indiana camping

some of my favorite childhood memories are times spent camping with my dad.
spring tent camping and fall & winter cabin camping.
campfires, games, sing-a-longs & flashlights skipping here and there.
too many snacks, comfy sleeping bags, hot chocolate, & star-gazing.
laughter, late nights, fresh air & staying up late into the night.

twenty-some {!!!} years later i still love everything about camping.
although i now substitute an air mattress for a sleeping bag & beer for hot chocolate.

this weekend we'll celebrate the start of summer by going camping in indiana.

friends will come. campfires will be built. food cooked over the fire & beers drank.
stories will be told & we'll stay up way too late. too many snacks will be had.
& i'm sure we'll sing-a-long when our favorite country song comes on the radio.

when i'm camping, it's like all is right in the world.
the beer is colder. the night lingers longer. the stars are brighter.
marshmallows are for dessert.
life just automatically slows to an enjoyable pace.
sounds like a perfect way to welcome the start of summer.

picture by: simply bloom photography

adventures

over the past few weeks we've had quite a few adventures together.

training for & running {& finishing!} a half marathon.
painting the shutters & front door of our house{what a difference!}.
spending hours in menards gathering supplies for late spring diy projects.
watching our grill attempt to set our house on fire.
switching things up & having breakfast for dinner.
celebrating a 30th birthday in vegas.
betting on horsies at keeneland in the pouring rain.

little adventures. bigger adventures.
adventures all the same each with it's own set of memories.

i want to have adventures with you. because it isn't one without you.
via bippity boppity boo

children, marriages & flower gardens

i always look forward to spring.
warmer weather, green grass, peeks of sunshine, chirping birds
& a reason, almost every week, to wear my cute rain boots.

more so i eagerly anticipate seeing that first tulip sprout out of the ground.
seeing the buds on tree branches & the leaves on the perennials start to appear.
i get a little too giddy going to the garden center & picking out our annuals.
one day i want to have a fabulous garden.
my parents had three. one for vegetables and two for flowers.
my mom was always out in the gardens in the summer.
tending to the flowers and plucking fresh tomatoes & lettuce.

so much care went into those gardens.
& the result was beautiful.

one day i want a garden like that for myself.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.
one day i want children.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.
but until all of that happens, i have my marriage.
to care for & cultivate. to enjoy. to keep me busy. to make life more beautiful.

photo via revelment

arranged friendships

this weekend we headed to keeneland to celebrate a friend's birthday.

friends are quite spectacular things, aren't they?

i have a few good friends that i hope will stick around.

we've celebrated college graduations, engagements & weddings together

& someday {not any time too soon for me!}, the birth of our children.

as arranged marriages aren't too popular in the States these days.

i'll take an arranged friendship between our child & the child of our friends.

i would hope that they are a dynamic little duo. like batman & superman.

both little superheroes on their own accord but more powerful together.

resulting in lots of adventures & only a few broken bones.

lots of memories & plenty of belly laughs.

more so, a friendship that spans years & years covering graduations, weddings,

& witnessing friendships form between the little superheroes of their own.

via bippity boppity boo

important

there are times where one has to pause for a hot second

& remember that there are only a few important things in life.

in the end, working that extra hour won't matter.

neither will the time spent fretting about the appearance of gray hairs.

all of the hours spent watching shows on bravo won't do you any good either.

conversation over coffee & breakfast on a sunday morning. important.

its when you talk about the upcoming week with sprinkles of hopes & dreams.

weekend breakfast/lunch & dinner convos are my favorite.

put down the blackberry. turn off the tv. engage.

sharing {& indulging} in each other's interests. important.

for my husband this means going to target with me. every weekend.

for me, it's letting the husband golf often & gamble occasionally.

hence, vegas & why i'm going to join him on the links this summer.

play together you stay together.

helping others. important.

everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.

be kind. hold your tongue. help. give. smile. love.

spend time with family. important.

hence making sure chris' family was invited {& came!} to vegas.

hence taking some vacation days to help my mom plan her june wedding.

and address her invitation envelopes. and write a moh speech.

love. express your love. spend time together. take pictures.

make new friends but keep the old. important.

i have 7 close friends.

you know, the ones that come to your dad's funeral no matter the distance.

the ones that you can always pick-up with right where you left off.

the ones that mean more than they know. call, text, twitter. keep up.

few things matter in the end.

here's to hoping that i continue to realize what they are.

and work towards making the things that matter...matter.

a slight gentleman via mary ruffle

more stories to tell

i have officially crossed vegas off my list of places that i want to see.

it was , in a word, a blur. and three and a half days was enough.

i think i am still dehydrated from the sun & the drinks. there are other places that i want to travel to. the sooner the better.

texas. california. hawaii. massachusetts. north carolina.

&, naturally, overseas. multiple times. as soon as possible.

i want more stories to tell.

via coqueterias tumblr

a 30th. celebrated.

within the last few years one thing has be come apparent to me.

life is short but sweet for certain.

in thinking about my husband's 30th i knew i wanted to celebrate.

more importantly celebrate him, his life & everything he loves.

which are, in no order: me, family, friends, gambling, captain & sprite.

so, i planned a surprise 4-day trip for his birthday.

on the day of our departure, we arrived at the airport.

he still had no idea where we were headed {except that it might be warm}!

i led him aimlessly around the airport, before letting him know

that we were headed for vegas! as we walked to our gate, each with a huge grin on our face,

his childhood friend & girlfriend appeared & told him they were coming too!

we made it to the hotel {caesars!} in vegas & proceeded to live it up.

later that night, after several drinks, another surprise came:

his whole family appeared from behind him at the roulette table.

and that wasn't all. four more of our friends {old & new} followed hours later.

all in all, 16 people flew to vegas to celebrate his birthday.

the girls spent time by the pool and the guys at the sports book.

we went to a club {vip!} & a delicious steak dinner.

but mainly enjoyed each others company.

even if it was around an electronic roulette table.

it was a short trip, but sweet for certain. time {& money} well spent celebrating someone special. i love you chris.