August

Last Day of July

Monday

Weekending

Sunday

Saturday

Flower Share Friday

 

Another gorgeous Small Farm bouquet! 

Each one is always even more lovely than the one before it! 

And on top of it's beauty this one has a most delicious smell!  xo

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Happy Birthday, David!

Campers (One Final Time Together)

 

In which these three attend PL as campers together one final time! Wishing them the most fabulous week, but especially so for Grace and August as it is their last one as campers. Have an amazing time, y'all! xo 

At The (Little) Lost Kitchen

 

After camp pick up, Emma was off with her friend Garrett so Grace and I decided to take a road trip to The Lost Kitchen! TLK is not all that far from PL (about an hour) and they are open on Saturdays during the summer for shopping and lunch. The food was beyond amazing (easily the best friend chicken we have ever had!) and the grounds are simply stunning. Erin French was even in the kitchen prepping every order! If lunch is that amazing we cannot even begin to imagine what dinner there must be like. It was truly the perfect way to kick off Grace's birthday weekend! xo

My Current Readership!

It's wild to think that people are accessing my disseration for their research! xo 

 

Dear Future Emma….

I came across this when I was boxing up her Main Lesson books. It was too good not to share! xo

 

Gift of Knowledge

In which I clean out my side of our closet and create a box for each girl containing all their main lesson books from Kindergarten through this year. Hopefully we can fit a few more in Emma's box after her senior year next year! 

It's incredible to see it all together and realize that these bins contain their entire educational journey amd to consider that  each book was created by them with what they had learned each day of morning lessons each and every year. It was fun to look back and see the growth from little ones to now and to remember all the adventures and fun we had learning together! xo 

At Their Summer Home

In which the girls return to their summer home away from home for the next two weeks. This week has Grace as a counselor for the first time, and Emma as a second year CIT. I cannot wait to hear all their stories when I pick them up for an overnight in Freeport before dropping them back off for their week as campers (Grace's last). xo 

On This July 4th

 

One Final Graduation Picture

 

We wanted to do this grad picture trend with the girls' My Little Ponies but we couldn't find where I put them (or sadly I gave them away😭). If truth be known the Froggies were just as meaningful, if not more so, given that they have been with her her entire life.

Now, I have one year to find those ponies so we can use them for Emma's picture... xo

Spring Flower Bouquets

We have been loving our flower share from Small Farm! This is the first year that we have been part of their flower CSA but it surely will not be the last! Each week we pick up a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and each week the bouquet is simply stunning. Looking forward to seeing what the summer flower share brings! xo 

Officially Official!

Click here to learn more and download a copy of my dissertation (should you want to read it)! With the publication of my dissertation I am now officially done! What a wild ride the past four years were. I am glad that I have completed this terminal degree in my field. Now, I just wish I knew what I was going to do with it! xo 

Breakfast Toast Butterflies

 

In which I make the girls an adorble breakfast today. Though, I realized after I made Grace's (picture two) that I really should have turned the wings the other way). And yes, they might be almost nineteen and almost seveneteen-and-a-half but I couldn't resist (and knew they would love this)! xo 

On Summer Solstice

Fresh picked strawberries from the farm along with freshly made whipped cream and cream biscuits for dessert as is our Summer Solstice tradition! 

Wishing you a blessed and beautiful Solstice. xo 

NECC Staff Family Night At the Drive-In

In which we attend the second annual NECC Staff Family Night at the drive-in! It was an absolutely perfect (almost) summer night to be there. The food was yummy and the movie was fabulous!  Thank you NECC for holding this event again! We are looking foward to next year already. xo 

The Lighthouse Keepers

 

For David and my dad on Father's Day  Lighthouse Keepers indeed. xo 

"The Lighthouse Keeper" by Sam Smith (video below)

Build yourself a boat, babe

Make yourself a sail

Float into the ocean

To nowhere

Yeah, I see you looking

Looking for a sign

Praying for a beacon

So here's the light

My arms will be wide open

For the moment you arrive, arrive

When you set sail on your journey

And happiness is far away

Love will guide you till the morning

Lead your heart down to the bay

Don't resist the rain and storm

I'll never leave you lost at sea

I will be your lighthouse keeper

Bring you safely home to me

I will be your lighthouse keeper

Bring you safely home

Yeah, I see you're lonely

Going in alone

Fire up the engine

Stoke the coal

Floating on a feeling

Fighting with the tide

Hoping you'll be home for

Christmas time

My arms will be wide open

For the moment you arrive, arrive

When you set sail on your journey

And happiness is far away

Love will guide you till the morning

Lead your heart down to the bay

Don't resist the rain and storm

I'll never leave you lost at sea

I will be your lighthouse keeper

Bring you safely home to me

I will be your lighthouse keeper

Bring you safely home to me. 

Recital Day {Grace's Final One}

 

And just like that, Grace's time as a Center Stage student have come to an end. This recital was easily one of the best that the teachers at CSDS have put on this stage and I think that speaks volumns to their talent as well as the talent of the students (especially the high school students). It was an emotional day from start to finish, but especially when Grace took the stage for her self-choreographed solo and when all the members of the class of 2025 were together one final time. It has been an absolute joy to watch them grow up together as humans and as dancers. Best wishes to all the seniors as they move into whatever the next chapter holds for them! Go be great! xo