What's Up Wednsesday

Wowzers!  It is already the last Wednesday of the Month and I'm freaking out just a little bit.

As much as I don't want to even think about it... it's time to start planning all the back to school stuff.

Since July is almost over, I'm sharing all that we've been up to this month.



 I'm linking up today with Mel, Shay & Sheaffer.

 What we're eating this week

I brought Gracie and Belle (my niece) out of town for a few days for a volleyball camp, so we are eating out for all our meals.  With everything we have going on this week and weekend, I don't foresee having to cook a meal until Monday.  :)

What I'm reminiscing about

The beginning of summer.  Yes, I know summer is still here, but I am sad that I will eventually have to welcome in Fall.  I know so many of you look forward to Fall, and honestly I do too.  But I do not look forward to the long cold winters that we have.  As I'm typing this, I'm laughing that I'm already complaining about being cold and winter isn't even close to being here yet.  Haha! 

What I'm loving

 
Summer!

I love warm weather and sunny days.  I love having my kids home.  I love not packing lunches and checking homework.  I love that we get to be a bit lazy.  I love summer!

What we've been up to

We've been busy camping and playing on the water.  We're not partial... lake or river, we like it all.

What I'm dreading

Even though it's only the end of July, it feels like summer is wrapping up.  Our city pool, which happens to be our only pool closes in 3 weeks. Volleyball practice starts in 3 weeks as well, and once that starts, it truly feels like the beginning of a new school year.

I'm not dreading either of those things, it's more the fact that our short little summer seems to be closing down and that makes me sad.

What I'm working on

Not much of anything.  I'm just enjoying our lazy days.

What I'm excited

Honestly, I'm not really excited about anything.  I'm just kind of in the moment, and I'm okay with that.  I've been guilty about wishing time away while I look forward to one thing, and I end up missing the moment that I was in.  I'm trying not to do that as much.  Not to say that I still don't do it, but I'm trying to work on it at least.  ;)

What I'm watching/reading

I just started watching Hart of Dixie.  So far I'm liking it.  It's cute and funny.  Have any of you watched it?


As far as reading, I'm just finishing my bible study on 2 Timothy.




I read High as the Heavens by Kate Breslin, and you can click here to see my review.



At the moment I'm currently reading Egypt's Sister by Angela Hunt.  I'll let you know what I think once I've finished it.

What I'm listening to

As I'm working on this post, I'm sitting by the pool in the hotel, listening to the kids play in the water.

What I'm wearing

I never take pictures of what I'm wearing, but one day I took this selfie for a friend of mine.  She had given me this shirt that says Gilmore Girls And Coffee.  I love it, so I sent her a picture of me wearing it.  That is the only reason I had a picture for this question.  ;)

What I'm doing this weekend

 
Dan will be finishing up the Governors Cup Golf Tournament in Kalsipell, and the kids and I will head up and play at the Lake until he's done.

What I'm looking forward to next month

Emma's birthday is next month and she'll be 10.
It's a big thing for my kids when they hit the double digits... so this is her big year.

What else is new

Gracie has her first set of wheels, and we have one excited girl.

She's completed all of the hours that she needs, so now we are just waiting until a set date in August when she can go down to get her drivers license.

 
What's new with you?  Are you ready for Fall or are you like me, wishing Summer would stick around a lot longer?

  XO,

Friday Favorites: Nordstrom Sale

Happy Friday!

Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite finds from the Nordstrom Sale.  The sale is now open to everyone, so if you haven't checked it out yet, now's your chance.

Here are a few things that I found and was excited about.  I thought you might be interested in a few of these as well.

This Under Armour sweatshirt for boys was $44.99 and is now $29.90.   I'll either give it to Jesse when school starts, otherwise I might wait and wrap it up for Christmas.  This is one of those items that I was going to buy regardless, so to find it on sale was exciting.

These fun Tucker & Tate Tinsley boots for girls were $59.95 and marked down to $39.90.  Aren't they the cutest!  They have a couple different color options, but these are my favorites, and I think Emma is going to love them. 

This classy little ring was $55.00 and is now marked down to $35.90.  I can't wait to see what I think of this once it arrives.  This wasn't my most practical purchase... but it's pretty!

I picked up one of these cardigans for a Christmas gift.  They're originally $116.00, but right now you can get them for $76.90.  They are definitely pricey, but they hold up so well, and are super comfy.

These no show socks definitely aren't the most exciting purchase I made this year, but they're practical and I was wanting a pair.   Originally I would have paid $14.00,  but with the sale I was able to buy them for 8.90, so I'm still saving a few bucks.

And with buying 2 packs of the socks, I almost saved enough to pay for that unpractical ring.  ;)

I decided to try out these Lucky Brielley Perforated Bootie's as well.  I can't wait to see them in person.  I've been wanting a black bootie, but hadn't found one I liked the look of yet.  I actually love that these have a bit of brown on them as well.  They were originally $138.95 and are on sale right now for $92.90.  If I end up loving them, I might hide them in my closet until my birthday.  I shouldn't need them until October anyways.  :)

Okay, that's it for today.

