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

The Space Between

I still like to think of him as a baby. If I close my eyes I can still feel the weight of his 7 lb 12 oz body in my arms and smell the new baby smell on his hair. But when I open my eyes this handsome blue-eyed guy is looking back at me. He just started to walk a couple of weeks ago and is already walking around like he has been doing it his whole life. He says "thank you" when we give him something and "more" over and over at meal time. He laughs when we laugh even though he does not know what is funny. He likes to cuddle but loves the freedom to roam. I still catch glimpses of the baby in him when he cuddled up on my chest sucking his pacifier with his head on my heart like he did every single day as a newborn.

He is seeming less like a baby but still no like a toddler. The space between...

And then we have this one. He is starting preschool in the fall. He says words like "actually" and knows what a rhombus is. He come out of his room fully dressed most mornings and has many opinions on what we should eat for supper. He still thinks I'm pretty cool and often tells me I'm his best friend, but as been wanting to spend more and more time playing with his friends. He makes me proud when he spells his name. He is very sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily.  He started Sunday school last fall and says the Lord's Prayer before bed.  He will still give me a kiss in front of his friends and can often be found holding my hand or on my hip getting cuddled.

Not a toddler but not quite a preschooler. The space between...

The space between is heart-warming and heartbreaking. Watching them grow and learn makes your heart burst with pride all while it breaks into a million little pieces as you know that you are letting another little piece of them go.

Head to Wells Fargo Arena This Weekend To See Sesame Street Live

Drake and I just got back from a fun morning out at Sesame Street Live. We invited my mom to join us and could not have had a better time.  The show was full of singing and dancing and lots of audience interaction.