Friday Favorites {6.16.23}

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

First off... my most favorite thing, is that we got to spend four years with this amazing dog. His life was cut short, unexpectedly, and our week took a huge hit this past week. But we have a lot of amazing memories with him. Caroline (the youngest) asked if dogs go to heaven so she could see him again one day. Sweet girl, I sure hope so. 

You can read and see more about him HERE.

My favorite outfits for the week...

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. 

tank // bra // shorts

My outfit for the day - I actually wore the tank and bra to workout in and then I just changed into the summer shorts - they are the best shorts for all day wear! I've worn them hiking, tubing, shopping, to soccer fields, basically EVERYWHERE. 

shorts//tank//bra

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

My favorite Amazon purchase is these shorts! I got them in blue and neon yellow, and then I had to go back and get them in bright pink. I wore them this week and they just made me so happy!

They're on my list of Summer Favorites - because I'll basically be wearing them all summer.

And always, but especially this week, I'm thankful for this man.

He has had quite the last few weeks...

from having to build the closet  because of this...

to fixing our pool

and making the girls an outside movie theater

Screen // Projector // Speakers

and not to mention, he's the one that took Diesel in...

He has shouldered a lot the last few weeks...he's due for a vacation.

Speaking of... we're getting ready to go on our summer trip.

So here are some of my favorites for traveling!

Travel Favorites

Travel Tips

Packing for Road Trips

Have a great weekend! 

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!

It's Summer Time!

Well, it's summer time, and that means there's time for me to start blogging again!

I miss this little part of my world when school is in session and the kids are going everywhere under the sun during the week, and weekend.

So, here I am again, almost a year later.

We just finished our first week of summer... so let me do a recap, shall I?

Get ready for a photo dump!

So, we ended our school year (first day picture 👆 and last day picture 👇)

and I packed up my classroom... it was a great year back as a teacher! Not sure if I ever explained it on here, but last year, I quit teaching in the middle of the year. It was terribly hard thing to do, but after the emotional and physical toll it was taking on me, I had to give it up. I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my "career" but then a job opportunity presented itself to work at PCCA - so I took a leap of faith. So far, it has been such a great experience and I'm so glad I took that leap!

I'm still getting up early to get in my workout - because that's how I like to start my day. I'm such an early bird and I feel weird if I don't start my day with a workout.

THEN... I get to sit on my front porch with my coffee and watch the sun rise over the lake. It's one of my favorite things about living right where we do. 

So what have we been up to this week?

Well... we've done a project (more on that in another post)

I've done some chores (I'll spare you the pictures of the container after shampooing each room. Oh yes, I did take pictures - because I had to show the girls just how GROSS their rooms were)

But we've also played a lot!

Of course some beach days...

and lots of reading. I feel like Dr. Seuss...

Would you read in a hammock?

Would you read at the beach?

Would you, could you read on the couch?

Would you read in the pool? haha! 

Some lunch time creativity...

I just love to watch their creativity flow...and those beautiful smiles.

And some ice cream at our favorite beachside dive.

We've hit the library a few times, so they decided they wanted to update their library bags. So we went to Michael's and bought some new canvas bags and some puffy paint.

Brooklynn and Caroline have been spending a lot of time donning our sidewalks with some beautiful murals. They'll spend a few hours out there just creating!

We hit up Aquatica one day.

And had picnic lunches on the beach.

Star fishies....

and sea turtle tracks and nests.

Caroline was jumping off the railing hoping to be like Mary Poppins. haha!

We've also tried to spend more time with my grandparents. They just love showing off their great-grandchildren. 

and we spent the morning at a park and ended up having a game of kickball! It was so fun. Our family is slightly competitive, so I love when I get to play against them and their friends. haha

Well, that's kind of our first week in a nutshell. I like to stay busy, so we'll see how long that lasts.