Insta Friday

I have really sucked at blogging lately.

I know.

 It's hard in the summer.

 I get so busy doing things that I don't have time (energy/motivation) to blog about them.

 

Then so much time goes by I wonder how much time is too much time to let pass 

and still blog something...

like when you don't tell a friend they have something in their teeth right away...

if you wait too long it's like you missed your window...and gets awkward.

You know exactly what I mean here...right?

Whatever.

I've lost my blogging momentum.

Hopefully it will come back with the normalcy and routine of the school year.

I am craving that normalcy and routine lately.

That's my M.O.

Love the heck out of a season the first 3/4 of it,

then I'm over it and ready to move on the last quarter of it.

Right now Fall and school can't get here fast enough.

Let's catch up via Instagram pics like we are BFF's and all this time hasn't passed.

We all know how I have a love affair with the Farmer's Market every year.

But it is just that much better when you discover the vintage soda stand.

Ice cold soda and kettle corn are what summer is all about.

Girlfriend went to a princess dance camp with a good friend.

I truly can't get over a kid in dance attire.

She looks so innocent and sweet...which is hilarious because she is actually

really loud and bold 

and tends to plow into things like a bulldozer rather than a graceful ballerina.

AJ, Brody, and I hiked The Rock while Abby danced her little heart out at dance camp.

It was fun to just have some time with the boys, and it was a good little hike for a kid.

I survived the 90 degree weather with a 20 pound baby strapped to my chest. 

Then we picked up cousin Taylor from the airport.

That girl has a special place in all of our hearts.

We went to my fave fabric store, and she picked out these fabulous fabrics for her first quilt.

Love that she has a passion to learn to sew and quilt.

That girl is already such a positive force in this world.

She is smart, compassionate, driven, responsible.

She looks at a situation and jumps in where she can be most helpful without being asked.

She pays attention to detail.

She sets her mind to something and goes after it with such conviction.

She values family connections.

She has an adventurous spirit balanced with wise intuition.

She loves to have fun and works hard.

She is going to rock a successful life.

We could be sisters with these identical smiles.

We went to the Carnival when she was here.

We do not miss the Carnival.

It's a summer must every year.

We all dressed like cows for a free lunch at Chick-Fil-A with good friends.

We were quite the herd.

It wasn't crazy at all with 5 adults and 7 kids dressed like cows at lunch hour.

We celebrated AJ's 6th birthday with a Lego party.

If you are local, I have an amazing cake lady.

Email me for her info.

We may have rented a gigantic inflatable water slide with an obstacle course that was as tall as our house and barely fit in our backyard.

Go big or go home...right? 

We may have broken all the rules going down it after the kids left.

I may have bruises all down my right leg as a result.

The adults may have had as much fun as the kids.

mahaha

We went up to Winter Park...

rode the alpine slide, climbed a rock wall, saw beautiful waterfalls, 

and bought two pounds of salt water taffy.

Then we loaded the kids up in the swagger wagon and drove nearly 11 hours 

through Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas to Oklahoma.

Oooook-la-ho-ma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains!!!!

I can't say Oklahoma with belting out those lyrics.

In Oklahoma (where the wind comes sweeping down the plains)

it is like 5,000 degrees every day, all day...

so we went swimming 

a lot

and drank some cold Oklahoma dessert wine.

We ate amazing Mexican food 

and drank Sangria Margaritas as big as my head.

AJ lost one of his front teeth.

We went to Medicine Park, ate fried pickles & cheese sticks,

swam in the lake...river...green water, and indulged in some fabulous homemade ice cream...

because it is 5,000 degrees there all the time.

We went to museums at Fort Sill.

We drove up Mt. Scott.

We had some more dessert wine and the mustaches came out.

Then we loaded back up in the swagger wagon and drove home.

Where Andy surprised me with this fabulous treat!

Then I started freaking out that school is closing in on us 

and went out and got school supplies, school clothes, and new tennis shoes for the year.

Dang.  Starting school is expensive.

Theses were on the supply list as far as I am concerned.

If you are a coconut and chocolate fan add them to your grocery list now.

You can thank me later.

Oh and my kid that couldn't make the /th/ sound with his front teeth lost his other front tooth.