The Real Life Coach's Wife Life

 In 2011 blogging was a bit of a lengthy status update for social media. Coach and I moved away from "home" and it was just a fun way to update everyone on life lately. Then in the next chapter of life it became a way to make a digital scrapbook for our first daughter, Calla. Somewhere in the next few chapters, blogging disappeared because..... ummmm..... the lack of enough minutes in the day. Recently the desire of blogging again came to my heart. I am sure many are rolling their eyes. It's fine. Roll away. 

In this chapter of our lives the reason behind blogging is to share my heart. I want to shout my feelings about many topics and tell you that YOU CAN. You CAN be a wife, mama, teacher, small business owner, and REAL LIFE person. My passion is to be someone's cheerleader. I want you to know you CAN be the biggest supporter of your husband. You can be a full time mama, and LOVE your teaching career.  You CAN make that dinner for your family in fifteen minutes with that clingy toddler on your hip. You can go on a walk and listen to a podcast just for a mama moment. You CAN post that selfie and work that business from your phone. (Send me your link, I'll support you!) You can. Let's do it together. 

I have LOTS to say. I have even more to share. 2011 Carley was a Rookie Wife just blogging for fun. 2023 Carley is here to cheer you on and show you the absolute Real Life Coach's Wife Life. 

Are You A Chef Now?

Hello from my kitchen table which is now my classroom/ desk/ small group table. Bless. While I sit and grade assignments, answer student questions, build lessons for next week... I am also making our weekly meal plan for next week. I like to plan ahead. I've always been a meal planner, and now it is even more beneficial. Like so many others (hopefully) we are trying to make one grocery store trip every week. I would love to knock it down to every 2 weeks, but we eat a ton of fruits and veggies.

If we are Insta friends, then you know I LOVE cooking with Tiny Little Chef seasonings. I found this site when I was doing a round of Whole30. I placed my first order of a 4 pack. A few months later, we use the seasonings daily and there isn't one we don't LOVE.  I've replaced all of my other seasonings and truly only use TLC. However, now the seasoning gal has helped me even more: She has launched E-Cookbooks. I've been using many of her recipes from the app and website, but now she has a resource that is flawless and so beneficial. If you are looking for gluten free recipes.. she has you covered! Kid friendly? Check! (Which in my house is "Coach Friendly") Low carb? No problem. She wrote a book for that! 

With all of the at home cooking that is occurring, use this time to up your meal planning game. Try a seasoning. You will love them! (I gave so many as gifts this Christmas!) Get the app on your phone for easy meal ideas and tips. Add an e-cookbook to your computer as a resource for all of your family dinners!

As always, CarleyC is a discount code. Let me know if you have already tried some!

The Salty Truth

If we are real life friends then you know that I am somewhat of a podcast junkie. I like to keep busy. I am not sitting very often. This summer I became hooked on True Crime. Coach bought me a nice pair of wireless headphones so that when I am listening to something, the entire house is not also listening. I've also pushed Spotify music to the side and replaced it with a podcast while I run.

You will usually find me listening to a True Crime series or a Dateline episode. (Which is a horrible idea if you are running through town by foot might I add.) It's not True Crime, but I wanted to share my most recent love: The Salty Truth. 

This is what I like to call, "Think Better, Do Better." This week's episode was all about setting goals and why we NEED to set them. It is not often I find a "Think Better, Do Better" podcast that I can hang on to every word or think, "YES! I totally needed to hear that!" after each episode. This is one. This podcast just makes me BETTER.

"Telling people you don't need to set goals is like saying, "No, I don't need to be a better person." 

So take that as a punch in the throat if you were negative to someone who was talking about their goals for 2020. 

Sorry Not Sorry. 

Episodes are short and sweet. You can rock through an episode in about 30 minutes. (While you cook dinner and ignore the eighty requests for a snack. Just me?)  I suggest you keep your journal open and ready for a quick note or two while you listen. It's good stuff.

