**Reminder – this week is Stop & Smell the Roses so get your vlogs ready!**
Well, I did it. I finally convinced Natalie, The Busy Budgeting Mama, and her family to visit us in Illinois.
If you live anywhere near where I live in Illinois then you know why it’s so hard to convince people to come visit you.
<AHEM>
In the middle of nowhere. No good shopping. Few restaurant choices. The closest zoo is 2 hours away. Museum what?
Basically, there’s not a lot going on in this small town life. But that’s just the way we like it here at House of Rose and we were beyond excited when Natalie and Ben made the choice to take their vacation to our lil-ole-nothingness-land.
She text me on a Wednesday and by Friday night at 1:00 am…they were sleeping in my basement. 😉
I love that both of our families made such impromptu 10 hour trips to visit each other {read about our time in Pittsburgh HERE}.
There’s something about creating a friendship through blogging that is truly amazing. I know I talked about this when we went to Pittsburgh, but I really feel like there is this amazing opportunity to connect with like minded women and mothers who will lift you up and encourage you like no one else can.
I always love when my real life friends look at me like I am strange when I tell them I have blog friends. It’s hard to understand when you are not a blogger. You can’t possibly imagine how people could form real friendships through the Internet.
But it happens. And it has happened to me over and over again.
The girls that I have met online are no longer considered online friends. They are now my real life friends.
And this is real life…what do bloggers do when they get together?
Well, blog…of course.
One thing we DO HAVE in Illinois is great places to hike and lots and lots of parks. So we called up our favorite hiking friends, The Webb’s {who were excited to meet our “blog friends”}, and we headed out on a hike.
With 7 kids. We left Micah and SJ behind. It’s amazing what subtracting one child from your crew can do. I felt FREE! LOL!
It was exceptionally cool temps while they were here. Not like normal July temps where when you step outside you feel like you might die. But, it was perfect for our hikes and park trips.
We still managed to swim too, but the water was warmer than the air.
Of course, Micah was not concerned.
I have never seen a baby so content in the water. Heck, anywhere. That child is the most laid back little guy EVER.
I almost begged Natalie to leave him until I realized he would just get influenced by my crazy crew and turn in to one of the monsters. Ha!
Unfortunately, SJ caught a bug right after they arrived and he was Mr. Whiny pants. He was making Bents look like an angel…so I am sure you can guess how that all went down.
I was just praying he wasn’t going to pass it on to the other 5 children. What kind of hostess would I be if I gave their kids the poop bug. Eeeeek.
On Sunday night we had the opportunity to go out to dinner without the kids! We met Tonya, from Love of Family and Home, and her husband.
Natalie met Tonya at Blissdom last year as well. We went to a local winery for dinner and then we hit up Chili’s for dessert. Holy cow, they have the chocolate chip cookie bake thing. I kinda want to go there every night now.
Most of the other nights we just chilled at home, ordered pizza, or played referee. And no that’s not a real game in case you were wondering. But it does entail trying to keep your 6 & 3 year old from teaching your guests a lot of bathroom language.
Natalie and I had this grand idea of getting a picture of BOTH of our families together.
We didn’t even care if all the kids were looking or smiling. We just wanted ONE picture of everyone. I think we both realized it was a long shot.
I mean, the last time I did a family photo {for our Christmas card last year} we barely got a picture with all 3 kids in it. So, to attempt to get 6 kids to listen…psssst.
We set up the tripod outside and attempted to get everyone to stand still for 3.5 seconds.
As I was testing the lighting I captured this sweet shot of Natalie, Ben and Micah. Oh how I could just eat him up!
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I’m not saying we did this, but if you bribe your kids with chocolate…they will sometimes do anything you ask. Lesson learned for the next Christmas card photo shoot. Crunch bars for everyone!
I think my favorite shots are the silly ones. It captures exactly who we are and I love that!
We felt so blessed to have The Busy Budgeting Mama crew with us for 4 days.
I am so glad I took that risk at Blissdom last year to make real connections. It has opened up so many new friendships for me and has enhanced my life beyond belief.
I would encourage you, if you are a blogger or not, take risks. Open yourself up to meeting new people and creating new relationships. You never know where it may lead you.
And if you’ve never introduced yourself before today…come out from behind the screen and say hello! I love connecting with so many of you.
While Natalie was here we desperately wanted to film some videos, but we were at a loss about what to talk about. So we blasted it out on social media and ask you to help us come up with topics or questions that you wanted to hear answered.
Here you have it, your questions answered….as we eat those Crunch bars we promised the kids. Oops!
And because we thought…who really cares about hearing our video…I bet the men would be WAY more entertaining. We made them get behind the camera and tell us what’s like to be married to a blogger.
Stay tuned! We will be posting that soon and you won’t want to miss what they have to say. I peed a little while I was editing it. It was that funny.
*Interested in starting a blog? Check out our “Pep Talk”!
