Hola Chicas, how is your summer going?? Mine has been pretty awesome so far, and it’s going by too fast! Before we get into updates, let me first say that I’ve been such a lazy blogger lately, barely updating you, my loyal rabid readers (LOL, too much?) about what I’ve been up to lately.
Am I maybe a Jetsetter?
Well, now that I’m not working and dealing with limited vacation time, I’m finally getting to do something that I’ve always wanted to do more of – travel!
At the start of summer we embarked on a weeklong family vacation to Rosemary Beach, Florida. Located in the Florida Panhandle near Destin, Rosemary Beach is a relatively new beach town, established in the mid 1990’s, but you’d never guess it by the quaint, vintage look of the buildings and beach cottages. The vibe is very family oriented with bike rentals that include tricycles and Burley bike trailers for the tots, a splash pad, live music with food trucks, and animated movie nights in the park! And of course there’s a gorgeous beach that looks like the freaking Caribbean – take me back!!
We rented a big beach cottage that could accommodate my family of four, as well as my parents and brother who joined us. With a big kitchen, we cooked all week at home, thanks to my chef brother, it was awesome! My days went like this: breakfast, a long bike ride along the scenic Highway 30A, lunch, and then off to the beach to drink beer and relax in the sun for the rest of the afternoon! It was truly an amazing family vacation!
Annabelle enjoyed two summer camps in June, including gymnastics and a dual art and dance camp. She LOVED every minute of camp and so it was a joy for me to see. I remember having to go to day camp every summer as a kid and I freaking hated it. I’m sorry, but walking two laps around a massive track every morning at 8am and doing dorky crafts all day was not my cup of tea as an 8 year old. I wanted to watch Days Of Our Lives, m’kay?
I was super stoked to get the opportunity to tag along with Jeff to a conference in Montreal, Canada at the end of June. Located in the province of Quebec, Montreal is a French city and it very much felt like the next best thing to being in Paris! (Not that I’ve ever been to Paris!) I had the opportunity to tour the city with a gracious host who took me on a 6 hour jaunt around the island. This foot tour accounted for nearly 30,000 steps and 14 miles on my Fitbit, thank you very much! I’m appreciative for my in-laws for watching the kids so I could steal away for a few days to experience this beautiful city rich in culture! I hope to go back one day.
Jeff has some meetings in Southern California this month, so we’re taking the whole fam to hang with my in-laws who have a home in beautiful San Juan Capistrano, near Laguna Beach. Since Annabelle turns 4 at the end of the month, we’re treating her to a Legoland visit in San Diego. I don’t know who’s more excited, me or Annabelle!
I’m careful not to call these occasions “vacations” because Jeff gets mad if I think I’m on vacation and he’s there to work. So I call them “trips”, ha!
Just say yes to the ladies nights – as much as possible
One thing every mama must do for her sanity is to schedule in some quality girl time. Next to Fifty Shades of Grey, the other major ladies night I’ve had planned for literally 8 months is to see Magic Mike XXL! Oh yes, mommy likes watching male entertainers pop lock and drop it. Specifically Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, and Joe Manganiello. Quick, somebody fan me!
This was easily one of the most epic ladies nights of the year. I went with some down girls who couldn’t wait to jam to classic 90’s R&B music in their seats and cat call like construction workers every time Magic Mike busted a move. I’d highly recommend seeing the movie with your besties and downloading the soundtrack if you’re a child of the 90s, it’s sexah!
It’s never too late to spring clean
I know it’s summer, but I’m still trying to work my way through spring cleaning. It’s virtually impossible to get anything done with my little 21 month old tornado, Leo. Bless his little heart, he’s a HANDFUL! So I never get any real projects done around the house because I can’t take my eye off this little dude for long. Thankfully, my mom offered to keep the kids at her house for a few days so I could focus on getting some spring cleaning done.
I was able to clean out both kid’s closets and take a bunch of stuff to consignment for a little extra spending cash (hello, $115!). Then I cleared out, organized, and color coded my closet, which felt very cleansing to me! I took like 800 bags to Goodwill, hello tax break! I even cleaned out a bunch of junk in the garage, I was on a roll!
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but a major monkey off my back was to FINALLY get my Indiana driver’s license after living here for two years! I know, I dragged my feet forever. While taking the test I was sitting in between two teenagers who passed and were getting their license for the first time. I was sweating bullets praying I didn’t fail this thing next to them! My stress was REAL.
So that’s pretty much the rundown of what I’ve been up to for the last five weeks. The wacky thing about our local schools is that the first day of school is July 29th!!! When I was a kid our summer break didn’t end until late August! So the summer vacay with the kids home is quickly coming to a close. When we get back from California we’ll go right into party prep for Annabelle’s 4th birthday on July 25th.
It’s definitely been a crazy busy summer. I’m thankful I’m able to tag along with Jeff on some of these cool work trips, and so happy to have found a nice mix of fellow mamas that like to have a good time like I do! Now, if only I could think to blog about these fun little adventures in real time I wouldn’t have to do a big 5 week recap blog! Oh well, cheers to what’s left of summer, and to the freakin’ weekend!!