My Summer Essentials

There are a few things that have just helped make my summer days go a little more smoothly, and here they are:

I tried this a few months ago and LOVED it.  I loved the way my skin felt, and I felt like I really didn't need much make up over top.  I just restocked and am pumped!

I feel like as far as mascara goes, different ones work for different people like different hair products work for different people, but I picked this one up and have really been loving it.  I often use more than one mascara, but with this it really lengthens without looking like too much.

This concealer has been great to keep on hand or in my diaper bag when I feel like I need a little face lift.  Recommended from Kate, so you can't really ever go wrong!!

I LOVE MY APPLE WATCH.  It's one of those things that I feel like, how did I live without it!?  It's great to get notifications where I am without being attached to my cell phone.  I have my phone way less, and I love the way it tracks my work outs.

I've really tried to get diet pop out of my life, and I'm loving these with lunch or in the afternoon when I'm actually waiting for that glass of wine ;).  I'm thinking it'll be a good vaca mixer for me, too

This little four pack of celery has been perfect to grab and dip into peanut butter, it's quick, already cut, and decent for me.  They've been my go-to, quick snack.

SNAP CHAT!!

We are teaching Griffin, too.  It's a good little change of pace that Kaylee loves.

I feel like I'm always in the shade with the baby, so my tan is pretty lacking.  My cousin recommended this to me, and I really like it!

Those are some of my summer favorites that are making my days!  Happy Monday!

Summer Breakfasts for Littles

I feel like there are so many extra picnics, parties, parades, etc in the summer, which usually means extra junk food. I always feel better about our days if I start Kaylee off with something decent, and feel less guilty if there are one or ten extra treats thrown in. Here are three easy ones we've had on repeat:

This is a favorite, and if your kiddies watch Daniel Tiger, he gets credit for this one. I just put blueberries at the bottom of the bowl, cover them with natural oats, cover with water, then sprinkle some honey on top. Microwave one minute then cover with a little milk to cool. She then has a "blueberry hunt" while eating and loves it. And completely devours it. If I don't have blueberries she always loves peanut butter/banana oatmeal!!

Do you see the face here? Neither do I, HA! But a three year old with an imagination does!! This is easy and quick and she cracks up when I tell her she has to "eat the entire face!!"

Taste the rainbow!! Just banana and strawberry on a peanut butter English muffin. Sometimes I'll cut fruit and let her stick it on the peanut butter which is really fun (and messy)!

Lastly, When I have the ingredients and time, we do make your own yogurt parfaits, and Kaylee loves getting to make layers and add her own stuff!!

Happy (almost halfway point) of Summer, eeeek!

June 2017

I can't believe that we blinked and June is over!  It's been a busy one full of fun, family, and sleepless nights.  Here's our June summed up in a few (24ish) pictures (:

My brother got these two rappers, who are actually pretty huge now, to play/sing/dance at his school!  Kaylee loved it 

Kaylee and I got some pots and flowers and made a morning out of this.

It was so fun!  I hope to do it every summer.

These two went to a Pirates' game!  Kaylee had SO MUCH FUN, and I think her Daddy did too.

Girls' trip, plus a little boy :)

the two little babes.

These margs tasted SO GOOD.  Kelly and I had been talking about them for approx. one year, and we celebrated by having one or four more after ;)

Father's Day Weekend was so fun, and I'll do another post about.  This is us at my aunt's bakehouse.

This little guy is the CUTEST.

And he turned three months old.  #FourthTrimesterIsOver

Kaylee loves the boat so much that she often makes her own boat and drives all around.

KID FREE DATE NIGHT #CanIGetAnAmen

BUMBO BABY!

Rainy mornings call for all of the blankets and all of the stuffed animals.

This girl went to VBS for a week and had a cute little performance at the end of the week.  She was awesome.

Our town has community days every year, so we went and rode rides and ate funnel cake :)

My two crazies.

We celebrated Gerald's (half) birthday since there's so much craziness around Christmas.  Gerald got a Friday surprise and a Saturday Surprise, and Sunday morning we packed up the car on a surprise trip.  We went downtown to the fountains and there was so much activity going on in Market Square. We had the best day!

Hanging in the shade with my littlest guy.

We celebrated that night, too, at my parents.

And again the next day with the leftover brownies ;) #HappyBirthdayPenguin

Lots of park fun

And books on the porch.

It's been such a fun summer so far, and we have lots of FUN coming in July.  

Summer 2017

Every summer has looked so differently the past few years, and they have each been so fun for our family in different ways.  I wanted to make a list of plans we have and memories we hope to  create this summer:

** Vacation Bible School 

This will be a first for us, but I think Kaylee will LOVE it.  She couldn't have loved pre-school anymore, and loves Sunday School, so I'm thinking this will be a favorite.  I have her signed up for a morning one in June and an evening one in August!

**Family VACA

I'm so excited we are joining our favorites, the Kosts and Armbrusters, on a big family Vaca.  It'll be crazy with five under five, but I just have a feeling despite the craziness it'll be one we look back and reminisce on for years to come

**Boating/Swimming

We were so fortunate to get Kaylee tons of pool/boat time last summer, and her confidence took a gigantic leap by the end of summer.  I know it'll be harder this year with a baby, but I'm hoping to get her lots of water time.

