Fourth Of July Weekend | Sanchez Adventures | Personal

A four day weekend really suites me! At least this is what I found out of the fourth of July weekend. The Waits family is a family of many annual traditions; I think it was more things that worked so well we just kept doing them throughout the years.  Some of my favorites are religiously attending the Minnesota State Fair, boating on the Fourth of July, apple picking in the fall, running to the Christmas tree. ( I wrote a whole blog post with a couple of others which you can click HERE to read)

My family had plans to lay low for the fourth of July this year. Everyone in Minnesota was out and about all weekend! We were able to stretch a couple of events over the last couple of days making for an epic weekend.

Sunday - Every Independence Day weekend our church has the service outside on the front lawn! And I am pretty sure half of the congregation would leave the church is there was not picnic to follow. After we got home we packed up and headed to the boat. The Saint Croix was bustling with boats, flamingo floaties, jetskiis, and kayaks. Sunburn and filled with pizza, we sat on Hudson beach and watched the fireworks for Booster Days.

Monday - My sister Summer was having her makeup done at Sepora in the morning for her shooting in the afternoon. So I got a little window shopping  done ad when we got home we started shooting her! Once that was all done as a family we drove over to the Lake Harriott Band-shell to listen to the Minnesota Orchestra for some patriotic music!

Tuesday morning Marcus and I picked up dad and spent the morning in Afton for the annual parade they have there! One of the floats was a wedding one where several couple volunteered and you got married right in the middle of the parade! What a cool idea!! 
in the evening we headed home sat around the table and just enjoyed each others company!

It was a breathe of fresh air to step away from normal business and explore Minnesota. 

Stone Arch Bridge Engagement Photography | Holly & Steve | MW Photography Minneapolis Wedding Photographer

We started off a little earlier than planned, because the whole day the weather had me on edge. Holly and Steve were up for anything and graciously let us start a couple minutes early. They had just flown in from their home in Utah and had been at Happy Hour with friends....for the last several hours! 

As we started it was clear that the biggest problem was that Holly could not STOP SMILING, which is absolutely not a problem at all.  We enjoyed our Friday night out on the Stone Arch Bridge with what turned out to be a beautiful sun set! Steve made one promise to Holly that day, he had to at least give 25% non goofy photos. With Steve cracking jokes and constantly making Holly laugh, I loved how their session turned out and I think the goofiness really made their engagement session fun! As you see from the photos we had a pretty good time all around.

Steve filled Holly's messages with goofy words to the point where she thought why not and gave them a chance at a first date.  It wasn't until after they booked the second date that Holly started to get nervous because she realized she was really starting to like this guy. As their relationship progressed these two have moved all over the US staying together!  

Now they live in Oregon and as they decided to get married the designed Holly's ring with family stones! After a little trial and error they finally decided on this beautiful ring that is literally one of a kind. After the ring was done it did not take long for Steve to propose! It was a day that was jam packed with activity and they finally got home. Even though both of them were pretty wiped out, Steve suggested they go for a run on the trail behind their house. Since Steve does not normally suggest running, it took a little convincing but they started on their run. Filled with a couple of beers, Steve didn't get too far due to a stitch in his side. When they stopped to a breather, Steve took the ring out of his pocket and proposed. 

Their wedding will take place this fall in September at the Minnesota History Center and I could not be more excited!  

Homeowner Problems | First Time Home Owners | Personal

This summer has just hit us in full blast and I am loving every moment of it! This is the first summer at this house; when we first got the house in late winter, we were eager to see what would grow in the yard!
I don't know if you can relate but we held off on getting a lawn mower for as long as we could. The grass height ended up being to my knees!! I loved it but I know the city would not be as understanding. What we ended up doing was borrowing a lawn mower from my dad. It was the same one we had when we were renting, just a simple push mower. The first time I mowed the grass this year it took me 2.5 HOURS!! As I walked in the house and plopped down exhausted on the floor, I told Marcus there was no way that was going to continue to work. 
We finally bit the bullet and went shopping for a lawn mower 2 weeks ago and got a self propelled one! With a little more help from the lawnmower itself the yard hasn't continued to be such a daunting task!  We are blessed with a big yard and we have finally equipped ourselves properly to take care of it!
These photos are a little bit of our yard and some of the beautiful plant life I am enjoying!!
What's your favorite thing growing in your garden right now??