Adult Field Day Recap

I mentioned we hosted the most fun adult field day in honor of my sister's birthday at the end of October and it was every bit as perfect as I envisioned it would be. As the most competitive girl in our family, she loved every second of it and I hope she felt all the love we all have for her as we celebrated all day long.

In my passion for planning any sort of event, I committed to making this day perfect for my sista. We rented out a softball field down the street to make sure we the space we needed for all the activities. I spent the whole week before prepping to make sure every little detail was special. I wanted to have all her favorite foods for the after party at our house which meant homemade snickerdoodle cupcakes and all things potato - her favorite food. Since we wouldn't be at our house for the games and wanting to make sure we still had fun event-themed decor, we made a few signs to hang at the softball field. I even special ordered her a sporty birthday girl shirt to wear. I'm so happy with how this day turned out!

Once the teams were chosen and more important, team names were selected, we kicked off the competition with a good old water balloon toss. Only two of us ended up completely soaked because of this competition (myself included). Of course this set off a bit of a water balloon fight because what else would we have done with all the extra water balloons?

Next up was a fierce game of kickball and I'm happy to say that my team won and I didn't get injured, both of which are worth celebrating!

We ended the competition with the highly-anticipated three-legged race and it was probably my favorite part. None of us could stop laughing during the entire race. It was pure joy for me to see everyone having such a good time.

Thank goodness, the birthday girl's team won the overall competition because she would not have been any fun the rest of the night!

Once the games were over, this fun and hungry crowd headed back to our house for food, fun and more competition in the form of slap cup and flip cup.

What a day. It was nice to switch things up and do something different with such a fun group of people. Seeing my sister so happy and carefree enjoying something so perfectly her made my heart so happy. It's safe to say we'll be planning another field day as soon as possible because this was a perfect day not to mention the fact that I'm sure we all want a rematch.

Weekend Perfection

Hello, friends. I feel like I blinked and it was already Wednesday, which is great because we've got another epic weekend planned but it's also not great because I've got quite the to do list to check off between now and then. Also, I'm still basking in the perfection of this past weekend and it wouldn't be right if I didn't take some time to document the happiness. 

It was one of those weekends. The ones where you lay in bed Sunday night not wanting to close your eyes because that means it's over. The ones where you stop multiple times a day and wonder how on earth you've been so incredibly blessed. 

After being out of town the last two weekends, I was feeling super grateful for a low-key weekend at home. Our big plans Friday night included prepping the yard for sod installation which I was surprisingly really looking forward to. The weather around here has been incredible and I was pretty psyched for the quality time with Jonathan. In exchange for my hard work, all I asked him for in exchange was to push me around in the wheelbarrow so I think everyone won in this situation. Honestly he had gotten most of the work done already but it was fun for me while it lasted. 

Saturday morning I woke up to Jonathan's landscaping crew getting to work on our sod installation and as I spent the day doing some chores around the house, it was pretty awesome to watch how quickly our yard transformed. I also love the opportunity to watch my husband in action. He had five of his guys working with him for the day and had also taken on 3 other small landscaping jobs he wanted to get done that day. I would stop what I was doing here and there and just watch him in awe of his ability to manage his employees and his business so well and still be so positive and motivated. He is kind of awesome and I am so incredibly proud to be his wife.

What was I accomplishing while they were totally transforming the outside of our home? I was catching up on tons of chores, prepping for the adult field day we're hosting this weekend and running errands here and there. I also finally decided what to write on our kitchen chalkboard and felt this was pretty perfectly in line with some of our conversations lately. I've had the chalkboard blank for a few weeks but I am confident this quote will be up for a while. 

By Saturday evening, our front and back yard had been completely transformed and I am still in disbelief over how beautiful it is! I will get around to sharing some better photos eventually but in the meantime, here is a photo of Taylor giving the new grass her approval. In case you are wondering, I had nothing to do with the purchase of a leash for our cat. That was all my husband thanks to a recent flea market visit. I'm not proud to say we have a cat leash or that it is used, but you can't deny how cute she is in this picture.

Moving on...

After such a productive Saturday, our Sunday plans were all about relaxing and enjoying our day together. We decided to attend the late morning service at church so we could enjoy the morning and take it easy which meant I could snuggle up and enjoy my coffee in bed and I don't think there's anything better than that. 

After church we made a quick stop to pick out some pumpkins to carve. I scoured the pumpkin patch for the closest thing I could find to a perfectly round, minimally flawed pumpkin and Jonathan opted for searching for the ugliest pumpkin there because he felt bad that no one else would buy that one. Hey, at least there was no chance of us both wanting the same one, right?

I couldn't let us leave without taking advantage of this perfect photo opp. I'm glad we did because I've confessed to looking at this photo a ridiculous number of times since it was taken because there's just something about it that makes me incredibly happy. 

Once my sister and her boyfriend arrived, we chatted for a bit over snacks and beer before we dove in to our pumpkin carving. At this point, I still had no idea what I wanted to carve. I hadn't looked at ideas or inspiration - nothing. This worked out great because the idea to carve the heart eye emoji just kind of hit me out of nowhere and I knew it was the perfect choice. Not a lot of room for error and very little detail work; it had my name written all over it.

