Cookies, Crafts and All the Rest.

Here are the adorable cookies that my mom made for Emma's 2nd birthday.  

Kendall and I hit up crumble cookies for an afternoon sugar high.

I am absolutely obsessed with these interchangeable goodies.  I am not sure if it is a blessing or a curse that I stumbled across these at Pinners.  I have had such a fun time painting and assembling these little treats.

The girls and I have been having some fun movie dates.  I have went to the movies more this summer than I have in years!

Hey, when you're tired, you're tired.  

From this...

To this...

Rebecca sent me this fun picture from years back.  These girls have not changed a bit.  You can see each of their personalities so clearly.

Rooftop fun with friends.

Sisters.

Okay...Kendall sent me this one for the blog.  I am going to have to get the story behind this one.

Kendall had her solo choregraphed by Savanna again this year.  This talented woman is going to have a new little girl pretty soon!

It is never a blog month without a few gorgeous sunsets.

Night Glow Spectacular.

Kendall managed to make it the the Balloon Classic this year.  She went to the Night Glow Spectacular.  That was a first for her, as we have always went to the early morning launches.

She said it was truly amazing (spectacular, really)!  She took lots of videos that she showed me.  

Well, I guess this is one I am going to have to check out next year!

Sidney 'interview' 16.

Describe yourself?   
Nice, fun, outdoorsy.

What are you thankful for?   
My job, my horses, my dogs, my family, my friends.
 
What makes you happy?   
Animals. 
 
What makes you sad or angry?   
Anger. 
 
What do you want to be when you grow up?   

Something in the health care realm, whether it be animals or humans.  
 
What’s important to you?   
Being on time to places. 
 
What do you love most about yourself?   
How I am always down for an adventure. 
 
What do you love most about your mom?   
How she will do anything for us. 
 
What do you love most about your sister?   
That she is always down for a coffee run. 
 
If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?   
Hawaii.  
 
Who do you admire? Why?   
My mom, because of how she handled everything after Dad died.  
 
What do you want to learn more about?   
Animal science.  
 
What’s something you’d like to do to help someone else?   
Taking one of my friends to youth group. 
 
What are you afraid of?  
Family members dying. 
 
If you could only keep one thing, what would you keep?  
Pigeon. 
 
What’s your favorite memory?  
Summer camp in Oregon this year. 
 
What are you proud of yourself for?   
Finding a job that I love. 
 
What are you looking forward to this year?     
Summer break.  
 
What do you dream about?   
My life when I am older with horses, kids and stuff. 
 
What else do you want to say? 
I don't have anything else to say. 

Sid turns 'sweet 16'.

Sidney celebrated her birthday with friends.  She did not want a big sweet 16 bash, but rather wanted it to be celebrated with a few close friends.  They got all dressed up for breakfast at Chick fil A.  Yep, that is a total teenage thing to do.

They spent the afternoon hiking up at Bogus.

That afternoon, Sidney opened gifts and enjoyed some pizza before heading to youth group.  These are changing times.  I am doing my best at navigating them, but sometimes I miss the girl that did not want to leave my side.  That being said, I am so very proud of the independent young woman she has become!

Work Trips (Vacations).

 August was a crazy travel month.  I had three trips in four weeks.  I have decided to think of these as vacations and try to enjoy the little things.  That being said, the month of August did provide some lovely experiences.  Do not get me wrong, these days usually begin at 6 am and end somewhere around midnight.  The first stop was San Diego for our leader meeting.  We took in a Nora Jones concert at The Shell.

The second night we kayaked in the harbor at sunset.

Week 2 was a trip to Toronto for my Solution Team meeting.  One of my team members put together an awesome itinerary.  She had been there last year for the ULI conference, she knew all the great places.  On the last evening, we rented bicycles and had a tour guide take us on a trip to Toronto Island.

We loaded the bicycles onto a water taxi over to the island.

Funny, the girls look like we are having the time of our lives, while the gents look a bit more subdued:).

The tour guide was full of stories.  The island has a long, incredible history.

We stopped at the 'clothing optional' beach for a bit of history. Yep, super awkward, but good for a laugh!

Once the bike tour was over, we headed back to the mainland for some delicious Mexican food. 

The third trip of the month was to Tuscaloosa Alabama for our board meeting.  My friend Valerie was testing me feverishly wanting to know what the locals think of the new football coach.  I was certain to ask around for her, prefacing it with 'I know nothing about football, but...'.

We had dinner at the University Club.   Again, this place was full of history.  Our host, has a rich family history in the area and he was able to tell us a lot of great stories.

These trips are never short on delicious food.  I took this picture a bit too late, as we had already devoured many of the appetizers.

I was just super grateful that the heat and humidity were relatively kind to us on this trip!