Friday Five

1. I am SO excited about my weekend plans.  Ally is coming in town and we are doing all kinds of fun St. Louis stuff.  We're going to a Cardinals game, taking the baby to Grant's Farm, seeing Les Mis at the Muny, having dinner at Brasserie, and probably doing some shopping somewhere (because that always seems to happen).  We'll also be doing a lot of celebrating, because someone got accepted to the graduate program at King's College and will be moving to London!  I'm so excited for you, Al (and I also hate you a little bit because I'm so horribly jealous).  I promise to take lots of pictures!  (Although I just realized that I never posted the photos of the trip Mac and I took to Dallas a few months ago...blogger fail.)

2. I have been reading the same book for going on 73 years now.  And it's a good book! One that I'm interested in and want to read, I just don't have time.  I fondly remember those days when I could read 2-3 books in a week.  Can you even imagine?!  Now, any time I have an extra free minute or two, it's usually spent doing dishes or scrambling to put laundry away (who am I kidding...it's spent playing Candy Crush Saga).  On a side note, if you have any idea how to beat Level 140, please email me immediately.  

3. Speaking of reading, are you guys reading the "Motherhood Around the World" series on A Cup of Jo?  I have been reading that blog forever and I love this series.  There's only been one interview so far (an American mother living in Oslo, Norway), but I just found it absolutely fascinating.  It reminded me of another post she wrote on babies sleeping outside in prams in Denmark (HERE) that absolutely shocked me.  I find this all so intriguing.

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4. I haven't blogged about the beach vacation we took last month (because I haven't had time to get through all the photos yet (stupid Candy Crush Saga!)), but I did want to share a couple of pictures of Mac and baby Emma.  Emma is the daughter of one of my best/oldest friends in the world, who just happened to be vacationing (and getting married) on the very same beach, on the very same small island where we were vacationing, the very same weekend we were there.  And we had no idea!  How crazy is that?  Jamie and I have known each other since birth.  I probably haven't seen him in years, but our families are very close and we've kept in touch with how/what the other is doing.  Jamie and I are one month apart growing up.  Mac and Emma are one month apart.  We were even invited to the wedding, but my mom failed to send me the invitation/information.  I found all this out because of a Facebook post, which happened to have a photo of the menu of a restaurant we ate at the very night before.  Isn't that wild?  What a small world. 

So they stopped by, of course.  I got to meet his wife and daughter.  He got to meet Ryan and Mac.  Do you believe that some people are put in your life for a reason?  Maybe meant to pop up occasionally, perhaps to keep your rooted to your past or remind you of where you came from.  I don't know, but I hope we see a lot more of this family in the future.  

5. I've received such great feedback on my photography tutorial earlier this week!  Thank you all!  I'm so glad to hear that my tips are helping you guys take better photos of your kiddos.  So, to keep up with that idea, I was thinking of doing a little photo contest for you guys next week so you could put your new camera skillz to good use?  Would anyone be interested in that?  I will choose a prompt (or theme), announce it mid-week, give you next weekend to take some photos of your littles (or whatever else floats your boat) and then you would submit your photo the following week.  Winner gets something fabulous.  What do you think?  Any interest?  If so, use this weekend to get out your fancy camera and play around!  Let me know...

By the way, are you following me on Instagram or Facebook?  If not, what are you waiting for?!  I'd be honored and am happy to follow you back!  I'm always looking for new ways to connect with you guys!

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