Five Years...

Preston and I went away this weekend to celebrate our five year anniversary while mom and dad kept Sawyer.
We went to Nashville, Indiana (Brown County) and stayed at a new place called Hotel Indigo. The hotel was really eclectic, with lots of bright colors, unique furniture and neat art...we LOVED it!!! Somehow, the woman working at the front desk found out we were celebrating our anniversary and she brought a big tray of goodies up to our room!
We got to the hotel Saturday afternoon and we just hung around there and relaxed until it was time for dinner. That night we made reservations at a restaurant called Smith's Row and it was sooooo good! We drove around downtown for a while after we ate and then we went back to the hotel so we could get in their hot tub. After that, we were both tired so we just laid in bed and watched a movie (we were spoiled by all the cable channels we don't have! ha!)
Sunday (today) we had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then we headed into Nashville to look around. As you can see in the pictures, this little town is a lot like Gatlinburg, TN, if you've ever been there. Its full of ice cream parlors, fudge shops, antique stores and boutiques....so, so neat. We bought a candle (my all-time favorite, Woodwick's Rum Raisin) and a few little things for Sawyer from the Toy store. It was nice to just walk around, and I think we only got through half of the shops because there was just SO much too see!
We got back this evening, and we were both excited to see Sawyer. Mom and Dad said she did great while we were gone, which was nice to hear because last week was a rough one for her!
Now, we're back home and we feel rested, rejuvenated, and ready to start our week!
HAPPY 5 YEARS, PRESTON!!!!! I love you, and I cant wait for the next 50 years with you. I'm so proud to be your wife, and I wouldn't want to be on this crazy journey with anyone else!!!!

She's got Style...

In the words of Sawyer Paige, "This outfit is ROCKIN!!!!!"
I'm not sure if it's the mismatched plastic shoes or the huge red and pink bows that perfectly coordinate with the lime green dress...but whatever it is, she sure thinks she's the stuff in this getup! And I must agree.

Three...

Ive had a couple of months to get used to the fact that we now have a THREE YEAR OLD...but it still seems so surreal to me. Our baby's not much of a baby anymore, and while it makes me a bit teary-eyed knowing she'll never be that "little" again, I'm totally lovin' the stage she's in right now! Every day is something new...she's so full of energy, imagination, adventure, curiosity...and the things that girl says, oh my!!!
She keeps me in an almost constant state of laughter. She is loving, compassionate, and quick to forgive me when I mess up. She keeps me young, and somehow at the same time, causes me to grow a few new gray hairs every day! She is the brightest, sweetest, quirkiest little thing...and I'm just crazy, head over heels in love with her.

Sawyer Paige,
Now that you're three, you've got your own opinions about EVERYTHING and you love sharing them with anyone who will listen! You're a social butterfly, talking to everyone, everywhere we go. You LOVE LOVE LOVE to sing and dance, and lately you're very into rhyming! You're my favorite little side-kick, and what a big helper you are!
Just for Mama's memory...
Some of Your Favorite Things/Toys: Playing outside (riding your bike, jumping in the trampoline, going to the park) swimming, playing dress up, painting, playing with my point-and shoot camera (you're becoming quite the little photographer!) helping out in the kitchen, play-dough, playing doctor, Polly-pockets, playing with makeup/nail polish, and anything related to princesses.
Your Favorite Foods: Ice cream, watermelon, Sunbutter and jelly sandwiches, cucumbers, french fries, oatmeal, muffins, broccoli, crackers, grapes, cookies(along with anything else sweet!)
Your Favorite Books: Thumpity-Thump Gets Dressed, Mr. Brown Can Moo, The Giving tree, The Tooth Book, Stomp, Along Came You
Your Favorite Movies: Robots, Finding Nemo, The Wizard of Oz, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Cars, Shrek
Your Favorite Songs: You are my Sunshine, Please Come to Boston, Stand by Me (the old school version,) Soul Sister, Amazing Grace, Everybody Wants to Love, Jesus Loves Me, The Revelation Song, and Baby (yup, ya'll...that one's a Justin Beiber song, and I'm not ashamed.)
Your Favorite Clothes/Shoes: Tutu's, boots, and tights (aka:zing-zing socks!) You wear a size 4t in most clothes, and a 9 in shoes. You're GROWING LIKE A WEED!
HAPPY THREE YEARS, GIRLFRIEND!

