Summer Favorites

As you probably can tell, we spend a LOT of time at the beach and in our pool.

Here are a few favorites that we like for our fun in the sun.

Kindle Paperwhite - All Kindles are on sale right now! I don't have the waterproof one, but I think I'll need to get that one next. 

Towels - I have two favorite towels...yes, I am kind of picky when it comes to my towels. I don't like the ones that sand sticks too. I don't like the microfiber ones that stick to me and everything else. lol. But I LOVE the SandCloud and the Nomadix Towels. 

Shorts - I live in shorts all summer. These shorts are some of my new favorites. They have a bikin liner, which I love. The band isn't too snug. And the length is just right. I have them in a few colors, and will probably get  a few more. haha!

Masks - my girls prefer masks to goggles. They like their noses covered, too. And this one has a cloth band, instead of elastic, so their hair doesn't get all tangled.

Coola After Sun - this is, hands down, one of the best after-sun products. And it's a CLEAN product, which I love even more!

WOW noodles - yes, they're more money that you probably want to spend on noodles. But these last a few years. They don't "shed" and they can hold up an adult weight! We use them in our pool and take them to the beach. 

UPF Relaxed Jacket - I love this "jacket" so much. I wear it at the soccer fields, on the beach, or just if we're outside all day. It's lightweight and relaxed, so it's not clinging to me and making me hotter. I got the white, which is kind of hard to keep clean, if I'm being honest. but I love it so much.

Sun screen - When it comes to rubbing stuff into our skin, and frequently, I really want it to be as "clean" as possible. I don't like the idea of rubbing toxic chemicals into our body for our body to absorb. This sunscreen is the best! It really does work, too. 

Shampoo - With as much time as the girls spend in the pool, and their blond hair, we have to make sure we get the chlorine out. Even with having a salt-water pool, it still has chlorine in it. 

If we're talking swim outfits, the girls are LOVING their Athleta Girl Swim suits. I normally just go to Target or Academy, but as soon as they put these suits on, they were like "wow! these are so good!" and they fit them like a glove.  Athleta Girl for the win!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!

This weekend was PACKED. You'd think over the summer our weekends wouldn't be so eventful, but if you know me, you know I can't sit still very well. 

Friday morning, I started my morning on the porch, after my workout. Tipsy likes to join me on the porch.

Then I decided it was a day to go paddleboarding. It was so pretty when we got there.

We went to our favorite little island that has a rope swing. Sadly, I think the girls are getting a little too big for it. 

Their bathing suits are their new favorites! And they're on sale right now, too! 

I found what I THOUGHT was a crab moving into his new home, but turns out, there were TWO crabs. Oops! Looks like I interrupted something. ha!

This guy was really friendly. He kept coming out and grabbing onto my finger.

My three (not so) little sunshines. 

Then, a friend asked if we wanted to meet at the part after lunch - so away we went. We played a game of capture the flag and kickball. 

Earlier that morning, Tipsy brought us a treasure she caught outside. It was a mole rat....that was still alive! So when she dropped it, it scurried away and hid under our dishwasher. So I had to pull the dishwasher out. And then I had to lift the dishwasher while Brooklynn used the dust pan to scoot it out. Except it scooted onto my foot. I've never girlie screamed like I did at that moment. haha!!

Ron laughed whole-heartily, watching while sipping his coffee from the other room. lol At least I got to clean under/behind the dishwasher. That's never gotten clean. 

Then Saturday morning, the girls and I went to the beach to celebrate a friend's birthday. Yep, we do beach birthdays around here. 

(They're pretty much living in their new suits, they love them so much lol)

By the way, this is the only way to really eat a cupcake - turn it into a cupcake sandwich!

Later that day, Brooklynn and Caroline decided they wanted to unstack their bunckbeds. I told them that they had to come up with a plan to make sure there was room first. So they got out the tape measure to measure and make a moving plan. (insert evil mom laugh for making them do math in the summer...measurement and addition - check!)

