my kids have been waiting all summer for this day.
they couldn't wait to put up the barricades and block off our street.
all the kids on our block rode their bikes in the street all day.
they love that freedom.
we partied on friday instead of the 4th and thank goodness we did.
it's been raining all day long here.
i have a ton of pictures…
russ and jennifer bring out the bonzai falls.
it's the kid's favorite part of the day.
they were on it for about four straight hours.
we call this the firecracker walk.
the kids go around the circle and when the music stops we draw a number
and if it's the number they are on they get to pick a prize from miss amy's bucket of kids firecrackers.
finally her number was called.
so funny.
water balloon toss.
the men of the block working the grills.
the one is red is quite handsome i must say….especially his hat.
we had PLENTY to eat.
i ate way too much.
it was all really good….rhonda's salsa was SO good…i need her to make me a huge bowl.
um……..gross.
the other miss amy made sidewalk chalk paint.
the street was so pretty.
i am going to make some more of that here too.
there was a weird app on russ's phone that makes you look fat…..whatever.
it was a great party.
annie wanted to go to bed before the big fireworks.
i went in and laid down with her…when i woke up she was asleep and the big fireworks were done.
i missed them too.
after we cleaned everything up in the dark at midnight we had our annual adult water balloon fight.
it's a tradition.
this year was very tame.
i think because russ and cory went in early.
next party….we are gunnin' for both of you…the cooler is getting dumped on them and not amy.
way to go neighbors.
our block party was super-great…..like we used to say in cheer.
(miss amy #1 ….blogged it here)
(miss amy #2 ….blogged it here)
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so we get out of the car at the restaurant and realize that pam and i match almost perfectly…. how often do you have date night? oh date nights! i wish we had more of them. we just had one on saturday, but it had been a month since our last one…we need more of them, really bad. Near as I can remember, the second time since we were married was our tenth anniversary. I pushed and pushed for that night and all hubby did was grouch about it. I gave up. Can’t recall it happening since, without friends asking anyway. We’ve been married almost 29 years, and still have a good life. Those years were tough though, I’ll admit. Very tought My husband and I had date night last night. Neither of us could remember the last time we had one. Pretty sad. This date night was for my birthday. the next one will be next month for our 15 yr anniversary. There’s no telling when we’ll have another. By the way we saw Eclipse (my choice) and we ate fajitas and drank beer (his choice). It was perfect! We have a rule in our marriage…dialogue daily…date weekly…depart quarterly. :-)And yes we make every effort we can to stick to it…it’s like a treasure to us that we fight to protect. The “depart” may just mean one night in downtown Nashville while the kids are at grandmas but it suits us just fine. My hubby and I just have a date whenever time allows. We only have one child (16 yrs. old) and he goes with us some of the time. When you only have one kid, you can find a lot more time to just be together and talk. With 5, I would think that it would be difficult to find time. You should check out Project 52 at Simply Modern Mom. She and her husband are doing a once a week date for a year. She’s got lots of easy and fun ideas. 🙂 it seems weird to have a date night, I guess b/c we only have one kid and it feels weird when she isn’t here. We probably should do it more often, for our own sake and hers….we will see. Glad you had so much fun We never do! We just have our two girls (8 and almost 10), and I don’t have a regular reliable sitter. When they were little we got to enjoy parents night out through the church/preschool, but now that they’re older, unless my parents are in town, it doesn’t happen. We do have the opportunity to eat out once a week when they are at dance for nearly two hours, so that’s something! But aside from that…. 🙁 I’m super blessed that my in-laws get our kids most every Sunday afternoon just after church/lunch and then keep them overnight and we get them back late Mon afternoon/evening. We’ve been trying to be more and more disciplined to go on a Sun night date and just really enjoy being together instead of just having time when the kids aren’t there. It’s fabulous! We do a large portion of our dreaming on those Sun night dates…so good for our well-being, marriage & the whole family! Our kids are still little so we have an ‘at home date night’ every Friday night. We give the kids a fun meal for dinner and then after they go to bed we order sushi, watch a movie, we talk, but most importantly we don’t use our laptops or iphones. Best night of the week! Date night? Occasionally. Double Date Night? Never! I think we need to have one! Too funny about the outfits ~ So funny. Date night? Hardly ever…it’s terrible! We do a cheater date night – a movie on the couch after the kids are in bed a couple times a month. But a babysitter/dinner out – not as often as we should! Matching outfits? Greatness. My sister and I do this just to annoy my son. 2-3 times a year. Whenever my Mom offers to watch the kids. I so wish date night was more often! We only have it for our anniversary and then maybe one other time in an entire year. Ridiculous I know! We haven’t had a “just us” date in FOREVER! We have an 8 month old and pumping just DOESN’T happen for this girl SO he’s always there BUT Granny pitches in about once a month for us to have that time with just the little one and that is heavenly. Oh this is too depressing. Reading about all these couples who do regular date nights. Sigh. CUTE OUTFITS!