September 1, 2013: Ice cream truck (again… celebrating the end of summer haha!) and a delicious dinner since I won’t be here for Labor Day.  Bacon-wrapped filet mignon + grilled sweet corn.  Don’t worry, I shared :)

August 31, 2013: One last trip to the pool before they close it down next week.  Here, Em was using the Frisbee to show how Dusty (Planes) crashed into the ocean during the thunderstorm. Very serious stuff.

Dinner at the Crooks last night! Sure do love this family. Had a great time at their new house!

August 30, 2013: Soaking in one of the final Friday’s of summer. Our friend Heather stayed at our house during Annelise’s afternoon nap and we took Em to the movie Planes at the theater! She loved, loved, loved it. She won’t stop talking about it now!   Tonight we had our monthly date, Jen surprised me with tickets to the Indians game! Great seats, beautiful evening, and no one in the world I would have rather spent it with.

August 29, 2013: Yep, totally creepin’ on the Duggars. Stopped by the house of the ‘19 Kids and Counting’ stars on my way back to the airport today.  Kinda funny and surreal to see it in person! Several of the Duggars outside, got a wave.  I’ll have to bring Jen back here next time :)

August 28, 2013: Flew through Chicago to Fayetteville, AR and then over to Siloam Springs to visit John Brown University.  What a beautiful campus! Really enjoyed my time in this town.  I was also treated to 2 delicious meals (Fratelli’s Wood-Fired Pizza for lunch + 28 Springs for dinner). Great local joints.

August 27, 2013: Got to have Tiffany and Elliott over for dinner tonight! We ordered Thai Kitchen #yumyumyumyumyum and then Emelyn wanted them to come visit her house too :)

August 26, 2013: Annelise continues to not sleep through the night.  We continue to be exhausted. Kicked off small group tonight as “1 group 1 location” and got to hear a bit from Kevin, our new groups pastor.  Then we played The Newlywed Game since we are doing a marriage series this semester. Tons of laughs. I absolutely love being with these people.

August 25, 2013: The big reveal! Emelyn was absolutely thrilled when she got to see her playhouse for the first time! Uncle Josh did a terrific job on it.  We can hardly get her out of it now, she wants to be out there all the time!

August 24, 2013: Work continued into the late hours of the day, headlamps and all, as we try to wrap the project up.  Took an afternoon break to pick the apples off our apple tree and probably ended up with 20-30 lbs of apples! Ended up Josh and Josh and Jim were a huge help, and the girls loved spending time with Grandma Christie and Aunt Angie (and MARTHA!).  Great day.

August 23, 2013: Let the project begin! Josh and Angie are in town for the weekend and Josh has drawn up some plans on converting the sandpit area of the playground in our backyard into a playhouse for the girls.  Well, we might have taken it to the next level with.. walls…. lights… an outlet… interior walls + wainscotting… hahaha :) Lots of work to do tomorrow.  Wrapped up the night with a bonfire + smores, and Em was exhausted. Look how I found her sleeping!

August 22, 2013: Mommy made a car out of a box, which just replaced “Hamper with a blanket” in the background for Toy of the Year.

August 21, 2013: What a day! Started at Merrimack, then up through NH and VT to Albany. Hiked a bit of the Appalachian Trail, 13% incline for almost a mile to Split Rock. Moose Crossing sign was a hit too, haha!

August 20, 2013: Flew into New Hampshire and met the guys. Drove up to Kennebunkport, Maine for lunch. Had an amaaaazzzinggg lobster roll, supposedly the best in the US 2 years straight. Came back down to Portsmouth, NH for some strategy time, some HORSE on the bball court and dinner at the local brewery. Long day, but fun.