**Girls' Trips

The Kost girls and us have made such fun memories doing little weekly girls' trips, and we have our first one planned for the summer.  CANNOT WAIT.

**Griffin's Baptism

This is such a special milestone, and we are so excited to welcome Griffin to leading a life with and for Christ.

**Girls' Nights

Hoping to have a few fun summer nights with my favorite girls.

**Date nights

These are so tough to do these days, but I want to have a few fun things scheduled.

**Ryan's 30th

My big bro is turning THIRTY!!! Funny thing is, I've been telling him he's pushing thirty for like 10 years, HA, but the time has come!  We have just started talking about how we are going to celebrate this big birthday of his.  

**Family room camp out

I think Kaylee would just love it if we "camped out" in sleeping bags and watched movies and had snacks in the 

**Date nights with our girl

I want to plan one night that Kaylee goes on a "date" with Gerald and one day or night where just her and I do something special together.  My dad did "Dates" with Ryan and me, and they're some of my favorite memories.  We got to pick where to go, and off we went, just the two of us.  

**4th of July Parade

We went to a local parade last year for the 4th, and it was so fun and kid-friendly.  My family and Ryan came, and I hope we do that again :)

**Idlewild

We went to Idlewild as a family last year, and Kaylee had the time of her life!  It was so fun, and I want to make it an annual thing.

**Family picnic

I want to have both the Tyler's and Griffin's over for a little picnic this summer.

**Biking/Walking

Getting to the gym isn't always going to be easy for me to do, so I want to make sure we are getting tons of outdoor exercise in our day-to-day.

This is all I have, so far! Looks like lots of fun and memory-making to be done.   I want to do better at blogging this summer, but I know at the very least I'll do a Summer recap where hopefully all of the above will be documented :).  

Here are some summer memes that had me laughing:

This is brilliant hahaha.

LOL because...Pittsburgh

Hoping this is me at the end of the summer!

Summer 2016 (Part two)

I didn't realize that part two would be this long, but I'm so glad it is :).  I love looking through these summer memories!  Here we go:

If someone said, "Choose one picture to define your summer" this would be it!  This girl lived.the.dream.

Because what's summer without cuddles..

...and sprinklers.

We had a Pittsburgh girls' trip filled with Chuck E Cheese, boating, and shopping.  It's always chaotic and perfect :)

My Favorite!

We went to a wedding that my brother dj'd, so Gerald was trying out some of the equipment.

More wedding fun.

We had our annual Griffin Open (family reunion), and Kaylee played SO HARD with her two favorites.

We had a family trip to Idlewild which may have been my favorite thing this summer! We went to my in-law's camp first and got set up, headed to Idlwild for the day, then stayed there.  Kaylee's two favorite things were meeting Daniel Tiger, and she rode the two above water slides about 409384209 times and LOVED it.  She was by far the youngest and we would crack up at her doing flips and turning every which way on her way down.  This girl is fearless. #PrayForMe

Another big change....the big girl bed!  The first week was a little rough with it.  She slept through the night fine, but wanted TONS of stories and prayers.  I always wanted to make a point to leave while she's awake, and she's doing great with it now.

Some of our favorite people came to visit this summer, and Kaylee loved every second of playing with David and Kelsey, the cutest, most easy-going baby ever.  

Car naps, lots and lots of car naps.  I don't know what I did to deserve it, but Kaylee would/will transfer so easily to her bed when this happened.  #KnockOnWood #ThankYouJesus #NaptimeIsEverything.

(Kaylee had learned how to slide her clip down, so that's why it's so low if anyone is judging.  We quickly nipped that in the bud)

My friend got married, and it was Beautiful (it was our fourth and final wedding of the season).  Kaylee has been talking about the "Princess Bride" every day since.  I wish I had a better picture of how amazing she looked!

and these were my dates :)

A trip to the strip and a mancini's breadstick.....life.is.good

We celebrated our anniversary!  Our wedding package included a complimentary stay one year later, and it was amazing and the perfect staycation.  

Because this buttefly crown makes everything better.

**I actually bought a dress from Target, and loved it.  I packed so lightly since I knew what we were doing and what I was wearing.  WELL WHO KNEW THE DRESS WAS ACTUALLY SEE THROUGH!?! We found a boutique where I bought the dress shown above:)

Biking...hope to do more this fall!  

My uncle took this picture of it, and I love it.  Kaylee came so far with swimming this summer.

We are dealing with hands on the hips, constantly.  Do I do that!?! 

pedicures :)

We had to squeeze in one more girls' trip before our littles start school, so Kaylee and I headed to VA.  We had so much fun: going to a park, fountains, shopping, and especially girl time with my favorite mama.  I can't believe how big they all look.

My mother-in-law joined us for a dinner picnic at the park.  We had an awesome spread, and it was one of those coolish days that we were blessed with.  SO.Fun.

annnnnd we ended with celebrating a very special birthday!  Love you mama!

WHEW.  If you're still with me, thanks for reading :).  As if you haven't gotten enough of the Tyler Summer 2016, I'm posting a "Day in the Life" post of our summer before we transition into our fall schedule, next week.  Basically so I can document that Kaylee is getting up before sunrise and future me can see what I survived.  #LOL #ButReally

xoxo