Whirlwind week.

Phew. I'm so glad it's Friday! This week did me IN. I've been totally off my blog game lately because every spare second I had this week to relax, that's exactly what I did! I'll be back next week with regularly scheduled posts, but for now, I'll tell you about some highlights of my week.

1. Getting a spontaneous dinner with our best friends on Tuesday! We stayed out way too late, but those are the best nights!

2. Getting back into working out. I woke up everyday before work this week to get my exercise in! The Tone It Up Bikini Series started on Monday!  I kept my eating healthy (except that I did let myself have some candy last night! Whoops, but...#balance) and I'm feeling great! I have to say, being able to come home at night and not have to worry about losing more of my evening on a workout? It's amazing.

3. Caleb and I photographed a session for my new friend, Alex! She and I met through the local creative group (Rising Tide/Tuesdays Together) that I've mentioned before! We both wanted updated pictures with our men, so we're swapping our services to help each other out! She's such a sweet girl, and we had a great time! Honestly, how gorgeous!?!?

4. The NFL Draft. Does anybody else love watching it as much as we do!?!? I honestly don't think I could ever grow tired of watching some of their reactions to getting selected. It's the sweetest! Can we also talk about those girls who KILLED it singing the National Anthem!?! I had chills everywhere!

5. Getting to take walks on my lunch break. Although yesterday sucked and I had to turn around and go right back to work. It had been storming earlier in the day, but it stopped and the sun came out. So I thought instead of staying cooped up at work, I'd get some steps in and enjoy the sunshine. Of course the second I get my gym shoes on and walk about 100 yards away it starts raining. AWESOME. However I'm thankful because most days are gorgeous like this one below!

Caleb and I have another wedding tomorrow. The bride is a total sweetheart and I'm really excited to see her again (it's been a LONG time)! The weather isn't looking very good so keep your fingers crossed for us we get some sunshine/dryness.

Have a great weekend!!

Celebrating all weekend!

This weekend was full of celebrating! Friday night, Caleb and I had plans for a small surprise family grill out over at his oldest brother's house to celebrate Erin's 30th! Right after work we picked up 30 balloons (because why not), filled every inch of the car, and had ourselves a blast!

We had ourselves a few burgers/hot dogs, then spent the rest of the night around the fire!

Saturday I woke up bright and early to get a start on the day. I was attending a baby shower up in Celina, which is about 2.5 hours away. Sadly my girl Lyndsie who was supposed to go with me got pretty sick and had to stay home, so I made the drive solo, but it was worth every minute to celebrate my college roomie!! Doesn't she look amazing?!

When I got home, Caleb and I decided to pick up Chinese take-out and watch some movies. We love date-nights in! Sunday was full of relaxing. We finished all our laundry, cleaned up and I even did groceries! I felt like a total, productive boss! ;)

I'm really excited because today starts the Tone It Up 8 week bikini series and I actually woke up early before work to get my workout in. I feel so great and I know this is the best option for me - so I'm going to try and remind myself of this everyday!!

Make this Monday count, friends!

Friday, I think I love you.

I have never longed for Friday the way I did this week. I truly hate "wishing for the weekend", but lets be real, this week did me in. It was great, don't get me wrong, but WAY too much jam packed into one week. Since I loved what kept us so busy this week, but it made me super tired, I think it's time for another edition of "suck and sweet"...

Suck: not getting much sleep at all this week

Sweet: ...because you're up too late editing gorgeous sessions

Suck... working almost every night this week

Sweet: seeing Caleb interact with the kiddos and genuinely ask each of them what their names were/what positions they played, then high fiving them after they rocked their portrait time. He has the best heart, and I love that man!

Suck: that vacation is still 5 weeks away

Sweet: VACATION IS 5 WEEKS AWAY!!!!

Suck: that quality bathing suits can be so darn expensive

Sweet: on the other hand, it would probably last YEARS!

Suck: that we didn't get an ideal sunset for the engagement session I photographed on Monday

Sweet: still ending up with gorgeous images like this one. In my Facebook post I wrote "Even though we forced him to wrap her up like a Chipotle burrito, there was nothing forced about their joy during their session!" :) Lisa and John were the SWEETEST!

Suck: not doing groceries because you were too busy enjoying free time last Sunday

Sweet: using that as an excuse to buy yourself chili cheese fries for lunch

Suck: not eating dinner until nearly 9:00PM almost every night this week

Sweet: getting to eat with my husband, at least :)

Suck: having a LOT of personal stuff to get done

Sweet: having a day job (receptionist) that allows me to work on personal stuff if I need to!