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 Loved your date night story. We had one too last night… triple date and one couple brought all 3 kids (but okay since they gave us the free baseball tickets)… had a blast. Love your posts. It’s my daily indulgence. We rarely have date night. Our boys are 18, 14 and 7 so alot of times we have date day and go to lunch, which is good too. When we had our third people stopped volunteering to watch them all. lol I do wish it was more often. I love your blouse, I have several like that but people always think I’m pregnant. UGH!! when my husband is employed full time and we can afford a babysitter we would go out once a week… usually a Tuesday or something like that. otherwise it’s not very often 🙁 that is pretty funny Meg! We usually try to have date night every so often. Not as much since Brian has been working to rebuild my Dads house from the floods in May but it is so important! LOL that is crazy!! Date night seems so much fun : ) Maybe when i’m older!! We get date night once a month thanks to our free babysitter “Grandma D”. She’s our adopted gramma since ours are far away. We are so appreciative to her. I wish I could go every week too! Oh my! That is so funny! I love date night. We don’t do it nearly as often as we would like…we try to take advantage of grandparents and have a date night every time we’re staying with either of our parents. Other than that, we MAYBE get one a month at home, with a sitter and everything. In the summer we’ve discovered a wonderful stay-at-home “date” and that is sitting around a fire in our fire pit having a glass of wine and chatting after the kids go to bed. We love it! (our kids are little, though, so they go to bed early!) date night for us comes along by chance once every few months if we’re lucky. we don’t live near family, so it’s kind of hard to find someone to watch the kids for us. but when we get the chance, we make sure to take it! glad you had fun! not often enough. probably once every couple of months. we do spend a lot of time together though, since my fiance works evenings, so we get to spend our days together, which is nice. but we do need to spend more time alone. We dont have children, just 2 naughty dogs which we cant leave unattended for too long. So we usually have date night once a month if we can afford it. Ha. Funny. So, in the past year, since our last baby was born, we have had 4 dates. 3 of these dates, our oldest daughter said she had to come with us because we were seeing a movie she wanted to see. Finally, last week, my husband and I went out for our first date in a year, alone. However, our oldest really tried to come! 😛 Your outfits are too funny! I love date night. Now that my kids are a bit older – we try to get out once a week. My favorite date night is our once a month “euchre club”……(a card game very popular in Michigan). We get together with 6 to 8 couples and play euchre, eat yummies and drink our adult beverages……..Oh by the way, tonight is euchre night!! Date night comes for us about once every 4-6 months. Weekly would be awesome, but I think monthly would still be better for a reprieve from our two kids. Nice to be reminded you are also an adult and wife, not just a Mom. we weren’t always super intentional about our dates in the beginning of our parenthood days… sometimes it takes some ingenuity to do a date and figure out how to pay a babysitter… Too Cute! Hilarious with the guys!!! We have a 2 1/2 and 4 year old so date night when it happens is so wonderful. We try to have date night at least once a month more if we can find a family sitter. Everyone keeps saying it’ll get easier to leave (and not feel so guilty) as they get older. 🙂 Ok, that is HILARIOUS!!! We try to have a date night once a week, but that doesn’t always mean going out. We take turns and on whatever night of the weekend it is, that person’s turn is to cook a nice dinner, or make dessert for a movie fest we are going to have, just something special, where it is just the two of us, no computers, tv, phones…You started out just the two of you, you will end up, just the two of you, so don’t lose just the two of you somewhere in the middle! Loved that you all dressed in the same things, what a hoot! My son was looking over my shoulder when I clicked on your blog post today. Before I could read the first sentence, he said, “Why are they all wearing the same thing?” We never do 🙁 We are losers and I think it is soooo important!!! You are so right when you said….it’s just nice to be a wife for a few hours without so many demands from the little darlings 😉 I’m glad you feel refreshed! Happy Fourth!!!! Once a week. During the school year, “date night” is sometimes during the day when they’re at school and we’re both off (we work weird hours). During the summer, it’s more intentional and we make sure to get out to run errands alone at least once a week and out on a date twice a month. Love that time alone with him! at least monthly or more often depending on my husband’s schedule ): but we always try to make time after almost 44yrs this month (: hilarious! you two dressed the same, but men too? 😀 I laughed when I saw the pic of the two of you, but it turned into a gaffaw when you posted the boys’ pic. Hilarious. That is funny. sippy cup refills….if it didn’t cause terrible toxic fumes I would have a sippy cup and plastic plate burn party in a few years….after a hot date night…. This has happened to us with our favorite couple friends, except we were ALL matching. It was so reeeediculous! right now we are staying with my in-laws while we wait to close escrow on our new home… so we are getting lots of free babysitting for lots of spontaneous date nights! 