A Day at Grant's Farm

One of my favorite parts of summer is being able to go over and relax at Grant's Farm.  That is one of the highlights of living in the area of STL we do as its practically in our backyard.

Its also an STL staple so if you're ever in the area, it needs to be on your must do list!

Keith is off on Fridays and we were asked to babysit my niece so after the morning rain we made it there and it was a fun time as always:

His family decided to come at the same time as we did so Lainey got to meet his nieces (she's met his sisters before with the wedding stuff back when and my mother in law swears Lainey wouldn't remember because she was only 2 1/2 and Lainey made her shut up by saying, "I remember Aunt Julie's wedding very well."  Love that girl!)

It was a great day - can't wait to go back!

Jurassic World

Keith and I saw Jurassic World last night.

It.was.very.good!

I didn't have many expectations as it has been a few years since the original but there are traces of the original in it.

Without giving too much away, all I'm going to say is that we always know that the T-Rex is the boss:

I am...

I am...Julie!

I keep...wishing on that same star.

I wish...that my career was going the way it should be.

I sing...all the "old" songs perfectly because my musical brain instantly remembers the tune.

I dance...without needing liquid courage to get me going.

I think...some people need to really treat others the way they want to be treated.  I think they'd be shocked if it was turned on them.

I really...wish selling this condo and finding a house were easier.

I need...to travel more!

I should...get moving on cleaning my desk off but instead I'm blogging and surfing the internet.

I can...make any kiddo laugh, trust me on this one :)

I like...ice cold Iced tea and Coke Zero...oh and water!

I love...spending time with family and friends.

I make...mistakes and speak my mind.

I always...kiss my husband goodnight!

Thanks to Erin for the inspiration for this post!

Crazy busy weekend!

Another weekend for the books - I tell you, I cannot believe its the middle of June already!

Friday was Keith's 2nd Friday off for the summer so we decided to try spinning for the first time at the gym.  Oh my, we loved it!!  From there we went to Sam's Club to get some groceries (yes, I got to buy in bulk to feed my husband), then back to the condo to put away and swim the rest of the day...until we saw lightning and heard thunder.  After that we went on a date, just the two of us, because we realized we hadn't been out just us two in a long time.  So dinner at a new to us place, Detour Grill & Bar, and they had karaoke and Keith was in heaven:

Saturday, Keith went off to his hours of hockey while I drove over to Bethalto, Illinois to celebrate Reina at her bridal brunch.  Her sister in laws to be, Amy & Stacy threw it and since they are getting married on the beach, it had a nautical theme:

After that I trekked back over to St. Louis and headed to my stepsister's house to say hi/bye to my stepbrother Mark who is relocating to Tampa for his job and to move in with his girlfriend.  We hadn't met her yet until this weekend and she was super nice, super friendly, can't wait until we all get together again (maybe in Florida, haha).  I then met up with Kim and we headed to Soulard for Reina's bachelorette party - yes, both in one day, I've never done that before but it makes for a long day!  We ate dinner at Chava's Mexican restaurant to start off, then Reina wanted Big Daddy's yet didn't think about having to walk there so we got our exercise in.

We settled in there and before we knew it, Reina was getting sick.  Two of her coworkers kept giving her shots, and of course she didn't want to turn them down and let's just say we all were heading home by 9:30.  Earliest bachelorette party ending time I've ever been to.  Kim & I met up with the boys instead of going home and ended the night on a good note. (as of yesterday Reina was feeling much better and was out and about eating and shopping)

Sunday I had to work, like usual, then headed home in the pouring rain.  We had wanted to spend the day at the pool but mother nature had their own idea.  So I fell asleep during the first down pour, woke up, got moving to go get groceries then the next downpour started but we had to go either way.  Got home, and relaxed the rest of the night.

How was your weekend?
Have you ever gone to a bachelor/bachelorette party that ended super early??

Linking up with Meg

Shut Up & Dance (Disney version)

I love this song and I love Disney so needless to say I love that I caught this floating around the internet.

Try not to smile and dance along.

Have a great weekend friends!!

Its Thursday!!

