Beach Vacation--August

We drove to Orange Beach in August to spend some time at the beach. We took Jack to Galveston last Thanksgiving, but they had a freak cold front and we couldn't spend any time playing at the beach. We were so excited to take him this summer! He loved it! Like most kids, he liked the pool just as much. The kid loved jumping in the water and we let him do it without his puddle jumper. It was probably his favorite part of the trip. We have some great videos of this. On the way home we spent a night in Memphis and discovered a fun playground along the Mississippi River.

Riding the Ferry 

"Want a bite of cheese, Chase?" 

We're going on a crab hunt!

Beale Street in Memphis

Wish List

There is nothing like the holidays to get me motivated to blogging again. I hope to get around to posting about some big vacations we recently took. I love having this space to look back on, so I need to get with it and start posting more. I stumbled upon a blog that was hosting a Christmas wish list link up and then a stocking stuffer link up. I love looking at gift guides, so I perused through all the links and got some ideas of items to buy for the people in my life. I decided to make one of my own, even though I'm super late to the link up.

1. Bare Minerals Starter Kit in Fairly Light
2. Kendra Scott Drusy Earrings in Blue
3. Kendra Scott Drusy Necklace in Iridescent
4. Hunter Wellie Boot Socks, size M
5. Taylor Swift CD
6. Kate Spade watch

Travel Tips

I feel weird even posting something like this, because I never blog anymore and comments are rare now that we all read from our phones. But, I thought I would give it a shot. I've always turned to my blog for past travels and gotten great recommendations!

We are heading to Boston (with Jack) and Seattle (without Jack) for conferences and making vacations out of them in the next couple of months. Anyone have recommendations for things to do in Boston with Jack? Has anyone done a touristy duck tour? We are thinking that might be an easy way for us to see a lot of the city in a short amount of time with a toddler. Tours are around 65 minutes. I'm not sure we could do much longer with him.

What about Seattle? Any great brunch places? Anything we must see.

baby shower

I had so much fun putting together a baby shower for a coworker. Maghin's husband started residency two years ago and brought them to this city. We work closely together and have a ridiculous amount of things in common. I'm not sure how I would survive the daily grind without Maghin! I have been blessed to work with wonderful people in a great work environment for so many years.

She is due with her second child in August and has a little boy who is three. Claire's nursery is pink and navy with a few elephants scattered about. I love pink and navy, so it was an easy choice for her shower! I tried to keep things somewhat simple, so others in the office wouldn't think I was totally crazy. :) I had so much fun designing all of the paper items.

 

I snapped this picture before everyone had a chance to add their presents.

 

I had so much fun putting together my present for Maghin and Claire!

I couldn't commit to one design for notecards, so I included both.

the office

Now we just need baby Claire to arrive!

July 2nd

The day my sweet baby was born! I took the day off and planned some fun things for us. Last year, on his first birthday I went into his room when he woke up with a balloon and sang Happy Birthday to him. I wanted to make it a tradition and Jack loved it!

We started our day off by going to a berry farm to pick blueberries. It took awhile for Jack to decide to actually pick blueberries. He just wanted to run and go see the cows, but he eventually got the hang of it.

Sampling the goods!

Got a sour one!

As we were walking to the cash register, Jack picked up a big stick. Cooper, the dog, wanted the stick too! They played tug-of-war for a bit. 

Saying bye-bye to the big tractor!

Decorating birthday cupcakes

We snacked on a lot of blueberries. They were so good!

Sprinkler fun after naptime

I bought these beautiful candles at a boutique in Stillwater. A 2 for Jack and a C for my best friend's birthday, which is the day before Jack's. They are Tops Malibu sparkler candles.

Time for presents! You guys, I am beyond proud of the train table pictured below. This was a project I took on by myself and it turned out just like I wanted. 

Ended the day with a turquoise bath using fizzies, aka colored bath tabs that we gave him for his birthday.

My original present idea was an actual train table, but after deciding that it was just too big and would take up too much room I decided to make one that could slide under our couch and fit on top of our coffee table. I read a few tutorials on Pinterest and asked my Dad for advice. I got lucky and he had a piece of wood that he cut to my dimensions and my Mom brought it to me when she was up here visiting last. I debated on painting it green for grass and making a blue pond, but ultimately decided that I wanted something a little more classic. I used leftover stain from our front door, but first had to use wood filler to fill in a few spots. I taped off the road and used chalkboard spray paint. I bought a spray can of polyeurathene to protect the stain and wood glue to glue down the tracks. The tracks are Melissa & Doug. Jack had a small circular track, but whenever we played with it all he wanted to do was take it apart. I wanted to glue these down, so I wasn't having to constantly put it together. I used a chalkboard paint pen to make the white dashes on the road. Overall, it was actually a pretty easy project! Especially, since I'm not experienced at all with doing this type of thing!