our week in pics: getaways, tornado meal-prepping, and it's happening again

Oh, the crazy fun of summer! Can I admit that I've been sleeping in this summer, and it's been wonderful? I feel like a new person when I sleep 8-9 hours a night. The baby still wakes up a couple of times at night, but with the extra hours in the morning I've been making up for the last year of lost time. :)

We have some exciting things happening at our house, so our days have been full to the brim. {I can't wait to tell you soon!} I haven't even had a chance to tell you yet, but we celebrated our 12th anniversary with a weekend away in Dallas:

My awesome dad kept the kids and I enjoyed waffles not made by me. ;)

We did take the munchkin along with us, and if you were wondering what hotel breakfast with a little is like, I snagged a pic for you:

I have a good man, because he took one for the team and fed him while I enjoyed this:

Good times. :) And you know any weekend at a metroplex is sure to include a trip to Anthro:

I didn't find much I needed there, but I did end up with one cool, very inexpensive-for-anthropologie thing I'll show you soon! :)

For the first time in I can't remember, we got dressed up for a date! :)

I really need to branch out more, but the heart wants what it wants. ;)

We might be a little predictable, but hey- we did try two new things. Did you know gas station fudge can be amazing?

I would have never thought. And we already know Restoration Hardware is pretty amazing itself:

All kinds of eye candy there. That place is something else. :) I have never liked so much extremely expensive furniture at one time! ;) {Which reminds me of something else I want to tell you soon!}.

My feet were back on the ground last week with a birthday, grocery shopping, and getting back in the saddle with cooking:

Last night was a late night flurry of trying to cook this week's meals in advance:

I made dinner last night, and got this ready for the week:

And speaking of getting back in the saddle...last week, these came in the mail:

Once we the rest of the girls' books arrive, I suppose we'll dig in. :) I can't say that I'm ready, but the kids are! They've already arranged their desks, plugged in their computers, and can't wait to start. :)

As for me, I'm still going to enjoy every minute of sleeping in that I can. :)


How was your week/weekend??


Are you back to school yet?


Ever tried something from a gas station that you never thought you would love? :D

our summer so far: food, fun, and uninhibited goodness :D

Our summer has been full and delightful so far. :D I'm really enjoying the freedom of not doing school! :) {Am I even allowed to say that as a homeschooling mom? hahaha! I am so thankful for this break! :P}

We have had lots of unexpected fun, like stumbling on a splash park and going for it, fully dressed... :D

I've gotten to relax with this guy a bit more: 

This is where he proposed to me for the second time. :D

The kiddos have been tagging along wherever we go, but at home they've been building forts and playing legos for hours. 

We've even enjoyed shopping for groceries {at Costco, anyway!}:

One day we got to see a real fire truck:

And we taught the kids how uncomfortable it is to sit in the back seat of a police car {a very important lesson, no?}:

I subbed two early morning fitness classes, and had the chance to have Starbucks outside before 7 a.m.!! :D 

Happy, happy, happy things. :)

We also spent last week seeing a parade of local homes for fun. One of the houses had this amazing rocking chair that was soo comfy:

Rob and I went on a date on Saturday and watched the sun set over a grape vineyard. Oh, if earth can be this gorgeous, what will heaven be like?

We could have called our date night heavenly all around. :) We ate nearly all of this!

So worth it. :) Our little tag-along even had a late night snack {it was empty ;)}:

On Sunday we had fun spending time with two of my very favorite dads:

And because my husband loves ice cream, that amazing Jersey cream turned into this sugar-free ice cream amazingness:

I used lots of Truvia and real vanilla and it tasted like Haagen Daz. OH my. I'll need a week of working out to counteract those two days of goodness. :) But they were worth it. :)

And just like that, we were back to another fun summer week. :) Hey, even if it flies by, I'll take it.

The other day I started thinking about what we need to order for homeschooling next year and my brain suddenly went on strike and completely refused to entertain any such ideas. It's much too soon. ;)

What was your favorite moment last week?

The vineyard with my man. :)

Have you ever had Jersey cow milk?

It's at least 10x better than regular dairy cow milk.

If you had to choose between fudge brownie, homemade ice cream, cheesecake, or strawberry shortcake, which one would you choose?

Clearly, you know my answer. I chose them all! :P But really, as far as favorites go it might be a close call between the brownie and the shortcake. Cake usually wins over chocolate, but brownies win over whipped cream...? cake is to brownies as ice cream is to cheesecake... :P

the long {almost summer} weekend of firsts

You can tell a new season is close upon us- we had so many firsts of the year over the last week! :D

The very first jump in the pool:

The first calling in of the husband to come and kill the bug... {also the first gigantic millipede I've ever seen in the house- that thing was massive!}:

The first time I've cleaned out this drawer in years:

Oh my, it was so sad- I ended up regretting all that cleaning effort yesterday. ;) I found those old potholders from our wedding shower in the back and put them in the front of the drawer again- I forgot they had thin spots. :( Thin potholders= burned hands= dropped all the tater tots in the oven= lots fell in the holes= I can't cook until we unscrew the oven bottom and clean it= no pre-made food today... :( Sandwiches may be all we get to eat for dinner. :P 

Speaking of food- we also had our first summer batch of veggies yesterday:

For dinner last night, we had turkey burgers and lots of veggies, and a few of those oven-bottom tater tots: ;)

Thankfully, my dad came over too. It's always way more fun to share good food. :)

I must be nursing that man-baby even more because I'm suddenly starving all the time. Give me food. I think I'm still hungry from last night. Is it weird that I really crave bread and butter and avocado right now? And meat. I need lots of meat. :) He weighs around 24 lbs. now, and is still mostly nursing so I guess that may be why I'm ravenous all the time?  

