Birthday Dinner

Ah, there is nothing like a nice night out with good friends and good drinks! Amber and Mary met me at PF Changs for a birthday dinner, and we shared the most amazing meal. Calamari, lettuce wraps, sesame chicken....my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. And the drinks were so good we keep reminiscing about them. It really was a perfect night. Good conversation that kept flowing, belly laughs til your eyes water, deep conversations about life-before we knew it it was past 11:00 and the rest of the tables were empty. It was a lovely celebration of my 29th birthday.

The next day we met Chris and Andrea at Ted's, and the kiddos loved seeing each other. Another perfect meal, and a lovely end to my 29th birthday.





I swear the started holding hands by themselves!

The Giggles

God, how I love that sound!

Happy Birthday to me

29. Yes, I am one step closer to being out of my 20's. The 20's were so good! I am reluctant to leave them behind, but counseling myself with the fact that the older I get the more in tune to myself and my needs I get. Every year has been better and better, so bring on the next 29!

What a weekend

Whew, our fall is jam packed with busy weekends. Between my birthday, Charlotte's birthday, weddings, and other fun activities, we are all booked up!

We started out our weekend by going to Jack Johnson on Friday night. Obviously Bryce and I are big fans as I have quoted his songs many times on here. He hasn't been in Atlanta for years, so as soon as we heard tickets were on sale we jumped at the chance. We definitely should have known better than to try and work all day then go to a concert on a Friday night. Traffic was AWFUL! The pouring rain slowed everyone down to a crawl and it took us forever and ever to get to Lakewood, then even longer to find a place to park. One of the parking lots was flooded, so we ended up parking in the woods. Literally, people were directing traffic off road in the woods. We rushed to the venue with our hearts pounding thinking we must have missed most of the show by the time we got there, but the timing turned out to be perfect. We walked right up to a beer stand, found a nice quiet place to sit (as in, away from all the drunk teenagers who could NOT handle their alcohol!), and not two minutes later Jack came out. We missed all of the opening act, but we didn't even know who they were! We paid for Jack Johnson, and we ended up getting to see all of his show. It was a miracle! Were we soaking wet? Yes. Were we cold and kind of hungry? Yes. Was it an even more endearing show dancing in the rain and huddling up to keep warm? YES! Such a good show.



Saturday we woke up feeling the aches and pains of sitting on the ground in the freezing rain (me with a sore throat and Bryce with a sore back) and got ready to see Bryce's cousin get married. It was a really sweet outdoor ceremony with really beautiful decorations.














Sunday we went to my favorite restaurant-Pappasitos to celebrate my birthday. This is the fist year I actually feel older! I don't know what it is, but I actually feel my age this time around.....

Kitchen Helper

Charlotte Lee loves to help in the kitchen. If she is ever fussy or irritable, we've just got to find something to cook to get her back in the right mood. She is very patient and loves to stir!

Wordless Wednesday

First week back

The first week back has been an interesting one. This is my seventh year teaching (Bryce's eighth!) and it is the first year that I was more anxious about everything I had to get done in only three planning days than about meeting my kids. I feel good about my subject and my ability to handle what the kids throw at me.
The first week back for Charlotte was tough. I got her up every morning and get her dressed with her eyes closed. When we go into the bathroom to brush her teeth and her hair she finally starts to perk up and always has a cute comment about what I'm wearing. (Oh, mommy has pretty earrings!). Then we put her shoes on and I give her a kiss so I can get out the door. That is when the whining usually starts. Some of the toughest words I have ever heard is "No, Mommy no go to work today". I wish baby girl, I wish.
As soon as Bryce has her in the car she is talking non-stop about the school buses, breakfast items, and all the fun she will have at Mrs. D's house. We got her a new pair of tennis shoes and she is in love with them. She talks about them all the time. Every time we go into a store she has to touch all the shoes, she is definitely an accessory girl.
Mrs. D said life has been good during the day. The kids are a little sleepy at first, but eating good, sleeping for their naps good, and happy when they are picked up.
The first week is behind us, only 175 more school days to go!


The obligatory "first day" picture. She's giving me the same look I used to give my Mom!


We always celebrate the first day (or reward ourselves for making it through...) at Brusters.


She kept saying "Strawberry, yum!"

Summer Recap

Woke up late (around 8:00) every morning:



Caught up on our snuggle time:


Played with the doggies every day:


Had some fun in the sun:




Ate lots of yummy food:




Enjoyed soooo many Popsicles!







Woke up the next day to do it all over again. Oh, summer days. I will miss you so!

Back to school blues

The beginning of the school year is always the hardest. Every year I say "We're going to go to bed early and wake up early for a week before school starts so we can get used to it" and then the week before school starts I say "This is my last week to SLEEP!". Seriously, there are so many things I miss during the school year. Time to read (oh, how I love to read!), time to relax at the pool (it's so crowded on the weekend!), time to be with Charlotte and Bryce ALL day without a million errands to run because you've been at work all week, and time to SLEEP. This morning came so early. I've got the back to school blues. Hopefully once I meet my new students some optimism will color my world once again.....