florida family vacation

Last Saturday we drove to Florida to spend the week on the beach with Alex's family. His grandparents rented an amazing house that comfortably slept all 31 of us, had a pool and it's own sand volleyball court. It was less than a block to the beach and within walking distance to some great eateries. It was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad we got to go. One sign of a good trip: no time to take pictures...hopefully someone else has more documentation of our trip!

playing in the pool

waiting for dinner with two sweet little ladies

Our drive south took us through Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. So, I'm counting this as our trip to Kentucky for my twenty five by twenty six list...We stopped for lunch in Paducah, so that's good enough.

four years of wedding bliss

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary and it feels like just yesterday that we were walking down the aisle! I am so lucky to have Alex. He is the best, most patient, kind, generous, loving man on earth. I could keep going with the adjectives but I think you've got the picture.

I am so thankful for our adventures, big and small. I could never have imagined how fantastic married life would be. God has blessed us so much and I am so thankful that He brought Alex and I together. I cannot wait to see what the future holds and what our next big adventure will be.

Happy 4th anniversary Alex, I love you!

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check out our 2nd and 3rd anniversaries

happy friday

We have some mighty big plans for this weekend! These plans include, but are not limited to: pony rides, spending time with both of our families, a 13 hour road trip, sunscreen, the beach and hopefully a lot of delicious food.

Today we are headed to my parent's house. My cousin, Phillip and his family are in town from Oregon, so as many of the cousins that can will be getting together to hangout and watch the kids ride the pony and jump in a bounce house. I'm assuming there will be amazing food too...hint hint mom/Linda/Patty! ;)

Then bright and early Saturday morning, Alex and I will be heading south to spend some time with his family on the beach! I am looking forward to being a lazy beach bum and spending time with his family. This will be our last summer vacation, so I hope to savor it while it lasts.

I hope you have a great weekend! Here are a few links from around the web...enjoy!!


Edwardsville is in the top 10 places to live in Illinois!

I cannot wait for the Bachelorette finale on Monday night...team Shawn also these recaps are great (she's a little behind this season)

I think these tips apply to TJ Maxx and Marshalls too

License and registration, please.

Emoji's that you have been using incorrectly

Learning to play the ukulele is on my to do list

 

Have a great weekend!

happy friday

We have finally caught up from last week's vacation and it took me until yesterday to find my desk through all the paperwork, mail, notes, etc. Becky did a thorough recap of our week in Michigan City. That place holds some very happy memories and I love that we continue to go back to make more.

Tonight we are planning to go to Art Hill to see Jaws (my first time) and eat food truck fare. I'm pretty excited about it, so you are more than welcome to join us. The rest weekend we're looking forward to doing a few house projects and taking it easy.

This week I only found a few links to share with you, so click away my friends and enjoy!

Star Wars in the words of a three year old

This makes me feel justified...and maybe stinky

If only I could do this all day long...

This is the perfect definition of Midwesterner's...especially the ranch

This easy deodorant trick is so clever, I wish I had thought of it

Have a great weekend!

the sushi experiement

One of the things on my list of 25 things to do before I turn 26 was to eat sushi. I'd been putting it off for as long as I could because it was on the list more for Alex than for me. But, I finally agreed to give it a try.

We went to Wasabi with a group of friends who delights in uncooked fish so they could guide us. We ordered a few different types and Alex eagerly tried them and enjoyed them. I, on the other hand, could barely swallow my first bite (I have a texture thing...mushy foods are the worst ie: pudding, jello, whipped mashed potatoes etc.).  But I gave it the good ole college try and can now (and forever) mark sushi off my list.

Is it normal that everyone's comes out together on a boat?

Either way, the presentation was nice

happy friday

This week was a great week! We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the whole week with my family on Lake Michigan. The weather was a bit rainier and cooler than we would have expected for the first week of July, but we still managed to have a great time. 

I will post pictures from the week when we get unpacked and settled. I was too busy having fun to round up any links to share, so you're on your own this weekend. 

happy friday

This week was a short work week and all in all it wasn't too bad. I tried sushi for the first time-not my favorite food and by that I mean I will never eat it again, unless forced to or if my palate changes. Never say never right?

We hung out with our high school students on Tuesday and they are definitely in summer mode, which is fun but it also makes me miss the carefree days of summer break. We also had some friends over for a game night Wednesday night.

Now, I'm in packing and cleaning mode as we get ready to spend some time with my family on Lake Michigan. I'm looking forward to laying by the beach (hopefully it will be warm enough), reading, shopping, sleeping in and playing with some of my favorite kids and their parents.

I found some links to share with you this week,so enjoy!

I can relate to these Pinterest fails

The updated Siri is sassy now

Since the SCOTUS marriage decision, there has been a lot of social media uproar and I really liked this article

Harry Potter fans: there has been a new mind -lowing revelation 

I have checked out a couple new books from the library to read on our vacation and this one and this audiobook to listen to on the drive

I wish I were a) this creative and b) had this much time on my hands

I don't know if you heard, but this is the "best job in America"...yes that was a corny pun

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

june in pictures

June was a great, low key month. We didn't go on any big adventures or leave our corner of the world. We spent some time with family and just enjoyed the slower pace of summer. Enjoy our June snapshots...

 We celebrated National Donut Day

We started playing tennis again and it's been a lot of fun!

Moose was tired of all the rain

Jansen has mastered the art of the selfie

Happy Father's Day Dad and Eric!

I went bowling with 4 of my favorite kids (5 including Atley-but she didn't bowl)

Ethan is a little ham, right after my own heart

Still hamming it up

Playing at the park with Eli and Jansen

We got a new/old dresser and I'm still debating the mirror. Thoughts?

Now on to see what July will bring!