stephanie, Liz and Sarah for hosting this fun boxswap.

{Free Fonts for Summer}

let's sail away // sunkissed // waves // bahama mama // palm trees // surf's up // barefoot // boardwalk // ocean bliss // endless summer nights

I don't know about you, but I have summer on the brain something fierce! I'm downloading all things pineapple and flamingo and all about the bright colors! I was looking for some fresh new fonts to use for my summer graphics and thought I would share some of the ones that I found! Let me know if you have found any free and fun fonts.

Also, I want to take the time to send out a very heartfelt thank you for those that reached out to me yesterday via comments, texts, or messages. I am so grateful for each of you! It was a hard post to write and publish, but it was part of our story and I felt it needed to be shared.

{2016 Blogger Valentine Exchange}

Mason and I joined some of our best blog friends for a kid Valentine swap! For over two weeks straight Mason received mail and got so excited with each new piece. We have some very creative and crafty friends. I let Mason open each Valentine as he received them, but then I made him put them in his Valentine Box {mean Mom!}. I wanted to take a picture of Mason with his Valentine's once he received them all. He didn't ever complain. He would just ask me, "can I have some of my Valentine's now?" Actually, he says "Valentime's" and it's too dang cute to correct him just yet.

All of Mason's Valentines...

 

Mason and I decided on these adorable Dino-Mite Valentines to send to our friends.

Supplies needed:
Mini Dinosaurs {ordered ours from Amazon}
Free Printable {here}
Cardstock & Printer
Twine or Washi tape
Exacto knife

I thought I could use a hole punch to make the holes to thread the twine through, but that didn't work. The hole punch wouldn't reach far enough into the center of the card where I wanted my dinosaurs, so I had to make my own holes with an exacto knife. All I did was lay the dinosaur on the card and then marked where I needed my holes, punched them with the knife and then tied the dinosaurs on. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, they were easy...but very time consuming!! And they're not very kid-helping friendly. It was worth it though, they were pretty adorable.

PS - if you plan on mailing these you will need to take them into the post office to get postage. Even though they feel like they weigh nothing and you could just slap a stamp on them, you can't. The dinosaur creates a bulge in the envelope and they will not go through the machines and thus requires more postage. It cost about $.98 cents to mail one of these cards. For some families that had two kids I put two in a bubble envelope and those were about $2.50 to mail.


Below are all of the bloggers in the swap! Be sure to visit all of their links for creative Valentine's Day ideas!!

Tawnya, Scarlett, & Bodhi @ All of Life's Little Adventures

Jen & Hattie @ And Hattie Makes Three

Ashley, Waverly, & Avalon @ Being Brickner

Jess & Abbie @ Being Mrs. Beer

Elizabeth & Mason @ Chasin' Mason

Liz & Jude @ Ellie and Addie

Crystal & Mason @ Hall Around Texas

Desiree, Marcus, & Julia @ Macke Monologues

Natalie & Blair @ Nat Your Average Girl

Sara, Mac, & Mim @ Running From the Law

Jess, Cameron, & Louise @ Scott Family of Maine

Jessica, Cameron, & Emerson @ Secrets of a Stay at Home Mom

Sarah, Brantley, & Holden @ Seeing All Sides

Karli, Kaye, & Sawyer @ September Farm

Chrissy & Elin @ Simple Joys Blog

Courtney & Aria | Sweet Turtle Soup

Meghan & Noah @ The Adventure Starts Here

Stephanie & Connor | Wife Mommy Me

Whitney, Kinsey, & Brielana @ Work It Mommy