Well, they figured out a way. So they got to cleaning and purging. And on Sunday, Ron and I helped them take apart their beds. 

They did the rest.... and it was cool to see their faces when they saw that their plan actually worked!

Remember the hallway closet project? Well, another fun project that Ron has added to list of thing, is pool plumber! Our pool pump broke the other day. Ron called a pool company to come test the pump and give us a quote of how much to get a new pump and install it. Well, he and I both dropped our jaw at that price. So in true Ron fashion, he watched a bunch of YouTube videos and then decided to buy his own pump and install it himself. 

He ended up getting a Black and Decker from Amazon, because nobody had one in stock and it would take a week to get in. But trusty Amazon got it here the next day. So Ron spent all day Saturday installing it. 

Come Sunday, the pool is almost back to where it's supposed to be! I'm really impressed with Ron's ability/patience to learn all these new trades. 

To finish off the weekend, and the tons of projects that Ron had finished, he had bought a screen at Wal-Mart so we could do movies outside. It's like a drive in movie, but with lawn chairs and pool floats. We could even be IN the pool if we wanted. 

When I posted this picture on Instagram, I had a few questions of what we used. So here you go!

Screen // Projector // Speakers

He had four of the speakers, so it was like surround sound. You can see the speaker in the picture with the little green light on the ground by the porch. Ron pretty much has everything Ryobi, because of the interchangeable batteries. 

So that was our weekend, in a nutshell!

Don't forget to take a look at this week's Menu - some yummy recipes for dinners this week!

Friday Favorites {6.9.23}

Happy Friday, friends!!  Today's post is a quick look at my favorites for the week....

My favorite recipe from last week's menu ended up being the grilled fish. I decided to do it with black beans and rice, and MAN it made amazing leftovers for the lunch the next few days. lol I used this recipe for the black beans and rice

And these HELADOS MEXICO popsicles are my go-to treats right now! The mini ones are perfect for me. 

My favorite outfits for the week...

Honestly, we're basically living in workout clothes and bathing suits. 

My favorite workout outfit this week is one that makes me so happy and cheery! I have mostly been wearing shorts because...you know. Summer. 

shorts//tank//bra

/shorts/ /tank/ /bra/ /hat/

These luxe drawstring pocket hustle shorts are some of my most favorite shorts, ever! Right now, they only have the maroon ones, which I absolutely love!

The girls got new bathing suits from Athleta during their sale, and they are so cute! And all so different. Something for everyone, really.

bikini bottoms // tankini top // swim shorts // long sleeve one piece // bikini top

My favorite purchase? Well... it's not from Amazon.  But these sandals, I have been wearing for FIVE years straight now. I will never go back to regular sandals. I LIVE in sandals, you know, FL girl. But with the pains that I've had in my feet were/are unbearable, until I started wearing these OOFOS sandals. They have a bunch of different styles now, and even slip on sneakers (which I have and LOVE). The sandals are not so cute off, but once you put them on, they're not that bad and by golly they're so amazing you won't even care! These are the best teacher shoes too. I keep a pair at work and wear them around the classroom all day long. And if I can get away with it, I wear them around the school, too. Depends on your admin, I guess ;-) 

I promise you, once you try them, you won't ever go back. 

My favorite Amazon purchase is these shorts!

and my favorite little dainty letter necklaces from Victoria Emerson are on sale! I got me and all the girls one for Christmas last year. They're so perfect - and perfect for layering, if you like to do that!

see how dainty they are?!

letter necklace

We've had some BEAUTIFUL mornings this week. It's so hard NOT to be outside during these beautiful mornings. 

Morning sunrise from my portch

morning walk on the causeway bridge

swimming laps while my daughter was at a birthday party at the North County pool

Lake Atlantic! ha - just because the ocean was so calm, it was a beautiful morning!

Last week, I watched AIR on Amazon Prime. I really liked it! It's not normally something I would watch, but I gave it whirl, and I really liked it!

We FINALLY get to watch the last season of Yellowstone. It's one of my favorite shows. 

I'll be back next week! Have a wonderful weekend!