Ask and you shall receive ...

August has been a tough month for me at work -- early mornings, long hours. Jason has had to do just about everything at home. Thank goodness he didn't have to travel much this summer! Looking back, I can see that the intensity has been building steadily over the last year or so. When I had to miss Molly's first day of school (and then later found out that she cried at drop off), it felt like enough was enough!

In a spur of the moment decision, I emailed my boss to ask for part time/reduced hours and almost just as fast, I found out I got it! Why didn't I speak up sooner??

Starting mid-Sept, I'll be home every Friday. Not working from home and sweating over my computer at the dining room table from 8am to 6pm, but just ... home. I can walk Molly to school at 9 with the other kids. I can go to the grocery store in the middle of the day (the middle of the day ... what?!). Maybe I'll get to work out for an hour or read a magazine. And then I can pick Molly up when the bell rings at 3:30. We can stay and play at the playground, maybe have a friend over for an impromptu playdate (again - what?!), or just walk home and have a couple of hours together to do whatever we want before dinner.

This is how I dream it will be in my head at least :) We'll see soon enough!

My little artist. I didn't get to see this in person -- I was out the door before she was out of bed on the first day -- but at least I have a cute picture from Jason :)

Astute observations from Molly

Tonight at dinner, my little Project Runway buddy asks Jason:

"Dad, did you watch Project Runway with Mom like one or two years before you were married?"

Jason replies, "Yes, I think I watched some with Mom."

And then Molly says (with a smirk), "That's because when you're girlfriend-boyfriend and Mom asks you to watch something, you're like ... uh, okay."

Ha! It probably doesn't look as funny on paper as it was live at dinner, but Jason and I were dying laughing about this little conversation.

Weekends away

School starts in less than 2 weeks -- I can't believe it! But the summer sun is still shining and I'm hoping to make the most of these last few days before 2nd grade.

We got off to a good start in August with 2 weekend trips -- Tennessee to visit my grandparents and then the Wisconsin Dells in all its cheesy glory with the Brandi fam.

The trip to visit my grandparents in Tennessee was really nice. They moved into a new condo, and while I know it doesn't really feel like home yet, I'm glad they're in a nice building surrounded by friends. I just wish they lived a little bit closer! The drive is 9 and a half hours on paper, but with all of our stops, it ended up taking about 11 hours each way. Next time, Jason made me promise we will fly. Though I must say, I enjoyed much of our time in the car, checking out the Kentucky scenery, playing hangman with Molly, and listening to the S-Town podcast with Jason (while Molly was either sleeping or wearing headphones of course).

It felt like we were hardly even home before we packed up the weekend bags again and drove up to the Dells with the Brandis. Shorter drive this time :) We rented a cabin instead of staying in a hotel and I'm glad we did. It meant the kids could run around freely and the adults could all stay up and hang out together after the kids finally went to sleep (no big struggle there after a long day at the water park). 

Here are a few of the happy pics from our weekends outta town:

Post putt putt photo with Gordon + Janelle. Miss Molls even scored herself a hole in one ... perhaps all these golf lessons are starting to make a difference

A paddle boat designed to look like a duck ... perfect for our duck-loving girl

Molly with Lainey and Nick - another pic by an animal statue and another year of water park fun in the Dells

Renovation celebration

And, we're done! Finally. We got the ball rolling back in October when we picked our contractor and started drawing up plans, started demolition in early April and now, at the end of July, we finally have our finished master suite! Please click that October link to see the "before" pictures and marvel at the difference 9 months of dust, sweat, and tears can make :)

A master bedroom with a little bit more breathing room. We still need to get artwork up, but the big pieces are in place.

The glorious--and enormous!--master bath

I think I'm most excited about this big a$$ closet. All my stuff in one place. What?!

All in all, it took a little longer than expected, but we stayed pretty close to budget and were very happy with our contractor. We'll probably take a year off before tackling the kitchen, but I must admit, I'm getting antsy for it. We've got the team. We've learned a thing or two. And we desperately need more counter space and updated appliances ... stay tuned :)

She's 7!!

Can you believe it? Happy birthday to the Molls! We've been celebrating for weeks ... water park in Denver, family celebration at home, manicures and ice cream with one best friend, and an afternoon at the arcade with the other. Whew. We spoil this girl, but can't seem to help ourselves. She's sweet and kind and always appreciative. I've loved every minute of her first seven years.

Family birthday party at home - opening presents under the close supervision of cousins James and George

Enjoying her gifts

Relaxing at the water park with Cousin Will. She's starting to look SO grown up!

More fun with Cousin Will

Solo shot of the birthday girl

Portland part 2: The gorgeous gorge

We probably spent more time outside of Portland than we spent in it ... but that's because the Pacific Northwest is absolutely beautiful. We took a half day waterfall tour and then spent a full day with my friend Jeremy from college hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and then exploring the awesome breweries around Hood River.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves for now, even though they don't even come close to capturing the beauty of the area.

Portland part 1: City pics

We're finishing up the Portland part of our 10-year anniversary trip and have absolutely loved it out here. People are kind, the food is outstanding, and there's so much to see and do.

It's a smaller city and pretty easy to get around. We walked along the riverfront and Pearl District, visited the Saturday market, walked along Alberta Street, hit up the food trucks for lunch and the breweries on Mississippi Street.

We haven't made a wrong step for restaurants, so I'll list them here in case anyone has plans to visit.

• Han Oak - inventive Korean food in a converted garage
• Departure - food by Top Chef runner up Gregory Gourdet and a fantastic view
• Pine State Biscuits - because ... biscuits
• Deadshot - Monday night cocktail and bar food pop up from the restaurant Holdfast

I feel like we've barely scratched the surface, so will just have to come back!