• Its Thursday - and I'm already messed up with my days because Keith is now off on Fridays all summer so tomorrow he'll be off and it'll mess me up even more!
• Yesterday I went to the pool at 5pm and read a book and didn't come back until 730-8pm.  Now that was relaxing!
• That situation I wrote about Jeff last week - yeah, it still hasn't improved.  Supposedly he finally drove to her for something on Friday while we were out of town.  I got a text at like 1am telling me he liked this particular bar that we had been telling him about around where she lives and we're like yeah Jeff, we told you that...then of course he never responded.  Then last night Keith and I found out he arranged for everyone to get together and didn't invite us.  When we called him out on it, he gave every excuse in the book then eventually stopped talking when he knew he had lost the argument.  I don't think he likes that I don't take the petty stuff from people, and that I'll call them out on it esp when I know he's wrong.
• Our mutual friend Kim warned us that when Jeff meets girls, and gets into a relationship, he changes and sadly its true.
• If you want to be included in stuff, then you need to also include people on the stuff you're arranging.  Don't tell someone else to arrange your dates and whatnot then you don't invite them in return.  That's how friendship works!
• This Saturday I have a bridal brunch in the AM, then a bachelorette party in the PM for the same person.  Its going to be a crazy day; I've never heard of people doing it all in one day.  No to mention that she doesn't trust her fiance, and vice versa, so the boys will eventually end up at the bachelorette party.  Its going to be quite interesting to say the least...
• Our condo stuff has been put on hold bc the condo association is not cooperating with us and the contractor who is supposed to be doing the venting.  Let's just say if I ever move into a condo again when I'm older that I will do my research first because this particular HOA stinks!!
• I actually get a date day/night with Keith tomorrow - I'm super excited!!  Just the two of us, no friends, no family.  Its much needed!!

Have a great Thursday!!

Linking up with Kristin & Penny!

Branson 2015

I had a great weekend, how about you?!?

We had our first vacation of the year to Branson, staying at the Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge and it was quite fun.  My Dad is a part of a vacation club so he arranged for the condo and activities, and all he requested was we all show up.

We met up first at the College of the Ozarks to eat lunch at the Keeter Center.  CofO is a unique Christian based university where, instead of paying tuition, the students work full time jobs to obtain training for the future and off set the costs and graduate with no debt.  Its really a great program.  The Keeter Center is their event center and it is home to a hotel and Dobyn's Dining which has some of the best food you can find in the Ozarks...and its farm fresh!

After lunch we roamed the campus, got to see an old school house and see the students hard at work.  Our walk led us to Lookout Point, one of the most gorgeous views in Missouri:

My sister works for Six Flags St. Louis and they have partnerships with various places around the United States and one of them was this zipline in Branson that offered her 4 tickets.  So she, my Dad, her boyfriend Aaro and Keith all jumped on and headed down the Ozark hills.

From there we headed over to our home away from home, Wilderness Lodge, to partake in some of their swimming activities.  One of our favorite spots was the Lazy River - all you do is grab a tube and jump on in.

We then headed to dinner on the landing at White River Fish House, which is a restaurant from the company of Bass Pro.  It was delicious!!  We then walked the Branson Landing before turning in for the night.  Thanks to some hyenas above us, we didn't have a chance to get a great night of sleep as they were allowing their kids to run amuck at 1 am.  Finally security came and they settled down and I think I got some sleep...

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On Saturday we woke up early to get to Silver Dollar City at opening.  Surprisingly it wasn't as hot as the weather read and the crowds, while there were many people there, we got all our goals done for the day.

 

After a morning of rides and whatnot, we found a cool place to eat lunch at the waterfalls in an area at SDC.  It was very picturesque:

After the day there, we headed back to Big Cedar and spent an hour or so at the lake, and marina, and cooled off on the sandy beach.  We then headed to Devil's Pool Restaurant on the grounds for a great view and a great dinner:

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On Sunday, Dad and my stepmom had their vacation club meeting so Keith, Lainey and I spent majority of the time at the pool before eating lunch then hitting the outlet malls then driving back to STL.  It was quite the relaxing weekend, can't wait to do it again!

