Soaking up the last weeks of summer

                        One of my longest friends, Melanie, came to visit me from Seattle.

We had a great time and I miss her already.

 

 

                            Friends at the park

              We took the kids to the local races.

              Ari is potty trained!! A day shy of 22 months, we started. She's been doing
              great. Such a big girl!

                 I had the idea of giving each girl at Lexi's birthday party a purse to decorate
                 instead of a goodie bag. However we couldn't find any purses. Jared came
                 up with the idea I break out the sewing machine my mom bought me last
                 December. I hesitantly agreed. 8 bags later...this is the result. Jared was a
                 huge help, too.
                 Each girl will get one bag with their first initial on it and gets to decorate it
                 with paint and buttons.
                 It was hard for me to spend time behind the sewing machine as the last time
                 was spent with my mom. After a few minutes of being sad, I felt a peace and
                 pride come over me. She is missed every moment, and thought of constantly.

                  We caved and let Lexi open her American Girl bitty twins early. She
                   has been asking for them for a long time now. As you can tell, she's
                   beyond thrilled!

                 
                   Soccer practice has begun. I can feel the freedom of summer slipping away.
                   Next week Lexi has her birthday/slumber party, soon after school begins,
                   which just so happens to be on her birthday this year. And in a few short days...
                   my and Jared's anniversary. Hard to believe it's been 12 years!