We have a teenager in the house!

Today my sweet Gracie May turns 13.  We officially have a teenager in the house and I am on a huge trip down memory lane.   This girl of mine has the biggest, most kindest heart of everyone I know and I couldn't love her more.  I am so thankful that I get to be her Momma. 

We've already had a big birthday weekend and today I'm running around getting everything ready for her birthday dinner with the family tonight. 

She was telling me yesterday that it was her last day to be a kid, that from now on she'll be a teenager. She may be a teenager... but she'll always be my baby girl. 

No Reply Bloggers

Ok, so today we are talking about no reply bloggers.  You guys, I had no idea what that was until Tiffany wrote this post last year.  I realized that I was a no reply blogger and hurried to fix it. 

See the thing is... I reply to every comment that I receive here on my blog.  Every single one.  I reply to each comment by email unless I see that you are a no reply blogger.  When I receive an email notification that I have a new comment, I reply straight from my email so that it goes straight over to yours.  You will receive my reply without having to come back to my post to see what I replied.  If you are a no reply blogger which I've unfortunately just realized some of my readers have been... you wouldn't have received my reply because your email is missing and in it's place it says, noreply-comment@blogger.com.  So for all of you... I'm sorry!!!  I'm going to be more watchful.   If I see that you are a no reply blogger I will reply in the comment section of the blog post.   If you want to change this and have replies go straight to your email as well, here's what you need to do...

Go into your blogger profile, click on edit profile.  At the top under privacy you will click on the little box and put a check in it, where is says, show your email address.  Save and you should be good to go.  Feel free to leave a comment below to test it out and see if it works. 

But in case I've completely confused you, head over here!  :)

I love being able to respond back and forth with fellow bloggers and readers.  It's super quick and so worth it.  

Have a great weekend friends!

What's Up Wednesday

I can't believe it's already the last Wednesday of the month.  Crazy!  I feel like it was just the end of last month when I was doing a What's up Wednesday post.  Anyway, I'm linking up again today with Shay, Sheaffer and Mel to recap our month.

What we're eating this week

We've been grilling most everything.  We had a couple of lazy evenings around here where we've just thrown some brats and hot dogs on the grill and called it good.  Who wants to stay inside cooking when it's so nice out?! 

What I'm reminiscing about

This month marked our 14th wedding anniversary.  It's been fun looking through our wedding photos and looking back at how young we were. 

What I'm loving

I'm loving all the time that my kids have been spending with their cousins and friends this month.  We have had tons of play dates and sleepovers.  It's been a bit wild, but they are having so much fun and making so many fun memories.  That makes it too hard to say no.  :)

What we've been up to

Lot and lots of this!  We have spent so many days at the pool this summer.  My younger two kids are taking swimming lessons in the mornings and by afternoon we are all ready to head back to the pool for a couple hours. 

What I'm dreading

Hmm... the only thing that I can think that I might be dreading is just being a bit busier than I'd like for us to be.  I like for us to be busy enough that the kids aren't whining about being bored, but at the same time, I like for us to have time sit back and relax and not feel like we are having to rush out the door. 

What I'm working on

I've been working on editing photos.  Dan and I have a big trip that we're taking in a couple months and I decided that I was going to need some spending money while over there and that I'd need to buy a couple of outfits before we go.  So I decided to take on a couple of photo sessions this summer.  I'm taking pics and editing away.  Just like the good ol' days.  ;)

What I'm watching/reading

I started this book after hearing everyone say they loved it.  I loved the first 2 or 3 chapters and was so excited to keep reading, but then it just kind of lost me.  I've scanned through a couple of chapters and will scan a bit more to see if it picks up.  I hate saying anything negative about it, but since I had already mentioned this book a couple posts back and that I was loving it, I felt that I should update and say at the moment I'm not.  If it picks back up and I love it again, I will let you know!  :)

Otherwise, this summer has been filled with lots of magazines.  It's hard for me to get into a book if I'm watching the kids swim or running around.  Too many, "Mom, watch me do this." 

What I'm listening to

The tractor is driving out through the field as haying season is in full swing around here.  Lots of little noises around the house, but otherwise it is quiet and peaceful for the moment. 

What I'm wearing

It's tank tops and shorts lately.  Which means it's hot out... just the way I like it!  :)

What I'm doing this weekend

We are planning on hitting the water.  The weather shows that it should get up into the 100's. So we'll either hit up the river here or head up to Flathead Lake and hang out with Dan's family.  Either way, we'll be finding somewhere to cool off. 

What I'm looking forward to next month

Next month is going to be busy!  There is a lot on the calender already.  So I guess I'm looking forward to relaxing on the 4th with family and friends. 

What else is new

We almost have a teenager in the house!  Gracie is turning 13 in just a couple days!  I'm still processing this...

What are we doing for the 4th of July

 Every year for the 4th of July we camp for the weekend with family and friends.  Nothing big or fancy, but always lots of fun.  There will be lots of boating, fishing, horse shoes, games, fire works and my favorite... us women load up in the truck with our tubes and get dropped off a couple of miles up stream and then we float back down the river in our tubes without the men or kids.  It's always so much fun to have an hour or two of uninterrupted time for us ladies!

What about you all?  Any fun weekend plans?

Friday Favorites

I have been an awful blogger lately.  I will get back into a groove this summer, I promise!  But until then I thought I'd share some of my Friday favorites.  I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci once again.

1.   I am loving my yard lately.  We've been spending a lot of evenings outside working on it, and it's really coming along.  I am so glad that we had the deck redone.  It's very simple and just the way I wanted it. 