Here are some pictures from Sawyer's birthday party this year. We had a blast! And although it was early August (the hottest month around here) the weather turned out to be pretty nice that day. Fun times!

Im Back...No Seriously...Seriously!!!!

You, along with the rest of the world were probably thinking I'd abandoned my blog! And if so, you were right...that was totally my plan. But with much "urging" (i.e. begging, pleading, threatening) from our family and friends I decided not to be a quitter! I had NO idea how many people read this thing!
I'm not even sure what happened. We were really busy this summer, and then so much time had passed and I felt like I had fallen too far behind on the posts, and I thought there was no way I'd ever catch up. I tend to get overwhelmed pretty easily, so I figured it would just be easier to quit. Great attitude, huh? But you've gotta start somewhere right? I'm planning on doing my best to bring you guys up to speed slowly but surely...I just know you're biting your nails and waiting with great anticipation to hear all about us!
Ahhhhh...its good to be back.
We've been LOVING this fabulous Fall weather! It's always been my favorite time of year. Last week, I just couldn't wait any longer so I put out some mums and pumpkins on the porch. Now I'm just itching to go on a hayride, visit Huber's Orchard, have a bonfire, and eat a big bowl of my mom's famous white chili!
We had some friends over for a play date this morning and Sawyer just now ate her lunch and crashed. I love when she plays hard because that usually means she naps hard. I need to be do laundry and packing...Preston and I are going away for the weekend to celebrate our FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY and I'm SO excited! Five years...I still can't believe it. One thing is for sure though, I love him so much more now than the day I married him, and that was a whole heck of a lot!
Happy Wednesday!
More posts to come later...Really.

Our Long Weekend In The Windy City...

I haven't been a very good blogger lately, but I'm trying. Really, I'm trying.
Our trip to Chicago this past weekend was FABULOUS!!! I think I've mentioned before that Preston won this trip through work, and he SO deserved it...and I'm SO STINKIN PROUD OF HIM! This was his first year with the company and he made Winner's Circle...quite impressive if I do say so myself.
Anyhow, we had such a good time. It was nice being able to get to know some of the people Preston works with. I think there were about two hundred people (including spouses) who went on the trip, including the Gordon family, which was so neat. We stayed in The Intercontinental right on Michigan Avenue and it was beautiful, not to mention walking distance from just about anything you could want to go do. They pampered us the whole weekend, and the food...OH THE FOOD! We were treated to some of the most delicious meals Ive ever had, and we were also able to attend The Taste of Chicago, which just happened to be going on while we were there!
We spent one day looking around the always super-cool Field Museum (I haven't been since the 5th grade,) and that same night his company rented out the ENTIRE Shed Aquarium for a dinner/dance partaay...I totally got out there and cut a rug. Not really. But I will tell you it was quite fun watching the other people, the much older people (some who may or may not have had a few too many drinks) get down on the dance floor.
I would love to tell you that I took a lot of awesome pictures, but sadly, I only took about four. To be honest, we did a lot of walking and I didn't feel like lugging it around, but of course now, I'm regretting that decision.
The best part of our trip: being able to sleep in as late as we wanted every morning and taking naps every day...In my book, there's not much better than that.
And what would be a vacation without some kind of airport drama? Oh yes, its quite a story, and if I see you soon, I'll have to tell you in person, because its much too long for me to get into right now. I will tell you it was nothing short of RIDICULOUSLY DRAMATIC, like something off of a movie actually...and it does involve Preston and I SPRINTING through O'Hare airport only to miss our flight, getting our next flight cancelled by the airline at the last minute, lots of tears on my part, and having to spend an extra night in Chicago (without any of our luggage) and fly into Lexington (not Louisville) the next day. Oh no...I'm not lying, although I wish I was.
Like I said before...other than our going-home airport drama, we had an amazing time. Chicago...we'll be missing you.

