It’s been a whirlwind week between flying back from Utah, a full family weekend, and prepping to leave for our trip to Hawaii. We’ve certainly crammed a lot into our one week at home! I’d like to share some tidbits from my life last week as well as an accompanying photo recap with selections from my Instagram and Snapchat (@prettyneatlivng) feeds with you.
Monday was our last full day in Utah. Even though I was busy getting ready to go, packing up and finishing up some work prep for the week, I made the most of my moments soaking in the beautiful scenery. My dog, Winnie, and I savored our last morning walk in town with crystal clear sunny skies. It will probably be almost a full year before we return to the Utah house due to Baby Girl’s arrival in January. I’ll miss our seasonal visits in the interim, but I am more than a little excited about what’s to come while we’re home. I can’t wait to share the beauty of Utah with our little girl next summer!
We flew home on Tuesday morning. I’m often asked how Winnie copes with flying. She is such a well seasoned traveler, having flown on a regular basis to and from Utah since she was just four months old. She absolutely loves her travel bag, which helps a lot. I’m so happy I can bring her with us!
As much as I love and already miss the Utah mountains, our home in Illinois is not without beauty as well. We’ve been blessed with summery weather and gorgeous sunsets since we’ve been back. It’s nice to walk around our familiar neighborhood again after so long away. Utah is like home to me, but there’s truly no place like home home. I love our house so much. Being back in it is comforting to my soul.
In other news, that pregnant life keeps humming along. I’m grateful I’ve been able to buzz around at my usual clip, especially in this very busy time between travels. So far, I’ve had a pretty smooth ride. Most of the time I don’t really feel pregnant, except when I look down at my growing bump (or when Baby Girl kicks 🙂 ). Winnie is starting to run out of room on my lap! The only real major differences so far is that I drink an incredible amount of water and eat an extra snack every day. I know the tides are bound to change once I get into my third trimester, but now at the halfway point I’m enjoying keeping up with a full and active life.
Speaking of a full life, our weekend was jam-packed with festivities. On Friday, we drove downtown to hang out with our best friends. We don’t get to see each other as often anymore since we live further apart now and all have busy schedules. It’s wonderful to be able to retain these friendships we’ve had since high school and college and see each other through the different stages of life.
On Saturday, Don and I hosted our end of the summer BBQ in honor of our upcoming 10th wedding anniversary (September 10). There’s nothing more special than celebrating with family! Luckily, much of the clan could attend and we had a fabulous time together laughing and eating good food. Don made his amazing smoked brisket. My family chipped in and brought sides. I was craving funfetti-type cake, so I made cupcakes. They were a big hit! Pregnancy cravings for the win!
My brother’s family drove up from St. Louis for the weekend as well. It was great to have them at our party and also see them on Sunday. We went to my parents house for dinner. My nieces have just started the new school year with the oldest, Emma, in 6th grade, and Jaidyn in 4th grade. I can’t believe how grown up they are! Where does the time go? Emma is really into dance and Jaidyn has just started karate, which she is thoroughly enjoying. My Mom made a delicious grilled chicken and my brother whipped up some sides. We certainly know how to eat well in this family!
I vlogged on Saturday if you’d like to see more about our party prep and celebration:
It’s been a bit hectic trying to get my house in order and all of my work prep done so we can leave for Hawaii (today!) with everything set, but I wouldn’t trade my family time for anything. I won’t be posting next week since I’ll be on vacation (although I do have posts scheduled for the remainder of this week so stay tuned), but I’ll certainly catch you up with a trip recap when we return home the following week. In the meantime, I hope you are all well and enjoying these last few weeks of summer.
Take good care ❤
* This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are genuinely my own. *
