I'm still playing catch up from not posting very much during our awesome summer!  So I'll try and capture a little of the fun below...

Family outing to University Mall to hear The Embers....

I hurt my shoulder and have not been able to ski or do PopUp, so I tried running some.  I hate running, but I needed some exercise.  We run to the mall, and normally take an hour break.  This day, I let Emma go in It's Sugar...she begs to go in every time and I finally let her.  She had a blast picking out 3 of every candy she wanted (One for her, one for mommy, and one for daddy)

Emma continues to lover her "baby."  Here she is giving Baby a shoulder ride:)

We had lunch with dad in Raleigh one day.  Emma was not shy at all and had a blast playing in the pharmacy.

Then we headed to see baby Evie...

And topped off a busy day with a trip to Crabtree.  Emma spotted the "rides" a mile away and insisted we blow all our quarters riding them.  She was quite the road rage driver in these pics...and I have no idea where she gets that from...

I've tried to stay true to my goal of less clutter, more organization this summer.  I finally cleaned out my guest room and made it look more like....a guest room.  I don't have a big house, and it's not decorated to the nines.  I wish it was, but it's not:)  It does feel good to have each space more dedicated to a purpose (and not the "catch-all" purpose!).  I wish I had a super nice guest suite for people...and maybe one day I will! (sorry, guests!)

We also did tie-dye....because no childhood summer is complete without it!  It was super easy, and super cheap.  I ended up making more than the ONE white dress I had bought for it for Emma.  After I saw how much dye liquid there was, and how I needed to use it within 45 minutes, I started grabbing every white piece of clothing we owned.  So, I ended up with a t-shirt and tank, and Emma has a long sleeved top and dress.  I think they turned out pretty cool...and I feel a matching tie-dye Insta photo coming soon....

This bookcase was in our hall (and once sat in my childhood room!).  It is a great catch-all when we walk in the house, but it needed paint and some decor.  It's not the exact right size for the space..but it's free and it will do!  I painted it the same color as the walls, so it matches wonderfully.  It really makes the space look a million times better.

One night, Emma and I went to Menchie's and there were some teenage boys there being loud.  Without prompt, she kept making annoyed faces and holding her hands over her ears.  I couldn't help but laugh since one day, she will be one of those loud and annoying teenagers, and she will LOVE boys, I'm sure:)

My friend, Sharon, came to stay with us with her college age son who was moving houses this past weekend.  I loved having the company - she is just so much fun to be with:)  We went out to eat one night on Franklin Street.

Brent is still trucking along on his "castle" (as Emma calls it).  I am hating that it's not finished (no pressure, honey!) but loving that I can finally store things in it!  I can't wait to have my laundry room back:)

We had a birthday party at the Little Gym in Burlington, so I took Emma since Brent had to work that day.  Emma was super shy when we first showed up but quickly opened up.  She loved the bouncy blow up thing (I'm sure it has a technical name...but I have no clue what it was).  This was my first time at such a place, and while the wearing no shoes and walking on sweaty mats and carpet completely creeped me out....it was fun.

I documented Emma's first day back at school this week.  Lucky for us, Brooklyn (our next door neighbor and dear family friends) was walking in at the same time.  These are such precious moments I hope to show them in a few years. I know it made Emma's morning to walk in holding hands, and it sure made mine.

 Brittni and I went out with some other friends for her birthday.  I made us take a picture before we left, because it's about time we had some pictures of us and not just our kids!  I love the Winslow family and am so thankful for them - Happy Birthday, Brittni:)