14.5 On A Sunday

If you're as lucky as I am, then your morning starts out with rehearsals that are both productive.. and fun. And did I mention we are thrilled to have Holby back?! Seriously, it wasn't the same without him. Obviously: 

Speaking of Holby, we love that Chad also tasked him with announcements this morning. As you can see, Chad handled it rather well:

when chad starts second-guessing his recent decisions ;) 

I've said it before and I'll say it a hundred times more, this group is one of the best there is, and I'm so, so stoked that I get to share life with them.

I was also pretty pumped that today was so gorgeous! We did lunch with the Ricks after church and then headed home to veg out for a couple hours before strapping up the bikes for a quick ride at Lunken.

ready, set.... go!

done and done and my quads were so mad... ;) 

It's January and the path was full of people - I couldn't have asked for more! My poor legs might beg to differ, but it felt good to switch up the cardio and give my quads a little something to complain about later (aka tomorrow). 

We made it back just in time to grab dinner and rendezvous at the Ricks' house for the quarterly budget meeting, then back home to wrap up the night. Oh, and Jess - now that golden milk is a staple in my house, you're welcome to come by any time and steal some ;)

things of a sunday night

Kind of a hodge podge day, but that's what keeps it interesting, right? 

Tomorrow's a brand new work week, and I'm ready. Are you? 

xo | cms

Girls.. Just Wanna BIKE, EAT & REDBOX

I really thought it was 1pm and that we still had to stain a deck when I woke up today. 

nope. 

And don't get me wrong, I was all the way down and ready to do some staining, but the sun was so bright at 9am that I thought it was well into early afternoon. Fortunately, it was early, and with the rain yesterday, there was no way we'd be doing any type of stain work today. 

INSTEAD, we opted to go for a bike ride! 

I didn't bring my bike, but fortunately, Jenn's parents have a few spares, so Nikki and I took up the offer and we were on our way in no time. I did end up with the taller bike, but major kudos to Nikki for wanting to try it! 

^ Nik, we weren't laughing at you... I mean.... ok, yeah, we were, but it was hilarious and you are a trooper for even wanting to do that! 

The ride in was beautiful, and although it was 16 miles each way, the ride itself was mild.

covered bridges :) 

We arrived in Yellow Springs, in the middle of a street vendor Saturday - these are my favorite, and I had to admit I didn't know YS had weekends & shoppes like it does! 

yellow springs, oh

merch & shoppes... & nikki! 

We ordered food, stopped at the brewery and then got ice cream.

And we justified each of these things with having ridden the 16 miles to get there, and the fact that each of us had done some version of a workout circuit in the past 24 hours. Haha..

pizza. brew. ice cream. #saturdaynotsorry

And Yellow Springs is especially dog-filled.

... and obviously i will. pet. all. the dogs. 

We finished up in YS and made our way back to Beavercreek - a slightly different but still beautiful little ride.

Jenn and I met up with Mikey for dinner and then decided that we were absolutely not doing a daggone thing after that. 

yes.

Well, maybe something, if an impulse trip to the store to buy snacks immediately following dinner.. counts. It counts. It totally counts. 

snacks, wine, redbox.
.... i mean.... 

Because we thought it'd be a good idea to sob ourselves into Saturday night... 

the shack

^ Holy crap, Sam Worthington... so many feels. 

Whew. Happy Saturday, loves!

xo | cms

'Tis The Season for Froyo & Cheetah Helmets!

I could only describe my attitude today as Senioritis. Remember that? That feeling we all [well, if you're an old hen like me] had way back when we were still in school and the end of the year was so close we could taste it? 

Yeah, so that was me today. I have no reason to feel that way, since I'm a grown up human with grown up responsibilities and a grown up job that doesn't go on summer break. It made no sense to feel like that today, but the fact that I did accomplish several things spoke enough to say that I somehow made it through the way I imagined a more adultier adult would've done it. So... yay! 

On the other hand, I took Sydni out on a mini date after school today and she gave me, in two pictures, the exact explanation I needed to describe how I felt all day today - the left is me on the outside, and the right is me on the inside. Like.... all day. 

life story... haha

We really need to come to Orange Leaf more often... not just because it's delicious, but because there's some pretty legit tokens of wisdom coming out of this place.. hah...

#preach

Back at home, we took to the street to pedal and jog off some of that froyo. Did I forget to mention we picked up a cool bike helmet on the way back today? Because that happened, too, and it made for an even merrier afternoon on the bike. Mama got to meet some of the neighbors, too, which was added a little extra flair to the experience.

little rider 

Rob came home and immediately took to the garage, where the vertical storage project continued. I truly wish I had a picture of the garage before we started sifting through the piles of stuff we've had in there for the past couple months since we moved, but he's definitely brought the potential out of that space. In just a few more weeks, I suspect we may actually be able to park one of our cars in there. 