Happy Father's Day...

To the THREE BEST DAD'S I know!!!!!

Counting...

Just a few of the MANY things I'm thankful for on this Wednesday evening...


My HUSBAND, who WORKS HIS TAIL OFF EVERY SINGLE DAY to provide for our little family. Really, he's the hardest working man Ive EVER met in my life...and I so admire him for it.

The lovely yellow roses sitting on my counter top, which the previously mentioned young man gave me last week. He still hasn't forgotten they're my favorite.

My CHURCH.

LIGHTNING BUGS. You know when you're little, and they just seem so magical? Well, I got to experience that all over again this past weekend with Sawyer. It was SO awesome. It was just getting dark outside and they were all over the back yard, so I grabbed a bottle and called Sawyer outside...she was SO EXCITED. She ran all over, catching as many as she could, and when we took them inside and shut all the lights off, it got even better...I'd forgotten how neat those little guys are!

AIR CONDITIONING.

My FRIENDS. I know some the sweetest women on the face of this planet.

My FAMILY.

My Sawyer-girl. What a joy she is! She's the brightest, funniest little thing Ive ever come across. She keeps my on my toes...and in an almost perpetual state of laughter. The things that come out of that child's mouth!

GOOD CONVERSATION.

The fact that my car is now out of the shop, and that having it fixed didn't break the bank.

My HOME.

The POOL, and how Sawyer loves it just as much as I do.


And Most of all, for this:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

There's A Ham in Our Tub!

Swim Little Fishy...

Sawyer LOVES LOVES LOVES being in the water! She's been a "water baby" since she was old enough to sit up in water, and I cant even tell you how happy that makes me. Last year we started taking her to my grandparents neighborhood pool, and from the very start she couldn't get enough. She was too little to really learn how to swim, so I got her a life jacket to wear, but it didn't really do much...I still had to keep hold of her the entire time we were in the water. It was fine, but I could tell- being the independent girl she is- that she wanted to be able to do more by herself.
Fast forward to this year...My grandparents pool opened this weekend, and we've already been twice. Sawyer is even more in love with the water, if that's even possible. Before we went out there on Wednesday, I decided to run to Target and buy some arm floaties and give those a try. She was SO excited about wearing them because there were several other (older) kids who had them on, so she really felt like a big girl. After about 15 minutes of working with her, helping her realize she wasn't going to go under if I let her go, she GOT IT! From then on, there was no stopping her...she was swimmin' all over the place! I honestly couldn't believe I was watching my almost 3 year old doggy paddle across the pool...it was just so neat. so of course I had to break out my camera! (You'll have to excuse the not so great quality of the pictures, these are just taken with my little point-and-shoot. I don't like getting my other camera too close to large bodies of water OR splashy toddlers. Ha!)

The Mini Daredevils...

Alright, so these pictures don't even do this post justice, but I had to write about it anyways, because it was just too funny. Kendall spent Tuesday with us, and after the girls took their nap, we went outside so they could play in Sawyer's little blow up pool. By this time, Leah had come over and we were sitting on the porch talking while the girls played in the yard. All of a sudden, we hear VERY LOUD splashing, and when we looked, we couldn't believe our eyes. Kendall (aka Evil-Kanevil) was literally FLYING off the top of the slide that goes down into the pool! I don't mean just jumping, I mean full out belly flops (legs and arms out behind her back) into the water. It was HILARIOUS! Of course, Sawyer followed her lead, but she wasn't brave enough for the belly flop...she played it safe and landed on her bottom. Still...I couldn't believe I was watching two little girls pulling those kinds of stunts! They're fearless I tell ya...
I scrambled to get my camera, and I did manage to get a little video of all the action, but of course, I'm having trouble getting it on here. I'm determined though, so wait for it!