🙂 it’s so great being able to put the baby down at 7:30 and then handoff the monitor and go out to see a movie. 🙂 Not often enough…but we did have 3 days home alone together with one kid at camp and the other 3 and Grandma’s house…and it was the best 3 days ever! No tending to kid-needs, no particular routine…just enjoyed hanging out together and doing stuff. It was AWESOME! : ) Close to never. That is how often we have date night. But hopefully that will change as we move closer to family, ska “free babysitting”. We try to go once a month…..but I always seem to feel guily about leaving the kids behind… Definitely not as often as we should. I can’t even remember the last date night we had and we only have one child so far. We don’t have it enough! We always talk about doing it more and then life gets in the way. And why are the sippy cups always empty!? Seriously 🙂 Been married 13 yrs. and neglected datenights terribly. Until recently we realized they are not just important but CRITICAL….now we let NOTHING stop us and go out once a week and really make it a date…hold hands, touch hands, etc. I love date night! I SO need that reminder (that I am not just a mommy) as well!! We try to have a date night at least once a month, but I would love to have one every week! that is hysterical!!!! i have recently begun the habit of dressing like the baby. i dress her first and throw my clothes together before we run out the door & then as soon as we’re out somewhere, someone notices we’re in similar outfits. what the heck? and why always the baby and not the older kids? I would love to have one every week-but that is pretty unlikely while my husband is in school full time and and we have three kids. There is a free parents night out once a month through my husband’s seminary, so this year we will get to go out at least once a month-I am so ready for those to start. We have a mandatory once a month date night, but we try to go more often. But definitely once a month. When I was on bed rest even, date night was sending the kids away, unplugging the phones and computer and snuggling on the couch with popcorn, candy and a movie. We do date night once a month. We got married on the 16th of December, and every month near the 16th we go on a date. Sometimes we manage more than one date, but at least we are guaranteed at least one! My husband and I have been married for 6 years and we have 2 young children. We usually go out once a week or once every two weeks. We are so lucky to have both of our parents live in the same town as us so they are always willing to keep the babes when we go out. It is such a blessing to our marriage! Dates are so important! For years my husband and I went on coffee dates instead of date night because we were both in school and working full-time of course this is before we had kiddos. Now we have 2 kids and we still go on coffee dates which really means everything from going on walks, really having coffee, dinner, lunch, etc. No matter what we have learned that we need to get away from our kids and out of the house. I have found as I am approaching my 20th wedding anniversary that it is so important to have that connection with my husband. when we lived in GA near my family for 5 years, we took a date night every single week…now that we’ve lived in Orlando for the past 2 years….we go out about 1-2 times a month….BUT, we order in take out food (just for us) every single Saturday night…and when we put the kids to bed….we have a date night at the house! Its funny we seem to think going to Costco is like sneaking away on a date…pretty much anytime we can get somewhere without the kids…. lucky for us now that the kids are able to be home alone we can have regular time alone with each other. Its sweet! My husband and I are sorely in need of a date night! We have two teenagers, so there’s no babysitter to get or pay. Thanks for the reminder! Life is a date night for us right now. Three kids, grown and married. We’ve been married 35 years. Life is a honeymoon. Not to rub it in or anything. Keep up the date nights. Pretty soon it will be your life. omg that’s hilarious! i love your necklace!! we RARELY have date night 🙁 boo! my sister has it every friday night! We decided once a month. And it is now July (to state the obvious as what other month would it be????) and we’ve managed date night ONCE this year. Note to self – have to get out on date night more often! Thanks for the reminder Meg. i can’t remember the last time i had date night. i need to start letting my husband know whats more important. the easy chair with ‘cops’ or ‘most incredidble car whatevers’ or us. thank you meg for this reminder. Hi! I saw this episode of Oprah…it was about..organizing your life or something. But the expert there said that having a date night once a month…is better than going on vacation! That totally opened up my eyes! We’re supposed to have a ‘date night’ once a week when we turn the tv off and just talk and then once a month go out for dinner/movie but neighter of those has beenhappening with any regularity recently! 🙁 Never had a double date though! How funny that you all dressed the same!! We used to… but since we’ve moved, we haven’t in @ 2 years… we need to get on it! We used to have date nights but we stopped. We are going to start again! You have inspired me! Thanks!:) Lori haha – that is so funny!!! Meg….sounds like you all had fun. Date nights are so so important!!! celebrating our 27th year of marriage in a few days and we have always thru our marriage have gone on date nights. We all need them. Keep it up. the winner for the pillow is….
