summer, summer, summertime

old school will smith?! sure! why not?

so apparently the end of the summer (and for some reason, i consider the month of august to be the end of the summer... or at least the beginning of the end of summer?) has been much busier than i would have thought it to be and my lack of blog posts just proves it.  we have been going, going, going and having fun at every chance we get.

since my last blog post, here are some things that have happened around here...

we had a picnic dinner and enjoyed a concert in the park...

jackson started his first day of pre-school...

i celebrated the big 3-1...

jackson played hooky and we visited the indiana state fair with a couple of our favorite friends...

we celebrated my birthday and todd's birthday with our favorite friends...

we celebrated all of the august and september birthdays with grandma...

we celebrated all of the august and september birthday with grandpa...

cutest t-shirt ever. from three little numbers.

we had family come to visit... (not so many photos of that... dang. i guess we were too busy soaking up the time together to get the cameras out!)

i really do have lots photos  of those things.  they are sitting in their own folders on my computer just waiting for me to edit them. one of these days i'll get around to it.  maybe this long weekend? that sounds glorious!

and just like that, it is the thursday before labor day weekend.  i have taken friday off (jackson's school is closed) so that gives us a four day weekend.  we will be spending the evening at grandpa's house for dinner and then jackson is actually spending the night!  todd and i had planned to take friday off together and get some stuff done around the house since our little guy would be at grandpa's house. but. todd is lame and had a new employee start at work this week so he can no longer take the day with me. its like he has to be a responsible boss or something. again, lame. ;)

so... i'll be taking the day off, all by my lonesome but still working on some projects.  for some reason i feel like i'm nesting (no. not even close to being pregnant) and i just want to declutter and really clean my house.  we've lived in our house for 7 years and i still feel like i'm trying to make it feel more like "us." anyway. tomorrow, i'll totally be cleaning and organizing. and taking a few too many trips to goodwill.  i am still debating on where to start... the master closet and/ or master bathroom? the pantry? the spare bedroom? oh the spare bedroom.  too many spaces. i better get planning!

i hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.  any big plans?! i'd love to hear from you!

it feels good to be back. let's see if i can get back into the swing of things!

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hi friends. and a happy friday to you.

a million apologies for being lame and non-existent lately. no excuse. it is summer time. that's pretty much all that i need to say about that!

i am about to jet out of the office and head home.  my mom and granny are coming this evening (and bringing our bella home!) and we're hoping to pack up a dinner and some beverages and head to the concert in the park.  it is only about a mile from our house so it should be a pretty good evening!

and to continue being lame, here are (in pictures) the things i hope to enjoy this weekend:

i've missed everyone so i am so very sorry for being absent these days. who knows, maybe i'll actually break out my real camera this weekend. but don't get your hopes up! ;)

happy friday and a safe and happy weekend to you all as well!!

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feeling a little (okay... a lot...) behind.

everything is going well, just busier than expected.  i shouldn't be that surprised, the 4th of july weekend is coming up, todd's twin sister is getting married next saturday so we have a weekend full of wedding festivities and we leave for south haven next sunday as well.  just a few things going on. not to mention working, etc. ;)  with that said, i just thought i'd pop in to say hello and give you a little peek as to what we've been up to over here. 

i apologize if you follow me on instagram, you'll have already seen these!  but i'm so far behind in editing photos its kind of silly.  i'm trying to make a plan to post daily or at least a few times while we're in south haven. or else there is no.way. i could keep up!

anyway, thanks as always for sticking with me. i'd love to hear what your summer plans are! what fun is going on that we'll be missing out on? ;)

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do you hear those crickets chirping?!

so. i'm alive... actually alive and doing very well.

this pictures has nothing to do with this post. i just like it. because i like him. a little.

as most of you know and completely understand... the summer is so busy for all of us.

