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

She Loves - Series Day 7: Stay & Rest

Psalm 9:1 - Under His wings you will find refuge. [NIV]

So I'll admit, we're only 7 days into this and I really didn't feel particularly drawn to any immediate correlation for this verse and my life, at least today. That's not to say there never has been, but that's the reality of scripture - while it is wonderful, there will be times when specific passages just don't speak to you in that Richter scale kinda way.

And I believe that's okay. I believe it's normal, and natural, because if we force something to fit, it's not authentic. So yes, I believe today's verse is without question an indisputable declaration, and I have in fact sought out the exact type of shelter it's referencing. I've been so broken that I thought I'd never find my way back to willingly getting out of bed the next day, and as much as I'd love to say I was resilient on my own accord, that's not the case.

But today, many miles later and in between valleys, I can say that I read that and smiled at being reminded of it, but didn't feel the deep sigh as though I had desperately needed it.

Today, at least. And I am thankful for that .

I do however have a praise to share! Tonight was the first night for me and Sydni [disclaimer: yes, I realize I just created grammatical treason; I did it on purpose ;)] to go together to the SonRise peace center to fill bags for our church's backpack ministry. I had major proud mama smiles as we made our rounds through the line. We talked about what we were doing, and that these bags are for kids just like her, but who perhaps wouldn't get to eat anything yummy on the weekends outside of the school cafeterias. I've said it before but I'll say it again - this little girl's heart is bigger than the ocean is wide sometimes, and it was everything we could do tonight to keep her from literally running through the person in front of her - she wanted to fill 'a thousand bags, Mom' so that 'no kids get hungry this weekend!' < GOSH.♥

be.still.my.heart.

 After backpack, we headed home, where Mare & Derrek met us after their day gallivanting around Cincinnati with Cooper.

cooper!
[& stella's waggy butt :p]

We grilled out, spent quality time as a happy household of young and adult humans and dogs, and finished up the night huddled under blankets in the basement watching Captain America: Civil War.  

[minus rob, stella & syd]

Perhaps you stumbled here looking for some eloquent parallel around this verse; I'm sorry I may have disappointed there, but that should not miniaturize at all the promise behind it. If you really did need that today, then I encourage you to go and read it on your own, and pray for open eye and heart for how you might be drawn to related scripture and let it speak to you in the way that you need. 

We were happy to host our traveling friends tonight, and although I am NOT saying our home would never equal the refuge God provides, I can hope it did prove a humble place for them to rest, if in no other way than literally. 

I hope you find rest throughout this week, whether it's serious or not. Breathe, pray, give thanks. Repeat. 

Happy Midweek! 

xo | cmd

Suicide Squad

Confession: I do love some Harley Quinn. I can't say that I was an avid Batman comic reader in my earlier years, nor am I really now, but I do love comics in general. And NO, I haven't chosen sides or any particular allegiance to DC, Marvel, Capcom, etc. Whatev.

But yeah, Harley Quinn... she's just fun.

There was the time that Jessica and I took on Batman villians and Harley was where I landed:

harley quinn & poison ivy

Margot Robbie nailed this character [I think]:

Add caption

The rest of the cast did their thing, too..

yes.

And why are we not talking about Jai Courtney? Or are we, and I'm just not savvy to it? Seriously, this guy's super talented. And funny. And 'Oh thaaat's who that guy is!' - is kinda what I said when I saw this, too. 

jai courtney

This movie really wasn't what I'd expected, but it was good! I couldn't tell you exactly what I was expecting, really, but it wasn't this.. haha. I'll prooooobably watch this again, several times later on when it's out, though. JS. 

WHEW. It's the WEEKEND, Y'ALL. 

Hal - Le - LUUUUU - JAH! 

xo | cmd

HOOK! [Now & Then]

This post has nothing to do with my life, but literally everything to do with a part of my childhood:

This. Movie.

Yep. That's the case of HOOK, reunited after 25 years.
Oh, Dante Basco. 

Be still, 6-year-old me. 

To The Chive: Thank you for sharing this collabo with the world, and me... :D

I think that's a sufficient dose of nostalgia for now. I loved this, and I hope any of my other 80's babies out there who have a special place in their heart for this movie like I do. 

I'm keepin' it light today. Enjoy the week, loves! 

xo | cmd

Off Kilter

Today was weird for me.

I didn't sleep exceedingly well following the rather emotional day yesterday, so I woke up today with this fuzzy feeling of sleepiness, mixed with a subtle sense of emptiness, and to top it off, cramps. Happy Saturday, y'all. To boot, Sydni ran in the room and bounded onto the bed like a bull in a china shop and kneed me right in the temple. At 8:30am.

Teeeeeriffiiiiic... haha..
But there are worse things, I know.

Even so, while Rob knuckled down and disappeared into the garage & driveway for the better part of the day, I remained inside, teeth brushed but really no other progress than that, finishing up wedding invitations and some of the other miscellaneous housekeeping things.

things i do on days like this..... :o|

And I watched a Lifetime movie [that's when you really know that you're in a funk]. These things just need to run their course; there's no need to fight them. Haha.

