The Many Faces of Silly Lily

This series of pictures totally cracks me up. They fit this silly little lady to a T. She brings so much joy to my life. 

Things aren't always puppies and rainbows though. Every parent to small kids knows this. It's basically a crap shoot and you never know which toddler you are going to get. Are you going to get the sweet and loving little girl or the sassy and stubborn one? I can't blame her for either of those last two qualities, as I know exactly where they came from. (ahem, me) 

Bottom line is I have noticed this little one growing up. She is become more mellow and go with the flow. I am less on edge wondering if she will be happy or sad. Meltdowns are fewer and far between now. She is becoming more predictable. 

She had her end of the year preschool program last night and it was so good. This year at school has really helped with making her more social and comfortable around all types of people. She is definitely still shy around adults she doesn't know but I know this will just keep getting better. 

Now her sister on the other hand is a whole different story. : ) 

Stitch Fix: A Review

I'm sure quite a few people have heard of Stitch Fix by now. I have done other reviews of the service here and here. Basically it is an online shopping service. You fill out their survey and they send you a box of clothes and accessories to try out. You keep what you like and send back what you don't. 

This is what I received in my latest box. 

This purple shirt was pretty, I liked how it was longer style. I didn't keep this one though. 

Bottoms are are new thing for Stitch Fix since my last box. This makes me super happy. I really liked this skirt but it was just too tight for my Momma hips. I would have kept it if the fit was better. 

This sweater was really pretty. It was light weight and I really liked the elbow details. It was just a little too short for my liking. 

I love, love, loved this black top. The hanger doesn't really do it justice. It is long and flowy and I was able to pair it with leggings the first time I wore it. It is a good basic. I kept this obviously. : )

This was a leather and chain wrap bracelet. I liked it as well but I already have a white leather wrap bracelet. So this went back as well. 

I feel like the more fixes I get the better suited for me they are. I would have liked to see a couple more statement pieces sent my way. These were all pretty basic, solid styles. 

Sign up here

(This is my refferal link.)

Memorial Day Weekend

Even though I came down with a little spring/summer cold this weekend was still super fun and a great kick off to summer ! We did a lot of swimming, playing, eating, and relaxing. All which happen to be some of my favorite things. 

My girls love water and playing in the small and big pools. To the point where Avery gets super mad if we tell her it is time to get out. Tantrum city. Luckily on Sunday the sun was shining and it was warm enough for her to play as much as she wanted. 

We also had a cookout/dog birthday party on Saturday. The pups turned 7 this May and we wanted to recognize that with a party with them as the guests of honor. Puppy cake and games where on the agenda. 

The girls got to have a slumber party with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike this weekend too. Not sure they will be welcome back anytime soon since they woke up at 4 am ha. But it was nice to have a date night. 

They were asleep again right after we picked them up and took a car nap for a good 2 hours. Hopefully Aunt Sarah got a nap too. 

Monday we headed out to a local lake and boated and swam. Well the girls swam which meant Daddy had to swim. The water was freezing and it was overcast all day. But they still had a blast. 

Avery skipped her nap so she was out on the drive home. Lily fell asleep not long after and made a smooth transition straight to bed and slept until this morning. Score!  

These are the kind of days I love the most. 

And a BIG thank you to the men and women past and present who make weekends like this possible. Their sacrifice makes me feel safe and sound in this great nation!

Insta-Friday

I have been a horrible blogger this week. I'm not sure why, I just haven't felt the urge to blog. Taking a break is okay sometimes, right? So the pictures I am sharing today are from the last 2 weeks, which have been busy around here. 

I am linking up with Jeannett: 

I love when this one climbs into my lap to cuddle. Luckily I had my phone nearby to capture a sweet picture. She doesn't sit still often. 

Both girls are really into playing with babies. They also love when we see real babies out and about.  They are sorta obsessed with a friends newborn too. Yikes!

We have had some really nice weather lately. Warm most of the day, but we have had some thunderstorms and rain too. Luckily we have been able to hit up the small and big pools this week. I have no idea what she was doing in this picture. I'm pretty sure she was just checking out her hair when she dipped it in the water. 

Every blogger and their brother is using this new app called a beautiful mess. I allows you too add text and graphics to the pics you take with your phone. It's super fun. 

Dixie and her brother Baxter celebrated their 7th birthday on the 20th. There might be a party in their future, and cake. 

Last Saturday we held the 4th

 annual Memorial Golf Tournament for my Dad. He was killed in a car accident in August of 2009.  I really haven't written a post about it all because I feel like my words will not be good enough to explain the awesome person he was. We had a great turnout and a successful tourney. 

More fun with the A Beautiful Mess app. 

Like I said earlier, we got the pool up and running and the girls enjoyed the balmy 70 degree water temp. That number doesn't sound so bad, but after a bit their lips were blue and teeth chattering. 

Poor Daddy had to join in on the fun. Mommy still hasn't ventured in. It doesn't help that our temps are supposed to be in the 60's this weekend. Brrrrrr

These girls crack me up. 

Ya'll I am nervous about this. Any of you who know my husband in real life know that he had an affinity for anything to do with fire, fireworks, blowing stuff up as a teenager. He and his friends were ridiculous. So it definitely worried me a bit when Ave found the sparklers and knew exactly what to do with them and wasn't scared a bit. Geesh. 

On Sunday after the golf tournament we went on a family walk with friends that were in town. I feel like every time I go along it turns into a hiking disaster. Avery was a grump and Lily decided to give up on walking about 15 minutes in. Ave wanted nothing to do with me so poor Nathan was stuck doing this. 

Back at the car and after a snack they were feeling a little bit better. 

Lily had a park and picnic day at school this week. School is over for the summer next Thursday so it was nice to get one last glimpse of her playing with her school friends. It was very cute. I am so excited for her school program next week. I might just pass out from the cuteness. 

I am trying really hard to get back on the band wagon. Why does exercise have to be so stinkin hard?

And it doesn't help that we have a date night and eat stuff like this. Those are fried pickles. So delicious. 

I promise to try to get back to blogging regularly.

We are still thinking about the families that were affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma. I can't even imagine the devastation that they are having to deal with. 

Have a good holiday weekend!

Exploring West Virginia --Nuttallburg

We live in such a beautiful state. I take it for granted more often than I should. We are surrounded by a National Park and there are so many areas that I haven't seen or explored. We plan to change this really soon. Recently we packed up the girls and headed to check out a old mining town called  Nuttallburg. 

I will admit I thought Nathan had no idea where he was going when we drove out to Nuttallburg. It was farther out than I expected. Over the past couple years I have come to realize that I really like history, especially local history. 

So this was an old mining town and the old buildings and equipment were still there, along with signs including the history and what the old buildings/foundations were. 

A lot of the old mining equipment is still on the site. 

The girls really love exploring and checking out all the cool stuff they can find. I'm pretty sure Ave was looking at a bug. 

Even Henry Ford had a hand in this little community. 

We saw a ton of butterflies and the girls loved them. 

These are the old Coke ovens. 

and some coal that was just hanging out on the path. 

a train came by while we were exploring. The girls really loved this. The train stopped for some reason and when it started back up it made a really loud noise and startled us all. I'm pretty sure I said something like "that scared the bejeesus out of me". Lily piped up and said "that scared the coal outta me". Oh man, what a funny girl. 

I'm sure we will have many more fun adventures in our beautiful state this summer!