Wild in WDM!

By: Emily Heaston

I got a head start on the weekend by kicking things off Wednesday with a pool day with my girlfriends & our little buddies! When I got home, the cutest early birthday surprise arrived in the mail from Nicole!

That night, I met my girls for dinner at Lucca & drinks at The Republic–a good excuse to wear a cute new dress & earrings!

Thursday, Clare got to have her girlfriend over for a playdate! Kids begged to go to Backyard Adventures & Rita’s!

After Tim got done with work, we took the kids to the ITAgroup Summer Celebration–the kids had a ball with inflatables, face painting, carnival games, pizza & popsicles! The big kids had fun too!!!

On Friday, Nicole, Lily & Maeve came from Omaha! We hit the pool for lunch & swimming, then had to take all 5 kids to HyVee. I think we’re both still recovering from all the kids wanting to push the little green grocery carts! HyVee, I’m begging you to make those disappear!

On Friday night, Clarebear had her dance team tryout! These cuties have been working hard and are so excited for the upcoming year of competition dance!

Friday night was also Tim’s favorite night of the year–when 80-35 kicks off in downtown Des Moines! This music festival is his first baby. He was on the board of directors for years and years as they founded the festival and we’ve had so much fun the past 12 years working on set-up, hospitality, tear-down, fundraising, and meeting incredible artists! We have so much hometown pride for this event which is hosted every summer by the Des Moines Music Coalition + over 500 community volunteers! Tim had a blast this year and took some highlight pictures from Friday night.

Saturday, Nicole and I were up bright and early to hit Yoga + Gallery Talk at the Des Moines Art Center with Good Vibes instructor Ben Spellman!

After yoga, it was time to load up the kids for swimming lessons and afterward we hit up LifeTime Poolapalooza for a little bit! Kids loved seeing the mermaids, playing with friends, and Clare even won a hula hoop contest!

After the pool, we all got cleaned up for a night out! I was getting dressed when the mailman came, and the kids ran up to me with a new outfit so I had to change!

Kids had big plans with Grandma and Grandpa while Tim and I attended a shower for our friends Nick & Amber! Their shower had the cutest golf theme and we got to catch up with so many dear friends!

Teddy snuck off at Grandma & Grandpa’s and ate all the granola bars!

After the shower, we met up with friends at the Iowa State Fairgrounds for the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation Corndog Kickoff! This was our first time at this event which features live entertainment, silent & live auction items, all your favorite Iowa State Fair foods & drinks, rides on the SkyGlider & fireworks! Tim & I couldn’t believe we’d been missing out on all this fun!

On Sunday, we got to sleep in a little until Teddy’s tball game! He is loving every second of it and its the cutest thing! This is his very first team and its so perfect that they’re the Giants–I had to get a picture of Teddy in Mollie’s favorite jersey.

After the game, we were all ready for some air conditioning and downtime! We watched some movies, played some Barbies & called it a wrap on a fun & busy summer weekend!

See you back here soon! xoxo, Emily

P.S. Just ordered this hairdryer for Prime Day! Only $39.28 at checkout and highly recommended by one of my favorite blogs, Somewhere Lately!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks from our Readers!

You asked. We answered! We loved hearing from YOU!! Thanks for helping us make some fun Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Wish Lists!

Petunia Picklebottom–not part of the Anniversary Sale this year:(( but we’re putting together a big Baby post to share soon! I did see this really cute Freshly Picked baby bag, though! I love that it’s a backpack too and its a great olive color that dads wouldn’t mind carrying either.

Frye–yes! This was a great suggestion! I only wish there was going to be MORE! These are ALL the Frye options in the #Nsale this year. Really cute. These will all be offered in 2-3 colors and the boots will be in extended calf sizes too. I think I’m going to try on the Carly boot. Hope they fit, so I can head into fall with cute new tall boots, rather than scrambling around after Christmas for boots on sale after all the sizes and good colors have been picked over!

Ugg–the best deal all year on our favorite Scuffette Slipper!! I also like the long hooded cardigan–a nice change from the annual Barefoot Dreams cardigan options for something cozy. And this year, it looks like your best Ugg bargains are going to be for your kids or your home!

Hunter–These will all be included in tons of colors! And the kids options are so cute too!!

Burberry Sunglasses–3 great choices included in the sale! I think my favorite are the 57mm Vintage Check! These will never go out of style.

You guys were hoping to see all the Vineyard Vines in the #NSale this year, and guess what?! There isn’t anything included for Women or Girls in the sale! Bummer. But, I linked up all the VV for Men & Boys below:

Vineyard Vines–for boys:

Vineyard Vines–for men:

Stay tuned for more!! XOXO, Emily, Nicole, Annie & Emma

Weekend Recap from WDM!

By: Emily Heaston

Whew! This month is crazy!! Our weekend was packed full of end of the year activities for our kids and family celebrations for a special graduate!

