Counting down

This summer is coming to an end. And for the first time {ever} in my life, I'm really looking forward to Fall. It's always been my favorite season- because of the colors, holidays, and smells... But I LOVE sunshine- which there's usually more of in the summertime!

I'm counting down to a couple things...

In just a few hours I'll be headed to the Brown County Fair with my honey for a fun, end-of-summer tradition here in good ol' Aberdabber. The tradition is the fair- not us going. So maybe that will become a tradition :)

In five days the school year starts back up again. Meaning my job as a lunch lady resumes. Excited to see the kiddos and have more of a routine again for sure!

And lastly, I leave for Sweden in 15 days! AH! My dear friend Julia, who was in my wedding, is having a wedding of her own and I have the honor to be a part of her big day. I can hardly control my excitement :)

What are you counting down to as this summer's doors are closing?

love,
e.

girl just wanna have fu-un.

I'm that person who calls every friend a "bestfriend". I always have, and probably always will. But all of my besties are from different seasons in my life.

I've had three "high school bestie's" since, well, high school. One of whom I actually met in like 6th grade- but we formed out closest bond during our high school years. We have all been close since freshmen year, which puts us on year eleven of our crazy-hilarious-deep-fun friendship! Wow... I guess time flies when you're having fun!

All three of them were, of course, part of my 8-maid wedding party- Love that this is one of a million memories for us :)

     {katelynn}                    {stephanie}                     {blaire}

 Last weekend we took a trip. A girls weekend if you will. And it was a blast! This is the first time ever (!) in eleven years that we've all been on a trip together- just the four of us. Can you believe that?! Yeah, we couldn't either!

 Katelynn's sweet gramma lives in Alexandria, Minnesota on a lake {appropriately} named Little Darling.

We stayed in her cool upstairs "apartment", bought/made food, laughed A LOT, and caught up on life. Katelynn and I live in Aberdeen still, but Blaire is in Sioux Falls, SD and Stephanie is in Madison, WI... So there was a lot to catch up on!

My favorite part about these women is how different we all are. We all come from walks of life unlike the other, yet our friendship has outlasted any differences we may face.

I will forever cherish the memories made in Alex, lades, and every other one too :) Thanks for being great friends!

love,
e.

{an evening in august}

Saturday, August 4th was a sunny, cool, windy day. And it was just fine for a wedding. The day started early. Like 7am early. But everyone worked together to get everything set up!

The wedding took place at the homestead. Lots of open space and pretty views. I'm sure the photographers LOVED the area :) And I know I can't wait to see the pictures.

Samantha and Scott wanted their wedding to be a celebration shared with family and loved ones, and that's exactly what it was. I was honored to stand up for Samantha and be a part of the whole experience.

There was fun yard games and lots of yummy food. S&S are vegetarian/vegan so they chose foods that were equally delicious as they were fitting to their diets. There was American, Italian, Mediterranean, and Indian food enjoyed by all. It was such a great idea to have so many choices!

The evening was beautiful as the sun set. Lots of fun and laughing took place on the dance floor, along with the expected "ooo's and aw's" of the Father-Daughter and First Dances.

One of my favorite parts of the whole night was the cute drink station. S&S' friends and family brew their own beer and make their own wine. So there was plenty to go around. Homemade sangria called my name all night! And it was delish!

The photographers- a darling couple from Michigan- set up a "goof booth" where everyone was encouraged to go be goofy in front of the white screen. Katelynn and I had {probably} too much fun with that... Here's one of our "goofy" ideas:

Yeah. Silly, I know. But what can I say? We love the Olympics.

Anyway, it was a wonderful day. I am so happy for you, S&S, and wish you all the happiness in the world!

Isn't she gorgeous?! Yeah... not jealous at all...

love,
e.

America the Beautiful: worth celebrating

I wouldn't call myself patriotic. I'm never really up on anything political- and until recently never really cared. This 4th of July, however, it really hit me how much I take our freedoms for granted. I've decided that I don't want to be that way anymore. Taking my freedoms for granted, I mean. There are people all over our world literally dying every single day fighting for freedoms I've never been without. Thank you, Lord for the realization and help me to be thankful of them every day.

O beautiful for spacious skies.

 For amber waves of grain.

For purple mountains majesties.

 

Above the fruited plains!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee.

And crown thy good with brotherhood.

From sea to shining sea.

hope you had a great fourth and enjoyed a peek at mine :)