how i spent my summer vacation

It's no secret that me and good luck don't really go together.

We're not bff''s.  It's not a peanut butter and jelly, ross and rachel, biggest loser and ice cream sorta thing.

It's alright. Long ago, in a far away land (although I still live there...) I was bitten by a black widow spider, diagnosed with an incurable disease (I'm not dying), and somehow managed to completely delete the entire hard drive on my uncle's computer by pressing a button that in my opinion shouldn't exist in the first place.  It only leads to heartache, I assure you.

But sometimes on a rare occasion something brilliant happens.  And it cancels out all that unluckiness in one fell swoop. 

It is grand. It is momentous. And it happened to me last weekend. Or as K.P would say.."last friday night.."

That's right it's these gals I'm talking about. 

The epitome of awesome.

We've been through it all. From the time that one guy read us his journal explaining how he had soiled not one, but TWO pairs of underwear to the day Melody was so mad she threw cupcakes into 60mph winds and I was forced to give her a look of shame and bewilderment.

Whoopie cushions. Frostbite. Chinese buffet. Hot cinnamon. You name it. It's been done.

 

This is Celia.  Who I lovingly refer to as my favorite Aussie that I wish lived in the same country as me so we could eat Tim Tam Slams and cereal and listen to Jack Johnson every day. Or at the very least, every other day.

 

Melody. How can I ever repay you for introducing me to Miranda?

Alas, I cannot. This I know is true.

 

If you don't know who Miranda is by now...you need better friends. Your welcome.

Anyway.

Celia decided it was time to have a little holiday in America so she hopped on a plane to see some of her favorite peeps.

And a weekend of greatness was had!

I think at one point our husbands suggested that we were worse than a group of teenage boys. You know you're onto something good when words like that are thrown around.

Food for the masses. Ahem. I mean the three of us.

We even found motivation to exercise! Just kidding..we didn't do any of that.

 

It's a blacktop blur people. But I'm pretty sure it ruled. Yeah.

Even Ellie had the time of her life.

Summer = Made.

 

Firework

Good news!

I am alive.

So alive.

In fact I'm better than ever.  Sorry I haven't been around much..but absence makes the heart grow fonder, eh?

It's been a rough summer.

But I just want to take a sec to say "thanks" to the people in my life that have made it difficult.

Sincerely.

Because I've really learned a lot from each of you.

Thanks for reminding me how important it is to follow my heart and my ambitions. Your attitude about those things hurt for a bit. 

Just a teensy, tiny, little bit.

Your opinions on those things has actually made me realize how important those things are to me.  And I think it's better to be true to myself then try to fit in your mold.

Because I have my own mold.  And you may not like it. But I am happy.

And isn't that the end goal in life? To be happy?

I'm not at the end, but I like where I'm going.

Also, what is happiness good for if we can't help others be happy too?

Either we go through life pretending to be someone we're not, or we embrace who we are (the good and the bad) and we love others for doing the same.

So instead of being sad about some painful rejections, I'm happy to say that I am more motivated then ever to just be myself.

It's such a liberating thing.

And I feel the need to say that it's time we all stop worrying about everyone else. I know it's hard to just love who we really are, because we're afraid of the critics and those that would hurt us.

But I believe God wants us to be happy.  We are unique and different because of Him. That's how we were made and that's how we're supposed to be.  Isn't it awesome?!

The truth is life is different for all of us. So trying to fit into someone elses idea of who we should be can never actually work. Our struggles, our strengths, are individual and personal.

Some of us don't get married.

Some do and it doesn't work out.

Some of us don't realize our dreams until later in life.

Everyone is at a different place on the path.

Stop dreaming someone elses dream. Find your own dream. Don't fear your critics. They just can't see what you see. 

Embrace who you are. Be happy with what you see when you look in the mirror. Challenge others to do the same.

And I think we will all be a little happier.

how we spend our days..

We are ready for summer.

This week has been non-stop.  I walked in the door last night from school and fell asleep approximately 3 minutes later.

But it's the weekend! We have plans..big plans.  Movie, pizza, swimming, snuggling..ahh.

We spent the first part of this week enjoying the sun, a campfire, and the loveliness that is the beginning of summer.

The Men.

What's camping without snacks? Elle was loving the mallows.

We played games and chased Elle around until she was banned to her Dora chair so we could eat.

Tired eyes quickly turned into "why is everyone eating MY marshmallows??"

My personal favorite. This reminds me of a picture from the book "Little Women"...

why I love petiteBox!

I received this gem on my doorstep a few weeks ago from the lovely company petiteBox!

Have you heard of petiteBox yet?

If you're a new mama, a soon to be mama, or you know someone who is, this is pretty much the coolest gift you could give yourself or someone else.