And one last time I voted for it.
an iPad would have been great….but this is just as great to me. Peanut Butter Baby won in the end.
and now vote # 2….you are still in 1st place girl!
vote #4 – man i hope you win!! YAY!!! TODAY….
i always love the whatever verse. 🙂 i hope that all of YOU have a wonderful day today. I really wish I hadn’t seen this as I really want one now! [url=”http://www.australialuxeshoes.com/australia-luxe-collective-nordic-angel-light-tall-fox-wool-boots-in-chestnut-p-11.html”] discount[/url] Congratulations on winning the ipod! I love Howling Bells, her voice is just mesmerizing. Gary Lightbody recomended them on either SP’s website or in his Q The Music column a while back. I downloaded radio wars and love it. meg, i totally needed to hear those two verses today. so thanks! Yay happy happy joy joy – you won an ipod touch! I am wanting one! Love your scriptures too. My favorite is always Romans 8:28 but I have several others that fall close behind. Call me a Jesus freak…I like it! Hi 🙂 Congrats… So happy for you! Your blog is always so fun Meg! Congrats on the ipod touch…my kiddos would take mine if I won…enjoy your new toy! i hope she brings you a piece of cake! Yay for 2nd!!! Just so you know…I only have a lame phone that’s about 5 years old and totally on it’s last leg. And just this morning, my 10yo said if she didn’t get a phone or ITouch, she would “die”. Howling Bells opened for Coldplay last year. My niece downloaded some of their songs right after that – she really liked them! http://weirdfriends.tumblr.com/post/735649667 Have fun today Meg. Looking forward to reading about your antics with your ‘guest’ and her 357 children. sooo excited about winning…think i’ll go buy a lottery ticket now. can’t believe i got that LUCKY! Thanks for posting the Romans 8 verse today. It was on my mind all day after being with my friend’s family who lost a nephew this week. eeeeek have fun with laura… i can’t wait to read all about it. like whether she’s as short as she says! (the cat looks dangerous though) You are my favorite blog, too. So much, that I linked to you today…hope that’s ok! Thanks for passing along the positive energey about being good to neighbors. 🙂 Hi MEG!!! You are by far my fa.vor.ite blog! I send everyone to you. Even though you didn’t win first place in that giveaway maybe you can win first place in mine! Check it out. I hope you enjoy!!! Well done to all winners!!! 😀 hehe… I was going to say the same thing abt the iPad – Pioneer Woman’s is kaput! You are prolly better off! 😀 Romans 8:38-39 has gotten me through serious times. Every time I read it, I get the chills! Praise God that we are not responsible for our salvation! None of us would make it. 🙂 Are there any more weeks to enter?? I vote you enter the pic of Waffle wearing those glasses (or that wig!) and we can all try voting again! Meg, hope you have a great day. I LOVE my iPod Touch! You’ll love yours, too. Love everything about this. Love your neighbor as yourself. Indeed. You’re so encouraging! My mom is coming today, too! I’m recovering from back surgery and preparing to move across the world (literally). Her visit will be so appreciated, plus, I always love spending time with her. give Laura a hug for me! ahhh! it’s laura! i wanna come too 🙁 i’ll bet she’s expecting french toast… YAY! for mini iPads! 🙂 Congratulations on your win! You are such a good sport. Thanks for the encouraging, pick-me-up post. You rock! Congrats on your win! I’m sure you and Laura will have a great visit, it’s sure to be great blog material!!! 🙂 I bet I know who it is! I have been following her trip daily on FB. We may have a hurricane heading for Texas but you have one heading for Kansas! Have a great time! oh Wow! What a wonderful surprise to wake up to! Thank you Meg! And a big congrats to you on the iPod Touch. It’s a pretty cool toy. Love this happy bubbly post. I can see you are full this morning Meg. Hope you have a wonderful visit with your mom and company. Always a joy starting my day with you:) Congrats on winning an IPod Touch. $300 less that you have to spend! Congrats Megan…hope you have a great day and can’t wait to hear about your guest…. congrats on winning the ipod! i am in a great mood too today, and also have not had my coffee….weird for me! hope it stays, we have a hurricane coming to texas, so we’re stuck inside all day. have fun cleaning lol, i will be doing the same thing! happy wednesday 🙂 oh my goodness…is it laura? piece of cake? on her xcountry trip??? please say YES! THAT, my friend, is GREAT BLOG material! (you should see me smiling right now. it’s ridiculous!) Hope your day is fabulous, too! while my sister was visiting me we headed out to my happy place. carolyn's house is just happy. i love it out there. we'll see. She is beautiful! I’ve been chiekcng every day to see if you’ve posted anything and this is so worth the wait. Jacob and Callie’s wedding is next weekend and we will be missing your special touch. Little Ms. June should have some beautiful pics during her life. I really wish I hadn’t seen this as I really want one now! I laughed when you said the fish bit you and you were done in the water because the same thing happened to me when I was visiting my sister in Georgia! lol So apparently your blog now falls under what my work considers a “social networking site” and it’s blocked… Just how do they expect me to get through my day?! 