Bopril

Weekendings: Red, White & Blue!

We just wrapped a long holiday weekend at the lake with the entire Carretta crew. That's 11 adults, eight kids and four dogs, leading to chaos and fun and memories galore. It was the first time all of us had gathered in years and we enjoyed every minute of catching up with each other's lives and watching the kiddos play.

There was the annual 5K walk/run with customized family t-shirts, luminaries to light up Mimi's yard and dock and a fireworks bonanza on all sides of the lake that looked professional grade, but was in reality the result of a few enthusiastic families looking to show the lake an explosive good time.

In between, there were boat rides and jumps from the dock and floating and swimming and games of basketball and cornhole and running and walking and eating, eating and eating some more.

I'm always happiest buried deep in the nest of family, and that intensifies as I age. It's a joy to watch my babies bask in the unique attention and love of a big boisterous group of relatives that couldn't be replicated anywhere else. Family is a blessing, and I try hard never to take these moments for granted.

We decked out to celebrate America the Beautiful and also to huddle for a big family photo that Mimi (and each of us) can treasure, at least until the next time life and time allow us to congregate as a complete group.

God Bless our beautiful country, everyone who serves and the families that love them. Happy slightly belated 4th, and cheers to the rest of summer stretched ahead.

Weekendings

I love weekends. I love that moment when the relentless Midwestern winter finally gives in and all signs promise summer. A few things made this weekend particularly sweet:

The return of rompers and messy top knots. My girl seems to have inherited my hair, and I'm having all sorts of fun finding ways to style and tame it.

Our neighborhood and in particular, our street as summer arrives. Full to the brim with kiddos and their boisterous energy, and all in a row, three houses with three little girls who love to play together. It's going to be a fun few months of rotating houses and yards and toys and watching their little imaginations take flight.

Silver linings. If my boy is determined to wake before 5am, we can hit the neighborhood streets and Starbucks while it's still and quiet. I'm a wanderer at my core, and if I can't be asleep as the world wakes up, at least I can be with my best guy and can get an early start on racking up those Fitbit steps. Win/win!

An almost three year old and an almost fifteen month old. They keep me on my toes and exhausted, but they push and excite and energize me in ways I never could have imagined. They are forever on the cusp of something new, something bigger, something different, something thrilling. I'm honored and oh-so privileged to be along for the ride. 

This weekend was extra exciting as it led into a week of staycation. There will be appointments and errand running and general productivity, but there will also be reading and wine drinking and kiddo play and snuggle time in equal measures. Midweek we head for our first lake trip of the season. At last, summer graces us with her glorious presence. Here we go! Cheers to making the most of it.