You can find this podcast on any place you get your podcasts. (I use Apple.)

A quick question for podcast listeners: When you are listening, do you find yourself googling the people in the podcasts? I FOR sure do this.

Well... For The Salty Truth....  I actually know the voice. I know the person. He's kinda famous. He's our lead pastor at our church.

Makes me love it even more.

If you go listen this week, let me know what you think. I have no doubt you'll hit subscribe.

Love love,
C^2

My Favorite Pressure Cooker Dinner

Mongolian Beef and Broccoli 

I made a post one evening about my go to dinner recipe to cook in the Foodi. I had about 50 messages asking for the recipe. Then life happened. By life I mean: back to school, new grade, Calla in Pre-K, FOOBALL... the list goes on. This has been a draft for 5 months. My 2020 goal is to publish more blogs. So this is first out of the draft box.

I want to start by saying my photos are simple Iphone photos. I am just using them because I like photos when I make a new recipe.

 I should take a moment to give a plug for my favorite clean/ Whole30 blogger. She has the most beautiful content, food pictures, and she is a true blogger. Check out Healthy Little Peach. I feel like Mac and I are besties. I adore her that much. This recipe is FROM her, I just made a few changes to fit my kitchen needs. All credit should go to her.


Now for the dinner. It is super clean. Whole30 approved. Easy. Quick. Cheap. Plus you can use your pressure cooker to make it. I promise it will be on your family's weekly go to menu. I should also add that this is husband approved. Coach will actually request it. I don't let Calla eat beef too much. She will have something different when I make this, but I do give her the veggies and broth. She likes that part of the dinner. Beef just isn't her fave.

Let's get started.

What You Need: 
Beef cut into small long pieces. (Publix will cut this for you. I hate cutting meat.)
1/4 cup of oil
2 tablespoons of minced garlic

Broccoli
Fresh mushrooms
One onion diced
3 cups of beef bone broth
1 cup of liquid aminos (This will replace soy sauce.)
1 tablespoon of arrowroot flour
1/4 cup of water
Garlic salt
Salt
Pepper
(I measure no spices. Sorry.)

What You Do: 
Before I begin I like to chop my broccoli and roast it in a pan for 10 minutes in the oven. I think the broccoli cooks better in the pressure cooker if it is precooked in the oven first. You do not have to do this at all. I just love the flavor of roasted broccoli. This could be your first step. Or leave it out.

Turn your cooker on "Sear/ Saute."
Cover the bottom with an oil of your choice. (I use avocado.)
Add a tad of garlic and let the pan warm up.

Once you have a nice sizzle, add your beef and let the beef cook for 2 minutes. You may have to do this in small batches. This is fine. You will add all of the beef to the pressure cooker in just a minute.

Next you are going to add all of your beef back to the cooker. Then add your liquids. Stir all of the contents together.

Add your spices and stir.

Now add your veggies. I will clean out the fridge for this: mushrooms/ onions/ peas and carrots/ whatever you have. On this day I had mushrooms, onions, and broccoli.

Put your lid on the pressure cooker. Set on HIGH PRESSURE for 18 minutes. (Make sure you have your vent closed.)

While that is cooking, (this is a clean eating secret) you will want to add a tablespoon of Arrowroot flour to 1/4 cup of water. Mix this. (This will make your broth thick like a sauce when your beef is done cooking. This is going to replace corn starch. You can find this flour at any grocery store. Bob's brand is my favorite.)

After the 18 minutes you can release the pressure. Open your lid, add your flour and water mixture. Stir all of the contents. It will thicken up in about 45 seconds.

Plate your meal and enjoy. If I have cauliflower rice that needs cooking I will add this as well at the end. No need to do that though, because this is plenty filling and full of veggies and great protein. 

This has replaced my method of cooking Mongolian beef. I ONLY use this recipe now. It is THAT good and very easy. 