I've linked up with Andrea, Erika & Narci.

Have you been shopping the sale?  If so, what have you found that I should know about?

Enjoy your weekend!

  

XO,

4 Places You Should Visit

Today I'm sharing 4 places that you should visit.   Fun, right!  I love writing travel posts and I love reading about them as well.  Hopefully you do too.

Who knows if we will be able to travel to all the fun places that we'd love to see, so it makes it fun that we can share our favorite destinations with each other.   If you are wanting a few more travel suggestions, make sure you check out Allie and Lisa's posts and see what everyone else has to say over with the Ladies Who Link.

I have a million travel ideas that I could post, but today I'm just going to share 4 of my favorite places we have visited that I think you should too.

Montana

Our Montana road trip was the best trip to date that we have taken together as a family.

The history in some of these old mining towns was so fun.


In Philipsburg we mined for Sapphires.  My kids loved this.  They could have stayed all day, but at one point we had to make them walk away.  We'd been at it for hours and there was no end in sight.


We visited the town of Bannack which is an abandoned ghost town with a population of 2.  The town is still standing, and you can walk through the bankers house, the doctors house and visit the old saloon, as well as the rest of the town.  (Out of all the places I've ever visited this was my favorite one!)


Lastly if you stop over to Nevada City, you can see the oldest standing school house in Montana, and you can also pan for gold.

There was a gang back in the day that was robbing the town folk of Bannack, Nevada City, and Virginia City.  Eventually it was found out that the Sheriff of the three towns was actually the leader of the gang.  He was eventually caught and hung.  You can see their graves at the top of the town in Virginia City, which is just a mile away from Nevada City, and has a fun stage coach that you can ride.

Like I said, this trip was so fun!  We didn't stay anywhere fancy, as most of the towns we stayed in only had small motels.  Each place we stayed at was clean though, and provided us with everything we needed.

Hawaii

Hawaii is probably one of my favorite places to be.

I have been to Maui 3 times now, and it never gets old.


When we went last time with the kids, we stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club, and I'd highly recommend that again.  It was nice to have a mini kitchen, so we could stop over at Costco and stock up on groceries to cut back on expenses.  If it's a girls trip or a couples trip, I'd also highly recommend the Westin Resort.  It's a bit closer to The Whalers Village and only a couple of minutes from my favorite restaurants.

Stockholm Sweden

 I fell head over heels in love with Old Town Stockholm, the second I arrived.
It is charming, and oh so beautiful.
 






We spent a good couple of days just walking around and taking in all that this gorgeous place had to offer.

New Orleans

I have also been to New Orleans 3 different times, and each time we find something completely new to explore.  New Orleans was never a place that I ever desired to visit, but I'm telling you... all the history that it has to offer is incredible.  Each time I go, I appreciate it more and more.

The Oak Alley Plantation is one of my favorite plantations that I've visited.


But if you're needing a bit more adventure... we went out on a swamp tour, which was tons of fun.


And at the end of a long day of walking and site seeing... this view isn't too bad either.  ;)

Be sure and check out my travel page to keep updated on all of our most recent trips.

What's one of your favorite vacations or trips that you've taken?

XO,

Summer Days

Summer days are the best, and lately we can't seem to get enough of them!

Last week we dropped our kids off with Dan's parents and then we headed over to Idaho.  We stayed at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, which is beautiful!  Dan needed to be over there for business, and I nominated myself to hold down the pool situation... because someone needs to.  ;)

To get to the pool, you can take the shuttle boat service.

The pool is over by the golf course and clubhouse.  This was my view when I arrived.  It was so pretty!

 And this is where I sat every morning until later in the evening when I had to go back to the room to get ready for the evening.  This end of the pool was roped off, since it was needing a few repairs.  It was actually perfect since it detoured people from using this side of the pool as an entrance, which kept this side a lot quieter.  :)

What's not to love about an infinity pool!  It was the perfect spot to hang out and enjoy the weather.

 The last night that we were there, we took a cocktail cruise with all of the business associates and their spouses.  This was the view as we pulled away from the resort.

 After cruising for awhile, they brought us over to the clubhouse for dinner.

 And this man of mine got 1st in net for the golf tournament that they'd had that week, and won a new driver. 

We had to have at least one picture together.

The next morning, we left the Coeur d'Alene Lake, and headed up to Flathead Lake to spend the weekend with our kiddos.

Weekends away with Dan are some of my favorites, but we always love coming home to our babies.  Even if they aren't babies anymore.

Fresh cherries out of my in-laws orchard.  Yum!!!

I ended up bringing home 2 buckets worth.  It doesn't get any fresher than right from the tree.

These pictures are a good chunk of the reason why this blog has been so quiet lately.  We're just busy living life and enjoying our warm sunny days.

I hope you are as well! 

XO,