Dear little blog in blog land,

How are you?  I miss updating you, but since I'm really trying to get to bed at a decent hour each night and wake up at 5:30AM to exercise consistently, I've had to fight the urge to hang out with you into the wee hours of the morning.  So it is good to update you again and I can only have a short date with you tonight so I can hit the sack at a decent hour in order to wake up early tomorrow.  This will be a miscellaneous catch up post of our family's happenings in the last few weeks....

A few weeks ago at the end of June, a blogging buddy that I have known and followed since my early days of blogging in 2010 came to visit me again! Anna-Marie at Our Life's Adventures was in my hometown for a family wedding so she was able to stop by for an hour or so and we had a lovely time chatting in my great room.  It was so good to see her again since the last time we met in real life was in 2010 when we met each other for the first time!  Thank you Anna-Marie for another nice visit and special handmade gift you made for me!  Next time I'll have to travel to you! :)


Our family had another wonderful July 4th celebration with family and friends!  In the morning we hit the beach at the beach club we are members of with my parents.  We had a fun time marching in the parade on the seashore, waving our flags following the drummer. Then my family participated in some running races in the sand.  After eating a delicious lunch, we headed home to rest up for the evening festivities.

Selfies at the beach club with the hubby :) 

Gymnastics in the surf, sun and sand!

In the evening we went to my in-laws house for dinner and yummy desserts.  I brought my mixed fruit bowl of strawberries, blueberries and plums and I also made for the first time Red, White and Blue Berries that I spotted on Jessica's Catholic Cuisine site. They were so easy and fun to make!  Delicious too!  I made the centerpiece using a red plastic bowl and filled it with blueberries and some white marshmallows. 



After dinner, family and friends gathered for our annual wiffle ball game! Always a good time had by all!   That's my amazing mom hitting the ball for practice before the 35 guests went into the field or waited for their turn at bat after we split into 2 teams. 


Here my Mom is holding our almost 2 year old as she watched the "big" fireworks show in the front yard.  


I'm showing off my patriotic nails here during the amazing US Women's World Cup game!  I painted my nails which is a bit tricky.  Congrats to a our amazing women's soccer team! What a win! USA!


And last, but not least, this weekend I'll be in Charleston, SC for my first Edel Gathering! What's an Edel Gathering? To sum it up in a sentence it is an event for mothers who need a break!  Sold! :)
I'm very excited to see familiar faces and meet new friends and bloggers that I have been following for awhile!
I'm really excited about the crazy shoe contest that will be happening Friday night.  Here is a sneak peek of  my shoes being worked on by some of my girls and their neighborhood friend.  I had a blast finishing up my crazy shoe idea and I really like the craziness of them :)   I want to give a big shout out and hug to my wonderful husband who will be holding down the fort back home with our crew while I'm away! Thank you Honey for making this weekend possible for me!


I'll get back Sunday, July 12, from Edel 15 and that is the day of my 18th wedding anniversary!

Dear blog, I'll be coming back on here for my annual anniversary post so I won't be gone too long from my little blog here since I LOVE to write about our wedding anniversary each year! :)

Hoping you are having a blessed week!