Suck: that I'm still at work

Sweet: IT'S FRIDAY!

Enjoy your weekend, friends!!

My sister.

For some reason, I never got a sister growing up. I always wanted one (even though my friends said I was lucky since I didn't have to share all my clothes), and it wasn't until I married Caleb that I finally got my wish!

Caleb's brother was dating Erin, and we met back in 2009! We took those first few months to get to know each other and chat occasionally, but we really solidified our friendship over the next year or so. It came so naturally; we always had something to talk about, and quickly realized we could communicate with just a look. We basically spent everyday at work on g-chat and never ran out of things to say. How does that happen!? ;)

I could write out every memory stored up in my brain and it would probably take months, so I won't do that...but I thought I WOULD share a few... like the time we recreated a dance photo at each of our weddings just so we could have a side by side ;)

...or the time we planned a couples trip and spent the BEST week in Punta Cana together!

...or the time we finished running our first half marathon together hand in hand!

...or the time we spent probably 8-10 hours making the most ridiculous "wax paper chandelier"...this craft was probably not worth the time it took to complete, BUT having something to focus on while we chatted until the late hours of the night? Totally worth it.

or the time you kept me fed all wedding day, helped everything to go smoothly, and looked at me at the reception and said "we're finally family!", and we shared a tear filled hug.

Honestly, it's hard these days to find someone you can truly be yourself with. Someone you trust with either the biggest news or the most embarrassing secrets. Someone you can go to for advice and not feel judged. Someone you can laugh with over absolutely nothing. Someone who gets excited about the same things in life (like clearance candles, puzzle races, and birthdays!). Someone who will rush over when you need a tight hug or just want to make a good batch of buffalo chicken dip. Someone who would answer the phone at 2:00 AM even though she's probably insanely tired from constantly being a rockstar mom/wife. Someone who you look up to in so many ways, and know that they'll ALWAYS be there.

Erin! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Words cannot accurately describe our sisterhood, but I'm so thankful for it! You're so encouraging and I'm proud to call you my friend. God sure knew what he was doing putting us (and the guys) into each others lives, and I'm excited for all the fun that lies ahead in our future! You're one of the best friends I've ever had and I'm thankful you're stuck with me forever. I hope you have an AMAZING 30th birthday...you absolutely deserve it!  Love you! Lets celebrate!! <3

The rest of our weekend!

I was so excited to post about how relaxing our Easter was that I totally forgot to post about the rest of our weekend!

Last Friday my mother in law decided to have a spontaneous "Good Friday" dinner so we headed over there for a delicious steak/veggie dinner on the patio (which was amazing because Caleb cannot stand eating outside but it was basically 7 to 1 sooo we won), then we hung out around their fire pit and made s'mores. It was the perfect start to the weekend!

Saturday, we had our 6th wedding of the year! I had really been looking forward to this wedding because the Bride was such a genuine SWEETHEART! She and her fiance had been together for a long time, both had children, and she just wanted the focus of the day to be about their love. Nothing too frilly/outlandish - she just really wanted to be married to her man! Their ceremony was beautiful, and their reception was a blast! SO! MUCH! DANCING! I can't wait to show you guys more!

We put our cameras down when we were done but instead of leaving, we decided to stay hit the dance floor - which is basically our favorite part of the wedding day ;)

We're so lucky to meet so many awesome couples and document their stories!

Easter!

We had such a great weekend, but Sunday was definitely the highlight. Easter is always a favorite time of year for us - the weather gets warmer, you get to spend a little more time with family, and we celebrate the fact that Jesus is risen!!

We went to brunch with my Grandparents and brother after church and holy YUM. I forgot how delicious Bob Evans' endless caramel mocha is (it's basically hot chocolate with a splash of coffee and a whole lot of goodness on top)! They have an all new brunch menu so THREE of them got the chicken & waffles and they let me sneak a bite or two! ;)

Once Caleb and I got home, we had ourselves one heck of a productive day! Caleb ran down to the basement randomly and just started bringing up a ton of storage tubs to "go through". Well this turned into a full on project and we threw SO much stuff away...we're talking SIX TUBS WORTH! That's "spring cleaning" if I've ever seen it! ;)

We paused a couple times to really focus on the Warriors game (which ended with a W!!!), have ourselves a yummy dinner and watch a movie before bed. We were so thankful to have a day off to ourselves! I hope everyone had a great Easter!

Happy Monday, friends!

Bright, sunshine-yyy day!

