August slipped by in a blur of happy moments. Ian and I celebrated five years of marriage, attended local summer events, and gathered together with my family at Devils Lake to wish my brother and sister a happy birthday. It was a month full to the brim with outings, but we loved every moment of the chaos.

Last summer Ian and I attended The Iron Horse hotel’s anniversary party and won a free night stay. We decided there was no better time to use this voucher than on our five year anniversary.  While the hotel is only 15 minutes from our home, there was an element of excitement to stay downtown for the night. We took advantage of the hotel’s walking distance to the Third Ward’s moon festival and listened to jazz under the stars.

To keep our anniversary celebrations going, we booked a sunset cruise on Lake Michigan. I had yet to go beyond the breakwater, so I was anxious to see the city’s skyline from the lake. The view did not disappoint! I’m already looking forward to booking another trip.

In true summer fashion, August was sprinkled with weeknight excursions to local ice cream shops. We made a point to try all of the little independent stands in our neighborhood, which resulted in lively debates on which ones are our favorites.

To celebrate my brother and sister’s birthdays (both in August), the family planned an afternoon at Devil’s Lake. We grilled out, splashed around in the water, and rented a paddle boat. Many laughs were shared as we took in the beautiful views around us.

We ended the month being serenaded at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. With live music wafting through the grounds, we felt like we had been transported to a Mediterranean estate. Watching the sun set from the terrace was a beautiful sight and it felt like the perfect way to say farewell to August.

To catch a glimpse inside our daily life in August, watch the video below!

Anyone else have one month a year that overflows with events? For us, that was August. As much as I tried to simplify our calendar, we couldn’t avoid back-to-back road trips, late nights, and forgoing home cooked meals for sub sandwiches on the go. When I took a step back and looked at our month as a whole it gave me instant anxiety. I thrive with a lot of down time in between social gatherings, but August taught me to live in the moment. And guess what? I survived! I even can say I had fun during all the chaos.

We began our whirlwind of a month down in Madison to spend time with friends and celebrate Ian’s grandma’s 80th birthday! We ended up having so much fun that we extended our trip an extra day. I still can’t believe we’re in a phase of life where we’ve swapped out sleeping bags for guest rooms at sleepovers. When did we all grow up?!

The following week Ian and I celebrated our four-year wedding anniversary! Ian is a traditional man when it comes to gift giving, so I was showered with fruit and flowers this year. I looked up what I will be blessed with next year and it is wood. So there’s something to look forward to…

In addition to my lovely gifts, Ian took me downtown to try out a new restaurant, C’hard, before we headed off for a rooftop concert. It was a beautiful night to look out on the skyline and reminisce about the last four years we have spent as husband and wife.

One Wednesday night I had to sweet talk Ian into missing his kickball game so we could attend the NEWaukee Night Market. I had heard many amazing things about this downtown market and it didn’t disappoint. The street was covered with twinkle lights, filled with craft vendors, and best of all – had fire pits to roast s’mores!

When the weekend rolled around we were back in the car and off to Madison to celebrate my brother’s 30th birthday! The party was thrown on a rooftop terrace and I couldn’t get over the views! It was the perfect evening full of laughter and toasting to the end of Tyler’s twenties.

Birthday celebrations continued the following week when my family came to town for a Brewer’s Game! My brother and sister’s birthdays are only 10 days apart, so we decided to gather together and enjoy America’s pastime for their joint family party. While the Brewer’s lost the game, the night was filled with a lot of laughter and cake, so overall it was a success!

Interested in seeing more of our month? Watch the video below!