A Bird's Eye View in Perdido Key!

Beach buddies!

I'm a little blinded here but I love this pic of me and my boys!

Our canopy crew!

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the end result - this guy was a true artist! Check out his tools strewn all over!

Matching jammies were a happy accident!

Dinner outside at The Gulf - a perfect restaurant for big groups and families. The kids could run around and play on the soft grass while we ate by the water.

All the daddies with their babes :)

We spent last week at Perdido Key Beach with friends! It's so great being able to connect with friends who have kids the same ages - they played together so well and we were all equally inconvenienced by our kid-whipped schedules. So it was great! It was especially nice to be able to put the kids down for bed at night and play games and eat dessert and catch up on life. Nothing like friends who totally understand your stage of life because they are right there alongside you. Also, I learned to play Settlers of Catan and I'm a little obsessed - anyone want to come over and play a tournament?!

The weather was unbelievably perfect and the view from the 12th floor condo was kind of unreal. I've never stayed so high up before and been able to drink in the view from above. The birds are so lucky, you guys. They see the world so beautifully!

That view actually really inspired me, gave me reason to pause. I don't take enough time to just let my mind be free. I am always busy, wrangling kids, writing, taking care of life things, and when I do get a free moment - I check my email, respond to messages, scroll Instagram, etc. But I never let myself just sit in the quiet. Think about it - when was the last time you just sat alone, quietly? I did that up on this 12th floor terrace with my feet kicked up and my heart high to the Heavens and I have to say, it was nourishing for my mind and soul. I can't remember the last time I really, truly gave myself enough room to let my mind wander and, I don't know, have original thoughts. I'm so busy during the day pouring my energy into my family and all my leftover mind space usually get put into this blog and my other writing work. But I haven't given myself freedom to think about whatever I want in such a long, long time. I've got to take time to do this more! I have a great brain. I almost forgot that.

With Labor Day coming up this weekend, I hope you are able to rest and relax and give yourself some quiet time to think! We are trying to decide if we take one last spontaneous trip to the beach, but the weather is looking a little rainy, so it might be hometown house projects for us :) Happy Labor Day weekend to you all! xx