a date with rome.

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roman and i have been talking about going on a date together forever and we finally did it! we haven't done this for a couple years. it was so wonderful. roman is such a sweetheart and still tells me that he wants to marry me. he was so excited for our date. we went to my chiropractor first and then walked to starbucks for coffees. roman got a s'mores frappuccino. he was seriously so giggly and giddy and couldn't control himself because he was so happy to just be with me. we went to target to shop for asher's birthday presents where roman bought him walkie talkies and a t-shirt. then roman chose panda express for dinner and we ate outside because "it was too loud to be able to hear each other talk" inside, he said. sitting outside, eating our chinese food together, i felt so relaxed. more relaxed than i have felt in a long, long time. 

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i had such a special time with roman, my "sweetest", my big boy, my teddy bear. he is going to do amazing things.

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<3

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yes, roman's elbow bends backwards - it's a side effect from breaking it, yikes!

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insta-june; part 2.

alright, i'm here to continue with the rest of my favorite instagram / iphone photos from june!

( see part 1: here )

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the babes + i , i am the luckiest. // our new huge garage sale wall art that we found for $15!

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target things: wasn't a fan of drinking water out of a carton... but this tank top has been perfect for summer! // i also decided that i really wanted to buy a skateboard! i've only taken it out once so far though!

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we got a fun package from pictli, a new app that lets you print + frame photos from your phone! i was so thrilled to try it out because i'm the worst at printing pictures for our home!

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my mom + littlest sister visited from ohio! of course i've already shared some photos from their trip in a previous post. it was so great to see them out here in colorado! olivia is 15 years younger than me and i'm really sad to live so far from her during this season of our lives so it was great to have her around.

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we went to casa bonita one day during their visit. have anyone else out there heard of or been to casa bonita? it's this crazy restaurant in the denver area that is full of entertainment and they even have cliff divers in the dining area! this has pretty much become a family tradition for us going back to the first time my mom went when she was 13 with my great aunt! it's definitely a unique/random place and we had a lot of fun.

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some more FabKids shots from my iphone. i had so much fun taking pictures of the boys this day! i'm trying to ease up on my photo taking with the boys a little so that it becomes more fun for them. it's a constant struggle for me because i just want to take pictures of them everyday but of course they are kids. it's hard to find a balance. any tips??

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flowers from rome! <3

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i can't believe how fast summer is going and i'm totally not okay with it! i'm thinking it might be destiny for me to just move somewhere where it's warm all the time...

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find me on instagram @bygillianclaire and leave me a comment so that i can follow you back! 

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little style // with Nope!

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I'm so excited to share the Nope clothing brand with you today! Asher was chosen to be a brand rep for Nope this summer and we are so in love with their cute, original tee shirts! Nope is run by a husband and wife team, Karen and Gee, and all of the illustrations on their shirts are hand drawn by Gee. Their shirts are absolutely adorable and I was happy to see upon receiving them that they are soft and sturdy as well. I let Asher pick out the shirts that he liked and his first choice was this "nope nope nope" shirt which I'll just say, is very fitting to his personality!

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Make sure to check out the Nope clothing shop: here! You can find them on Instagram as well @wearenope. All of their shirts are made in Los Angeles and are sweat-shop free! Use my code: friendsofteam1125, for 10% off your purchase!

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Asher channeling his attitude to match his shirt. ;)

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Nope shirt: c/o Nope

Shorts: Old Navy

Shoes: Old Navy

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This post is in collaboration with Nope!

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fields of dandelions.

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just sharing some dandelion photos today. i was so happy to find this little field of them by the playground in the beginning of june. dandelions are my absolute favorite "flower." here is one of my favorite posts with some of my favorite pictures of our own little dandelion field that roman and i "planted" with wishes a could years ago. ;) have a great monday, friends!

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happy friday!

( our foothills! )

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happy friday everyone!

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having said that... are the weekends longer and harder than weekdays for any other families out there? usually on friday-monday aaron and i work the entire time: him working all day and then me working at night. so the weekends are really longer and more stressful than the weekdays around here!

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our schedule is about to change up a little with my husband getting promoted at his job. i'm not sure what all will happen yet but i can't say that i usually welcome changes like this with open arms. we get in a routine and then i wonder how we will all adjust to the new one. hopefully it will be a good change.

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i'm also looking towards fall and wondering what i will do school wise. i'm still chipping away at my art degree but i'm not in any rush anymore. i'm just trying to enjoy the process and see where it takes me. taking a few classes at a time. art is always a good thing for me.

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we're all just having a lazy morning, as usual. we're out of milk and asher is distraught about this. i'm trying to decide if i want to get the boys up and out of the house. maybe head to old navy where clearance is an additional 30% off right now! what do you all have planned for your friday?

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and hey, my sister-in-law gina started a blog; check it out! she also just moved out to colorado!

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happy thoughts.

just a few happy thoughts for today. some of these photos have been hanging around on my computer forever and i've finally found an excuse to share them!

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chillin' in a messy room. you know how so many bloggers post pictures of a super clean room with a small scattering of blocks on their super clean carpet and say something like, "this is real life!" and yeah, well this is my version of that because seriously the mess pictured here isn't as bad as it gets in that room...

deer sighting!

the beginnings of one of favorite prints from last semester... and you guys i'm kind of worried that all of my prints got thrown out because i forgot to pick them up after class ended - wish me luck there!

this, oh my goodness!! i'm obsessed with this picture of asher, his smile + that sunflare. :)

and this... heehee. <3

and THIS.

those moments where my little boys are getting along... all the heart eyes. <3

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( see my other "happy thoughts" posts here! )

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a minute with LifebankUSA.

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( eep, this baby photo of asher!!! )

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     I'm here with my sponsor, the cord blood bank LifebankUSA, once again to pop in and share a little bit about cord blood banking with my readers! Cord blood banking is one of the many, (many) options and decisions on the table for us when we become new parents and if it's something that you have been considering, here are a few facts about cord blood banking with LifebankUSA:

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++ LifebankUSA is a private cord blood bank and one of the few companies that additionally offer placental tissue banking.

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++ Collecting and storing stem cells from a newborn's umbilical cord and from the placenta at birth could one day be used to treat serious illness that may occur in your child or a family member.
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++ Stem cells from cord blood have been used to treat over 30,000 patients worldwide!
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++ Since 1988, transplanted stem cells have been used to treat 80 different diseases!

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++ Saving placenta blood in addition to cord blood preserves a significantly larger amount of stem cells.
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++ LifebankUSA offers many payment plans to help spread the cost of private cord blood banking and to make it more affordable for families.

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     Ultimately, we opted out of cord blood banking for financial reasons when our babies were born. However, I am incredibly fascinated by the science of storing your own babies stem cells to protect your family against disease and it is definitely something I will consider again in the future. 

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     Have any of you stored / or are planning to store your child's stem cells? I'd love to hear more!

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*I was compensated for this post. Thanks for supporting my family by reading along. I truly appreciate it!*
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