It was quite the EVENTFUL weekend over at the McCormick’s, that a weekend recap just had to be written. Oh and it RAINED all weekend, which is crazy talk for southern California.
On Friday I did the 16.2 workout at the new Crossfit gym I am working at. I innocently signed up for the Crossfit Open, because one of the coaches said even if your not super competitive and just want to do it for fun, sign up. So I thought…why not?! Oh man are these workouts kicking my butt, but in a good way. I only go to Crossfit about twice a week and I am not gonna lie I choose the days where there is mostly HITT workouts and running, not a huge fan of snatches and overhead squats. The 16.2 workout was actually a lot of fun (well fun from a trainer doesn’t mean anything). There was toes to bar, double unders, and squat cleans (I finished with a 95 pound squat clean which is a PR for this girl). I got a whopping 262 reps, which I was proud of but walked away with a gnarly blood blister.
Friday night I also had a GNO! It had been too long since I had just gone out with the girls. We grabbed taco’s and wine at the local Winery that I am a member of. I know weird combo, but it’s cheap and yummy! We ended up meeting up with my parents and finished the evening with a little karaoke, it was a lot of fun!
Saturday was DAY ONE of potty training!!!! (see I need the night out before the craziness started). We did the three day method where you don’t leave the house, you don’t use pull-ups and you use the reward system. I am going to do a full post on that soon. The first day RJ had a lot of accidents, but now we are on day three and she’s got it!! We haven’t left the house yet and I am a bit nervous about that.
Sunday I got to escape from the potty training mahem for a couple hours and did the Run Through Redlands Half Marathon with my beautiful client Lauren. She has been doing my bootcamp for about three months now and we have been running a couple Fridays together. I haven’t run more than 6 miles this past year, but I have been doing SPIN and running for me is more mental than anything so I wanted to pace her and enjoy the run. It rained the WHOLE TIME and was super windy, but we had a great race and the best part was she felt amazing the whole time!!! I can honestly say I am not sore today at all thanks to the Catalyst from Advocare I have been taking!
After the race I enjoyed my favorite local breakfast, breakfast tacos at Olive Avenue Market.
The rest of the day was spent potty training and relaxing with the family and there may have been a couple glasses of CHARD enjoyed as well as a cheesy movie or two.
I am excited for this new week! I have a whole new group of 24 Day Challengers starting for the month of March and they are going to do awesome! I have a full recap of my thoughts on the 24 Day Challenge as well as my results. We got a full new shipment of supplements this weekend and I am not sure who was more excited, me or RJ?!
Question: What was the highlight of your weekend?Â
]]>Sorry for the little blog break, we were over here enjoying the last bits of summer and celebrating one little beautiful ladies second birthday!! Can ya’ll believe RJ is two?! Crazy right? We celebrated this year by throwing a fun Mickey Mouse birthday party at our new park in town with friends and family. The park was a perfect location. We grilled hotdogs with fun toppings, kettle corn, pink lemonade, Mickey Mouse cupcakes, kale and fruit salad, kettle chips. RJ had such a fun time playing outside with her friends, eating her favorite foods, and of course the presents 
 
I hired Crafted Gatherings to help me with the beautiful decor and they did an amazing job! We met a couple months ago went over my ideas and they nailed the theme on the head. If you are local and want to rent some great decorations for your next party they are the way to go. I didn’t have to stress about anything and could truly soak up the day!
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The last time I did one of these post’s was back in August, right before RJ turned one. GOODNESS have things changed around here! I’m learning daily how to juggle being a wife, a mom, a business woman and a friend. Let me just be the first to tell you, that there are days that I go without a shower, never finish my first cup of coffee, have mismatch socks on (this happened today), forget to get milk at the store when that is the only thing I went in for… the list goes on… I AM SO FAR FROM BEING PERFECT!
5:00am // RISE AND SHINE//
I look at the clock, the monitor screen and baby girl is still out! That means I get a little quiet time in the morning or I head out to teach TRX. I love getting up slowly, making some coffee and reading a book, recently The Best Yes, which has been rockin my world! I also answer emails and catch up on my social media.
