insta-july; part 1.

July came and went and August is well on it's way; I can't believe it! 

I'm just going to pretend that summer is not anywhere near coming to an end because warm weather and sunshine makes me happy. I'm not ready for cold or snow or even fall, NOPE. 

I want to share some of my favorite Instagram photos from July here on the blog. 

I'm still loving having my iPhone6 to take pictures with!

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we had fun meandering around some antique malls at the edge of town in the beginning of july. it was fun to explore somewhere new!

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4th of july stripes and poppers! // fun photos at the playground

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some pictures from a walk at butterfly woods: me + my little boys <3 // feet in the sparkly water = bliss

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lazy moments around the house: a little peeking cuddler // 

bath time with a watermelon candle + coffee

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a trip to estes park with my husband's brother + his wife. it rained but we had lunch and we able to get these views of the mountains, worth it.

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we love getting packages in the mail! asher was thrilled with this shark shirt from kidteez ( see THIS post for a 30% off coupon code! ) // roman's artee and me tee came!

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asher in his watermelon outfit; oh my goodness! i love shopping with my boys and these pictures were taken on our trip to old navy + target. :) ( see more pictures of asher's shirt HERE )

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let me know if you follow me on instagram @bygillianclaire so that i can follow you as well!

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little style // with Nope!

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I am absolutely obsessed with this watermelon shirt! Asher has been a brand rep for Nope this summer and I was so excited when he picked out this shirt from their website!
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Nope has the most adorable t-shirts and I love that they are all well made and gender neutral! The shirts are created by a husband and wife team and are sweat-shop free! You can check out my other post about our "Nope Nope Nope" shirt: here!

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Use my code: friendsofteam1125 for 10% off your purchase!

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What A Melon T-Shirt: c/o Nope, shorts: Old Navy

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back to school // to do list!

( photo from this post, last year! )

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     School starts in two weeks, so we're soaking up the last couple weeks of summer but also getting things a little bit prepared for the school year. I'm looking forward to more routine in our lives but I am not looking forward to getting up early in the morning or the whining that will ensue each day as we attempt to wake up sleepy bear Roman who is also not a morning person. I will also be missing him for sure!

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     I wanted to document my to-do list here for what I want to be accomplish in the next couple of weeks to get ready for the school year! Most of these things have to do with Roman, because Asher will be doing preschool at home with us for now. I was actually able to cross a few things off already this weekend - yah!

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Back to School To Do List

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*Make sure Roman's closet is school-ready*

- buy socks  purchased a pack at Old Navy

- buy a few tee shirts I bought Roman a few shirts during the Old Navy clearance sale. I also found one in the closet that I bought last summer at the end of season and had stashed away! Roman and Asher both have several new tee shirts from the companies that we work with on the blog and on Instagram!

- find a couple more pairs of shorts I found two pairs of shorts today at Old Navy; one nicer pair and one pair of athletic shorts. I paid less that $8 combined for both!

- buy new gym shoes Roman and Asher both got new blue Nike shoes today at Famous Footwear. ( They are having a buy one get one 1/2 off sale! ) Roman really wanted Nike shoes this year for school and Aaron promised the boys he would buy them some since he just got a promotion at work. We had a lot of fun picking them out and have definitely never spent so much on kid's shoes or even ever bought them shoes at a shoe store in general!  We had to buy Asher some to be fair of course but honestly it was worth it to see him running down the aisles at the store impressed by how fast his shoes were!

*Hair cuts for both boys* ( I have a coupon for Cost Cutters for $2 off )

*Get supply list and purchase back to school supplies* ( I'm planning to go to Target because back to school shopping at Walmart just depresses me, end of story. )

*Make sure our kitchen is well stocked for school lunch making*

- buy ziplock bags, paper napkins, disposable silverware, a few more pieces of tupperware + ice packs ( We definitely need to restock these items and I feel like it will make the school year much less stressful to start out with them on hand! )

- potentially look for new water bottles for both boys ( We don't really have any good ones right now and I'd love for the boys to each have a nicer one for going to the park and walks as well! Do you all have any suggestions for good water bottles for kids that are durable, non toxic and don't leak?? )

- make sure the kitchen has a good supply of lunch foods + snacks! ( Packing lunches is always stressful because we always seem to be scrambling for ideas at the last minute! )

*Sign Roman up for soccer* ( This boy is soccer obsessed and we found a place to sign him up for the fall! )

*Look for activities for Asher to do in the mornings* ( We want Asher to have some fun activities to do while Roman is at school and to get him out to socialize and be engaged in learning! )

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I feel like I'm probably forgetting something important but I'm hoping that these things will get us off to a good start!

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Have you started on your back to school preparations yet? What's on your list??

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back to school // shopping clearance!

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We're thinking about "back to school" around here so I thought I'd share a little bit of our journey on the blog. Honestly, we're a pretty minimalistic family and back to school time doesn't involve a whole lot of shopping but we definitely have things on our to-do list! Roman will be starting 2nd grade this year and we have decided at this point to keep Asher home with us.

