I feel like over half my posts are long catch-up posts. What can I say? Life gets in the way sometimes. I'm going to try to get better about posting more than once a month!
On the homefront:
Our garden has grown a LOT! Since I've started this post, a lot of what he had has died off. We've gotten cayenne, habanero, pablano, giant marconi, some random hot pepper that tastes like a slightly spicy bell pepper and bell peppers. We have some jalapenos that will be ready any time. We've gotten Bonnie Original, Pink Brandywine, Honey Delight tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, spaghetti squash (died off when it got too hot) and lots of okra (the okra is still going STRONG. We have 3 lbs frozen in the freezer and I plan to try pickling some soon). We've gotten lots of squash and zucchini. They have died off and we're trying to figure out what to plant in their place. Our sugar snap peas have died off, so I planted pumpkin seeds where they were. My asparagus doesn't look like asparagus anymore, but it's hopefully growing and getting strong for the next several years! Our sweet potatoes and carrots seem to be doing well. Hopefully it's doing as well under ground as it appears to be doing above ground.
Our grass is doing really well. We still have a long way to go and we need to treat for crabgrass REALLY bad, but we won't be able to do that until Spring. The Bermuda is doing well and spreading nicely. It's got a long way to go before it's the nice, plush yard we pictured, but it's getting there. :-)
We assembled the chaise I posted about in my last Friday Favorites post (you know, back in MAY). It's in our sitting room, but I'm not satisfied with the area just yet. It doesn't feel finished for sure! I think I want to add a rug and a lamp or plant. Maybe I'll rearrange some things. I'm not sure yet.
We got chairs from Reynolds and we put them in the bonus room. I plan to hang out block S mirror just above them. We've also set the bar up in there.We have some of our brewery signs on the wall, but there's still a lot to hang. We're debating mounting the TV or just leaving it on the TV stand. Right now, this room is a multi-purpose bar/workout room. We haven't actually watched TV in there in over a month, so we're considering moving the bigger TV downstairs. We don't want to invest too much time or money into this room because we'll have to do some rearranging once we decide to have a little one.
We'll be getting our patio soon! Pictures to come when it is installed.
We'll be getting our patio soon! Pictures to come when it is installed.
Adventures
We've been to several concerts lately. We've literally been to more concerts this year than we have since we've been married, maybe even ever before. We were actually talking last week and we've decided that several years down the road, we'll probably look back and refer to 2015 as the concert year.
We saw Lil' Dicky
Jerron Neiman, Craig Campbell, Drake White, David Nail and Waterloo Revival - I wouldn't see the last 2 again, but the others were great!
Most recently, we saw Breaking Benjamin!!! I was most excited about this one! We saw them back in 2006 and they've been one of my favorite bands since then. They broke up and I was bummed. Now they're back! (Different band, but same Benjamin!). This has been a week now and I'm still so excited we got to go! I can't stand when I go see an artist that has been around for a long time and they sing almost all songs from their new albums. Breaking Benjamin did not disappoint. They sang ALL of my favorites! I was one happy lady!
Before the show
From the band's Facebook page. I can find us in the upper left picture, but you never would if you didn't know where we were.
Travel:
Vegas
I got to go to Vegas for a conference. It was a lot of fun, but man, it was HOT! Sure, sure, it was dry heat and yes, it was different than humid heat, but 112 is HOT with or without humidity. On the bright side, my hair didn't frizz at all.
Jen and I were going to the SHRM conference and her sister and her hubby came along as well. We all split a room, AND we found a great price on our room, so we were able to get a really nice one at Caesar's Palace! The place was beautiful! They have filed (or will be filing...I'm not sure) bankruptcy, so I'm sure that's why we were able to find such a great price. You wouldn't know it by being in the hotel though. It's still super nice. The pools were awesome, but I only got to go to them one day. There is some great people watching at the Vegas pools for sure - or really, Vegas in general!
One of the pools at Caesar's
At the conference Expo...here are my highlights
I got to meet Jack Hannah - he was SO very nice! He actually took the time to chat with everyone. The girl next to me is feeding a baby beaver.
