Monday, July 01, 2013

Ketchup!

Can you believe it's July? This summer is flying by much too quickly!

How about some catch-up? Or "ketchup" as I like to call it.

Good news--my nest is full once again. All of my kiddos are home! Will worked HARD in Winter Park and had a really great experience. Sarah had a great week in Puerto Rico and came home with all kinds of fun stories. Abbey enjoyed her week as an only child but is glad to have her siblings home! Not as glad as her parents are though.
We stopped to eat breakfast the morning we picked him up at Carver's in Winter Park. The restroom signs made me laugh out loud. I had to take pictures. 
Sarah got in a few days after Will did, and I let everyone lay low most of last week. We hung out at home and went to the pool one day but that's about it. They needed that time to just rest up and relax. That's what summer is for, right?

One night last week our family went to the Josh Turner concert. John is working on a project with Mr. Turner (very cool!) so the rest of us finally got to meet him! It was a great show. He might turn me into a country music fan. I REALLY like him.
Yesterday John and I celebrated TWENTY THREE years of marriage. Twenty-three years of happy, hard, fun, and messy all bundled up into one beautiful, grace-filled life. I cannot imagine my life without John in it and I am beyond grateful for him. He loves me well. We celebrated by enjoying dinner on the patio of our favorite mexican place. It was perfect...very laid back and relaxing. 

My anniversary gift? A new vehicle! I am no longer a mini-van owner!!! I got a little misty-eyed when John drove away in Minnie-the-van for the last time; she was a good fit for our family for so long. It was time to retire her though and I'm very happy to have a little more room and a little more power on the road. We've been shopping for a new vehicle for a few weeks now and let me just say that is NOT easy on a marriage. At least it's not on our marriage. Wowza. I happily sent John off alone to handle the deal on Saturday and told him to just surprise me. I knew what model he would buy--just not what year, what color, the interior, extra features, etc. I was truly surprised when he pulled in the driveway Saturday afternoon.

Over the weekend I uploaded 2243 pictures from my phone to my computer. Can you say lazy? I ordered a new phone over the weekend (anyone else do the iPhone 5 deal from Best Buy?) and they told me they could transfer my photos if I didn't have too many. Ummmmmm, I don't know for sure but I think 2200+ might be too many. Anyway, here are a few to share...

 We took Sarah and her friend out to eat with us one night and I took this picture of the girls in the cut out thing they had on their patio...didn't realize the prominent, giant tequila bottle until I texted the pic to her friends' mom. Oops.
 Ice cream at the Rock House...a summer tradition! 
Anyone know what kind of flower this is? Mom? It's pretty!

2 comments:

Micah Jamie said...

Happy summer Merredith! It is flying by here in IL. Your children are beautiful & it's so nice to have family together. Our boys are 21 & 18, so I really cherish those times. Congrats on the new ride! We also just traded vehicles & I feel ya. My John loves to barter...me not so much...as in I'd probably rather have a root canal. I believe that's an allium. I have them my gardens & they are gorgeous! Enjoy the rest of summer!
Jamie

Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt said...

So what the heck did you get?!?!!! cliff hanger! haha

I wish I could beam myself to CO and we could go out for lunch. Sigh. Summer is slipping too quickly here. I'm sad but toddlers, well.