little did i know that my job would be more busy than i've ever experienced, smack dab in the middle of the summer.  overtime is encouraged and suggested for those that would like to get paid. that doesn't happen very often so i'm taking advantage.  not only because of the money, but also because i have plenty to do and every little bit of extra time helps to get things crossed off the never-seems-to-be-ending list.

so with work being crazy busy, todd's twin sister's wedding, and a week long vacation coming up... not to mention, the 4th of july, more than a handful of August birthdays (and much more!) i have barely had time to do anything extra.  oh and did i mention todd's away on a business trip for 4+ days?! yes.  when it rains, it pours!  but the time is flying by and jackson and i are keeping ourselves very busy and happy these days.

with all of that said, my blog has been completely neglected and although i could stay up super late to write, i have chosen sleep.  a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!  however, there are other things that i would love to do... and soon.

so i thought i'd make a list.  because that's what i do.  i hope that one of these days i can cross a few of them off!

//  paint my nails

//  color my hair (seriously, this has to happen soon. hello grey. you are not welcome here. i do not have time for you. thanks.)

//  blog. like a lot. i have so many pictures and fun adventures that we've experience these last couple of weeks.

//  get a pedicure ... preferably before the wedding/vacation weekend starts! p.s. that's less than two weeks from now...

 //  write down my experiences with the 21 day fix.  i've successfully completed 8 days and i love it.  i've been keeping notes so be on the lookout for more info if you are interested! 

//  spend time with family and friends - it is summer time, that is what it is all about!

//  date night.  i believe grandpa may have jackson overnight on friday so this may actually come true sooner than later!

//  put away the mounds of clean laundry, sweep/mop the floors/dust everything. oh and vaccuum. i know those seem like "everyday" things for others but goodness these days have gotten away from me. i'd love to catch up and have a sparkling clean house.  #iwillkeepondreaming

//  catch up on my blog reading... i have cut down on the blogs i've been following this year. and my bloglovin' number has risen... easily passing 350. so. many. to. read. i hope there are a lot of pictures ;)

anyway. there you have it. lots swimming around in my noggin just not the time to write it all down.  hopefully i'll put a good dent in my workload this week so i can relax a little more. that sounds delightful. it is all worth it in the end, right?!

how has everyone been in blog land? i've missed you all...

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my blog turns one...

Well folks... one year ago today, I hit publish on my very first blog post.  You can read all about it here.  It is hard to believe that a year has already gone by! Looking back at pictures from this time last year are amazing... so much has changed.  

For starters...look at how much my Jackson has grown!
(here it comes..photo dump...)

 

In this last year, I've really started exercising, Jackson has grown from a baby into a small boy. Oh that boy. We've started budgeting like crazy, taken a few vacations and just plain had fun.  So much has happened in this last year and I cannot wait to see what the next year holds for my little family.  

I kind of like them.  And I kind of like this little space of mine on the world wide web... Although it has only been a year, it is so nice to be able to look back and see what we were up to.  I will never regret having these moments in writing to look back on.

Thank you for sticking around and I hope to have so much more to tell you as we go into year two of this blog.  

Thank you for reading! :)

(all photos courtesy of my iphone and originally posted via instagram)

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so this one time i took a short break from blogging...

...without even realizing it. Oops.  

Life happens people.  

I've been busy doing all kinds of things.  All good things.

Including having fun with my little family and for that I'm not mad!

I've been working.  And driving to work in the snow (not so good).  Spending more time in the car than usual and belting out my favorite JT songs.  The usual.  But it does help when you've had more snow in Indiana than you've ever experienced in your own lifetime.  JT always helps.

We've been cooking most nights during the week.  That is a welcomed change in our house!  We used to cook fairly often but we also used to go out for dinner at least once or twice a week.  We haven't eaten anywhere but our house or a family member or friend's house since December.  Crazy talk.

We've been spending lots of time together. Lots of playing. Play doh. Cars. Dinosaurs. Dragons and knights. Lots of running "to the book club!"

We've been grocery shopping as a family every Saturday morning. And I love that.

