Thirty and Thankful

It happened people. I turned the big 3-0. As in thirty. I am thirty years old. It's still weird to think about and say, out loud. I don't feel thirty. In fact, in my head I still feel about 25-ish. To be honest, I was really dreading thirty, but now that it's here I'm really excited to see what the upcoming years will bring! I started thinking about everything that has gotten me to this point and where I actually am. That got me thinking about how much I have to be thankful for. I have a pretty sweet life right now and I thank Jesus every day for everything that he has given me.

So I'm taking a look at what has happened in the last thirty years that has brought me up to this point in life. I have so much to be thankful for. I am one lucky thirty year old gal! Every step, every path, every decision has led me to this. I'm thirty (and happy about it) and oh so thankful.

my hubby - I mean, look at him. I love him more than I can tell you about. He's my rock, my other half, my best friend, my partner in crime, my favorite human. I couldn't live this life without him.

my little man - This kid. I am so so thankful that I get to be his mama. He has taught me patience, selflessness, and a kind of love a never could have imagined. He melts me.

our family - I tell ya, I have the best parents, sisters, and brothers a girl could ask for. These people make living life a whole lot easier.

our house and our neighborhood - I could not love our neighborhood any more. I love that it is full of young families, some of our best friends are our neighbors, and the hubs and I love working on our house and making it our "place." We built this thing from the ground up and have made a ton of improvements. We like house projects and I am so thankful that we live in a place that we love.

our church group - These are my people. We do life together (please notice 4 babies!). Although our group has grow and changed throughout the years, I look forward to my spending time with my "family" every Tuesday night. I love this group.

my friends - I have amazing single, married, and mommy friends. Amazing.

my co-workers - I hit the jackpot when it comes to co-workers. These girls are some of my closest friends. The laughter that comes out of this group is unending. Boss, KLing, KB, and HMo. We're the #1 team. I love my team. #bestteameverforreals
_________

Like I said, I love my life. Most days, I really feel like I have it made. I wouldn't change a thing. I am so incredibly thankful for the beautiful life that I have been given. I try my absolute best to not take it for granted and to be thankful for it. I know everything comes from God and everything could be taken away in a blink of an eye. I appreciate it all. Especially the little things. We're just livin' and lovin' life over here in the Bishop household. I'm thirty y'all and so incredibly thankful.

It's Time...Again

The last day of summer has finally come...and gone. I have been putting off thinking about today all summer, because the thought of bringing Dayton back to daycare and starting the hectic school year again is just too much. I'm not so great with emotions, so it's hard for me to put into words what I'm feeling. I don't know if I quite know how I'm feeling, other than sad.

I do feel incredibly thankful that my job allows me to spend 13 weeks at home (paid) with my little. I know, I am incredibly lucky that I have the summers off. But those weeks in the summer just don't quite cut it for me. I'm really selfish. Truth be told, I wish I was a stay at home mama (SAHM).

I'm telling you, I'm really really selfish. I want to raise my baby. I want to listen to him talking to himself when he wakes up in the morning. I want to feed him the breakfast that I prepare. I want to take him places and build memories and experiences with him. I want to watch him grow right in front of me. I want all his cuddles, hugs, and kisses throughout the day. I want to teach him how to say please, thank you, and your welcome. I want to feed him naps, read him books, and put him down for naps. I want to hear every giggle that comes out of his mouth. I want to hug away his tears. I want to respond to his temper tantrums. I want to discipline him our way. I want to see every single smile that graces his precious little face. You see, I'm selfish. I want to spend every second of every day with my kid while he's still a kid.

But, the day is here and it's the night before I return to work. I wanted to make sure today was extra special for both Dayton and I. So, we had a Dayton and mama all day date. I put all of my energy into spending every second of today with my little man.

