Learning to be a Wife

This is what the past week looked like.

Slow cooker stir fry is a favorite around here.

Of course he lays on the cushions while the covers are in the wash.

It's his world, we just live in it.

Long overdue Trader Joe's field trip.

Trader Joe's dill salad is a must buy for me... before I found out about the parasite problem.

Feeling extra fancy when I make salmon over Trader Joe's risotto.

Starbucks is on the way home from M's vet appointment, so of course I had to make a pit stop.

I'm all about making errands a little more fun.

Homemade spinach and feta quiche.

Adored this sign at my gyno's office.

Peach skies.

My beloved sweet potato, cottage cheese, tofu bowl was on repeat this week.

Summer Friday at Bad Brewing.

New obsession with pickled jalapeños.

Dog days of summer.

Dinner with friends, featuring the world's loneliest piece of broccoli.

Friday night lights.

Nothing makes me happier than my friends sending me sunset pictures because they know I'm a sky girl.

Celebrated a very special ten year old.

All legs (truly!) - he grew over an inch this year.

Having a ball!

Loved celebrating this sweet boy.

Cooling off in the splash pad.

What a gift Benny is to our family.

Yard game shenanigans.

All smiles.

He cracks me up.

Saturday selfie.

Clowning around.

Puppy love.

This boy knows exactly what he wants - steak for his birthday dinner and my mom's lasagna for the family party.

Can't argue with that!

How is he ten already?!

I think we've got a future cake decorator on our hands.

Not only did he decorate his cake beautifully, but he also made the most delicious cake pops!

Rest is holy.

I'm not usually a YA reader (it's just not my genre), but I stuck with this one because I can't seem to quit a book once I start it.

I'm glad I did because it ended up being super cute.

Favorite quote:

"You look best when you're you."

Sunday was an all-day lake day: boating, swimming, floating, and soaking up every minute.

The very best kind of day.

Savor every day.

I feel seen.

It's funny because it's true.

For more life lately:

This is what the past week looked like.

Hot weather = morning walks.

Vacation Lindsey activated.

G made epic breakfast sandwiches with perfectly runny eggs.

Morning boat rides with the lake all to ourselves.

Floating is all I wanna do.

Brats, grilled veggies, and a side of Dominoes.

Tastes just as delightful as it looks.

Finally bought the tablecloth that had been in my cart for over a year, and I'm in love.

This was a cute, fun beach read.

Dropped M off at the groomer and treated myself to a little lunch.

Summer sunsets are my favorite.

Bat dog.

Onto 1 Samuel now.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but this storm came out of nowhere and did a number on our bimini.

FIVE STARS.

I'm recommending it to everyone I know, and I still can't stop thinking about it.

Favorite quotes:

"Like an algorithm, a family is endlessly complex yet adaptable and resilient, parents and children working together as parts of an intricate, coordinated whole."

"We must always take responsibility for our own mistakes. Yet in this new age of intelligent machines, we must also take responsibility for theirs."

"Life is not an algorithm, and never will be."

Always here for a cute beer name.

Legs for days.

The wind was not a fan of our boat parade decorations.

Benny always keeps us laughing.

Pretty girls.

We found a solution to the wind: becoming the boat decor.

Sibs.

All smiles for America's 250th.

This was the biggest boat parade we’ve ever had, stretching around the entire perimeter of the lake.

Sister, sister.

Rocking the boat decor.

The best part of the parade is always the finale, when our neighbor (and the person we bought our boat from!) closes it out with the national anthem.

The parade was a hot one, so we cooled off with a much-needed floating party afterward.

We were lake hungry and absolutely feasted after an amazing day on the water.

See also: Brad showed up with three kinds of buns - the way our forefathers would have wanted.

One perk of M getting older: he can’t hear the fireworks anymore, so he’s no longer scared of them.

Not sure if the 250th anniversary had anything to do with it, but the lake was filled with more fireworks than usual.

Coffee snuggles.

Lake tired is real.

M was exhausted too.

I spent my week off by the lake reading three books, and I’d say that’s time very well spent.

Favorite quotes:

"Some people think hiding their grief will make it go away, but in my experience it only makes it hurt more. Grief is only ever yours; it's not something you can share."

"Grief is a patient thief and steals far more than people who have never known it realize."

"Success is often the result of a series of failures."

"I keep my thoughts to myself because silence cannot be misquoted."

"Wives think their husbands will change but they don't. Husbands think their wives won't change but they do."

"Life is beautiful and life is ugly and we have to learn to live with both sides of that same coin and see the light in the darkness. The world is beautiful ugly, relationships are beautiful ugly, love is beautiful ugly. Understanding that makes life easier to live with."