 

I've been running.  Well run/walking but mostly running.  3 weeks straight and that feels amazing.  Let's keep this motivation coming!

I took Jackson to the Indianapolis Children's Museum for the first time. And since it was a free day, I only ended up spending $2 so that he and I could ride the carrousel. 

Which also leads to...we've been saving money. Lots of money. THAT feels good. Hooray.

I'd say that January has been pretty good to us despite the cruddy weather.  I'm just sorry that I haven't had time to write all of it down yet.  Until that time comes, I'm going to keep running, keep taking pictures and keep enjoying life.  

It's a pretty good one.

And because I love random... here are some photos from a "Random" set I've got saved on Flickr.  My mom did a quick photo shoot of us way back in 2007 or 2008 to make our wedding reception invites. Or as we'd like to call them... our engagement photos. LOL.
One word description - babies.

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My 50th Post

I don't have anything exciting to say. Just kind of excited that this is my 50th post. Time is flying!  Unfortunately I have been so busy the last few days so I don't have anything super fun or interesting to report. Instead...here are a few photos from my day. Because that's about all I've got!

You know the days is off to a good start when you come downstairs to gather your stuff for work and your fabulous hubby had already gotten your coffee ready. He's a keeper. ;)

Got in a quick 2 miles before picking Jackson up from school. And caught up on a super interesting episode of Nashville...oh I love the drama!!

We had a few friends over for dinner...

Daddy taught Jackson a new trick that I just really love. Ugh. It so freaks me out. Thanks for that one, Honey!!

Doesn't everyone sit in the potty while brushing their teeth? I do. Seriously...I do.  I guess I'm lazy.  Like mother like son!  I love you my Bugga Boo!! 

Tomorrow's Friday and I have been looking forward to it since...last Friday! Woot!

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I'm back. Again. For real this time.

Let's try this again.  My friend Marcie has heard this probably at least once a day..."I really want to blog."  I have been back and forth about it for years and started back at it in March of 2013 and as expected, the summer was busy with lots of time spent outside (away from the computer obviously) with my family.  I do a pretty good job at documenting our lives (a little too much if you ask Todd) so now I need to take some time and put it in my blog.  I need to do this.  

These are the reasons why I really want to take some time and put effort into this little space of mine:

1. Write things down.  I want to write down these interactions with my family so I can look back at them and really be glad that I took the time.  I want to share this stuff with my children (well just the one, for now!) when they are older.  Maybe one day they'll appreciate it!

2. Have a place to put all of my photos! As I mentioned, I really do take photos all the time (daily) with my iPhone as well as my DSLR so to put those photos together with words is my ultimate goal.  Maybe if I start posting them, maybe one day that will lead to me printing them.  One can dream! 

2. Keep my out-of-town family updated.  My parents live in just outside of Nashville, Tennessee so keeping record of our everyday lives on this little blog will help them to get a glimpse into what we're up to.  Help us all to feel connected.

3. Memories.  This may be a bit repetitive of #1 but I really want to make notes of the little things so we don't forget.  Jackson is at such a fun age and does so many sweet and silly things.  I don't want to forget them!

4. Have a personal outlet.  I don't do too many things these days that are just "mine."  This seems like a perfectly good place to focus on all the things that I actually love.  

5. Why not?! I will be glad later. Just do it!

 I'm sure that I could think of at least a couple more reasons but it is Friday and I'm tired.  So these 5 reasons will just have to do for now.

So with that, here's what I've got. I'm going to try and make notes about the things that I love and things that I'd like to discuss here on my little space.  So far, just writing out this post... it feels good.  

                                       

 

Plus, I just realized this morning that I could add the Blogger App on my iPhone/iPad. That means I won't always have to be sitting at my desk to get something posted.  That's pretty exciting. 

And because I do not like to leave a blog post without at least one photo...enjoy this lovely photo from earlier this year. It makes me smile.  Happy Friday!!

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