Fall Bucket List Check-in #3

Last week we only managed to cross off one thing on the bucket list so I spared myself the embarrassment and skipped the bucket list post. However, I am back for redemption today. We miraculously managed to put a pretty big dent in our list and it looks like we just might be able to finish up our list after all.
Here is what we have checked off our list since check-in #1 and check-in #2 
Bake a Pie
They were so excited to dive in and get busy. Their flavor of choice? Pumpkin of course!

Fall Themed Craft With The Kids

We probably could have already crossed this one off but with a few bigger projects done we'll make it official. 
 I picked up a 2 pack of paintable pumpkins and some metalic paint at Hobby Lobby.

Then Saturday morning Marissa and I spent some time working on this. I had most of the supplies on hand already so it was a simple fun way to add some Halloween flare. 

Visit a Pumpkin Patch
Here we are again for for our yearly trip to Fredrickson Farms. In my oppinion the Joplin area is REALLY lacking a good pumpkin patch. Maybe I should buy some land and become a farmer? The pumpkin selection here was less than impressive. 

See what I mean?!

So we bought a couple baby pumpkins then went to Aldi and picked these guys up for $2.69 each.

Whatever works right?!

Caramel Apples   I know I said caramel apples and technically we had caramel apples. We just chose to go the easy to eat route.

It started with homemade salted caramel sauce and ended with some very sticky hands and fingers. It was SO good. The best part is we have LOTS leftover so we can keep using this stuff all through the holidays. Making caramel was WAY easier than I expected, I will never buy caramel dip ever again. 

Watch a Halloween Movie

Friday night after our caramel apple dip the girls and I sat down to watch a Halloween movie. The movie of choice? 

AGAIN!
Marissa wanted to watch something else but I think she got so nervous that it would be spooky that she chickened out and went with something familiar.

Fall fun that wasn't on our list...
We went to the Maple Leaf Parade.

Then stopped by the Maple Leaf car show. 

Mo-Kan's Hot Rod Reunion is always an October highlight. 

Another super easy chalk board creation of mine.

Silly hat day at co-op, #nailedit

As of October 26th this is where we are on our list 11/15 done!

Today I am linking up with Courtney and some other amazing ladies!

American Sniper & 4 Other Must See Movies, Not On Netflix

Have you been trying to find American Sniper on Netflix? I know I was! there are so many movies on my must see list, but Netflix continues to disappoint. To find out the where you can find American Sniper and tons of other must see movies, keep reading.    Time and time again I grab the remote to do some movie browsing, get frustrated and turn the TV off. Big surprise there is nothing new, again. The shows I want to watch, the movies that I really want to see, I can pretty much guarantee that I won't find them on Netflix.
Netflix, your movie selection stinks! It is frustrating, boring, disappointing and out dated.
There, I said it. And I know that I am not be the only person that feels this way. I have had way to many conversations that tell me I'm not the only person let down by Netflix. 
There has to be a solution right? Of course there is.   Allow me to introduce you to VidAngel.
I'll be honest I had never heard of VidAngel until a little over a week ago, so naturally I had a lot of questions. The biggest of those being what is VidAngel? VidAngel is the first and only family-friendly streaming video filter. Instantly I wanted to learn more and was able to find answers to all of my questions on their website under the blue "click here for help" tab at the bottom of the screen. 
The very first thing I noticed was their movie selection, it was HUGE! New movies, old movies, kids movies, TV series. There was so much to choose from, everyone's favorites were there. I kept saying "I want to see that one and that one and that one". How would I ever choose where to start.    Then I kept thinking none of these are on Netflix...  I looked through the movies and came up my list of 5 must see films you can watch on VidAngel but won't be able to find on Netflix. I chose movies that came out pretty recently. I feel like I should say my list could have gone on forever. There are just so many great titles to choose from.    1) American Sniper Bradley Cooper, enough said ;). 
  2) Cinderella I have been so excited to watch this movie with my girls.
  3) Pitch Perfect 2 Everyone loves a good sequel.
  4) Home My kids LOVE this movie.  It is a family movie night must see.
  5) San Andreas Because who doesn't want to panic for 2 hours?!

And the titles just keep going on and on!

Gone Girl

Frozen

Guardians of the Galaxy

Divergent

Mad Max: Fury Road

Lucy

Game of Thrones

Lone Survivor

So the next time you want to watch a movie skip the frustration of Netflix and head on over to VidAngel.

I guarantee you will find something you actually want to watch.

This post was sponsored by VidAngel

For more info you can see my disclosure statement. 

Friday Highlights 10.23.15

Hello Friday!!!
Happy Friday Friends! Can you believe Halloween is just over a week away? I guess I really should get those costumes I have been putting off put together otherwise two little girls are going to be very disappointed. I shouldn't complain though, their requests were pretty easy this year (unlike the time I made a dress out of 20 yards of tulle, ACK)!
Now onto this weeks Friday highlights!

{ONE}  Blog Highlights
This week on the blog I... Shared the latest pictures in my 2015 photo challenge.

Posted about what is going on currently.

Talked about the time that Anna and I took "senior photos".

Shared some photos I took of my parents.

And had Jen from J Pabst Fitness guest post in my 'Girl Mom' series.

What a BUSY week!
{TWO} Snapchat
Okay, okay I did it.
The arrival of my new phone (which is AWESOME btw) inspired me to take the dive and finally sign up for Snapchat. So far I just randomly take photos of myself draw on them and send them to my friend Sarah. 
This is what Snapchat exists for right? If you want to find me my user name is Bethnoplg
{THREE} Cookie Swap
You are invited to participate in a cookie swap!

