Soaking Them Up

I can't help but feel like I am a little short on words this summer. I have been busy just soaking up these sweet boys of mine. We have been having such a fantastic summer making memories together. I have been grabbing my DSLR camera a lot more lately and taking advantage of the beautiful natural light outside to catch some pretty good photos of my boys. I can't help but smile as I take the photos knowing that I will be able to relive that moment again and again just by looking at a picture.

It is becoming very evident as Charlie gets older that I am raising two very different boys.

Drake is my cautious and wild boy. The one who is witty and has the best imagination. He will be turning 4 in a couple of weeks and I am just so proud of him.

Charlie is brave and such a little toughie. He has a magnetic personality and already has charm so thick that he can get out of most any situation using it. He  is almost 16 months and bring us so much joy.

Those 2 little boys seem to make summer so much fun and I'm going to spend ever second I can soaking it up.

30 Things Loved in June

Kelsey from Words of Williams shares what she is grateful for at the end of every month. I love the idea so here is my debut monthly "loved" post.

1. A chance to take our first vacation as a family of four. We had such a great time!

2. Surprising my husband with a date night to Exhile Brewing and rolling with the punches even though the experience was not quite what we had pictured.

3. Drinking beers with friends in the driveway with the hum of the baby monitor in the background.

4. A family trip to the zoo to celebrate Father's Day.

5. Hearing Drake comfort Charlie when he is upset.

6. A long weekend away with my whole family and the fun we had.

7. Potato packets (potatoes, olive oil, dry ranch dressing mix and a little cheese) on the grill.

8. $4.00 shirts at H&M

9. Thursdays and Fridays filled with adventure and memories.

10. Down alternative pillows.

11. Drake's sweet heart for Jesus and hearing all he took in at Vacation Bible School.

12. An impromptu visit from my sister.

13. Grocery shopping with Charlie while he smiles and waves and flirts with every person he sees.

14 Planning Drake's birthday party.

15. Watching Revenge with Ben on Hulu Plus all curled up in bed late at night.

16. Mini ice cream sandwiches.

17. 6:00 am workouts.

18. Reading a book on the Kindle on the deck while the boys nap.

19. Letting the boys stay up way past their bedtime just so we can play outside.

20. Grandparents who love my kids to pieces (and spoil them too).

21. Sunday afternoon beers with a friend on a patio.

22. Charlie walking around with Hulk Hands on and making superhero sounds.

23. $5.00 retro chair find at the Restore.

24. The amazing kids in our neighborhood that picked up after a big storm went through.

25. Skinner enjoying the kids swimming pool by taking a dip.

26. Watching Drake play outside at 7:00 am in his jammies while I make breakfast.

27.  A lilac bush that bloomed and was so beautiful and fragrant.

28.  Going to garage sales with Drake and watching him search for treasures.

29.  Babies with bright blonde hair and big blue eyes and tanned skin.

30.  A great sermon series at our church.

What did you love in June?

Summer Fun and a Giveaway

We are sucking up every single last drop of summertime around here. Our mornings are full of early morning breakfast walks and swinging and sliding on the swingset. We have a snack on the front steps every afternoon and we spend every evening playing with the neighbor kids.

We spend lots of time in our swimsuits and eat lots of blueberries, watermelon, ice cream bars and drink lots of juice boxes. We stay up way too late and finally come inside to wash the day off as the sky is getting dark.

Drake and I made a summer bucket list that includes things like going to the pool and the splash pad and riding our bikes to get ice cream and spending an evening at the horse races. We want to check off each and every one of those items on that list while enjoying our usual weekly trips to the zoo and playdates with friends.

There is just something about summer that invokes a sense of being carefree. We are all happier in the summer and smile a little bit more. I can't help but think of all the amazing summer memories from my own childhood and hope that my kids are making their own priceless memories of long summer days and lazy summer evenings.

To me there is nothing that screams summer more than golden tan skin. I don't know about you, but I have become a lot more diligent about taking care of skin as I'm getting older. I used to go to tanning beds and lay out in the sun but those days are long gone. The problem is that I still want to have the beautiful golden bronze skin but don't want to take the risks of a tanning bed or laying out in the sun to get that result. That is where Rodan + Fields Foaming Sunless Tanner comes in! It leaves your skin a beautiful golden bronze without streaks or even worse the dreaded orange color. I love the results I've seen and think you will too!

Want to win your very own foaming self tanner??

This giveaway is super simple-. Just CLICK HERE to like Angie's Rodan +Fields Facebook Page and come back here and leave a comment telling me you did so. That is it!  The giveaway will stay open until Monday morning at 8:00 am. 

Rodan + Fields® Dermatologists is a dermatology-based skincare line by the doctors that created Proactiv Solution. Now, they offer clinically-proven products for aging skin, sun damage, sensitive skin, and acne.

Disclosure- I was provided with a bottle of the foamless tanner in exchange for this giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Making Special Occasions Beautiful

The end of July and beginning  of August is a really busy and special time for our family. On July 23rd Ben and I will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary followed by my 30th birthday on July 24th and Drake's 4th birthday on August 1st. We love to throw a party and have several parties in the works for our upcoming events.

The Season of Littles

I can feel my chest tighten up as we are walking through the crowds of people. This was supposed to be a fun morning out I think as I push the double stroller where my 2 screaming boys sit.

I am angry. Why can't Drake keep his hands to himself? Why does he have to bother his little brother? I am wishing that Charlie would learn a few more words so that he would use those instead of his scream to get our attention.

I am jealous of the people who are walking around the farmers market with their well-behaved kids. I want my kids to act like that I think as I look at them longingly.

That is how my morning went yesterday. And to be honest as I reflect back on those words today, it does not seem nearly as bad now as it did then. Basically we all had a rough morning and the way I reacted to it made it rougher. I was angry and disappointed and just not happy with how the "perfect" morning I had envisioned in my head had turned out.

Here is the thing about me-I'm a pretty roll-with-the-punches kind of Momma. It takes a lot to really get under my skin and I can usually see the situation for what it is, calmly deal with it and move on...but yesterday...yesterday I just couldn't do it.  Quite frankly, I was acting as awful as my kids were and I'm not proud of that.

I am in the season of life right now where I am breathing and living all the things of my littles. So much so that sometimes I have to stand back and just take a deep breath and let those crazy moments pass without reaction.

These littles of mine keep me running and chasing and laughing and squealing from sun up until sun down. Our days are hard and wonderful all at the same time.  I'm constantly trying to think of the next activity to keep their little hands busy and their minds full before they get one step ahead of me. This season of littles is one of kind and so very exhausting.

But thankfully on 99% of my days (yesterday was obviously not  one of them) I have the knowledge of knowing that these days with my littles are all too fleeting. I'm sending my oldest off to preschool in the fall and I'm struggling with knowing that he is already starting to spread his wings a little more. And my youngest is 15-months-old and has already left all the baby and toddler toys behind in favor of playing superheros alongside his big brother.

These days are whizzing by and I'm doing my best to capture every single moment so I don't forget all while I'm counting down the minutes to bedtime.

This season may be one of the busiest I've experienced  yet, but there is not 2 little boys who I would rather do it with. Let them be little...

Better Together

Father's Day with the Man of Steel