6:30 – 8:00am // RJ IS UP & BREAKFAST//
I love our mornings together most days, very slow and in our jammies. Â RJ has about an 8 ounce bottle of milk (she’s off formula). Now I would like to tell you that were doing something super fun and educational, but nope in all reality we might be watching Disney Jr. or The Today Show while we enjoy breakfast. RJ eats anything I eat, she just takes a lot longer. She doesn’t want me to feed her, so it’s me putting a scoop of oatmeal on a spoon and letting her feed herself. Repeat.
8:00Â – 9:00am // MORNING WALK WITH BOSCO //
RJ still takes her morning nap most mornings. She will definitely go down when we go on our walk with Bosco. We walk about 3 easy miles and then head back home to get ready for the gym. I catch up on more comments, emails, phone calls, texts and IG while we walk.
9:00 – 10:30am // GYM //
I love that we go to a gym where RJ loves the childcare. She always gets excited to play with friends and has such a great time. I, too, have a great time getting my bootie kicked in SPIN class or doing some weights. After class, I take a shower and then we head out.
10:30 – 11:30am // PARK //
We get out to the park everyday! I love watching RJ learn and explore on all the play equipment and I am also blessed to have a lot of friends that are stay-at-home moms and they bring their kiddos and we catch up on life.
12:00 – 12:30pm // LUNCH //Â
If it’s not at the park, we enjoy something thrown together at home. Right now, it has been peanut butter sandwiches, string cheese chicken sausage and peas. I am having a hard time making sure that RJ eats a lot of greens, unless she has a smoothie. It’s more me needing to prep than anything else. I am just lucky if I get her to have 10 peas!
12:30 – 2:30pm // NAP TIME //
I would love to say that RJ takes a two hour nap (rarely), we have a great night time sleeper, but afternoon naps are anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour if we are lucky! I know I could try and cut out her morning nap, we tried that and it didn’t work. So whatever time I do get alone I usually pick up the house, blog (like I am doing now), or catch up on Shred stuff.
2:30 – 4:30pm // PLAY TIME + AFTERNOON WALK //
I am trying to find more hands-on fun things that RJ can do, like finger painting, motor skills, signing, scenery stuff… but man, I need to get with it! I pin like a million things on Pinterest, but I have yet to really do too many of them. We also take Bosco for an afternoon walk, a lot shorter than our morning walk, but it’s always nice to get out one more time.
In there we have a snack, which right now happens on the kitchen floor. We enjoy apple slices, meat and cheese 
(with our tiaras on of course).
4:30 – 5:30pm // DAD’S HOME //
Most days Hubby is home by 5pm and I am trying to figure out what’s for dinner, but lately I have been using the crockpot so I don’t even have to think about anything, except what’s on the side. We eat a lot earlier these days and I kind of like it. While Dad plays with RJ, I try and freshin’ up… take my nail polish off… breathe for just two seconds…
5:30 – 6:30pm // DINNER //
Would love to say that we all sit around the dinner table and have a wonderful peaceful meal together, but I would be lying! RJ hates her high chair. She sits in it for like 3-4 minutes throws her food on the floor and most of the time ends up on one of our laps while we try and make sure she gets some kind of dinner in her. She then scoots all over the house while we try and eat. This is a process.
6:30 – 7:30pm // BED TIME ROUTINE //
If we are not at Tuesday night community group or Thursday night friends dinner, we are giving RJ a bath (while the other does the dishes), reading her a story or two, brushing teeth, feeding RJ her last milk bottle of the day (8 more ounces), and singing her a song. Then, off to bed she goes. Sometimes she cries for about 2 minutes and then she passes out. Other times longer and we have to be patient and then she conks out!
7:30 – 9:00pm // WORK //
We both sit our booties on the couch and exhale… The Hubby and I catch up on our days and then normally we both have to get work done. He has side business and I have my Shreds, Refresh Summit, Refresh Attire and Bloggy stuff to work on. By 9:00pm we are both spent (in a good way). If we don’ t have energy to work, we play a game, watch a movie or just relax. Once a week we do get away and have a fun date night (but those will be few and far these next two months).
