sweet home nebraska

The next stop on our road trip—Lincoln, Nebraska—was my home from freshman through senior years of high school. I hadn’t been out there in over four years and I was really excited to see my old stomping grounds and celebrate a family wedding!


My cousin Katie, one of my very best friends, invited us over to her apartment’s pool. Her little boys, Donovan and Liam, are five and four years-old, and they are the perfect playmates for Nolan! Steve tried to coax Nolan into the chilly pool, but Nolan wanted nothing of it :)


He did, however, enjoy squirting water with this water gun on the sidelines of the pool.


Later that night, we met up with the rest of the family for some brownies & ice cream, sandbox-playing, and good Saturday-night fun.



Nolan really enjoyed playing with cousin Sarah! Sarah borrowed my camera for a while, so some of these amazing shots are thanks to her :)


My aunts and uncles are such wonderful people and role models for us! Steve and I left this party saying to ourselves, “Why don’t we do this every Saturday night?”

road tripping

Two Thursdays ago we did a very brave thing by putting our two little guys in the car and embarking on a 1,000 mile road trip. Our first stop was Valparaiso, Indiana—home to my grandpa (my mom’s dad) and my mom’s two sisters.




My aunt Sally made a retirement cake for Don with four bright colored layers. She joked that she wanted to feature it on the blog :)


It was SO special for Ephraim to meet his great-grandpa Dan, and great-grandpa’s wife Gayle!! My grandpa had three daughters, five granddaughters, and only one grandson. But in this new generation, he has four great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter! They are all under four years old :)
 

Four generations!


The rest of the crew (minus Don and Steve).

My cousins weren’t able to meet up with us in Valparaiso. But skipping ahead to a few days later, we caught up with my cousin Lindsay at Culver’s in Ottawa, Illinois. Lindsay and her husband Chris had baby Tristan only five days before we had Ephraim!  It was incredibly fun to finally see the two babies together!

All of these people mean so much to me!

Tomorrow I’ll have to share my dad’s side of the family on our trip!

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all about hair

 

Today I’m talking HAIR!! I am, by no means, a hair expert,but I’m learning more and more as time goes on. I’ve spent a lot of time recently (in the middle of the night with the baby) watching videos by Kate from The Small Things Blog. One of the biggest things I’ve learned from her is that quality matters when it comes to hair supplies—they are not all created equal :) She also teaches that products are necessary when trying to attempt any and all styling.

My favorite way to wear my hair is curled. I WISH I had the time to curl it every day. It took me twenty-six years to figure out how to get waves in my hair! I’m at least happy to wear it like this for special occasions. :) My hair is straight, fine, and does not hold curl for long, so I’m always interested in tips to help this style last longer.




 

I use a Remington 1 1/2” Clip-Free Curling Iron. I really like using the big barrel, and it’s easier for me without the clip.
 

 

Most of the time my hair is straight and simply parted to the side. 

 

I have a really old Remington hair dryer, but it does the job. I blow-dry my hair upside down and focus on the roots to give it more volume. I don’t often have the patience to use a straightener, but this is the Conair one I picked up a few years ago.   

 

My hair was highlighted a year-and-a-half ago, before I got pregnant with Ephraim. Most of it has grown out, and I miss it!

 

I don’t spend much money on my shampoo and conditioner. I like Garnier Fructis—it smells really good! I usually end up buying a big bottle of Suave conditioner after the Fructis runs out. Since my hair is so long and gets tangly, I go through conditioner much faster than shampoo.


 

My hair is falling out like CRAZY from post-partum hormones. I’m getting a little nervous that I’m balding, haha. The hair that I have left is pulled on by the baby, and every day I think about cutting it off, but I’m not sure I would be happy with that choice. :)

 

These are the products I use on a weekly basis. I like the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum in the summer to battle humidity. I find the Suave hairspray and dry shampoo work well. And the “Not Your Mother’s” Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray smells amazing and adds nice texture!


 

Sometimes I just like to pull a little bit of hair back and secure it with bobby pins.


 

These Diane bobby pins are professional grade, metal, and hold hair much better than drugstore plastic ones.

 

I’ve started wearing my hair up a lot more—mostly in a ponytail, or sometimes in a braid or a top-knot. In the summer, it feels so good to get it off my neck!

 
 

With long hair, I really recommend these Goody Stay-Put Elastics. My ponytails used to fall with the weight of my hair, but these bands really do have the secure fit to keep my hair in place.

What products and supplies do you use and recommend?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!!

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Linking up with Kelly’s Korner.