fun links

hip, hip, hooray for a three-day holiday weekend!  although we're working through part of it, we're still looking forward to it.  i'm keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather because the forecast for the weekend doesn't look so great at the moment.

since it's friday, here are a few fun links that i found around the internet recently . . .

1. 199 poisonous plants to look out for in order to keep yourself and your pets safe

2. this print reminds me of a certain kitten i know

3. ben & jerry’s limited batch bob marley’s one love ice cream

4. a stack of pandas, how cute

5. i want to bite into one of these jalapeno black bean burgers

6. this tropical coconut chia pudding also looks yummy

7. i'm sure leko would like if we built one of these climbing structures

8. cute free printable veggie collection

9. i wouldn't have thought of making banana bread in the crockpot

have a lovely memorial day weekend!

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

. . . and ryan's iphone too.

a few photos of . . . leko airing himself out, ryan's view backstage while working a music concert, an ice cream date with an old friend from college, meeting a friend's new dog, flowers blooming along the side of our house, and leko posing like superman on top of a pile of pillows.

love, laurie

hello, hydrangea

we took a few moments on sunday when i was visiting my parents to help them pick out a spot for the hydrangea plant that we bought my mama for mother's day this year.  my dad and i planted it in a spot where my mom will see it every time she drives in their driveway.  i just love the blue color of it.

love, laurie

flowers in our yard

on friday after work, the sun was shining so beautifully.  as soon as i got home, i quickly grabbed my camera and headed out to our yard in order to snap a few pictures of the flowers in bloom around our house.  i'm glad i was able to get several photos while the flowers were still so gorgeous!

love, laurie

ice lake

on sunday, my parents and i took a little break from yard work to explore nearby ice lake since we had never been there before.  as it turned out, there were hardly any walking trails there like we had expected, but the lake was pretty nonetheless.

love, laurie

school's out for summer . . . well, kinda.

spring semester classes are finally over at the university where i work and the students graduate this weekend.  summer classes start right back up on monday, but there are always far fewer students on campus during the summer months as compared to the regular school year.

even though the students are on summer break and i'm not because i work year round, i enjoy the feeling of the campus emptying out at the end of the year because it is much quieter (and more parking spots are available too).  i know it takes students in order to make a university function, but i relish the less hectic summer months on campus.

as university classes come to a close, we're shifting gears in our house to another show season filled with summer concerts and summer dance recitals.  my own dance show is less than one month away which means we're all in full crazy mode.  recital costumes are starting to arrive in the mail in large boxes which is always exciting.  on wednesday, our tiniest dancers (just 3 years old) were excited to try on their costumes for their first ever main stage recital.  their costumes came with teddy bears wearing matching costumes which has to be the greatest keepsake ever from a first recital!  here's a picture i snapped of some of them in class (complete with a photo bomb by one of the little sisters who is just 1 year old and can't wait to take dance class) . . .

thank goodness it's friday because this was a particularly rough week.  i'm hoping to be able to set the imaginary "reset" button this weekend.  even though we have to work this weekend and i have several hours of dance rehearsal, i'm looking forward to a few hours carved out on saturday night to spend some super quality girl time with a dear friend who is coming into town to visit.

have a good one

love, laurie

summer, is that you?

the weather took a drastic turn this week.  i went from wearing a sweater yesterday morning on my way to work because it was chilly, to sweating like crazy as the car read 91 degrees in the evening on my way home from work . . . how crazy.  i'm very grateful for the warmer temperatures, but i'm not a fan of the sudden changes that shock your system.  it always takes me a little bit in order to acclimate myself (especially when you spend your nights in a sweat box - a.k.a. dance studio prepping for a recital . . . the air was so thick in there last night you could have cut it with a knife).  regardless, i'm very happy for nice weather finally and for lots of color in bloom!

love, laurie

the catnip king

for the past several years, ryan's mom has been making the cutest catnip toys for leko.  he positively loves them, and he plays with them so hard that he quickly wears them out.

when our families came up to our house to celebrate mother's day on sunday, ryan's mom brought along a fresh new catnip toy for leko.  it didn't take leko long to smell what was hidden in his grandma's bag!  he practically attacked her as she was getting it out of the bag to give it to him!  within a matter of seconds, he was throwing it in the air, chasing it, and pouncing on it to "kill" it!  that little guy sure loves his catnip toys.  thanks, grandma!

love, laurie

azaleas in bloom for mother's day

the azaleas in our yard were blooming so pretty this weekend.  on mother's day, we stepped outside between rain showers to snap a few pictures.  i love these two pictures of my parents in front of the azaleas.  it's so nice to have color back in our yard after a dreary colorless winter!

love, laurie

celebrating mother's day

we celebrated mother's day yesterday with our families at our house with an italian-themed lunch and the cupcake version of this strawberry dream cake for dessert.

our schedules have been so crazy the past few months and it has been awhile since we have been able to see everyone, so it was so nice to sit and visit with everyone without having to run anywhere.  we had a great time celebrating with our families!

love, laurie