So I’m drafting this on Thursday afternoon and I have exactly zero plans for this post. BUT, I said I was going to do a weekly digest on Fridays this summer, so just think of this as a little free form blogging. Like, I’m going to have to stop mid-stream to hunt for (and edit) an appropriate photograph. This is what you call blogging on the fly.
001 | ILLUSTRATED ACTS
I’ve been in a Bible study slump for last few months, so I was thrilled to jump in on the SheReadsTruth Acts Study that started earlier this week. It’s slated to run for 6 weeks and I’m hoping I can keep from falling behind while we travel. When I opened up my Bible on that first morning, I realized that not a single page in Acts had been illustrated! My goal is to fill Acts up with some beautiful color over the next 42 days, so I’ll be sharing those on Instagram and then doing a round up here later this month.
002 | RUNNING
If you are already following me on Snapchat (tazandbelly), then you’ll know that Ella has been running with me for a few weeks. It’s a little “summer running” program she and I have going on and we are having so much fun! I need to tell you that I have never been a fan of summer runs. It’s SO hot in Alabama and by the time you’ve clocked a quarter mile, you’re just dripping in sweat. Since my gym schedule has shifted since the girls got out of school, I needed to add a few additional workouts to my week. Of course, Ella wanted to join me, so there you have it. Last week we let Sophie tag along (#bigmistake) and had to run her home after a quarter mile. Ella held her own for two miles of intervals and vowed never to go again. Fast forward to this past week and she was begging to join me. We set out on a 1.5 mile loop in our neighborhood and the kid just wouldn’t stop running. I could tell she was nervous and getting tired, but she really wanted to run the entire thing without breaking for a walk. I followed behind and cheered her on and there was some serious celebrating in our driveway after. She couldn’t run the latter part of this week (#dancerecitalproblems), but we have plans to pick it back up when I get to the beach on Wednesday! She is already so fit and strong, once she masters breathing she’ll be killing me out there.
003 | BLACK SHORTS
Speaking of running, I need new shorts. My Nike Tempos are getting a little droopy and I really just want some solid black ones. As much as everyone talks about their Lululemon shorts, I just cannot fathom spending that kind of money on them. Just no. I ran into Academy for some camping supplies last week and decided to look for a few cheap pairs for the beach. Black shorts are always perfect for lazing around camp or throwing on over a swimsuit, right? I grabbed up two pairs of their BCG brand for less than $15 each. Ummm, they are my new favorite things ever. This is not a joke, they are seriously good and these links (left | right) don’t even make me affiliate cash. So there.
004 | SUMMER
It’s only been two weeks, but we are thoroughly enjoying our summer. The kids have been home with Josh this week (#sendreinforcements), but for the majority of summer they stay with my parents while we’re working. They’ve spent days on the trampoline and practicing their biking skills. They swim and play in the sprinkler. We’ve had cousin playdates and movie marathons. It’s already such a good one. We are looking forward to joining my parents at the beach this week (#praisethelord), but I am doing my best to enjoy all the normal days, too. There is a huge part of me that wants to complain about my lack of summer break, but I try hard to make my “summer” just as much fun as I can. I don’t worry as much about my bedtime — we stay up late binge watching TV and reading books and I try really hard to relax my parenting (even though I’ll be sharing the girls’ summer responsibilities later this month!).
005 | SWIM PARTY
Last weekend, Ella’s dance team had a pool party to celebrate their season. We have THE BEST moms in our group and some pretty cool siblings, too. The girls (and their little sisters) swam for hours while we hung out and stuffed our face with very non-paleo items. The moms don’t usually swim at these things, but we decided to jump right in and embarrass our children as much as possible. I wish I could share a photo of me coming down the slide between my girls, but you do not need to see that hot mess. Just know that their faces were epic when I told them I was getting in, but not nearly as hilarious as my face going down the slide.
Well, I’m off to work early today and then to dress rehearsal with my biggest girl. She’ll be dancing hard today and tomorrow, so join us on Snapchat for lots of behind the scenes goodness. I’ll meet you back here for few posts early next week and then Taz + Belly is taking a short vacay. Woohoo for the weekend!