I Wanna Be An Influencer

I have a loopy case.(It's truly amazing. I never drop my phone) I own Spanx leggings. (Literally have 3 pair, and live in them. Best mom pants ever.)  I use a Billie razor. (It's good. I really just love that it is cheap and sent to the house monthly.)  I am pretty much influenced by the fine people on the internet. I will be the first to admit this. However... something is just...... missing. I want to be that something.

What's missing to me? The influence to be.... something different. 

To read the Bible. Not fake/ outdated news posts on Facebook. 

To journal. 

To cook more meals at home. 

Take a friend a homemade frozen dinner. (Or spaghetti dinner. ) 

To add crazy spices to all of your veggies to make even the pickiest husbands and 4 year olds love them. 

Binge read a book series. 

To try different foods, enjoy grocery shopping, and enjoy the food prep process.

Listen to a podcast. Or 10. 

 To meal plan with a good old actual cookbook. 

To go for a long run rather than calling someone to gossip. 

 To use that crockpot weekly. Maybe even more than once a week. 

To sit at the table with friends and family and share delicious meals and even better conversations.

To not schedule yourself so thin that dinners are nonexistent. 

Where are these people? Why can't we swipe up for this feature? Can we make a change?

Share your healthy dinner posts. Share your grocery lists with friends. Tell me what you're packing in your kid's lunchbox. (Over here it is some pepperoni. We are obsessed.)

I am the first to want more from myself. Do you? Do you want a change?

Edited To Add: 

I sat at the computer for three days and worked on this post. I didn't want it to sound like I was pointing fingers at others for NOT doing these things. I am not at all. I'm actually pointing fingers at myself. I am guilty. I am wanting to change. 

Love love,
C^2

Must Have

*All if the items that are linked are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.  I do receive a small amount of commission for the links provided. 

Fun fact. The recent tanning blog has more hits than the kitchen blog. Ha. Y'all must like some tanning and not so big on the cooking.

So if that is you... may want to come back tomorrow. Today I am sending some love to all of the kitchen loving gals here on the dot com.

I usually don't tell myself "No" when it comes to a purchase for my kitchen. I feel that I spend so much time in here that I will use whatever I buy. That may be why this came home with me yesterday...

It wasn't until recently that I absolutely fell in love with cooking. I am slightly obsessed with cooking healthy meals for the Cain fam. I want something that is done in 20 minutes, delicious, and made with ingredients that I can pronounce.

If you are going to treat yourself to a new kitchen tool, here are some that I use regularly.


A sweet friend sent me a picture of her zoodles. My heart was so full of love and pride. Then I saw the price she paid for those sweet little noodled veggies. WOW! DO NOT. I repeat: DO NOT but your veggies pre-cut. I promise it takes two minutes tops to cut your own and clean up. I LOVE this zoodler. It is very simple to use and actually works. I tossed several $4.99 TJ MAXX hand held ones before I just ordered this one. It's under $25.00 so you really can't go wrong. We eat zoodles weekly.
If you are keto, Whole 30, or just like to have more veggies on the table, you will use this often. Promise.

I asked Santa for this item for Calla's first Christmas. I knew I didn't want to use baby food out of a jar and I researched making my own so I wanted a tool that I would use for baby food as well as afterwards. Spoiler alert: I made food for about 2 weeks then just went with solids. BUT... this purchase has been well worth it. I use it every morning to make a shake/ smoothie. I use it again at night to rice my own cauliflower. We seriously love it so much that we have given it as a gift and convinced every person in our family to get one. Plus, Ninja just has my whole heart. I love love love them and their company. (Yo, Ninja.... feel free to throw some partnerships my way!)

For the next item I literally asked Coach, "What is something you see me use all the time in the kitchen?" His reply: this. He is right. I use this weekly because we love ground beef. Tacos. Spaghetti. Chili. (Just brown it and eat it out of the pan?) I love this so much I gave it as my gift this Christmas when I hosted a favorite things party. What did I do without this?

