love.

found this in my journal from my nephew...melts my heart. i love him.

simple

you know when you are a young child, and life to you then seems to be bursting with new opportunities, new learning obstacles, and new challenges each day as you grow. you are so excited to "grow up." to go to school like the other kids...to stay at sleepovers...to get an extended curfew...to get to go to prom. all of these things we had to look forward to as we grew up. all things that seemed back then that if they didn't happen, it was the worst thing that could ever happen. that life was so tough when we didn't get our way.
life seemed so simple back then. where the every day worries that went through our minds were as simple as what we were going to have for lunch that day...or what friends we were going to get to play with...or what we were going to do on a rainy day.

i wish somedays that i could be my kid self again...that i could go back to those times and savor the times that i had...and cherish each moment i got to experience. i wish i could learn to have a kid-like heart again. i wish i could be as trusting as kids are. i wish i could run in the rain because it was fun...and not worry if my hair was going to get messed up, or that i didn't want to ruin my work clothes for the rest of the day. i wish the most stressful thing i would experience would be whether my friend could come over to play or not.

the simplest things in life go unnoticed. the smell of grass on a summer day, the feeling of the sun shining on your face, the breeze blowing through your hair. instead we focus and worry about all the big things going on...work, money, time, friends, weather...and stress out about little things that happen.

i need to learn to be me...simple me. to not be who people want me to be...but to be so much of myself that my personality shines through. that my kid-like heart will help make me smile even when things get tough. that i'll be able to dance in the rain and laugh instead of getting upset that i ruined my hair. i hope i can get back to the simpler things...and just enjoy being me. and the simple life that God has planned out for me.

|summertime favorites|

{beach}

{friends}

{sunsets}

{family}

{camping}

{sand dunes}

{cute little dudes}

{fresh fruit}

{vacation}

{s'mores!}

{ice cream}

{cute painted toenails}

{sunglasses & sunshine}

{lazy days & relaxing}

Can you tell how much I love summer?!?  :)

summa' time!

Over memorial day weekend, my family went camping at a campground on lake michigan. It looked like the weather was going to be amazing, so I was super excited. :) Reasons being: a) i love camping  b) i love family  c) i love the beach and d) i love summa' time. :) So with all those reasons taking into account for what the weekend held, I was SUPER excited. Plus, it has been a rough couple weeks at work, so I was excited to just get away for the long weekend and relax.

Over the weekend, I got lots of quality family time. We played cards, went to the beach, watched the sunset, and sat by the campfire enjoying our amazing s'mores. What could be any better?  :) Other then the cottonwood attacking my allergies, it was just a fun-filled, relaxing weekend. Here are some pictures to show of how much fun we had...:)

{little man playing in the sand...he LOVED this!}

{building sandcastles!}

{papa, brayden & nana}

{momma & brayden playing in the sand}

{walking up the beach from the COLD water...truck in tow...:)}

{uncle chad & brayden...brayden's buddy all weekend}

{papa, uncle chad & brayden}

{uncle chad & brayden playing in the water! he loved it!}

{me & my sis}

{little guy sporting his shades!}

{riding in the back of papa's truck on the way to the beach! he LOVED this!}

{uncle chad & brayden looking at the water fountain}

{brayden helping papa out working on the trailer...:)}

{uncle chad & papa took brayden for a fun bike ride around warren dunes!}

{this is the aftermath of the bike ride...:)}

{me & my sis eating our favorite food...s'mores!}

{3 very tired guys...:) i think the beach wore them out!}

{a great way to end the day...toasted coconut ice cream from Kilwin's!}

{another great way to end your day...beautiful sunsets}

One month and counting until we leave to go camping in Pentwater! Can't wait!!!

ridin', ridin', ridin'

since the weather has been SO beautiful lately, we have been taking full advantage of spending our evenings outside! plus, little man has become quite the adventurous type...and I love being able to spend more time with him and my sister & brother-in-law now that I'm living here. Here are a few pics of the ride!

{getting ready to ride!!!}

{brayden & momma}

{aunt E and brayden!}

{lovin' the rides!}

{trying to ride the bike himself!}