sunny fun day

Posted on August 8, 2019 by tandem in love

it was a sunny day and we couldn’t wait to get out! we headed to oakbrook center with my sister to grab some lunch and look around. we beelined for table at crate, as thuy hadn’t eaten there and i really enjoyed my prior experience.

it was such a beautiful day! we sat outside, facing the fountain and enjoyed our meals. as we were finishing up the girls wanted to play by the fountain and i let them, as they were in eyesight from our table.

we basically lounged around, relaxed, walked the mall and the girls had fun wherever we went! i thought jeni’s ice cream was open but i was wrong! it wasn’t open yet and we were a bit bummed because we were looking forward to getting some yummy treats there! instead, we hopped on over to lolli and pops for some sweet treats and decided to walk towards nordstrom on our way out to the car.

uhhhhh, that was a big mistake! we walked by top shop and i couldn’t stop shopping! i found so many good things and we ended up being up there for 45 minutes or so. then, i brilliantly decided to go to the kid’s shoe department and buy the girls some new shoes. the problem here was that i needed to meet hc and grace for dinner!!! we were still shopping for the girl’s shoes when i should have been at the meeting place! LOL terrible! we rushed though our purchase and the worst part about us being late??? we still had to drive thuy home to our house so she could get her car!!! arghhhhhh!

well, the good news and not so good news was the wait for the restaurant that we wanted to eat at had a very long wait, so that was our saving grace! we sped home, dropped thuy off, the girls took a bathroom break, we freshened up, and zoomed back to downtown dg to meet hc and grace for dinner! phew!

all in all, it was a fabulous day and evening! we had such a great afternoon with my sister and topped it off with a lovely dinner with our family. cheers to sunny days off!

[the coolest stairs]

[posin’]

[leave it to my girls to organize the chess board]

[coloring]

[love our view while eating]

[salmon]

[at nordstrom]

xoxo

kt’s baby shower

Posted on August 7, 2019 by tandem in love

i was excited to attend kt’s baby shower! her sisters hosted the event at aurelio’s pizza place in naperville.

the original date was back in june but since the girls {peyton and harper} were born early {26 weeks}, they postponed the shower. now that baby harper was getting bigger, stronger, and healthier, kt’s sisters, bridget and colleen, rescheduled the shower to august and i couldn’t wait to go!

once we arrived, we were greeted by kt. she looked so fabulous in her hot pink jumpsuit! the girls hung around with me for a bit, while i chatted with kt, until someone suggested that they could decorate a onesie for baby harper. their ears perked up and off they went. i grabbed a few onesies for the girls and they got to work! they had so much fun decorating them. i was so impressed by all the girls there who were drawing, they were all so talented! every single onesie was a true work of art!

colleen and bridget did such a great job with the shower. the little details were super cute and francie had brought the festive cake for the party! the shower was perfect and so much fun!

i had a great time mingling with the guests…i love bobby’s mom terri. she’s a sweetheart and we get along so well! of course, i love kt’s mom francie..she’s so darn sweet and loving. i also caught up with kt’s sisters, who are the best {love them!} and overall, it was so fun for the girls and me! drinks were constantly flowing, the girls ate pizza and fries and couldn’t wait to devour the cupcakes!

after food and desserts, we visited some more with the other guests. ellie was having so much fun with colleen and kt! they were being silly to each other and it was too cute to watch!

after a few hours, i was beat. yes…tired! kt invited us over, after the shower but i regretfully declined. my lack of sleep all week was kicking me down! we said our goodbyes and i love you’s to all the beautiful people and went on our merry way home.

kt – you are a tower of strength…your baby girl harper takes right after you! you are so sweet, a true gem, a great friend, and an absolutely genuine person. harper is so lucky to have you as her mama, we are so lucky to have harper in our lives, and so blessed to have had peyton with us earthside for five weeks.

God bless you and your family and your little guardian angel peyton, who will forever be by your side.

[tiny and mighty]

[olive decorating onesies for baby harper]

[ellie so proud of her decorated onesie]

[my sweet babe]

[loving this gal here in the pink]

[lily’s sweet creation..she loves pigs!]

[proud, sweet girl]

[susie with caoimhe]

[when i take pictures, she loves to jump in front of the camera]

[the sweet cake from francie]

[kt’s sister colleen and friend]

[olive’s creation]

[she’s so sweet. i love her]

[ellie popping in front of the camera – again]

[bridget and susie and caoimhe]

[olive was so excited to show everyone her shirt…especially to grammy francie]

[ellie being super silly]

[thinking she’s so funny!]

[kt, terri, and amy]

[coll, kt, and bridget]

xoxo

good friends from seattle

Posted on August 6, 2019 by tandem in love

it was becky’s birthday and i text her to wish her a happy one when she text me back to say that she was coming into town in a couple weeks! yayyyyyyyy!

honestly, we see each other once a year because i rely heavily on her coming home for christmas. the last two years, though, she’s either gone to cali or nyc for christmas and we were super duper sad about it.

well, they were coming into town {the whole an clan was meeting up!} and we had to see them! it was all last minute and i was hoping i could coordinate a whole get together with my sisters too but that idea wasn’t in the cards. we threw dates around and it was slim pickings. the only day open for the both of us was monday and by george it was going to happen no matter what!

we decided to order food in and relax, catch up and just be. they arrived promptly and the festivities began! oh, it was soooooo damn joyous to see them! they are such good people and we love them so much! ruby and wren joined right in with the girls and disappeared immediately.

we laughed, we drank, we ate, we giggled, we shared story after story. the boys hung out. the girls hung out. we hung out all together. the kids put on several plays for us adults and played dress up to their heart’s content.

the night rolled on and time flew by way too fast. we were having too much fun! we were super bummed we had to wrap things up as this was a regular evening for us with a regular next day. unfortunately, we were not on vacation mode like the carlsons. LOL we wish!

we hesitantly said our goodbyes, gave big hugs, and wished them a fabulous rest of their time here. our evening was perfect. we had so much fun catching up and being together. i love it when longtime friends can get together after years and it feels the same but not the same. ya know what i mean?!

we love you becky, james, ruby, and wren! we hope our time together next is not too long in-between.