My 41 birthday

My birthday was on Thursday, the day Eden got back from her trip. It was the first time we had our entire family all together in 3 months. So I was so thrilled for that to happen!!! We went to Kerbey Lane for dinner, then to the cheap theater to see Yesterday. Not everyone went to the movies, but it was a fantastic night.

But on Saturday night some of our closest group of friends came over for a dinner party for my birthday. 

Mike was kind enough to get this photo above, but I wanted him in one too, so he took a selfie group photo as well for me.

Some of the guys❤️

And these beautiful people too.


For the activities, I had journals for everyone that I had prepared with some thoughts on that friend written in them. Everyone came prepared to share 

1- a big life lesson they have learned, and 

2- what they hoped for their life going forward.

Steve and I love hearing what everyone shared a lot.

Each person also submitted a favorite song to me prior to the night, and we played a game to see who could guess correctly, who submitted what song. 

It turned out to be my most favorite birthday party I had ever had. I felt so super loved. And so super grateful.

Eden back from Europe!

On my birthday Eden arrived home from her Summer trip. We missed her so much, so it was a wonderful birthday present!

The next day Eden joined me on my walk and we stumbled on this big interesting turtle.

Charity, Eden, and Cessie playing together again. :)

Becca violin take 1

Cessie is back from Europe!

August 9, 2019

Charity’s 10th birthday

This year Charity's birthday was on a Monday. So on Saturday afternoon, Paisley came and got her and she was able to spend half of Saturday, a sleepover, and half of Sunday with Paisley and her mom in Austin. They played and swam and had a blast.
That evening, Steve took her and a few of the kids too, to go shopping for her birthday presents. She went for clothes mostly. 

For her dinner, she wanted Chipotle, which they brought home for us to eat together, and she also wanted S'more's for her dessert. So it was a unique and fun dessert to have!

Some of the kids got her gifts/did sweet gestures like writing bday notes for her in their bathroom.

Cessie is home!

Also on the first day of school, I got to go pick Celeste up from the airport! We all were super anxious to see her again. We missed her a ton. She was excited to be back too.

The family sitting around, listening to her talk about her amazing trip.

Her Eurail pass

First Day of School

And this is Sam at Meet the Teacher night.

Haircut for amanda

Because I have been unable to wear my hair down for several months now, always throwing it into a bun or ponytail, I decided after a lot of thought to chop it off again. So here it is. I don't love it, but I do like the change at least.

Becca’s 16th birthday

Becca wanted to go to Kerbey Lane to eat for brunch the day of her birthday. I caught this cute photo of her just as she was trying to duck out of the photo.
After we ate, we went to an antique mall in Austin that was very cool. We, (Becca, Hana, Charity, Sam and I), hunted around there for quite a while looking for antique instruments to buy. Because that is really how Becca had hoped to spend her birthday money. We found a few, but she ultimately chose to buy a really cool old cornet. She got a great deal on it too. A cornet looks and sounds a lot like a trumpet, but is a little smaller.
We went to a couple of other stores too, then came home and had the dinner she requested:
Twice baked potatoes, watermelon, and pies.

We are really proud of the fantastic person Becca has grown into.

General end of Summer happenings

This is Cessie in Interlochen. 

We took care of the Vickery's dog Meatball while they were out of town for 8 days!

Being lazy in front of the TV with Takis.

Steve has been dealing with a herniated disc in his back that has caused him all kinds of pain. Here he is after seeing the doctor and getting fit with a back brace.


Getting some swimming in before school starts.





Just a photo of my sweetheart. Because.

Becca at her very first violin lesson!!!

Sheyenne, Nicole and I went to Zilker park to see the musical The Little Mermaid.

As always, we had such a great time!

Screenshot of my workout video.
I have been super consistent about exercising every single day this year, and it has given me a lot more strength, flexibility, and energy.