🙂 OMG. the toad pics rule! I thought your happy place was Pizza Hut:) Looks like so much fun. Looks like fun! what??? waffle likes something better than ME??? lol! hopefully he wasn’t writing down directions or he may just take his own road trip to carolyn’s! It’s so cool how your sister’s daughter looks exactly like her and Talby looks just like you! Fun in the sun…perfect!! Happy time indeed! Perfect summer stuff. Well except for the toad. I wouldn’t want to hold the toad. Nope. What a fun day! It is totally okay to have your happy place be someone else’s house! (Target is my happy place…ha!) When I was a kid, we had frogs in our pool. I like those little guys–kinda like toads! Looks like fun! I wanna turn with the toad. so fun. As long as you have a happy place Meg…that’s all that matters. Looks like a fun day…your sis hasn’t aged a year since the last time I can remember seeing her (at least 15 years ago)…maybe I should try more sunscreen:) The frog pictures ruined it for me. Not a happy place at all…I hate frogs…just the sight of those pictures make me cringe. What a fun honor to have your home be someone else’s happy place. I’ll bet she loves it! Your daughter looks like your sister! I can see why that is your happy place. waffle is looking as fetching as usual. If it’s weird, then I’m weird, cause my happy place if I were closer would be your house and Carolyn’s house 😉 I LOVE the frog pictures, esp the first one! And Waffle is the cutest! Tons of fun! Is it weird to admit that I think I have a dog-crush on Waffle?! He is just sooo darn cute. I just want to squeeze him! Oh, now this is interesting. I’d say your house is my dream home. We live in a 1932 ‘charmer’ but it is a plain jane colonial. When I play with my house, I pretend it’s yours. Are you kidding?!?! That peanut butter baby came back and won??? NO WAY!!! I can’t believe it! She did something serious to come back from that far behind. Bummer. Your picture was so awesome too. I’m bummed for you. Enjoy your happy place. on a sunday. so i agreed.
i guess if you were going to hang these outside you would want to put polyurethane over the paint. ************************************************************************************************************************ this is an iPad we're talking about! sanning this website then you will get good things. sanning this website and you won’t regret it. This article the reality of the matter. pleased, It is nice to see views that are informative beneficial anyway. is talby’s birdhouse for sale?! 🙂 LOVE. i can’t vote. it won’t let me sorry Hmm. I tried to go in to see who was in the lead or who won, but now when I try to go to the page via your link or the URL I have – it says it’s forbidden. Uh-oh! Can anyone else get to the site? I love crafts, my kids love crafts……we should craft today and make cookies!!!!!! 🙂 the birdhouses turned out lovely, and yes I voted for your photo..yay and hope you win! your kids are so good at taking their time on crafts…mine zip right through them. You are a super awesome mom! I’m so getting my kids birdhouses! Talby did a great job on her birdhouse. She is very orderly and precise! I love it. Such dedication to craft with your kids every Thursday. You really inspire me to be a better mom. : ) i couldn’t find your photo…and it wouldn’t let me go to the second page of photos. does anyone know if i’m doing something wrong? Just discovered your blog. What a fun blog you have! I love your photos. They’re so colorful and full of love for your family. I’ll be back often. love the birdie houses!! but most of all…love the “Thursday” craft- done on Sunday- posted on Monday! 🙂 sounds alot like our house!! I’ve read your blog for months and comment inside my head 🙂 … but felt compelled to post today to say I voted for you. Love your blog! That is a great pic that certainly made me smile. Best of luck — I hope you win! LOL at the days you post your Craft Thursday! I love the color your children chose. Meg~ love the bird houses…that’s something i have not done yet with the kids…love the blue one..and a skink? really? my boy loves the blue-tongued skink at the zoo! oh i love the birdhouses. the blue one especially. what artists you have! I voted! I voted for you because I love your blog, would love to know you for real, and you inspire me! THANK YOU! I tried to vote again, but it wouldnt let me Talby looks just like you in the picture where she’s holding her pretty blue fingernail up. Have a fun day! I would LOVE to sit and chat with you over coffee! Wouldn’t that be fun? I need to clean too. Thanks for the reminder;) Have a great day Meg. If someone entered that contest, it probably means they have both a camera and a computer (and who cares what size house they have?)