9:00pm // BED TIME //
Yep, were that old couple… lol… we get into bed by 9:00pm and probably fall asleep by 9:30pm at the latest (it’s the secret to being a morning person). Wouldn’t it be nice to say I read, rarely happens.
As you can see it’s quite the fun juggling act, but I love it! When the weekends roll around and Hubby is home, he is such a huge help! I don’t ever want him to go back to work on Monday’s. It’s not a perfect schedule and it won’t ever be, but it works for us..for this season.
Question: What is your bed time?
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Oh how I love our morning {virtual} coffee dates together. I wish I could seriously sit down with each of you and give you a big warm hug and hear what is going on in each of your lives.
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you… how this ‘early bird’ is BACK!
It’s a bit funny how I wake up in the mornings. I roll over look at the time (praying it’s around 5am), look at the baby monitor (praying that RJ is asleep), and if she is I feel like I have won a race! I wanted my body to get used to getting up at 5am on it’s own without an alarm and you know how I did it… by getting up every morning at the same time! And knowing that my yummy pumpkin spice coffee is waiting for me in the kitchen.
It’s the little things people. I also have made it a point to climb into bed before 10pm every night as well. I just love rising early and enjoying a cup of joe while reading God’s word. It sets the tone of the day!
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that I am super excited about the half marathon I am doing in Temecula this weekend!
It’s one that I have already done and I know it’s a tough course filled with hills and trails, but afterwards the Hubby and I get to have a ‘day date’ enjoying lunch at my favorite winery and having a relaxing Sunday. We will miss the babe for sure, but it will be nice to have some good quality time together.
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that the Refresh Summit is SOLD OUT! God is so faithful! I am so excited in less than a month we get to worship and workout with some beautiful ladies. I also can’t wait to see my Tennessee family and spend some time in my college neighborhood.
You can still purchase a raffle ticket or 10 until the end of the week to help raise some funds for a scholarship for someone to attend the Summit! There are some incredible gifts that we are giving away! Check it out!
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that our Refresh Attire shop CLOSES this Friday. Don’t forget to purchase one of our limited edition t-shirts! This one the Hubby designed and I just love it!
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you… that I am working hard at getting the Holiday Shred 2014 READY for this year!
Don’t worry… sign-ups will start Saturday, November 1 with the Shred starting Sunday, November 23rd and go through Christmas. It will be a six-week program filled with Bobbi-Bootcamp style workouts, simpler meal plans, videos, yummy recipes and lots more!
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that I am loving The Best Yes book by Lisa Terkurst.
It is challenging me in so many ways and bringing new wisdom into my life. I thought I had saying ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ down pat, but boy was I wrong. I am into chapter 11 of and learning the power of a “small” no. How tempting it is to use NO as a weapon and just decline everything, for freedom in the white spaces. But those white spaces were meant for God’s BEST YES’S. It’s up to us to determine through God’s wisdom what our small No’s are, so we can give our best YES to his greatest assignments.
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you… that we’re dabbling in the thought of moving to Redlands.
Just being open to the idea just in case it is an option. We love our house and we love where we live, but we do a lot in Redlands and it’s a small town where we can walk to everything! It’s just a dream right now, but who knows what’s goona happen
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that I completed my longest bike ride to date this past weekend!
I rode 76 miles with my dear friend Susie! It wasn’t an easy task (that’s for sure), but my legs felt great. I had done some box jumps the day before (not smart) and felt some tension in my back. By mile 50 it was flaring up a bit, but it subsided and I mentally pushed through.
My 100 mile bike ride is less than two weeks away and I know more than anything it will mental more than physical. It’s going to be a beautiful ride in Oceanside and I am so grateful for Gatorade’s sponsorship to make this bucket list dream come true! After this month, I will be back to more strength workouts and less cardio, but for now… let the training press on!!
If we were having coffee this morning, I would tell you…Â that this season of motherhood is an adventure for sure!
RJ is on the MOVE! Not walking yet, but she is almost there. I am learning to let go of the mess and just enjoy her as much as I can. It’s not an easy task working from home and being a stay at home, but I wouldn’t change it for a minute.
