Holiday – Page 3 – Casa de Murphy

Hi Friends!

I’m sharing some holiday fun over on Orlando Moms Blog. I hope you will check it out 🙂

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You can link to the full article HERE

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I am all about having fun with my kiddo at the holidays and making memories to last a lifetime. What I am not about, however, is stressing myself out in the process. One tradition we enjoy each holiday is getting together to decorate gingerbread houses. Over the years, we’ve perfected the process to make it as simple as possible, so today, I’m sharing my tips with you!

Happy Reading!

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December 2015, Latest & Greatest News

It’s Christmas Time!

December 8, 2015 casademurphy

I just love this time of the year — the decorations, the music, the smells, the traditions ❤ ….now, if we could only talk mother nature into giving us just a tad bit cooler weather here in the sunshine state, that would be swell 😉

As soon as we got back into town from my dad’s after Thanksgiving, we broke out the decorations & got busy making the house look festive. I have to say that having an excited 4 year old as a helper this year definitely made it extra fun 😉 — I think I said his name & ‘careful‘ & ‘just a minute‘ at least 100 times as he helped me take things out of our storage bins. He is SO excited for Christmas this year! We had to explain what “Christmas time” meant and that we didn’t jump from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Eve in one shot. Ha!

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Placing the star on top is his favorite 🙂

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Our tradition is to welcome back the Elf on the Shelf once our tree is up & decorated. So, Mr Elf did fly back from the North Pole last Saturday night, but more on that next time!

He also was thrilled to have his Little Peoples Nativity Scene back. He happily played with that for a majority of the afternoon. Made my mama heart happy ❤

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Early last week, Liam was over the moon to find a letter in the mail from Santa, himself! He danced all the way down the walk way & into the house!

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We headed out to Light Up UCF for an impromptu meet up with Mimi & Aunt Heather & cousin Sierra after school last week. Unfortunately, it was raining, so the lights were off…BUT, they had reindeer there that night!!! SO COOL!! — Did you know their coats are water proof??

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He also got to ride the ice slide. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. Not to shabby for our Florida boy 😉

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Saturday, we were all excited for our 5th Annual Gingerbread Decorating Party! This has become such a fun tradition for us both as a family & for all of us as friends. LOVE IT ❤

For a look back at last year’s party, click HERE

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I asked him what his favorite part of the party was afterwards. He said “the candy” …..as in, eating it! Can’t tell, right?!?! Hahaha!!!

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All done!

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And, of course, let’s not forget what happened to poor last year’s masterpiece — lol!!

After the kids wrapped things up….the “big kids” (aka, Lisa & Stephen) went to town on their house. This has become these two crazies little tradition & let me tell you they take it pretty serious 🙂

At one point, when Stephen was helping Liam, I suggested a few things to add & I was told, “no, we’re saving that for later” — wow!!!

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I am in LOVE with this!! ❤ ….We haven’t always been fans of Santa pics (it is kinda intimidating, right?!?!) but he did it this year! When he was done, he was so proud of himself & so were we for conquering something that he was kinda scared of. He even said, “that wasn’t bad at all!” Love that little dude so very much! We celebrated with hot chocolate!

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Until next time!

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Latest & Greatest News, November 2015

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

December 2, 2015 casademurphy

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you & your family had an awesome day with your loved ones and were able to reflect on the many blessings that we all have ❤

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We kicked our holiday weekend off with a super cute lunch at Liam’s school. Little man was thrilled to also see his daddy pop in to join us, as we thought he wasn’t going to be able to make it. It was a great time!

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We headed up to my dad & stepmom’s house in Jacksonville for a few days, so that meant a road-trip. Timber is not as great a traveler as he was in his younger days. So, below is how he rode for the majority of the trip….in Daddy’s arms. Not to mention the fact that our normal 2 hour drive literally took us FOUR hours….SO not fun with our whining fur baby & one impatient/excited 4 year old….but, we eventually made it up there & had a great time 😉

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Had to start our Thanksgiving morning with Macy’s Parade, right?!?! 🙂 ….I think I was more excited to watch this than Liam. LOL!

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I honestly didn’t snap many pictures throughout the day, but this was a cute one. Timber was unsuccessfully begging for a hand-out 😉

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So thankful that this guy calls me mommy ❤

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Turkey time!!!

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Always the helper in the kitchen….potatoes may or may not have been dropped on the floor a few times 🙂

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We took a trip to St. Augustine to see their “Night of Lights” …the city was all decked out in beautiful white lights. Liam was in awe & walked up & down the sidewalk singing Christmas songs to himself & us….cutest.thing.ever ❤

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We asked him to stand in front of the Ponce de Leon monument to snap his pic….instead, he thought it was the perfect place to make shadow puppets…hilarious & imaginative!!!