… If I win, please dontate my pillow to the PB lady. Better yet, maybe to Cath W (the first commenter on this post)! I’m just sayin’… =) Love all the bright colours. They would look great in a back yard. There is poly spray that would be really nice and quick. Just checked out your picture and it says your are number one. Looks like an ipad is in your future. FUN!!! Maybe I need to just suck it up and go to Hobby Lobby…been trying to stay away 🙂 I spend waaay too much money every time I go 🙂 Ha! Peanut Butter baby is cute too – if it is close, I completely understand. I voted the max # of times. Where are you displaying all of the other crafts? In the craft room? I love that bright turquoise of Talby’s! The birdhouses turned out great!! We painted some birdhouses recently too. I found ours in the dollar bins at Michael’s, in case anyone is looking…they were a little bit smaller than Meg’s. I LOVE the beads glued on! Why didn’t I think of that?! LOVE the beads glued to the bird houses- cute! Thank you for yet another wonderful post Meg. It’s the middle of winter here in Australia. We have the heating on despite it being a sub-tropical climate. And your posts bring a sunny, warm and colourful blast to my screen. I love them! I really love the bird houses! Love the colour Talby used…summery blue : ) Maybe Peanut Butter Baby’s Mum doesn’t have a nice big house with a computer and laptop, and money for birdhouses on ‘Craft Thursday’. Maybe she doesn’t have time to make pillows to bribe people to vote for her with. Just sayin’ that it doesn’t seem fair somehow. Just an opinion.
it was a good day. thank you for the donations yesterday to Word Made Flesh. What a GREAT post!!! These types of pictures will be so great for your kids to look through someday. They remind of me of little mental pics/memories I have of growing up. 🙂 Love your blog. I love your posts like this! What a neat way to document your day. Will have to try that sometime 🙂 I love this post. A day in pictures. Thanks, I may *need* to copy this one! oooh-la-la! A typical mommy day…. I am inspired every time I visit your blog – which is nearly every day! Your family has an energy, zest for life and love of creativity that I just adore. I wish we could move in with you. Love the random shots.. Dying to here more about the chandy! Is that for the dining room ? I just adore your everyday pix! love your Tuesday.. I making it my 4th of July mission to figure out how to make those Sangria Swirls. I’ll let you know when I’ve got the recipe perfected. Hobby Lobby is my favorite place in the world. It’s my de-stress place. I just go to walk up and down the aisles and feel inspired. Lovely day!! Gorgeous day, Meg. Happy, happy children….especially lovely photo of Scott (?) unpacking dishwasher – surely such an act of obedience and generosity is worthy of framing? These photos just cry out to me that the little things are life really are the most precious. Meredy xo. OMG we have that huge strbucks mug!! So gorgeous. I loved this post! Fun day! My day was awesome today, because I made a rainbow cake using your tutorial for one of my good friends – it’s her birthday, but she’s going through a divorce and doesn’t have one of her daughters with her, and she’s really depressed. I kidnapped her other daughter for the day and we made the cake for her – I iced it white and the kids and I didn’t tell her it was a rainbow cake. When she cut into it, she was SO happy – she said it was the best cake she’s ever gotten, even better than the Helly Kitty cake she got in 2nd grade. So THANK YOU for helping me make someone’s day! 🙂 Looks like the perfect day ~ though you were quite busy 🙂 The photography is BEAUTIFUL. you are able to capture the magic in every moment. so basically, you didn’t do anything??? It WAS a good day. Amazing how yours resemble mine! You did all of that in one day? I’m tired:) First of all, I’m so jealous that you have a Hobby Lobby close by. LOVE your necklace Meg! How do you get used to taking photos everywhere (the gas station, Hobby Lobby, etc.). I am so shy about it with my big camera! If you could write about it, I’d really like that! once again you’ve made my smile… love your pic’s ! love me some waffle ;)… Wow what a full day! Loving these photos. Esp the coloured fingernails. So Meg do you have a ‘swagger wagon’? ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4 )LOL I’m so jealous of your clay store! I did this in school and want my Maggie to experience it but no place in the whole Nashville area! Can you believe that!?! Only places to paint “already made” pieces. Looks like a wonderful day! Love this post. it looks like a full day but fun- I love how you highlite what some may view as the ordinary. You demonstrate how each moment is a gift. Love that. Woah – that was a Day. i love that picture of annie on the desk….inspired to capture the simple, candid moments…. i spy….star wars sheets, patriotic fingernails, a chore I need to get done, and a margarita sangria swirl. and a smart dog laying on the cold tile to beat the heat. 🙂 it certianly does look like a good day! I love “day in the life” photo series, I feel a little bit more motivated to go start my laundry. Wow, looks like a good and busy day! I have that same chandelier, and I painted mine white too…now it’s been “crystalized” and hanging in my bathroom. That is one busy day! Is Clayworks in Newton? What an awesome place! FYI….My son LOVED the peanut butter pie recipe I made last week….I am now making it again!! Hes a picky eater..so its practically a miracle that he thinks im awesome now for making it..lols…love the pics..my son has the same star wars bed set…gotta love pottery barn….even though I may go broke…lols!!! Looks like an AMAZING day! Beautiful photos. Beautiful cause.
