Five on Friday

Hello, blogging world...I'm back! It's been such a long time since I've blogged about anything. In fact, the last time I wrote a blog was two years ago and it was about my absolutely wonderful, top-five-best-experiences-of-my-life trip to England (still up there in the blogosphere, if you're interested). I have so many friends and acquaintances that blog to keep their friends and families updated, as well as document the lives of their sweet families, that I've been inspired to do the same. I've thought about it for quite a while in fact, but there have been a few things keeping me from beginning. Here's one:

Jack co-authored my first blog post

 

Anywho, welcome to my (new) humble little blog. As I get more time (maybe in 18 or so years), I'll fancy it up for you. For my first post, I give you, Five on Friday, a weekly post inspired by the lovely Doc Momma where I share five things that are happening in our lives at the moment.

 

One.

We had some major family time last week. My sister flew in from South Carolina with my 18 month old niece and my soon-to-be-a-4th-grader (WHAT?!) nephew. Needless to say, we had a blast! We hit the neighborhood pool, the park, and a local petting zoo; set up Jack's new inflatable pool (big enough for an adult or two, plus at least one kiddo); met and broke bread with our new neighbors at our 4th of July block party; and loaded up the kids to go downtown for some music and ice cream at Summer Nights.  My sister and I managed to squeeze in one scary movie during their visit and on their last night here, she and I snuck away for some sisterly bonding time at Canvas 2 Paint. Whoever came up with the idea of painting, jamming to music, and drinking wine at the SAME time is a genius! We had a great time and came out with some pretty snazzy artwork! I am so glad they got to come for a visit. The cousins got to meet and play together and my son met my sister for the first time. It was a great experience and I can't believe we have to wait another whole year to visit again.

 

Circle de Soleil  

Two.

On Sunday, Aaron and I left the little one at home so we could drive to Deadwood for the Avett Brothers concert. Oh, how I love me some Avett Brothers. After making plans for my family to visit (yay!), I learned they were playing at this year's Saturday in the Park (boo!)  and was beyond sad that we were going to miss out on seeing them. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned they would be making a stop in the Black Hills! After sweet-talking my hubby into it, I bought tickets and we made plans for a date night. We had a great time, thanks to some lovely friends of mine who agreed to babysit (love those girls!).

 

Dinner at Deadwood Mountain Grand before the show

 

Three.

Jack and I are prepping for Aaron to go out of town all next week. He has a CLE in Denver, which means he will be out of town Sunday through Saturday. We'll miss him while he's gone, but I also have to admit: I am nervous. Now that it's summer, I've had Jack all to myself each and every day (minus the one day he goes to daycare for a few hours), and I love it. Absolutely love it. But. Being with an eight month old all day, on your own, is kind of hard. I cherish this time that we have together, because I know that Jack will never ever be this little again. I play with him, hold him, snuggle him, kiss him, and just look at him because I know this is an opportunity I am blessed to have and I don't want to take it for granted. But seriously, when 6:30 starts to creep up on the clock and I know Aaron will walk in the door soon, I get a little bit of a spring in my step. "Yay, I get to see my husband!" (But also, I can give him the baby for a few seconds so I can go to the bathroom, since I've been holding it for two hours. And I can finally finish putting mascara on my left eye.) So, foreseeing it being a stressful week, I have planned for Jack to go to daycare on Monday and Wednesday, hoping this will give me just enough of a break so I do not go crazy. I've also scheduled my Mother's Day massage for Wednesday, so that should help out, too. Now to schedule some girl time with my favorite gals and a few lunch dates throughout the week, and that time should fly right by!

 

Four.

Speaking of my favorite little guy, I am amazed at what Jack has been doing. I mean, this kid. He started crawling about two months ago and from then on, he has been all over the place! Last week, with his cousins here, I really think he decided he wants to walk. He saw little Ryleigh walking running all over the place and I could see the envy in his eyes. At the time, he was already cruising along furniture, but now his new game is to see how long he can stand on his own before falling. Once he figures out how to stand, I think it'll be game over, folks!

 

Five.

I only have five and a half weeks of summer vacation left. Five. And a half. Weeks. That's only 40 days, you guys. Where has the time gone?! June felt like it lasted forever, and then came July and she has just been flying! We have more family and friends visiting at the end of the month and then it's August. (Insert one giant sob here.) Then it's back to teacher mode for this girl. I've already been in and out of my new classroom just about once a week all summer, but once August comes...well, that's when things start getting real. And I'm not ready for that quite yet.

 

Well, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed my first post on my new blog. I'll be back when this guy permits me to keep you updated on all things Galloway!