I am not a gardener and I definitely don't have a green thumb.  Once upon a time I tried a HUGE beautiful garden and failed at it miserably.  We had the whole thing ripped up and hauled off.  It just became an eye soar and I felt guilty every time I looked out there.  I wanted to be a good gardener, but I didn't enjoy it at the time.  My kids were little and I felt busy.  Too busy for one more thing.  So the garden left.

Today my kids are a bit older and I missed having plants.  Yes, I'm crazy!  Haha!  So the other day I ran down to the nursery and bought a few plants for around the house.  Dan and I have been ripping up some of the sod around the sides of the house and I've been planting different perenials making myself little flower gardens.  I've even bought a couple of vegetable plants and the thing is, I am having so much more fun now and loving it!  

My little pot of basil.

2.   Monday was the beginning of the Proverbs study over at Good Morning Girls.  It's a Mon-Fri study and it's not to late to jump on in.  You have the whole weekend to catch up.  Courtney has a great little video you should check out.  She will totally convince you to jump in and start reading Proverbs.  Go check it out! 

3.   I am loving all the fresh produce that is rolling in.  One of the many reasons that this is my favorite time of year. 

4.   We went out to dinner the other night for our anniversary and took a little ride in my sisters jeep.  There isn't a better vehicle to ride in during the summer, even if you end up with crazy hair. 

5.   And to celebrate Friday... here's a little humor for you all.  :)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Life Lately

Wow!  These last couple of weeks have flown by.  I've been meaning to post, but life just seems all over the board lately. 

Last week Dan and I went over to Idaho.  He had board meetings to attend and I got to follow along.  Later in the day the boys had a golf tournament, so my bestie and I got pedicures.  So fun! 

The kids were excited to have us back home.  We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with them. 

This boy of mine.  He got home from church and changed as quick as he could out of his nicer pants.  He just forgot to change his shirt as well.  No matter how many times I tell him, dress shirts don't go with exercise pants... he just doesn't care!  Ha!

My little shadow!  Wherever I go, she's usually right there beside me.

Yesterday was the first day for the pool to be open.  We drove in expecting it to be packed, but it wasn't.  There was maybe 10 kids there.  I thought it was perfect, but I think the kids were a little disappointed.  I'm sure they were hoping to see more of their friends there.

 Not a bad way to spend a couple hours of our day!

When I got home I did a few more things around the house and then started browsing my kindle trying to find another book to read.  That's about the time that the kids realized a package had been left on our front porch.  Perfect timing or what?!  I had forgotten that this book was on it's way. 

I have heard so many people talk about reading this book and loving it.  It is different than most books I read, but I am loving the way she writes.  Such a great light read so far.

Also... today is Dan and I's 14th wedding anniversary.  Crazy!!!  I love this guy so much! 

I'm so glad that he's the one I get to do life with!  I wouldn't have it any other way! 

I hope you are all having a great week so far! 

Friday Favorites

Wow!  What a week!  We have been crazy busy and now it's already Friday.  I'm going to link up again today and post my Friday favorites with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

Today is the last day of school for my kids and we are excited!  Our local swimming pool won't open for another week or two, so we have time to chill out at home before we start spending our days there.  Once it's open, we spend a lot of time there since it's only open until the middle of August.  Having only 2 months to enjoy a pool... we hit it up as much as possible.

Isn't this sign cute?!  I think instead of hanging it, I would prop it up on my mantle during the summer.

source

We took the kids up to see Dan's parents last weekend and thought it would be fun to let the kids try and roller skate.  They ended up used roller blades instead as we heard they are easier to learn on.  This was the first time for all of them, and it's always fun to see them try something new.

My sister and her family just got two new kittens and Emma is loving them.  The orange tabby who they named Blaze, is just the cutest.  Emma will pick him up and walk him around and he just falls to sleep practically every time.  She is in love and feels that she needs her own.  I have informed Dan that there is a very good chance that kittens are in his near future!  Haha!  ;)

Gracie and my niece had their last dance of the school year.  

They are now onto 8th grade!  Eeek!  I have one more year before they head to High School!   Maybe one more year will help me feel ready for that, but at this point  I don't see how I'm going to be able to let her.  I was excited to go to High School, but the thought of sending one of my kids into it.  No thank you!  :)

We have finally been getting some of the rain that we've been needing.  Along with it, we had one of the prettiest rainbows I have ever seen, and a double one at that.  We were on our way to drop the girls off at the dance and I didn't have my camera, so I had my sister sticking her head out of the sunroof in my car trying to capture a picture.  

Random fact:  There isn't a single stop light in our whole town.  Actually there isn't in our whole county.  I believe there is one yellow flashing light in the county and that's it!

Have a great weekend!

Mornings

There is something so peaceful about the sounds of a new day.  Listening to your coffee brewing.  The load of laundry running in the other room.  Morning cartoons while your kiddo is curled up on the couch.  The sound of sprinklers watering the grass.  It's all so peaceful to me.

My morning didn't turn out to be what I'd planned but that's okay.  I got up extra early this morning to be ready to go into work at my Dad's store today while the kids were at school.  Unfortunately, one of my kiddos wasn't feeling as good as she needed to be to go to school, so we're home. 

Since I'm already ready for the day and have quite a few of my things already done, I'm going to drink my coffee, do my devotional, and enjoy a bit of a slower pace.

I love checking out new blogs or websites.  If you have a favorite blog or website that you love, please leave a comment and share it.  I'd also love to check out your blog if you have one. 

I hope that no matter what your Monday brings today, that it's a good one!

XOXO