I also love these. They work with every Yeti lid we have. They keep me from using plastic straws. For some reason I drink more water when I use a straw. Strange? Probably.

Remember when I said we cook every night just so we can have leftovers for lunch the next day?  I went ahead and made the switch to these. I haven't switched all of our dishes, but we really LOVE the ones we do have. I need to purchase a set of bigger ones.

There you have it... What I am using most in my kitchen! What should I add? Do you have a go to item that you love? I am in the market for some great knives!

If you missed my other post on my absolute FAVORITE items in the kitchen: visit that here! You can't go wrong with either of these!

Love love,
C^2

Say NO To Tanning

*Links provided are affiliate links. I do receive a small amount of commission for each link. All opinions are my own. 

So. Many. People ask about my tanning machine. I decided to give all of the details here.

3 years ago I gave up tanning 100%. No more tanning beds. I still wanted a tan... so I did some research and bought THIS spray tanning system.

It really is perfect. I spray weekly and it is amazing just to have it in my garage. I also spray friends that want a tan. I know the machine is kinda $$. ( I always kinda hate linking things because then Coach knows...) 


This is also the hands down try this. best solution to buy. It is the perfect color for all skin types. You can youtube videos and teach yourself how to use it. So simple. Truly worth every single penny!
You do use this solution with the machine.

BUT.... if you just want a quick tan in a can... and don't really want to invest the $$ in the system: I have used ALLLLL things self tanning and this is a great quick option.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

*I have included Amazon links for all of the products. They are affiliate links however all of the opinions are my own. I promise I use these items daily! 
I could start this blog by saying "I have had a ton of DMs asking me about the kitchen tools and gadgets I use in the kitchen each night...."

But this would sound way too professional and way too much like Instagram fame. Honestly, I am a teaching wife and mama that is simply looking to cook amazing meals for my family that are:
a) easy
b) healthy
c) delicious
d) did I mention easy? Must be super easy.

I do get several comments and questions asking about what I use to cook meals and how I keep them easy and under 20 minutes... and someone may be in the market for something to make their life a tad easier around 5pm every night. For this reason I have decided to give you the official Carley Cain opinion of my 2 most used kitchen tools.

One.
May I introduce the OG Ninja product. 2 years ago my 3rd Crockpot brand crockpot died. This was the 3rd one I purchased since being married. I was just about mad about it but went to purchase another because... duh... crockpots are life. I was in the store and found THIS with a clearance sticker on it. I instantly put it in the cart and never looked back. Ninja is literally my favorite product brand because their customer service is simply the best. (Betttterrrr than alllll the ressst.)

I use this wonderful tool 3-4 nights a week. It has a setting that can make it a stove top as well. This is perfect for soups. It brings them to a boil in no time. The clean up is seriously so easy. I don't even need the liner bags anymore because it is so easy to clean.

You can turn it on whatever temp you want, adjust the time, and after that cooking time it will automatically switch to "keep warm" and will not burn your food. Promise.  I love this thing like it is a child. Seriously, it is just perfect.

If you are in the market for a wedding gift/ birthday gift/ treat yo'self gift... this would be the first thing I add to my kitchen. I will likely never buy any other brand again for my kitchen.

Two.
This year the Instapot became a hot hot item. I will be the first to admit that I was terrified of the pressure cooker world. If anyone could mess this up... it would be me for sure! Plus, I LOVE my Ninja slow cooker. I really had no need for another appliance.

Then came the air fryer. This was something I knew I needed in my life. I spent a few months researching and then Ninja (my favorite company) released an appliance that was a pressure cooker and then an air fryer all in one. WHAT? Sounds perfect. One day I was riding with Coach and I was watching a YouTube video of a guy using the Ninja Foodi. Coach said, "You need that! Buy it!" So that afternoon I ordered it. We have loved it from day one! If I am not using the slow cooker, I am using this. If you are thinking of buying the pressure cooker... then you should consider this. We LOVE the air fryer option.

