Life is better with friends.
Nobody can argue that walking, laughing and crying through life with friends is the best. Ashley and I met in high school and slowly over the years we continued to grow closer and closer. As we entered University that friendship just became stronger and stronger. Logan, Ashley and I became a trio. It was a no brainer that she would stand by our sides at our wedding, and not only that but she played her harp to From This Moment by Shina Twain as I walked down the aisle. She has been there for me through the amazing, the good, the not so good and the worst. She has treaded water with me, pulled me up when I have been drowning and at times even pulled me up on shore.
Along the way she moved to another city, met Jeff and Kaileya, got married, added another little girl, Myalle, to their already beautiful ,and still we continue to grow our friendship except now that includes a whole lot more people.
The thing about old friendships is that they don't need to be tended to on a daily basis like when you are forming a new friendship and just getting to know each other. Old friendships can whether the days/weeks that pass by without a phone call, and they can withstand "life" that sometimes gets in the way. Though we don’t talk every day, heck sometimes not even every month, we do have what I feel like is a never ending bond. I know that she is literally a phone call away. Sure we still "work" on our friendship, because all good relationships need to be worked on and nurtured. So this past summer we were able to do just that. Not only did our friendship continue to blossom but the friendship that has gown amongst our families continued to flourish. The Roffey’s joined us for four glorious days at our cabin and it was probably my favorite four days of the summer. Unanimously we all agreed that this little ritual would become an annual event for our families.
Here are a few of our favorite moments from our time together.
I am back to hopefully posting a fashion related post on Friday's and life happenings on Wednesdays. It's good to be back at work and to be getting back to somewhat of a routine after a completely laidback summer.
Every couple of years I try to get family photos done and this year it was especially important for me to have the family photos taken at our lake to commemorate how special this summer was to us as a family and to celebrate this new chapter of our family life. It just happens that my best friend Ashley is a photographer and was going to be staying with us for five days with her family! How perfect is that!
If you are like me, I don't want to drop a ton of extra $ on getting everyone new outfits so this is how I plan for picture session:
1. Pick your season. Seasons are critical and as well as time of day. Last time we did fall photos so it was all about jewel toned colors and boots. This year though I wanted sunset, blue lake, soft pastels, to represent the warm summer nights and the golden sunset.
2. Pick one outfit or a couple that you want to wear and build around that. I knew I wanted to wear my chambray dress for the photoshoot and since the girls have lots of cute dresses, I thought we could find a color combo that would work. My husband is always the hardest because he has the least in his closet.
3. Start creating a Pinterest board that has color schemes to go along with the one outfit you want to build around. Here is my Pinterest Board for summer photos. Also I think this is great for getting ideas to share with your photographer or to give you ideas of props you might want to bring along.
4. Create flat lays of the different outfit combinations and take pictures to see how they show up together.
5. If you have certain frames that you want to fill with certain combinations of family members, note to self if you want the photos to be vertical or horizontal. We didn't do that this time but I always ask the photographer for certain shots so that I can switch out the photos in my frames.
Here is a sample of some of my favorite shots from the shoot. (p.s. I took a few these)
Have a great weekend everyone!
A year ago, Logan and I spend hours, days, and weeks agonizing over the decision to buy/not to buy this cabin that stole our hearts at 'hello'. It was a huge decision, two mortgages! Could we do it? What things would we have to give up? Were we okay with the changes this would bring, the positive/negative? We went over our finances with a fine tooth comb, several times. Had panic dreams. In the end we finally just took the leap because this was what we dreamt of, talked about since we had gotten married, what we hoped to provide our kids with but never actually felt it was going to be conceivable in our lifetime.
We took the leap and this year we were the LAKE PEOPLE and as I write this, there are tears threating to slip out and there is a heaviness, the gratitude kind, in my chest. Every morning as I drank my coffee on OUR deck, at OUR lake, I thought to myself, "wow! this is my life." It would truly take my breath away at times.
Let's take a peak of our highlights!
#1 Boating and Water
We spent a lot of time on the boat this year. We wakeboarded and wakeboarded, mostly in the early mornings while the water was like glass.
Anya killed it on the kneeboard and graduated from a beginner board to an adult/trick board. She finally figured out how to turn and got herself out of the wake!!!! She also took her first big spill in the lake and took it like a champ.
Halie is much more reserved on the water but did get up on the kneeboard and rocked, in exchange for blue hair. She is a dynamite fisherwoman and enjoyed catching several fish to feed us this summer!
#2 Family and Friends
The lake is more beautiful when you can share it with the people you love. We had several people visit and so many more that we hope will come throughout the year.
Both sets of grandparents came to out to spend time with us this summer and the girls were thrilled to show them around.
My sister and her family spent a few days at the lake soaking up the sun, tubing, fishing, enjoying the campfire. Our 13 year old nephew stayed on with us for another week and he was a blast. Halie and Alen have a relationship and love for each other like siblings who don't really fight. They just click and fostering family relations is extremely important to our family.
Speaking of cousins, baby Cooper and aunty Jenna made it out for a day. Cooper was not a fan of the water not only for himself but for any of our group. Each time Anya ventured out for a swim, he would cry and cry. Poor little monkey. What did he love?!? Ice cream!!!
Friends and friends. Lots of friends around the campfire, on the beach and in our life. Blog post to come about having my best friend and her family out for 4 days in the near future.
#3 Sand Castles and Burials
No matter how old or young you are, sand is magical.
#4 Nature
Fox. Deer. Birds chirping. Wind whistling. Bugs. Hiking. Restores your soul.
#5 Me Time, Our Time & Family Time
I ran and trained, loosely, for a half-marathon this summer. I feel good about it for the first time in a long time. I read. I paddled. I sat on my deck and drank coffee.
Logan and I reconnected away from the daily demands of life. We had coffee. We sat around the fire. We talked. We held hands. We kissed We laughed. We fished. We golfed. We made friends.
Halie is growing up and this summer came at a perfect time. The girls didn't drive me crazy, instead I was able to get to know them individually and together. I actually coveted our "girl only weeks". We talked. We beached. We read all over the place. We watched Gilmour Girls. We made suppers together.
Needless to say we had an amazing summer and the memories created will last a lifetime. I feel stronger as a person and a family unit as we return to our 'real' lives and begin another year of school, work, business as usual. It's different because I know that our little piece of heaven is just a skip and a hop away and we plan to utilize it anytime we just need a little family downtime.
OMG, I am in love with this little number that I stumbled upon at Winners. I can't believe my luck on that day. Seriously I saw it, picked it up and didn't even bother trying it on at the store, that's how much I loved it. Winners and Marshalls are full of hits & misses for me, but when I find a winner, I am always 100% satisfied with my purchase. Since my shirt can't be linked, I have found you a sweet alternative that's on sale right here.
Apart from loving it for all the obvious reasons, like the colorful and playful little tassels hanging off of the neckline, the cut is extremely flattering and flowing. I had every intention of wearing it with jean cut-offs to the beach but it was too chilly so I opted to wear it with jeans while Logan and I were doing some errands back in the city. ANOTHER reason to LOVE this top I that I can wear it to work. Above I am showing off my shoulders, a little too sexy for the office, but I think it looks pretty darn cute with the neckline up as well.
Now lets talk my adorable accessories that I scored at the lake during their Christmas in July Craft Sale! I found tons of stuff but I want to feature these adorable little pieces from Violet & Viva. Make sure to check out their homemade jewelry. They are 100% perfect for the summer, or in the depths of the dark, cold winter, to pull out and remind yourself that summer is back on it's way.
I am wishing you all a beautiful weekend soaking up the sunshine and enjoying whatever you have planned!