with a note… i do. WMF has a small staff of 11 people who work with the youth and community. so….i am asking again. or ten? thank you to all of you who gave already. I love this! I really wish I could figure out how to go over there and donate my time and start something as amazing as this! i get all teary-eyed when i look at your Africa pictures. those babies, children, families, loved ones. sigh! makes my heart ache because i feel helpless. Makes me smile 🙂 Mallory…I really like her too! So glad you posted this, I was wondering what ever came of it! Precious, just precious. God Bless You! I am so in Love with Amy’s fabrics, not to mention all her products. I love her much more after seeing her heart shine in this way. That’s cool. wow, wow, woohoo, wow! look at you! i’m so proud to be a reader, meg–you keep spreading HIS word and amazing things are happening. and amy butler and her gang, thank you! i bet those boys are going to SMILE for a week straight! awesome. just donated…it’s amazing the impact you’re having by just posting a blog What a beautiful post! 🙂 Amy Butler + Staff=CLASSY What a story…so thrilled that the love of Jesus is in you and in these precious ones in Africa! Thanks for inspiring us to open our hearts… That is amazing, and so nice of her and just.. wonderful. Meg, Thank you for sharing your stories. You don’t know the impact it has made on me… and many others I am sure. I am taking our two kids to Mexico with our church this July. My husband can’t come (work), but for some reason I was called. I got scared then remembered two quotes that hang next to my computer in my studio. One says “OVERCOME FEAR. BEHOLD WONDER – don’t know author.” The other says “FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY! – creator of Jimmy Choo Shoes”. So, off we go. You give me guts!!! Thank you 🙂 oh, how i love amy butler. she is so generous. i fell in love with the colors she painted her booth at market a few years back. (saw the pictures of the booth on her website.)on a whim, i emailed her to see if she would give me the paint colors. she did! her hubby emailed me back and so did she! i painted my room right up with those colors and then made a big old quilt from her belle line of fabrics. it’s nice to know she is still so very generous after all of her continued success. Makes me want to buy Amy Butler fabric even though I don’t sew! I buy the Amy Butler scrapbook papers, love them!! Great post and kudos to the Amy Butler team! Meg, what you did and what you do is amazing! You are an inspiration to me, all the way over here in Europe. WMF if from my city, and I’ve never even heard of it before! I just spent a while reading their website – how awesome! I will definitely spread the word around 🙂 Yay! yes!!!! Oh wow, that is just good, good stuff. I love it. Oh those sweet African faces. I want to kiss those little baby cheeks. Such generosity! Lovely : ) i give to another effort in africa that my friends are a part of… Wonderful, the kindness and generosity of people! Chills and tears! you are such good peeps, what a beautiful post. 🙂 AMAZING Megan!!! Isn’t it amazing how one life touches another, touches another, touches another…..amen! |
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Denise - Your oldest son has the best smile! Looks like y’all had a great time.
Denise
Carol - Your block party looks absolutely amazing! Where I live, no one ever comes out of their homes. It must be nice to have an entire block participate in something. I’d like to know how to make the sidewalk chalk paint, too!!
Aaron Greenwood - I totally love your neighborhood.
can I join??
It looks AMAZING!!!
you lucky girl……
Amber - oh i used to have block parties but now that i am in a new home i don’t know the neighbors yet. 😉 p.s. lauren is so pretty! i love her style.
hattie - Looks like sooooo much fun! I want to live on y’all block!
Martina - WOW! Really great party! 🙂
Jessica @ One Shiny Star - I love your neighborhood! Neighborhoods like that don’t exist where I’m from… just really packed suburbia, or really empty rural areas. lol. Looks like fun!
Musings Of A Gem - Hey Meg!
I love your block parties…love the community you live in..seems so welcoming : )
Hope you all had a great 4th of July : )
Gemma X
Courtney - That looks like so much fun. Your kids will have memories they can tell their kids.
Rachel @ Pencil Shavings - Ooh, I must know what sidewalk chalk paint is!
Melanie - Looks like you had a great time. I love Annie’s face in that photo where her number was called. She always looks so happy!
Dana D@BoysMyJoys - The pic of Annie’s expression when she won is just priceless!
And, that Lauren- she just gets more and more beautiful!
