I guess that brings us to June...

Overall, the month of June is a very special one for my family. We got married in June, both Jason and I have June birthdays, and even our dog was born in June! My best friend has a June birthday, as well, and my sister and brother-in-law celebrate their wedding anniversary that month. That's a whole lot of June celebrations! When I got pregnant with Ryder and we were told that his due date was May 30th, we were sure that he would be joining us in the month of June (he of course had plans of his own), further adding to the already busy month of celebrations. June has always been my favorite month, and not just because it's my birthday month. June marks the first official day of summer and is typically filled with perfect Minnesota weather. There are so many reasons why I love June that I can't even begin to list them all here!

This June I had the opportunity to take my first girls' trip. Since my BFF and I have birthdays that are just 2 days apart, we decided that we should make a weekend of it and it was decided that we would spend a long weekend at my parents' cabin on Baby Lake in Hackensack, MN. This girls' trip would be the first time that I was ever away from Ryder for more than a day, and I was NERVOUS/ANXIOUS to leave him, but at the same time I knew that this was something I needed to do for me. I missed that little redhead like crazy the whole time I was away, but my girls made sure I had so much fun that I barely noticed!

First drink of the weekend!

After pulling some strings, the girls and I were able to all rearrange our work schedules so that we could head up to the cabin on Wednesday evening and stay through Sunday. I honestly can't believe that we were all able to get the same times off work given we all work on the same unit at the hospital (and our staffing lady is a total witch...), but we did so when Wednesday came around, we were on our way. We were all so excited for our trip. So much so that someone may or may not have gotten a speeding ticket before we even got out of town...I blame Ashley for making us stop at her house to retrieve a forgotten item ;)

I'm sure the girls will love me for posting this picture...No make-up, in their jammies, fresh off a 6 hour car ride!

After our long car ride, we were all way too excited to sleep which of course meant that we had to have a couple drinks. That has always been a tradition for Jason and I when we go there - no matter how late it is, after we unpack the car we have a beer before going to bed. Can't break tradition!

This was NOT all ours...

The next morning it was rainy (boo!) so I decided to take the girls up to Walker to check out the shops, grab some lunch at Benson's, and have a couple of cocktails along the way. If you've never been to Walker, MN you are MISSING OUT! It is one of my favorite places and it is filled with all these cute little shops and the people are so nice. Heidi's dad actually grew up in Walker, so it is a very special place to her, too.

Janan, Ashley, Heidi, and I - Drinks in Walker

After spending a few hours in Walker we headed back to the cabin. Fortunately the sun was finally starting to come out, so we seized the opportunity and headed out on the pontoon. The rest of the week was spend soaking up every ounce of sun that we could find (which wasn't much...), girl talk, good food, and even a couple workouts believe it or not.

My BFF, Heidi, and I hanging out on the pontoon!

Look at that background...bliss!

 On the night of Heidi's birthday we travelled in to the big city of Longville for some karaoke at the Docksider. I decided to be the DD that night, but it was still a ton of fun hanging out with my girls and listening to people try to sing. Heidi and Ashley sang "Pontoon" by Little Big Town, and they were by far the best act of the night. They got a standing ovation and everything!

On the day of my birthday (Saturday) I decided that I wanted to spend the day and night at the cabin. That way we could all have fun and not worry about how we were going to get home. So after spending all day out on the lake, we spent the rest of the evening/night playing bean bags, sitting around the fire, and drinking way more than a person should. It was the perfect day!

Birthday shots with my dad! I think we went through 1/2 of a 1.75 bottle of tequila that night!

Sunday morning came way too quickly - as it usually does - and it was time to pack up the car and head home. After our fun Saturday night, we weren't nearly as energetic on the car ride home. Overall, it was a great weekend that I can't wait to repeat. The girls and I have decided that we will do this trip every other year (at least), so it looks like the next one will be for Heidi and I's dirty 30 in 2015. We may have to get up there sooner than that. I guess time will tell...

Until we meet again Baby Lake!

Stay tuned to the next post for our family vacation to Baby Lake over the 4th of July...

What to write about?

So I figured it out and I think I now know why I don't update this blog very often...I have NO idea what to write about which leads to some serious writer's block. When I read the blogs that I follow, I always think, "she picked such a great topic to write about...I want my blog to be this interesting/entertaining..." So, how do I do that? I'm not 100% sure, so in the mean time I will start with writing an update on the events of our summer. Pretty sure this is going to be a multi-part blog post. Let's start with May. Here goes...

May started out with the end of Spring Semester for me and the start of summer for our whole family. Our little red-head turned 2 this May (can you believe he's already 2, cuz I can't!) so of course we had to celebrate with a super fun birthday party.  This years theme was Toy Story, because our little dude LOVES Woody and Buzz Lightyear like no other. I can't even tell you how many times we have watched all 3 Toy Story movies in one day... It's a lot!