I am excited to be teaming up with my awesome Tuesday Talk Co-hosts to make this happen.

Post a new recipe, an old recipe or a round up to links of your favorite recipes. Whatever you want to do. Then join us on the November 3rd Tuesday Talk and link up those posts.

(You will still be able to link up that week even if you don't post about cookies)

If you have any questions, just ask!

{FOUR} SORE Muscles

So I don't talk about it a lot but since late May I have made the transition from runner to weight lifter. I needed something new and if I am being brutally honest I don't LOVE running miles and miles. The change has been amazing. I have seen transformations in so many areas, but that should be a blog post all of its own. 

This week we started stage 6 of our current training plan. An extremely upper body intensive section that focuses on getting you to the point where you can do chin-ups. After work out #1 I could hardly move my arms for 3 days. It is nice to know that no matter how far you go, you can always go further. 

I started doing negative chin-ups

The goal is to get to the point that the extension takes 20 seconds then you weigh yourself down more. On day one it took a hair over 10 seconds. 

Game on chin-ups.

I won't stop til I get there. 

{FIVE} The Gift Giver
This week I was lucky to be able to share an amazing new children's Christmas book with you.

I LOVE the way this book merges the magic of Santa with the real reason we celebrate Christmas, Jesus Christ.
You can check out my book review or take a look at the book on Amazon.
Friday Linkup Parties

To see where I am linking up check out my link-up tab.
Have a great weekend!

We will see you back here soon.

Girl Mom Series: Jen, J Pabst Fitness

Hey there everyone! My name is Jen and I blog at J Pabst Fitness.

I blog about a little of everything, my life as a stay at home mom to 4, sharing my meals and workouts. I am the mom to 4 kids, Tyler (13), Karlie (10), Aiden (7) and Emma (18 months). While I love all 4 of them deeply, today I'm going to talk about being a mom to girls.

   

 Karlie will be 11 in January and she is one amazing little girl. She currently takes Ballet and Tumbling at a local dance studio and I'm constantly amazed at everything her body is capable of and pushes me to give a little bit more through each of my own workouts. She also excels at school and I know she is on her way to a fantastic future. Most kids have a countdown to summer vacation, on the last day of school, Karlie starts her countdown to when school starts again. She can see something on Pinterest or You Tube and next thing I know, she's making it happen. She loves crafts, doing her hair, dancing, shoes and all things glittery and girly. She is also the BEST big sister, as soon as she gets home from school, Emma goes running to her and suddenly I'm chopped liver. There is a 10 year difference between them, but I have high hopes they will be the best of friends as they grow up.

 

 

 Emma (18 months). Emma is our miracle baby, you can guess, based on the ages of our other children, that she was a surprise blessing to our family, but getting her was quite the adventure, starting right from the start. After an ultrasound at 7 weeks showing nothing but an empty yolk sac, it was determined that it was a non viable pregnancy, but I opted out of a D&C and chose to let my body do what it needed to do. A few weeks later, I was bleeding, cramping heavily and thought it was all over and had another ultrasound a few weeks after that to make sure the miscarriage was complete. It was at that appointment that my OB saw that not only did I not miscarry, but I was nearly 12 weeks pregnant. Her name means complete and whole, and that's exactly what she has done. Completed our family.

   

 The last 18 months have been adventurous, going almost 7 years between babies, it felt like I was a first timer all over again, and everything about her is SO different than my other 3. Just when I think I have things figured out, she changes and I realize I have no idea what I'm doing. She is such an easy going toddler though, loves reading books, playing with puzzles, ANYTHING that makes noise and her nickname is The Toucher because she has to to touch everything.

 

 Some things I have learned while being a girl mom:

1. They are much more sensitive than my boys. Sometimes the smallest thing can throw Karlie into a tailspin, her world is ending, nothing will ever be the same. A few minutes in her room alone and all is right with the world again.
2. They watch and learn by example. I do not want them to grow up with any body images. I work hard to teach them that a healthy body is a happy body and exercise isn't a punishment, it's keeping our bodies happy. I used to only workout when they were in bed, but I have realized they (well, all 4 of them) need to see me working out and that it's a good thing.
3. Everything is better sparkly.
4. Everything is better if it's pink.
5. If it's sparkly AND pink....#winning

Thank you so much Jen for sharing your girls with us today!

I couldn't possibly agree more about the sparkles and the pink and them making the perfect combination.

I never knew it was a neutral color until I became a girl mom. 

To learn more about Jen and her family head on over to J Pabst Fitness and take a look around.

You can also find J Pabst Fitness on these social media outlets

Instagram & Facebook

Picture Practice {R & L October 2015}

Yesterday I dished the dirt on another escapade I had with my dear friend Anna. At the end of my post I mentioned taking some pretty fantastic pictures of my parents later that week. I was planning to share them soon, but a second look at my blog planner confirmed that soon better be now.

My parents have been married for almost 36 years and the last time they had photos taken of just the two of them was 20+ years ago. I was so happy and honored when my mama asked me to take some. I told her not to get her hopes up, I didn't really know what I was doing and we would be lucky if I captured one frame worthy shot.

Here are the results...

I still need to work on some lighting technicalities. That manual mode really is a booger. That said, I don't think they turned out too bad either.
Maybe I can figure this camera thing out after all!