The Imperfectly Perfect Date Night...

Friday night Caleb and I had what was to be the perfect date night. Caleb had purchased Justin Timberlake concert tickets for me way back on Mother's Day. We had someone lined up to watch our kids and had carefully picked the perfect restaurant to eat at before the concert.

 

Me, being the barely still 20 something girl I am, could not have been more excited to see JT. I was between 13-16 when NSYNC was at its peak, prime boy band loving age. Then I was late teens when Justin launched his solo career and my love for him grew.

 

He has sung me through little girl crushes, first dates, first kisses, embarrassing moments, breakups, death, dorm room dances, road trips with friends, a wedding day, dances with my husband, kitchen dance parties with 2 little loves, life,  and so much more. So many significant and insignificant moments intertwined to make up a beautifully, imperfect life.

 

 It is funny how music can transport you directly into past moment quicker than just about any other thing.

He is also pretty great to look at, super talented, and an awesome dancer, I am not sure what's not to like. ;) 

 

The plans were set, the expectations high, and the excitement through the roof.

 

And the real life happened...

 

Presley grabbed my curling iron approximately 10 minutes before we walked out the door. I screamed NO at her and she avoided further injury. However, the damage was already done. Huge tears streamed down her face with a silent cry engulfing her tiny body.

 

She was fine, but she was hurting. And we had to leave.

 

So we left her crying, clenching her blanket, and watching her favorite show, all while a cheeseburger hung out of her mouth. (I wish I had a picture!)

 

We began the quick 30 minute trip to Nashville around 5,  a little shaken, but excited.

 

Cut to 2 and half hours later and we were still in the car, hungry, and desperately trying to maneuver around traffic to make it in time.

 

I wish I could say that this offered us a time to talk and connect and share. However, this is about the time I began to  begin to panic.

 

And by panic, I mean, tears, mumbling on how this was the worst night of my life, and I might die. This is only the first time of the night when I transformed into an overly dramatic, 15 year old girl. I also may have sent a desperate tweet to Justin Timberlake himself begging him to wait until I got there, desperate times...

 

The real panic started when the clock in the car switched to 8 pm, concert start time and we still had not made it.

 

We finally parked and sprinted in the building a little after 8. We missed nothing.

 

We went to the bathroom and then quickly found our seats. Caleb went to get us some snacks, but the concert started before he made it through the line, so he came back empty handed.

 

 

The concert was amazing. It is safe to say 15 year old, starry eyed, no worries, big dreams, fan girl Amber camped out in section 306 for the next 3 hours.

 

He put on a great show. There was so much energy and excitement. It was so fun.

 

I think it is safe to say that Caleb now fully knows what it would have been like to know the teenage version of myself.

 

After the concert was over we were starving! We walked around towards the car hoping to find a restaurant open. We walked into Joes Crabshack  at 11:45 pm (open until 1 am) and giggled over dinner on how imperfectly, perfect our life together is.

 

Whoever claims the life of those married with children is boring, has obviously never experienced that life.

 

The night didn't go just as planned, but in reality nothing memorable ever does. :)
 

 



Wedding Weekend

The weekend of October 18-20th  was my baby brother, Drew's, wedding in Lexington, KY.

 

We loaded up Friday morning and made the drive. My brother Cameron and his wife were gracious enough to allow us to stay with them. We arrived at their house early afternoon.

 

We settled in our rooms, ate a quick bite, and were able to take a quick walk to the park. It was the perfect activity after being stuck in the car for a few hours. It allowed us to relax a little and not feel rushed.

 

We all got ready and headed over to the church for the rehearsal. Brady told us on the walk that he didn't want to practice for the wedding. I just kind of blew him off. *Mistake number one.

 

BUT when we arrived at the church he made sure I knew he was serious about not wanting to practice. He got out of the van in a foul mood and stayed that way most of the night, even after a couple disciplinary trips to the bathroom. Ahem if you know what I am saying.

He can be so very stubborn!

Pictures of the kids was just not happening. Ha Ha!

His mood miraculously changed when Drew and Julie handed him his ring bearer gift. It was a ninja turtle and you would have thought he won the lottery. He went from not looking or speaking to anyone, to hugging every one!  I mean every one!!!
It was surreal

We stayed at the rehearsal dinner until late and headed back to the house for bed.