This morning we made pancakes for breakfast. Then we played with toys and read books. After we got ready, we headed to the Children's museum where we played, danced, and played forms a peek-a-boo in every nook and cranny that we could. Then it was time for lunch. We headed to Panera and even got a giant cookie for after we ate. Then it was nap time. Little man was so tired, he fell asleep in the car. I carried him in and I just cuddled him. I finally laid him down and got my last bit of work in. I should have taken a nap or read a book or just watched TV, but I didn't. Silly me worked. After nap time, we ran a few quick errands and then it was back home to play downstairs in the playroom. When dada got home, we cooked dinner, spent some quality family time together, and then started our bed time routine. Little man was all giggles and smiles. He melts. my. heart.

Hopefully tomorrow won't be too hard, but I'm sure I will bawl after I drop him off. At least when I show up at work every other mama in the building will understand my ugly cry, red eyed, swollen lids face. Goodbye summer 2015! You've been the best yet!

Iowa State Fair

Did you know that the Iowa State Fair has been featured in National Geographic's Top 10 things to do in the US? Did you know it's #1 out of 5 tastiest fairs?? Well, those reasons are why it's a part of my bucket list. That and we live here. And the butter cow. Yes, you read that right. Butter. Cow.

We decided to take a day trip down to Des Moines to do some back to school shopping and visit the fair. I have never been and the hubs hadn't been since college! I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I was excited. We arrived in Des Moines around 11:30 am and headed straight for Whole Foods for lunch - which is a must for me. After lunch we went to the Jordan Creek Mall for some shopping! We were hoping that Dayton would take his nap in the stroller while we shopped, but that was stupid. There was too much to see! #duh. Brad found a few shirts and I found nothing a pair of earrings. Totally lame. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to find anything that I like this year? All of the current styles are cute for non-work attire, but they seem sloppy for work attire. I just can't.

Around 4 pm, we left the mall. Guess who fell asleep as soon as we started back out of the parking space? You guessed it, D man. He slept for about 20 minutes in the car while we got gas and drove to the other side of Des Moines where the fair was. Poor little guy. He was so tired! As soon as we parked though, he was awake and ready for more!

We ate a ton of fatty fair food like chicken pulled bbq, corn dogs, funnel cakes, sugar fresh lemonade, and ice cream. Yummy! We saw tractors, farm animals, pet a cow, and enjoyed some good ol' people watching. It was great! We had so much fun and I can't wait until next year! We didn't see any presidential candidates, but that was okay with us. The fair was packed because it was a Saturday, so we were happy with the things that we did get to do! Until next year!

the butter cow. a sculptor of a cow made entirely of butter.

tractor!

Just for you Jaimie...

the biggest pumpkin

petting a cow, thanks to the nice guy from Iowa State!

We love John Deere!

Petting Zoo!

This Friday, Dayton and I met our friends at the petting zoo here in town! Dayton and I got there early, so I was able to practice my "photog" skills. (I say that very sarcastically.) Dayton has no fear when it comes to animals. I am thankful for that because we always have so much fun at the petting zoos, but hopefully it will never backfire! Bobbi (my friend - our hubbies work together), Natalie (2), and Emma (10 months) arrived a bit after us. The kiddos had a lot of fun seeing and petting the animals and us mamas had a great time talking and watching!

I snapped this picture as we were leaving of Natalie and Dayton pushing Emma's stroller! Cuties!!

And a few from my phone...

Mississippi Valley Fair

This weekend we traveled down to the grandparents house in the Quad Cities. We needed a weekend with Brad's parents, but it just so happened that the Mississippi Valley Fair was the same week and weekend! Brad's parents had bought tickets for the week and had attended several of the concerts at night. We planned to go see The Band Perry on Saturday night. (One of my favorites!)

Dayton had a fun time looking at tractors, seeing/petting/feeding the animals, and going to a little bit of his first concert! What a fun weekend!

We ended up leaving after about three songs. It was Dayton's melt down time. Poor kiddo was up past his bedtime!