{Let's look at // my calendar}

This is my first time linking up with the "Let's look at" series! This month we are looking at our calendars! It's no secret that I am a paper loving calendar gal. I've tried so many different calendar apps on my phone, but I just can't. I mean, it would make sense to just use an app since I always have my phone on me. But, I am a paper calendar loving fool!!

⛺ 15 CAMPING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS - PART 2 ⛺

I recently shared 15 activities to do with kids while camping. And I wanted to share 15 more. We love camping and finding new things to do with Mason each time. Camping is one of our favorite things to do as a family. It's such a great bonding time!!

{Hall Around Texas Family Fall Traditions}

Traditions. Oh, how I love traditions. They are my jam, for real. Something to look forward each year and such great memories to look back on! In our family, we have all kinds of traditions for each season. I think our Fall and Winter traditions are by far my favorite, though! Below are some of my favorite Fall-time traditions we do as a family...

{Weekend Wrap-up // College football, Projects, Grandparent's Day}

Happy Monday!! We had such a good weekend mixed with just the perfect balance of going and doing and staying at home. Friday evening we had supper with one of my best friends since the 2nd grade and it was so good for my soul. I ran a few errands on Saturday morning and then we stayed home the rest of the day tackling cleaning and home projects. It felt good to get crafty for a bit. Sunday was Grandparent's Day so we spent the first half of the day with family and the second half at home. Monday came all too fast, but we are ready for a new week. Here's a look at our weekend wrap-up. 

{Five on Friday // Mustache, dove hunting, Grand Friends, On Target Time}

Happy Friday! It's always the short weeks that seem to feel the longest. Am I right? I'm just glad it's Friday!! We have a busy, but good weekend ahead of us and I'm ready to get it started. I love spending time with the ones I love most! But for now, a little Five on Friday...

{Annual camping at Mason, TX // Labor Day weekend}

This past weekend was our 5th annual camping trip to Mason, TX for Labor Day weekend. We have been going every Memorial Day and Labor Day with the same group (plus new additions along the way) since Mason was just four years old. And with each trip, we love it more and more. This trip was a little more special because Nate's best friend (& his family) since he was just five years old was able to join us!! They recently bought a camper and Mason TX wasn't too far from them! We were so ecstatic they were able to join us and hope this was just the first trip of many!

{Currently // September edition}

It's time to link up with Anne in Residence for Currently. This month we are sharing what we are currently making, taking, discovering, consuming, and saving. 

{Our first Texas Ranger game of the 2019 season}

The Friday before last a family friend gifted us two tickets to the Ranger game. We hadn't had a chance to attend a game yet and knew we wanted to go to a game since it's the last season at this ballpark! It was the perfect opportunity to do so! Our plan was to go and buy Mason a cheap child's ticket because we didn't think we would sit much anyhow. But, we ended up sitting the entire game and had a blast!!

{A morning spent at Burger's Lake}

Two Saturdays ago was our last one before school started and we knew we wanted to do something special with Mason. One last summer hurrah if you will! We had seen pictures posted by a friend of a placed called Burger's Lake and we knew that would be perfect! Mason is such a water kid and can't get enough!

{First day of FOURTH Grade!!!}

Yesterday was Mason's first day of FOURTH grade! I am still in a bit of denial that 1.) summer is over and 2.) that my sweet little baby is in the 4th grade. Fourth. Mason is at a different campus this year, so we are navigating new waters and learning our new normal. And because of that, I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling nervous/anxious about this day. BUT? It went off without a hitch!! Like, it was pretty perfect.

{FOURTH GRADE MEET THE TEACHER}

Monday evening we had our annual meet the teacher night. Up until lunchtime on Monday we had no clue who our teacher would be. It wasn't posted online anywhere at all. And then I thought to look at the new app our district is using this year and low and behold I saw we were added to "Mrs. Snow's" homeroom! We got the teacher we requested! What a blessing that is. We've heard nothing but amazing things about her and we are so grateful to have a year in her class! I should also mention that Mason is at a different campus this year. His last school was only first through third and this campus is fourth & fifth. So, this was all new territory for us to navigate. Mason sort of knew his way around because he would bus to this campus once a week for the gifted and talented program, but he had only seen certain areas of the school.

{Back to school // post round-up}

Every time I scrolled Instagram over the last few weeks I found myself amazed at how many "first day of school" posts I saw. So many districts start back so early! Like August 1st early. And here I am wallowing in my own self-pity that we start back on the 21st, which I feel is way too soon. Long live summer! Since I work at home I get to keep Mason here with me during the summer and I just enjoy my days with him too much to share him with school! But, it's inevitable that school has to start. And because of that, I've rounded up some of my favorite back to school posts.

