Friday Night Lights

A couple months ago, Josh told me one evening that he had a new show for us to watch. But as soon as I found out it was a television series about football, I kindly declined.

And then somehow he talked me into watching one episode and, that was it. I was hooked.

Tonight Josh and I finished the last season of Friday Night Lights, and I'm telling you, it is without a doubt, the best show I've ever seen. It is a show that we both were able to enjoy even though it was for different reasons. Josh loved the football, and I, well, just like any woman, loved the relational element of it. There were many a night where we'd stay up through the wee hours to watch "just one more."

And now it's over. Such a sad, sad night. If you've never seen it, watch it. You will thank me.

Free Washi Tape Download

You all love free stuff, right? I do!

Well, today I have a little somethin' somethin' for you.

I am totally addicted to digital washi tape.

It adds a fun little touch to my blog pictures as it gives

them the appearance of being taped to my post.

There are a bunch of really cute free tapes out

there on the web, but I decided I needed a new

collection of tape every now and then because

I tend to get bored with the same ol' stuff.

So, I taught myself how to make digital tape.

And lucky for you, I will be sharing

my new collections with you!

First up...

I love the colors in this group, don't you?

Enjoy and have fun with it!

Click here to download.

Don't know how to work with digital tape? No worries.

I found a great tutorial explaining how to use the photo

editing website, Picnik, to add tape to your pictures.

Scrapbook paper used/purchased from here.

Happy Friday!

Linking uphere, here, and here.

Irie

I have a lot of catching up to do! We have been busy, busy this Summer. The days have sure flown by quickly... cannot believe August is almost here!

I hope to get caught up on the fun times we've had this Summer within the next week or two, but in reality, I'm sure it will take me longer than that. You all know me and how sporadic I've been with blogging lately. :)

So, let's start with our family vacation to Jamaica this past May. If I could choose one Jamaican word to describe our trip, I would pick irie. It means, "to feel good and/or everything is alright." As soon as we stepped foot on the white sandy beaches and felt the warmth of the sun on our faces, we knew it was gonna be a good week. And it was.

It was perfect.

I had a hard time deciding which pictures to use for this post because I took so many {imagine that!}, so I just decided to make it easy on myself and pick out a few of my favorites to share with you. Here they are {in no particular order}...

This was Noah's first time to experience the beach, and as you can see he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He played in the sand with his beach toys and loved running and splashing through the ocean.

And after hours of playing...

Guess who got buried in the sand by Dad, Uncle Bibi, and Aunt Abby?

Love the dreads, bro. Once again, my brother providing us a few laughs. :)

Family having fun in the sun!

Josh and Matt played a few rounds of beach volleyball. They were fun to watch {when I wasn't napping under a beach hut}.

Noah's favorite drink to cool off was a strawberry daiquiri {just like his momma!}. I love this picture of Noah drinking one of many, many daiquiri's. Haha :) {And no, they weren't alcoholic... wouldn't want someone to get the wrong idea and call CPS on me!}.

Noah and his Mimi on the beach. ♥

We took excursions to Dolphin Cove and Dunn's River Falls, and they were both awesome! I highly recommend both of them!

Dunn's River Falls was incredible. It is a famous waterfall near Ochos Rios where visitors can climb right up the falls. The water was icy cold and we were soaked from head to toe right from the very beginning, but it was totally worth it. Definitely one of my favorite excursions we've ever done.

The highlight of Dolphins Cove was swimming with Dolphins {something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember!}. I wish I could have taken pictures, but they don't allow you to use your own camera. Boo! Noah was too young to actually swim with the dolphins, but he and Mimi got to get close and touch them and watch then jump through the air. We also saw a shark show and touched and swam with sting rays {a pretty weird feeling being in the water with them!}. And Noah made a little friend while we were there...

Noah and his Aunt Megan hanging out by the pool. See the little dandelion in Noah's hand? If there is a dandelion to be picked, Noah will find it. :)

Noah surprised us all and was calm enough to get his hair braided while we were in Jamaica!! Can you believe it? This is the same little boy who hates getting his haircut. Yep, he sat and got his hair braided. Of course, it took a little bribing from all of us with candy and fruit snacks, but he did it, and we were so proud of him! There were lots of "Oh, look how cute he is in his braids!" anywhere we went. He was soooo cute... he looked just like a Jamaican.

Hi, dad! Relaxing and watching Matt and Josh play a little volleyball.

Noah and Mimi having a little dance party on the beach.