It’s a balancing act daily and just when you think you have got it down, it changes! I have a full blog post on this coming soon.
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It is the conclusion to Rylee-Joy’s adoption story. We share this with you all for one reason and on reason only, it is to give hope where hope is needed. We have struggled with infertility for over three years now and know the pain that so many others are going through or have gone through. However, we also know the ‘joy’ of adoption and how it has brought us hope and peace like no other.
We have always wanted to adopt, but just didn’t know the plans that God had for us would be to adopt first. Will we ever “birth” biological children… only God know, but we share with you today, in hopes that you will see God’s grace and perfect plan in the journey that He has blessed us with.
Grab a cup of Joe and let us unfold God’s story…
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Thursday, September 5, 2013: We received a phone call that started to prepare us for parenthood.
I received a phone call from our social worker about a sibling set that was ready to be placed for adoption. Now, there were some unique circumstances in this case that we canâ€
t talk about, but nevertheless, they called to ask if we would want to be ‘consider†for this sibling set.
Now, letâ€s stop here for a moment. In the adoption process with the County of San Bernardino, we were told that we would ONLY be called if we had been ‘selected†as the parents for a child or sibling set, but this time we were called to see if we wanted to be ‘considered†for this unique situation. Of course we said YES! and were told that we would know the following day (Friday) if we were or werenâ€t selected.
Through the evening, Hubs was being super cute. He stayed up all night researching about the different age groups because if we were selected, we would be parents that Friday!
It started to feel weird. It is hard to explain. The situation wasnâ€t how we expected it to feel like.
Something was… off.
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Friday, September 6, 2013: We received a phone call from our social worker saying we were NOT selected.
There were lots of emotions that hit us all at once, however, we were encouraged that since we had only been officially in the system for 4+ weeks and already had our profile viewed, that it was a good sign for us.
A good sign indeed.
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That upcoming week, we had a big camping trip that had been planned for months with over 20 adults and children (like the one we just got home from) at a beautiful campsite near Bishop, CA. It was a Wednesday thru Sunday outing in a location with NO CELL SERVICE!
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Monday September 9, 2013: Hubs took off work.
We just wanted to get away and do things that we might not be able to do for awhile if we get another ‘callâ€. So we hit up Disneyland and a Dodgers game.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2013: The day we will remember forever!
We received a call from our social worker saying “You have been selected to be the parents of a beautiful baby girl who was safely surrendered.†She was only days old and was currently at a foster home. We were asked to come into the Victorville office the next day (Wednesday) for a ‘presentation.’
Now see, if they had called us a day later, we would not of received this miracle phone call as we would of been camping out of cell phone service! Crazy, right?!?
It was Godâ€s perfect timing.
When we got this call, I was minutes away from going grocery shopping for our camping trip! Needless to say, we ended up not going camping
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Wednesday September 11, 2013: We had to wait until late afternoon to meet with the county officials for a formal presentation.
Being that our social worker gave us all of the information on Tuesday night over the phone, this presentation didnâ€t really give us more details. With a safely surrendered baby, there is very little information about the birth mother (or family for that matter) and little-to-no health information.
We were given a couple of photos of “Amber” (a name given to her by the hospital nurses), but photos didnâ€t do her justice!
We wanted to take her home that day, but because she was currently at a foster home, we were told that we needed to take 24 hours to decide. Blah! We knew that she was ours, but since they wouldnâ€t let us take her home that day, we went power shopping! Target, Baby-R-Us, Costco… you name it! And because we had an age range of newborn to 2-years-old that we were open to, we havenâ€t been able to purchase many things until we knew the age. Car seats, clothing, strollers, etc.
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Thursday, September 12, 2013:Â The day we first got to meet Rylee-Joy and also bring her home!
Through the entire year we had weekly visits from our social worker and became her legal guardians after 6 months. Then we waited.
And as you could tell by the lack of a changed blog design that didn’t include Rylee for 368 days, we were told that there was still certain things that we were not allowed to post, design or even say about her case. And so here in the next weeks and months, this website will change and be updated with more current looks of our family!
