Summer 2017 Recap

Hi Friends!

I know it’s been a while, life has been full, hard and lovely. If you haven’t seen any life updates on my Instagram feed or story, let’s just say our family has entered into a new season of major change. I mean yes, we did move to Arizona a year ago and that was a huge shift, but here we are with another wonderful new adventure!

Our first summer here in Arizona was amazing. We did a lot on our summer bucket list: pool days, California visits, baseball games, movie dates, camping, water parks, vacation bible school and bbqs. We truly soaked up our time together, but NOW it’s August and still 111 almost everyday and I am ready for fall to come soon. I know I still have another month of this heat and I will thrive in it, because we are taking two unplanned weekend trips to CA in September as well as a week long trip to Chicago (give me all the green).

summer2017

summer20172

I am glad we did so much this summer, because little did I know God would open up a door for me to start teaching again!! Crazy right? I took a full time job as a Primary Guide (4-6 year olds) at a local Montessori Hybrid here in Phoenix. If you have been following me since the beginning of this blog like 10 million years ago you may remember that I used to work at a Montessori school as a teachers aid. The best part of this job is that RJ get’s to be in my class! I get to be her teacher. The first week was rocky, but each week has gotten so much better. This whole experience has been  a journey for all of us, but we are starting to get into a really good rhythm and I actually have enjoyed my morning commute! I have become addicted to Podcasts and some of my favorites are Revelation Wellness, Mom Struggling Well, Risen Motherhood and Cultivating the Lovely.  What are some of your favorites?!

Screen Shot 2017-08-30 at 11.17.56 AM

We have instituted Friday Family Fun nights! One thing that we have made a priority this year is our family time. We have always did a pretty good job at making date nights a priority, but have not spent too much time making family time a priority. We are a work in progress, but we are making FFF nights a MUST! It’s been so great to look forward to after a long week for us all and a great way to kick off the weekend. Plus there is so many places to eat and do here in Phoenix that we always have a new adventure every Friday. I am going to be writing a weekly FFF on the blog soon!

As far as my fitness I have been taking a lot of Cyclebar classes and hitting up the local box gym for HIIT workouts of my own. I also started running again early on Friday mornings with a new friend and even going on hikes! I can’t wait for fall to come so I can get outside more for workouts. It’s been a bit of a struggle to run here in the summer, it’s just so HOT! But I know fall is just around the corner! I work out a lot less these days, which I am so ok with!!

Ever since I went through Revelation Wellness training back in April, my whole mindset has shifted about my entire health and fitness! I have found so much freedom in how I workout and what I fuel my body with. I pretty much stick to a plant strong/ whole food diet, but I enjoy a beer/glass of wine on occasion as well as a good scoop of nitro ice-cream. Just last night at a baseball game I had street tacos, chips, a bite of hubby’s hot dog (cause I had to have a hot dog bite at a ball game) and a margarita or two 😉 But that’s not what I eat on a daily basis. I used to shame myself after I would eat like that and as well as kill myself in the gym because of it. Now I am learning to let that go and just LIVE…get back on track! To see food as fuel and for enjoyment. But it’s a learning process friends and I am by no means perfect and have to put myself in check often!

We also lost a dear friend this summer and I am not gonna lie it’s been hard, real hard. But we know that God works out everything for his glory and we are thankful that this place is not our home and that one day we will get to see him again in heaven. But is honestly still sucks!

So there you have it, I started a new job, survived (almost) my first summer in AZ, moved into a new house, completed Revelation Wellness training, shifted my whole health mindset, didn’t run once this summer, and started FFF nights!

Just wanted to pop in and say hi, catch up and don’t worry I will be back soon! I hope you all had an amazing summer!

Screen Shot 2017-06-05 at 1.27.40 PM

Question: What was the highlight of your summer?Â