5 on Friday: Summer Bucket List

*Thanks to everyone who entered my 5 Year Blogoversary Giveaway yesterday! Check here to find out the winner.*

Today, I'm combining 2 link-ups in 1! 

 

I had actually been wanting to do a summer bucket list post, so this came at a great time!

1.) This is probably what I'm looking forward to the most this summer... our trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We leave on Saturday, August 3rd and come back on Saturday, August 10th. It will be our first vacation with Jackson! I can't wait to spend a whole week on the beach. We are taking my parents along for the ride as well. They haven't been on a vacation in years and we thought it might be nice for them to get away and to help us out with Jackson. We have a rental condo on the beach reserved and have a few things planned to do while we're there. It should be a great time!

2.) Our 6 Year Anniversary is July 14th. Last year we planned our vacation around our anniversary since we were celebrating 5 years. This year we'll probably keep it more low-key and may just stay a night or 2 somewhere close-by. We're still deciding on what we want to do. ☺

{Jake and I on our 5 year anniversary trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan last year!}

3.) Going to White Birch Water park with Jackson. White Birch is a little water park, just right down the street from us. We went a couple of times last year and Jackson was still a little bit small, but loved it there. I think he will have even more fun this year! I can't wait to take him back.

{Jackson at White Birch last year.}

4.) Taking Jackson Strawberry picking at Eckerts. I've never been strawberry picking before, but I'm really wanting to go this summer. 

5.) Going to see a couple shows at the Muny... particularly Mary Poppins! I just love going to the Muny. Its one of my favorite summer things to do in St. Louis.

What are you looking forward to this summer??

5 Year Blogoversary, a Giveaway and Throw-back Thursday Link-Up!

Today, "The Story of Us" turns 5 years old! Yay! I love having this blog. It means so much to me.

Thank you to all my readers! You guys are so awesome! As a special thank you, I'm giving away a $15 Starbucks gift card! Its not much but its a little something to show my appreciation!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In honor of my 5 year blogoversary, I also thought I would share 5 reasons why I love blogging. (These aren't in any kind of order.)

1.) I love blogging as a way of writing down and recording everything that is going on in our lives. Its kind of like a digital scrapbook of sorts. Its something I can look back on if I need to remember a date or an event that happened.

2.) I love all the friends I've made and continue to make in this blogging community. You all are the best!

3.) I love learning from so many other bloggers. Learning about parenting, photography, decorating, fashion and so much more. 

4.) I love the creativity that comes with blogging. It is definitely a creative outlet for me. I love the challenge of coming up with new post ideas, sharing my crafts/photography and coming up with new blog designs.

5.) I love reading all of your blogs. I get so much inspiration from reading blogs!

And since its Throw-back Thursday, I thought I'd stick with the "five year" theme and post a few pictures from my own fifth birthday!

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My parents gave me a Cinderella themed birthday party at our house. (I still love Cinderella to this day!) ☺ Our close friends and family came to help celebrate. My parents also got me my first real bike that year, training wheels and all. ☺

5 Years for "The Story of Us"

Thursday, my blog turns 5 years old! I can't believe it! So to celebrate, I decided to do a little blog make-over. I've still got some things I want to tweak, but I'm really excited about the new look! What do you all think?

Project Life 2013 - Week 19

I'm slowly but surely catching up with my 2013 Project Life album.

Here is my page for week 19.

I used the Q and A Mini Kit freebie from Simple Girl for this layout!

Happy Memorial Day

Printable Found Here

I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day! 

I'm cleaning the house today, oh joy! Then later this afternoon, we plan to go to my parents' house and grill for dinner! My sister and her family and my Papa will be there as well. Should be a fun afternoon!

5 on Friday

Today I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Darci for 5 on Friday!

1. I'm super excited to be off work today and Monday! Yay for a four day weekend. Jackson and I are meeting my mom, my sister and her 2 boys (Landon and Mason) today for a picnic lunch in Forest Park and then we're spending the afternoon at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Its one of my favorite places to visit in St. Louis. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures for you next week, no doubt!

2. My 5 year blogoversary is next week! I cannot believe I've had this blog for 5 years! I'm so happy I started it and love blogging for so many reasons, (all of which I plan to post about next week). I'm also looking into a small give-away. More details to follow!

3. It was eight years ago this past Monday, that we added our first baby to our family. A sweet and adorable, blonde little puppy we named Libby! She is so sweet and we love her so much! 

4. Jake brought this big triceratops home for Jackson last week. He got it from a co-worker whose kids outgrew it. I thought for sure Jackson would be scared of it. It roars and moves its head, tail, mouth and eyes. It sleeps and eats. Its really pretty cool. Jackson was a little apprehensive of it at first, but he came around to it pretty quickly and now really likes it. It snores when it sleeps and now Jackson makes a snoring noise sometimes and pretends to sleep like the dinosaur. Its pretty cute.

5. And lastly, I'm sure you've all seen this video, but I just love it! Its such an amazing story of hope in such a desperate and devastating disaster. Praying for all of those in Moore, OK!

