Big Fish....

Check out that nasty fish that Ryan caught....

kinda makes me never want to go swimming in the lake again! ha

It's hard to see...but in this one Blake has the cutest expression on his face...like "what the heck is that thing?!?"

Budweiser Clysdale's

Our local beer distributor had their 125th anniversary celebration and they brought the Budweiser Clydesdale's to town. You can tell that not too many exciting things happen around here....because the people came out in droves to see the horses!!
Of course we had to take Blake downtown to see them!!

Here are Blake and papa checking out the big horses!!

There really are beautiful animals and ridiculously BIG!!
I had seen them one time before at Busch Gardens....but it was neat to get an up-close view.

Blake sat on the curb like a big boy just watching the parade!!

He was more interested in the doggie than the horses!!

Blake and his papa again!!

Top 2 Tuesday: Favorite Things About Summer

It's time for Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday...

Top 2 Favorite Things About Summer

1. 4th of July: The 4th of July is one of my fav holidays. I love everything about it. A long weekend off of work, being outside, food, fireworks.....

2. Being at the lake: My parents live on a lake, so we spend LOTS of time there over the summer...and I love it. Last year Blake was pretty young to really enjoy it...but this summer he will love playing on the beach, swimming, boating, etc. Blake just chillin on the boat last summer...he looks SO different now!

Check out more here!

Top 2 Tuesday...Fav items under $15

It's time again for Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday!

Top 2 items under $15

This is a fun topic for me...b/c I LOVE to get a good deal! My picks today are summer items...because I am SO ready for summer!!

1. Sunglasses from Forever 21. They are $5.80 per pair!! Amazing. They have LOTS of styles to pick from...and at a mere $5.80 each you can pick a few! This is good for me, b/c I love big shades, but I have a tendency to loose them...so pricey shades just do not work for me!!

2. Layering tanks from Old Navy for $5.99 each!! I wear these a LOT in the summer months. Usually 2 at a time...over my bathing suit and on the way to the lake. They are nice and long and super comfortable!!

OK....check out more steals here!!

Wedding Bells...

I guess the saying 'better late, than never' applies here! We went to my friend Danielle's wedding a couple of weeks ago and here I am just posting some pics.

Here is Mary and I with the bride before the ceremony.
Blake really didnt wear jammies the WHOLE time...but it did get a little chilly so we put him in them after awhile...he look embarassed :)

Here we are...the old CMU girls :)

Aunt Mary and Blake....

Ryan and I

Sleepy boy....Blake did SO good. It was about a 3 hour drive each way (prob wouldnt take that long if you didnt have a BABY)....but 6 hours in the car on one day and little Blakers was such a trooper. It helped that Aunt Mary was in the back seat to entertain him :)

Danielle and Doug's first dance as husband and wife.

Danielle dancing with her daddy

Danielle and Doug had a beautiful day to get married on! Perfect weather....beautiful dress....good food and friends :)

The weather man is calling for rain on Saturday for our wedding....I hope that he is wrong, but if he isnt it will still be a beautiful day to us.

Labor Day Weekend...

Had a great weekend....beautiful weather! Hard to believe it was the end of summer when it was so warm and sunny! We took one of the docks out of the water....so that is alwasy a sure sign that it is winding down. I got some pics...but not very good ones...

Here is Blake and I returning from our last boat ride on Monday afternoon...no makeup....nasty hair...WHY would I post these?!?!?
Ry will be po'd if he finds out I posted this one :)

even NASTIER from saturday evening....but look at that little peanut!!

Had friends over on Saturday....Shannon had the big catch of the day :)

Here is Eric with his 'fishing charter'...Shannon caught the most with 3 fishies :)

Sailing off into the sunset...

Talk about a boat-load!!

Is it 5 o’clock yet?!?!?

First off, YES……I am blogging at work...don’t tell my boss! BUT, in my defense, I am about the ONLY person in the office. Its 4:30 on a Friday of a holiday weekend…let me go home PLEASE!! This has been the longest day of my life!!

I am SO ready for the weekend. It’s going to be a good one (fingers crossed). Running (1/2 walking) a 5K tomorrow a.m., having a little get together at the lake after that, getting stuff around for the wedding, hanging with the fam and some friends! Hard to believe that the end of summer is here…it went so fast! Yet, I am ready for fall (as I have mentioned before)…..

