Baking Weekend!

So, I'm taking a hiatus from Facebook. I fully intend that the readership of my blog will dip down to about 10 people (maybe even less) without the looky-loos who check it out when I post it to my page. But that's ok, maybe that'll allow me to write more freely about everything! I'm taking a break because I honestly just cannot stand reading every thought that people feel like posting (hmm, that's odd, because I write here, oh well). The politics of this world has had me very blue lately and I think it's been good for my mental health to just step back and not check in with FB every time I open my phone. It's definitely been an adjustment, but I feel better so there's that.

This weekend we stayed around the house for most of the time and just hung out. The leaves are just starting to change and it finally felt cooler this weekend. I'm not sure why fall hasn't arrived yet, but we had no typical September days this year with clear blue skies and cooler temperatures. I baked a delicious, yummy cake this weekend and we went to church this morning. Not much excitement, but we're looking forward to October (one of my favorite months!) We'll probably go pumpkin picking next weekend, then I have to work the following weekend and then we're off to Savannah! We're excited and have a nice dinner planned for our anniversary night and then we're taking a haunted pub crawl. Plus lunch at the Wilkes House, which is supposed to be REALLY good.

I'm also reading alllll kinds of self help books right now which seem to help me get into a better frame of mind. I read "Girl, Wash Your Face" and Rachel Hollis is doing a thing for the "Last 90 Days" where you live your life like you do the first 90 days of a new year. So, you drink more water, continue to eat healthy, find what you're thankful for and exercise more. I'm going to try it! Most of the goals call for you to exercise every day for at least 30 minutes, but since I'm not even exercising at ALL right now, I'm shooting for 4 days a week. HA! We'll see how it goes! I'm also giving up sweets (except for on our trip and Thanksgiving pie) which will be really, really hard for me. Fingers crossed!

Yay for October!

Oh man, alllll weekend. I think she's cutting teeth and the terrible twos are starting early. There's a lot of "NO" and "MINE" going on with her right now.

Luke took the next few photos! He's getting so good!

Hey there, cutie!

Lake Hartwell & My Dad's 70th Birthday

My poor dad was either blessed or cursed by having my birthday occur a week before his. While we tended to celebrate my birthday the whole month, he only got one day. I was always a spoiled little thing, so it was nice to take him away this weekend and spoil him just a little bit.

A few months ago, my mom and I were throwing around the idea of hosting a big bash for his 70th birthday. We started talking about caterers and locations and invitations, and my dad didn't really say anything. He didn't seem to excited for it, but I think he was going to go along with it, ha! He finally conceded one day at lunch that he'd really rather prefer that we all go somewhere together, something we haven't done since before Charlie was born. He really wanted to go to St. Simons, but we all had forgotten that Luke would be in school now and it's just not doable to drive down there for a quick weekend. My mom got online and found this amazing house at Lake Hartwell which is just about 2 hours from where we are. An easy drive, a nice house for the weekend to rest and relax.

This weekend we spent time together as a family and relaxed by the lake. The house was so big that the kids could just run around like crazy. We took walks in the woods and went down to the lake. We ate out and cooked at home and it was just really, really nice. The drive was easy and we were still able to spend some time down there today before coming back and getting ready to start the week again.

Our next big adventure is our trip to Savannah in October. Dillon and I have started checking out our dining options and we're excited to be staying at the Wilkes House. There's a lot of work to get done between now and then though so we're trying to get through. Then we're on to the holidays. This year has gone by so quickly, I don't know quite what all we've done. It's just been one big blur.

Oh, and Luke's also decided that he wants to be a hobbit again for Halloween. Is it bad to repeat the same costume?! I'm thinking of making Charlie a dwarf but I don't know if that's feminine enough. I really want to crochet her a beard to wear. HA! I'm looking forward to our fall. It's always such a fun time!

Dominoes!

We walked down to this sketchy dock at the house. It was only held to the shore by two cables and the walkway was basically falling into the lake. We still went up on it. HA!

This was one of those weekends where you pack makeup, but you actually don't ever put it on. It. Was. Awesome.

We're the only idiots who build a fire in 90 degree weather. It was SO HOT. Poor Dillon was sweating during our weenie roast. 

Camp life!

There was also a game room in the basement. Luke likes pool and Dillon and I battled at Foosball. He won. Every game. :( 

Such a good picture of all of us! HA!

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My new wine rack that Dillon made me!