Friday Free for All–Memorial Day Style

Hi everyone and welcome to the holiday weekend! I don’t know that I have ever been so glad to see a weekend arrive! The last two weeks have been the busiest I can remember in a long time and I know Christy is in the same boat as both our schools (though we live in separate states) ended for the year this week. I have one finishing up elementary and another ‘graduated’ middle school so this week has been a whirlwind of parties, ceremonies, field days, and graduations on top of all the usual stuff like practices and activities. We’re capping it all off Saturday with my daughter’s ballet recital– a highlight for sure, more on all that in a minute.

 

 

Once the recital is over we will finally be able to start relaxation mode. We don’t tend to travel for holiday weekends (we’re anti-sitting-in-traffic around here and it’s just awful in the Washington DC area) so we’ll have at least Sunday and Monday to relax, have some family time and just enjoy the holiday and the arrival of summer.  You can read Christy’s excellent post on Memorial Day here, as we remember that this holiday is about so much more than pool time and BBQ’s. We’re thankful to all those who serve! Someone once said to me, this is the holiday that gives us the freedom to have all the other holidays…so very true!

 

If you follow any fashion blogs regularly {or just those of us who occasionally like to talk about clothes!} you have seen that the Nordstrom’s Half-Yearly Sale has started. I know I am operating on a semi-capsule wardrobe strategy–which is working GREAT so far–with the exception of work out wear. My husband sweetly followed my instructions to give me a collection of exercise clothes from the Zella line for my birthday a few weeks ago and I am hooked! I am hoping to finally start adding some exercise back in my life {starting with just walking and yoga} after my long illness so this was a bit of an attempt to motivate myself, I admit. I have shied away from wearing exercise clothes all day like some women do, after all it wasn’t like I could fake I’d been at the gym. 🙁 Now that I have started wearing the Zella leggings and this cute top around I just went back to order some more items–especially since they are on sale! Wish me luck that I can hack some exercise 🙂

 

 

My kids ended school this week in style, not only did we do a fifth-grade party to wrap up their elementary school days, then they were assaulted with water balloons and silly string when they got off the bus and then our amazing neighbors set up this awesome waterslide behind our homes. If you have a large hill all you need is some plastic sheeting and a water hose, talk about easy, cheap fun! The kids were covered in mud thanks to our 3 weeks+ of rain recently, but I think that made it all the better as far as they were concerned.  It was a great day and we couldn’t be more excited summer is here! Here’s to sleeping past 6AM 🙂

 

 

As I mentioned my daughter’s dance recital is this weekend, she’s still a tiny ballerina but we love her school, she has some incredibly gifted teachers and it’s true ballet {no ‘Dance Mom’ reality-tv drama here!}. We’ve just lived through a rough round of travel soccer tryouts that left me drained and disenchanted with competitive team sports {and the attitudes of the parents} so this will be an especially sweet and refreshing way to end the year.

 

{2 weeks old}

Finally–you all may remember if you read this post that I shared that our sweet Silver Lab Lucy was having puppies, and you’ve seen plenty of them if you follow us on Instagram. Well a few weeks ago she had eight girls and only ONE boy, can you believe? To leave you with a smile here are our four-week old cuties—this has been such an amazing experience. Our kids are fascinated with them (of course!) and to see them grow from their tiny newborn days to walking and their eyes opening, and now being able to interact and play in such a short time has been something I will never forget. This is a one-time deal, so we’re enjoying every minute before they head to their new homes.

 

{4 weeks old}

That’s it for this week! After a few days or recovering from this last week, I am looking forward to some DIY projects–I have a painting project in my daughter’s room and blinds to hang in our family room this weekend but mostly hope to find some pool time, play with puppies, and enjoy summer. Hope your weekend is wonderful!

XOXO,

 

 

{affiliate links in this post are included for your convenience, see our disclosure policy here}