Soon enough though, just as I expected it to, the haze lifted and I started coming back to myself, in small fragments, until I was ready to rally the team and have a family outing to tear us all away from the house for a few hours.

this fancy little dinner doll.. 

my love, my best friend ♥

Dinner at Paxton's was a fun outing for the three of us, but it was immediately trumped by dessert next door. If you've never been to Loveland, you'll want to visit Paxton's. And if you're visiting Paxton's, you'll want to stop by Loveland Sweets before or after that ;).

loveland sweets ♥♥

Sydni made the joke, "MOMMY. Tell Nana I ate ALL THIS CANDY... "

She followed that up with, "Just kidding, Mom. She would have a heart attack." Hahahaha.. 

She's right, but the fact that she thought up that joke, knowing my mom (aka Nana) the way she does, she certainly proved that she got her Pappy's wit & jabby spirit, and knows a good jab opportunity when she sees one ;). 

All in all, not a bad way to end an otherwise iffy day. I'm still rattled by yesterday, but it's just that much more perspective to prove to me that my life is pretty good & I am very, very blessed. 

Good night & Happy Saturday, blogbots ♥

xo | cmd

Mondays are for Movies!

We only kind of planned to do it, but I'm glad we did. 

This: 

... plus this: 

= one happy little trio of a family and a heart full of little 3D baby Dory giggles all the way home. 

Oh, and if you haven't seen this yet, go see it in 3D. 

And sit like... no more than 10 rows back.
'Nuff said. 

xo | cmd

ALI's HERE!

It was too late last night when Ali arrived to do mich of anythddng other than a quick catch up before bed. Knowing we wanted to take full advantage of today made it that much easier to find sleep wirhout delay.

Today = bright and early start in the house, complete with homemade breakfast, compliments of Ali and me! We pulled out all the stops and produced a full spread, including pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and toast. I mean, we had a full day of fun planned out!

First stop: The 513 City Flea! One of my favorite Washington Park events to frequent at least once or twice each season, even if I walk away with nothing but the receipt for a Street Pop long-ago devoured. 

gosh you're pretty, washington park... 

The Summer City Fleas mean that the splash pad is in full operation, and if we're being honest, it was only because our parents taught us manners that prevented every adult in the park from joining their kids running through the course of water jets.

summer splash pad!

i mean.. she's thinking what we were all thinking today #95degrees

Ali and I managed to drag her out of the fun for a twenty-second selfie opportunity, a decision that was apparently eqivalent to asking for her to walk a lap around the planet [huffy puffy!].

the girls! 1st take, nailed it! 

We trekked over to Findlay Market for lunch, which afforded each of us the vendor to satisfy our cravings. Becky's newest initiative, Dirt: Modern Market, is in its soft opening stages, but we were able to check it out. Ali bought some custom jams, while Sydni had her own photo shoot outside.

my little mini market girl 

celebrating dirt! 

After Findlay, we headed home to drop Rob and Sydni, then continued on to REI, in search of Ali's first pair of Chaco's! It would've been a straight shot, but I took a scenic route and Coffee Emporium got in the way, like it does for me on many occasions.

We eventually made it to REI. It wasn't as fruitful as we'd hoped, but long story short, she's all set and Chaco'd up for a good while. 

We did so well on our venturing this afternoon that there was next to no rushing when we arrived back at the house to get Rob & Syd. We set off to the movie theater, where the Minions  3D experience awaited us.

minions 3D! 

We did a post-movie dinner at Logans nearby, and finally circled back tothe homefront to wind down.

Tomorrow it's church with Ali before she heads home, and then back to a brief bit of the reality that is the to-do list around here. 

What a beautiful day! Seeee you tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Family Fun Day!

Nana and Pappy are heeeeere!!
And Sydni's here, too! After her mini getaway with my parents, the three of them returned to our house today.

Before that, Rob and I were busy bees, running errands and cramming in some last minute tasks.

i got arrested.... [just kidding!!!] 

 ^ Meanwhile, at Wal-Mart [I mean, are any of us that surprised?] The poor couple of elderly ladies parked next to me had something or someone scrape the back corner of their car, damaging both the paint and the body work. :(

I wish I could've referred them to my next destination, where I met up with Rob and his boss Chip, where they were transferring a motor for Chip's boat.

boat motor! 

It wasn't long before all the errands were wrapped up and we were home, cleaned up and awaiting the arrival of Syd and my parents.

And then.. they were here!!

look at this little gardener!

Sydni was super excited to show Pappy her pumpkin plant, birthed after she and the kiddos "planted" pumpkin seeds last year. We thought it was just something fun for them to do while they were painting pumpkins at Halloween, but now we have an actual pumpkin and that's that. Oh well! :)

our pumpkin plant! :) 

syd & pappy ♥

It was past the halfway point of the day when the party started, so we did dinner at the house and then headed out to see the new Pixar movie, Inside Out. We all know that Pixar is notorious for making us all feel things, so when I saw this online, I couldn't help but share.. haha: 

truth! 

Ya'll.. this movie was a cute one. Not my favorite of the Pixar family, but still super cute! 

Sydni and Nana's favorite character [because would it be any other way?!]: 

joy!

It's been such a fun little family night, and tomorrow we'll have some more adventure time before Nana & Pappy return home. 

We are a happy little bunch tonight! ♥

xo | cmd