We lead a small, yet valuable life. I am ok with that. In fact, I love it. But our lives since we've welcomed our second child two years ago, has been far from simple.

Jeremy and I sat and talked a few days ago, wondering when the last time was we were just  'stupid happy,' and well, it's been awhile. A long while. Our life is cluttered and busy. It's really great though, don't get me wrong, but it's been hectic.

As we drove up to the mountains to celebrate our Independence Day, we passed by people in their front/back yard enjoying fireworks, cookouts, and laughing with one another. I thought of my family in Florida who had their celebration cancelled due to flooding rain. I thought of our life before things got so crazy.

The past three years, we've spent our 4th of July with our friends, with a big celebration. This year their plans changed. We, of course, were invited to go with them, but had too much going on to drive 400 miles round trip. So we spent our morning on the water, lunch with Jeremy's family, and the evening with each other. 

When we got to our destination yesterday, we had the entire area to ourselves. We purchased just enough fireworks to enjoy a little everything, and BBQ'd brats for dinner while there. It was simple. It was small. It was just us. It was amazing.

When I woke up this morning, our busy life came flooding back to reality. We ran to get our garbage out on time, discovered Jeremy's outboard motor was stolen right off his boat, I began laundry, Jeremy left for the day with a friend, and I have a wedding to prepare for tomorrow. It's overwhelming at times. I love doing so much in a day that I'm exhausted, but at the same time, our other lists of priorities is adding up. Not to mention, our wedding is only a month and a half away.

So, my goal is to simplify things over the duration of the summer. Get rid of a lot of things, take care of things we've been putting off, and hopefully, get back to work on our home remodel. I want to sit at night with each other and just relax again. I want to laugh together. I want to cuddle in bed and feel nothing but contentment.

We have a long way to go, but, one step at a time, right..