Life Lately

Hello again blogging world! After getting home from vacation, we had a couple of relaxing weeks and now it seems as if life has sped up a bit. At one moment I am having a pity party for myself as I look at the calendar and am disappointed not to see any weekend plans, and then the next weekend I am feeling stressed because of too much going on. Nothing is ever quite perfect.

I have been working full time the last couple weeks, which hopefully will be temporary. I realize that I have gotten spoiled with having a part-time job, but it really is so convenient to feel caught up around the house or prepare for company during the week. 

Thankfully I have still managed to check some items off of my to-do list.

I finally got our bedroom painted last week. After living in our house for almost six months, it was about time. It went from white to a light grey. It still has a ways to go as far as decorating, but I am glad to have the painting out of the way.

I also had been wanting to make a wreath for our front door. This wreath was surprisingly easy, and it adds a little charm to the front of our house.

Fall is so fun to decorate for! I hope you don't think I am pushing the season, but I want to enjoy my mums for as long as I can.

I was also privileged to take some senior pictures last week. I have know Olivia for years, and now she is all grown up. I remember her as a little kindergartner at Kingdom Academy, and now she is a beautiful young lady.

Here are a few of my favorites. She was fun to capture! Afterwards we went out for lunch and had a good chat. What a special girl. I am excited to see where God leads her in the future days after high school.

This post is short and sweet, but at least you know that I am still in existence. Goodbye to August and hello to September. Looking forward to what September has in store!

A Trip To The Carolinas

A vacation spot that holds a special place in my heart, where the palm trees wave their solid green branches, and the humidity almost causes you to lose your breath. It is a place that I have gone a many number of times. I was barely a one-year-old when I was first introduced to the sandy beaches of South Carolina. Hilton Head Island to be exact.

Before reaching our destination, we stopped to tour the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. This mansion is America's largest home. It looks more like a castle if you ask me.

There was a pool and bowling alley in the basement. Back in the day, the servants would set up the pins every time somebody would bowl. No thank you.

The gardens were beautiful too.

After spending several hours touring all that the Biltmore area had to offer, we set off on the next leg of our journey.

You may find it odd that one would travel thirteen hours, only to spend one hour on the beach, but that is the truth. Neither Nate nor I are real fond of the beach. We have our list of reasons, but nonetheless it is a beautiful sight to behold as you gaze across the never-ending water.

Our 1 and only beach picture!

My entire family was able to make it down to Hilton Head this year. With 12 adults and 13 kids, there was usually some action going on somewhere. We had 4 separate condos, and Nate and I got to live with Todd, Jessica, and their three precious kiddos.

We got along pretty well if I do say so myself. They are a pretty easy family to share an abode with.

My oldest brother and his beautiful wife.

Nate and I especially enjoyed getting to know Lexie, Briggs, and Tenley even better. They sure are a fun, lively bunch. Our house seems so dull after living with these cuties for a week.

We spent the majority of our time at the outdoor pool near our condo. Nate did a great job at entertaining some of the kids, or riling them up might be a better way to describe it.

We also enjoyed playing with people our own size.

Along with some relaxing. Clever way to use water wings don't you agree?

Card games around the pool are a hit too. Play 9 has become one of our favorites.

It would not have been vacation without getting some ice cream.

Lemon and cookie dough!

The picture below is probably my favorite from our family "photo shoot." Nate realized afterwards that his mustache was upside down. Only a minor detail, just adds more character to the picture.

Check out this sweet picture of all the nephews in their mustaches.

Even baby Coy cooperated. The mustache is almost wider that his cute little face.

Next we have this cute group of girls. It was special to see some of their relationships really begin to blossom during the week as they interacted with one another. This picture of the nieces won't be updated for long, especially because a baby girl is expected to arrive in Kurt and Staci's family in a couple of weeks, and that will make #9!!

Flashback to when there were only two nieces, actually only two grandchildren total. The picture below is of Lexie and Corinne in Hilton Head, back in 2008.

Grandpa and Grandma (Mom & Dad) wouldn't be able to take all thirteen grand kids on a bike ride in this day of age. Well, they would maybe attempt it, but it sounds stressful and unsafe. The picture below is also from 2008. Bike riding is our main mode of transportation while we are down there. The beach, grocery store, restaurants, and ice cream shops are all within a couple miles.

I thoroughly loved having Nate along this year. Enjoying one of my favorite vacation spots with him was really special. Looking back, I think I always wondered if I would ever be bringing my spouse along with me like all of my siblings did. Thankful that he was willing and excited to come along.

Now back to everyday life, but that is alright. It is always good to be home!

Thursday's Visitors!

Thursdays are turning into my favorite days of the week, or maybe the days that I look the most forward too lately. The first Thursday of July held much excitement as my mom, sister, three sister-in-laws, and their kiddos traveled out to see me. Most of them had never seen our new house, but I think the kids explored every single room within the first minute or two. 