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Throw-back Thursday Link-Up: High School Graduation {1999}

With all the graduations going on right now, I thought I'd share a graduation picture of myself!

I graduated from Edwardsville High School in 1999. Fourteen whole years ago! Crazy!

Our graduation ceremony was on a Saturday morning at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, which is where I ended up going to college for a year and a half right after high school. I graduated in the middle of my class, which was right around 500 students. I was an average student. I was definitely not in any honors programs, but I did alright. I was shy in high school and never got into any trouble. I had a nice little group of friends that I hung out with and didn't venture far from that. There was nothing amazing about high school for me. I just basically did what I needed to do and got decent grades. I didn't do many activities and wasn't really in any clubs. I did take 2 years of choir and that was about the extent of my extracurricular activities. ☺

The graduation ceremony was long, but I think I was so excited that it didn't really bother me. My parents, sister, grandparents and a few aunts and uncles were there to watch me walk across the stage and get my diploma.

Its crazy to think back to that day and think about how I had no idea what was ahead of me, yet I was excited about the future and what lied ahead. I was excited about finally being an adult. I didn't realize then that being an adult is not always all its cracked up to be. Ha! I was 18 and had the whole world ahead of me!

Its been quite a ride from then til now. Lots of things have happened that I didn't expect, but I'm so happy to be where I am today and have my wonderful family and great friends by my side!

Now go link up below and tell us a "throw-back" story of your own!

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Our Walk on Sunset Trail

We live very close to a walking trail that runs from downtown Florissant, to Sunset Park. Sunset Park is just down the street from our house. You can catch Sunset Trail just a couple streets over from our house. The trail runs all throughout Sunset Park and all along the Missouri River. Its a beautiful walking trail.

I happened to be off work last Monday, and wanted to get out in the nice weather with Jackson. So we set out for a nice long walk on the trail. About 2 miles! Of course, I took my camera along and got a few cute pictures of Jackson. ☺

Smelling Flowers.

The pretty Missouri River.

On the way back up the trail, Jackson started getting a little restless in the stroller, so I decided to let him walk for a little while. He did great and stayed right by me on the path. At one point he wanted to push the stroller. ☺

Picking some wild flowers.

I really love this photo. He's getting so big!

Getting so sleepy on the walk back home.

The next day, my legs were burning. I used muscles I hadn't used in a while. I hope to get out on the trail more this Spring and Summer and get some exercise in. ☺

I'm linking up here:

and here:

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Don't forget, tomorrow is Throw-back Thursday here on my blog!! With all the graduations right now, I hope to scan some of my graduation pictures for tomorrow! I look forward to reading your posts!

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Project Life 2013 - Weeks 17 and 18

Week 18

For this page, I used the "Whale of a Tale" Tiny Kit Freebie from Creashens.

Week 17

For this page, I used the "That's Life Tiny Kit Freebie" From Erica Zane.

We Had a Great Weekend!

I hope you all did too!

It was pretty low key, which is what was so great about it! Most of our weekends are pretty busy, which is okay, but sometimes its nice to have a weekend with no plans and nothing much going on. 

Friday night we did have plans, but they were fun! Jake and I recently became the planning coordinators for our church youth group. We have a whole summer schedule planned out with fundraisers and activities! Friday night was our first activity... a movie night at church. We ordered pizza, popped popcorn and watched the Life of Pi in our church dining hall. It was a fun night. If you've seen The Life of Pi, then I don't have to tell you how good the movie was and how much of a tear-jerker it was. It had me so stressed out!! It was really good though and had some funny parts too!

Saturday, we had no plans whatsoever! Which is really unheard of for us. We stayed in our pajamas a majority of the day. We watched the last three episodes of "House of Cards", while Jackson played so good! We took a nice afternoon nap and then that evening we finally got out of the house and went for a walk to the little snow cone stand up the street! 

That night, just like every night, we watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse before bed. Jackson normally stays awake through the whole show and when its over we say goodnight and lay him in his crib, where he will then go to sleep, all on his own. This night, he fell asleep watching his show, so I snapped a quick picture with my phone. There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping toddler. ☺

Sunday, we went to church. After church, Jake, my dad and my brother-in-law went and played golf while us girls and little boys went to lunch, did a little shopping and then went back to my parents' house so the boys could play with their new water table. My parents got them this Little Tikes water table the day before and the boys had so much fun with it. We also got their little kiddie pool out. They had a blast playing in the water. It was a 90 degree day, a perfect day for the water.

Landon wanted me to take a picture of him jumping into the pool! ☺

We had gotten them some ring pops at the store earlier that day. Needless to say, they loved them. Jackson had never had one before. When he first got it, he was walking around with it saying mm mm, mm mm. Ha! Too cute.

As you can see, he really enjoyed his ring pop!

Mason kept his until it was completely gone. He sucked on it like it was his binkie, all the way til there was none left.

After playing for a long time outside. We went in, gave the boys a bath and then the little boys took a nap. Once the guys came home from playing golf, we had dinner and then went home. 

Its back to work today, after a nice, fun and relaxing weekend.