Twins

It's weird how much my baby sister and I look alike!

When I saw this picture of her on Instagram

the other day, all I could think about

was how awesome her little 10 year old self was!

I mean really really the raddest pre-teen out there!

I also thought that it was hilarious

that we have the same fashion sense.

A little shared sister style!

if the O'Donovan sisters were dolls...

handmade necklaces for my sisters for christmas.

one day, when we are all old enough,

i would love for us to have matching stacking doll tattoos.

mud run

one week from today i will have mud in places i don't even know about. so so so excited to run the grand rapids 5K mud run with lisa, alyssa, and paige!

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. once or twice a year i make it out to my parent lake house on lake santeetlah. it is my heaven on earth. i think deep down inside (as much as i love living on the beach) that i was meant to be pickin' a banjo in the back woods of north carolina. spending the week up there was so rejuvenating (even if i was sick half the trip).

2. haley and paige drove up with my cousin to surprise my dad and spend some time with us at the lake. it was the best surprise! my dad was blown away. i had such an amazing time with them! the two of them are growing up to be such amazing women and i am so proud to be their big sister!

3. one of my favorite things about spending time in NC is checking out the local artist. we usually head into asheville and hit up some galleries, but this time we stayed very local. yellow branch farm and pottery as well as bee global will always be on my "must go to" list when i am up there.

4. the boy was so amazing on the plane. i was worried about the flight home since we didn't even take off until about 9pm. he fell asleep before we even left the ground and slept until every last person was off the plane. what a champ.

5. as i mentioned i got sick on vacation...bummer. but i must say, that if you are going to get sick you should do it when we are with 15 of your closest family members. i had so much help with the boy. it was the biggest weight off my shoulders to have all the help. thanks everyone!

6. as much fun as i had in north carolina this past week the highlight had to be getting home to see the hubs! unfortunately he couldn't make the trip, but we sure missed him! it is so good to be back in his arms.

7. nyquil - even though it makes me do funny things in my sleep.

8. sharing in the excitement with my two favorite people from ouraugust. not only is it their month (both of them celebrating birthdays in august), but these two little lovers just got engaged! jump on over and share the love with them! i know that they will have a long life together full of laughter and joy. best wishes!

9. the boy did his first zip line at his friend olive's birthday party. barrel o'monkeys is an awesome family run kids gym in delray beach. the boy and i have been before, but he was too scared to do the zip line before....but today was a new day! thanks to a little persuasion from mommy (i told him it was like a super hero....how could he say no?) and the instructor letting me take him on the ride....he did it!

10. i have not legitimately cooked dinner since i have been home from my trip (baked chicken and mac and cheese doesn't count). between me and the boy being sick and the lack of food in the house it just hasn't happened. all the pizza and take out is taking it's toll but sometime it's nice to have someone else make dinner. as i am writing this now the hubs in on his way home from picking up dinner at chili's. yum.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. cool weather in august. its so funny listening to everyone complain about how hot it is up here in the mountains, meanwhile i am searching for a sweater. the weather is absolutely beautiful up here.

2. working out with my step mom...she's the best motivator.

3. sunset cruises.

4. watching the boy fearlessly swan dive/belly flop into the lake from the dock and the boat. this kid is lake boy to the core.

5. stoney hollow farm. i am so sad that they are selling the farm. i am afraid that whom ever buys it won't be able to live up to it. this farm is a you pick/ self service farm. you literally leave your money wrapped up in the freezer. got to love the honor system.

6. the boys first jet ski ride....even if he didn't love it....it was "too loud"

7. having an abundance of help with the boy. between my dad, step mom, and all my sisters it's been really nice to not have to be constantly worried about the boy.

8. the look on my dad's face when two of my sisters showed up at the lake to surprise him. priceless.

9. the boys new love for kayak rides.

10. being surrounded with so much love, family, and laughter.

28 minus 20 equals 12?

my baby sister isn't much of a baby anymore. as a matter of fact she's growing up quite quickly. last night we had a pretty confusing conversation about her actual age. we have always been 20 years apart....things like that just don't change, but in my head i was convinced that she was in her tweens. but the math just wasn't adding up. i know that i am not in my 30's (yet). as we were cruising the lake on the jet ski i kept counting....28 minus 20 equals 8....but you are at least 12...huh? she finally settled it for me....she's really only 8. i guess i get it, my entire childhood everyone always thought that i was older too.

back to the jet ski....she was driving. my sister, my baby sister is absolutely fearless compared to my grandma jet ski driving. she goes fast....way faster than i would ever dare. she knows all the fun maneuvers and loves nothing more that jumping the wakes. i am not sure which she gets a bigger kick out of though, the rush of the ride or the fact that her oldest sister is hanging on for dear life and squealing with joy.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

sorry for being a day late here guys. this week was so full of travel and company, beach and family. it was a great week. hope you all enjoyed the week without words. it was a lot of fun for me, had so much fun taking all of these pictures.

1. road tripping with my boy across s.r. 80. growing up in fl, and having family spread out all over the state, i think that i have taken every back road from hear to the pan handle. i can now check s.r. 80 off my list. lots of fields, lots of singing with the boy with the windows down, lots of cows, and a whole lot of nothing. it's so amazing to me how so much of florida is still real land. i drove through a town called belle glade, and the city motto read "the richness is in her soil". i want to farm.

2. lot of long, slow walks on the beach in search for the perfect shell.

3. late night chats with my sisters. i am considerably older than all of my siblings. there is a 20 year age difference between my youngest sister and i. but they are finally getting to the age where i am the cool older sister, and not just someone that they really couldn't relate to.

4. celebrity. this is my all time favorite group game. and there is no box required. it's my families favorite night of vacation every time. we laugh, we all swear that my dad makes people up, it's full of stupid one liners and me saying "um" a lot.

5. greek tacos. i'll post the recipe soon.

6. surprise visit at the beach house from my family's best friends, the burgess's. betty burgess is my idol. her confidence, her humor, her effortless yet supremely chic sense of style....and on top of all of that this woman is one of the most caring people that i have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few years. this woman has got it all. oh and did i mention that she is a designer? talk about dream homes!

7. the boy got to see almost all of his grandparents in one week. while on vacation at the beach we saw 3 sets of great grandparents, plus his patchie and lala (my dad and stepmom). then we got to meet nana (the hubs mom) for brunch on saturday. the only one missing was my mom.

8. matt and sandy came for a visit, finally. they are some of our closest friends from orlando and we have been missing them very much. it was so great to spend a couple days with them catching up and soaking up the sun.

9. eating the first pepper from the new plant, and some of my tomatoes on a turkey burger that was so loaded up with veggies that there was a complete upper bun blow out (yes, that's the technical term). they were some amazing burgers though.

10. getting to see the hubs after being gone all week. that was for sure the best thing that happened to me all week.

bliss