pumpking pickin’

Posted on October 9, 2015 by tandem in love

we were ready to hit the pumpkin patch. we needed pumpkins for our house to start our festive decorating and i was sooo ready to decorate! fall and october were calling my name!

we picked a pumpkin farm that wasn’t too far away from us. we wanted it to be a fun but quick trip, just spend a couple hours doing some fun activities and then head home to relax for the rest of the day.

it was perfect weather to be outside. not too warm and not too cold. a few layers of clothes and we were set. olive and i decided to twin with matching cowboy boots! when we arrived, she insisted on walking but she wanted to hold my hand. i find it so cute and funny, only because months ago, she would never hold my hand. oh, no. she would grunt and scream if i tried. it made me a little sad only because i wanted to hold her hand and she would always reject the attempt at affection. but now she is much more keen on the idea but the only problem with that is that she is two feet tall. hahaha. so, holding her hand gives me a back ache! ahhhaha! you ask and you shall receive, non?!

[she insisted that i hold her hand but it was so awkward because she is still so little…i had to walk hunched over for a bit. eep]

once we walked inside, she was completely smitten! she loved all the pumpkins and craziness that was going on! well, first things first, we decided to go through a haystack maze…um, not my cup of tea! the tunnel of swirling lights would totally make me sick and dizzy, so i literally closed my eyes and walk forward. haha! it’s a good thing i didn’t fall down walking in the dark with my eyes closed as well!

after the maze, we saw a bumble bee ride and knew olive would love something like that. so grace and olive waited in line to get their turn. she was soooo stinkin’ cute riding around and smiling ear to ear! she looooooved seeing all the live animals, she would get so excited and i would teach her the animal names and i loved that she would repeat everything. watching her learn and grow is just the best feeling and such a great gift! although, seeing all the animals caged in up in little bitty cages made me sad. such a bummer to see them in such small capacities with no real room to run around.

[matching cowboy boots]

[my love]

[picking out pumpkins]

[the dizzy haystack maze]

[she loves rides]

[checking out the bunnies]

after we saw bunnies, turkeys, llamas, and more…grace really wanted to eat corn, so we hopped on over to the food joint and bought a few ears. while hc and grace chowed down on some delicious corn, olive entertained herself with the rocks and dirt and was being the cutest little girl where all the strangers were smitten with her.

after a mini snack break, we sat down in the stands for a pig race. it was crazy. there were three races in total and i felt like it went on forever. the actual races were short but the mc droned on and on! plus, with us sitting in the front row with olive, she was constantly wiggling around. she kept running up to the fence {us knowing she probably shouldn’t be near the fence} and we kept calling her to sit back down. thank goodness she was listening but we must have done that a half dozen times, at least!

the last pig race was hilarious…oh my gawd! they were the biggest, fattest pigs i ever did see!!! they were soooooo slow and charming. yes. they were so cute, big, and adorable. olive was so distracted by the audience noise that she missed the first two pig races. ha! she did not miss the last one! she ran up to the fence {and by then, i gave up trying to call her back} and was totally mesmerized by the pigs!

[ohmy! the huge piggies racing!]

after the pig races, we decided to pick out the pumpkins we wanted! we perused and perused and we all finally picked out the ones we liked! grace and olive had a great time playing around the pumpkin patch. everything is so novel to this little one so watching her awe and excitement is just amazing. while we were picking out pumpkins, hc was waiting in line for some funnel cake! it was in big demand, so the line was a bit long but always oh so worth it! when hc made it back with two plates of goodness, we sat our tushies down on the floor and devoured our funnel cake.

[sisterly love]

[looking over and double checking our selection of pumpkins]

[funnel cake anyone?]

it was a perfect day at the pumpkin farm. we had such a great time…it’s so fall to do fun stuff like this! the sights, the colors, the smells, the food…it just makes you so excited for the season! olive had a blast and so did we! cheers to the start of a great fall season.

xoxo

sunday family night

Posted on October 5, 2015 by tandem in love

a quiet, calm get together. it was a cloudy, semi-warm day and we were getting ready to host the fam over for dinner. when football season starts, the hubs loves to pull out the slow cooker and whip together some super delicious meals for sunday afternoon football games.

on the menu: roasted garlic pulled pot roast sandwiches on brioche, buttery mashed potatoes, seasoned roasted brussels sprouts, quinoa salad, and homemade apple pie! yum, right? hc prepped the ingredients and threw what he needed into the slow cooker. we did random errands throughout the day and near game time, we started finishing up the food and we started the pie.

my family came on over and we just hung out, the kids played, we conversed in the kitchen while hc and i were prepping dinner. it was a low key, relaxing affair. of course, the bears were losing {boo!} but we had a win win situation at our abode withe delicious meal and plenty of libations to go around.

olive and her cousins were having a great time. reagan is such a sweetheart with his little cousin. he dotes on her, takes care of her, watches over her, and entertains her. he is such a great ‘big brother’. i love watching them interact. olive is getting bigger where she can really interact with them and play along. it’s so darling to see them in action.

