breckenridge

For the past two weeks I have been in a beautiful place. Breckenridge, Colorado has to be just a little piece of heaven on Earth. I have been there a handful of times and loved it so much I decided I wanted to do a ski trip for my bachelorette party there. I have been wanting to go back ever since that fun trip three years ago! Needless to say, I was thrilled when my parents told us they were going to rent a house there this July! My entire family jumped on board and we had a great time!

I love love love winter in Colorado, but I have to admit, summer in Colorado has to be the best! There is so much to do and it's such a refreshing break from the Texas heat. We spent our days hiking to snow tops, biking from city to city, shopping the cute boutiques, and eating lots of sweets :) I think I had ice cream on a dipped sprinkle cone everyday!

The best part of the trip by far, was just getting to spend time all together for such a long period. Waking up in a house filled with your family and a cup of hot coffee waiting for you, really makes you feel blessed. I loved catching up with my sisters and watching the children play. The guys had lots of "boy time" too while playing golf in the mountains and fishing on the rapid waters. It was a trip filled with lots of activities yet many afternoon naps while listening to the river water behind the house.

Being home is wonderful, but I have to say, I was really tempted to stay!

View from our balcony

Breath taking!

Bike ride to Frisco! About 2o miles and we did it two times!

Sisters getting ready to bike!

Miss Mary is 7 months prego (looks so cute) but couldn't do the bike ride,

so we did a fun hike instead!

Sisterly Love

Brotherly Love

Happy flowers everywhere!

Poppie's the size of your head!

Baskets filled with the deepest blues :)

Best Friends :)

River pic, adorable cousins :)

Great Hike! See the snow!

Shopping the streets on a gorgeous day!

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."

Genesis 1:31

great date

Six years ago when Zach and I first started dating we went on one of my favorite dates, still to this day. Don't you just love those nights when everything goes perfect?! That's how this night was, for sure!

It was really last minute and we just randomly decided to try out the Concerts in the Garden at the Botanical Gardens. We went to the mall and bought some awesome wine bags, made by BUILT (since then we have bought more of these awesome wine bags, but that's another post), a blanket, and we quickly ate at Chick-fil-A. Then we headed to the Gardens, not knowing who was playing or what to expect at all. Luckily for us it was a refreshing summer night and the band was a Beatles cover. We drank both bottles of wine, the conversation was going, and we danced the night away. I will always remember the night!

Since being in Dallas we recently just heard about "Cool Thursdays" at the Arboretum. On the lawn, picnics, wine, dancing, and a great band, same idea. This season we bought a package deal and I look forward to it every time. The only difference now as a married couple, is that we are way more prepared and organized. Last week we went and I wanted to document the night, so I took lots of pics.

You'll need a picnic basket (here are some from Brookstone that are neat). My parents gave us this one the night of our wedding. When we got back to the hotel it was filled with little samples of the foods from our wedding, champagne, and pieces of our cakes. I love this basket.

Fill it up with dinner, napkins, utensils, cup, water, and wine.

A blanket and chairs. I got our chairs at Dick's Sporting Goods. They sit really low to the ground and have cup holders. Plus you can wear them as a back-pack!

Before the next concert, I am getting these! They are called Steady Sticks and hold your wine glass and are super cool...

And once you get there, this is your backdrop. Gorgeous huh? God is good!

Stage at the bottom of the lawn hill.

One happy girl :)

If you haven't been to a Concert in the Gardens, you must go! It is so laid back and wonderful :) I love being outside, talking with the ones you love, and enjoying great scenery, it is awesome!

being nice

I have noticed a lot of people who just aren't nice.

Why? I ask. Why? don't you want to be nice to others and make them want to be nice to you too?

The only thing I can come up with is that they are missing something in their life, or have too much in their life, trying to full-fill something that they think is important.

There is a fine balance between too much and not enough. The past couple of weekends (before the snow days) Zach and I made a pact that we were just going to relax, stay in town, order in, and be in our community. I can not tell you how wonderful this was! When we are busy we tend to forget what is really important to us (family, church, being together). I start to think about all the material things, what I should wear, who will be there. Which is so silly and in turn not what this season is all about. This season of my life is to find a comfort zone of peace and routine that I love. Being free and and just saying no, has helped me to do this.

Perhaps, one of the reasons why people aren't nice is because they have too much going on in their lives and they haven't just said no in awhile.

Before Spring is in full force and all you want to do is be going going going, maybe this is the time to relax, say no thanks, and just be in each moment.

falling into fall

All things Fall are here. The rich colors of deep oranges, reds, and yellow's fill the stores. I can't help but get excited about the change in season. Everyday is pretty, fabulous Fall clothes are hanging in the shops, and pumpkin spiced lattes are back at Starbucks (if you haven't tried one, you must!). It doesn't get much better than this!

Here are a couple things I can't go without during Fall :)

I put these little pumpkins in a glass dish on our table and they look so cute!

If you know me at all you know I love these!

They will be stocked in our pantry through November, ha!

Our house always smells like this!

And this weekend I hope to copy this festive arrangement. It is in the new Southern Living October issue. They said you can put a small pot inside a cleaned out pumpkin and it should last through the Fall. It's even a cute center piece for a dinner party! love it!

One thing, however, that I am not loving about Fall is....

