Happy birthday... to me!

Yesterday was my birthday. 44. Wow, that sounds old. But I don't FEEL old, well, at least not most of the time. ;) It was a very full, fun day of celebrating.

I was thrilled when I was up around 3 (Levi, ugh, that part wasn't so thrilling...) and saw the moon shining so brightly and the stars just twinkling everywhere I looked. We've had so many foggy and rainy nights this month, and I guess I've taken for granted seeing those beautiful night skies. The sun was shining for a little while in the morning, but then the winds picked up and it got dark and cloudy. Oh well. It didn't rain buckets so I was a happy girl.

I made plans with this college student weeks ago to meet up for coffee. I was so happy to see him! I know he misses me (I hope he misses me!) but I KNOW he misses Levi. It always seems so much harder to be away from the littler ones, don't you think?

Funny boys :)

He wouldn't smile and show his teeth. We paid an arm and a leg for those teeth and I want to see them! ha ha So handsome!! (Maybe it's weird to not share where he attends school, but it feels like the right thing to do, for me, so that's why I cover things up.)

Then I met my parents for lunch, and I've got to admit, I was nervous about Levi in the restaurant. He was a monster in RI last week. But he did a great job! He basically ate popcorn and drank his milk, and wouldn't touch anything else. Well, except the giant brownie sundae at the end. He had no problem choking that down. ha ha ha

These pretty roses were waiting for me when we got home!

I picked up Caleb from school around 5:15, when his driver's ed class gets out, and the sun popped out again. It was stunning! I made him drive me up to our favorite hill and he gladly obliged.

Just a little bright!! ;)

Yup. This is me at forty-four. I've been doing a little soul searching/digging, and making some changes. I feel good!

Back home for take out and ice cream cake, one of my favorites!

It was a great day and I have so much I'm thankful for. I'll be back with Halloween details...they looked so, so cute!!!

Friday Favorites... Getting Ready for Halloween!

Busy busy week over here, certainly with its ups and downs, but here are some of the favorites! I'm joining in with Friday Favorites today for the first time in a loong time... I used to get more blogging done and I love this little online community but lately I feel so out of the game, so to speak, and I really miss it. If you're reading, hello! I'm really glad you're here! :)

Finally getting outside!!

This October is the coldest, wettest October on record, and it kinda stinks. We haven't been able to get outside as much as we're used to, and knowing that winter is on its way sooner rather than later...well, normally we live outside during the month of October. Hooray for spontaneous breaks and playing in the backyard!

I feel like I haven't shown my face around here in a long while, so, hey! :)

Story Time Thursdays! 

I adore our little library and all the friends we've made each week.

Watching my kiddos do things that inspire them! 

Jonah has been volunteering at a nursing home for a school community service project, and he thrives there. I got to see him in action on this day when I went in to sing along with his playing. The sweet elderly ladies are IN LOVE with him, and it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Fall colors!

Despite the rain and grey skies, the colors this year are out of this world gorgeous! I did snap some pics on the few sunny days we've had.

School drop offs - it was pouring when we left the house, and by the time we got to this hill, the sun had begun to rise up our of the dark grey sky...it was AMAZING! It's blurry, but I was driving, so...oops!

 

Road trips!!

We headed over to Rhode Island to tour colleges on Wednesday. It was a LONG day with Levi, who slept zero seconds in the car, ugh, and I certainly paid for that all day yesterday, BUT it was a really nice day spent together with our Jonah.

College looks pretty good on him, right? I can't believe we are here. AGAIN. Make it stoppppppp!

Exceptionally weird weather day in RI too, but we saw this on the way home!

 Making memories with family!

My Mom knits all our Christmas stockings around here, and yesterday was the big trip to pick out his very own yarn for his stocking. My Mom, Mimi, was telling him he needed to choose one, ha ha. (I have a few that I use as loaners until they're old enough to choose their own colors, ha!)

Sports Life!!

This girl had a fabulous field hockey season, and she really loves the game! It was fun to watch! They had their big tournament day over the past weekend- they lost in over time, and for some reason, she seemed to take that loss much harder. There were other losses throughout the season, so.... ha ha

Halloween costumes!!!

Here's a quick look back at last year's theme! So much fun! I'm excited about this year and I'm almost done sewing, just in time for our town's Halloween Party tonight, ha! You'll have to check back to see! It's not an all out family theme again, but Isabelle reaaalllllly wanted to match Levi again, and since he has no opinion in the matter, sure! :)

You can find me on IG @bethanylivs_life too :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! xx

Take a Hike :)

Okay, so maybe just a walk. But it's in the woods, so... we'll just call it a trail hike and leave it at that. We brought Levi to this trail for the first time last weekend and he did such a great job! I was thrilled and a little sad, too. My baby is not a baby anymore. And the weather this weekend was crazy! This whole month has just been "off," and it's kind of horrible because this is my favorite month and time of year, and we just haven't been able to be outside to enjoy it very much between the storms and the frigid, gloomy days. So when it's not pouring, we go!!

He maneuvered those rocks with pure finesse :)
Except for maybe once or twice. And then the whole world knew he wasn't happy.

