Lovelies

I loved all the bright colors that everyone was wearing this past summer.

This is a photo with a few of my favorite ladies.  I love that we're all wearing bright outfits.

And no, we didn't call each other.  

Why the face...

Oh, this makes me laugh.  I love Modern Family.

Our fall break is definitely going to include a little bit of TV time.

A Nonproductive Weekend...

Jared, Max, Alexander, Madeline, and me

Jared went camping this past weekend and his brother and nephew flew out from Colorado to go.  It was a much-anticipated guys' trip; Jared loved it.  I'm always relieved when he comes home safe-and-sound though - those boys can be reckless (of course Jared would disagree).    

On Saturdays Jared and I typically go to the downtown Farmer's Market.  Lately, however, he's had to spend the bulk of Saturdays on campus, so he misses out.  Sometimes I feel a little guilty going without him. I'm sure I would also benefit from spending my entire weekend studying, but I refuse to - at least right now.

I had grand plans to get caught up on homework and studying while Jared was camping, but ended up spending most of Saturday with some of my family.

We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning, which is one of my favorite ways to start the day.  

And I love that our weather hasn't cooled down yet because it means the market will hopefully continue for a few more weeks.   

Madeline practically inhaled that entire basket of raspberries.

I always tell Mary Leigh that I'll gladly take these little rugrats off her hands, even when Madeline throws her tantrums.

Here she is "feaking out" that her raspberries are already gone.

We also went to "The Rose" and got tea and scones.  It's a really cute cafe downtown.  I snapped a few pictures which don't do it justice.

This girl never misses an opportunity to satisfy her raspberry fix.

Later that evening, after the boys were fed and showered, we walked down to the Cultural Celebration Center where they were unveiling the Chinese Heritage Friendship Gate (pictured in the background of the photo below).  I loved the program.  It included traditional dancing from Asia, South America, the Pacific Islands, etc., and ended with an elaborate firework display.

Jeff, Max, Jared

I may have been horribly behind on homework/studying by the time Monday rolled around, but I decided for  the sake of my sanity, it was worth it.

Maddle-Paddles

My sweet niece, Madeline, is at such a cute stage right now.  It's amazing how much personality a little two-year-old can have.  I've gone to my sister's house a couple nights this week for dinner and as soon as I walk in the door, Madeline says "Yara! I cah'd you on my ceh phone!"  She loves having pretend conversations on her phone and even includes the "uh-huh..." and "oh...really?" that she hears everyone else saying.

Last Sunday, Jared and I had brunch with their family and afterwards Mary Leigh and I decided to make beaded bracelets with memory wire.  Madeline plops down on the floor beside me, decides she's also going to make a bracelet, and promptly starts threading the beads onto the wire.  I was shocked.  (Note to self: never underestimate a two-year-old.)

She ended up making the bracelet (shown in the pic).  She's such a sweetheart - thinking about her makes me smile.



And this guy makes me smile, too.  Little Oliver was perfectly content shoveling handful after handful of sand into his mouth.  These were taken during our trip to San Diego this past summer.

Sweet Tunes...

I'm definitely out of the music loop these days, but as I've been driving to and from school I've caught pieces of songs that I love. Right now I'm addicted to these.

Since starting graduate school I feel really disconnected from a lot of things. I'm pining for the days that were completely mine -- the days that didn't involve hours and hours of studying. Recently I started skimming my blog and felt a little sad that I hadn't documented a lot of events that occurred over the last year. I don't typically read back over my old journals, but I found it sort of soothing to read old entries on this blog.

I decided I'm going to start updating this regularly -- partly to keep in touch with family and friends, but mostly because I want to keep some type of journal.

We'll see though...I've recently discovered how consistently inconsistent I am.

4th of July Weekend

We're thoroughly enjoying summer...wish it wasn't flying by so quickly. Over the 4th of July weekend we ran the Centerville 5K, soaked up some sun at Seven Peaks, and enjoyed a fun evening with Jared's sister and family.

Spring Cleaning & Redecorating...

At the beginning of this year, we decided to change some things around in our condo. My dad painted a couple rooms; we had new carpet installed; and then we redecorated.

It's taken us forever to get everything organized, but we're finally through, and I love it!

Here are some photos...

Bedroom: After

Bedroom: Before



Office: After

Office: Before



Guest Bedroom: After

Guest Bedroom: Before