If: Gathering

This weekend I attended a powerful Women's Conference called IF: Gathering. Thankful for my husband, who was on daddy duty, which he does well and with no complaints. Not only did he hold down the fort, but he cleaned the fort and I came home to a clean house! I love that guy!

But back to the conference...IF: Gathering was a two-day conference based in Austin, Texas that we watched in a room full of women via simulcast. Some of the speakers included: Jen Hatmaker, Christine Caine, Ann Voskamp, Bianca Olthoff and many others.

No. 11

Today marks the 11th year of marriage for my hubby and me.

We got to celebrate last weekend with a little getaway and Jack Johnson concert.

We did some shopping and enjoyed sleeping in and having no schedule. 

We tried a new brewery. If you are ever in Bend, OR, go to Crux Fermentation Project. It's got a cool atmosphere and a family friendly outdoor space.

This was the first getaway for us in a while and it was much needed. Thanks to my mom and dad for watching our kiddos! That was truly a gift!

Happy 11th Anniversary, Mr. Turco! Looking forward to many more years to come!

Summer at it's finest

We've been enjoying our summer. How about you? Here's what we've been up to...

Two weeks ago we took a little road trip to San Jose, CA to see some family. In-n-Out Burger is always a stopping place.

We also took the kids to Great America and they had a blast!

This was Sweet Pea's first roller coaster ride ever! She giggled the entire time!

This girl and her map.

And these boys were thrill seekers and arcade kings!

She wasn't so sure of the carousel.

While we were in California, Sweet Pea lost her very first tooth. She was pretty excited!

Another stop at In-n-Out...all smiles around

Side note: Baby girl LOVES this dress and would wear it everyday if she could.

And yes, The Boy is holding a jawbreaker the size of a baseball.

We got back from California the day before my birthday.

A birthday fairy left these on our porch. So thoughtful!

I still don't know who dropped them off, but I love Sunflowers and are enjoying them still!

My mom baked a beautiful cake. We met my parents at the park to watch the hubby play softball and have cake and ice cream :)

Notice Baby girl is wearing that dress again. HA!

The day after my birthday, my hubby took us out for my favorite pizza place and topped it off with some ice cream!

We were all happy campers!

I got to spend the next day with these silly girls at Fun in the Park, a fun event with lots of booths that feature different community businesses and organizations.

The next night, we celebrated marriages with our awesome small group. The couple on our right was celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary, so what did we do? We crashed it.

We shared our engagement stories, parenting and everyday stuff. We love these people!

I shared on my Facebook page that my mom had given me a bushel of apples from her garden and I was looking for a good applesauce recipe.

I ended up using this one from The Pioneer Woman. It turned out so yummy!

I had a cute little helper too.

One of the items on our summer list was to do a craft. The kids and I made these little robots from a kit and they had a great time racing them. You can find the kit here.

So there you have it...are a few of our summer highlights so far. What are some fun things you have done this summer?

Monday Ramblings

Happy Monday friends!

We had a full weekend of baseball, dance recital, sleepovers and helping friends move. By last night everyone was cranky and tired. The house is still quiet this morning and I am letting the kiddos catch up on their sleep.

Our little dancer

Their dance routine was "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. It was the cutest! Our little sweet pea was so into it!

Now that summer is in full swing, we have our summer list to check off, but I also have my own list of projects around the house that I want to complete.

One of those projects is our guest room. It has been a catch-all since we moved in and I'd like to make it a more inviting and functional space. First project...curtains!

On Saturday night I was up late sewing. I got one panel done. Hoping to finish the other one today.

Have you ever sewed curtains before? They are pretty easy to do (and quick too)! Design Sponge has a great tutorial.

Speaking of house stuff...Lysa TerKerust and The Nester are teaming up for this awesome blog series: Turning your House into a Home on a Thrift Store Budget.

Perfect timing! I will definitely be checking in on that!

What are some projects you have planned for the summer?

Baseball & a Birthday

This weekend was filled with baseball...

and a birthday party for our Boy...

His NINTH birthday is not until later this week, but many of our family members are going to be out of town, so we celebrated a little early.

His request? Mexican dinner and chocolate cake. This chocolate cake, to be exact. It really is THE best. It's my go-to birthday cake.

The birthday bunting is a printable from here.

It was a fun day and a fun weekend and the festivities will continue this week. It's going to be a fun week!

What do YOU have planned this week?

Weddings and Birthdays

October is whizzing by! Yesterday was my hubby's birthday. We went out to dinner at our local Mexican place, but in our family we celebrate a birthday WEEK, so the celebrations will continue into the weekend :) Football, wings and other manly stuff! Happy Birthday Babe!

Last weekend we welcomed a new addition to our family...Auntie Kate!!

2012

Aren't they the cutest?

She and my brother got hitched this weekend and it was a blast of a wedding. I was honored to be their wedding coordinator and had a lot of fun planning (with the help of my mom and aunt) all the fun details of their "industrial chic" wedding. Here are a few photos:

fluffing LOTS of pom poms

I wrote on the chalkboards using this technique. Super simple!

Photobooth props purchased here

Photo collage by Meghan Donnelly

It was such a fun day! Their friends are all amazing, talented people and an army of them made it all happen. Not to mention my aunt, uncle and cousins who were a critical piece to the puzzle. So many of the touches were personal and heart-felt. I was blessed to be a part of it. Congratulations Kate & Spencer! We love you!

Celebrations

Last week was a roller coaster of emotions. On Thursday evening, the Boy went with his baseball team to see a teammate of theirs who was battling cancer. Just hours after they had seen their 8 year old friend, he went home to be with Jesus. It has rocked our community, baseball team and family. And while we celebrate the health he now has in heaven, we grieve here on earth and for his family. Please pray for them this week as they prepare for services.

The very next day, we celebrated our Sweet Pea. Her birthday is this week, but we had a little party for her and her birthday twin, Charlie, with all their preschool friends. They are best of friends AND they share a birthday. It is a sweet friendship.

At the request of the birthday twins, we served bubblegum cupcakes

and Mint Chocolate cupcakes...

All their friends got take home a little goody bag filled with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, lollipop, pad & pencil.

My inspiration for these bags came from here. SO easy...bag, two sizes of cupcake liners and a tag all stapled together. The tags and cupcake toppers (above on the Mint Chocolate cupcakes) came from here.

We spent a lot of time soaking up the sun this weekend...water balloons, sidewalk chalk, bubbles and the sprinkler all came out.

The Boy had a meeting with his cub scout den and they performed a flag ceremony for the grand opening of our new community center in our neighborhood.

And THIS WEEK is Teacher Appreciation Week. Sweet Pea's teacher got donuts this morning, which we put in this cute bag...

You can find the printable here. I just printed it on a brown paper bag and it worked great!

There are so many cute ideas floating around Pinterest. Have a whole board dedicated to DIY gifts with LOTS of teacher appreciation ideas. Go check it out!