Saturday morning, Caleb, Presley, and I went for brunch. It was yummy and fun!

Then we spent a little time at the hotel all the guest where staying. My sweet, sweet husband ended up driving both sets of my grandparents to and from Cameron and Lauren's house. They all wanted to see their house, so he graciously allowed them to. He is a good man.

Presley was able to get a pretty good nap, while I started to get ready. 10 people trying to get ready for a large event is quite interesting. Every one just kind of jumps in and works together. There were so many things happening at one time. I actually ended up putting my make-up on in the car. Mom life.  This is pretty typical for me most of the time.

 

The wedding ceremony was so so so sweet. Drew and Julie are the sweetest couple. Drew is so emotional and sweet. I had to read a scripture and I may have cried like a baby. I had to go immediately after Julie walked down the aisle to her crying groom. I couldn't keep it together. To my defense, I think there were 4 people not crying inside that church.

Brady did fine the day of walking down the aisle.

I heard Presley crying from the nursery and had to go get her, so I witnessed the rest of the ceremony from the lobby. However, I got to witness the sweetest first moments of the happy couple.

We all headed to the reception and ate and danced the night away. Fun was had by all.

Sunday we attended a perfect, laid back come and go brunch with Drew and Julie and guests at the hotel. Then we attended worship services before making our way home.

Presley was so worn out, she grabbed her blanket and paci, laid down in the floor and fell asleep all on her own. Ha!

It was a fun weekend with a little bit of crazy. I am so thankful to have been a part of their special day. We wish them many, many years of fun, love, and life together.

 



FIVE on FRIDAY

 

 

~ONE~

We have had birthday party overload the past few weeks. We had four parties within three weeks. We were only able to attend three. All parties were fun. I am always excited to have such sweet friends and family to celebrate life with. Brady and Presley are both so blessed with many friends and cousins.

We have been to a Mario party, Hello Kitty party, and Claire's cute and colorful first birthday party. I cant find any of the pictures of the Hello Kitty party, we will blame IOS7. Although, I don't think it had anything to do with it. ;)

 

 

 

We don't have a birthday party this weekend and that is nice, also. :)

 

~TWO~

Presley and Rylan are wearing me out. Rylan started crawling well recently. Presley is already a mischievous, climbing mess. Mix the two and my days are crazy! Every morning this week before he leaves, Caleb has made a comment about how crazy it has gotten with two on the move.

 

One day I went to the bathroom and left the two babies playing in the living room. I wasn't gone long, but I came back to this craziness.

 

This happens all day long with lots of falls, bumps, and bruises. I could take pictures like this all day long. They are always up to something. I am pretty confident Presley is the instigator.

 

~THREE~

 

We are counting down until my youngest brother's wedding. We are scrambling to find the perfect accessory, dress, shoe, etc. before the big day and make sure everything fits. This is a sneak peak of Presley in her wedding attire. Girl, acted like she couldn't walk in it all at first, but she managed to start walking when she saw something she wanted.  It is fun to have something to get dressed up for every now and again. :)

 

~FOUR~

The weather is still pretty warm here, mid to high 80's. It is making it hard for me to get into the fall spirit. I want to pull out sweaters, boots, and scarfs, but it is way to hot for that. October is filling up fast and we will have to make time for the pumpkin patch and other fall festivities, but it just isn't the same in shorts and tank tops.

 

~FIVE~

 

Our garden is still producing peppers like crazy. We haven't tended or water it in months, but those peppers keep coming. I am trying to find recipes to use them all. I may have to attempt to can some salsa or pepper jelly. :O

Happy Weekend!



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First Day of Pre-K

We decided to put Brady in a pre-k program this year. It is 2 days a week from September until May. We decided to do a 2 day a week program, because I am not worried about how he will adjust socially to kindergarten. He doesn't meet a stranger. I figure he has the next 13 plus years to go to school five days a week. I would like to let him be little while he is still little. :) We did want him to get in a habit of getting up and going somewhere and being in a classroom setting.  That is how we made our decision and I think it is the right one for our family. :)

We missed the first week, because of vacation. So as soon as we got back from vacation he jumped into his first day.

 

Brady has been so excited! The day before he climbed up next to me and said, "I am a little scared of starting school." We talked about it. I drove him by the school, which is in a church building. We got his supplies ready.

