Thoughts, observations, and storytelling.

We took our first family trip to the beach on July 12, 2014 and it was AWESOME. I so enjoyed watching Harper take in all of her surroundings and bond with her cousins. It was a wonderful trip and I wish we'd spent two weeks there instead of just one. Maybe next time!

View from our balcony.

Harper was scared of the waves and hated the sand, a reaction I didn't anticipate. Luckily, once we were in the ocean with her she was all giggles. We also discovered just how much she loves to swim. Thankfully, she has NO fear of the water and willingly jumped into the pool from the side and from the stairs over and over. She sometimes wouldn't even wait on someone to catch her. A little scary, but I'd rather her love it than be terrified. We let her go underwater quite a few times and even that didn't phase her. Love her to pieces! Let's hope she becomes a year round swimmer like her mama. (Ever since our trip she has started doing barrel rolls and putting her face in the water every time she takes a bath. Crazy kid!)

Scared of the waves. :(

One of the best parts of the trip was mom's night out. We went to a spa and out to dinner completely kid-free! I enjoyed the best massage I've ever had and had a fantastic pedicure.

We did, unfortunately, have one hiccup. Harper's elbow was dislocated again the last night we were there and we had to cut date night short to take her to the ER. It was a nice, new facility and we were the only people there. It could have been much, much worse so I'm grateful it was an easy fix. As soon as we walked in she saw a row of wheelchairs and kept asking, "Car? The car?" The security guard allowed us to push her around in one (much to her delight) until we were called back.

And now for a montage of photos in nor particular order. Enjoy!!

May proved to be a pretty busy month. We celebrated my birthday, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, and two of our niece's birthdays. There have been many other birthdays sprinkled in as well, like my sister, my sister-in-law, and probably a few others that I've forgotten. (Sorry!)

Taylor's friend and former roommate Mike always hosts a Kentucky Derby party each year. It's a good time to mingle with friends, dress fancy, and watch a three minute horse race. I dressed Harper in her seersucker pants and Sperry Topsiders. I wore a purple dress, and Taylor donned seersucker shorts. We sure do clean up nice. Harper was jealous of Taylor's mint julep so we made her one sans whiskey. She loved it! I mean, who wouldn't love mint water?

My birthday was May 7 and I turned 27 this year. It's true (at least for me) that the older you get the less you really. . . care? No, that's not the right word. It just becomes a minor blip on the radar. I used to remind people weeks out that my birthday was in x amount of days and that EVERYONE better celebrate with me. Now it's kind of like, "Oh hey, tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be at home with some wine." You know. The usual. This year I asked my friends to meet me for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Uncle Julio's. Since my birthday fell on a Wednesday we pushed it to Saturday the 11th. I had a GREAT time!! It's hard not to when you get to drink margaritas swirled with sangria and chat with all of your pals. I ordered my favorite dish - bacon wrapped grilled shrimp stuffed with monterey cheese and jalapenos complete with a side of melted butter for dipping.

We came back to the house and played an impromptu game of Cards Against Humanity. With my dad. And my mother-in-law. It was HILARIOUS!! Its basically a wildly inappropriate version of Apples to Apples. I mean raunchy, dirty, horrible, probably-should-never-play-with-parents card game. But we did anyway. And it was glorious.

Mother's Day was the next day. Taylor woke me up with the most fantastic gift ever. I'm so picky about jewelry - I really only have one simple necklace (that goes with everything), one pair of pearl earrings, and a Brighton charm bracelet that I wear when I want to be fancy. I'm just not big on accessories, I guess. But Taylor bought me my first Origami Owl locket!! It's basically a build-yourself see through locket that you add charms, dangles, and plates to. Taylor secretly met with a designer and bought it weeks earlier. He knew how much I wanted one and I was so thrilled to get it. I've gotten so many compliments and inquiries on it that I decided to host an Origami Owl party at my house on June 21. If you want to learn more (or order something) follow this link: http://catherine.origamiowl.com/parties/SallyRoberts347579/collections.ashx

If you're curious, my necklace is a large silver locket with crystals. The chain is 32" and adjustable to any length. He added a quatrefoil dangle, selected the "I love you" plate for the inside, and my charms are pink baby girl feet, silver cat with aqua collar, music note with crystals, pink crystal heart, and a vintage cross. Perfection. The best part is I can add on with different charms, plates, or dangles. Or even a new chain! You can go as simple or fancy as you want with these. I absolutely love this piece of jewelry!

Look at those long feet!

We met at Taylor's brother's house in Lawrenceville for a cook-out that afternoon. I had an INCREDIBLE steak for dinner! We also took that time to discuss meals for our upcoming beach trip. THAT is going to be a fun week! Here's a cute picture I snapped of Harper and two of her cousins, Hope and Caroline. Such cuties!

Memorial Day was a really fun time! We went over to a friend's house for a pool party and ate so much delicious food. The kids had a blast in the water.

Monday the 26th we went to cousin Caroline's 3rd birthday party - Princess Sofia themed!

I designed Harper's crown but she was unimpressed.

May 30th was Cousin Sloan's first birthday but her party was Saturday the 31st. The weather was hot, the drinks were cold, the food was delicious, and the kids were plentiful.