Say whaaaat? Park a car in the garage? ;) 

I know, I know.. just kidding, babe. The garage is looking incredible, and I will wait as long as we need to! 

in progress! 

It's a good night for this little family :)
See you tomorrow!

xo | cmd

School Supplies & Bike Training

This week is flying right on by. I keep telling myself I'm "getting ready for summer," only to realize that "Summer" is running circles around me as I try to rationalize how it's already almost August.

As if that wasn't enough, here's a fun fact from today: 

SYDNI AND I WENT SCHOOL
SUPPLY SHOPPING. 

already?!?! 

i can't handle it. 

Sooooo..... Don't mind me as I sit here at the end of my day wondering how in the world time has gone by this quickly: Between school supply shopping for first. grade, the fact that she's got her first wiggly tooth, and the idea that within a few hours' time, she'll probably be riding this sucker solo... 

training wheels are gone! 

I just... I don't know. Am I the only one who wants time to slow down??

kiddo, you're the best.. 

Syd, you have no idea how much we love you, and how much fun it is to walk this walk with you. I hope you had fun today picking out all the school supplies for first grade, and that you know how great you'll be at riding your bike!

Happy Thursday, loves :) 

xo | cmd

My Family.

Sydni and I ended up crashing at Becky's last night while we were waiting on our laundry to finish up [still working on deciding what kind of plug-to-wall adaptation we're going with for the dryer at our house], so this morning we were up early, laundry folded and out the door. Back at home, we tidied up some and relaxed until Nana & Pappy [aka, my parents] arrived.

Mid morning, the knock at the door came, and I hugged my parents for the first time in six months. It was awesome. Mom of course came bearing an entire cooler of food for a picnic, so after the mini tour of the new digs and a breather from the drive, we loaded up and headed for Eden Park for a picnic and an open agenda.

It was the perfect day for a picnic. We made it up the hill to EP and found a great shady spot under a tree for lunch. Sydni got some bubbles from Nana & Pappy, so we took our time playing on the overlook, blowing bubbles, and later playing in the miniature waterfall at the duck pond.

Picture tiiiiiime (:

mini in the park!

dad ♥

mom. syd. me (:

 

syd & the greatest man to ever be there for her.. pappy!

we found some wildlife (:

i love this picture.. | syd with nana & pappy

After our romp in the park, we decided to walk down the hill to the Krohn Conservatory for the annual butterfly exhibit. This is one of the gems of Cincinnati that's fun every couple of years to see. My first time was back in 2008 with Catie, and today was much like that, just with many more butterflies than I remember. The signs indicated 12,000 butterflies. That's a lot of butterflies. Sydni spent nearly half an hour trying to catch a butterfly on the little card they hand out, one landed on her head and sent her screaming. Too funny.

butterflies everywhere!

another waterfall...

another great picture w/ nana & pappy

my. love.

We decided that was enough fun for one day, so we headed back to the house and got Sydni settled in for a nap. A long nap. That gave me a chance to talk to my parents. Actually talk... to my parents. It's been a very rocky road, this whole "transition," as we'll call it, and since most of it was done over the course of moving from two states away, there was very limited availability of having a face-to-face with my parents. Talk about overdue.

couldn't have said it better. 

I can't begin to explain how grateful I am for what happened today; I'll admit my nerves were in defense mode and I was uneasy about approaching the subject of my moving on, in specific regards to my relationship. Fortunately, before the whole weekend started, Rob reminded me that everything would be okay, and reminded me to be open. It's no secret that I'm about as good at verbalizing my heart as I am at operating on one, so it was with caution but deliberate focus that I let piece by piece of myself unfold to my parents. Honestly, candidly, and unabashadly. It was liberating. I'd underestimated their response, more specifically their genuine support. Rob was right; everything is okay.
Once the monster was up and stirring from her nap, we squeezed in a bike ride before dinner. Dad ran out to grab a few things and Mom and I finished up the end of our conversation, in a mother-daughter heart-to-heart. Did I mention how grateful I am for my family?

biking with nana!

And then....
Dinner at Main Street Cafe!

dinner fun with nana & pappy ♥

We really didn't waste any time finding our groove, and although it's only 9:30, we're all pretty spent. We're settled on the couch watching a movie with Sydni, and I couldn't ask for a better moment with my family.

See you tomorrow (:

xo | cmd