Family Camp | Day 1

This morning, I am writing to you from family camp! On Sunday after church, we packed up what-seemed-like our entire house, threw it all in the car, and headed up to the lake! This is our third annual vacation here with Steve's side of the family, and we have been ready for both fun and relaxation! Our first full day yesterday was a wonderful success--our boys are having the time of their lives and making some great memories with their cousins and new friends. Steve and I both enjoy reminiscing about how we fell in love here in 2007. And we are thrilled about not having to cook or do dishes and laundry for a week :)

Monday started off with a laugh. Nolan woke up at five to go to the bathroom, and afterwards, he wandered into an adjoining cabin, and tried to hop in one of their bunks. After coaxing him back into the room for a little more sleep, we headed to a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, and bacon in the dining hall. We have a daily worship service in the morning, and the pastor is sharing with us how to thrive on Jesus, and not just survive the day-to-day routines.

Family camp typically falls over the Fourth of July, but this year the Fourth was a Saturday, and camp didn't start until Sunday. They decided to make up for it by doing the annual parade later--on the 6th of July. :)  The kids were excited to get their faces painted and throw candy to the crowd of adoring parents and grandparents!

My little guy sitting on the wagon ^^

 
Our sweet niece, K ^^

The cousins happened to match in bright blue yesterday!

After lunch, Ephraim and I headed back to the cabin to get him a nap, and he basically slept the whole afternoon! Steve and I traded off between staying with him in the cabin and playing with Nolan outside. We climbed around the playground, got snacks at the canteen, and dug waterways in the sand at the beach :) 

As the warm day started to cool off, we recharged with a filling dinner of meat and potatoes, and then the kids played in the sandbox outside our cabin.

Cousins that look alike with their blonde hair and blue eyes ^^

We haven't seen our baby niece M since Christmas, and now she's a happy and smiley eight-month-old!

 I was reading my "Jesus Calling" devotional, and thought this was super appropriate for this week. My first goal for these days away from home is to push aside the distractions and really focus on spending time with God. This truly is holy ground here at camp! :)

Be back tomorrow with the photos I take today!

XO.

Friday Favorites

 

F R I D A Y   F A V O R I T E S

Is it really Friday already? This week has been a lot of fun, and somehow it flew by! I'm sad to see June go, but we still have plenty of summer left, and we have our vacations to look forward to :) 

We had our first s'mores of the season, and they were delicious and so nostalgic! We are hoping to get ourselves invited to many more campfires this summer so that we can indulge in our favorite summer dessert :)

Yesterday, I shared the Fourth of July touches around our house. Decorating for holidays is something I really enjoy, and I'm loving the simple red, white, and blue flair we have on our mantel this week!

On Wednesday, I talked about my favorite new shorts--this soft and comfortable pair from Target. The mint pattern is adorable, the elastic waist screams comfort, and there are even pockets!

We have had days and days of rain, and though some of the garden isn't doing so well (i.e. tomatoes), other veggies are growing like crazy! This is my first time growing corn, and I am proud to say it's definitely "Knee-high by the Fourth of July" like they say in my former home-state of Nebraska. :)

The pumpkin vines are out-of-control, and I found this tiny little pumpkin to show you. (It's the little bulb under the closed flower.) I am so excited to watch them grow again this year.

The first zucchini will be ready to pick this weekend!

 

And the green beans are visible now as well! 

I'm clustering the rest of the favorites together. We've had a lot of good times this week with friends and family. Tuesday night, I went to my friend Nicole's baby "sprinkle", and she was a no-show because she was at the hospital having the baby two weeks early! She had her fourth baby, a little girl, early the next morning. And the rest of us had fun eating out and chatting sans kids :)

My boys love playdates with friends! It's so fun for them to hang out with other kids and check out their friends' toys :)

Last night, we ate pizza burgers and strawberries with my mom and Don on their patio. My mom brought out the bubbles, and have you ever seen such excited faces waiting for them?? ;)

 

Happy Fourth of July this weekend! Hope you enjoy time with your family tomorrow--grilling out, watching a parade, and oohing and ahhing over the fireworks :)

Follow along with our adventures on Instagram @floralandfudge!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

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Every Girl Link-Up || 4th of July Decor

 

Welcome to another installment of the "Every Girl Link-Up!" Today, I'm really excited to share with you a few ways that we decorated our home for the 4th of July! I haven't done much with red, white, and blue touches in the past, but this year seems like the perfect time to start the tradition because of Nolan. He is a little sponge and soaks up every little special thing we do. I have a feeling he will talk about July 4th for weeks to come. It's always fun to spruce up our mantel for different seasons and holidays, so why not America's big summer birthday? :)

 

It's not a holiday in our house without some colorful bunting over the fireplace. I was at JoAnn's looking for patriotic fabric when my eyes fixated on this stars-and-stripes burlap. It was beautiful and rustic, and I knew it was meant to come home with me. All I did was cut out the bunting shape, fold the top over some jute twine, and attach it with a few staples. If you look closely at this photo, you can see the red crayon that was recently introduced to the bricks by a certain three-year-old. ;) (By the way, we're thinking of painting our fireplace white--thoughts or advice?)

Steve and I have been indulging in Dove dark chocolates lately, and the shiny red wrappers were right in line with our color scheme. I picked up some flags from Lowe's for a little over a dollar each. The white milk glass sits on our mantel year-round, and it goes with everything!

I found two gorgeous vintage blue Masons to add to my collection. They were waiting for me at a flea market, and are dated July 14, 1908. They work perfectly as candy jars (or vases)!

The two "Shining Sea" prints in the frames are from PagingSupermom.com. The blue backgrounds look pretty on our newly-painted gray walls. I like having the tune of "America the Beautiful" pop into my head when I see them.

A fresh bouquet of white baby's breath really made everything come together for the look that I wanted.

For the dining room, I found a classic white and blue striped tablecloth at TJ Maxx. The blue crate with white stars was an impulse buy from Walmart, and I love it!

My mom generously brought over some sugar cookies that she baked and iced. They're almost too pretty to eat!

Join Astleigh and me in sharing your 4th of July decor! Grab our button and link up below. I always get inspired with new ideas from these link-ups, and I can't wait to get a peek into your homes!

In two weeks, we are sharing our favorite mocktail or cocktail recipes, so mark it on your calendars :)

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An InLinkz Link-up

What I Wore

 

 Hello to the first day of July! There was a very short break in the rain yesterday afternoon, so we snapped a few photos of my current favorite summer outfit. We've had an absurd amount of rain in the past few weeks, so I'm hoping July will make up for it and give us plenty of sunshine and warmth in Pennsylvania! My boys are itching to be outside, and I can't wait to check off more on our summer to-do list!

I call these my "fancy shorts" because they have a pretty, mint-colored pattern on them, and all my other shorts are solid colors. They are incredibly soft and flowy, and they even have pockets. The best part though? The comfortable elastic waistband! They can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on the occasion. With heels, they could be fun for date night or Moms' Night Out. I went the casual route, and I paired them with a simple, white racerback tank, some matching mint jewelry, and my go-to Crocs sandals. :)

Tank | Mossimo at Target ($8 this week)
Shorts | Mossimo at Target ($13.49 this week)
Sandals | Crocs Sexi Flip in Espresso
Earrings | Target

ALSO! Tomorrow, Astleigh and I are posting about our FOURTH OF JULY DECOR for the Every Girl Link-Up! If you have some red, white and blue around your house this week, snap a few photos and join us in the morning!

Linking up with Lindsey.

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