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Monday, September 15, 2014: Fast forward to exactly one year and three days after Rylee came home.
With loved ones with us in the court room (and some even joining us via FaceTime), we got to legally and permanently call Rylee-Joy McCormick our daughter!
(Some family and friends that have walked with us through the journey)Â
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What an incredible journey that the Lord has had us on. Excited to get to see our little RJ grow into the beautiful and brave women that God has created her to be!
Every child and every adoption is very unique and there is no norm! I love answering questions about adoption, so e-mail me away!
… and of course we had to spend the rest of the day celebrating at the happiest place on earth, AKA Disneyland!
]]>Full blog post to come on her fun gold and pink first birthday party.
I am alive:) It has been quiet the busy week!! This past weekend we were in Big Bear with my parent’s celebrating their 10 year anniversary as well as a friends wedding! Honestly it was one of the most amazing family trips that we have had together. I loved laughing, eating, and playing with the whole bam fam!
My SIL and MIL are in town from Tennessee for RJ’s first birthday party on Saturday and I am in birthday planning mode!! So needless to say, blogging has been a bit difficult. I can’t wait to share with you all RJ’s one year old pictures and all the fun from her birthday party this weekend!! But for now I will be taking a blogging break till Monday. I also have some other amazing news I can not wait to tell you all about. Alright friends, have an amazing week and I will see you all Monday.
This girl’s got a party to plan!!!
Question: What is one thing that I should for sure do at RJ’s first birthday party?Â
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If you are wondering what this Five Minute Friday things is all about, check it out here. I love Five Minute Friday’s, because I get to write what is on my heart for five uninterrupted minutes, unedited and unfiltered. Setting my timer…lets GO!
CHANGE
She is about to turn ONE! Yes, ONE! Crazy right? I know everyone always says don’t blink, cause it always goes by so fast…well they are beyond right.
This little girl, this amazing miracle walked into our lives almost 12 months ago and our lives were CHANGED forever, Well yes, we would never get to sleep in again, we would sacrifice a lot, but honestly she fits right into our lives that the change was beautiful. It was like she had been with us forever. Her smile, her giggles, her hugs and kisses were always meant to be here, Our family has grown and the change is wild and glorious.
I always use to love change and now that I am older, it’s a littler harder. Being a Mom has been the greatest change of my life. It has taught me to slow down and appreciate the things that really matter. The dishes in the sink, the bed not being made, the floors having dirt on them, those things DO NOT MATTER! What matter’s is the moment’s that are made in our home, the messes mean life is happening! I think the greatest thing about Change, is when you learn how to roll with the punches and laugh when you get knocked down.
Change with grace. Cause without it you will live within your comfort/OCD zone and you will miss out on living!
]]>Is it perfect? Does it always go like planned? NO! However, it has been a life saver for me to be able to lay things out so I can have a little bit of an idea of what the day will hold. I know I love reading these posts about other bloggers… it’s always fun to see what the day looks like (snoop).
6:30 – 7:30am // RJ WAKES UP //
She is our alarm clock! She recently has been waking up between 7 and 7:30am (no more 5:45am!). I still get up early, pour my cup of Joe and do my morning Bible reading and prayer. If RJ wakes up before me, she joins me while enjoying her first bottle.
7:30 – 8:00am // BREAKFAST //
It always changes… some mornings I make a Green Monster, other days Love Grown Oats, maybe Eggs and Cereal, or Chobani yogurt with granola. It all depends on what mood I am in. RJ always eats a little bit of everything I enjoy as well as her banana.
8:30 – 10:30am // GYM //
Pack up and head to the GYM! I have found that the 9:15am Spin and Body Pump classes work best for us.
RJ is in a great mood during this time. She loves the childcare at the Y and I get in a great hour sweat then it’s out the door before her morning nap. I also have been riding my bike twice a week and doing a kickboxing / TRX class on Saturdays.
10:30am – 12:00pm // RJ NAPS or ERRANDS //
I either get some work done on the computer or around the house if RJ takes a nap. This week and next I’ll be working on stuff for RJ’s first birthday party!
If RJ doesn’t take a nap, we get to run errands like grocery shopping, post office trips and other random adventures.