I figured with thirteen kids, an organized activity may be in order. In the picture below, here they are oldest to youngest, getting ready for an obstacle course that I created. Of course, they were all anxious to participate when they heard that there were prizes. I find that bribery can be a useful tool in certain cases. 

The obstacle course actually kept them entertained longer than I thought it might. Later on, the kids slurped down some popsicles.

My two oldest nieces, Corinne and Lexie, got to spend the night with Nate and I. I love that they are in the crafting stage right now. It was enjoyable to come up with fun things to make. I hope that there are more craft days and sleepovers with Aunt Han in the future, but anyways...

we filled mason jars (see picture below) up with gumballs and decorated them. The lids are made to hold pictures, cards, ect.

We also made chapstick.....

and friendship bracelets. 

We watched a movie, ate popcorn, and even went to bed at a decent hour.

The following day we went to the park for a while.

Next was the pool, which was very chilly.

Despite the cold water, Corrine still braved the water slide.

These two girls were a delight to have, and I am thankful that we could create some fun memories together. I appreciate all of my family who made the effort to visit Ohio. It always means so much.

Today I tried my obstacle course out on a more advanced group. I had eight girls over for lunch. Most of these girls are from Latty and Junction, and we are all virtually in the same stage of life.

There is not much to throwing tennis balls into buckets, pinning doilies on the clothes-line, ladder golf, or throwing frisbees into a fire ring, but when you put all of those together and throw in a stop watch, it can get serious.

Angie was all gung ho for my crazy obstacle course idea.
She ended up being the champion! 

Bekah said "no pictures", well of course that made me want to take pictures even more than before.
Here she is finishing up the challenge with the frisbee toss.

I would hate to play Laura at this game. She has it down.

It was refreshing to have some "girl time." Guess what? I found out that I am not the only woman on the planet that can be moody at times or who might let emotions get the best of them. Well, I actually knew that, but it was nice to hear it again as we all shared some of our "moments" around the lunch table.

I am so blessed to have such a great group of girls to go through life with. Most of us girls have married husbands from other churches, and it is nice to have that similarity, as it is not always easy to uproot and become rooted in a different area. We actually represent four different states now that I think about it. Thankful that we have each other, and I look forward to seeing how our relationships grow in the future.

I love my visitors!!!

27 Dresses? Not Even Close

We are on a wedding roll once again. Most of the weddings we are just attending, but two weekends ago I was privileged to be in Brooke's wedding. Brooke is a good friend, and we both claim Fiechter blood, also know as we are first cousins. Our last names may have changed, but we hold tightly to our roots.

Nate and I went out to Bluffton the Friday before Brooke and Doug's wedding, in order to prevent any rushing around the next morning. That evening I got to going through my old bridesmaid dresses. They bring back such good memories. What wonderful times I have had celebrating with each specific couple.

Nate took a picture and inserted "27 dresses?" Not even close to 27 dresses. If you aren't familiar with the phrase "27 dresses," it is a movie about a girl who has been in 27 weddings.

I decided that I would share the 8 dresses, all of which are now collecting dust in the closet, yet they hold priceless memories.

The first wedding I was ever in was my brother Kurt's wedding. As a fifteen year old, I felt pretty special to take part in this.

A little over a year later, Lance and Sara were married.

Photo credits to Reinhard Photography

That same year was Krista's wedding....

....followed by Kinsey's wedding.

After a two year gap, it was time for Paige's wedding.

Photo credits to Patch 36

Give it another year and Victoria surprised my by asking me to be in her wedding.

Photo credits to Patch 36

Two weeks later I was privileged to be a part of Jenae's big day.

Photo credits to Moments by Pam

Now coming back to the present year. Being a part of Brooke's wedding brought back so many memories of my own special wedding weekend. Many of the places, where the events were held, were similar, which sparked the memories even more.

I was hoping that we would have smoked pork chops for the rehearsal supper, and I was not disappointed.

 

My aunt does such a good job at decorating her place for these type of events. 

Everything was beautiful and the food was delicious.

The single girls sang Brooke a lovely song. The lyrics were trying to convince Doug to go back to Toledo. That is exactly what he did, but Brooke is now with him. Not exactly what the girls meant, they would have preferred he went back to Toledo alone.

The beautiful bride and her lovely mom.

It was my first multi-colored wedding, as far as different colored dresses. It was really fun for a change.

What a fun, unique cake!

Doug sang a sweet song to his bride right before leaving the fellowship hall. It was really sweet.

CUTE COUPLE ALERT!!! I am absolutely thrilled for these two.

I am so thankful to have a husband that now comes along with me on all of these wedding endeavors. He has a few of his own, I might add, I certainly do not get all the credit for the invitations.

We traveled to Milford this past weekend for a wedding and next on the list is this guys wedding.

I hope you are healing fast buddy. My cousin Troy had a little mishap recently, but he assured me that it will take more than a couple broken bones before any of his joy fades. He is so excited for marriage and is very much in love with his beautiful Alexa.

Weddings are a beautiful thing, oh but I'm glad that mine is done and over with. 

Best friends for life, husband and wife. To have and to hold from this day forward.