Until You Fall in Love Book Promotion

Until You Fall In Love by Lyssa Layne

 

Single mom Jordan Glastetter doesn't know how she'd survive without her best friend, Abram Tomko. He's the father her son never knew and he's the rock she's always leaned on. When Abram's father suffers a heart attack, it's Abram's turn to depend on Jordan, finally seeing her as the woman she's become and not the little girl he grew up with. Will they risk their friendship for a chance at love?

Abram’s breath is warm on my neck and he’s closed the space between us. I turn around to face him, only for us to be less than a couple inches away from each other. Looking up into his chocolatey brown eyes, my heart races. Get it together, Jordan, this is only Abram Tomko. Your best friend. Your husband’s best friend.

“I’ll handle it, thanks for letting me know.” I try to sound confident, like the fearless, single mom that I pretend to be.

Abram frowns, his hand moving to my waist and I feel his rough fingers on my bare skin between my peach tank top and low rise jeans. “Don’t, Jordan. Don’t act like you’re in this alone. I’m right beside you, just like I’ve always been.”

I open my mouth to speak, but Abram puts his finger to my lips. He’s right, he knows my mannerisms better than I do. Now that he’s brought it to my attention, this is typical me. When something is difficult, when I don’t want to impose on him, I push Abram away, but he knows I need him as much as R.J. does.

“Jor, for the past five years it’s just been me, you, and R.J. We’re a family, just like the other kids in his class. There’s nothing to hide, nothing to be afraid of.” I nod, he’s right. He’s our family and just like every obstacle since Robby died, Abram will stick by my side. His finger moves away from my mouth and I start to speak again when I realize he’s lowering his head toward mine. Not sure what else to do, I nuzzle my face against his neck and he lets out a sigh, blowing my hair. His mouth finds my forehead where he plants a kiss. Without thinking, I brush my lips across his neck, my pulse racing erratically. One of his hands squeezes my waist while the other fists a handful of my hair. An unfamiliar desire rips through my stomach and I lower my mouth, kissing further along his neck. Abram tilts my chin up, looking into my eyes and I suck in my breath.

“Mommy…” 

Abram and I jump apart, partially as to not be caught, but more so because my five-year-old only calls me “Mommy” when something’s wrong. Abram takes a few steps toward R.J. and picks him up. “What’s wrong, buddy?”

My almost-kindergartner is frightened, his lips pressed into a straight line and the fear in his eyes lets us in on his secret. “Pop’s sick, real sick.”

MoB

Back to reality!

We had a great road trip weekend away however its very hard for me to get moving on this Monday.  I am exhausted from all the fun!

I'll be recapping the fun on Wednesday so hopefully you stop by.

Have a great Monday!

Hey hey its Thursday!

• Happy anniversary to my Mom & Dad.  Today marks almost 40 years of marriage.  I'm sure Mom is celebrating up in heaven.
• I'm super excited to be going on our first weekend away tomorrow.  We leave bright and early for Branson; I've got the itch to travel so look out hubby, I may come home and just plan even more on our busy plate.
• There has been a lot of deaths the past two weeks in Keith's work community.  One of the teachers committed suicide in a local park and one of the students passed away from a 9 year battle with brain cancer.  Thoughts go out to each of the families and I hope that there is no more bad news like this for awhile.
• We went to our 2nd Cardinals game of the year on Monday with Keith's coworkers.  It was fun even though they lost :(
• One of his coworkers made sure to tell me that Keith just "sparkles" in everything he does.  It was quite popular when I posted it on facebook as the quote of the night, ha!
• Summer shows are starting up soon, I'm excited!
• I'm kinda done with the Bachelorette.  I just can't get into it.  Now when Bachelor in Paradise starts up, I'll be all over that.
• Caitlyn Jenner - one of the 2 top stories of the week - honestly, unlike the other people who are making a huge deal out of it, if its what truly makes him happy, that's all that matters.  I do think its interesting that Kris Jenner has yet to say a word about it; all his kids and other 2 ex wives have.  Could it be jealousy?
• Then we got the Duggar story.  I really don't know what to say to this so I'm not going to risk people judging and whatnot.  Its all just an eye opener.

Have a great weekend friends - I gotta pack!