…or she plays in the play room while I work.
12:00 – 1:00pm // LUNCH TIME //
I have been enjoying every bit of kale that I can get fresh from our garden. We normally eat some kind of protein, a whole grain, veggies and an avocado.
RJ pretty much eats what I eat at almost every meal. I do have to give her more green veggies in puree form because she has a hard time chewing kale. She does love peas, green beans and snap peas!
1:30 – 2:30pm // WALK and PARK //
We walk to the park (about two miles from our house) and chill for a while and then head home. This is also where I can catch up with clients, my Shred groups, emails and phone calls.
RJ loves to just sit and chill in the shade and watch the other kiddos play. I can’t wait till she can slide on her own!
2:30 – 4:00pm // SECOND NAP //
On a good day, RJ naps and sometimes for a lot longer. This is where I do my daily chores… dishes, bathrooms, vacuum, mop, sweep, dust, or sometimes I just blog (which is what I am doing now)… but if no nap, then we play
4:00 – 5:00pm // REST, BREATHE & SHOWER //
5:00 – 6:00pm // DINNER //
Hubby comes home and I start dinner while they play. These days I try and keep dinner as simple as possible. Lots of chicken tacos, turkey spaghetti, chicken and sweet potatoes, homemade pizza and other simple, but filling, meals. I also do try and make one new recipe a week… to mix it up
6:00 – 7:00pm // BED TIME ROUTINE //
Bath time while one of us cleans up dinner, read a book, sing a song, pray a prayer and then down to bed (some nights later than others).
7:00 – 9:00pm // MAMA & DADA WORKS //
Now that I have my ‘home office,’ no more coffee shop trips for me. I just turn on the music and light a candle and work away. Some nights we have small group and dinner plans so this doesn’t always happen, but some nights.
Once a week, I put on my REALÂ clothes and Hubby and I get go out for date night!
9:00pm til…Â // THE 9:00PM RULE //
We also have a 9:00RM RULE! What’s that? All phones OFF… electronics OFF… and just “us” time.
We haven’t been so great at this lately, but we’re bringing it back!
We normally hit the hay between 10:00-11:00pm and the weekends are a whole different ball game!
Question: Do you thrive on routine or do you love just living day-by-day?Â
]]>Thought I would share a few fun picture of the fun that has been happening this summer…
Susie and I went on a little Mamaâ€s Get-Away with her kiddos and RJ to Palm Springs, before school starts…
RJ had a BLAST!
RJ is 11 months old (crazy right?), so that means we got a party to start planning! I am keeping it simple and going with a color scheme instead of a theme… pink and gold!
She is GROWING!
I have been adding to KALE to everything! Itâ€s the best in veggie and chicken sausage skillets!
I found the watermelon Chobani, and I LOVED IT! Itâ€s not a super strong watermelon taste, itâ€s the perfect amount of sweetness. I found it at Super Wal-Mart.
I have been making an effort to not live in my workout clothes and now I live in these Target shorts and gold sparkly shoes. I love SUMMER!
I have fallen in love with BODY PUMP! How I had never tried it, I will never know. I try and do two classes a week and itâ€s so much fun. I may even get my certification!
I am on week 7 of my ABIDE JOURNAL from Naptime Diaries. I am gonna miss it, when I finish!
RJ got her first pony tail!
Saturday cycle has been amazing this summer. I will be sad when it getâ€s too cold to ride!
For dinners, we live on the porch. I am not even sure we have sat at our dining room table once this whole summer.
TRX classes have started at my Gym and I am teaching some of them! I am stoked!
I taught my first beginner class on Saturday with my friend Jackie and we CRUSHED it!
Still trying to master the beachy waves, maybe one day I will get it and do a tutorial.
Friday nights, have become FAMILY NIGHT and we have had so much fun getting out with the little. We always stay close to home and I think that we are starting to fall even more in love with our little town.
I am headed to the Idea World Conference this weekend and I am SO EXCITED! Who all is going to be there????
Question: What is one of your favorite things you have done this summer?
P.S. Winner of the Propel Challenge coming tomorrow!
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