Hello August!

The first week of August has come and gone! I can't believe summer is winding down soon. I'm pretty excited for fall though, not gonna lie. It'll be nice to wear boots and sweaters... and drink lots of hot chocolate :-)

I came across a quote recently that I really loved: "Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." This resonates so much with me as I consciously try to just enjoy experiences rather than worrying about what will happen next. Being present in the moment not only makes the people we're with feel valued, it also makes time go by slower - which (on weekends especially) is a good thing!

My weekend was pretty close to my "dream" weekend. It started off with the Summer Breeze 10k, where my friend Morgan and I placed 1st and 2nd in our age groups! Yay! The course was right along the Marina Park in San Leandro (despite growing up in the bay area, I've never been there!) It was a little chilly but so much fun. I'm so sore today because I ran pretty hard, but it was obviously sooo worth it. Although I've done a million races, this one really reaffirmed my love for running - it will always be a huge part of who I am. 

Saturday evening we had a family BBQ and game night. It was the first time in my 27 years of life that all three of us kids had our significant others there with us - so of course we had to document it! We had a blast playing games and hanging out. Of course my mom whipped up a healthy summer BBQ menu, filled with veggies, salads, and fruit. She never disappoints.

I ended my weekend hanging out with my favorite little girl in the world. I seriously have withdrawal when I'm not with my niece! We took her to the park where she practiced the big-kid swing, and we got to run around and play kickball (the version where you literally just kick the ball). Right now, her new phrase is "That's cool" but when she says it in her little voice it gets me every time. She also loves when we kick the ball up really high; she looks up and yells "Wow!" every time. She is truly a little bundle of joy and light in all of our lives. When I was little my dad always said to me "I love you to pieces". I never really knew what he meant by that until this little angel came into our lives - I just love her so so much!

So here's to a brand new week, full of moments that we allow ourselves to just experience. Xoxo