We weren't sure if Noah would nap on the beach, but he did. One day he took a three {yes, three!} hour nap and woke up happy and ready to play!

I love this next picture. While we were waiting to ride a banana boat, one of the Jamaican guys was over in our area cleaning up the boats for the day. As soon as he saw Noah, he took an interest in him, and they instantly became friends. He asked Noah if he wanted to help him and together they went from boat to boat tying up the sails. It was the sweetest thing.

Mom and dad in the dreads now! I love my dad's expression. Hahaha.

Matt and Josh swimming with sting rays and snorkeling.

Noah stole the dreads from Mimi and Granddad!

Definitely, without a doubt, my favorite picture of the whole trip.

Oh Matt, you should have known better. :)

Thank you Dad and Mom for making it possible for us to all get together... especially in Jamaica! What a wonderful trip we all had!

Little Boy Legs

It's the simple things...

Today I was looking down at Noah's

new shoes, and I realized something...

Noah's legs are beginning to look

more and more like little boy legs.

Where did those chubby legs go?

It was a bittersweet moment for me.

Bittersweet because as much fun as it is

watching him grow, there is a part of me

that wishes he could stay little forever.

Don't grow up too fast little man.

Summertime

This week, The Paper Mama's

Photo Challenge is Summertime.

We took Noah to a nearby water park a few days

ago, and he had so much fun playing in the water!

Can't wait to share the rest of the pics with you.

Wish me luck!

Pinterest is Awesome

Awesome I tell ya.

Do you pin?

If you don't, sign yourself up!

You will be so happy you did.

You can find me on Pinterest here.

And... He's Out!

We picked up Einstein today from his

weekend stay at the kennel.

It seems he may have partied his old pug

self a little too hard while we were away.

A Sweet Moment

And it did only last for a moment! ha

But ohhh how it made my heart melt...

They sure are sweet when they get along.

Just Lovely Things

I'm totally crushing on my new

headband from just.lovely.things!

It is the most comfortable headband ever.

And soooo cute!

Want to know what I love the most about it?

It stays on my head! Ha

I absolutely hate headbands I have to constantly re-adjust.

Annoying, right?

Anyway, this pretty little thing showed

up in my mailbox today and it brought a smile

to my face. It's the simple things. :)

Happy Sunday!

Saying Goodbye to the Turtles

I'm a little behind in posting this...

summer came quickly this year!

I love this picture.

I love it because it reminds me of when Noah

first started going to Mother's Day Out.

For the first couple of months, Noah was so timid

and scared... Mother's Day Out was new & unfamiliar.

Leaving Noah crying and clinging to me was so hard.

{Like maybe the worst thing ever, seriously.}

But leaving him with two incredible teachers whom I completely

trusted and whom I knew could always bring a smile to his face

made it a little bit easier to say goodbye.

Noah loved Mrs. Sandy & Miss Eve;

they always made him feel secure and loved.

Having a class full of wild toddlers must have been crazy

at times, but that didn't keep them from spending one-on-one

time with Noah to help him adjust to his new environment.

It wasn't long before Noah looked forward to "school."

He was no longer scared. He would walk right into

his classroom without a glance back.

{I'm pretty sure I shed a few tears...}

I loved watching Noah grow this year.

Not only did his speech grow, his confidence did too.

He made lots of new friends.

Got invited to birthday parties.

He learned so much.

I am so grateful God had a special place

for him in this class. What a wonderful year it was!

I think it was harder for me to say goodbye to

Eve & Sandy than it was for Noah. :)

Thank you both for the time you invested

in teaching & loving on my little turtle.

Embrace the Camera, Mon!

Noah & Daddy embracing the camera in Jamaica!

Can't wait to share the rest of the pictures with you.

Big Brother Einstein

Recently, I received a comment asking,

"How did Einstein first adjust when you brought baby home?"

The comment brought back sweet, sweet memories

of the day we brought our baby boy home from the

hospital to meet our fur baby for the very first time.

Einstein and Noah in their very first moments together...

There is just nothing sweeter than watching

Einstein show his love to Noah by licking his little fingers.

And Noah's smile... oh that precious little smile.

From the very start, Einstein has always loved his little brother.

But as much as he loved baby Noah, naturally, he had to learn

to share our love and attention. Everything had changed.

He was now big brother instead of the baby.

But it wasn't long before Einstein realized

being a big brother was not so bad afterall.

That it really is pretty fun having a playmate around:

And well, it does have its perks:

I have no doubt they are growing up to be the best of friends.