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Loved the tree in the town square, so we took a quick family pic ❤

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Here’s a look back on previous posts from Thanksgiving:

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It was a fun & relaxing weekend. So nice to spend time with family and also talk to those that we weren’t able to be with. Life may be busy & hectic, but when we take time to pause & reflect, we really do have much to be thankful & grateful for. Each day is a gift ❤

Until next time, friends!

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Latest & Greatest News, October 2015

Happy Halloween!

November 2, 2015 casademurphy

Trick or Treat!

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Seriously, how much fun was Halloween on a Saturday night?!?! I vote to have it on a weekend every year!

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We kicked off the weekend with dinner on Friday night at IHOP. Liam got a FREE spooky pancake. So fun!

When we got home there was a special delivery from Papa G & G-Ma –> a Halloween tin of yummy flavored popcorn!

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On Saturday, the 1st thing Liam said was: “it’s Trick or Treat day!!!” ….he could barely contain his excitement 😉

We continued our annual tradition of hanging out & eating dinner with our good friends & walking their neighborhood. While Liam dressed up in a few of his different superhero hero costumes in the various holiday events we attended throughout the month, he had selected Baymax from Disney’s Big Hero 6 movie as his trick-or-treat outfit. He adores that movie! ❤ …I mean, it’s a Disney’s superhero movie, afterall, right?!?! 😉 ….It was hilarious because some of the people handing out candy did not know his costume & asked him if he was an Avenger. He, very matter-of-factly, stated: “No, I am Baymax”. Then, he would turn around and yell down the driveway, “They thought I was an Avenger!!!”

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Halloween is the look of mischief…..

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Daddy did some cool modifications to the wings to get them to stick out and not be flopping around. We glued tongue depressors to the inside flaps & then, he painted them red. The mask also fit a bit tight & squished his nose. Stephen added a few foam pieces (such a thoughtful daddy!)….however, Liam still didn’t keep it on most of the night. Ya know, it’s still pretty hot & sticky here in FL 😉

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Let the fun begin!

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Liam was so polite at every house. He said, “trick-or-treat” and then, “thank you” after getting his candy. Then, to each person, I also heard him say, “Happy Halloween!” ….my heart melted! We stayed out for about 2 1/2 hours. We even brought our wagon because we thought he would get tired and need a rest, but no, he trucked along & kept up the whole time. Heck, he even pulled the wagon (by his request) toward the end. The only thing he did ask for was to dump his candy bag and “start over” because his little bag was getting too heavy. This mama had thought about that ahead of time, so I did bring a bigger bag….lol!

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He ended up with quite the haul of candy by the time we got done. Here he is — tired, hot & sweaty…but so proud of his little stash 🙂

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It was a great weekend! We were a tired little family when all was said & done, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. When Liam woke up on Sunday morning, he asked if it was still Halloween. I told him, no, it was now November. Then, he asked if was Christmas. I said no again. Little dude proceeded to cry….I felt so bad! Once I explained that Thanksgiving was next & reminded him what that meant, he was ok. Being a 4 year old is tough work sometimes 😉

Here’s a look back on the fun from the last few years:

2014 // 2013 //

2012 (back before the blog …check out this adorbs pic). This was Liam’s 1st time trick-or-treating!! We just pushed him right up to the doors. Haha! …but he held his little bucket!

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2011 (also, back before the blog …Baby’s 1st Halloween!!)

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Until next time!

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Latest & Greatest News, October 2015

Spooktacular Fun!

October 21, 2015 casademurphy

We recently spent the day over at Sea World & took in the sites for their Halloween Spooktacular! What a fun-filled family day 🙂 …I really love that Sea World includes the holiday festivities as part of the park admission. A definite plus, so we put our annual passes to good use again! As you can see, we brought Thor with us that day 😉

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One of the special holiday events that we elected to do was the Dine with Shamu Spooktacular Brunch. While this was extra from our admission to the park, I have to say, it was totally worth it! We had a great meal, and best of all, we enjoyed watching two of the whales swim literally right next to us. Liam was in awe ❤

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To our surprise, we had a private show while dining!! Stephen & I honestly thought it was just going to be watching the whales swim around in the tank while we ate, which was cool enough for us…..

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….but, the trainers gave us an entire show & it was incredible! We could not have asked for a better morning 🙂

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After brunch, the kiddos were excited to check out the Halloween decorations around the park AND there was Trick-or Treating!!

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Liam posing with his bestie, Kenadie & her brother, Karsten

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Trick or Treat time 🙂 ….every time he got a candy he showed us his bag & said, “Look what I got!!” …Loved the excitement!!

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The “Sea Witch” thought these two were pretty adorbs ❤ ….Liam said she smelled like candy 🙂

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After candy time, we hung out & did some rides. Liam rode the kiddie roller coaster there for the 1st time! He also rode this one, below, “Ocean Commotion” — safe to say he loved it!

