Goodbye, April!

Before I get on social media tomorrow and see the onslaught of this in many variations tomorrow:

You're welcome, in advance. :p 

I know I'm not alone in my disbelief... and slight terror.. that it's already the end of April. Because yeah, yesterday it was January and I've apparently spent nearly the first half of the year now preparing for the year. 

Ok, so that's not entirely true. I've accomplished a lot so far this year and that's a big deal. There's still plenty of time to accomplish even more, and I have a feeling that the first year of my 30's will be a chapter stuffed to the gills with new experiences and reasons to be grateful.

At work, I marked the start of a new month with a little revamping of my office space. I was due in for some updated pictures, so by careful selection, there were changes made!

At home, I celebrated the end of April by hanging out with my two favorite people in my little world; Rob & Syd. It was game night here at our house, which meant dinner [cooked by Rob!], followed by a typical Mama+Syd+Rob+Stella+Sasha night in at our house...

my hammock girl! 

I'd made a purchase for Sydni when she was almost 2, I think, when the movie Soul Surfer made its big debut and we watched it: I'd found a Soul Surfer-themed Bible at a bookstore and decided then that I would get it for Sydni for the day when she'd be able to use it. Granted that day is still perhaps a few more years ahead of us, she realizes now that this is hers, and knows full well the gravity and value of this book.

sydni got her Bible out tonight! ♥

reading to us ♥♥♥♥

Devo time as a family is where it's at, folks. There is no denying that.

The dogs seemed bored with our devo time, but also seemed to know that it wasn't the time to interfere as they usually would with three people just sitting in the living room. They kept their distance until we were done, and managed to entertain themselves for that short time:

these two... hahaha.. 

Finally it was time to get the board games out. Sydni originally wanted to have a throne for the night:

really, syd? 

She was easily coerced from her perch when we told her that she would lose to us in all the games if she couldn't reach her player piece, so she hopped right on down and joined us at the table for a grueling duel of wits in...... Candyland. Dora Candyland.

Can I just say how amazing it is to have a night like this with my family? I'm in love. Seriously.

I sat back and just marveled at the simplicity of my day today, and for the millionth time in the last couple weeks it seems, just felt full of love, gratitude and peace. Life is good.

Good night!

xo | cmd

I'm [About to Be] 12 Again...

Guys.

I'm 30. 

Over the span of the last 5-6 years, I've become increasingly aware that my once perfectly straight teeth are no longer formed to the mold they were when my braces came off in middle school. That's due to the fact that I never had a permanent retainer installed, and to top that, had some perfectly horizontal wisdom teeth stay in their place for far longer than they should have. Long story short, it's been time to check into corrective measures for a while now, and today was the day I took action. 

Well, the first step at least. 

nice poster.... 

I've got options, moving forward, which is good. I initially walked into that office with my heart set on committing to a plan of braces. I'm an adult who wants braces. I'm crazy, I know. However, when the orthodontist himself suggests Invisalign, you listen, because he gets paid the big bucks to know these things, and ironically, it's the "big kid" option that 99% of your peer group would choose if given the option. 

So we'll see. Stay tuned. 

pre-vball munchies! 

In other news, I met up with Rob after that at his shop so I could detail my car [much needed] before some sushi and eventually volleyball! Beth is back from her run of absences, so we were, for the first time in 3 weeks a full team of four.

we can dig it :)

pondering something... haha .. not sure what though.. 

Chalk up another 3 wins! We're on our way to a solid seat in the tournament. 

Oh.. Did I mention the game was at 10:00 PM? Yeah..... the schedulers hate us.. haha. 

my greatest supporter :) 

It's late. I'm tired. And sandy.

G'Nite, ya'll. 

xo | cmd

Findlay Yoga?!

It's not uncommon for Elisa and I to make Findlay Market our lunch destination, but today as we sat outside in the sun and enjoyed the day, we noticed a newly-painted window on the corner building adjacent to the front patio:

All I have to say is TELL ME WHEN, AND I'M THERE. 
I sent the picture to Becky for confirmation on this, and I'll be sure to share when I find out. :)

Ohhhhh... and guess what Rob and I did after work today?
We started wedding planning.... oooohhhhh...

