summer highlights...

We have been soaking up this summer with lots of time outside, on vacation, with friends, and just hanging out at home.

Here are some highlights!

I finally got a tattoo I had been wanting.  My sister and I went together and each got one, and it was a fun time to do a "first" with my best friend.

Finn played a lot of music.  He is getting so much more interested in singing and playing instruments, and he loves strumming Landon's ukulele and playing his harmonica.

We took a vacation to Virginia with Landon's family, and Finn absolutely loved the beach!
















We went camping with our small group.  Finn was the only child in the group, and he did really well!  We'll be doing more of this in the future.

I spent a lot of time with this guy. :)  Lot's of coffee dates, some weekends away from Finn, and just good quality time.  I love Landon more than I could ever describe.















We ate a lot of s'mores.  I mean, a lot.

I got a Bill Murray tank off of Etsy, and have worn it a bunch of times already.  It's quickly becoming my favorite summer shirt.

Finn spent a lot of time naked or almost naked.  Summer is great for that! :)

Needless to say, we have had a busy but good summer so far.  I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family, and live in such an amazing place!  Still planning on soaking up the rest of summer and doing what we love best...spending time together.

iced coffee...

After some super busy weeks, vacation, and lots of summer fun, we are finally relaxing for a week....before heading out for some more fun weekends in August.  Doing as much to relax and savor each day of this quickly passing summer, one of my favorite ways is to enjoy a nice iced coffee.  It's been our go-to drink this year, and it's nice to have one that tastes so good and isn't too bad for us either.  Landon takes his black, and I take mine with a bit of milk or half and half.

To make mine at home, I just brewed some strong coffee, then chilled it overnight.  I threw in a few ice cubes, added some whole milk, then filled up the cup with the coffee.  Love it!

I can't wait to share some photos from our vacation we just recently got back from.  We enjoyed touring around the Williamsburg area, and Landon and I got to take an amazing whitewater rafting trip just the two of us.  Summer is so exciting!!

Now, off to enjoy a gloriously beautiful day outside.  I think Finn and I will be exploring a new park in the area and do a bit of hiking.  Happy August!

I am a big fan of simple food dishes, and this lunch has become a favorite.  Today, since I was running errands, I stopped by Whole Foods and got a bit of my favorite tuna lime salad.  When I got home, I added some fresh garden lettuce from my dad's garden, and a fresh tomato from the local produce stand.  Ahhh, what a fresh and delicious meal...and nutritious to beat!

I have our stuff all packed for our extended weekend up in northern Michigan.  We are leaving as soon as Landon gets off of work and we are so excited for some fresh Michigan air, the lakes, the cherries, and relaxation!  This will be the last formal vacation we take before the summer ends, so we will be savoring every minute.  My parents and my sister and her husband will also be up there, which is an added treat.

I love summer and all the fun things we get to do.

To Denver and back...

Well I just got back from an 8 day long adventure to Denver.  Wow!  It was beautiful and fun and wonderful all at once.  We spent our time in Denver, then make a stop in our old stomping grounds of Kansas to see friends.  You might not think Kansas is beautiful, but we think so.  :)

Since I am a lazy bum sometimes, I stole these pictures from my sister who is so faithful at documenting with a camera and I took only a few shots with my own.  (Having a large camera can be a pain sometimes, and Hannah's takes great shots without having to mess with taking the lens cap off.)

Some of my favorite moments were:

*Being with all of my siblings at once for the first time in awhile.  Our brothers are really cool guys and we loved hanging out with them.

*Listening to Sirius satellite radio in the rental car...how my honda is jealous.

*Seeing the breathtaking snow-capped mountains.

*Eating pretty sweet asian grub.

*Eating some of the best pizza in the whole world.

*Seeing it snow, hail, rain, sleet, and sunshine all in a few days.

*Hiking to a waterfall with Hannah and asking some potheads for directions to get there.

*Seeing the wheat fields in Kansas that we used to play in.  (We played in fields and ditches as kids, not yards filled with fancy toys thank goodness.)

*Realizing that the best things in life are good and genuine friends who would give anything for you.

Life is been so good.  I have amazing friends and family, and I'm free to travel around and make some awesome memories.  What a summer this shall be!!

Dream Destination...

One of my dreams is to visit Morocco.  I think it looks so beautiful and spicy and bright.  Wouldn't it be amazing to travel across the world to Africa and explore an entirely different culture?  I would love it!  Then, I could just hop on over to the Rock of Gibraltar and Spain, right?

I was having coffee with a good friend on Sunday, and we were talking about travel, money, moving, and life.  She said something to me that she had read in an article once, "People who spend their money on experiences rather than things are usually happier."  She and another friend planned, in only a few days, a spur of the moment trip to the West Coast and are really taking that to heart.  I love that quote and  have thought of it often since Sunday.  Why not settle for a small, modest home with just the things you need and spend your extra time and money on travel and experience?
That's what Landon and I are hoping to do.

Where would you love to visit outside of your home country?

Have a wonderful Thursday friends!

xo
Leah

ps.  Would Hannah, Michelle, Stace, Elly, and Dulci please e-mail me your addresses?  Thanks for participating in Pay it Forward.  I'll be getting ready to send out your handmade items!

images via

Our Epic Weekend

Landon and I had the chance to head to St. Louis this weekend to visit friends and just hang out.  A lot of times, we find that weekend trips are not relaxing and we end up exhausted by the end of Sunday...not too excited about the coming work week.  Not so with this trip!  We didn't make any definite plans, so we weren't rushed to get anywhere or do anything specific.  We had such a great time with our friends!

Here are some highlights:

*road tripping with my boy listening to good music and eating yummy snacks

*game night with Dan, Natalie, Josie, and BJ.  Yummy treats, great tea, funny dogs, awesome games, champagne, and lots of laughs. :)

*Great lunch with Landon...it's called Pi Pizzeria and they had amazing deep dish pizza! It was in such a cute neighborhood and we enjoyed walking around on the beautiful day.

*Fun times with Dan, a friend of mine from college.  We stayed with him and his roommates in their awesome townhouse...classy place by the way.  I caught up on reading, we played more games, went to a great coffee house called Cafe Ventana and just enjoyed reading while Dan studied (he's in medical school.)

What a great and fun time!  We are so blessed to have such amazing and encouraging friends.
I love weekend trips...

xo
Leah

Piano Bar

We spent a lot of our evenings in the piano bar at the resort.  This was the hot spot for karaoke, piano sing-alongs, and just a fun place to hang out.  It was very classy with great 1950s decor and seating, and  there were pictures lined up along the wall of patrons back in the day when it was the Tower Isle Hotel owned by Abe Issa.  The hotel was a popular spot for the rich and famous such as Walt Disney, Debbie Reynolds, Eva Gabor, Princess Margaret, and Errol Flynn, and we saw their pictures in the piano bar.
I love history, and it was neat to see some of that at our resort.
We tried to take some classy pictures to fit in.