The above photo will go down as one of my all-time favorites. I truly believe this. We had so much fun carving pumpkins and I'm so glad my sister and her man joined us, too! By the time they left later in the evening, my body was so ready for sleep but my heart wanted more of this perfect day. Luckily Jonathan was all about watching Jurassic World before bed so I poured myself a glass of wine and snuggled next to him thankful that we could extend the weekend just a little longer. I think I interrupted the movie multiple times to tell Jonathan how incredibly happy I felt or to cheers my wine glass to his cup of ice cream but honestly, who can blame me? 

All the Fall Things

Well, hey there. Things have been a little hectic around here. We've had a sickness lingering in our house for over a week now. Jonathan had it all of last week and I felt it coming on as I headed off for a friend's bachelorette weekend at the beach. By the time I made it home Sunday, it had hit me full force and I've been in bed the last two days trying to get rid of it once and for all. You'd think with all this downtime, I'd be writing up a storm, but I've been feeling less than inspired and cold meds don't exactly make me want to do anything that requires effort or thought.

The good news is that I'm starting to feel normal again which is good because we have a productive and fun weekend planned. I mentioned before I feel like once October comes, our lives kick into high gear with so many exciting things going on. With so much to look forward to about the next few months, I thought I'd share my Fall to do list today.

Carve pumpkins. I'll admit when I'm up to my elbows in pumpkin guts I wonder why I chose this activity for myself, but it's been a few years and Jonathan and I have never carved pumpkins together so it is absolutely on my to do list this year.

Make a pie. I have a confession. I've never made a pie before. From cobblers to cookies, I've made a lot of delicious treats but it's time I finally baked a pie and there isn't a more perfect pie making time of year than the Fall, right? I'm not just planning on making any pie, I'm planning on conquering this beauty of a pie crust I stumbled upon recently.

Host an adult field day. I'm planning this for my sister's birthday at the end of this month and if the weather is as perfect as it's been lately, it'll be the best day of fall fun all in celebration of my sweet sister. I'm still working out the details, but kickball and a three-legged race are on the agenda and of course, beer and lots of shenanigans, I'm sure. We'll follow up our day of competition with a bonfire at our house to continue the celebrations.

Treat myself to some yummy fall flavors at Starbucks. In the last few years, I've significantly cut down on my Starbucks visits and these days, I usually stick with a regular coffee with a pump or two of vanilla. With that being said, I have every intention of treating myself now and again to a Pumpkin Spice Latte and the new Toasted Graham Latte. Yum.

Give our outdoor space a total makeover. We've spent so much time perfecting the details inside our little home and now that we're pretty satisfied with what we've done inside, it's time to turn our attention to the outdoors. We decided a while ago once Jonathan's busy summer season was over, we would lay new sod and clean up the yard and by we, I obviously mean he. Don't judge me. I help in my own way by offering love and support and Chik-fil-A for lunch. Not only are we going to give our landscaping a huge makeover, but we're finally going to put the finishing touches on our back patio. We've been getting by with random furniture back there since we got the patio built over a year ago. We're ditching all of the random furniture and getting the most magical farm table built for the space. Between that and our hammock out there, I'm pretty sure it's where I'll spend every free minute over the next few months. There couldn't be a better time to do all this since the weather around here will be just perfect for enjoying our happy new outdoor space.

Our farmhouse table is a work in progress, but I can't help but share this little preview we got today. I might have squealed when I caught a glimpse of this beauty.

Treat myself to some yummy fall flavors at Starbucks. In the last few years, I've significantly cut down on my Starbucks visits and these days, I usually stick with a regular coffee with a pump or two of vanilla. With that being said, I have every intention of treating myself now and again to a Pumpkin Spice Latte and the new Toasted Graham Latte. Yum.

Watch a scary movie with my husband. I typically have zero interest in watching horror movies. I think the last time we watched a scary movie together, our breakers kept popping and the electricity was going in and out at which point I shouted "that's enough!" and turned the movie off. Jonathan loves them though and no matter how many times he tries to convince me to watch with him, I insist on something more like Pitch Perfect 2 and we meet somewhere in the middle. But the thing is, I love that guy and there's no better time to suck it up and watch a scary flick with him. Just one though because I'll probably regret this 5 minutes in.

Not dress up on Halloween. I'm glad we decided early on to have a night in with some friends on Halloween. All I've wanted to do the last few years is make sure we're somewhere we can sit in the driveway, drink a few beers and hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. We've done this the last few years at my in-laws and it's been the perfect low-key way to celebrate. Any year I've committed to going out in costume and getting crazy, I've always regretted the decision the minute I step in the costume section of any store. I immediately feel overwhelmed at what to be, what to do, where to go, how much money I'm about to waste on a costume. It feels good to not participate in the costume nonsense and just use Halloween as an excuse to have a fun night with some friends and also indulge in some sweet treats.

There you have it! I have to be honest and say how relieved I am this list isn't all food-related because for a minute I was worried in might go in that direction.

Now tell me...

• What's on your Fall to do list this year? 
• How are you planning on celebrating Halloween?