Summer 2017

Our summer goals list for this year and we have a start on some of it. Harry Potter came in at the library, so we have been reading a chapter a night before bed. {I'm hooked!}

We scouted a beach area at Saylorville near our house to have a picnic at. 

Ane, we are getting the kids interested in golf!

Cheers!

Bower House Book Club // June 2017

I'm back with some recent book reviews!

Soooooo Good. I blogged about this series before and I read the last book of the triology in about 2 days. It was just as great as the previous 2, and I can't wait for the movie to come out next year! 5/5 stars

I liked this book. It is told by 4 different points of view, and a really interesting look at how adult friendships. I'd say 4/5 stars. 

This was ok. It kept my attention, and was an easy entertaining read. 3/5 stars

I read this again for the 6th or 7th time, so safe to say, I still love it! 6/5 stars!!

This one was just ok too. I struggled to get through it a bit, but it did hold my attention. 3/5 stars.

This is another by one of my favorite authors. I had a hard time relating to the characters, and they frustrated me, but it was a really good story. 4/5 stars

Instagram Inspo!

Here is a round up of the inspiration I've found on Instagram lately. Enjoy!

Driving tour of Iowa

We had a conference over the weekend in Coralville IA, for Tony's work. We also had planned on the kids going to see my parents while we were gone. After assessing the state of the womb with my sister-in-law who is due to give birth to her 4th {!} child any day now, my parents decided to stay closer to home. This meant that instead of meeting them at a campground on Saturday morning, we were driving to Clear Lake to exchange children Friday night....this also meant a lot of driving over the weekend.

So we decided to stay the night in Clear Lake and head toward Coralville/Iowa City from there. This meant we would save about 60-90 minutes in drive time. It also meant we needed to find a fun place to stay.

And find it we did! The South Shore Inn // The Landing was a hotel right on the lake with a bar and grill as well. We were able to get a room last minute and enjoyed this view from our patio. 

We had a great time watching the boats come and go, listening to the live music, and having a few drinks. 

The room was fine, nothing special. It was clean and the bed was comfortable. It was a very pleasant stay and I would stay here again in a heartbeat. 

After breakfast the next day, we headed out on the road toward Coralville. 

We had a hotel in the Iowa River Landing area, and it has some cute shops and restaurants. We had a quick bite and drink at Vesta {http://www.vestaiowa.com/} before getting ready for the conference, and ended our night on a rooftop patio of 30 Hop {http://30hop.com/}! Both were great. 

I had water, coffee, wine and a cocktail to get me through the dinner and program portion of the evening. 

Meanwhile, I got these photos sent to me from my mom.

The kids had a great time, and we were so very excited to see them on Sunday. 

Overall I think we spent 8-9 hours driving this weekend, but a good time was had by all!

May in Review // 2017

The month of May was busy for us. Here is a quick recap in photos. 

We put in a garden! We bought an inexpensive raised kit to put on the side of our playhouse, and we now have tomato's, green beans, cucumbers, spinach, peppers, and jalapenos. 

I had a beautiful Mother's Day Tea with Avery at her school. 

Gavin discovered his passion in creating cups of coffee for me and Tony. 

We supported our local Fire Department with a pancake breakfast. 

Avery and I got pedicures for Mother's Day. I think Avery was more excited about it than I was, but I loved spending time with her. 

We had our 9 year anniversary...

and went to see HAMILTON in Chicago!!!!! {there are not enough exclamation points for me to describe that show. Insane!}

While we were there, we toured the 2 Brothers Brewery and tasted some beverages. 

We also played Top Golf! One of us is way better than the other. However I did manage to score a 22 on one shot, mainly because I somehow bounced the golf ball off that machine and it went straight down and into the "bullseye" of the small target below us. Totally planned it that way ;)

The US Open trophy was on display, so we got to see it up close and personal. 

We spend a lot of time in Gavin's favorite aisle of the grocery store. 

Avery watched a youtube video on sock buns, so is now naturally obsessed. She looks so cute with it too. 

Last Day of School ice cream treat for this one! I can't believe her first year went by so fast. Onward and Upward.