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I think I asked Liam about a hundred times throughout the day if he wanted to take his costume off ….mama bear in me was worried he was too hot in this FL heat, but he always said ‘nope, I’m good’. So, Thor accompanied us the entire day 😉 and I would say he had a fabulous time …. we all did!

Until next time, friends!

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Latest & Greatest News, October 2015

Welcome October!!

October 7, 2015 casademurphy

1st week of October is in the books! Yes, this family is excited 🙂 …I think I saw it posted somewhere last week that as of October 1st there were 30 days until Halloween, 58 days until Thanksgiving, and 85 days until Christmas. I’m ready for it! I love this time of the year ❤

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We brought the fall decorations down from the attic & Liam was thrilled to help me put them up. I like to put up fun Halloween decos for October and then switch it up to more general pumpkin, turkey, and fall-leaved themed things for November.

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We have some fun family activities planned over the next few weeks, so that always helps to keep us in the holiday spirit….even when the temperatures here in FL make us sometime question it 😉

Halloween Pumpkin

We kicked things off a few weeks back with a trip to Legoland. I had scored us an awesome promo deal for tickets through the Children’s Home Society of FL …we literally all got into the park for less than a full price ticket at the gate. So awesome!! Best of all, a portion of what we paid for went to their agency.

Loved seeing the cool Halloween Lego displays throughout the park! Can you see little dude’s head peaking out of the big pumpkin Lego below? 🙂

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We were uber excited this visit because little man was tall enough to ride a few of the “bigger kid” rides. He chose ‘Merlin’s Challenge’ — a mini Himalaya flat ride. I think the smile on his face tells you how much he enjoyed it 🙂 …this mama actually got dizzy…lol!!

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Since starting Pre-K, Liam has had some enjoyable events at school, as well. The 1st was Pirate Week, which ended with a fun Pirate Parade. We squeezed him into his ‘Jake & the Neverland Pirates’ costume to wear for it. Seriously, he was THE cutest!! They also had Community Helpers Week, and had special visitors to the school from Dr’s, Police Officers, and the Fire Dept. He LOVED it.

I’m not sure how/when it started, but Liam frequently asks me to tell him a story when he’s falling asleep about Super Hero Liam and Super Dog Timber. So, I try to be a ‘cool mom’ and make up fantastic stories of these great adventures that he & Timber go on. It definitely challenges my creativity and story telling skills 😉 ….then, one day at school, we see this neon plastic guy with a dog. Clearly, I know it’s designed to flag parents to slow it down through the parking lot…..however, my child immediately says, “Mommy, it’s superhero Liam & super dog Timber! They are at my school!” He was thrilled! I thought it was hilarious that is what he thought of when looking at them. So….we took a picture. And, each time we see these guys, he says hello to his new friends. LOL! One day, I will definitely tell him this story 🙂

Superhero Liam

In other news, we went to a good friend’s birthday party at a local Sports Complex last weekend….and yes, even in hot & sunny FL, we ice skated. Liam was overjoyed!! I, on the other hand, ….could not move the next day 😛

It really was so fun, though, and I am happy that I could introduce him to something I loved to do as part of my upbringing in New England. Next time, we’ll hopefully convince Daddy to get out there with us!

Ice Skating

Until next time, friends!

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Latest & Greatest News, September 2015

Labor Day Weekend Wrap-Up

September 8, 2015 casademurphy

Long weekends are so nice for taking some family time to rest & relax. It was extra nice over this weekend, as we celebrated the Labor Day holiday, and (in what has become our American tradition) said an unofficial good-bye to summer. However, we all know that the temps here in FL will not be dying down anytime soon — so pool-time & flip flops remain a staple around here for us 😉

We kicked off our weekend with a little Disney On Ice on Friday evening.

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It was their BRAND NEW 100 Years of Magic show, and it actually was the very 1st showing of it. More to come about the entire show later this week with lots more pics!! It was fantastic!

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Saturday morning, we headed to MyGym for Liam’s class. We’ve actually decided to take a break for the fall, as we have a busy schedule ahead of us, but he absolutely LOVES this place. We only have a few weeks left. I’ll have a post about our fun times with them soon. Ms. Dana is amazing ❤

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Sunday morning, we packed our bags & hit the road to Jacksonville. My dad & step-mom call Jax home & it had been far too long since we all had seen one another. A road trip with an older pup and a 4 year old was definitely interesting….even if it was just for a few hours. Let’s just say we didn’t make it there without stopping 😉

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No worries here if little man would be leery of his Papa G since he hadn’t seen him in a while. The two became as thick as thieves, and Liam had a ball with him. He followed him around and wanted to help him with everything he did. Even watering the plants outside. It was so cute ❤

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My step-mom (G-ma to little man) broke out their ice cream maker on Sunday night & Liam was in heaven.