The fun started on Thursday night with a family dinner at Fire Creek. Then Nicole and Aunt Julie got to town on Friday. They brought lots of our favorite treats from Trader Joe’s!

I woke up early on Saturday to shop the vineyard vines® for Target collaboration! I shopped a little online and saw that most of the apparel was only available in store, so I ran to Super Target and snagged some cute summer outfits for the kids! I’ll share my online purchases soon!

Then we drove to Ames for Clare & Cate’s dance recitals! So proud of my girls for working hard all year!

Every year on recital day, we get lunch at Hickory Park!

Saturday night, we had fun with family at my mom’s. Clare, Cate, Teddy, Lily & Maeve were so happy to be together. Our family had all been in Grinnell for the day for two special statue dedications in Mollie’s memory.

Sunday brought Scott’s high school graduation! We’re so proud of him–Salutatorian, football captain and quarterback, Homecoming king, and a leader wherever he goes. Congratulations, Scott! We love you!

After Scott’s graduation, we all went for lunch in Grinnell. We were having trouble finding the restaurant and couldn’t get it to pull up on the map app either. Julie visited the restaurant’s website to get the address and I plugged that in manually to get directions on my phone…well it didn’t take us to the restaurant, but instead it said, “You have arrived at your destination…” at the location of one of Mollie’s statues. I really can’t do it justice how surprised we all were as we pulled up. We all had goosebumps! She must have known I was sad to miss the dedication the day before during the dance recital. So happy I got to see it with my family. Mollie has so many ways of letting us know she is with us!

Today marks the last Monday of the school year for my kids! I spent the day trying to get my house in some state of order after our many trips to Ames for rehearsals and recitals last week! Clare’s Daisy troop bridged to Brownies this evening, and I think we just have a few softball games left before we can enjoy a little break for the start of summer!

So proud of Troop 1190! This was a great excuse to enjoy some treats baked by my girlfriend Christine!

This weekend was a marathon! I might just go to bed with the kids tonight!

The cutest cake for the cutest girls!

vineyard vines® for Target

By: Emily Heaston

Is it time to head to Clear Lake yet?! The new vineyard vines® for Target collaboration is coming soon and we’re so ready! This limited time collection arrives in stores and online on May 18th–shop early, there are so many cute things that could sell out quickly!

Get comfy–this collection is gigantic!! There are too many cute things to show you, so let’s get started with my favorites:

Women’s

I love how easily everything can mix and match! Every summer, I try not to over-pack for the lake because we always end up throwing in laundry with the beach towels and you could easily re-wear all of this and still be comfortable and cute in family pics!

Men’s

Perfect for Tim–practical, classic and comfortable clothing that won’t go out of style.

Girl’s

Gah! The stuff for the girls is too cute! I can see Clare, Cate, Lily, Maeve & Margot running around in all of this all summer long. I might be MOST excited about the white and navy polos–I buy the vineyard vines polos for Clare already for her school uniform. vineyard vines polos normally start at $42 and I’m always happy if I can stock up when they’re on sale, so I’m hoping to grab a bunch of these at $16/each! They wash up so nicely and I will be needing twice as many next year with Cate starting kindergarten in the fall!

Boy’s

Teddy will love this swim trunks and rashguard set and I can’t resist getting him mini-versions of Tim’s stuff!

Baby

Everything is even cuter for babies! I remember how much I used my little changing pad–so practical! Love the little muslin swaddle blankets for summer–nice and lightweight. My kids still sleep with their security blankets just like this cute little whale one!

Accessories

Love this large beach bag and the small pouch you can hook into it. I end up hauling everyone’s sunglasses, sunscreen and tons of extra random stuff all summer long and especially at the lake, so I need a big beach bag! Love the whale key chain–hope it floats, just in case for my brother’s boat keys! I really need to replace some old makeup bags and love this coordinating set.

Pets

Can’t resist shopping for our dog, Yankee! He loves Clear Lake too!

Decor

The two over-sized beach towels are a must! Perfect for setting up camp under a big umbrella on the beach! Love all the throw pillows and candles for my deck!

Tabletop

You already know how much I love these little snack bowls and now they’ve made them even cuter! Add to cart!!!!!! Love the basket lining on this picnic bag and I will take all the stainless-steel drink-ware! There are enough tumblers and wine glasses for all of us!

Outdoor

Stocking up on these cute waterproof decks of cards–it takes two decks to play our family’s favorite card game, Shanghai, which our crew has been playing long before our moms were even born! I love these durable outdoor blankets and this is the cutest print I’ve seen on one. My kids will definitely need these sand toys and we’ll all enjoy the party raft! Take me to the lake right now!

Thanks for sticking with me–there was more to this collaboration than I could have expected and I can’t wait to see it all arrive in stores and in my mailbox!

The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.