Invincible October.

It may be cliché, but man, I am so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers! The weather has been so lovely lately. It’s still warm but that fall breeze is starting to blow through and it feels amazing! I’ve been begging Braden to do this couple’s workout with me and this weekend it finally felt like the right day to walk to the park with our yoga mats and give it a whirl. We. looked. ridiculous. RIDICULOUS! We could not stop laughing and my poor husband is in excellent shape but has terrible balance. At one point he lost his balance, fell into me, and sent me flying into the mud. Braden said the only thing we accomplished was getting our yoga mats (and the entire right side of my body) muddy. But I think we got in some good ab work from all the laughing! Afterward Braden tricked me into running a mile around a big track. I say “tricked” because he started out by convincing me to just run around the loop once but after I did that he kept pushing until I had made it a full mile. This information probably seems insignificant, but I think the last time I ran a mile might have been in “Fit for Life,” freshman year of college. I’m not kidding, sadly. But I ran that mile at the park and I felt invincible. Thank goodness for a husband who encourages me to be active everyday. Otherwise my life might be all bath time and Pinterest. What a scary image.  

Weekend wonders.

Back to school has been a very busy season for the Spear household. I kicked off the year with 2 weeks of professional development at VOICE followed by 3 weekends out of town and the return of all my school kiddos. When not traveling I have been very busy comforting kindergarteners, counseling, conducting groups, teaching “Mind, Body & Heart,” attending meetings, consulting with teachers and parents, and drinking too much coffee.

The first trip was to Missouri for my grandmother’s 90^th birthday over Labor Day weekend. It was very special to be there to celebrate with her and to see all the lives she has impacted. We started the weekend with a family reunion of sorts. My dad’s side of the family is huge and lives all over the country. My dad is the youngest of 6 kids and I’m the youngest of 13 grandchildren ranging from age late 40ish to 25 (me!). Almost all of my cousins have kids of their own so there were tons of great grandchildren (some of these “children” are in college now!) and even a great-great grandchild. I hadn’t seen a few of my relatives since my grandmother’s 75^th birthday so it was crazy to see a 15-year difference on everyone. On Sunday we all piled into her little church and my Dad shared a special message with the congregation. He asked anyone in the church who had been impacted by my grandmother’s late husband to stand. He then asked anyone in the church who had been impacted by my grandmother to stand. Nearly everyone in the sanctuary was standing. My uncle Danny also sang a song dedicated to my grandmother. After the service we held a birthday party with church members and people from the community. Over 100 people attended. As I reflect on the weekend I couldn’t help but think of how often we gather to honor people after they have already passed on to heaven. What a blessing it was to celebrate my Grandmother in her very presence and show her how much we appreciate her godly character and service to others. She is a very special and loved lady.

Grandmother with some of her many great-grandchildren 

Grandmother visiting with Autumn and Daniel 

We got her a VCR for her birthday :) 

I don't even know ... 

I love how she's known as "Ms. Juanita" to people of all ages 

A worthy woman who can find? Her worth is far above jewels. 

4 generations 

The next weekend I headed to Arkansas solo for the wedding of my childhood BFF, Marybeth. My friendship with Marybeth dates back to my first day of kindergarten. We became instant and inseparable friends. Nearly every childhood memory I have involves Marybeth in some way! My family moved away to Kentucky when I was in 5^th grade and the story goes that while we were excited for the new adventures to come, our moms sobbed in the driveway as we said our goodbyes. Kentucky turned into a wonderful place to finish out my childhood and turn into a young adult but one regret is leaving Marybeth! I sometimes think about what our friendship would have looked like if we could have gone through our middle school and high school years together. Nevertheless I still consider Marybeth to be a special friend and I was honored to witness her big day. Congrats to Marybeth and GB. Can’t wait to double-date next time I’m in Arkansas!

Morning mocha with my parents before the wedding

Beautiful morning!

Walking Feaster Trail with my parents before the wedding

Hugs with the bride

Mothers/Daughters. Can you tell who goes with who??

Epic photo bomb courtesy of my parents

Newlyweds! 

The final weekend of travel was to Rhode Island for Braden’s cousin’s wedding. This was quite the event! All of the guests spent the weekend at a beautiful country estate called “Whispering Pines” surrounded by forests, lakes, and streams.  The day of the wedding we had a relaxing morning of bike riding and games before the “Wedding of the Century,” as my in-laws like to call it :) This thing went from 3:30 in the afternoon to sometime after 11:30pm when Braden and I finally hit the sack. But we had so much fun! Highlights included beautiful live music, stunning decore, a very handsome and hilarious MC (Okay, okay, my husband was the MC), funny toasts, dancing with Braden’s grandpa, and having a golden ticket at dinner which meant I got to take a slice of EVERY FLAVOR of cake. That was five slices of cake, people. FIVE. Congrats to Kasey and Ryan! Lucky for us they are living nearby in DC. I see more weekend travels in our near future! 

Hubs being ridiculous the night before the wedding

Rehearsal Dinner was a fun picnic-y BBQ 

I loved all the little details

Ryan and Kasey, less than 24 hours before tying the knot! 

At our 5th wedding since our own!

Spear men: Braden. Grandpa Ray, Colby, Scott, Trent

Reunited with his brothers. Colby came from grad school in Germany and Trent from undergrad in Pennsylvania 

Beautiful setting for a wedding! 

Sunday in the park.

“I knew I couldn't live in America and I wasn't ready to move to Europe so I moved to an island off the coast of America - New York City .” 

― Spalding Gray

Quarter of a century.

Yesterday I turned 25! So many of you sent me birthday wishes for a great day and I truly had one of the greatest days ever. It started with breakfast in bed with my absolute favorite food- a croissant! Also one of my favorite drinks, a Starbucks mocha frappachinno, and a sweet letter from my love. Then Braden brought out presents. He gave me a new dress and a new swimsuit that he picked out all by himself and he told me we were going to the beach!!! I was already so excited but then Braden really surprised me by giving me a third gift. A Canon Rebel!!!!! I may have started crying before I even opened the box to see my beautiful new camera. I have wanted this camera for many years and never thought I'd have one of my own. Braden told me we could go to Central Park on Sunday to try out the new camera and I can't wait!

This past week has been a little tough because it's my last week of summer vacation. I kept telling Braden that my birthday signified the end of all happiness (perhaps that was a little dramatic) because I return to work on Monday. But he made it so special from beginning to end. He seriously thought of everything. On the beach he kept asking,  "Hungry for a snack?" and pulling out another of my favorite treats (salt and vinegar chips, sour punch straws, naked juice...he had it all!). He even made a homemade cookie cake- the dessert my parents would always make on our birthdays. Emily and Tyler spent beach day with us and when it came time to pick where I wanted to go to for dinner I was craving smoked salmon. So I did the natural thing and picked IKEA! Haha, it was the weirdest dinner location but so good and I loved how everybody just went along with it. When we got home I was so worn out by the day that I fell asleep around 9:45 in true 25-year-old fashion.

Special thanks to my wonderful husband, sister and brother-in-law for making my b-day extra special!

Fabulous way to start off 25!

Beautiful presents from my hubby

First photo taken on my new camera :)

Skyping mom and dad

Eating cookie cake on the beach!

IKEA dinner. Because why not?