We are back from the most delightful and relaxing weekend I have experienced in a long time.  Eric and I spent some much needed alone time in this beautiful, historic resort where we slept late, ate peaceful meals in delightful restaurants, and talked in quiet, uninterrupted tones!  We toured the grounds, played golf, went to the spa, and even tried our luck at a slot machine for the very first time ever...penny slots...and we lost.  Ha!  Clearly, we are not gamblers! Don't worry.  You'll read all about this little lover's getaway soon enough.  Until then, it's back to reality for us.  That means alarm clocks that go off before 5 am, mounds of laundry, two jobs, and a house to run.  Ah well, we're blessed that our reality is so amazing. Stick around...picture overload AND a major update on the entire month of July to come....aka about 15 posts!!   You know, as soon as work gets somewhat normal again.  I'm aiming for Christmas....haha!

Are ya'll ready for another blah, blah, blah post about how much I miss blogging.  The truth is, I'm behind...A LOT!!  You're going to hear all about it, but it's random...so hang on! 1. Work has been insanely stressful for the past month...like to the point I want to cry.  That's saying a lot considering I love my job.  I still do.  It's just that there have been several changes and added responsibilities.  It's all started to add up...and fast!  I just need to get a better grip on things, find my new stride, and roll with the punches. 2. I haven't been to the gym in two weeks...haven't had the time.  Between work and this little thing called Motherhood, I've had other priorities.  Sadly, this has resulted in a 20 lb weight gain...oops! 3.  Did I mention that I'm stressed out? 4. It's been too hot to play outside which means that we haven't been swimming much as of late.  I hate that. I love swimming, and I love a good tan!

After the Cardinal Caravan, we came home to get ready for Nan and Grandad who were coming in for a little visit.  Eli loved staying home from daycare to play with them, and I enjoyed all the extra help.   On Thursday it stormed pretty bad, so we stayed home to relax.  Eric and I met up with everyone for lunch on Friday, and then it was off to see the Hot Rods in action.  Sadly, Nan & Grandad had to leave on Saturday morning, so we pretty much spent the day resting at home.  Sunday after church we ate lunch with the Adkins, which resulted in this pout face boy when he didn't get to keep Owen's toys...ha!  Afterwards we ran a few errand and celebrated Griffin's first birthday before going to our church's ice cream social. Needless to say, with all the fun we are ready to hit the hay.....hope you had a great week(end)!!

 Do you remember earlier this week when I told you about Peyton Siva giving Eli a Cardinal sticker? Well, my sweet boy was so excited that he refused to take it off his face for THREE days.  I kid you not.  Well, yesterday he started complaining about his face hurting so we decided it was time to remove it. When we took it off he was branded.  I'm not even lying, he sported a big, fat cardinal on his cheek for about  week...CLASSIC! That's parenting at it's finest right here!

Tonight was a big one for my boys as they had the chance to meet a few Louisville Cardinals at the National Corvette Museum.  It was part of the traveling Cardinal Caravan.  Just look how excited this little guy was! His Daddy shared the same enthusiasm taking this picture of the trophies.  And the two of them got to meet Shane Bohannon and Peyton Siva.   It was precious because Peyton Siva gave Eli the Cardinal sticker he is wearing in the above picture. As you can imagine Dad and son were equally excited, so Eric took the sticker to put in a safe place. Don't worry though, we replaced it with a Cardinal sticker we got before leaving and Eli has no clue it isn't the same one.

It's been well over a week since I have last blogged, and boy have I missed it.  The truth is, I've been living in this weird space where I am both insanely busy and hopelessly bored...make no sense! Anyway, here's a little glimpse into our weekend.  It was one of much needed rest and rejuvenation.  Stick around, I promise to post more this week!

I guess it's safe to say that our family fun night turned into family fun weekend.  It's been pretty low key around here, so after church today I thought we should get active.  Throwing water balloons has been on my summer bucket list, so it made sense to do that.  We also chased each other around with water guns, swam in the pool, and enjoyed a few dozen popsicles.  I guess you could say it was a Wet 'N Wild day in the Watson home!!

It's been kinda crazy around these parts for the past few days, so we are excited to spend a fun/quiet weekend at home.   It rained all day yesterday, so we cooked chili for supper.  Lucky for us, it cleared up shortly after which meant we were able to spend some much needed time outdoors! Eli was a mess playing in the building and "working" on the lockers that will be in his room. He also played on the mower.  Don't worry...we leave the blade up, take the keys out, and stand about a foot away to ensure safety for our little Dennis The Menace! After a little pretend lawn work, my sweet boy helped pick some fresh vegetables from the garden.  As you can see from the picture, he got a little dirty which is why a nice, long bath was on the agenda next. In the winter we take our time with the bathing process, but in the summer we're always outside until the last possible minute.  It was nice to have time to play cars and slash around for a chan

Ok, so I'm clearly not Sports Illustrated material but that didn't stop Eli and I from posing for the cover of Bowling Green Parent Magazine .   I was already a HUGE fan of this local publication because it is full of resources and events that I use as a mom.  Plus, it has lots of great ideas for the show.  You can imagine that I was so excited when we were asked to be featured in the summer issue!!   Back in April, the editor sent me pictures of where we would be doing the shoot.  She suggested I select colors that would work with this carousel, and then she put me in touch with the photographer. I  lucked out already having these outfits that I was saving for my brother's graduation! We set the shoot for an evening in early April, and to be honest I was a little nervous.  For the lighting to work, we had to schedule and evening shoot...and Eli isn't his most charming at that point in the day.   It was such a blessing working with the photographer

After such an exciting week with the Fireworks and all, we had another reason to celebrate as a family...Nan's Birthday! So we headed to Marion after work on Friday. Grandad had gotten BBQ with sides and a fruit tray and of course some cake!  Of course Eli is all into singing "Happy Birthday," so he was super excited about the festivities. Please ignore the creepy picture of Eric in the background.  He so, making awkward family photos! We had a great weekend full of swimming, shopping, eating, and celebrating Nan!! I fell off the "picture taking" bandwagon....but I promise...it was a blast!!

We like summer birthday's around our house, and today we celebrate an extra-special lady.... Happy Birthday, Nan!!!

This is an "oldie, but a goodie." Happy Birthday to one silly sister and awesome aunt.  We love you!!

I had to work today, which stinks considering it's a holiday.  The good news is that I had a few hours after the show to spend with my boys before heading back to do this interview with Claire Donahue. In case your're wondering she is a graduate of Western Kentucky University, and she just qualified for the Olympics.  She's headed to Knoxville to train for a few weeks, then it's off to Paris with her team, and of course London for the games! Claire was incredibly humble, and very sweet.  She didn't even mind posing with WKU's famous Red Flag!  I can't wait to cheer her on next month!!

As we do every year, we had a great time celebrating July 4th with the Adkins family.  They came over for a cookout tonight before we headed to the fireworks.  I have to say that I love them being on the 3rd.  It makes so much sense that people would rather stay out late on a night they don't have to worry about getting ready for work the next day.   After last year's 5 hour wait, we decided that we would hang out at the house until a few minutes before the show started.  That way the boys would be better behaved and we could save money by watching them from across the street...ha! We made it to the parking lot across the street about an hour before the show started.  The boys had a blast playing with bubbles and cars. I also talked Eric into getting me salsa at the Mexican Restaurant, so that was nice too! I was a little nervous about how Eli would do once the fireworks started.  He's not real big on load noises, and last year he kinda panicked