a ring and fourth of july

I am not sure if we have actually been busy or I just keep making things up to keep me busy, either way the summer is flying by. The list of things I have added for myself to do mostly include paint, lots and lots of paint. I found a coffee table in the dumpster (my dumpster diving is causing mild problems in our marriage) and needed to repair it, then paint it white. I decided that if I am going to paint the coffee table white, might as well paint the cheap target side table we have white. Then if I am re-doing the furniture in the living room, might as well get a new rug. Which led to new outdoor pillows, cushion covers, and a red front door. Followed by a new shower curtain, eventually painting bathroom walls, and building a new shelving unit for the bathroom. Does the connection all make sense? I am almost finished with the front door and the new rug should be here tomorrow. Maybe, I will finally post pictures of the outside work and updates around the house. 

But, I think I started off wanting to talk about the week before the 4th of July and the actual 4th. 

We bought a new engagement ring for me. The back story is that my engagement ring was a solitaire aquamarine. The stone stuck up quite a bit and always got caught on things. I found that I hardly ever wore it because I have been working with children or having children the majority of our marriage and did not want to scratch them. The other thing we did not know when we were looking at rings was that aquamarines get cloudy very easily and need to be cleaned constantly. So we decided a few years ago that we would get me a new ring that was more my style and one that I would actually wear. 

I had a long list of requirements I wanted in a new ring, but here is the summary. I did not want it to stick out, I did not want to spend a fortune, I wanted it to have diamonds (I like shiny things, oops), I wanted it to have some meaning. I found a style of ring I like and began my research. I found some on ebay, some on custom design sites, and some in local jewelry shops. I then stumbled upon a site called, "I do, Now I don't." I found the exact ring I had been looking for on this site listed at nearly the exact amount of money we had been saving. I figured it was meant to be. I really liked that it was previously owned and no new materials were used. As far as the meaning goes, I am not sure there is one besides that now I have a ring I enjoy wearing. It does have three stones, so maybe each stone can represent my loves, William, Eliza, and Madison. 

We then went on a fancy date to celebrate. We had a friend come over and sit on the couch for two hours after the girls went to sleep. We hit the town by getting queso and margaritas followed by a short stroll.  Our friend declared that she would be willing to do this every week for us, if this is true, I think it would do wonders for us. 

The following day both my brother and dad came in for the weekend. We ended up not doing much, but as always, I loved having my family here. Having family love on my girls makes me happier than almost anything. On the fourth, we went on our roof to watch fireworks. We did not end up seeing very many, but I am now itching to spend more time on our roof. I guess there are some benefits to having a flat roof. 

On another note, Madison turned three yesterday! I should devote a post to that at some point. My mom comes in tomorrow, yay! Then we have Madison's birthday party on Saturday. I am excited for this week and can not wait to celebrate Madison. 

summer, summer

Eliza turned one and, blink, two weeks pass. We ended up having another couple over for dinner the Saturday after Eliza's birthday. They have a son that is a week younger, so I thought we could have a mini celebration. I made a cake for Eliza and let her blow out a candle and eat a slice. I find it so funny how she "got" the whole concept. She even blew out the candle. And I think that look on her face when she ate the cake all by herself, will always be a memory of mine. 

Then the following week we had a jam packed week filled with outdoor fun everyday. Apparently, we had so much fun, the girls could not handle it all. That Thursday, Madison had a fever of 105 and Eliza kept throwing up. Both of these ailments caused them not to sleep more than 45 minutes at a time. This sickness lasted about two days and two nights, we were exhausted. However, we had made plans to go to Estes Park to visit our friends that started an open air adventure park there. We managed to get to Estes and it ended up being a fun trip. We rock climbed with the children (our friends have two kids the same age as the girls). Two of us would climb and then the other two would make sure none of the children jumped off the cliff. I was incredibly rusty, but it makes me wish we could find more time to climb. I guess it will still have to be put away into the, "some day," category of activities. Then we hired a babysitter for after the kids went to sleep. We went to the local bar that Will and I used to go to when we worked in Estes. It was great! We had the place to ourselves and sat by the fire pit on the porch of the bar. Our conversation mostly included topics other than our children. 

Now, we are still going with the activities. We hosted the group from our church last night in our backyard. We have been working all summer on putting the finishing touches to the yard and I am so thankful we could have people over. Tomorrow my brother and dad get in to celebrate the fourth with us. I am really looking forward to their visit because we have not seen them since Christmas. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday, it is probably my favorite!