I couldn't be more happy about this weather! It's so warm out! I love leaving my house in the morning without a jacket! We have a wedding tomorrow and the temperature says a high of 81! So as long as we stay in the shade, we should be good to go! :)

Last week I mentioned I wanted to make a fun Spring-style treat for our small group this week...and I did it! It actually made SO MUCH I took half of them to work and of course, they were a hit. I mean, it's pretzels and chocolate - you can't go wrong!

I bought the Ghiradelli white chocolate drops, lined the outside of a paper plate with a pretzel/drop, microwaved for 40 seconds, then plopped some adorable m&m "flowers" on them. These are a little time consuming but holy cow, they were so cute!!!

Last night we had our young adult group around a fire and it was so much fun. This group of ours is different from the youth group we help with on Sunday evenings (they are all a little older at 17-24), and so there are times when I feel the message can be a little deeper than usual. So last night I spoke on how we can find a PURPOSE in our PAIN; that no season of suffering will last forever, and that God always has a plan to use our suffering in some way, for a greater purpose!

This week was a little busy, and I'm hoping after our wedding tomorrow that we can relax on Easter. We typically bounce around from place to place, but I think this Easter will be a little more low-key, and honestly, I need that!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Time for a photo dump!

I don't know about you, but I take a LOT of pictures on my phone. It's kind of ridiculous. I go through once a month or so and try to delete a ton of photos that aren't relevant/etc.! It's refreshing, and also ridiculous that I take so many in the first place ;) I figured I'd do a total photo dump of randomness that maybe wasn't worthy of it's own blog post from the past month or so!

My sweet co worker got a package and when I delivered it to her office she turned right back around and said it was actually for me. So random! She said she saw this on a website and it "screamed my  name". It's a miniature air plant and I'm hoping I can keep it alive. Is it not the cutest thing you've ever seen!!?!?

Last month Caleb found some INSANE clearance deals at Kohls and he got himself a new suit/shirt combo. I was trying to convince him it didn't really match, but after I took the photo, I wasn't so sure anymore. LOL! Regardless, he cleans up nice ;)

We had a consult on Monday at the big Starbucks inside our local Kroger, and it was super convenient because we actually needed groceries, too! SO while it made for kind of a late night , it was worth it to stay healthy/on track this week! PS - those little Sargento snacks were on sale and they are the perfect little midday treat!

We have the most adorable, entertaining, silly nephew in the world and cannot get enough of him.

I picked up this book in Columbus last time we visited some friends and the back summary intrigued me. As I'm trying to get back into a much healthier lifestyle, it's been really neat to read how our brain forms habits, etc.! Definitely an interesting read so far.

We treated ourselves to Chipotle after our service project w/ church on Sunday and it was so fun convincing Caleb and repeating "treat yo self" 100x.

My sweet friend Becca had baby #2 on Monday (he came a little early!) and I decided to hop in the car (I left work a little early) and make the nearly 2 hour drive to go see them. His name is Hudson, and he stole my heart. Call me crazy, but we only live once, and I figured why not go get some baby snuggles and visit with an old friend? ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic hump day - I still laugh thinking about that silly Geico camel commercial ;)

Sunshine for days!

This weekend was fantastic! Other than Friday, it didn't have much structure and that's the way I like it. Friday, Caleb and I photographed a sweet family members intimate, courthouse wedding in Kentucky. Natalie is one of Caleb's many many cousins, and I'm so lucky to call her a friend, too! She's seriously beautiful, inside and out, and we were SO thankful to be part of their big day! I'm really thankful we snagged a few photos with them, too! ;)

Their ceremony took place in the cutest little town, on the stairs of the old courthouse. It was short and sweet, but their love for each other was so obvious.

I MEAN. COME ON NATALIE! GORGEOUS!

Saturday morning I photographed an Easter event that my church put on! We had over 1,000 preK-5th graders sign up for our "Chopper Drop" aka... thousands of candy filled Easter eggs being dropped from a helicopter!

We grabbed lunch with my SIL/BIL, then spent the remainder of the day being insanely productive around the house. We got rid of two huge bags of clothes to donate, made a huge dent in our never-ending laundry pile, and cleaned up the guest room a bit. We enjoyed a late dinner, and finally relaxed around 10PM.

Sunday after church, some of the youth group students stayed after to help assemble Easter egg baskets for 78 kids who are receiving life-saving treatment at Children's Hospital. We partnered with the Ronald McDonald house so their parents would have one less thing to worry about while they are staying in town. Because the only thing they should have to worry about is being there for their kiddos! We even got a quick tour of the facilities and it was really cool to see how well they love on these families while they are going through a difficult time.

Caleb and I spent the remainder of our day doing more laundry and relaxing...isn't that what Sunday's are for? I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and had a great weekend as well!