Grandpa Thomas's Summer Visit

Grandpa Thomas came out here last weekend to spend time with us.  He went hiking with Jesse and Nathan -- it was such a lovely day.

In the afternoon, we took Nathan to his first ever movie in the theater -- Toy Story 4 -- on opening day!

He loved the movie, he loved the popcorn, and his new favorite Toy Story character is Forky!

Grandpa Thomas also enjoyed seeing Nathan play soccer.

We had a fun weekend together!

Ambrosia Layouts

This month I dove into some old Basic Gray again, and this time I used the Ambrosia collection.  My first layout was inspired by CSI's File No. 287.  I used an old collection with distressing and the color orange.

I created this second layout for the Scrappy Friends challenge.  I used Rochelle's sketch, and I was inspired to scrap beautiful outdoor photos from Stacy's mood board.

Fathers' Day Weekend!

We kicked off Father's Day with a donuts with dad breakfast at Nathan's school.

Nathan painted a box for Jesse and drew a picture of him (you know it is Jesse because Nathan wrote "Dad" underneath it -- zoom in to see the cuteness!)

We picked up some sports equipment to prepare for the summer soccer season, and Nathan asked for (and got) a little t-ball set, which he is loving!

Jesse is coaching Nathan's soccer team this year and we had a good first game yesterday.  Go West Ham United!

Today we spent a lot of time at Lowes -- Nathan enjoyed touching basically everything in the store (look at the memo he created on this smart refrigerator!) while Jesse found the perfect Father's Day tool storage unit.  Happy Fathers' Day everyone!

Grandpa's Last Days in Albuquerque

We continued hanging out and having fun with Grandpa Ariyavatkul in Albuquerque after we returned from the Dominican Republic.  Nathan asked him to play super heroes a bunch!

They also played a lot out in the backyard.

Look at how excited he is!

Last, but definitely not least, we went to Round 1 -- a really fun arcade.  We had a fun visit!

Rachel's Wedding!

My beloved sister Rachel got married and had the prettiest beach wedding!  It was gorgeous, she was gorgeous, and we were so fortunate to be a part of it! 

Enjoying Punta Cana

Our hotel room had a nice pool view, and we definitely enjoyed playing in many of them.

There were pool floats galore, and this cutie had so much fun.

Nathan is such a water boy!

We spent quite a lot of time in their kiddie pool, where Nathan practiced floating,

slid down the little kid slide all by himself, 

and went down the big kid slide with us probably 30 times!

We spent our last afternoon at the beach enjoying the water

and the sand.  We had a wonderful time!

The Dominican Republic!

We just got back from a fantastic trip to the Dominican Republic!  We went there to celebrate Rachel and Derek's wedding (more on that soon), and despite nightmare flight delays/cancellations and lost bags, we finally arrived and had fun in the brightest blue waters I have ever seen!

Nathan really loved both the beach and having so many playmates!

We stayed at the beautiful Majestic Colonial in Punta Cana, which was our first all-inclusive experience. 

We enjoyed a lot of sun, sand, and delicious food!

We also chartered a catamaran.  The boat ride was lovely, and just look at these cool dudes and their shades!

The trip allowed us to see more of the gorgeous water, and the island of Saona. 

After a tour of a turtle sanctuary, we reached the pristine Canto de la Playa beach.

We spent most of our time snorkeling, and this box fish was our favorite. 

Isn't that water beautiful?!

Last but not least we stopped in the "natural pool" -- an area with very shallow water -- to see (and touch) starfish!

Grandpa Ariyavatkul's Visit

Grandpa Ariyavatkul arrived last weekend!  He saw Nathan's school for the first time and we had breakfast together.

We had a lot of fun playing at the playground earlier this week, which was good because while that day was just beautiful, it has been unseasonably cold and rainy ever since.  The cold weather has given us plenty of opportunities to play hide and seek inside though!  

Happy National Scrapbooking Day

Happy interNational Scrapbooking Day!  I have a couple layouts to share in honor of this "holiday."  My first layout is of our trip to Brownstone Park in Connecticut that I created for the Scrappy Friends challenge.  The layout is based on Rochelle's sketch, and Stacy's photo inspired me to fussy cut flowers!

My last Basic Gray Plumeria layout showcases multiple pictures from our weekend trip to the Mystic aquarium for More Than Words' May challenge.

Rachel's Bachelorette Party!

Last weekend Rachel had her bachelorette party, and Nicole and I surprised her by showing up in Detroit!  I am so glad we were able to celebrate our lovely bride to be.

We hung out with Rachel and her friends, took a ceramics class, and had a lovely dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.

We ended the night sipping some fantastic wine at a wine bar.  It was a fun weekend!