Here is the deal: You can cook frozen wings in 15 minutes in the pressure cooker. Then change the lid to make it the air fryer. You spend the next 10 minutes making your food crispy to perfection. It is an all in one system. It is a bit of an investment, but so so so worth it.


Those are the two most used appliances in my kitchen. They make dinner a breeze during the weeknights.

I have also LOVED this book. It was a gift from Mom and we have LOVED every meal we have made from it. It is also pretty simple to use any pressure cooker recipes you may have.

As always,
Love love
C^2

How Does Your House Run

I had about 43 seconds today where I was just scrolling the internet on my phone and I found a very interesting survey. I really wish I saved where I found the survey, but now I can't find the direct link. I would love to give them credit. So for the record: I did not make this survey. I just really found it interesting to see how other families function. What is "normal?" Am I normal? Crazy? Perfect mix of both? Here are my answers:

How Does Your House Run:
1. How many people?
Three people and two weims that have absolutely no idea they are indeed NOT people. Don't tell them.

2. Average spent on groceries?
Eeeehhhh..... $500 for the month. I'd like to explain this. We eat most meals at home. We also do not EVER eat our for lunch during the week unless it is a special treat. I also cook with a ton of fresh fruits, veggies, and meats. Not a ton of junk... so I think my bill is pretty decent.


3. Own or rent?
Own. Absolutely NOTHING wrong with renting. I totally 1000% believe in renting until you find something you love.

4. How often is laundry done?
Daily.
Coach does the laundry around here. Sometimes I do it... but that's mostly his thing. He doesn't like clothes in the hamper. Husband jackpot for real.

5. Split household chores?
For sure. I would say that I am the only one that cleans bathrooms, but Coach is the only one that takes care of the yard and outside.

6. Who does bedtime routine with kids?
We split that too. While one is doing the bath and bed, the other is cleaning the kitchen, packing lunches, and walking the Weims.

7. How do you clean your floors?
Shelly the Shark. :)

8. Who does the grocery shopping?
Wal-Mart on Sundays, whole family, after church.
Or I go. Fun fact: I LOVE the grocery store. It is kinda my "me time" so I do not mind going.

9. How often do you go out to eat?
We have a 2019 goal of going out to eat less than 5 times per month. This will totally change during football season, but right now we are rocking it.

10. Paper plates and plastic silverware, or real?
Y'ALL.... I can't stand paper plates. Seriously. Hate them. I just LOVE my real dishes. We run our dishwasher daily, but we do not ever buy paper. The only time we usually use paper is for a party or celebration... and usually I still try to use my real dishes.


What's your normal?

Love love,
C^2

Goals Goals Goals

It's the very last day of January 2019 and I wanted to document the month.

I am going to say that I worked VERY hard to crush some goals this month. The week before 2019 I decided I was going to write down some goals and then accomplish small goals each month. January was a VERY successful month.

1. Whole 30.
Done and done. I completed a very successful round of Whole 30. I feel amazing. I've even made a new friend in this journey! If you have not read, It Starts With Food... get it! Now!

2. Cook ALLLLLL the meals at home. (Go out to eat as a family less than 5 times in the entire month.) Done and done. 3 meals a day, every single day... cooked at home. If I am being honest, we only had two or three meals that were repeated. I should also be honest and say that this is the goal I am most proud of completing. It was a family goal. We LOVE going out to eat on the weekends. Not to mention I am one tired mama during the week, and would love to let Publix cook for me... but we did not let this stop us. We cooked so many amazing meals at home each day. It was super awesome to complete this goal. (Would anyone read a post on the top 4 kitchen gadgets I couldn't live without? I feel like I need to share this.)

3. Join a small group at church.
Done! Mondays are going to be my  new favorite!

4. Attend the membership class at church.
Done and done. This was a huge step for Coach. Southside has always been home. I am super proud of us for taking that huge step. It may not seem big.. but to us... it was!

