Lovely Lavendy Festy!

Last weekend, I got to spend time with just me and my older sister at Mona's annual Lavender Festival!

There were so many beautiful, beautiful flowers (including some roses in colors I've never seen before!) and some great insects I spent a bit chasing around.










We got a tour of their distillery where we learned all about the essential oils extraction process, and watched a video about how they're going to change the face of medicine and therefore save the world! ('merica!)





And then, of course there was the breath-taking lavender fields!









We got pretty thirsty out there in the July heat, so we bought some AMAZING lavender ice cream, yum!


It was a great day to spend with my big sister!

Fourteen Years....

It's been fourteen years today....

Fourteen years of being a family.


Fourteen years of best friends.


Fourteen years of goofing around.


And it's days like today, a day for remembering the past, I realize some things will never change.
Like the close bond between a mom and her daughters.


And all the fun I have with my big sis.


Here's to fourteen years! Happy anniversary Mom, Mark, and Company!

Here she is, the newest member of the family:

She doesn't have a name yet, but she sure is a cutie! She was an Easter surprise, my Uncle Larry's newest buddy. He got her not long ago, but it didn't take long for us all to fall in love.

And of course, Larry is thrilled to have this little piece of joy to come home to, who wouldn't?

Barty loved her...Not only did I get to spend Easter with a puppy, but I got to spend some time with some pretty great people too, which hasn't happened for a while. I think holidays are a great excuse to do something with family and friends.

Mom and Mark

My lovely Gramma

And of course, Jennafer, she's practically one of the family too!


My cutie sister Colie...

And my favorite Barty in all the land...
It truly was a great Easter Sunday.

The last snow...

So it's technically spring, right...?

And it's been snowing for a few days now....

Each morning I wake up and see that it's still snowing, I just tell myself:

"Today's the last day it's going to snow this year!"

Making it so much easier to enjoy.

The first breath of spring...

...melts away the frost of winter. The smell of earth, and grass rejuvenates the soul. Tulips sprouting a whisper of a promise of beauty to come. While winter can be beautiful, spring is a reward worth looking forward to.

A time for a lightening of the spirit, a rebirth of the soul. As the birds find their way back, waking me every morning singing out, "Celebrate! Celebrate!" It's a universal understanding of creatures great and small as the weighted blanket of winter is lifted off of our shoulders.

I am so grateful to be a part of mother natures greatest makeovers.

Another day older...

Tomorrow is my Birthday, as mostly everyone knows by now. And I'm excited, but it's not just any ol' birthday. I'm turning 20 tomorrow. I'm entering a new decade, which is kindof a big deal. When I turned 10, it wasn't a huge deal, it was my golden birthday (I turned 10 on the 10th) but other than that, it seemed like just another ol' birthday. I know I've technically been an adult for a few years now, but I feel like now it's legit. It's for real this time.

I've lived a quarter of my life! And Lots of things have changed. But at the same time, I'm still me. Same wierdo goof ball that still acts like a little kid.

I've come a long way, I've learned a lot of lessons, accomplished many things. I've survived through the tough times, so far, and I've made mistakes, but it's all been worth it! Today my mom said, "I hope you enjoy you're last day as a teenager!" A part of me feels like I'm leaving my childhood behind, and I can never go back. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing, but I also know that it will always be with me. That girlish charm that is so prevalent in the way I view the world won't go away just because I'm one day older. I mean, age is just another title, right? Just another way to identify oneself. So no sweat, I guess it is just another ol' birthday after all.

It's about time...

It's been about 15 years since someone threw my mom a party for her birthday... which may not seem like a terribly long time for some, but it means a REALLY long time for me! The last time someone threw a party for my mom was when I was about three years old!

So about a month ago, my mom and I were chit-chatting about the holidays and the topic of our birthdays came up. Both of our birthdays are in December, so we're used to many, many parties during the holidays. When I heard just how long it's been since my mom had been given a party, I knew that something must be done!

Despite the fact that my mother's birthday is in the eye of the holiday storm, we're pulling out all the stops. (Which is easy to do when planning a party on someone else's budget, because it wouldn't be much of a party if it were on my dime, I'll tell you that much!) balloons, luminaries, over-the-top decorations, a breath-taking cake, and champagne of course, and.... well, we don't

 want to give it all away now do we? I figure that for twenty years my mom has always made my birthday a special day, despite the holiday madness. And NEVER has she ever grouped my birthday and Christmas gifts together, which is something that I really appreciate. So I figure it's about time that I give a little bit back.

We've just started to talk about all the details for the party, so we're not too far into it yet. (Although, I admit, I've inherited my mom's awesome party planning skills, and I've already got a few ticks up my sleeves...) But it's about time to put together a guest list, and I've just about finished the invitations that I made myself, and I'm pretty dang proud of them! My first legitimate encounter with photo shop, and I feel as if I know a lot already! I thought I'd post a sample or two of what I've come up with. Hope you like them as much as I do!

This was my original idea, but a little too pixelated for my taste.

Here's the final product, same idea, different (and better quality) picture.