Notice the addition of layers here, ha! Cold and windy, but it did feel really good to be outside in the woods.

Oops, his little face is blurry, but of course they had to find sticks to throw

The stairs leading up here made me puke in my mouth a little. Not a fan. But the view was so neat!

And wouldn't you know, the sun finally popped out about five minutes before dinner. Ugh. Again, at least it wasn't raining.

This is a busy busy week for us... our first official college tours begin with Jonah, midweek of all thing, ha! It just seemed like a better fit than to try to make it happen over the weekend. I'm so excited just thinking about it, even though it isn't that far away. Far enough. :)

Now that I've caught my breath from all the Trick or Treating orders for the shop, I'm starting in on Christmas. I can hardly believe it! I don't even have a sneak peek for you yet, but I;ll try to do that later this week. Hoping we all have a great start to a brand new week!

Fall Fun!

How on earth are we midway through October??!! We haven't had many nice-weather days like we're used to for this time of year, but yesterday was just gorgeous. After church, we headed over to a local apple orchard/farm stand and feasted on cider donuts, which was okay because we climbed up and down stairs to a lookout deck, ha ha. After Levi's nap, we went over to my parent's house to celebrate my Mom's birthday- it's a big one, so I'm taking her off for a little spa afternoon tomorrow for her real day. I'm looking forward to that, and since my birthday is exactly two weeks from her's, I suppose it's like a little early birthday treat for me, too. :) And then last night, Isabelle had basketball tryouts- I could tell she was super nervous, but she's a strong player so I knew she'd do fine. She reported that she made most of her shots and handled the ball "pretty good." Ha ha

Why did my babies go and grow up on me? Whyyyyy? I'm still not used to having just 4/5 around lately. But these four are a good looking bunch, right?

NH may be a small state, but we have so much! Mountains, beaches, crystal clear lakes, seasons, foliage- I have only NOT been here for fall one time in my whole life...my junior year in college when I lived in Spain. I missed the fall colors so much that year!

I had some major zinnia envy. Those blooms were HUGE! I'm definitely planting some of the bigger ones next year.

Levi was revved up for a turn on the big swing, but nope. He lifted one little leg before reconsidering and then ran in the opposite direction, literally saying "Nope, nope, nope." ha ha ha ha ha

That grey hooded sweater slays me. He will be wearing it until he's in high school.

Okay, Monday, let's do this!! I am currently finishing up my VERY LAST Wendy Darling dress and I think that deserves some major celebrating... we'll be heading to the grocery store later, does that count?? ;)

Catching Up! Our Back to School Tradition and 21st Anniversary!!!

I've been trying to get this post published all month long...and now it's October!!! Several years ago, my husband started taking the first day of school off of work, and we'd spend the day doing fun stuff. It's also kind of an anniversary day date, too, because that's always the first or second week back as well. It seems all our fun day trips this summer had the same thing in common: HEAT! This day was no exception, so we didn't walk through town like we normally do, but it was lots of fun. And no, I don't mind having our little third wheel along at all, because I KNOW how soon he won't be anymore.

We started off on Pierce Island in Portsmouth. Such a beautiful place to explore and visit.

Although, there was a group of women and kids in this area, extended family I think, and they were all smoking like chimneys and so, so loud. They were scattered...and in nearly every shot I tried to take, ha, so this is the best I got that morning.

Picnic by the harbor -
Levi was thrilled with the fact that he could step up and down, up and down, as much as he wanted, ha. It's the little things, I guess. ;)

Cutest little pink-cheeked boy I ever laid eyes on!

We braved the humidity and walked over to Prescott Park. I'm not entirely sure, because of the sweat stinging in my eyes, but I think it was as beautiful as ever. ha ha ha

The water you see in the background is the same as from the park, it's simply around the corner. Normally we walk all along the edge of the harbor and walk out onto the docks, but again, HEAT.

Mr. Rocket Scientist got himself some new anti-glare glasses, and we laugh because these are the first pair that seem to glow purple in natural light. :)

My favorite part!

I don't have one single picture from the second part of our day because I was sandy and my hands were full, ha. We went straight to the beach and got clam strip sandwiches from the boardwalk- they were good! It was super hard dragging the stroller through the soft sand, and the tide was in, so insanely crowded and not much sandy real estate. We finally found a spot and let Levi play in the shade cast by the stroller- he was pretty overwhelmed by the noise and the crowd, so one of us took turns playing with him while the other jumped into the ocean to cool off. Eventually he let me carry him out into the water and we jumped waves for a long time. Then my feet started to get tingly because the air was SO hot and the water SO frigid, so we packed up and headed for home.

Levi watched some Cars until he passed out cold. :)

I've read for years about decorating the door for the first day of school, and this year, I finally got around to it! Thank goodness for Prime! Ryder knows someone's coming!!

She loved it! I don't think the boys cared as much. Or maybe they really did and they just kept their excitement hidden inside. :)

I almost wrote Happy Monday since I tried to get this done yesterday, so... Happy Tuesday! ;)