Celebrating 7 years

I know I've said it many times, but we feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family.  When we started talking about how we wanted to celebrate our anniversary, all we wanted was to be with the people that were with us on our wedding.  

There is a bar in an obscure location close to where we grew up that has feather bowling lanes.  It's a game many people have never played, but is extremely easy to learn and play.  We rented both lanes to have the entire room to ourselves.

Billy and I randomly picked teams, separating couples in hopes of sparking some friendly competition.  I loved overhearing the strategies, the clinking of glasses and witty banter happening between everyone. 

I do love our date nights, but this celebration was perfect.  We kept talking all week about how much fun it was and how much it meant to us that people took time out to come that Billy even sent a sweet thank you to everyone.

I had to get a picture with "my bridesmaids"...2 outta 5:)

Thanks for making our night!

XOXO


Aubrey and Billy

Camp out and in

We have been busy enjoying summer this week with swim lessons, visits to the playground and a day at the pool.  All the fun has left little to no time for naps and even less time for me/blog time.  My posts will most likely always be sporadic as our week's are never the same, so I appreciate you continuing to check in and see what's up...especially those checking multiple times a day:)

When I was making the summer bucket list I asked Lauren what she wanted to do this summer.  And with no frame of reference she said "I want to sleep outside."  Her campin' lovin' daddy honed right in on that and started planning right away.

Lauren was so excited all day about camping outside.  Wondering when we were going to put the tent up and even packing a bag.

I know Billy was in his element and Lauren was loving the special time with just her daddy.  She wanted to help with the tent and sat a watched our tiny fire grow, as a true camper should.

The only thing I can take credit for is purchasing the ingredients for s'mores.  

Yep, those are peanut butter chips.  

An excellent addition to the s'mores, in my opinion.  

After dessert, she just loved going in and out of the tent while mom and dad enjoyed a drink...William was fast asleep, thankfully.  Keeping him away from the fire would have been no easy task.

As much fun as we all had, Lauren called it quits at 8pm.  Explaining to us that it was too hot in the tent and she wanted to go inside.  It's no secret that I'm not an outdoorsy kinda girl, ya think she might take after her mother?

Nice pic, Mr. and Mrs. Chins

XOXO


Aubrey

Feelin Itchy?

Seven years ago today, we said "I do." 

It was well planned and surrounded by all the people who love us most.  

And I wouldn't change a thing.

We look back every year and one would think as we get further from the day, drift from a know-at-all twenty something self that we would want to change the day, but we don't.

There are memories and moments that are from and only for that one day.

We are so lucky to have had and continue to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family!

It's getting late and we've got a tradition to keep up...que the wedding video:)

XOXO

Aubrey

Girl's Night Shower

I had to share a few pictures from the shower I attended last night.  It was set in the backyard of the matron of honor's home and it couldn't have been more charming.

The lights and lanterns in the trees really completed the whole look for the night.

The shower got me so excited for the BIG day.  The countdown is on, just two months!

  Beautiful bride to be and mom

There were some really creative and thoughtful gifts, including a cookbook one of our friend's has made each of us for our bridal shower.  I use mine a ton, but still have some tasty recipes left to try.

Think about a Friday night shower if you need to host one.  

It doubles as a girls night out!

XOXO

Aubrey

Showering a Bride to Be

I don't know about you, but I typically just stick to the bride's registry when choosing a shower gift.  It's not for lack of creativity.  I just know the thought and time that goes into registering and figure this is what the couple wants.  Give them what they want.

But one of my oldest and dearest friends is getting married and I wanted to make this gift a little more personal.  She loves picnics, so that was my inspiration.  Thirty-one makes a thermal tote that is great for a small picnic.  You can personalize everything they sell in tons of colors and fonts.  

To complete the gift, I picked up four acrylic wine glasses and four lime colored appetizer plates off her registry.  I then threw in a set of wine glass sticks and some napkins for color.  The only thing left is a bottle of wine:)

XOXO

Aubrey

Strawberry Fields Forever

I never went strawberry picking as a kid and probably never gave it a thought until having kids.  Last year, three generations all went for the first time.

There was something poetic about it.  

Two, thirty-two or sixty-few...you are never too old or young to try something new.  

And since we had experience, we headed back for more.

Coming prepared too.  A "special" basket for Lauren and we all wore rain or garden boots because the dirt gets everywhere.

 

 Besides the threat of little shoes stomping on your freshly picked strawberries, this is a great place to take kids.  Lauren was really into the picking, while William just enjoyed a mid-morning snack.  

There was no running away, maybe because their eyes and hands were busy seeing red.

 

How do you like them apples strawberries?  

Thank you Middleton Berry Farms!  

You should really think about a scale to weigh the little ones before and after picking

What did we do with all our strawberries?

*Fruit Salad

*Topping a buttered english muffin

*Puree for bellini's (it's in my fridge, just need some friends)

*Strawberry Pie

Truth be told, I didn't make the crust.  But the rest was all me.

I used the recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker, but it seems there aren't many variations out there.  

Bucket list...check!

XOXO

Aubrey

Five Things

Housekeeping

I'm putting Five Things on hiatus for the summer.  It's been hard to keep up with and I'd rather skip it to give some of the "things" their very own post.  I hope you won't be disappointed:)

A little R&R

Exactly what the doctor ordered.  Jocelyn, Colin, and Emma invited us to spend last Saturday at her father's place on the St. Clair River.  It's absolutely beautiful!

The kids enjoyed some pool time, hammock time, and play time while the adults got to do some much needed catching up.

forgot to mention his nose last week, he bit it on the patio

I've visited many times, but on this visit the freighters were non-stop.  When Lauren saw her first one, her jaw dropped.  

And I love this picture of the girls!  They are too cute!

 Food Truck Rally

Have you joined in on the food truck craze?  If you haven't seen the food trucks in your neighborhood or near your office, food truck rallies are popping up everywhere too.  We've been to one in Ferndale a few months back and on Wednesday to the Royal Oak Farmer's Market.  It's completely family friendly minus the few long lines.  The portions are small so it's great for sampling a few different trucks.  We loved all the food we tried!  

Green Zebra

Lauren enjoyed a little "arm" painting while we waited for our food.

There were plenty of tables inside, but it was such a nice day that we brought our quilt and made a little picnic.  See those little breaded sliders...fried green tomato sandwiches!  Sooo good!  As were the Irish Nachos....homemade chips!

If you are in the Brownstown area, check out Brownstown Chow Down this Wednesday!

Popsicle Time!


William is one picky eater.  I'm lucky if I can get one good meal a day, though lately I've felt he's started to turn the corner and has been eating more and more.  And maybe an increased appetite sparked some new words too...dog and shoe.


But guess what we couldn't tear away from him?

Billy had said if you find something he likes, let us know!

Happy Father's Day

I hope you all had an amazing day celebrating your dad's.  We enjoyed some Crawford Clan time before heading to a family bbq.

Shouting "Happy Father's Day"

 Happy Father's Day to two amazing dad's! 

We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.

XOXO

Aubrey