Recent happenings

Holy moly, things have been busy & active around here!  We've been both working hard & playing hard this summer and poof, just like that, we're a freaking week & a half from school starting!  This summer, break was cut by two weeks since they adjusted the end & start dates.  Boo!!

Mike's mom & sister came down for a much needed visit in mid-July.  The kids rarely get to see Auntie Erika so it was wonderful to watch them catch up & bond.  Cameron & Erika had a sleepover on their last night in town... so cute!

Not only was Grammy & Erika visiting, but Romie was also our house guest for the weekend!

Having guests is always fun because it puts us in tourist mode.  We hit the Thai temple in Tampa for a Thai feast on the river.. yum!

During their visit, the screen cage also got assembled!!  What a difference this makes for our pool area; it feels like a whole other extension of our house!

The kids did some whipped cream shooters!  I tried to be sneaky as I topped my Saturday morning coffee with whipped cream, but they sniffed it out like bandits!

It just so happened that Grammy & Erika's visit fell on the weekend we had planned to take a long weekend to Orlando.  Mike was contacted by Hilton to stay in a huge suite for 3 nights for only $100 if we sat in on a 90 minute time share spiel.   The room was amazing, it had a huge balcony that overlooked all the Orlando parks so we were able to watch some amazing firework shows sans crowds!

It never ceases to amaze me that we live less than an hour & a half from Disney!  I don't love going to the parks because they're so expensive & it's a million degrees outside at the moment, but I like hitting Disney Springs which we did twice while there.

Reese getting a hair wrap/braid at the pool!

We had Matt & Kelly over for a pool party the weekend before we left for Orlando & mentioned our trip.  We said, "man, I wish you guys could join us..."  They got online that afternoon & booked a room for a couple of nights!  So happy!

The kids (and adults!) have so much fun together so it worked out perfectly!

Love these kiddos!

I also recently changed my hair to a balayage/ombre look.  I may have gone a little too dark on top but I always err on the side of bold vs. bland!

This summer break we also hit the library for the first time (crazy, I know!)  The kids picked a slew of books & then probably ended up reading only one of them.  Sigh.  Summer has been busy!  It's going to be interesting getting back on track with bedtime, homework, etc!!