Girl's Trip '12!

Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, 3 of my friends and I went on an ALL DAY shopping trip! I mean, we shopped till we literally dropped! We shopped the outlets for 9 straight hours!! Are you kidding me? I cannot tell you the last time I did that! We had no strollers, no babies, no time limit in sight! It was soo nice...and kind of weird!

Now, don't get me wrong, I sorely missed my Harpie and Brian, but, it was such a wonderful and short get-away. Just what the 4 of us needed together!  Maegan, Mary, and Sara went.  We all used to work together at the same school for several years and it was so awesome how we just seemed to instantly connect with one another.  I mean, how many of you can say that about your co-workers?  Well, last year, a few changes happened and we were worried it would affect our friendships.  But what we've learned over this year is that when you have true friends, a little distance won't change anything! Sara now works at a different school and Maegan is staying home with her son, Collins!

After we shopped for 9 hours (silly us, we thought we'd have time for IKEA, too! Nope!) than we checked into our hotel (that we got downtown Cincy...Labor Day weekend...for $75!!!), got ready, and went out! After going to a not-so-hot-place...we found ourselves at the Mynt Martini for some fabulous food and then a nightclub! We danced the night away {or until 11:30...} and then stumbled in our big high heels none of us are used to wearing back to the hotel.  As we fell asleep we giggled and laughed about old memories, new memories, and the thought of all of our steal-deals from the shopping trip!

beginning of the night...

end of the night...

Maegan and Mary

Sara and me

Thanks Ladies! I loved that my first trip away from H & B was with you all!! XOXO

Our last trip together was Spring Break 2008! Um, hi, can I PLEASE be that skinny again?!

{we missed you, Tiff!}

Happy 4th!

Hope everyone had a great 4th!
We started off with breakfast with the family to celebrate hubby's birthday {my parents will be out of town on his actual day}!

Then we continued on downtown to see all the fun stuff going on! There were TONS of things to do...but even at 10:30am it was smoldering outside, so we decided to not stay very long. In fact, we had plans to take H home to nap and then head to the pool! Well...as it seems our plans go these days... H was in NO mood to nap. So after about 2 hours, I got her down to only get a 30 min. nap. Her darn top teeth are coming in and they are doing a major job on her - much more so than her bottom teeth. So, B decided to hold her for her nap, I tried to lay outside, but alas, it was still just too darn hot!

That night, we went to our friend's Alison & Nick's house for their annual 4th of July party!  It was super fun!

We had to leave before her neighborhood's big fireworks show...but I guess there's a ban on fireworks anyways due to the dryness, so it wasn't that big of a deal! :)


Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Jen's Wedding!

We've been off to vacation this past week! It was fun, but glad to be in my own home tonight!

We drove to Charleston, SC EARLY {like 330am early} on Saturday morning for my college friend, Jen's, wedding weekend! It was so much fun!

Brian's Mom came up from HHI to see Harper and keep her for us while we attended the rehearsal dinner and wedding over the weekend!

Jen made a beautiful bride! Her locations for the wedding were awesome. If you're familiar with the area; she had her ceremony at The Citadel - so pretty inside, and her reception in The Old Exchange building.

the crew that traveled for the wedding!

my husband: the traditional dance machine with the bride

Charleston is one of my favorite cities, so we were able to very quickly make it to the markets. I had purchased Harper's bow she wears on her monthly pictures in the markets along with several other fun finds.  This trip was no different as Harper came away with a few unique clothing purchases!

Then we left early Monday morning for family vacation!

Pool Day!!

YAY! The weather is already telling us it's summertime! This past Saturday my little family tried out our pool!

takin' a snooze

Harper's Baby Dedication

Sunday our church honored the new parents and babies through their annual Baby Dedication Service.

In our church, we wait for the child/adult to tell when they want to accept Christ into their heart; so, this service is more for parents to commit to raising their child in a Christian home.

Here's a few pictures from the day!

Harper's Great-Granny

family pic on the screen

Harper's Great-Granddaddy

Harper's Aunt, Uncle, and cuzzies

everyone who came

Afterwards, I hosted a Dessert Reception at our house. It was a blast, but BOY am I worn out from getting the party ready, cleaning up, and then cooking us dinner tonight!

Harper's Favors...

sweet gifts from church and family

Thanks to our family who were able to be here!