© 2014 sarahfortune.

HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.
+

Category : Life

Life, Photos

Hawaiian Luau Birthday Party

As crazy as it is to type, Iris had her SEVENTH birthday party this October! She decided that she wanted to have another year celebrating with a big party at our house, so that’s exactly what we did. I discovered that for $150 a shaved ice truck would come to your house, so once that was booked our theme was set. A Hawaiian luau in October! We’ve lucked out with the most perfect weather every year for her birthday (October birthdays are truly magical for this very reason), but the forecast called for cold rain on the afternoon of her party (not the most ideal setting for an outdoor luau with a frozen ice truck as the main attraction). Somehow, the birthday gods came through for another year – the clouds literally parted, the sun shone, the temperature sat perfectly in the lower 70s. And I kid you not, as soon as the last guest left, the clouds pulled back together, the temperatures suddenly dropped, and we felt the first raindrops of the day. With lucky number seven we were treated to a magical birthday once again.

Life

Happy November!

Well, hi there. It’s been a while. *dusts off blog*

I’m still here, but mostly hanging out over on Instagram with the rest of you guys. Per usual, this fall has been super busy. With my birthday, Iris’ birthday, our annual camping trip, working a full-time job, business travel, halloween madness, and the whirlwind that is first grade – we have been a tad bit preoccupied.

Dare I say that things look to settle down as we inch closer to the holiday season? We have one more trip before the year is done (Nashville for Thanksgiving!), but for the most part I’m looking forward to being settled in at home for the time being. I know I’ll have the travel bug again very soon, but it feels really good to finally have some time to just be at home.

As I mentioned, first grade has been a whirlwind. Honestly, I think it’s been more of a transition than kindergarten was. If not for Iris, at last for us parents. There’s a spelling test every Friday (studying all week?!) and she’s in an accelerated reading program where she reads a book (twice!) every night and then has a quiz the following day. Sounds easy enough, but she’s reading at a third grade level, so some of the books are a little tough and a little long, so that requires us to sit with her as she reads. Girl scouts also picked back up again and she’s been going to her first acting class once a week. The last class is this week, which includes a little performance (um, can’t wait). Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of our girl. She’s doing really, really great.

For now though, I’m sitting at home, watching our first snow of the season. But knowing Fayetteville, it might also be our last.

Life

First Day of 1st Grade!

I don’t know why I’m still surprised that time is moving so fast, but I am… I simply cannot believe I’m mom to a first grader! This morning Todd and I dropped Iris off at her second year of elementary school, but thankfully it was a little easier (for me at least) than the first day of kindergarten. And of course Iris had a fine first day, despite not having any close friends in her class. Can’t wait to see how much she learns and grows this year!

Life

Happy Summer!


Thanks to the Freckled Hen Farmhouse for this adorable swan watering can!

It’s hot. I love summer but. IT’S HOT. We have four weeks left before Iris starts (dun dun dunnn)… first grade! Can you believe it? Yeah, me either. This summer she’s enrolled at a local day camp where they swim every day, go on fun field trips, do this new thing called “fitness” (Iris hates it), and do arts and crafts. She’s having a ton of fun, but personally I will be ready for the school year to start so that we get back to our normal routine.

So what have we been up to?

One of the most exciting things that has happened this summer is that Iris finally learned how to swim! She’s been terrified of water on her face her entire life, so this is pretty groundbreaking. Washing her hair has been a nightmare since the day we brought her home, but all of the sudden she’s jumping under water and swimming around like a little fish. It’s incredible!

Of course we always do our annual beach trip in May before the summer officially kicks off, but I have one more trip before we wave goodbye to the sun. In August I’m headed to Palm Springs for the first time on our annual girls’ trip. We have a house rented, meal reservations made, and spa day booked. I’m ready.

And lastly, I owe you all an update on my love affair with the Peloton. I have a post that I’m putting the final touches on, but overall I am still loving it. In fact, I challenged myself to ride for 30 days straight and I’m on day 26!

Hope your summer is going just as swell and you’re staying cool.

Life, Photos, Rosemary Beach, Travel

Rosemary Beach, FL 2018

Five years ago I began the search for our first beach trip as a family of three. I started out looking at Gulf Shores in Alabama, but realized if we drove just a little bit further (and paid just a little bit more), we could stay in this quaint little town called Rosemary Beach. Several friends had recommended spots along 30a, but it took going there to really understand what all the fuss was about

Fast forward five years and we just took our fifth annual trip to Rosemary Beach (see all of our posts here). So far, we’ve been during the month of May every year when it’s not unbearably hot or too humid, the crowds have yet to arrive, and the pricing is much more affordable. Since we go to the same beach every year, we like to select a different house to make each trip unique. Our first two vacations included only Todd, Iris, and myself so we rented cute little carriage houses, which were just perfect for our size family. The third year our pals Seth and Ashlee joined us (where they told us they were pregnant!) and the past two years, the Jones family hopped into the mix.

I am a serious vacation planner, so I start my beach house search early. As soon as our trip was over last year, I found the perfect spot for 2018: a house ON THE BEACH. That is almost unheard of in Rosemary and, if you do find one, it’s ridiculously priced. So yes, this year we totally lucked out. Being in our favorite beach town right there at the edge of the sand made for an easy breezy vacation. So knowing all of that, you shouldn’t be surprised that our beach house for 2019 is already booked! While not right on the water, we are just a one minute walk away from the sand in a lovely, three story home overlooking Rosemary’s playground.

But that trip is nearly a year away. So in the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from this year’s stay (with a few adventures to Seaside and Alys Beach too!).