January was packed! I'm not even going to try to hide the fact that I am super proud of what all we accomplished this month! Here are a few more small unplanned victories:

• Met the Cray Family for dinner at the half way mark. We need to do this monthly.  
  
• Read 4 books. (2 in one week while we were still on break...) 
• Went to a parenting/ marriage class with a mama bestie. It was until 10pm on a school night... big time! 
• Got monthly pictures of Calla. 
  
• Ran every day for 31 days. (Does this need a whole post of its own?) This was NOT a goal I set for January. It kinda just started... and I couldn't stop. Will I run every day in February? This has yet to be determined. 
• Submitted my attendance every morning on time. Hahahahaha.... I'm telling ya... crushin it! 

Quick and Easy Shrimp Dinner

It's Friday night. I deserve two awards.
The first award is for cooking on a Friday. Who am I?
The second award is for cooking a dinner and blogging about it in the same night.


I finally did it. I finally made the perfect shrimp scampi dish that was absolutely amazing... and Whole30 approved. (If you are not worried about Whole30, most of the time I am not either. But it does help when trying to pick super clean and healthy family dinners.)

I got the idea from the Whole30 slow cooker cookbook. I just can't decide if I am ready for shrimp in the crockpot. Plus, shrimp take two minutes to cook, so I don't see the need. So I made my own twist, and I think it was much better. I still love that book... and totally recommend it! 

I apologize for the iPhone pictures. I really did not expect this to be such a hit. But it soooo was. Set your clocks for 13 minutes, because that is what it takes to make this amazing dinner. I should also say that I am NOT one to measure things when I am cooking. I'm just not that type... but I will try. (For you 1s that need a plan.) 

What you will need: 
2 pounds of shrimp
2 zucchini
1 cup of mushrooms
Ghee
Garlic (fresh)
Garlic powder
Parsley
1/2 lemon


Here we go:
Thaw 2 pounds of frozen shrimp. (Or buy them from Publix when they are having a sale.)

Spiralize 2 zucchini. Top them with a paper towel while you cook the shrimp.
In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee.
When ghee is hot, throw in your shrimp.
Add 3 cloves of garlic.
Cover the shrimp with garlic powder.
Stir for 3-4 minutes until the shrimp is pink. (Took me years to learn this... don't over cook the shrimp)
Remove the shrimp and juice from the hot pan.
Heat another tablespoon of ghee.
When the pan is hot, add your zucchini and a cup of mushrooms.
Add two cloves of minced garlic.
Stir for 3 minutes to make soft and cook the mushrooms.
When the veggies are soft, add the shrimp back to the pan.
Stir for one minute to mix.
Top with parsley and the juice of half of a lemon.

I promise. So good. So so good. If you have someone in your house that looks at you like you are cray when you put some zucchini noodles on a plate, you can serve them this dish with noodles. Totally works too..... here is proof of that! Ha!

Love love,
C^2

Blowing the Dust Off of the Blog

• New House 
• New School (For all three of us) 
• New Church 
• New Team
• New Friends 
• New Routine

Lots of NEW in the Cain House. I think we have a pretty good groove going... finally. I think it is time to schedule posts again. 

Until then...

We had our very first successful visit with Santa.... 

Love love, 

C2 

CainLife

There is seriously a long  list of blog topics in the notes app on my phone. Ideas that come to me at 2am, or on a long run, or when I am driving to and from the football field. Then life happens and a blog doesn't happen.

But it really is my absolute favorite.

So today... on the 17th of September... I'm blowing the dust off of the blog and dumping my photos from life over the last few months.

First of all... it is football season. On our 11th year of being Brandon and Carley... It came to me: Somehow this amazing love of my life has managed to take my one day of the week that isn't football related... and make it football related as we cheer for our Dawgs together. Somehow he has managed to make Day Dates in the fall: Football games. How? (Not mad at all about it really.)