#truth

Stay tuned for more on this; fortunately we've got plenty of time to nail our plans down. I know the time will fly by in that time, but I'm bent on walking into and out of that wedding with no debt or reason to freak out about the orchestration and execution.

Until then, have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow, dear blogbots!

xo | cmd

That Familiar "Monday After"

With our hearts in the right place, Marianne and I originally planned to begin our weeks with a 6am bikram class.

Instead, we both slept in until about 7:15am, and parted ways within about 10 minutes of that.

This was what she posted from the airport late morning:

Gahhhh...
I saw this post as well, that she posted on Thursday [I didn't see it until today], with an off-hand comment I'd made about our impending jaunt into the wild. The comments happened today, and with any luck, there will be follow through to this and Mare will wind up in Cincinnati. Like... for good. :)

hahaha

I don't know what it is about the first night in a real bed after a camping outing, but I honestly am starting to believe that I sleep better in a bag on a floor than I do in an actual bed. Even my own bed last night did nothing to soothe me, but rather kept me awake all night tossing and turning. It made for an interesting point of consideration as I dragged my tired, groggy self out of it this morning to head in for work.

Fortunately, Rob was off a little early, which meant he was in line to pick up Sydni from Milford. I don't know what I've done to deserve a man like that, but I am not complaining. I'm in a trance still, from this weekend. Nature does this to me every time, and I come back to reality wondering if there isn't something more I'm meant to be seeing out of my every day life.

For now, it's late, and we're tired. I've got my best friend and my mini at my side again and for that I'm grateful and content.

Here's to the rest of the week!

xo | cmd

Appalachian Trail, Ramsey Cascade Falls & A Smelly Ride Home!

Today was our last day of our mini getaway into the Smoky Mountains. That meant packing up and gearing Ernie for one more day of adventure and the drive home.

packed up... again

Off we set, in search of our day's adventure. We identified Ramsey Cascade Falls as our end goal, and after an hour jaunt in the car, we were winding down the gravel path towards the foot trail. We strapped on our day packs and were off on the 4ish mile ascent up the mountain to the falls.

more rivers! 

bright colors of the woods! 

hey, mare! 

subiendo, subiendo... subiendo y no bajando

orange spotted newt

We made it to the top, after a grueling network of rock steps, slippery tree roots and loose shale rock. 

nothing like this boost of confidence at the top.. :/

ramsey cascade falls - totally worth it. 

 Fortunately, we managed to get all of our photos done without any casualties.

friends :) :) 

just gracefully snacking..... yenno.. 

 

We breathed in our fill of God's gorgeous work at the top of this mountain. We sat with each other and did nothing but just listen and stare at the waterfall. We stayed there in that place together, yet silently still: isolated in our own internalized conversations with God. I wouldn't have traded that for the world.

And then the descent..

It couldn't have been a better day for a hike up to and down from the falls, and there's no two people I would've hand selected to spend that time with today, either.

We left the falls and captured a last reminder of the morning on the way out:

The laughable moments didn't end when we stepped off the trail for the last time this weekend; in fact, it continued from the moment we were back in our seats. Marianne and I traded spots for the trip into the city, and I decided it would be fitting to assume the role of my seat's previous occupant... and to own it.. haha.

i. am. marianne. 

We journied back into the commercial part of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, with a few stops before lunch. I suggested we stop off at NOC, which is the PF equivalent of REI. Always a good choice:

It was a fuel stop after that, during which we thought it fitting to capture Ernie in the aftermath of our excursion:

a successful day! 

Our last notable stop before the drive home was Starbucks - Let the fru fru drinks begin! My love-hate relationship with Starbucks continued; I can't drink their coffee because it's always so burnt, so I indulge in the fancier drinks on the rare occasions that I find myself there. I share a similar sentiment with both Becky & Mare, and today we learned that Mare's pseudo name is still a tricky one, even in its true classic nature:

"fankenstien" 

I'll let you decide what you think that should have been. Haha.

Fast forward through all the other stuff: Lunch at TR, then the 4ish remainder of a drive back to Cincinnati. We made it unscathed, and Becky's continued on to her place. Mare and I are both showered, which was desperately needed.. laundry is running and our bags are already unpacked for the most part. This is the super-accelerated version of an unwind.. hah.

We're spent. I'll be re-living this several times until the next outing, I'm sure.

Until then, good night blogbots - see you in the AM!

xo | cmd