{Five on Friday // last full week before school}

As much as I tried to pump the breaks on this week, it still flew by in a flash. It was our last full week before school starts and I just wanted it to go by slowly. That didn't happen. But man oh man, we sure did enjoy it. We didn't do a whole lot of anything, but we sure did get in some quality family time. And that? That's my favorite!! Here's a little bit of what we've been up to this week.

{⛺ 15 CAMPING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS ⛺}

It's no secret that we love to go camping around here. I thought since we are basically seasoned pros by now (and I use that term loosely because we are still learning all the camping hacks) I would share some tips here. I've been camping with Nathan's family for almost 23 years now and we've been camping with Mason for 9 years. I figured I would start by compiling a list of camping activities for kids. These are just some of the things we love to do.

{2019 Summer Bucketlist // Update}

Now that school is looming over our heads (next Wednesday for Mason) I figured it was time to do a 2019 Summer Bucketlist update. We had an amazing summer adventuring all over the place and making the best memories! I know there is still a lot of summer left to live here in Texas, so I'm sure I will have another update soon. Here's what we have done so far.

{Hill Country Weekend Getaway}

School may be starting next Wednesday, but we are far from being done with summering!! I mean, technically summer lasts about 6 months in Texas so there is still lots of time for adventures! Yesterday I shared our Hill Country weekend getaway in numbers and today I will share the details.  It was totally last minute, so finding somewhere to camp was quite the chore. But, Nate's parents found us a nice campground only about 25 miles from where we were going to tube the river. And the campgrounds were less than 3 hours from home. Not bad at all!

{Hill Country Weekend Getaway // In Numbers}

This past weekend we decided to have a little weekend getaway to the Texas Hill Country to camp and float the Comal river! And as always with most of our trips, I like to recap in numbers. So, here's our weekend getaway in numbers.

{FREEPORT BEACH // SUMMER VACATION DAY 5 RECAP}

This is the last and final recap of our beach trip...day five, our last full day at the beach. 6 days is all our family could spare this summer when it came to vacation due to work and school schedules.  We chose to go somewhere fairly close so we could make the most of that time. And that we did! Day five was packed to the gills with nothing but goodness. And, it's safe to say that day five was easily Mason's favorite day of the trip! Keep reading to find out why.

{FREEPORT BEACH // SUMMER VACATION DAYS 3 & 4}

In efforts to get my vacation recaps wrapped up, I am combining days 3 & 4! Both days were amazing vacation days!! Here is a look at days three and four of our vacation.

{Currently // August 2019 edition}

I've missed a couple of these, but I'm happy to joining back in with Anne in Residence for Currently. This month we are sharing what we are currently ordering, watching, cooking, wondering, and savoring. 

{FREEPORT BEACH // SUMMER VACATION DAY 2 RECAP}

I'm back to recap day 2 of our summer beach vacation! Again, it was another day of heavy picture taking so I will only share day two today. We all slept in until 9ish and it was glorious. Isn't that what vacation is all about? Staying up late and sleeping in? One of my favorite parts. We knew that we wanted to do some shopping and figured a weekday would be better than a weekend as far as crowds go so we got ready and headed to The Strand (downtown shopping district in Galveston).

Weekend Wrap-up // Floating the Brazos River}

I don't know about you, but I am not a fan of these summer weekends flying by so fast! I feel like I went to bed on Friday and woke up to it being Monday. Summer, please sloooow down! We did have a great weekend, though. Here is our weekend wrap-up.

{Freeport Beach // Summer Vacation Day 1 Recap}

We just returned from an amazing family summer vacation to the beach! We only had 5 short days to spend at the beach, but we made the most of it and packed a lot into our days. And because of that, I am going to recap by the day. Otherwise, it would be a never-ending post. Today is day 1 of the recaps.

{Vacation in Numbers // Freeport, TX}

Hi y'all! I took a little bit of an unexpected break from this space. Work was absolutely crazy the week before vacation and I had zero time to draft any posts! Now I have tons to catch up on. We just got back from a beach vacation and it was pretty amazing!! Today I am going to recap our vacation in numbers.

{Jeepin' in the Paluxy River}

A few weekends ago we joined some friends for a day at the river! We have been seeing this "secret spot" for quite some time on Facebook and finally had a local friend tell us how to get there. Now we know why they want to keep this little piece of paradise a secret...

