Time away with family

It's not often that I get time away with my mom & sister. We traveled up to a friends cabin in Alabama for four days with all the kids in tow. And these were some of the highlights from our days together –

• Five kids - four girls & one boy
• Three adults
• One dog
• One cabin – The Reeve's Fishing Camp, "Where fishing is not so good & drinking is a hobby"
• One small lake
• Two boat rides
• Roughly ten dead animals hanging throughout the cabin including: deer, boar, raccoon, bobcat, black bear and fish
• Three waterfalls
• Dozen of tadpoles to catch in small puddles
• Two bumps on the head (both my niece, Erin's, incidents)
• One broken clay pot
• Six Band-Aids used for boo-boos
• Ten Yoo-hoos
• One snake under the kayak
• One bobcat (or some kind of large cat) being chase by a fox
• Three peach mojitos that were scraped from the kitchen counter
• Four bottles of wine to unwind in the evening
• One bottle of champagne for AM mimosas
• Zero fish caught by the kids
• Twelve Adirondack chairs
• One afternoon of rain
• Twenty-five blackberries picked
• One local art show in the tiny town of Mentone, AL
• Five sad kids when the trip was over

Easy Craft for a Summertime Accessory

We all get a massive amount of emails from retailers letting us know that today is the last day for an extra 30% your purchase. I usually mass delete those emails. Today, an email from The Gap caught my eye. It was a DIY for a summer tote (see below graphic for instructions).

I think this craft is super cute & easy. We all have t-shirt in our drawers that we like but just don't wear or might have a tiny hole in them. I have several so I picked one and spent a few minutes and created my own summer tote. I think I might try this with some of my kids t-shirt so they can have their own as well. Watch out beach, here we come!

Idea Credit: Gap.com. Critique of my handy work –  I would have cut the sleeves closer to the seam. It seems like now there is not a lot of room for anything to be stored in the tote. I also would have ironed the t-shirt before I start to ensure that I did get "clean" cuts.  I have a few jagged edges. I would cut the bottom strips smaller than an inch as well and knot them real tight. Would I carry this to be beach? Yeah, sure.

10 things I should have learned by now

1. Speeding doesn't mean you get to where you want to be any faster. 
2. Stretching works if you do it. 
3. Anxiety & worry are emotions that are never useful. Get rid of them. 
4. A super cute pair of shoes doesn't always equal comfort. 
5. Money doesn't buy happiness.
6. If you don't use "it" (you fill in the blank), you lose "it".
7. Watching TV is a waste of time.
8. Everybody is different and that's OK. 
9. There is truly no reason to stress over the small stuff. 
10. If don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. 

I could expand this list by at least another 20 items. I would love to get your list. What have you should have you learned by now?

Another year older

Dear McKenna,
Where did the time go? I cannot believe you are already turning three. You continue to amaze us with all the things you learn and so quickly. My sweet little girl. I wish I could freeze you at this age. You're curious, out-going, out spoken & stubborn. Happy birthday to you.
Love, Mommy

Do you think the stache is a good look?

I think it might be coming back in style. What do you think?

CSB - Cape San Blas

One of my favorite beaches resides in Florida. A small little cape that juts out between Port St. Joe & Apalachicola. As soon as we take the right turn from 30A to the cape, I'm immediately filled with relaxation. There's not much to do besides lay on the beach, build sand castles, go for walks, bike rides on the cape. The beaches are powdery white and the ocean can be as calm as a pool at times. The occasional dolphin or sea turtle sighting adds some excitement to a lazy day. I "heart" CSB. I'm so lucky to be able to walk on my favorite beaches at least once or twice a year.

Our trip over Memorial Day was with good friends and no kids. We had amazing weather, conversations, laughs, food & drinks. We even got to experience a beautiful, full rainbow during a gorgeous sunset.