Alien Cupcakes (courtesy of Pinterest) on Ryder's Birthday

We had Ryder's birthday party at our house on Saturday, May 18th. It was a fun, relaxing, low-key event and we were so happy to share this special occasion with some of our family and friends. Jason and I had a smaller, more intimate celebration on Ryder's actual birthday on the 22nd (see cupcake photo above). Okay, back to the birthday party... As usual, I found most of my inspiration for the party following several hours of Pinterest searching and pinning to my "Ryder's 2nd Birthday" board. Seriously, what did we do before Pinterest? I'm still angry that Pinterest wasn't around when I got married!

Toy Story inspired food including Mrs. Potato Head's potato salad, Buzz's UFO burgers, Slinky's hot dogs, Hamm's baked beans, Woody's watermelon, RC's ramen noodle salad, and Jessie's burger fixin's!

We kept the decor simple and easy. I found these Toy Story print outs online, and they looked exactly like the drawings in Andy's room in Toy Story. I got so many compliments on them and have to say that they looked pretty cool. They are now hanging in our play room and Ryder loves to look at them and point out Buzz and Woody.

This one was my favorite!

The day was spent with good food, great company, and fun times. I think we call that a success! We are so grateful to all of our friends and family that were able to make the trip over to help celebrate our little man's 2nd birthday. It was truly a special day!

Who says you can't have a smash cake at your 2nd birthday?

Nothing better than a frosting covered Woody!

I was going to try to make my own cake this year, but it's so much easier to order one from HyVee. I found these cake toppers on Amazon and I think they were the perfect touch to take this cake from generic to special.

I have about a million more pictures from Ryder's 2nd birthday party, but I don't want to overwhelm you all so I'll leave you with just one more. I can't wait to start planning next year's birthday party. I'm thinking that the theme with be dinosaurs or Despicable me, those are Ryder's favorite things right now. Who knows what the next few months will bring...Thankfully I have 8 months to plan it! What are some of your favorite birthday themes? Bonus points for links to your blog. I would love to see what you all have come up with!

Kisses for the birthday boy! XOXO

There's room for YOU in my challenge group...Read all about it here!

Starting on August 5th I will be coaching a challenge group for people who have chosen to give Beachbody's newest fitness program - Focus T25 - to the test. T25 is an amazing new fitness program by Insanity creator Shaun T., designed to give you some seriously awesome results in just 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Everybody's got time for that!

T25 results just keep coming in and they are incredible! I would love to work with you and have you be a part of my challenge group. YOU still have time to join my group and change your life. To help you decide, I want to share some of the Focus T25 Results from the focus group. Prepare to be amazed!

Focus T25 Results: Jamie Lost 37 Pounds in 50 Days

You read that right...37 pounds in just 50 days. Those are what you call AMAZING results. And I'm here to tell you that YOU can have these same results.

Jamie had amazing results from her 50 days of T25! The best thing about T25 is that you only have to do it for 25 minutes a day, and you will get incredible results. If you want to lose pounds and inches fast, T25 is the fitness program for you. 

Focus T25 Results

Focus T25 Results: Tania Got Her Abs Back

Here's some more proof...

At the age of 40, post C-Section, Tania is looking better than ever! You have no excuses, anything is possible with a little will power and the brand new T25 fitness program. I know I can't wait to have a stomach just like Tania's!

Focus T25 Results

Focus T25 Results: Sean Lost 7% Body Fat in Just 10 Weeks

Do you need more proof?

If you want to lose body fat, then T25 is the fitness program for you. Look at these amazing results from Sean. He started out this program in fairly good shape, but says that T25 was a killer. And the results speak for themselves. 

Focus T25 Results

Focus T25 Results: Lee Packed on the Muscle

Still not convinced?

If you're looking to add some muscle to your body, T25 can do that too! In just 10 weeks, Lee was able to lose 31 pounds and 13% of his body fat. That could be you!

Focus T25 Results

So...HOW CAN YOU GET THESE SAME RESULTS?

The secret to getting results with Focus T25 is to follow the T25 Workout Schedule and Diet. When you focus your efforts on the different (alpha, beta, & gamma) stages of T25 and follow the nutrition plan, your results will happen. Another important piece of the puzzle to get your these results is to join my T25 Challenge Group, titled "NO MORE EXCUSES".  My challenge group will help you and the other members of the group to stay accountable! So, how do you get started? Simply sign up for a free Beachbody membership today with me as your personal Beachbody coach. Another, even easier option, is to comment below with your email address and first/last name and I will prepare your T25 order for you and send it directly to your email. 

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? NO MORE EXCUSES!!!