{Jeep night at Texas Motor Speedway with Baa Baa Black Jeep}

Last weekend we got to join Baa Baa Black Jeep for his Jeep night event at Texas Motor Speedway! John has been putting on this event for over 5 years now and this year was the first time we were able to go! Since this was our first time we had no idea what to expect and man were we impressed! I think it's safe to say this has been one of our favorite Jeep events yet!

{Rollin' in the 4th of July parade with the Ellis County Jeep Club}

We had the pleasure of getting to roll with the Ellis County Jeeps in the Waxahachie 4th of July parade! Despite the insane heat and humidity, we had a blast. This was our 4th or 5th parade to be in since we've had the Jeep. They just keep getting better and better!

{Chasing sunflowers and sunsets}

Let me preface this by saying that I really, really love sunflowers. They make my heart so happy. We made three trips to the sunflower fields this summer and I loved each and every trip!! The drive there is gorgeous and then the fields are just breathtaking! Backroads are so good for my soul.

{Star Spangled Weekend}

How is it already Monday? It's already late afternoon and I am just now getting to this post. We spent Thursday - Sunday out in the Texas heat from basically sun up until sundown. To say that we are exhausted would be an understatement! We had a 4th of July parade Thursday morning and we camped the rest of the weekend. I used my 4th of July Scavenger hunt as a "photo hunt" of sorts to capture a Star Spangled Weekend...

{Pirate's Cove Waterpark // Family Day}

Early last week Nathan and I agreed that we needed to have a fun family day with Mason. We know that he absolutely loves water and that our plan needed to incorporate that in some way. We originally planned to go play in the river in a town that we love. But, that was a no go when we heard that the river was too high to play in! We've had a ton of rain lately. So, we decided on Pirate's Cove Waterpark in Burleson, TX. We've been there a few times and we remembered how much Mason loved it!

{Fourth of July Scavenger Hunt}

I created this scavenger hunt a few years ago but wanted to share it again. We are big on scavenger hunts over here! Especially when we are outdoors or camping! And, we'll definitely be camping this 4th of July weekend. This can also be used as a photo checklist to capture your weekend! I'm printing and bring this with us! 

What are your plans for the 4th of July? 

{RED, WHITE, BLUE AND YOU LINK-UP // Target dollar spot haul}

I am obsessed with all things red, white and blue, stars & stripes!! So, you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon a fairly stocked 4th of July bin in the dollar spot at Target a couple of weeks ago! To explain a bit, our local Target's dollar spot stays empty. womp. womp. We are basically the only Target in the county, so everyone and their grandma's dog comes to our Target! So, if you hit it when it's stocked you better grab while you can! And that's what I did with some cute 4th of July decor for my tiered tray! I love changing that tray up with the seasons! I need to be on the hunt for some staple items to go on the tray like Laurie does. But in the meantime, here is my Target dollar spot haul it all of it's red, white and blue glory!

{Pinterest to Project // vol. 10 // Tic Tac Toe game}

When I first stumbled upon this pin I knew I had to make it! Mason loves playing tic tac toe. And, I knew it would be a perfect little something to take camping with us. There's always a bit of downtime when camping and sometimes we like to play games. This DIY Tic Tac Toe game takes up no space at all and the game board holds the actual pieces! Here is how I turned this DIY Tic Tac Toe game Pinterest to a Project...

{Wheeling at Hidden Falls in Marble Falls, TX}

This past Saturday we road-tripped with some friends to Hidden Falls Adventure Park in Marble Falls, TX. It's about three hours south of us, but it's a fairly easy drive. We had a complete blast and we're already ready to go back. This is my 2nd favorite off-road park so far (first is Hot Springs Off-road Park in Arkansas).  It was beautiful and offered so many great views and photo ops! The trails were also very clean and pretty well marked. Oh, and the map was one of the easiest to read, which is a plus. So often the trail maps are hard to follow and you just end up winging it. But, not the case here. If you're an off-road enthusiast and ever in this area, I highly recommend it.

{Weekend Wrap-up // Movies, Jeeping, Sunday-ing}

Happy Monday! Another weekend gone by too fast. I looked at the date this morning and it literally took my breath away. How is it already June 24th? Summer is going by way too fast for my liking! I mean, we must have been having fun for it to go by so quick, but STILL! More summer, less school! Anyhow, here's a look at our weekend. Spoiler alert: it was a good one!!