Yes girls, you guessed it, FOOTBALL! Don't get me wrong, I love watching the Frogs dominate each weekend. It's just alllll the other teams that can be a bit much. I would think that most guys watch their college team and then a pro team, and that should be about it, right? Nope, not in our house. We watch all the games! Not only do we watch them, we listen to them in the car, and we are glued to our phone updates! You'd think after about six years of loving my love, I would have figured out this obsession. I guess it just shocks me every year at this time, my hopeful thinking that it's not as bad a I remember it being the previous year.

I am happy for the hubby though, it's so cute to see how excited he gets when yet another "big" game is about to start. I'll just have to embrace it I guess. Try to understand the deep love for the sport.

On second thought, who am I kidding!

Sipping a latte while walking around Northpark sounds pretty great to me!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

glee

Ok, soooo, I'm kind of obsessed with this show.

I started watching it last year and was hooked immediately. Last night was the season premier and to say the least, it was amazing! It pulled in over 12.3 million viewers! Now that's cool!

Glee comes on Fox Tuesdays at 7. I of course dvr it because I am never ready to sit down and watch a full show at 7, but it makes it that much better because you can fast forward through the commercials. I love technology!

Fox states, "Glee is a biting musical comedy, that has quickly become a pop-culture phenomenon, boasting critical acclaim, a loyal fan base of "GLEEks," Gold albums, millions of song downloads, and 19 Emmy nominations - making Glee the most-nominated series of the year."

Clearly, I'm not the only one who can't wait to watch this show every week. There's just something about watching this show that makes you want to get up and sing about life (even though you probably shouldn't). The characters are lovable and relatable. Watching high schoolers singing about their heartbreaks, butterflies, failures, and ambitions just makes it feel so real. It's either, one, the feeling that you are really glad your out of high school and don't have to put up with that stuff anymore, or two, the feeling that you remember those days and miss the fun and carefree time with friends. Or perhaps it's a bit of both. Really it's just the fact that their voices are amazing and they are signing songs we all love, which makes it that much more fantastic and believable! Ha! As you can tell, I really like this show, a lot!

Would I have been in the Glee Club? After this show, yes. Would I have made it past the auditions? After signing the first song, no. But, that's the great thing about Glee, you don't have to be the coolest or the best to be in the club. Or so they say?

They are all pretty awesome to me!

Next week, the guest performer is Britney Spears. I am pumped, to say the least. You know we all loved her and wanted to be her back in the day...

It just gets better and better

Go for it, gleeK out!

new name and labor day

New name, same blog. I had to close down my blog for a bit, but I have been missing it. So, this weekend I decided I would try it again. Hopefully this time things will work out :)

This past weekend was wonderful! After school starting back up, this three day weekend was much needed. We spent the entire weekend with friends and family. We started it off with a wonderful TCU football game at the Cowboy's stadium. It was so amazing. The architecture was unreal! I now have a new appreciation for architects! Plus TCU won, GO FROGS! Then we headed to the lake for a relaxing Labor Day. We spent two whole days by the pool soaking up the sun, eating Marme's delicious meals, and chatting about all the wonderful things this Fall will bring! Zach and I will have two new nieces and one new nephew this Fall. We are so excited to hug and kiss these little babies, they can't get here quick enough!

I want to leave you with this bible verse, it helps me remember that Jesus loves us and will give us a time to rest and enjoy all that we work for and all that he has given us. Also, that his love is peaceful and most full filling.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-29

family. friends. freedom

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

Zach and I had a great weekend at the lake with my family. Plus on Saturday, some of our best friends, Keeton and Tyler came out to the lake too. We were so excited they could come, considering they are getting married in Florida next weekend. Can't wait for that! There was also lots of play time with our nieces and nephew. The lake is the perfect place for this, all things fun, at your fingertips....laughing, eating, skiing, jet skiing, and yummy coffee.

Thanks Marme and Poppy!

Last night we all went to Colonial to eat a yummy American buffet and enjoy the fire work show. It was perfect weather to be outside on quilts, watching all the kids run around. So cute to see all the families together.

This past weekend I really reflected on how blessed we all are to have been born in America. Being able to spend time with our families and friends was so wonderful. During the fire works I couldn't help but think of all the men and women who have served or are serving for our country. Thank you for being brave and believing in all that America stands for. I am so thankful for my life and everyone in it.

God has truly blessed America!

Relax...

So, it's SUMMER! I love being able to wake up and work out, take naps, and run errands whenever. But as much as I enjoy these things, I have a tendency of getting very bored if my days aren't full. When I am bored, I start to feel this weird stress, which is silly because thankfully my life is very stress free. So I decided that I needed to find something to do when I start to feel this way. The only thing is, it can't contain money. Problem!! If you know me at all, you know that my most favorite thing to do is shop (for anything)! And I have really been trying not to do this as much....

Here is one time consuming, stress relieving, money saving thing I came up with. I went to Target yesterday to buy a food professor, we have been needing one. While I was there, I walked down the "summer fun" isle. It was filled with all sorts of fun things for kids to do outside and in during the summer. One thing that caught my eye was Crayola Crayons. A childhood favorite, a big box, all the colors, all sharp. It looked like so much fun, so I bought some along with a big paper pad. If you haven't done it lately, you should give it a try. It was so relaxing and took a good chunk of time. This might sound silly to you, but it was such a nice time, to sit and color, and not have to hurry. So you know what I'll be doing lots this summer....coloring :)! Plus it wasn't expensive, 120 crayons for $6.24 and the paper for$4.99!

Here are a couple pics!

Brand new box!

My love...