July

Well the month of July sure flew by!  I had intentions of blogging at least once every week, but apparently that didn't happen.  Today is August first and with the first of the month comes a new start.  I will be better about blogging in August.  Here is a recap in pictures of what I did in July:

I shaved Andrew's head to start out the hot month of July.  For those of you that don't know Andrew this is a big deal.  He's always had long hair, hated hair cuts, and he's only shaved his head two other times in his 23 years of life.

I think he looks handsome with long or short hair.

We celebrated the 4th of July by watching fireworks from the roof of our apartment building… One of the perks of being the managers.  The fireworks were phenomenal!  We could see them everywhere we looked! (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of one going off)

We went up north the first full weekend in July to celebrate the 4th with Andrew's aunts and uncles.

I caught a mouse while we were up north.

We checked up on Andrew's parent's house while they were on a missions trip in Ireland.  This is a photo of Andrew watering the plants.

I got a new summer hat.

I attended the 2012 Monticello Royalty banquet.  My mom and I are both past Monticello princesses.

I did some wedding hair

We celebrated the new marriage of some friends.

I met Captain Jack Sparrow

My Queen Kristine and I were nostalgic and watched the new 2012-2013 Monticello Royalty get crowned.  I can't believe we were getting crowned 5 years ago already! 

We had some lovely thunderstorms in July

Leo and I took advantage of the shade at the park quite a bit this month.

I celebrated the life of a dear friend when he went home to meet his Father.

This was the beautiful sunset the night of Derek's wake.

We got some ice cream with friends at Hometown Creamery (more on this later).

We hung out with Audrey, Luke, and Laura as much as we could before Luke left for training.

A rainy July morning

Here is Lake Harriet where I love to go on morning runs.  I started lifting weights in July, running at least three times a week and eating healthier.  I have more energy, I feel healthier, and my body is becoming toned.

We went up north again just this last weekend in July for some family time with Andrew's family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We visited Paul Bunyan land long enough for me to take a picture with Babe.

I took Leo swimming in the pool for the first time yesterday to end the hot month of July on a good note.

He was more interested in the duck than the water.

I hope everyone was able to stay cool during the hot spells we had in July.  I can't believe it's already August!  Part of me is ready for the fall, but the other part doesn't want it to come.  With the fall comes big changes for Andrew and I (more on that later).  I hope you all enjoy your last month of summer!

Our Weekend

I know it's almost the weekend again, but I still wanted to post about our last weekend up north with family and friends. June has been the busiest month of our year so far, so it was a very relaxing get away where we were able to leave behind work, cell phones, worries, and enjoy time with friends and family.  When we go up north, we call it the cabin, but really it's a house that Andrew's grandparents live in during the spring, summer, and fall months.  We had the privilege of bringing mine and Andrew's good friends Luke and Laura with us and their 2 month old baby girl named Audrey.  Here is a glimpse of our weekend in some snapshots:

This was my seat partner on the way up north… She was great!  Slept the whole time.

This is the lake we stay on.  Shirt Lake in Deerwood, MN.  It's so peaceful!

Taking an afternoon snooze on Kathy's shoulder.  I love those cheeks!

Photo shoot time with my favorite baby girl.

Hanging outside with Audrey.

Andrew's cousin Grace holding baby Audrey.

Getting ready for a mosquito filled walked with Emily and Kathryn.

My friend Laura, Andrew's cousins Emily and Kayla, Andrew's sister Kathryn, and me.

Here is a lovely bunch of wildflowers that I picked while on a walk.

Audrey all tuckered out from the walk.

Me, Laura, and Grace about to go extreme tubing.

Andrew and Grace watching the boys tube.

Me and Andrew catching some rays. It was a beautiful day.

 

Grace and I kayaking around the lake.

This was a very much needed fun and relaxing weekend. We were so thankful that we were able to share the weekend with Luke, Laura, Audrey, and family. It's hard for us to get up north with managing our apartment building. Turnovers are popular on weekends and we have to find coverage for our building in order to be gone. We were very thankful that everything worked out for us to go up north last weekend. We were able to start the week feeling refreshed, and well rested.