[brown sugar slow cooked pulled pot roast for sandwiches]

[getting game ready]

[best thing everrrrrr…we love roasted garlic]

[we also had buttery mashed potatoes…so good!]

the food was a hit. my mom gave hc the thumbs up! that’s a great thing since my mom is such an amazing cook herself! hc was quite pleased with himself that he received a stamp of approval. it was fantastic having my family over for a low key relaxing sunday night dinner.

xoxo

apple pickin’

Posted on October 1, 2015 by tandem in love

yay! apple picking is our fall ritual. ok, so we have only done it a few years in a row but hey…it’s become one! it was a sunny, warm day. i had already planned our outfits, regardless of the temps, but i was kind of questioning my tenacity when we stepped outside. it was going to be a hot one! flannels and warm temps don’t really go hand in hand! eep!

well. no matter. we were committed and so we moved forward. we packed ourselves into the car for a quick ride on over to kuiper’s orchard. they had two separate areas for apple picking and pumpkins. i am so used to going to an apple orchard that has pumpkins, so i thought it was different that they were separate.

[ready to go apple picking!]

[my sanity in a cup]

[braids, buffalo, and boots]

[riding dirty]

[twinsies]

[“mom, look!”]

we met up with our family and explored just a bit. first thing on the agenda was eating! we were soooo hangry. hahaha! we traipsed inside to the restaurant. olive was a riot! she was such a hit everywhere she walked. especially coming into this eating establishment. she had her sunnies on and was walking around like a boss! hahaha! we ordered hot dogs and burgers and waited patiently our our food to be served. in the meantime, olive gulped down chocolate milk and got sassy with everyone.

[stomping around like she owns the place]

[drinking chocolate milk in style]

[family time]

[simple please. just mustard]

[nom nom nom, hot dog]

[selfie]

[she’s such a doll]

after noshing on our meals, we headed on over to the apple orchard to go picking! ugh, it was hot standing in the sun and the line was sooooooo long! no matter, we did it. it was finally our turn and when the john deere tractor pulled up, we were so relieved and excited. we packed ourselves in and off to the orchard we went! olive looooved the ‘hay’ ride, when we reached our destination she didn’t want to get off the cart. too cute.

we were greeted by a worker and given directions and advice. once that was done, we were off on our own. olive insisted on walking and anyone who has a toddler who insists on walking knows how slooooooooow they can move. oy vey. we were ten minutes behind everyone! we finally arrived at the ripe trees and started picking some golden delicious apples to take home.

olive did such a great job! she was a pro apple picker! daddy helped and she had a great time picking. it was too stinkin’ cute. i remember last year, she was 9.5 months old and all we did was carry her around. so, it was pretty cool to see her in action and picking apples herself!

[sunshine selfie]

[the sweetest pic. this makes my heart melt…the love for these two]

[twist and pull olive!]

[my precious babe]

[she did well! get it girl!]

[typical pic of the kids. baaahahaha!]

[olive and auntie kim]

[my sweet, darling, loving parents]

[really?!!!! she’s sooooooo cute!]

after apple picking, we perused the shop and purchased a few goodies. we never go home without some apple cider donuts!!!! yum! we bought apple bread, donuts, and brought home our tasty apples so we can bake some apple pie!

it was a wonderful successful day of apple picking. we had a great time with the family and can’t wait to do it again next year! woot!

xoxo

railroad date

Posted on September 21, 2015 by tandem in love

hc took the morning off and we decided to go on a date at the train station. the all aboard diner that is! we were a bit turned around on where it was, only because gps took us somewhere it wasn’t! we were a mile away from the actual restaurant and it ended up being closer to home than what we thought! damn you gps.

anyhoozle, the restaurant looked eerily quiet. we pulled up and realized it wasn’t open until 11, so we decided to traipse around the toy store next door. eleven finally neared it’s head and we proceeded to walk our way to the restaurant. it was already bustling!

