Things I Love Thursday

I should call this "Things I Love Lately" because it's been SO LONG... However, it happens to be Thursday... So there you have it!

• Celebrating NINE years (married) with this guy:

• Fall soccer. Geneva started soccer this year. We were reluctant to give up "our" Saturdays for games. As it turns out, watching her play on the weekends is one of our weekend highlights. It also helps that she loves it and she's pretty good. We call her "Hat Trick Jones" because she's earned it. 

• Knowing my nephew, Tyler, is going to have a full recovery (in terms of mobility) from the serious injury he sustained one week ago today. He has had three surgeries so far and will hopefully return home this weekend. The road to recovery is still long with further surgeries and challenging physical therapy; however, he is expected to achieve 100% functionality in the end.
• Having my dad and mom so much closer to us. They've managed to sell their home in South Dakota and are now living in southern Oregon. They are still about 5 hours away--but is so much closer than SD! They stopped by to visit us for a few days on the trip out. Papa taught Piper how to balance coins on their sides--she's surprising good at it!

• The Fall television premiers--especially The Good Wife. Seriously. This is a fantastic show! I look forward to it like no other. If you're not watching this show, you're missing out!
• When Daddy gets his hair done:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
• Watching Geneva smile just before she climbs the (gigantic) steps onto the school bus in the morning.
• Having some "Piper and Mommy Time" for a couple hours each weekday afternoon.
• Living Basil. Find your own in your grocer's produce section. I've had this plant at least 4 weeks. I've tried growing basil in my herb garden for the past 3 years. It's never grown this well before--and this is nearly effortless! Because it's on the counter, I remember to add it to lots of different things to. D'lish! (Thanks for the tip, GK!)

• The fact that 9 times out of 10, my kids are in bed by 7:30pm. Not only are they getting enough sleep and are pleasantly rested, it's so nice to have some husband and wife time at the end of each day. 
• Having our girls share a room.
• Having two guest rooms for our friends with kids to come visit us--one for mom and dad and one for the kiddos. 
• The girls new nightgowns. They made these out of their dad's old t-shirts and some puffy paints. It was a really fun rainy day project and they look adorable in them.

• Pinterest. It's my new favorite time-suck. Check out my profile: CLICK HERE.
• This picture of Greg and I at the Children's Cancer Association dinner. The company is called, "Paparazzi Tonight" and they can be hired to work your event (if you're local). They provided all the props. It was tons of fun!

• The art of Hadley Hutton. I saw a small grouping of her prints in a model home when we visited the Street of Dreams this year. It was so sweet! I'd love to recreate something along those lines in the girl's bedroom.
• The Maple Bacon Bar from Voodoo Donuts. This establishment has been in Portland for over 8 years now. I've never been. However, when my dad mentioned that his buddy from Montana suggested they check it out when they got here to Oregon, I was all about making that happen. And I'm so glad I did! We had to wait quite a long time in line (especially for a Tuesday morning at 10am!) but it was definitely worth it.

• My closet. I FINALLY carved out the time to get it completely organized and I've managed to keep it that way for several months now {insert some kind of audible noise that expresses your complete shock right now}. It's so nice to be able to see what's in there--let alone walk over to it!
• When we catch a sunny day at the coast.