If you've been reading my blog for more than six months, then you know what a big surprise we had in store for the girls on Christmas morning. Unfortunately for you, it's been a long time since then with no photographs or updates on how well that all went over. I decided that since it's finally 90 degrees outside, we could all cool down with a few posts from our wonderful week between Christmas and New Year's Day. For those of you who are new to the blog, let's recap. Josh & I took Ella to Walt Disney World in the spring before her third birthday. It was a spur of the moment decision that followed an almost month of work-related travel for me. I was exhausted and I missed my family like crazy and we got the awesome opportunity to stay in an all-expenses-paid time-share not far from ...
Some Things
I was copying a few photographs onto my hard-drive this week and noticed there were quite a few things in spring that I didn't blog about. Seeing as they all occurred more than a few weeks ago, I figured it's a little late to recap at this point. Instead, I decided to share a few favorites along with some other random and useless information. Sound good? Back in February, our high-school had a fundraiser for the varsity baseball team in the way of an Alumni Baseball Tournament. This is the third year Josh has played and my girls always love spending time at the field watching their daddy. I loved this picture of me and Belle. This is a rare moment when she's in the mood to snuggle. The photo of Sophie below, is typical Taz. Mischievous with a gleam in her eye. She wanted to wear her ...
My Mommy Heart
Y'all, six years old is hard. Ella & I have had a bit of a hard year, but we're pressing on. I wrote a little bit about it back in October and I still feel like we are very much in this same place. I keep on praying that when we turn seven the switch will instantly flip and everything will be back to normal. I'm not sure if it's the age, or school, or responsibility or just me, but six years old seems to be full of sass and drama and one very strong will. I'm easily frustrated because she is such a precious child and I want to enjoy her at every age. It's hard to enjoy someone who is sullen and constantly frustrated with you for one thing or another, no matter how hard you want to. Part of the problem is that Ella and I are virtually the same person. We're emotionally charged, with a ...
Dailies / Week 22
148/365: Memorial Day was such a wonderful day spent at the pool with my family. The water was still a little green, but that did not stop the littles from diving right in. We grilled out and ate yummy food all day and enjoyed the first of many days in the sun. 149/365: On Tuesday morning, our M&S tickets were finally in the mailbox! We've been anxiously awaiting their arrival for months and I'm happy to have them in my hand. I cannot believe it's only ten days away. We cannot wait to road trip to NOLA. I ran my last mid-day mileage for the summer that same day. 81* is harsh and the humidity in Alabama is killer in the summer. I managed to complete 4 miles, but I was drenched when I got back to work. 150/365: My small group just finished up Francis Chan's Forgotten God a few ...
Happy Campers
In case you're new around here, you might not know what our summer vacations look like. I wrote a little bit about why we camp the summer after Sophie was born and again the year after that and you can read about last year's adventures here and here. I've never not camped at the beach during the month of June with the exception of the summer before SK was born. That is 34 summers in Gulf State Park. I am so lucky that when Josh was introduced to this road trip almost seventeen years ago, he didn't run screaming. 30 people, 7 travel trailers and one beautiful beach makes for quite a memorable vacation. We owned a small trailer after we got married, but we sold it after I got pregnant with SK. It wasn't large enough for a family of four, so we've been renting the last several summers. Our ...
Did I mention the girls rode a camel?
A few weeks ago, the girls had a birthday party at the zoo and I convinced my dad to tag along for the day. We have an amazing zoo, birthday parties there are fantastic AND you get a free day at the zoo out of the deal. First up, a photo with the birthday boy, James. Please ignore Ella's awkward face/smile. There is a lot of that in this post... she had a very loose tooth on the top that was moments away from falling out and she couldn't do much with her mouth. She's barely eaten, brushed her teeth or smiled, but was far too anxious to pull it. That is another story for another day! Part of the birthday experience at the Birmingham Zoo is getting to pet some animals. I don't remember what all we saw, but the girls did get to pet this snake and a ferret. Sophie wasn't shy at all! Next ...
Dailies / Week 21
141/365: I snapped this picture of the front corner of our house on my way to work Monday. My dad & I transplanted this Confederate Jasmine the second summer we lived in our house and I wasn't sure it would make it. It was a little sprig and barely had enough length to reach the trellis on our chimney. Six years later, it is out of control. It has completely taken over this side of our house and I am in LOVE with it. We've been sleeping with that window open (the one you can barely see for the flowers) a night and our bedroom smells heavenly! 142/365: I did some speed work on the treadmill Tuesday morning and I remembered that I had worn this exact outfit in my first race. It's kind of hard to tell, but I've actually lost quite a bit of weight since then! 143/365: On Wednesday, I ...
Dailies / Week 20
I'm a few weeks behind on the Dailies, so buckle up for a few rounds of catch up! 134/365: Monday was awesome. I got in a great run at lunch (in my new Under Armour capris, thank you SD!!) and sweated it out at hot yoga later that day. It was great to get in two workouts in one day, since I've been struggling to find the time this month! 135/365: On Tuesday, I finished reading Sookie, was late for work because this little Taz insisted on riding with me and I managed another four-miler at lunch. 136/365: On Wednesday, I was still fascinated with the new app A Beautiful Mess, so I shared my breakfast with a quick edit. I had to return some pants to Gap and picked up this dress in exchange. Yes, it was quite a bit more than the pants, but I've been swooning over it and decided I ...