13 Years With My Love

 

Eric and I celebrated our 13th anniversary last Friday at this

adorable cottage about 20 minutes away from our house.

 

All of the pictures are from my cell phone.  I took my camera but forgot the camera card.

Eric said that might not have been such a bad thing. :)

 

 

I had seen pictures of the cottage on the website...but when we pulled down the lane

and saw the cottage nestled in this beautiful wooded setting, we were speechless.

( I may have even started clapping!)

 

 

The cottage is a recently restored stone house that was built in the 1700's.

It sits in a secluded spot beside a beautiful creek.

 

The rear shaded stone patio overlooks the creek.

We could have sat in those comfy chairs forever.  Really.

 

When we walked into the cottage, there was a boquet of lilacs on the kitchen table.

Lilacs are my favorite...and you can imagine how the sweet smell filled the entire place.

 

Everywhere we looked, the cottage was filled with little touches of love.

Eric and I enjoyed looking through journals of all

the different couples who have stayed at the cottage.

Couples from California, Texas, Florida, Canada, Australia to name a few have enjoyed

this little romantic spot.  Many of the couples wrote such heartfelt words.   What a gift

this place has been to so many people.

 

 

Eric and I made dinner in the little kitchen.  We both agreed it was one of our favorite meals.

I had everything put together, we just needed to bake it and cook the asparagus.

 

We had cheesecake for dessert and our favorite champagne.

 

Everything here is so quiet and peaceful.

We opened the windows so we could hear the creek. 

No t.v. or computers...just talking and relaxing.

 

I really hope we get to go back again someday.

 

 

To see pictures and a video of the cottage you can go HERE.

 

If you live in the area or are passing by...I highly recommend staying here...

especially if you are celebrating an anniversary. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

#2

Brady played in a tennis tournament on Memorial Day.

 

He won his first round 6-0, 6-0.

And, he won his second round 6-0, 6-0.

 

 

I thought this was funny....the boy Brady played in the second round told him before

they started, "good luck, you're gonna need it!"  That boy didn't win a single game!

He did look cute though in his white fancy duds.

 



The final was played at Franklin and Marshall University here in Lancaster.

Brady played the #1 ranked player in the central pennsylavania/middle states. 

(Brady is ranked #3)

Brady has met up with Dylan in two other tournaments- one last summer and once in the fall.

Brady lost both times.

 

I asked Brady if he was nervous to play Dylan and he said he was excited.

Brady said, "It is time.  It is time."

Ahhhh....to be young and have that much belief in yourself.

 

 

Brady played the entire match like a champion.

He was so focused.

I'm most proud of the way he handles himself on the court.

For example- if you were to walk by and see him playing...you might not be able to

tell if he was winning or losing.  He has the same demeanor regardless.

People notice that.  I've always told Brady that people will forget that he's a good

tennis player...but never the kind of boy he was to play against.  At least I hope that's true!
 

 

He was right...it was time.

Brady beat Dylan 6-1, 6-3.

I'm glad I had my sunglasses on because I was a little teary a couple of points

before it was over.  Brady works so unbelievably hard and I knew how badly he wanted

this win.  I wanted it for him.

 

The new rankings come out next Thursday and Brady has a feeling he will move

up to the #2 player in the central pennsylvania.  We will have to wait and see!

 

 

Brady took his trophy to school on Wednesday to show his teacher.

He has always been quiet about tennis at school...but I think his

teacher has taken an interest and encouraged him to share his passion with his class.

Brady is the only one in his entire school that plays tennis. :(

 

In other news....

Brady qualified to play in a regional tournament in Illinois...so we will be heading there

in July!  Win or lose....I'm sure it will be the highlight of his summer!







 

 

 

 

 



Sending Sunshine

We had such a great holiday weekend and I want to document it all,  but first I want to

share this inexpensive way to send a little box of cheer to someone. 

 

And then, I thought I might ask you for a favor. 

 

 

 

 

I saw something similiar on Pinterest.  I'm not sure what was in their bag, but I

thought I would share what I put in mine.

I found the fun yellow box at A.C. Moore for $3.00.  It's not very big, so

I filled it with smaller yellow items I found here and there.

 

Anyway, does it really matter what's in the box?  We all know it's the thought that counts.

 

 

I'm sending this box to my Aunt Bonnie.  She found out last week that she has

breast cancer....again.  She had it eleven or twelve years ago and beat it.  Now, she has it

on the other side.  My Aunt has always been like a second mom to me...and as I've gotten

older, she has become a great friend.  She means the world to me....

and I feel terrible that I'm not able to physically be there for her. 

 

 

Bonnie meets with her surgeon tomorrow afternoon to find out the extent of the

cancer (I hate typing that word) and what her options are.  After she has

all the information, I believe she will get a second opinion. 

Bonnie is one of the strongest women I know...and she will get through this again.