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Old Navy is currently having one of the best sales ever where in-store they are taking an additional 30% off their clearance items! Old Navy has always been one of my all time favorite stores for kids' clothes. Their clothes are great quality ( and adorable ) and their clearance section, if you play it right, is a gold mine. When Old Navy first marks down their clothes, the discount isn't that great but they continue to mark things down to seriously low prices. I find better deals in the Old Navy clearance section than I do at thrift stores sometimes and the clothes are brand new!

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I want to share a few finds that I came across for the boys during the clearance event. I was so happy to be able to start my back to school shopping this way!

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( mario tee: $2.51, batman tee: $4.09, basketball tee: $3.14 

shoes: about $4.50, bought on a separate receipt that I can't find! )

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Roman is truly one of the messiest children alive ( and to be honest, he gets it from me... ) so his shirts are always getting stained. We are pretty set on shirts for him, especially since we have been able to work with a few great companies this summer that have gifted us clothing. ( Such  a blessing for us! )Since I found these shirts at such great prices, I did want to grab a few to set aside for  school  to ensure that he has some nice, clean shirts to wear. Pairing these with the other shirts we've been given recently gives him a pretty good supply for the beginning of the school year. I may need to find a couple more. Roman loves tee shirts even in the winter since he is so hot blooded, so these should be good for a while! The shoes aren't too practical for school because he has gym class every day and wears gym shoes, but they were adorable and it's always good to have a nice pair of shoes around.

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( striped shorts: $2.51, jogger pants $2.51 + $2.58, high top shoes: $4.71, car slip on shoes: $4.72 )

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Ok, I have been eyeing these little jogger sweatpants for Asher since they came in and I had to snatch them up for the fall when I saw them marked down so much! I bought a pair of 3T and a pair of 4T because the 4T looked absolutely huge so I figure he will wear the 3Ts and grow into the other pair. I also bought the little striped shorts for next summer in a 4T because he currently has the same shorts and loves them. I had to buy the shoes because Asher is obsessed with shoes and I loved both of these so much! He has worn the high tops already but I stashed the cute car pair away to pull out later.

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Shopping clearance is a great way to find back to school clothes, so don't forget to check out the clearance racks! The weather is still warm so summer clothes still work and a lot of stores have clothes left over from spring that work for fall weather. Be sure to check out Old Navy this weekend to score some great deals for yourself and if you go, let me know what you bought!

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Where are your favorite places to get great deals for back to school? Have you started shopping yet?

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little style // with Kidteez!

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I've had the opportunity to work with Kidteez this summer and it's been a lot of fun trying out their cute t-shirts on my boys! I was so excited when Kidteez reached out to us as Brand Reps because their shop is just FULL of adorable things. I can't wait to share more with you here and on Instagram!

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Asher was pretty excited about this shark shirt ( yeah, I'd say he has a thing for shark shirts ) and I love how Roman's palm tree tee matches with the same beachy theme.
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Be sure to check out Kidteez for yourself and use my code: 

COMESINCOLOURS 

for 30% off your entire purchase!

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Asher: Shark Bite tee: c/o Kidteez

shorts: c/o FabKids

shoes: Old Navy

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Roman: Palm Leaves tee: c/o Kidteez
shorts: c/o FabKids

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making wishes.

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     My sweet little Asher turned four and I adore these photos of him carefully putting the candles on his blue cake ( which I'm fairly certain gave us food poisoning ) and then listening to his birthday song. I remember when Roman was Asher's age and he hated when people sang "happy birthday". Asher is a different child though, and his face simply shined pure joy and love. When we told him to make a wish, he wished for "a tomato," and made us all laugh at our silly happy boy. 

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     I can't believe that four years have passed since this sunlight came into my life. I remember so well the way he came to the world on a warm and sunny July day. Those days are now starting to shift into a long ago memory; those baby days feel far and dreamy distant. In the weeks and months after his birth, I thought that maybe a day would never go by without his birth crossing my mind. The wonderful all natural childbirth that I was able to check off my life list stayed so close to me then, in the best of ways, filling me with strength. 

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     Life and it's seasons are a funny thing. As we go through the motions of the moment, nothing different seems fathomable. I've gone through times in life that seemed like they'd never end, some in good ways and some not so very good at all. Usually it's a mixture; hard feelings and big obstacles with slices of joyful memories in between. 

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     For sure, life just keeps pushing on, and we are forced to realize that it does move and it moves along fast. High school ends, and marriage won't always be about choosing the order of wedding photos for the album. Our babies won't keep, and they will certainly grow and grow and grow. The days will turn and spin and tomorrow becomes years ago and these moments now become faded memories. 

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     As I clicked the camera to capture my son, my freshly turned four year old baby boy making wishes in the candle light, I was all too aware that these smiles would quickly become pictures, preserved for the future; to look back on soon and say, "I remember..."

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asher turns 4!

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asher turns 4 today!

i can hardly believe it and don't have many words to share; just feelings and these pictures that i took yesterday before his little party. i cannot believe it's been 4 years since the day this wild little baby came bursting into my life. one thing i know for sure; he is still my baby. he is still my baby... ;)

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more pictures and birthday thoughts to come, i'm sure. 

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asher's 1st birthday

asher's 2nd birthday

asher's 3rd birthday

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