immediately olive knew where she was. she beelined for this little horsey ride and jumped on! boy oh boy was it a challenged once we got inside. olive’s head grew little horns and she instantly became fussy and difficult. she wanted to play, she didn’t want to eat when our food came, and she was huffing and puffing all over her chair. now here’s me…uh huh. nope. not gonna fly little missy. so i asked her to eat. she said no. i said if she doesn’t eat, we were leaving. she said no. i grabbed the little babes and promptly walked her outside. she cried and cried. we sat outside where there were tables and chairs and she screamed for dada. “where’s dada? where’s dada?”. she knocked on the glass window and cried for her dada.

i continued to negotiate. she continued to disagree. i finally got her to somewhat shake her head and we walked back inside. instantly she started screaming and pointed to the railroad tracks. she wanted to get down and play. nope. back up in my arms and outside we went again. she was crying and i told her if she ate her food, she could play all she wants but she needed to eat. finally, finally she agreed. hc came outside to ‘rescue’ her and she verbally said yes that she would eat her food.

she happily scarfed down her lunch {no fussing no complaints}, i was super happy with her, and i always keep my word. as soon as she finished her food, i told her she was good and gave her a smooch. she happily climbed down from her chair and ran towards the train set and was a happy camper!

[here we go!]

[hanging out at the toy store before we head to the restaurant]

[selfie time]

[we loved watching the train go round and round]

[olive chewing on some cheese curds]

[she’s finally eating her lunch]

[olive mesmerized by the train set]

now, it’s such a novel idea for kids, this restaurant but would i come here again anytime soon? maybe not. probably when she is just a wee bit older and understand a little bit better what this whole place is about. i know through her cute big brown eyes it’s just a big play house but eating her food is in order! or maybe olive will eat a meal before we bring her and we can enjoy our lunch while she happily plays…we’ll see. i am sure i will be blogging about it the next time we go {if ever!}. hahaha!

xoxo

stop being so crabby

Posted on September 18, 2015 by tandem in love

sunday funday consisted of trying out a new restaurant and sweet treats to top it off.

my sisters were interested in trying this new restaurant called crab and spice. we all gathered there and were then led to our table in the back. it was brand spanking new and they didn’t have a liquor license yet! i definitely can say it was clean. we sat down and perused the menu. i let my sisters do the ordering, they are more keen on the seafood picks and i am always along for the ride.

they ordered the shrimp, crawfish, and snow crab. we had a few yummy sides of corn, potatoes, and rice. i was partial to the shrimp. it was the best dish on the table. it unpeeled it all, mixed it with my rice, and had a hearty, spicy, tasty meal. olive ate some of the shrimp and rice but mostly noshed on the french fries that my nephews had ordered!

we were absolutely amused because our server {tyler??} was obvs new and very inexperienced. the poor guy. he had no clue. he was so nice but just did.not.get.it. he forgot our drinks twice. he couldn’t answer our questions. he was sooo confused when we ordered. he didn’t tell us what they were out of, so we were bombing every time we wanted something. when it was time to pay, we asked him to put the cash towards the check and then split the bill in two. he had NO idea how to split the check on two credit cards, even though we did our best to simplify it for him! oh boy.

[she kept saying “baawooon! baawoooon!”]

[getting ready to get their crab on]

[crabtastic]

[the boys, ready to eat]

[cheers to plastic bibs]

[i love my crabby girl]

[shrimp, crab, crawfish, rice oh my!]

[nobody puts baby in a corner!]

after we finished up dinner, we all drove over to downtown downers grove and everyone got some sort of sweet treat at every day’s a sundae! we have been going to this place since we were kids! it was such a beautiful night. just perfect. we sat outside and ate our ice cream. the kids ran around and screamed. olive was absolutely fascinated by the train. every time a train rolled by, olive would wave and say ‘bye train! bye train!’ and blow it kisses. so adorbs.

[classic dg]

[mmmmm, which one?!]

[best smile everrrrrr]

[refreshing sweet treats]

[throwing kisses at the train]

[“bye twain! bye twain!’]

it was such a fun, low key evening. we had a great time hanging out with the fam. evenings like these on warm summer nights are what i am going to miss! oh summer, your visits are way too short. please stay a little longer.

xoxo

august snapshots

Posted on September 14, 2015 by tandem in love

ok, that just flew by and passed me up. i was sitting at home, thoughts passing through my head when i realized that i didn’t even think about doing an august recap! not one snippet of thought. i am usually preplanning, pre-thinking, pre-doing anything to get ahead and be prepared. it’s in my nature. then all of sudden – bam! it’s mid-september and i was like whaaaaaaa??!!

it had birthday{s}, parties, fun, family time, lunches, brunches, and vegas baby! it was the first month of the summer were it didn’t rain every.day. ok, it rained sometimes but our summer was seriously plagued by constant rain! it was consistently warm and mostly sunny…a recipe for success.

we were so excited to have gone to vegas. we love going every year and this year was no different. we always have the best time vacationing with our dear friends matt and johann. we love the heat, the shopping, and the pool time the m o s t!