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Don’t turn your back on a 4 year old with a spoon & an open container of cool whip….LOL!!!

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On Monday, we headed out to the beach for a bit. I am not kidding when I tell you that Liam has been asking to go to the beach ALL.SUMMER.LONG. — We definitely have to do a better job of taking more beach trips next summer. This kid cannot get enough of it.

I love this shot I snapped really quick. Stephen & I didn’t even have our shoes off yet, and he was already off running toward the water with my dad 🙂

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Most of the time in Jax, if you were looking for Liam, this is where you found him….in the pool. He even called himself a little fish. He thought it was THE GREATEST thing ever that he got to be in the ocean water and the pool water in the SAME DAY 🙂

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Can’t forget the fur baby. He, of course, came along for the trip. He especially loves Papa G & G-Ma’s house because of the doggy doors & the free reign to go in and out all day long (a luxury he doesn’t get at home 😉 )

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Liam said Timber had a good time with his Aunt & Uncle dog …haha! Love that! …Stephen & I said he was more on a “food-cation” than a vacation. That was all he did this weekend — eat & beg!

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Before we loaded up to head home, I made everyone pose for a few pics….

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Such an enjoyable weekend ❤ ….hope you had a lovely one, too!

Until next time, friends!

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July 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Star Spangled Fun

July 8, 2015 casademurphy

We had so much fun for our holiday weekend! For a look back on the last few year’s be sure to check out here and here.

On Friday, Stephen had to work so it was just little man & me hanging out. We are huge fans of the PBS series, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, so we caught a few episodes on Netflix while playing & cleaning up. I walked by Liam’s marker board at one point in the afternoon & he told me he drew O the Owl from the show…so cute!

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I couldn’t help snapping a pic of this one practicing brushing his teeth solo…we do it for him but we’re also trying to teach him how to do it by himself after we do it. This was cuteness overload for me.

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After we got ready for bed on Friday, we went out front to do a few small fireworks. Someone LOVES him some sparklers! If you didn’t see my latest post last week for OMB, be sure to check it out — HERE.

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All decked out in their RED, WHITE & BLUE ❤

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Before fireworks & fun-time on Saturday, we grilled up some deliciousness 🙂

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Little dude had to grill up something of his own too….just.like.Daddy 😉

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only one word for this —> YUM ….all about balance, right?!?!

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After dinner, we headed over to Lake Eola to hang out & catch some fireworks.

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This one gave us an awesome dance show while we waited for it to get dark…..note the shoes 😉 ….I had taken mine off while we lounged on our blanket. He also took his off but then put mine on & paraded around. Hilarious!

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For a while, it looked like it might storm, but we got this awesome sunset just before nightfall.

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Fantastic show, as always, City of Orlando!!

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We had a great holiday weekend celebrating our great nation’s birthday! Hope you did as well!

Until next time, friends!

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July 2015, Latest & Greatest News

10 TIPS FOR A SAFE JULY 4th

July 3, 2015 casademurphy

Happy July 4th EVE 😉

Today, I’m over at Orlando Mom’s Blog sharing my tips for keeping your Independence Day safe & fun! Be sure to check it out before you head out for your holiday weekend festivities.

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You can link directly to the blog post HERE.

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Until next time, friends!

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Latest & Greatest News, May 2015

Memorial Day Weekend {Part 1}

May 28, 2015 casademurphy

Last week started off as any other week, but quickly went south for me, as I spent a majority of it feeling pretty crappy. I came down with a bug and it threw us all off. So thankful to Daddy for picking up the extra slack while I was down. Me and the fur baby bonded a lot ….as you can see below ❤

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During the week, my heart melted for a minute when the little dude took Timber on a walk solo for the 1st time (in our cul-de-sac) ….he was SO proud of himself. I was, too, & I was proud of Timber for letting his “little” bro take the reigns 🙂 — really was a special moment for these two!

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By Friday, I was starting to feel half-way normal, so we wanted to kick-off our weekend. Let me begin, by first sharing with you this completely appropriate article I came across for Memorial Day that was posted on The Washington Post & written by a veteran. You can find it here. While many of us (our little fam included) often refer to this weekend as the unofficial start of summer, or a reason to have a cookout — it’s really NOT why we have this holiday. I want to ensure our little one knows about that as we bring him up & we take pause to not forget.

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We all had the day off of work & school on Friday, so Liam excitedly said we were on vacation throughout the long weekend….I was good with that. To get some fresh air for us all, we decided to go out to the beach for a walk. He had been asking for weeks (literally) to go, and since I wasn’t up to a full day in the sand, just yet —- this was the next best thing. The ocean breeze was beautiful, and the water was cool.

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