Seriously So Blessed!

One of my biggest pet peeves lately is braggy blogs. What is the point? I must have missed the memo....

It just seems like there are a lot of people who set up family blogs, just so they can brag. If you judge these people's lives solely by what they chose to post on the internet, everything just seems too perfect. It's as if they try to paint a pretty little picture of what they want their lives to look like.

In the end, it's all just smoke and mirrors.

Anyway, a few nights ago I came across this.

It's a spoof on stereotypical Utah/Mormon girls' blogs.
I have been laughing almost non-stop!



PS...
If I ever come across this way, please feel free to punch me in the face.
Thanks!

I Love Meme!!

It's a commonly known fact that the ONLY pizza I like is from Town Spa in Stoughton, MA. It's amazing! Whenever I visit, I never seem to get my fill of it. Then later on throughout the year, I find myself craving it. But nothing else will do.
Tragic.

I was telling Meme this while we sat at the lake on Monday. I'd heard that she makes pizza similar to "The Spa" and asked her for the recipe. She is so sweet! She offered to have us over on Saturday (yesterday) for pizza. She was more than happy when I asked if I could make it with her.

I was so excited! I love spending time with her, but I've never got to cook with her.

So on one of the hottest, most humid days of the year, I found myself in an even hotter kitchen receiving words of wisdom from my grandmother!
(...and loving every minute of it!)

Bonus:
We were able to cook uninterrupted...

Chris, Maureen, and Lil came up, too! Chris is Italian and loves to cook, so he joined us and gave some of his own pizza tips.



I am just so grateful for my grandmother! She is incredible in so many ways!

Lola B. Giveaway

Once upon a time, (back in March) I posted about a lame TV show.
I was still pretty green on the blogging front.
In retrospect, I shouldn't have.
I only added to the media craze.
But we live & learn, so I moved on...

About a month later I noticed that I had a new comment on that entry.

It was this blogger named, Kasey.
She agreed with me, so I knew she was sane.
And her maiden name is Hill, so I'm sure we're somehow, distantly related...

THEN one night when Ben was away and I had everything done, I read through her blog.
Within maybe 3 entries I decided I was hooked!

She's witty and funny and is never boring.
You should check her out.
lolabboutique.blogspot.com



Anyway...
She has an online boutique with all kinds of cute things.
The link is on her blog. (Check that out, too!)
She's having a giveaway so I decided to blog about it.

Even if I don't win, you all have some new, fun reading material!

The end.

PS..
My mom had some friends take professional pictures of the girls today. I've seen the photographer's work, so I'm excited to see how they came out. I'll post them when we get them!

Happy Birthday, Lillian!!

Today is this cute girl's first birthday!!

Yesterday we went to the beach, yet again, to celebrate with friends and family! It was definitely the funnest First Birthday party Jocee has ever been to.

These girls love each other!

My mom and I spent the time switching off between the two girls. Sophie was definitely the easier one! Here is the one & only picture I took to prove that she was there...

Jocee spent the majority of the time playing in the water with all the other little kids there. When she saw them wearing swimming goggles, she insisted on wearing her sunglasses. One of the only things that got her out of the water was the cake!

Jocee is so funny! She actually sang "Happy Birthday" to herself before she took a bite.

Chris and Maureen did such an awesome job planning and hosting the party! I have never seen Jocee run around and play so much. She was busy from start to finish. When we got home she actually asked to go to bed at 7:30!

Happy Birthday Lillian!

Sunny Days

I have been so lazy with taking pictures and blogging during our visit. I don't even know where to start! I'm going to make a goal to take more pictures from here on out.

The weather has finally taken a turn for the better, so we've been spending every sunny day this week at my grandmother's beach in Sharon. Jocee loves going to the lake! Every morning she asks if we can go to "Meme's Lake!"

My cousin Maureen has had the week off, so they've been there a lot, too! I wish Maureen could have more time off. Jocee loves playing with little Lilly. She affectionately refers to her as, "Cousin." It's adorable! I love how excited they get when they all see each other!

I love this girl!

Today, 10 little ducks stopped by. Jocee had so much fun chasing them! She kept telling the ducks to come closer so that she could hug them. Serious! She also tried quacking at them so that maybe they'd think she was one of them. They really didn't seem to mind her. Maybe it worked...



Oh, and Sophie LOVES the lake, too!! I really need to do a separate post all about her. She is growing too darn fast, and is a total joy!

She is honestly the easiest, most laid-back, happy baby I have ever met. All we have to do is give her, her favorite blanket and maybe a toy and she is content as can be! If I could get a guarantee that every baby I had would be like her, I'd gladly have 10!



In other news...
Jocee has recently decided that she is done with baby bottles! Yes, she is almost 2 1/2... It's the only way she'll drink milk. She drinks everything else with a sippy cup or a regular cup, so I haven't worried about it. I wanted her to give it up when she is ready.

Over the last few days she has refused a bottle outright. Apparently Disney Princess sippy cups are much more sophisticated. This is the last time you'll see her cuddled up with a bottle, people!

July 3rd

The 4th of July is my most favorite holiday. There's warm weather, good food, family, and I always see fireworks in the end (weather permitting)!

The holiday is not complete without celebrating the 3rd of July first, at my grandmother's house in Sharon. My dad's family has a private beach, ideal for cookouts and watching the town's firework display. It's perfect! All of my fondest childhood memories are there on that lake.

The town of Sharon always has the fireworks on the 3rd, which also happens to be my dad's birthday. He was born just 10 minutes shy of being an Independence Day baby. Anyway, it's always so much fun being able to see his side of the family at this time of the year.

Ben loves it, too. He fits in seamlessly with the rest of the family. Plus, he has even said that the fireworks he saw in Sharon were the best he's ever seen. We have missed him so much! I'm so grateful for web cams and Skype! Both of the girls LOVE being able to see and talk to Daddy everyday. Hopefully we can all come out as a family next year. But, I digress...

Yesterday was perfect!! There was just one light passing rain shower. It lasted all of 20 minutes and left this behind.

I completely forgot my camera, so I had to borrow some pictures from my cousin, Sam.

Anyway, Jocee loved everything. She played with her cousin, Lillian.

Even though the water was cold, she had so much fun playing in it with Sam and Megan. She was being such a little show-off! She loved all the attention she got!

(Note: Jocee got a hold of some scissors last week and cut 3+ inches off her hair!! Now it's constantly in her face--even worse than before! If only she'd keep hair elastics & bows in her hair...)

And of course she had to play with the "puppies!!"

Watching Jocee watch the fireworks was definitely the best part. She was fine as long as someone was holding her. She kept saying, "Oh, pretty!" and pointing out all the different colors. It was so cute, I wanted to cry!

It was such a perfect day! After constant rain (every single day that we have been here), it was sunny and not too humid. Sophie was so good. We actually forgot to get pictures of her. (Oops!!) I loved being able to see family & show Jocee new things.

We are excited to see everyone again for Lilly's first birthday next week. And this time I won't forget my camera!

Happy 4th of July!!