Week in Review: A Getaway, Marriage Memes, and Discount Braces & Glasses

Happy Friday of a long weekend!!!  Let's goooooo!

1)

Phil and I were able to sneak away for 24 hours to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  We just couldn't make Canada happen with all of the family events we have going on (note: don't get married in May because it's too busy to celebrate future anniversaries!)  But we at least went north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a night and it was lovely.

I mainly wanted to go there to eat at Popovers, a cute bakery/restaurant that was started by the head pastry chef at The Balsams, back when it was a destination foodie resort.  It did not disappoint!  The weather was chilly and rainy so we did some shopping and eating and relaxing.  Maggie says we got jipped out of our three night Canadian trip, so we get to go on two more overnights this summer to make up for it.  I like the way that girl thinks :)

2)

Speaking of Maggie, she won 3rd place at the state science fair!  To be completely transparent, there were about 10 winners in each place, but we're still so proud of her hard work.

3)

Phil and I like to send memes to each other throughout the day, and I had saved a few on my phone:

4)

We went to a friend's house for a cookout last weekend, and we just brought the littlest two plus Maggie because she wanted to play with their one year old.  It's so weird to go to family events with only 3/7 of our children, but it's becoming more normal.  It is fun to get quality time with these cuties, who were excited to pick out some "new" clothes after I spent the day cleaning and updating their bureaus with clothes their size.  95% of what they wear is hand-me-downs but anything new to them is exciting :)

5)

I was shocked to see all of the Virgin Mary images in Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's wedding.

I'll pray that it means they are converting/reverting to the faith, and not that they are mocking Our Lady, but when you pair the VIRGIN Mary's image with a "dress" that looks like lingerie, what are you trying to say exactly?  Hmmm?

6)

I discovered a new afternoon snack.  I get black iced coffee and add a caramel protein shake to make a low carb Caramel Iced Coffee that has 30 grams of protein!

7)

Let's talk about saving money, shall we?  

JP, Andrew and Eamon have all had braces.  They cost about $6500 each mouth and so when the dentist said that Maggie didn't need them, we were thrilled!  But then Maggie noticed that her bottom teeth were a little crooked and her two front top teeth weren't in an even line with the rest.  We looked into aligners and decided to use Byte.  It cost about $2000 and she only has to wear them at night.  You change the aligner each week, and Maggie reports that the first night of the new aligner makes her teeth sore, but then they get used to it.  I just wanted to throw this option out there for those of you who are looking down the road of braces and panicking at the price.

To all my glasses wearers out there, do you know about Firmoo?  I have ordered all of my glasses through them, and they are so cheap with sales all the time.  You can upload a photo of yourself and try on glasses virtually.  Even if you just want a spare pair for you or your kids, it's a great option.  You can use code: Colleen447 to get 50% off.  I just got the navy blue ones I'm wearing in the first photo :)

Have a wonderful weekend everybody.  Hug your kids tight, pray for all of the madness and sadness in the world, and don't lose hope.  Evil never wins in the end. #prayforUvalde