 

If you could say a prayer for my aunt...I would SO appreciate it!

 

Thanks!

Counting Down



It was 87 degrees after school today!

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Brady got out the sprinkler.

We had dinner on the patio.

We went on a long walk and then took the dog for a car ride to cool off.

 

This evening feels like a glimpse of what is waiting for us right around the corner.

The simple days of summer.

 

We have 11 days left until school is out!

We can't wait!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Mother's Day Weekend



We spent Mother's Day weekend at the beach.
It was a suprise.
When Brady and I walked out of school last Friday,
Eric was waiting for us in the parking lot, all packed and ready to go.









 



 

 

 

 Even though it was a little chilly, Brady and I had fun collecting shells.

  Steffi liked playing in the sand and we all enjoyed sitting out on our balcony at the hotel.

We had a great lunch at the Tap House overlooking the bay.

The drinks were pretty good too. ;)

 We will definitely go there again.

 We also had seafood at the Bonfire and Brady tried fried clams for the first time.

We walked to get ice cream and did a little outlet shopping.  









 When Eric told me we were heading to the beach, I cried. 

And, if I'm keeping it real over here, they weren't happy tears.

The only thing I wanted for Mother's Day was my bike tired fixed.

I was looking forward to the simple weekend we already had planned.

 

 

I feel terrible about not being excited about Eric's suprise...

and, I'm pretty sure I ruined the whole weekend.

If I had it to do over again, I would have let my feelings go...

and thought more about my husband's.

 

 

 

 

  My husband has already given me the greatest gift in the world.  I am so blessed everyday to be Brady's mom.

 

 

And just so my husband knows.....



 

 

 

 

Smoothie Fun

I'm addicted to the plastic summer isle at Walmart. 
Every year I find myself wanting every piece of that colorful fun stuff.
Please tell me you know which isle I'm talking about?
Everthing is super cheap, so I fill my cart and then realize at the checkout..oops, cheap things add up!



Yesterday I was walking around Walmart and that plastic isle started calling my name.
So, of course, I headed over for a quick look.


I've been wanting to get a co-worker of mine a little thank you gift...
and her twin daughters love making smoothies...so I thought this would be fun.

Colorful tumblers, napkins, and straws.
I added the little notebook and made a smoothie label to put on it.
I thought they could use it for recipes.


Easy, cheap and FUN.


Wouldn't this make a great end of the year teacher gift?!

Last Week

 

 

 

 

Ok, not the best picture...and not the best paint job.

I had Brady take this of my nails (so nice of him to get my double chin in there too!) because it's been over 20 years since I last painted them.  Can you believe it?!

It's not that I have anything against painted nails.  I've just never wanted to draw any attention

to my hands!  I inherited these hands from my dad.  Nothing against his hands...they are fine for my dad...just not for me.  I also broke a few fingers playing basketball, and there you have it.  Add insult to injury, my best friend in college was a hand model. :) 

Anyway, nail polish seems to be the big thing right now...so I thought I would give it another try.

A funny thing happened after I turned 40....I don't seem to care as much about what others think.  I would never have posted a picture of my hands five years ago! :)

 

 

 

 

I stopped at the consignment shop on the way home from work.

I got these three tops (one is from L.L. Bean & one is from LandsEnd) and a pair of

pants (from the Loft).  I wore the pink shirt under my jean jacket in the picture above.

I hate to spend money on new clothes for work...so every once in awhile I will stop in a thrift store.

These four items came to $13.75!   I would much rather spend money on a new pair of jeans for the weekend rather than work clothes!

 

(Brady in Kindergarten)

Last Thursday was bring your son/daughter to work day.

I arranged for Brady to get out of class in the afternoon to observe me doing a reading lesson with my first graders.  I let him do the last part of the lesson along with a worksheet that he explained to the kids and helped them with.  I wish I had taken my camera.  Brady was so cute and the kids were so excited to have the "big" 4th grader in the room helping.  After school Brady said to me, "if this tennis thing doesn't work out mom, I want to be a teacher."

 

 

I organized some of my jewelry.  I have always used egg cartons for my earrings....it's the way my Grandma Hester always organized her jewelry.  She had quite the collection and bought most of her things second hand.  She loved owls and had an owl necklace that reminds me of so much of the owl jewelry I have seen lately.  Like this one, that I might need to get!

 

 

Brady made it to the Hershey final on Saturday.

He has made it to that final the last 4 times but has yet to win it.

He was disappointed...but lucky for his dad and I, he gets over things quickly.

 

 

He also never gives up...

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a lot of time this weekend doing yardwork.  It's not our favorite thing to do...but it has to be done.  Brady was a huge help again this year, especially with the mulch.  He and I have a system down...and we do pretty good teamwork.

 

Can you believe it's May already?!

We are counting down the days until school is out for the summer!