What could make an animal lover who loves Australia happier than a baby kangaroo?!?
I won a Kindle Fire HD!!!
Unfortunately, this is the last year our company will be paying for the conference, which is unfortunate. I really enjoyed my Jen reunion and it's in DC next year, so it would have been SUPER convenient. Oh well, such is life. I would say my SHRM conference experience ended quite well.
Unfortunately, this is the last year our company will be paying for the conference, which is unfortunate. I really enjoyed my Jen reunion and it's in DC next year, so it would have been SUPER convenient. Oh well, such is life. I would say my SHRM conference experience ended quite well.
We went to 2 shows while we were there - Love and Ka. Both shows were good and a lot of fun. The acrobatics were amazing in both, but I wouldn't say the shows themselves were amazing. That's just me, I'm not really into theatrics much, so if you are, take my opinion with a grain of salt. I got both tickets for free by playing MyVegas Slots (highly recommend it if you plan to go to Vegas - even if you don't want to go to a show, you can redeem your rewards for hotel stays, food and other attractions) I wouldn't pay with it would normally cost to go to one of these shows though.
Waiting for "Love"...
We went camping in the VA mountains a few weekends ago. It was amazing to get away from the world and just relax for a bit. We went for a nice hike, went kayaking (even Bailey went, she did great!) and just relaxed and enjoyed each others company and some good food. I definitely look forward to more camping soon.
Camping
We went camping with Andrew, Kristian, Dave and Theresa. We stayed 2 nights in the mountains of VA. The first night was rainy and we were starting to think it was going to rain all day Saturday. It ended up clearing up and we made it out for a hike and kayaking! It was a great weekend to get away! Bailey loves camping and she even went kayaking for the first time! She was a little antsy at first, but she actually did great! The biggest obstacle was trying to balance her weight when tried to drink the water or try to hop in someone else's kayak! She also kept trying to grab the oar from Josh. Silly girl!
Our view halfway through our hike
The orange thing I'm holding on to here is Bailey's life jacket. She's drinking water.
Waiting for "Love"...
We went camping in the VA mountains a few weekends ago. It was amazing to get away from the world and just relax for a bit. We went for a nice hike, went kayaking (even Bailey went, she did great!) and just relaxed and enjoyed each others company and some good food. I definitely look forward to more camping soon.
Camping
We went camping with Andrew, Kristian, Dave and Theresa. We stayed 2 nights in the mountains of VA. The first night was rainy and we were starting to think it was going to rain all day Saturday. It ended up clearing up and we made it out for a hike and kayaking! It was a great weekend to get away! Bailey loves camping and she even went kayaking for the first time! She was a little antsy at first, but she actually did great! The biggest obstacle was trying to balance her weight when tried to drink the water or try to hop in someone else's kayak! She also kept trying to grab the oar from Josh. Silly girl!
Our view halfway through our hike
The orange thing I'm holding on to here is Bailey's life jacket. She's drinking water.
Peru
Our trip is getting closer, so we've been doing a lot of planning for it! By we, I mean mostly Josh.It's going to be here before we know it, so I REALLY need to brush up on learn Spanish! All of our rooms have been booked. We have a cooking class booked for the time we're in Lima. The largest food festival in South America will be happening while we're in Lima, so we snagged tickets for that as well. We got our vaccinations this week. We just have a few things to purchase and pack, then we'll be all set! We're working on getting in better shape because the Inca Trail is going to be a very intense hike. Seriously! Check this out. I know it will be a major challenge, but I'm really looking forward to the whole trip!
Family stuffs:
We got to go visit Josh's grandparents the weekend I left for Vegas. I'm SO glad we decided to go, because Josh's grandpa passed away on July 22. He was 89 and he had definitely seen better days, but none of us expected this. We were fortunate enough to be able to go to VA and be with family for several days after he passed. It was really nice to be able to lean on each other and try to lift each other up during such a difficult time. We have some really great and supportive family and friends that have just been amazing over the past couple weeks.
Natalia got glasses and promoted to the next level in gymnastics.
Jaden turned 2!
Jaden turned 2!
