Insta-Joy

since january each week i have been documenting a journey to find joy in the every day what some may consider the mundane.

it has been a great project and opened my eyes to the joys that surround me daily.

in the last few weeks since starting to participate in insta friday, i have found it hard to do both.  most of the pictures for insta friday are also pictures i would use in my finding joy posts.  the point of insta friday is to show little snippets of our week via camera phone. most of those little snippets i am capturing are little joys or things i need to find joy in each week.  

so i now have my insta-joys :o)  

{there are a large number of pictures as i am trying to catch up from the past few weeks}

 mauryn loves to help clean.  her favorite thing to do is mop the kitchen floor.

 target dollar section, how i heart you!

i found all these little games and cards that will be perfect for school especially for our workbox activities.  yeah!

 mauryn is getting so brave. 

as usual she is in her favorite dress up outfit.

 she brought plenty of her friends for a camp out in the backyard.

 we went to our local farmers market the other saturday morning.

they always have a fabulous bread vendor.

the kids got a caramel roll and we picked up a loaf of cinnamon bread.

the roll didn't make it passed the stand and the bread was gone by lunch.

 we took the dogs out to the lake for a little swim.

they were in doggy heaven.

 while the dogs swam, the kids had a great time skipping rocks.

 we took the summer off from our college aged small group but they had been asking to come over and hang out.  i made some snacks {spicy mexican and plenty of sweets} and we got caught up on their busy summer lives. it was so nice to have them in our house again.

 a summer night with our college group would not be complete without a fast paced, intense game of four square.  

 the dogs escaped one morning and were running on the path behind our house and taking a little dip in the canal.

mauryn to the rescue.

she got on the scooter and loaded up her pockets with dog bones and worked some magic to get them to come home.

 one of the many books i am reading this summer.

if you have boys, you should get it and read it.

really insightful.

if you have girls, get the five conversations you must have with your daughter.

you won't regret reading either of these books.

 after vbs one day we went to the water park.

it was about 100 degrees.

my boy played in the sand.

makes sense to me when it is blazing hot and you are at the water park.

 our friends invited us over to their pool one afternoon.

it was just delightful.

i am so thankful for friends with pools.

 you can take the girl out of the gym but you can't take the gymnast out of the girl.

always pointed toys. 

always straight legs.

always working on something.

 thank you costco for an affordable ice cream maker

and a coupon.

we are all in love with this little beauty.

 morgan wanted to make her own shirt for the 4th of july 

tie dye of course

 twin day at vbs

of course mauryn takes her baby addie in her car seat

and they are wearing matching pj's and have matching hair

 landon dressed up with our neighbor chade

 we are all about safety around here

 my two littles at the vbs program

 the view on my morning run in MT

this is on the way home

i love the downhill

and the view

 the view from our bunkhouse each morning

i'll take it

and i am not even a mountain girl {i'd rather have the beach thank you}

 i picked up this pair of sassy red boots at a consignment store in MT

they were in perfect condition

not even a scratch on the bottom

a girl in MT needs a pair of boots

especially if you are going to the rodeo

 the kids ready for the 4th of july parade

 mauryn enjoying some corn on the cob {her favorite} at the rodeo

 i had some very tired kids after a long weekend in MT

sleeping kids in the car = 1 1/2 hours of quiet

 we came home from MT and started swimming lessons

my littles are fish

they love love love the water

 we took in $1 movie at our local theater

a movie just isn't complete without popcorn

i heart movie theater popcorn... its the best!

 my new favorite game on the iphone

hanging with friends

jessica has beaten me since our first game

i had to have this picture to remember i won once

 working on a little project involving paint and some spice racks from ikea

 mauryn showing us her inner punky brewster

 she loves ducks

she loves goggles

she loves swimming lessons

this is joy to my baby

 breakfast next to the computer watching the space shuttle launch

 i would take a chocolate chip cookie over birthday cake any day

 i went to sonic to get a soda

they gave me a survey

for the 2 minutes it took me to complete the survey

i get a free route 44 soda

yes!

 she had been waiting all week for when she got to jump in

next up: jumping off the diving board

my kids have been wanting to have a sleepover in our living room

they collected every blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal they could find

{while i took deep breaths over the mess}

snuggled in with a movie

and camped out!