Created for new mom's who appreciate the finer things in life, petiteBox sends out a box every month with new high-end, natural products for both mama and her babe to test at home.  They work with mama's who are in their 4th month of pregnancy until their baby's first birthday.

petiteBox delivers a different box every month that coordinates with the stage of pregnancy or the age of the little babe. I LOVE this idea. 

Inside the box I found so many things to love. When you're a new or expecting mama you want the nicest things for your little one and because petiteBox is so awesome, they throw in some great stuff for you too.

Elle loves that monkey.  She carries him around everywhere and snuggles with him, because he is soo soft.

The Lotus Infinite Love Mist smells divine and what woman doesn't want high quality stretch mark butter? Riddle me that!

I don't know about you, but my brain partially stopped functioning when I had Elle. I can't remember things, I feel like it's always going in a million different directions.  Being a mom is hard! So I love that this little box arrives at my home to help me keep on top of things I should probably have on hand for myself and my babe.

They even send out these helpful how-to's that include how to pick out a diaper bag and what to expect at the age and stage my baby or pregnancy is at.  Loooove.

Until recently, PetiteBox has only been available outside the U.S.  Lucky for us (those that live in the United States) they just launched in NYC so now we can have the very best for our little ones delivered right to our door!

I've been working with this company for a few months now and honestly, they are fabulous.  I've been really impressed with them and I think great customer service is always the best indicator for an awesome company. 

Go here to learn more about petiteBox.

So if you're stumped about what to get a new mama for a gift or if you want to pamper yourself a little bit, because you've got a little one, head over to their website and become a petiteBox member!

thrifting and other lovely finds

I don't know what thrift stores are like where you are, but in Utah they are kind of a big deal.

No this photo wasn't taken on Black Friday.

It was in fact a Wednesday.  Just a regular old middle of the week day.  Nothing special.

So it makes sense that when I stopped by for a quick trip I was shocked to find people lined up outside waiting for the store to open.

Was some sort of announcement made that included needing jeans from 1992 or used tupperware in a hurry?

Yeah I didn't think so.

Battling the mobs of people proved to be worth my time as I was quite successful in my venture.

Yes yes I had some lovely finds this week.  But it didn''t stop with thrifting.

These boots are my personal favorite. I wear them with everything. I even slept in them.  But not on purpose.

I discovered the best salsa recipe too.  You should try it.  Be sure to add Avocado..that takes it from awesome to bombdiggity. Trust me on this.  Find the recipe here!

And finally..Thanks Wendy's for this inspirational reminder.  I guess not all fast food places are shady.

Have a great weekend!

tell me, tell me

My little gal is spending time with my aunt today and I already miss her.  Lucky for me she left a trail of Chocolate Cheerios in my room before she went off to play.  At least I won't be hungry while she's away.

Who are you missing today?

think happy, be happy

It's Monday.

This weekend Andrew hurt his knee on a run.  He can't even walk really.  He's in pretty bad shape.

Certain future plans now lie in uncertainty because it is kind of a big deal.

Surprisingly enough he has been as pleasant as ever. Minus the broken wooden spoon which he snapped in half while in pain like it was a toothpick.  Oh and all those swear words..

And today he asked me for a bucket or an empty water bottle, because getting up to go to the bathroom was just asking for too much.

His brother bought him a cane. Andrew is mortified. I am excited.


Ellie is into this really fun phase where she not only spits out all of her food, but then hurls it across the room as if she's going for an Olympic medal.

And I witnessed her first real tantrum this weekend that left me in shock.  I just stood there staring at her flailing herself across our living room rug, because I could not believe what I was seeing.

She also drank out of a mud puddle when I wasn't looking and has somehow mastered the ability to go lifeless when I'm trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do.  Her 25 pound body feels much heavier when I'm trying to carry her inside before the neighbors think she has some sort of medical condition.

I love these two.

Really I do.

Ellie has learned a new word.  "April".  No more "Mama" or "Dada". Her face lights up with joy when she yells "opppruulll" down the hallway.  Along with "It's okay" and "Aw man".

She has the sweetest little smile and I am so happy to be able to spend my life with her.

Andrew is the most positive person I've ever met.  He's always happy.  And he loves me.

 I am one lucky gal.

This could have been considered a disastrous weekend. But I reallly didn't want it to be.

Happiness. Gratitude. Love.

Decisions we make everyday.

So I say look for the good! Choose to be happy! Find things in your life to be grateful for!  Someone needs YOU to love them, figure out who they are and love with all your might!

This is a perfect day to start over.  Be brand new.  Your life is good.  You just need to tell yourself so and stop stressing about all the things that are not so wonderful.

Did you do it?  Isn't everything wonderful now?

Okay..let's get real ya'll. Life can be hard and it can be crappy.  But there are good things happening in your life. No matter how small. Focus on those things. 

 It's hard. But so is everything else worth doing.

So decide to be happy.



There is only one "today" so enjoy it. Seriously.

Love!