[don’t let this pic fool you! every time is said “bedtime”, she would turn her head to the side and pretend she was sleeping. as if that would delay me putting her down. haha!]

[hi baby olive]

[c’mere my cute baby]

[chicago beer]

[pout, pout, pout away little one!]

[pool time!]

[dana and scott’s engagement party]

[always on the go]

[sweet face]

[such a cool babe]

[so happy]

[wedding shenanigans]

[happy birthday b!]

[black and white]

[happy birthday kim!]

[mmmmmm chocolate]

[vegas!]

[big foot]

[playtime]

[cousin love]

[cubs themed birthday party!]

well that was our august in rewind. we had the best time this past month. i really do love my life. i say that because i count our blessings every day. i am grateful for our health. i am grateful for my family. i am grateful for God. i am grateful for my hc. i am grateful for our precious little olive. the simple things in life are truly the best.

cheers to a fabulous september!

xoxo

summery lazy day

Posted on July 28, 2015 by tandem in love

it was a warm, gorgeous day out. this day was a day where we had a chance to run errands, relax, and slow down. it was a perfect weather day for a ride around town in the jeep! we had a whirlwind of the past few days and we wanted to take advantage of this day together to get some things accomplished around the house.

first things first, we needed to fill our empty bellies up with some food. we opted to try a brunch place in downtown dg. we chose this place because they had outdoor seating and it was a great day to eat alfresco. honestly…i don’t even remember the name of the restaurant. i am sure i will cross paths with it again, but today it will go nameless. ha!

after brunch, we headed out to a few stores. we desperately needed to buy tile. we have been in the process of remodeling our hallway and our goal to get it done is in a few weeks. we shopped a few tile stores and haven’t loved anything. so, we finally hit one more destination and hc really liked a style and color there. i trust his judgements and taste and i, actually, didn’t immediately reject it, so we moved forward with his choice.

i’m quick to say no. when we have looked at tile in the past {or anything for that matter}, i innately know whether i like it or not. there’s no hemming and hawing. i’m good like that, at least when it comes down to something personal.

[she’s more interested in the make up brush]

[my cutie and that bruise on her forehead…she tripped and directly hit her head onto my parent’s glass top table. poor babe.]

[brunch time // i didn’t even realize i was so cubbie’d out…i’m more festive, casually throwing things together than i was for cubs family day!]

[her new thing, folding her arms]

[my silly girl // tank by plucky mustard // shorts by salty kids]

after we hit a few stores and got things accomplished, we headed back home to do more stuff around the house. oh, the joys of being an adult, being a parent, and being a homeowner. it’s non-stop responsibilities and fun! and yes, it is fun {at times}…haha. depending on the day and the task.

well, one thing i can definitely say with conviction is – i can’t wait until our hallway is dunzo! woo hoo!

xoxo

what?! thirteen?!!

Posted on July 23, 2015 by tandem in love

oh em gee. grace marie is thirteen! where did the time go? i remembered this wee one when she had just turned 6…now she’s a teenager. eep! when we met she was a quiet {almost mute}, shy, sheepish little girl. now she’s a tall, smart, beautiful {still shy} teen!

hc and i prepped all week to get things ready for the party. hc manicured the lawn, set up the tent, table, and chairs, i gathered the decor, ordered the cake {horse themed – natch}, prepped the menu, and pre-set anything i could. it was going to be a low key, simple event.

the day of the party, all we had to do was set up the food, decor, and drinks. easy! boy, was it hot. thank goodness it wasn’t as hot and humid as it was the day prior but nevertheless, hot! we were lucky with the weather. a l l week long, it was slated to rain right, smack dab in the middle of the party {of course we were having it outdoors} but the night before, i pulled up the weather app and… ahhhhhhhh! no rain! {insert emoji’s}

[crumbs cupcakes]

[her horse birthday cake!]

[her wood letter where guests wrote their birthday wishes for her]

[party tent!]