 

I bought his lunch box one day with out him. He picked up and brought it to me and said, " Thank you so much for getting me this lunch box."

 

Then we went together to get his backpack. He picked ninja turtles. He immediately hugged it and said, "I am gonna love his backpack."

 

The morning of he was so excited. He didn't act nervous at all. He even posed for a first day photo!!!

 

We all loaded up to take him since it was his first day.

 

We walked in and met his teacher and some classmates.  I happened to already know his teacher and was excited to see many familiar faces. :)

 

Brady was ready for us to leave. He began talking to everyone like he has known them forever.

 

I picked him up and we immediately began discussing his day.  He was so happy and excited. He told me several things they did. He said, "I was scared of school, but it wasn't scary at all. I changed my mind about being scared."

He can not wait to go back. I am so impressed with this program so far. I am looking forward to a great school year.

The director had such kind things to say about him. She said he was so well behaved and smart. She said he jumped right in like he has been coming for years. I think she was impressed with his ability to talk to anyone and his outgoing personality. These are both great qualities of his, most of the time. ;)

His teacher said he had a great first day and that he is so funny.

Positive feed back is always so nice to hear.

Brady loves people and is not shy at all. I don't worry about him much, because he adapts so well and usually ends up with tons of new friends. I think this program will be great for him.

 

He is such a brave, independent boy. I am so proud of him. I am excited to see what all this year holds.
 

 



Hilton Head- Friday and Saturday

Friday was our last full day! We knew we wanted to soak up the beach as much as possible.

We spent all day enjoying the beach and pool.

If you look closely in this picture, you can see the dolphin swimming in the back.

 

 

 

 

No one in the Barrett group got burned the entire trip. Brady was so dark by Friday, though. It is crazy how well he tans even with 50+ sunscreen on the entire time. :)

 

 

 

 

That night we all went to eat at The Black Marlin Seaside Grill.  We ate outside. The weather was perfect. The food was good. The view was great. It made for the perfect last vacation dinner.

 

 

 

We got back to the house and I spent a lot of time getting things ready to leave in the morning. Once I got finished, Caleb and I talked with Cameron and Lauren for a while before heading to bed.

 

Saturday morning we got up and loaded the van. As soon as Brady saw us loading the van, he got in and buckled up. Ha Ha! We couldn't get him out. We really didn't want to start the trip off with a fit, so we just went ahead and left.  We didn't really have a plan for that morning, but I thought we might walk down to the beach one more time to say bye or something. Brady was apparently ready to get home. Ha!

 

 

We made a stop in Atlanta to eat at The Varsity around lunch time and break up  our trip a bit.

 

We got home around 4pm. I worked on getting everyone unpacked and things back in order, while Caleb took the kids to visit his parents and eat dinner.

 

The overall trip was great. Life with two kids is a little crazy and there were plenty of crazy moments, but it is a beautiful kind of crazy. Caleb and I work together and that is very helpful. I am so thankful for the husband and daddy he is. He is great about just jumping in and lending a hand.

 Caleb works a lot of long hours and very hard for our family, so we are all pretty excited when we get to spend uninterrupted time with him. Brady said nearly every morning, Daddy doesn't have to work today!!!  We all made some great memories we can cherish forever.

 

P.S. we loved having the van for this vacation. It is so convenient for families. It is not the coolest vehicle in the land, but it does make our lives a little bit easier.

 

 

 



Hilton Head- Thursday

Thursday, mom and I, took a morning bike ride. It was so nice. I really enjoyed the bikes. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy them that much, but I did.

 

Then, we hit the beach and pool again hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon my mom, Lauren, Caleb, Presley, and myself went shopping at the outlet mall for a bit. When we returned, Caleb and I took our kids on a bike ride.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed gone a little longer than we had planned, but biking with two kids is a little more difficult than one might think. Ha Ha! It actually went really well. We also got a little caught up in exploring and shopping.

 

We came back to the house and ate dinner. They had cooked seafood.

 

Caleb actually ended up on a second bike ride to take Brady to get ice cream with the others.

 

Caleb was pretty exhausted when he got back. He is a trooper, though!

 

We spent that night playing games. We played games other night, also, but I forgot to mention that. Nightly games are always a highlight. So much laughter and joking comes from playing games together.