The Journey [Is a Long One]

Dude, hoooooly driving..

Where the trip to South Carolina went off without a hitch, the haul back was quite the contrast:

Cons: There was so. much. traffic. 

There were detours.
Ignorance was running rampant on social media.
Thirteen. Hours. In. The. Car.

PROS: 
Woke up to the smell and sound of the ocean, palm trees and sand.
Tackled the journey with one of my best friends & her beau.
It was gorgeous weather the entire trip.
North Carolina bartenders will make you a specialty Wedding Tea, if you ask!
Plenty of time to peruse and reflect on photo reels from the weekend.
Finished reading City of Bones (now on to City of Ashes!)
Took a stand against ignorance and self-made bigot #forthewin #saynotowestborokids

Traveled back through the 5 states: SC, NC, TN, KY & OH! 

Returned to my family: Rob, Syd & the Pups!

I'm... tired. Like, beyond tired. Today was a gorgeous day, and while I'm here blogging, the newlyweds should be well on their way to their Caribbean honeymoon. I'm so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful weekend, and can't wait to see the pictures!! 

Love, love & sleepinginmyownbedyesssssss... 

xo | cmd 

Labor Day Lake Loungers

Labor Day Weekend, Day 2.

As expected, we spent another day on the water. Dillon's dad lent us the pontoon for the day, and we cruised our way out to the middle of the lake in Holiday Shores, where we anchored down with several of the other lakers for an afternoon of floating and friends.

There are some pretty fun people out here, and I'm glad we got to spend a day with them! Once we were off the water, we loaded up and headed just down the road for some grub.

Don't judge me; I've already accepted the fact that I shouldn't eat these, but I've also accepted that I really don't care. ;)

this is the.. third time this weekend that i've had these..
this is the first time ever, that i've had them served in a dog bowl. 

Haha. Oh well.

Tonight was the perfect end to a Sunday, even though it feels like Saturday since we're not leaving until tomorrow. We parked ourselves on tailgates and chairs in the driveway for what seemed like hours, just talking and watching some Supercross, before friends started dispersing and we called it an early night. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels the demand of this whole getting old thing.. ;)

G'Nite!

xo | cmd

LBYC & London Bridge

We've been talking about going for a visit down to the Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club for a while now. The last time I was there was back in 2008, when we celebrated Jamie's birthday and had no idea what the LBYC really was. Oops.

lbyc!

We finally made plans with Becky to do dinner and decided LBYC would be the venue. We even brought along the same Whispering Beard coozie just because.. well, just because our minds both function that way. Hah.. 

becky!

Kalyn & Brian joined us soon after, and we made a little crowd of it all.

awh.

& of course, my best friend ♥♥

After LBYC, Becky called it a night and headed out. Kalyn, Brian, Rob and I were left with a decision on where to round out the night; we opted for the London Bridge back in Mt. Washington. The Bridge is exactly halfway between both Kalyn's place and ours, so it worked out perfectly; we could walk home from here had we so desired.

♥ this gal

That's a wrap, folks! We still have one more day before the official weekend, so it's time to call it.

xoxo.

G'Nite!

 

xo | cmd

IIIIIIIIT'S PARTY TIME!!

So just as I'd imagined, today was a blur. It started off with us loading up the gear for the next couple of days and me driving us up to Mt. Vernon. Rob made the off-hand comment that it was the first road trip we've taken together on which I did not need the GPS.  Ihad to laugh at that, but he's not wrong. First time for everything I guess? Hah.

We made it to good old MTV without much fuss at all. I have to stop & stress for a second just how significant today was, for many reasons. Most of my family came in for the weekend, from all over, as far out as Pennsylvania. Aunt Toni & Uncle Norman, Aunt Cindy & Uncle Gary, my cousins Steph, Mark & Tyler, my cousin Maricor & her girls Sophie & Madison, my nephew Jonathan, his sister Cynthia, her husband Brian and their girls Emmie & Hanny, and of course my parents and sister.  That's 14 adults and 4 children.. my family.. that Rob has never met...

...until today.
I felt so bad for him; he had every right to feel nervous walking into it all, even though he had no reason to. I know I would've been just as anxious if it were my first time meeting his family... in its entirety. However, just as I'd expected, my parents love him. As far as I can tell,  he's won the rest of them over, too. I know it took a lot for him to do this for me, but I wouldn't have brought him into it if I wasn't certain they'd like him. Big steps for us today, and I couldn't have been happier.

Back on track, it didn't take long at all to get started in on the birthday party preparations.  I made cake fondant for the first time ever today, and realized that.. well... I am not a baker. Haha. It wasn't awful but I definitely have some tweaks I'm mind for the next time I try this.

Fast forward to the bulk of today.. the party!!

Pictures, as usual [stay tuned for the rest of the collection!] (:

balloons

top: rob & brian [&their helper, miss sophie]
bottom: my uncle gary & my cousin mark

cousins! [madison. sydni. sophie]

cake & favors

nana & pappy ♥

candids!

my birthday girl!



the beautiful girls (:
madison. emmie. sydni

my one & only. i am heart over heeeeels for this guy.

pin the tail on rainbow dash [made by me!]

with my pretty niece cynthia 

"mr. rob, you be the birthday hat monster
& i'll be this pink pony" - sydni

in love over and over again with her...
happy birthday, my little [growing-way-too-fast] girl!!!

