goodbye's are never easy

This is not an easy post to write, but my Grandpa Bob passed away early Sunday morning. He had a quick battle with cancer and while I'm glad he didn't have to endure the pain for long, that doesn't mean I am ready to say goodbye.

I am forever thankful for everything he taught me and for all the memories I have of him. It's hard to process that he won't be here to help me plan adventures, to chase Moose around, to play dominoes with or to finish a bowl of chocolate ice cream with before bed. There is so much more that I will miss, it hurts. But, he was an extraordinary man and lived a wonderful life. I am so thankful that I was able to call him Grandpa and that God put him in my life.

happy campers

This weekend I had nothing planned and that was the plan, to do a whole lot of nothing. I wanted to  catch up on my reading, finally watch the Bachelorette premier (team Kaitlyn) and do a bit of yard work. However on Friday at about noon, Alex decided that we should go camping. So, after looking for a place to go (apparently everyone goes camping during the Memorial Day weekend) we found a campground that still had a few openings so I made a reservation in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park (a little north of Memphis).

After making the reservation, I ran to Target to buy a tent and get some camping essentials. When I got home I packed as fast as I could and we were out the door. We arrived at the campsite at around 10:30pm and set up our brand new tent in the dark. Surprisingly, it went well and was very easy to set up. Moose was excited and a little confused when he got in the tent. He spent most of the night walking around trying to look out the little windows and trying to place the strange sounds.

On Saturday morning after we woke up, we went for a hike and decided that the mosquitos were a bit too thirsty to keep hiking so we headed into Memphis. We went to checkout Beale Street and of course we had some BBQ. We ate at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous and it was great. Sadly, we missed the ducks at the Peabody Hotel so we'll have to go back and see them someday. On our way back to the campsite we swung by Graceland to see what it was all about. We didn't take the the tour since Moose wasn't welcome, but we could see what they hype was all about.

Before starting our fire, we drove down to the river to watch the sunset and it was beautiful and peaceful. It was very picturesque. As I've mentioned, the mosquito's were the size of my thumb and veeerrrry thirsty! It made sitting outside a little uncomfortable, but we still roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and chatted around the fire.

On Sunday morning we decided that we would pack up a little sooner than planned and headed home after breakfast. But, we had a great little trip and I'm so glad we decided to go on a camping adventure.

happy friday

I feel like I'm slowly starting to catch up this month. As I've said before, it's been a crazy month for us. We spent last weekend in Salem with my family and it was so good to all be together for the first time in over 5 years. It was the first time that all 9 of my sibling's kids were in the same place so that made for a very happy Grandma Terri and Pop (and aunt Abby!). They played very well together and had a great time. I introduced them to croquet and Ethan was the only one who really liked it, so we played a few games and he was quite pleased when he beat me.  

This weekend is the first weekend all month that we will be able to stay at home. I'm trying not to plan too much or try to accomplish everything on my list. It will be nice to just relax and enjoy the weekend and the beginning of summer. 

This week I found a lot of links to share with you, so enjoy! 

If I were born today my name would be Kylee (Abby) or Gianna (Abigail). What would yours be??

St. Louis is up 11 spots from last year on this list

This infographic should be on everyone's fridge

Watching baby's eat something for the first time is always entertaining 

These books will be on my ever growing summer reading list 

They've discovered the best way to keep flowers looking good for longer

There are a couple movies on this list that I'll need to watch before they're gone on June 1

Have a great holiday weekend!!

(don't forget sunscreen!)

nosy neighbor

I may be one of the nosiest people on earth. When Alex and I go out to dinner, I have a tendency to listen in on our neighboring tables' conversations. While it drives Alex crazy, I get to learn so much about complete strangers. Sometimes it's drama, sometimes it's exciting and sometimes I hear more than I want to...

Last night Alex and I were getting ready for bed when we heard a loud crash/crunch/screech sound, followed by a car alarm. Being nosy I sent Alex outside to see what had happened. He came in and said that a guy had hit a parked car and it wasn't ours, so he was going to bed.

I, on the other hand, was so excited to see how it all played out. So I peered through the curtains (very stealthily) and watched the guy who hit the other car walk around frazzled, the police show up and grill him with questions (Alex said I couldn't open the window to listen in) and I watched as the other guy talked to the police.

There was probably a bit of drama, because how do you hit a parked car and there not be drama?!? Sadly, I ended up falling asleep before I could see how it ended, but it was an eventful end to our evening and I'm very glad our car wasn't involved!