I also remember Callahan being a tiny baby and being stressed to take her to a game. I thought it was a ton of work. You know... when she would just lay in my arms or sleep in her seat. Yeah, so much work. ha. ha. ha.

Now we wake up on Fridays yelling GAMEDAY!!!! GAMEDAY!!!! We live for our Fridays at the stadium. Twenty minutes of running on the field is worth the all week long wait.

My new school. It has my whole entire heart.  I could write an entire post on how super amazing life is at my new school. I'll just leave it at this: My class, my team, my family.... just the perfect mixture of perfection.

Although we are still in a crib... with zero intentions of moving out of it... We are happy to say we are 80% potty trained.

We are also fully obsessed with all things "ballerina school."

Speaking of obsessed... Daddy is out favorite person. I agree.

The Cain Weims are still just living the dream.....

And then there is the stuff that makes this all possible: Spark. Ha.
Kidding.
No I'm serious.

All is well over here in the CainLife.

Love love,
C^2

Go Fish.

Ya know how Calla Cain's life is pretty much centered around football season? It's all she knows. She goes to games. Daddy is a coach. Daddy watches film. Daddy yells at the TV. Friday night he is on the field, Saturdays are for the Dawgs. Daddy loves football. It is life in the CainHouse. 

(Did you know in our vows we said, "For wins or for losses" Rather than, "For better or for worse.") 

Well.... for me, when I was little: It was all about fishing. My dad fishes. He is all about fishing. Saturdays are for fishing. We went camping... to fish. I did Father Daughter fishing trips. It's what I knew. 

Then I became an adult. I honestly haven't fished in probably twenty years. Not because I hate it... I just don't. We break down defenses in this house. We grade film. We go to football games. 

I was talking to someone in town one day about how I love our new town, but I missed the perks of ATL living: The Zoo. It was truly our favorite way to spend a morning. We never got tired of it. They said, "Oh, she will love the Go Fish Center!" I did a quick search and KNEW we had to visit. 

My parents came to visit one weekend and I knew it was the perfect time. 

We went on a Saturday morning and there were maybe 10 people visiting. It was super clean, very nice, and the perfect mixture of inside and outside. Plus... it was less than $10. 

Inside you can "catch" a fresh water fish....

 or go deep sea fishing. 

This made me laugh until I was crying. I love him. 

You can practice

your boat driving skills... 

Outside you can visit all of the different types of ecosystems you will find in Georgia. Calla was in love. 

Then you can spend the rest of the afternoon (or thirty minutes if you're 2) outside fishing at the catch and release pond. 

You fish with hotdogs... and the fish are really good at just stealing your bait. Either that or I am a little rusty on setting the hook. 

Then it happened.... she caught one! Her very first fish! When I asked her what she thought... she said... "EW! It's disgusting." (Eye roll emoji!) 

It wasn't Zoo Atlanta... but the memories are just the same. 

How?

How is it the last official week of Summer Break (NOT the last week of Summer. You best believe we will spend our weekends in the water and eating ice cream for a few more months!)  and I haven't published one single blog post all summer? Oh... wait... we moved. And I have an extremely active almost 3 year old. (I be three in August... her current favorite thing to tell someone.) 

Memorial Day weekend was just like last weekend... right?

Here are a few summer facts:

I didn't take my "big" camera anywhere this summer. Usually it is attached to my arm for the many memories that need documenting. This summer the iphone X was my jam. And believe it or not, memories were still made. And documented.

When I grow up I want to sell ice cream on the beach. I'll charge $3 for each one and put the $4 man out of business. It's a good thing Calla Cain gets ice cream money from family for her birthday. She did a good job saving it for the summer. ;)

Our new town is simply Perrydise. From food trucks to water days, perfect afternoon shopping, and the sweetest little ice cream shop walking distance from our front door.... life is really really great.

Oh... and did I mention these views while I run?

My front porch has become my favorite place to sit in the evenings.And mornings. And afternoons. It's just my favorite. 

As Always,
C^2