{What to pack for a day of off-roading}

We are going on a wheeling trip this weekend and as I was making my list of what to bring on the trip I had an idea to share it here on the blog. I don't think many off-roaders follow my blog yet, but it may help someone in the future. So, without further ado, here is a list of things to pack for a day of off-roading.

{Pinterest to Project // vol. 9 // Homemade Jello Popsicles}

I don't know about you, but I am all about summer right now. Every time I search something on Pinterest lately I've found a common theme; summer activities, summer recipes, summer crafts, summer playlists, summer, summer, summer. So, when I stumbled upon this pin for Homemade Jello Popsicles I knew we had to make them.

{GP Officer Memorial Run with the Jeep Club}

On Saturday we had the honor of riding in the memorial Jeep run for a fallen officer in our home town of Grand Prairie, TX. One of our friends that runs a Jeep club coordinated the event and did such an amazing job doing so. We all met at the Walmart in Grand Prairie where everyone gathered to pray, set-up their flags and make donations. There was a donation box as well as a Paypal you could give to. There was a large number of Jeeps, a car club and several different tow-truck companies there to show their support. It was so amazing and pulled at my heartstrings. All of those thin blue line flags did me in!

{Bridgeport // BFG & Discount Tire Vendor Event & Wheeling}

The weekend before last we attended a really fun Jeep event at Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, TX. The event was hosted by BFGoodrich Tires and Discount Tire. They had vendors set-up as well as some amazing raffles! We put out some feelers and quickly realized we had a pretty good group of people interested in going with us.

{Weekend Wrap-up // Movies, Police Memorial Run, Father's Day}

Happy Monday! Another weekend gone too soon. :) We did have a good one, though! Mason spent the night with his cousins last night so it's just me here this morning. Feels weird! But anyhow, here's a look at our weekend...

{Supper at the lake with friends}

At 3:46pm on Monday afternoon I got a text from my sweet friend Keri saying something to the tune of  "we are going to have supper at the lake this evening if y'all want to join us". Umm, yes, please! I texted Nate to check with him even though I knew what his answer would be. He wrote back  (very quickly) "I'm down"! We love having friends close by that has all the same interests as we do! We all get along so great and our kids even declared themselves best friends by the end of the night! Oh, how I love it. Sunset suppers at the lake with dear friends is what summer is all about!

{Another evening at the lake}

Am I getting a bit repetitive here? We just can't help it. We enjoy our evenings spent at the lake something fierce. A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the Jeep, grabbed a pizza & some drinks and headed for the lake. The water was a bit warmer for Mason (not that he cares) and it was just a really nice evening. We love this lake because it's fairly small and its a quiet & relaxing area.

{🍉 Summer is served 🍉}

There is just something about the first watermelon of the season! 🍉 Am I right? It's like the ultimate start to summer for us! Because with the first watermelon there is usually a day spent outside and a grilled meal for supper. That just screams summer to me. Well, the first Saturday of our "official" summer was that day for us. And, you know it had to be documented.

{Hello Monday // Weekend Wrap-up // Horse Races, Jeep Event, topless}

Hello Monday! It's been a busy one so far. I'm just now getting to work on my weekend post! We had another great weekend and I am sad to see it go. Mainly because Nate is back to work. We sure do miss him! Anyhow, here's a look at what we did this weekend.

{How we do school Lunchbox Notes}

I know, I know...it's summer time for most of you and I am talking about school lunchbox notes. What am I even doing? haha. But, this is something Mason and I have really enjoyed this year and I wanted to share here on my blog. This is how we do lunchbox notes...

{Currently // June 2019}

Happy summer!! Oh, how I love that word...S U M M E R! I love having my boy at home with me and getting to kiss his sweet little face any time I want! I plan to make this the summer of fun, but mixed with a little (okay, a lot) of organizing. I blame Lindsay. :) She's inspired me to get my butt in order and organize all the things. But for now, let's take a look at what's currently going on.  Here is a look at what I am currently picking, going, wishing, wearing, and celebrating.

{Mason, TX // Annual Memorial Day weekend trip}

Memorial Day weekend was our annual trip to the good ole Texas hill country for camping at Mason TX. Or, "The Garrison Family Reunion" as the signs said when we pulled up. I love it! One of my favorite weekends with some of my favorite people.

{Hello Monday // Weekend Wrap-up}

Hello Monday! I'm not even mad atcha. It's summertime and summer Mondays are better than any other Mondays. Right? I just wish Nate got a summer break like Mason does! Then it would be pretty golden! At least we have the weekends. Speaking of weekends, here is a look at our weekend wrap-up...