no schedule, no problem.

Last Thursday morning I got a phone call from my dad telling me that my mom was in the emergency room suffering from a bad case of vertigo. She was admitted to the hospital Thursday evening and after hours of tests, probing, and pricking, she released herself on Friday afternoon. All this to say, our weekend plans changed just a bit. A jam-packed weekend of family fun was now going to be a bit more subdued and relaxed. I wasn't complaining.

I will sum up our weekend with a text that I received from the hubs early Saturday morning: "I'm on no schedule today and I love it!" We woke up when we wanted to, ate what we wanted to, and did whatever we wanted to when we wanted to. Saturday consisted of a long boat ride, fishing, playing with the dogs, swimming in the lake, card games, and lounging around.

John's big catch one morning off of the dock.

That night we went to the Silver Moon for dinner and once again, it did not disappoint! John loved his dinner so much he decided to take a picture of it. We could not believe how HUGE the oysters were!

Sunset cruise.

On Sunday, my brother and sister-in-law came up for the day with the Semanson bambinos. Poor mom wore herself out, but we sure did enjoy spending time with our nieces and nephew. We spent the majority of the day at the Lake Club. John and I were able to sneak away for a couple of hours to the adult pool and it was perfection at its best. Great weather, great view, great reads, and great company.

Mom, dad, Katye, and the babies decided to join us for some fun in the kiddie pool. Abby and William had fun jumping into the pool and splashing around while sweet Daley just enjoyed being held. I even took Abby for a few spins on the big water slide and she L-O-V-E-D it.

Abigail geared up for a ride on Pop Pop's boat!

Sweet Abby.

I love those baby blues.

Sharing snacks with brother.

Miles.

William loves his truck and his paci.

I can't get enough of that smile!

Mini-Jeff. 

That evening we celebrated my brother Andrew's birthday. We cooked out, sang happy birthday, and opened presents! I decided to go with the theme "Dirty Thirty" seeing that he was turning the big 3-0. I made a banner using individual banner letters that I bought from Party City and twine. Super easy. To keep it "dirty", I made a yummy dirt cake for dessert. The kiddos thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I. We were so excited to celebrate the beginning of the next decade of Andrew's life and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for him.

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday, to you...

Happy Birthday, dear Andrew, Happy Birthday to YOU!

Abby wanted to help Uncle Drew blow out his candles.

THIRTY!

Andrew with his Miles. 

With the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday this year, I'm not sure if we are going to be able to make it to the lake for the festivities. Hopefully we will be able to get a few more lake trips in before the summer is over. For now, we have lots of beach trips in our future. Actually, our very near future. On Friday, we are headed to the Emerald Coast with our friends Katie Beth and Brandon for a little fishing expedition and some R&R. We can't wait!

may is almost away.

It's about time for an update--wouldn't you say? The month of May has been a rather busy month for the Bryants and I hate to say it, but June is going to be even busier! We are really looking forward to all of the festivities coming up, though. There is nothing like a jam-packed summer traveling, spending time with family, and celebrating friends. So far, we have had two weddings to attend this year and have approximately eight more...and counting.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me recap this past weekend. Friday night Ashley and Will drove up (or over?) from New Orleans.  I finally got to get my hands on sweet Madilyn Grace. Can I just say that she is absolutely positively perfect?! The five of us walked to Lovoy's for dinner and spent hours chatting, catching up, and drooling over Madi. Wait, that was just me. It was much needed and blessed me beyond belief. 

On Saturday, myself and others hosted a "Sip and See" shower for Ashley and Madilyn. My friends and I agree that having a shower post baby is the way to go. It was fun to pass around and love on Madi. She is a tiny ball of baby goodness. I did take a few pictures, but they are iPhone quality. My apologies once again. 

 

Right after the shower John and I drove to Jemison to attend our friend Martin's law school graduation party. We had tons of fun celebrating this great accomplishment with friends and his family. And by "celebrating" I mean eating crawfish, potatoes, corn, sausage, chips and dip, barbecue chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, slaw, beans, and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. If you know me, you would think that all that eating would be the highlight of our time at the farm, but it wasn't. I finally caught my second, third, fourth, and fifth fish in my lifetime. Pathetic, I know. But, I was super excited! They were clinging to my rod like wild fire! 

On Sunday, we went to church, followed by lunch at Newk's, visited with the in-laws, and then made a trip out to Hollybrook Lake to spend the afternoon with our newly engaged friends, Hunter and Cat. The weather could not have been more beautiful and the view for the afternoon?! Sigh. I'll let you judge for yourself:

Well, that's all for now! As I said in my previous post, this weekend we'll be Lake Oconee bound. I am thrilled. I cannot wait to see my fam and spend a long, relaxing weekend with them. 

Happy week to you! XOXO.

two to one.

In a couple of months we will be technically kicking off the summer season. But, for those of us living down south, it will officially begin in a few short weeks. Yes, that's right, Memorial Day is just around the corner! This holiday is very dear to my heart. Not only is it a weekend that the entire family spends together at the lake, but it is also my brother Andrew's birthday weekend. This year he will be turning the big 30! This will also be the first weekend that this bod will be seeing the light of day in a swimsuit (Our anniversary doesn't count. We were secluded).

My friend Sarah posted this ecard on Pinterest the other day and I died out laughing because it is so true. That laugh quickly turned to a cry because, once again, it is so true.

Now, I am not one to diet, but I do try to take care of myself through exercise. It's just that I've been slacking since last June lately and I'm not feeling up to par. With this being said, I have been contemplating the big switch from doting a two-piece to a one-piece. The problem is, I am only 27 years old. Oh yeah, I haven't birthed a child yet, either. I'm pretty sure my mom proudly wore a two-piece until she was 40 years old. I seem to have inherited the Semanson genes and not the Kolodziej genes. You win some, you lose some. So the question is...shall I make my first one-piece purchase (since the third grade) this year?

These beauts have helped me with my decision:

YES, yes I will take the plunge. One-pieces can be fun and flirty too! Bring it on, beach and lake. Bring it on.