[gold number and the horse balloon]

[no she’s not 31! the photo booth]

[kettle corn and veggie app’s]

the first guest to arrive was the guest of honor! grace came with her mom, stepdad, and sister anabelle. right after that was gramma jane and papa. soon, everyone slowly trickled in. it was great! i had set up a photo booth and it was so much fun for everyone to goof around with the props. olive was a riot. the first round of pics…olive wasn’t sure what was going on. she saw all the girls grab a prop and pose for pics and she wanted in! she walked over to grace, leaned in, and posed for the pics! it was so sweet and hilarious. i love her! she’s such a doll!

we all hung out, enjoyed some refreshing libations, and socialized to our hearts content. after an hour or so, hc fired up the grill and we started cooking up the food. we had burgers and dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, corn, and fruit on the menu. simple, easy, and light for this hot summer day.

[one of my favorite photos. olive saw the gals get together for a pick and she wandered over, leaned into grace so she could get in the pic. pure sweetness]

[hc, aunt gloria, and jane]

[uncle ed, daniel, and papa]

[jay, pilar, missy, and wendy]

[anabelle so graciously pushing olive in this heat!]

[olive very interested in mila…she doesn’t hang with many kids her age, she was intrigued]

[holly and nolan]

[two mice and a fox]

[kevin, nolan, and holly]

[my other favorite. olive saw the kids getting ready for a photo, she grabbed a mustache stick and actually placed it correctly on her face! love her!]

after everyone had their fair share of comestibles and satisfied their bellies, i cleaned up and prepped the cake. it was such a cute cake! it had a white picket fence, a brown horse, and flowers. a perfect cake for miss grace! we brought it out, sang happy birthday, and she made her wish! parfait.

we cut the cake and served the delicious morsels with a generous side of vanilla bean ice cream. once everyone finished, it was piñata time! i had purchased a taco piñata…everyone was like, a taco?! hells yes. a nod to grace’s mexican heritage. hahahaha! after the piñata shenanigans, it was time to relax {at least for me!}. during parties, i run around and attempt at being a gracious host…once the ‘activities’ are checked off, i can then chill and enjoy myself. hey man, it’s a lot of work to host a party…no matter how big or small!

[happy birthday grace!]

[make a wish grace!]

[grace got the first swing at the piñata…she knocked it straight down aaaaand she even had a blindfold on!]

[every kid got to beat on the poor taco]

[candy!]

after hours and hours of hanging out, slowly everyone trickled out. grace was having the best time with her kiddie guests! they were wild and it was soooo sweet to watch. they were running around, screaming, and laughing. little miss olive just ran around with the big kids and completely enjoyed herself. the kids could have probably played all night long, but alas the parents broke it all up and everyone went on their merry way.

it was a great, great party. we had such a fabulous time hosting everyone! happy 13th birthday to grace marie…may the years ahead be full of laughter, love, and fun. we love you so much!

xoxo

concert in the park that wasn’t

Posted on July 10, 2015 by tandem in love

another summer, another concert in the park in hinsdale! earlier that evening, my sister made mention to me about attending the concert at 6:30pm. since it was still early, hc and i decided to knock out some errands before we headed out there.

we did some shopping and we were on track to be just a little bit late but a series of events caused us to be very late. to a point, where i said to him…”why are we even going? we are going to be sooo late!”, well we went anyways {cause that is who we are}! we arrived with barely an hour to spare. we found the gang right away.

as were walking towards them, hc saw reagan running towards us {playing with his buddies} and he let go of the stroller {that obvs olive was sitting in} to grab reagan and pick him up. in that process, hc let go of olive on an incline! i was enrapture in what hc was doing, so both of us did not notice that olive was rolling down a small hill and her stroller was tipping over and falling! omg! olive’s face went south fast and almost hit the ground! hc grabbed for the stroller and picked her up right before she smashed into the grass and i gasped out of surprise and terror! did we just let our baby almost flip over in her stroller?! why yes we did. in front of hundreds of people. how embarrrrrasing! eep!

[hmmmm, terrible blurry picture because i was walking too fast]

[as soon as olive got there, they doted on her]

[crazy kids…olive is like: whatevs]

[auntie kim and the babes]

we walked around for a bit looking to get olive something to eat or drink but there really wasn’t anything just right for her. she already had her dinner but i was looking for something additional for her to munch on. but fail. so we moved on. we walked back over to hang out and the boys wanted to show olive the fountain. she was quite impressed!

i rolled up her sleeves and she had the best time splashing around in the water! i couldn’t pull her away! it was actually quite cold, the band had just finished their last set, and it was time to go and warm up!

