Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday was pretty much a picture perfect summer day.  One of my favorite things about summertime is being able to go outside to play in our shorts + t-shirts first thing in the morning.  So that's exactly what we did - 6:30 a.m. playing in the driveway in our jammies. :)

ice pop jammies 

I think Ellie might have spent maybe 30 waking minutes inside on Saturday.  We threw on our bathing suits and spent the entire day enjoying the beautiful (and hot + humid) weather.  We played with her water table, turned on the sprinkler, tested out her new flamingo float (on the grass because turns out her kiddie pool didn't quite survive the winter), ate popsicles, "assisted" Tyler with some yard work and grilled out for dinner.  We ended our day with dirty feet, full bellies + happy hearts.

 

My sister's birthday was on Sunday so we spent the afternoon celebrating at my parents house.  Lots of fun, good food and a few somewhat successful attempts at some family photos. ;)  Happy Birthday to my sister and one awesome auntie!! We love you so much! :)

 

navy bow w/stars c/o

Monday was a pretty quiet day.  It rained all morning and ended up clearing up a bit in the afternoon, but it was still mostly cloudy and very wet outside.  Tyler did more yard work and, despite this cute smile, Ellie was kind of ridiculously grumpy.  Possibly because she couldn't spend the entire day outside since that seems to be her most favorite thing ever.  We managed to log a little while outdoors and I worked on cleaning out Ellie's closet while she napped.  I put a lot of clothes away in storage bins... making plenty of room for some cute new things! ;)

 

If you follow us on Snapchat (linleynoel), you've already seen plenty of this little feline.  She is our neighbors' who recently started coming to visit.  She's crazy cuddly and LOVES love.  Our cats tend to run when Ellie tries as hard as she can to gently pet them, but this kitty demands Ellie's attention and Ellie really isn't sure what to make of it - her expression in this photo is a pretty accurate depiction of her feelings about the situation. ;)

red + white striped bow c/o // summer vibes tee  (still the same one Ellie wore tied up as a belly shirt last summer!) // bloomers (old from Gap last year, similar here) // gold moccs

We finished off our weekend with sparklers in the backyard and s'mores dip.  We had intentions of having a campfire this weekend, but never got around to it.  This dip fulfilled my s'mores cravings without the hassle of having a fire... but, I'm still hoping for my campfire in the next couple weeks! ;)

I used one of the mini cake pans I bought for Ellie's birthday to make the dip, but you could really use any pan or dish you can put in the oven.  I also saw some on Pinterest using cast iron skillets.  I used two Hershey's bars and layered them on the bottom, covered the chocolate with marshmallows and cooked for 6 minutes at 450 degrees.  It was so easy and surprisingly good.  I think I cooked it a little too long because the chocolate was starting to actually cook, not just melt, but I was trying to brown up the marshmallows a bit!  ;)   I would definitely make this dip again - it's especially perfect for rainy days or even in the winter.  Hello, Christmas movie marathon + s'mores!!

 And with that, it's unofficially my favorite season of the year!  This obviously isn't Ellie's first summer, but since she was too tiny to do pretty much anything last year, it kind of feels like it is.  I'm so excited for the next few months of summer fun!  I have a feeling Ellia Summer is too. :)