I was so glad for the extra day off yesterday. I got the chance to make a few extra meals last night with my good hand while I cooked the turkey burgers. :)

We've actually enjoyed lots of good food these last few days- these pizzas kicked off the weekend. Cream cheese makes a very good base for garlic veggie pizza {fat...mmmm! hahaha}:

Another first-we hunted down this baby's very first ride-on toy:

{Did you know that Toys R' Us will price match Amazon? I didn't, but I was thankful they did! :)}

If I can remember correctly, I think we also had our very first trail hike with Zaner this weekend:

Once we found the wide path, they were off to see the wizard. ;)

I sure do love these munchkins.

Today we're back to school and fitness classes and life as usual. :) Only a few more days, right? That long weekend was a bit of a tease. ;)

We can do this, can't we? Yes or yes?

Just a handful of days to go. I'm ready.

But first I'm going to go find something to eat. ;)

How many more days until summer starts for you?

One more week for us. I'm excited. :)

Have you been swimming yet? How do you decide when to go?
I sure didn't, but the children have twice now already! :P I like to feel like I'm burning before I get in the water. Anything less is freezing.  :)

costco winners + baby transitioning questions

Monday? How are you here again already? 

I think the weekends go by 3x as fast as Monday and Tuesday do. I'm super happy when Monday and Tuesday finally pass by each week. :)

Weekends are my favorite for sure. :) On Friday night, we hit up our new friend Costco again. It had only been a month, but it felt like forever since I visited this amazing place...

It's a long trip for us, but it's more of an adventure than anything. You know you're a family who loves food when everyone gets excited about a trip to a new warehouse store. ;)

We wore little Zaner out shopping up and down the aisles:

I loved seeing everything they had. They have so many healthy options. :D You have to give them props for their gorgeous salads:

Man, I love that store. :) And I really love that our whole family can eat dinner there for $14, and I get a big salad in their cafe! {!!!!}

I pulled this new dressing out of our cart for instead of opening up the caesar. I am happy to report yet another Costco winner:

Zane was as happy about his Costco banana as I was about my salad: ;)

We ended up with quite a few items we wouldn't normally buy at Sam's- the apple chips are my absolute favorite new snack, and the ancient grains are good too {though I have to avoid the almonds for Zane}. And I love that they have large avocados for the same price as Sam's small ones:

Even though we spent hours browsing Costco, we still had an hour left before HomeGoods closed. heheh. ;) I roped the family into shopping with me here too:

And this sofa??? Oh my goodness. So cute. It looks small here, but it was a full-sized one for $800. Too bad we didn't have room in the Tahoe. ;)

The kids {usually} entertain themselves when we go shopping at places like this. They all talk to each other about everything while they follow me around, but trips with Daddy are way more fun because he asks them lots of questions about everything. :) 

Zane even found ways to keep busy while I walked around:

I wonder what he will be like when he's older. It seems like he'll be a funny guy like his brother Noah and his Uncle Josh.

The rest of the weekend was full of adventure, house remodeling, and a three hour nap {!} after a playdate with a sweet friend. It was raining outside yesterday but Rob and I still managed to drive around and go out on a little date after church. :)

This week Project ReOrganize is ON. My goal is to have a garage sale this weekend, and I'm in clean out mode again. I'm trying to simplify as much as possible so that there's less housework to do on a daily basis. Last week I cleaned out the kids drawers and left them with one drawer full of clothing... and it's been amazing already. I only had 2.5 loads of laundry to catch up this weekend!

I'm hoping to also get Zane into his own room this week so we can all get more sleep. I've done it four other times, yet I still don't want to do it. :) I know it will be good for all of us, but one of our main problems this time around is that the main bathroom we use {the only one with a shower and our 2nd toilet} is in his nursery- and the kids all need to use it multiple times at night.

I'm trying to think of other places we could have him where he would be undisturbed by six other people, but it's got me stumped for the moment! He usually sleeps in our room for naps and nighttime, but I can't sleep with him in there these days. He wakes up so many times a night, but I think it's more a habit of comfort rather than need to eat.

I'd love any transitioning tips you have for moving babies to their rooms? 

Any creative ideas on quiet places for babies with lots of siblings? 
At this point I'm almost considering moving him in the office at night. :)

Have you ever tried apple chips? What do you think? Do you love them as much as I do? {and can you make them yourself- or would it even be cheaper?}