Hopefully a glimpse at things I will be doing this weekend...

getting some sun and hanging with my hunny....
Seeing my girls and having some cool beverages.....

and most importantly hanging out with this pupmkin!!

Hope that everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Take me out to the ballgame….

Last night we took Blake out to a ballgame! I think that he liked it :). It was fun…and I am so proud to take him places b/c he is such a good boy. Ryan, Blake and I went with my mom and dad. It was a perfect night for a game!

he was awfully excited before leaving the house...
Here we are at the ball park!

again....

chillin in his little stroller!

just taking it all in!

all of the action tuckered him right out!!

So-long sweet summer…

HELLO fall….I can’t believe I am saying it, but I am ready for fall. It feels like fall around here. Campus is crazy again with classes starting this week. The parking lot at my office is packed again. During the summer I can get home in about 3 minutes, now with all of the students here it takes about 20 minutes! That detail aside, I am happy it is fall and ready to break out some fall clothes! Hard to believe that it is September next week!!

We had a fun summer, but I am ready for football, leaves changing colors, Halloween, and…our WEDDING!!

Here are a couple of picks of Blake enjoying the last few weeks of summer!

swimming in his pool...
sitting by the lake...

Weekend re-cap….

We had a god weekend…the weather felt like fall…which I sort of enjoyed!

On Friday night went to my parent’s house for dinner…we had to be home early b/c I had to be up for a 5:30 a.m. boot camp workout on Saturday a.m. You day sure seems long when you have your workout done by 7 a.m.!!

After my workout I went shopping will my soon to be MIL for stuff for the wedding! She got me jewelry, a unity candle, stuff for the guest book, etc!

On Sunday we went to church and then I had a bridal shower at Ryan’s grandmas. We got lots of goodies that I can’t wait to use! New silver wear, coffee pot, art for the wall, shower curtain and decorations for the bathroom, and on and on!! The best gift was a letter that Ryan wrote me that his mom framed…it is so sweet and made me cry when I opened it!

Can’t believe that there is only 33 more days before the wedding!!

I am off to another boot camp workout here in an hour…I am not nearly as sore as I was last week…maybe I am getting used to this?!?

I feel like I got ran over….

By a TRUCK! I have had 2 boot camp workouts now, and I could barely move this a.m. Last night I woke up about every hour wanting to roll over, but I couldn’t! This workout is INTESE! It is only a couple of weeks long, so I am sure that I can handle it….but let me tell you, I am hurting right now! I have to go again in about an hour…and I just don’t know how I am going to do it! I am walking like a 90 year old woman!

On another note, tonight is our last night of volleyball. That means the end of the summer..it went by SO fast! Ryan and I didn’t have to play that much this summer b/c we were only “subs,” but Blake and I went down just about every week to watch and cheer on our team!

Here are a few shots of him checking out the action last Thursday.

Hoo-Rah…

I started a BOOT CAMP workout yesterday and I am DYING today….seriously DYING! I am WAY out of shape I guess. It is a group workout program with a food plan. This is a RUSH version, so it is only 2 weeks long…b/c of that I think that the trainer makes it super intense. Last night was just the overview, measurements, and testing…and I just about couldn’t get out of bed this a.m. I feel like someone beat me UP! I almost couldn’t pick Blake up last night. My arms were like jell-o! I can’t even imagine how I will feel after the serious workout tonight!! Ha
I am going to try to push myself through this though, because we are only 38 days away from the wedding! What perfect timing if I can see some results out of this boot camp!

I have been slacking at taking pictures lately. We have been SO busy…and I REALLY want a new camera…mine is slow and doesn’t take the best pictures…I think that I may splurge and get one. I keep dropping hints to Ry and he doesn’t seem to mind…so I may have to start looking around :)

Since I have no new pics up, I thought I would post some from a month ago. These were taken when we took blake to watch some fireworks. He LOVED fireworks this year…I can’t wait to see what he thinks next year when he can actually communicate with us a little more!

Blake and I waiting for the fireworks to start! Don't mind the drool..we have had a lot of that lately!
Sitting in the back of my mom's car...having some snacks before the festivities!

thinking...'MOM, enough with the camera'

Having SO much fun :)