Sand Beneath Our Feet, Big Blue Sky Above Our Heads

Saturday is vacation day, people. Which means we'll be packing up and heading out for two weeks of lake living on the beautiful shores of Crystal Lake. It also means that I have been in vacation mode for the last five days - grocery shopping and cooking anything that actually resembles a meal? Why would I do that when we're going out of town? Eating anything besides cereal and scrambled eggs hardly makes any sense when we're about to be gone, right? (I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this way - and if I am I totally blame the pregnancy for my laziness.) Although I should mention that I am slightly obsessed with the eggs I buy at our local farmers' market and sort of feel like even if I am serving brinner multiple nights a week, it is a totally legit, delicious meal.

Two bucks a dozen. I stalk the egg man like it's my job.

It's been a long, long time since Mike has been able to take this much time off of work, and I'm so looking forward to all the family time. Rumor has it the cottage we're renting doesn't even  have Internet access, so if you happen to see a slightly crazed pregnant lady wandering the beaches of northern Michigan holding her cell phone up trying to load Facebook, there's a pretty good chance it's me. Just kidding. Sort of. In all honesty, as much as I know I am obsessed with my iPhone and all the time-wasting activities it has to offer, I'm sort of excited to see how I function (and how much I enjoy myself) without all the distractions. Again, I blame the pregnancy, but I'm starting to feel a lot of nostalgia over the fact that this will probably be our last family trip as a trio and I want to make sure I soak it all in.

Even if I can't document it all on Instagram. (I'm @lesliearends if you ever want to follow along!)

I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands that pretty much sums up how I'm feeling.

Happy Summer!

I know that you're smiling, baby, 
I don't even need to see your face 
Sunset at the shoreline, we are laughing, breaking up, 
Just like the waves 
Are you feeling, feeling, feeling like I'm, feeling 
Like I'm floating, floating, up above that big blue ocean 
Sand beneath our feet, big blue sky above our heads, 
No need to keep stressing from our everyday life on our minds 
We have got to leave all that behind 

Well, I have got a sister, 
And she has got a baby with brand new eyes 
And her daddy is an engineer, 
And they just took her to the sea for the first time 
Now they're under, under, underneath a big umbrella 
Summer, summer, summer time to help us forget, nine to fives 
We have got to leave all that behind 

I have worries to give to the sea 
We can walk dear the pier is farther than it seems 

Midnight at the shoreline, fireworks above us 
A screaming bloom 
They're sent by some teenager and kid whoever you are 
I am thanking you 
Now we're dancing, dancing, dancing with no music 
What is happening, happening, happening and no feelings 
Except this is right 
We just had to leave all that behind

Such A Nice Way

Babies are such a nice way to start people. - Don Herrold

It seems I have a knack for being pregnant for all of my sister's big life milestones.

I found out I was pregnant with Anna just a few short weeks before Kristin's bachelorette party in Las Vegas and was at that lovely "Is she with child or did she just drink too many beers?" stage of pregnancy for her wedding. So when I found out that Kristin and Drew were going to be parents, my first thoughts (after, of course, sheer and total excitement at becoming an aunt) were of how I could steal their thunder. Just kidding, obviously. But, as luck would have it, those two life-changing pink lines showed up just five weeks later.

Being pregnant at the same time as Kristin has been so much fun (except for the times when she's all, "Oh, I just ran five miles! I feel amazing!" and I'm all, "Oh, I just barfed! And then I took a nap!"), and I am so, so excited that our babies will be close in age and that Anna will have not one, but two little ones to boss around at family gatherings.

So despite my very best efforts to one-up them once again (I was hoping for twins!), yesterday was all about showering Kristin and Drew with all kinds of love for their new baby boy. And it was such a special day.

Mason jars painted on the inside with craft paint, tied with twine. Flowers from Costco and pennants made from bamboo skewers and scrapbooking paper!

"Wishes for Baby" cards purchased on Etsy here. Filled out by all the guests and put together in a photo album. 

Candy goody bags - labels printed with a free template from this site. 

Pennants made with scrapbooking paper and twine. Candy game (in the back) taken from  here.

Beautiful and delicious cupcakes made by the talented Angela Munsell. Cupcake toppers are scrapbooking paper and toothpicks!

Can you tell I was excited about the cupcakes? I am pregnant, after all.

The cupcake baker and her adorable son!

Special thanks to Trista for taking pictures while I was playing hostess!

She's a natural.

Not that anyone had any doubt, but the whole day was such a sweet reminder of how much love and happiness this little guy is going to be surrounded by. It was so neat to see all these people in one room celebrating the new life Kristin and Drew are bringing into the world, and I can't think of two people who will make better parents. Baby Boy Stanton is one lucky kid.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate and made the day so special!

And Kristin and Drew - I love you both so much and can't wait to be an auntie! Also, if you could give me a heads up if you're planning any big life milestones in the future, I'd appreciate it. I kinda want to get an idea of just how many times I'm going to need to be pregnant, mmkay?