I’m ready to move to your neighborhood now!
But, I don’t think I can convince my Superman to move 🙁
Jill - How fun! We’re very blessed to have great neighbors too, sure makes summer fun!
Kathryn Goertzen - What great fun! One question though . . . they let you close off First Street???
the inadvertent farmer - It is on the 4th of July that I miss living in a close knit neighborhood as opposed to a farm in the boonies!
Great post…Americana at its best! Kim
Dana@Bungalow'56 - We had a great Canada Day too. I couldn’t stop myself and posted way too many pictures. That water slide looks like the BEST! You live in such a wonderful community. Makes me a little jealous. But in a good way.
Dana
Juli - Oh man, that looks SO fun! I called my hubby into the room prefacing it with, “you know that family I’m always telling you about in Kansas?”
His response: “Yeah, I am pretty sure I know which you’re referring to since you talk about them near daily. I think I know all their kids names too!”
I showed him the photos and he said that this is what he’s been trying to tell me all along, that life is better in the Midwest. He grew up in a little town- Caledonia, IL.
amy j. - Great pictures! I love the one of Lawson and Annie on the Bonzai! Remind me to stay away from Russ and his phone. Or maybe I can pretend that you used that app on the pictures of me here? 🙂 That’s it. I’m not that fat in real life, am I?
Lisa - I enjoyed all the pictures from your block party…that looks so fun. I would love to live in your neighborhood, I think I’d fit right in…Although I love CA and my house here, I sometimes dream of moving to a Mid-Western or East Coast small town and living in a neighborhood filled w/ old homes.
p.s. Lauren is such a beautiful girl!
Margo - I am so jealous of your block parties! Some of my friends used to live on your block and they told me all about them – more neighborhoods need to have those parties!
Holly - That looks like a lot of fun!
Stefanie - Are there any houses for sale on your block?!?
Juli - Wonderful post! Found myself wishing there were more photos of your neighbors’ houses. They look so homey and inviting, and many of them seem to have a wonderful front porch. Would you take some photos of them, pretty please?
Lisa K - I can pretty much delete the rest of the blogs from the list in my sidebar. I just need my daily dose of your sweetness, your great pictures, your happy colorful life. I’m putting my house on the market and moving to Kansas now 🙂
Bec - The neighborhood I grew up in was shaped like a horseshoe and had a huge field behind it so our block parties were massive. Now there aren’t any kids left and the block parties have stopped. Hopefully someday my husband and I can find a neighborhood that’s willing to party 🙂
heidi @ wonder woman wannabe - F U N!!! can I come live in your ‘hood? 🙂
Jessica - i want to live on your block!
Michelle Whitlow - How fun!!! I love block parties. They seemed to be much more common when I lived in MI but I haven’t really seen anything like that here in GA. Maybe I need to start a new tradition down here!
Krista - Looks like it was a blast! Love the photo of airborne Annie coming down the water slide! Also, saw your patriotic plaid dress on Amy’s blog– love, love love it!
Sana - yes, i’m coming over, too. i’ll bring my famous tuna salad.
shelly @familyblt - Looks like sososo much fun! Your neighbors look like lots of fun!
tami - You guys looked like you had a ball! Summertime fun!
Monica - Please send directions to your neighborhood. I’m moving there immediately!!
How much fun! 🙂
mindi jo - Love your blog! This is my first time commenting, but I just had to when I saw on miss amy #1’s blog that we wore the same dress to celebrate the 4th! Great taste 🙂 Looks like a great time. I’ll have to get some of that sidewalk paint for my girls!
Jill Loy - That rocks! Thank you for sharing. We are going to have to make that chalk paint very soon!
Kimberlee J. - What fun! Both of my girls were asleep by 8:15!
Mansi - Food looked gr8..what did you cook?
Peggyrice@gmail.com - Looks like so much fun! Love the firecracker walk.
april - Did I see peanut butter pie?? lols…I won a raffle at our citys 4th of July carnival…won a fly pen and leap frog….your pics were great!! Block parties are the best!!!But where were you in all the pics??? lols
Heather Lea - looks like one fun neighborhood, makes me almost wish we knew our neighbors…..almost.
leslie - oh man that food looked so good…especially some strawberry layered stuff wrapped in plastic…
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Dude! That is awesome.
That’s it. I’m coming over. Then moving to Kansas.
Wait.. I mean, moving to Kansas, then coming over.
I’ll bring cake. Promise.
K? K. 🙂
amy d - how is it that the person who fills all the water balloons always gets the cooler dumped on them????
that picture of lawson and annie is HILARIOUS!!!!!!! craig and i laughed for ever about it!
miley and talby…umm, wow that was a super smooch!
I heart our awesome block!