[the dudes]

[the kids so excited to play near the fountain]

[sooooo excited to see her first big fountain!]

[she looooooooved touching the water]

we all walked back to the car and went on our merry way home. it was a quick but significant night out! i was glad we went, even though it was only for a short time! moments like these are always great even short lived.

xoxo

happy bday america part 2

Posted on July 9, 2015 by tandem in love

after the parade, hc and i scurried home to prep our place for our fourth party! we didn’t have a ton to do. we just didn’t have a ton of time with our guests coming over between one and two. we arrived home from the parade after twelve, so it left us little time to prep. i needed to make a small trip out to the store still and prep a few decor items. crunch times like these really stress me out! i always like to be ahead of the game versus behind or else i have mini meltdowns! ugh! poor hc.

anyhoo, as usual, we were just fine. we got everything set up and it looked purty. thuy and kim brought over the remaining items that we had purchased together the other day {at the grocery store} and some fun decorative items. we purchased old fashioned pop bottles and beer asap our libations, we had fun fireworks, cakes, treats, games, pinanta, and a brand new play set for the kids to play on!

we prepped some apps for our guests. kim made a guac dip and we put together a charcuterie plate that was quite delish! after we served that, we got to work on some prep items for our entrees. we were having steaks and burgers, so we sliced onions, tomatoes, and cooked corn. my mom had also prepped the steaks prior to coming over and made her signature salad for everyone.

[thuy bought festive balloons for the party]

[happy fourth!]

[cake, cracker jack, rice krispy treats, and fireworks!]

[the yummiest cake]

[watermelon cake]

[it’s not red white and blue but it is sure tasty!]

[jane, hc, lynne, barbara, and dick]

[pete, lan, and thuy]

[playing with the truck uncle hc made bennett for his birthday last year]

[mad games of badminton]

everyone hung out outside while we were working away in the kitchen. it was so nice out…a bit warm but nothing over the top that was uncomfortable. kim had brought over a badminton set and it got pretty vicious out there. they were sweating up a storm playing each other! it was comical and great!

i spent most of my time in the kitchen, which is not what i wanted but had to do while my husband visited with our guests. i’m too controlling to let things go amuck. i just don’t want our guests {which is pretty much family} to think i don’t want to mingle but things have got to get done and i’m going to do it myself! haha! it’s just me {it’s how i roll}, so i guess no apologies!

all afternoon, we prepped food, we took stupid pictures, played badminton, the kids ran around, and we finally grilled, ate {burgers, steaks, grilled asparagus, corn, and salad}, and relaxed some more. it was a perfect afternoon with our families. we then served the delicious cakes and ice cream, along with lynne’s cookies and lan’s krispie treats!

olive finally awoke from her afternoon nap and the kids were excited to hit the piñata! olive was in no mood to do that, so that was a no go. she can be a grumper pants when she wakes up, sometimes {ummmm, just like her momma!}. anyhoo, everyone had their turn {twice} and reagan finally smashed the piñata open and down. out flung the candy and the kids jumped all over that!

[festive treat pops by the krispie baker]

[small hats are in]

[avery taking her turn at the piñata]

[bennett giving it a go]

[reagan knocking it down!]

[candy!]

slowly, everyone trickled out and home. it was a fabulous long, afternoon with everyone. i’m so glad we were able to get together like this and often. we love, love having family over…the most important group in our lives!

after everyone left, it was getting dark, and r + b were getting antsy and really wanted to light the sparklers and throw the pop its! it was time, so out to the mosquito filled back yard they went {even with hc spraying…there were still so many of those bloodsuckers!} and they had so much fun! they drilled through everything so fast, which was a good thing because they couldn’t be outside for very long {we sprayed and sprayed repellent but it didn’t keep ’em off for long!}.

[ready to pop some pop its]

[sparklers]

after the ‘fireworks’, we all headed back in and chilled just a wee bit longer before kim, terry, thuy, and the boys left. all in all, it was a successful fun filled fourth of july! we had such a great time hosting everyone over {as usual!}. we say it often and can’t say it enough, but we always love having friends and family over. we love it! it was a great fourth indeed! happy birthday america!

xoxo

tandem in love

{life is truly beautiful and it should be celebrated + shared.}

Tag Archives: famille

pumpking pickin’

sunday family night

apple pickin’

railroad date

stop being so crabby

august snapshots

summery lazy day

what?! thirteen?!!

concert in the park that wasn’t

happy bday america part 2