Today = Ahhhmazing.

Tomorrow is Syd's actual birthday. It's hard to wrap my head around it all but I'm working on it. (: What an incredible little girl I've got, and the perfect little weekend we've got going! ♡

Seeee ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Family Christmas, Take 2

First things first: Saw one of my favorite hometown friends from waaaaay back, for the first time in a few years. The last time we saw each other was over another Christmas break, probably 2006 or 2007? He lives in California now and only visits periodically; this was long overdue and the stories were even funnier now looking back. Gut busters. Love you, friend... and so proud of all the big things you're doing out in L.A.! [Had to add this one for old time's sake, too .. haha.. don't hate me Sheff.]

circa 2003 | circa 2012
so good to see you, clark!

Once Sheff & I said our goodbyes for what'll probably be the next 6 years, I headed back to the lodge to get ready for my sister and her family coming over.

Here's the gist of how that went. Enjoy!


hi, sister!

newphew jonathan & dad having a jam session...
.... while we watch sound of music in the background. typical (:

my mom. love her.
.. in case you wondered where i get my quirks ;)

sweet girls! my great-niece emmie & monster... aka, sydni ;)

musical kids! [we start 'em early!]

mom. corin. heidi. | love... my...family.

I love my family.
Go & love yours, this Christmas.

xo | cmd

Celebrate Family!

my sister!

I get that this holiday weekend was built on the foundation of the holiday itself: Memorial Day.
I am in no way, shape or form trying to detract at all from the gravity of what tomorrow represents.
I am saying that because of the extended weekend, we are here, visiting family, and for that I am celebrating. I love my family, and I was given a quick reminder today that they are just as incredible as they've always been, and that it's only getting better.

For example:  My daughter alone is growing like an outta control weed - she's developing into her own faster than I can follow, and I love it. My husband has since left the Air Force and re-joined the world of auto glass. My sister's family is blooming into this band of musically and artistically talented souls who continue to impress me every time we're together. My great niece Emmie will turn four this year. My parents are remodeling their kitchen. My cousins' kids [my 2nd cousins] are in their mid-20's now. Where is time going???? Holy smokes.

emmie & sydni ... strategy meeting. haha

Anyway, these types of holidays are typically fail-proof in bringing all of us together in one spot at the same time. I say that we're all scattered; that's halfway true. I think I say it more-so just because we are now the ones living remotely. The bulk of my family is located within a 20-30 mile radius of each other. With the exception of us, and my cousins in PA, the majority of the family is back in Ohio. I said all that to say that while the drive can be a little tedious, it is totally worth it to have even just one weekend with my family.

mom outdoing herself yet again!

syd & lola

It didn't take us long at all to get right into the swing of things; Cynthia & Brian brought not just Emmie, but their little puppy Lola, too. It was about 10 whole minutes before Sydni had assessed the little fuzzball as a non-threatening situation, and for the rest of the evening made herself Lola's personal babysitter. Since they were just about the same size - we'll say proportionally-balanced - it was pretty funny watching her tote Lola around all afternoon, everywhere she went. The dinner table, water balloon fight, and campfire were no exceptions. I think she wants one. Hmm. Not gonna happen, not just yet.

water balloon prep..... the dry phase..

Oh, and we had a full blown water fight that stemmed from my mom's idea for an innocent water balloon toss. We warned her that this would spiral out of control; she didn't believe us, but I think she realized it when the water balloons started flying, then the buckets came out, then the hose itself, along with some squirt guns intended originally for just the kids. Needless to say, by the end of it, we were all soaked to the core. That's right, I love my family. :)

kiddies all dried off :)

After we'd swapped all of our sopping wet gear for dry clothes, wiped off all of our runny makeup and tied up stringy hair, we made haste with it to get the fire pit started up for some s'mores & such.. because really what is a family shindig without gooey, chocolatey marshmallow sandwiches?? Duh. :p

marshmallows. this is a science around here....

fire! 

roasting with mini :) 

It's been an incredible weekend. I love my family, and I appreciate so much having the time to come and spend with them. We head back tomorrow to IL; it's gonna be another couple of months before we're back up this way; that makes it all the more perfect to have this time when we can.

I.
AM.
SPENT. 

Time to get some sleep and put my drivin' eyes in. See ya tomorrow. 

xo | cmd

Holiday Picnic!

In my opinion, the best way to spend a holiday is with the people you love. I wish Joe’s family had been able to be a part of the weekend celebration; they are my family now, too, and I love ‘em. Here at my parents’ house, we were joined by my sister & her family, my cousins, a few close family friends, and the first pastor that I can clearly remember. It was a blast, as usual.



cornhole | sister&family| couples | pastor chuck & darryl

my love | my mama's cookin' | beautiful sister | daddy&syd

fetch! | sydni | emmie | babies with water buckets

bathtime girls | sydni's sparklers | sparklers | imitating mama



 Happy Holiday!

xo | cmd