* Natalie is sharing her recap today so go say Hello!
You are so inspiring. I’ve been checking out your blog for awhile now…just started my own about two months ago and I’m having fun writing, even if my readers are few and far between – I appreciate every single one. I love your tips and your enthusiasm. Also, those group shots turned out FABULOUS!
I live in the exciting land to the north of you. Museums are also two hours from us…but we do have a pretty famous football stadium pretty nearby that most visitors love to check out. (I’m torn; I’m Chicago-born and my parents lived there until they moved us all north, so we never got quite as excited about the local football team as others do. :)) You have to make do with what you have, right? And I love where we live!
Hey Julie! Nice to “meet you”! I’m so glad you have found some of the posts encouraging.
I always feel like it’s kinda nice to leave far away from all the cool stuff because it forces you to get creative, right? LOL!
I love this!! I just attended Haven this past weekend and I am so proud that I stepped outside of my comfort zone to make real connections with my blogging friends. It was a blast. ~Sonya
Oh man!!! So jealous, I had a Haven ticket and had to sell it. I would have loved to meet you! So glad to hear that it was fun!!
I’m dying over here reading how you describe our neck of the woods. It’s so true! When I talk about Southern Illinois, I usually have to say “but we have so many amazing places to check out nature and we have a national park!” That doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try. 🙂
I started trying to pretend that Giant City Park resembled “Hawaii”. Just a little. LOL! Or not. But I had to come up with convincing reasons for them to come! 😉
If only Crab Orchard could have clear blue water. . . a girl can dream, right?! 🙂
Seriously can you guys be any cuter. My fav was the video…love it and love ya’lls connection you are so fun and adorable. Love ya Mandy 🙂
Love you too girl! And LOVE Austin Thomas!
I could listen to you two for hours! 🙂 You’re both so much fun!
Meeting my blog friend Chelsea this summer was the craziest, BEST decision I’ve ever made! It’s so hard for non-bloggers to understand those friendships, but it’s so real when you are a blogger!
I also agree about the whole blog name thing. I mean, I like Life According to Kenz and I have no idea what I’d change it to…But when I started my blog, I didn’t put a lot of thought into it!
Can’t wait to watch the husbands’ video!
You still have to come visit the Roses Kenz!!!!
Just love you guys and both of your blogs. I am still trying to think of a name for my blog and your tips on this video really inspired me to think!
I can relate to having a museum 2 hours away. I live in the country in West Central MN and moved from the city 2 years ago. Shopping is 30 min one way but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is just something about being a bit “out of the way” that makes me appreciate things even more.
Thank you for your great blogs and tips and for the inspiration you give others.
I totally agree Lisa! I always appreciate good shopping when it’s available because we literally have nothing here. I love that you are from MN! That’s where our adoption agency is.
That’s wonderful! I have been saying prayers for your family and your new little one since the day I saw your announcement. I am so happy and excited for your family.
If you are ever near St. Cloud, MN know that I am less than 30 minutes away. My guess is that your agency is in the Twin Cities but if you ever have to stay in MN and need someone to chat with you just let me know. I would love to meet you and your sweet family.
God bless
Lisa
Absolutely love the friendships I’ve made through blogging. You girls are the cutest! SO fun!
Yes Jamielyn, could not agree more! Friendships made through blogging are truly such a blessing! Love your blog by the way. 😉
Hope if you went out to Giant City, you did fat man squeeze. We need to get to together next time you are in St Louis. I work across the street from the Galleria.
Holy cow, I can’t even look in fat man’s squeeze without having an anxiety attack! LOL! Yes, we need to get together next time I come to STL!
I’m a first time visitor–I just found House of Rose through your husband’s site. Very cute blog!
That’s awesome Kristia! I love that you came from Jeff’s blog! Thanks for saying hello and I can’t wait to check out your blog!
What a fun post! Your neck of the woods sounds like OUR neck of the woods, because Small Town, USA has a swimming pool. And a park. And it’s not a fancy park, like Central Park, but a tiny park that’s claim to fame is an ice cream stand. And… we have Walmart. We don’t have a museum… or a zoo… or a waterslide… And somehow we get along just fine!
Plus… I LOVED the snapshots of the scrunchy bun and the Under Armour t-shirt and the glasses, because, Girlfriend… HOW ADORABLE! I want to be cute in my glasses, too. But… sadly… when I pull the contacts out at night and put on the glasses, I just feel like I should be in an old John Hughes movie.
And? Well, I was glad to see your boys all dressed and wearing REAL LIVE CLOTHES in the group shots!
Oh how I have missed your comments! SERIOUSLY! You always lift me up and make me laugh. Can you just move in next door to me??? PLEASE!
Well, I suppose I could, what with Small Town, USA not having a museum or a zoo or anything, either. Moving in next door to you means I won’t be missing out on culture and nights at the opera house and the symphony, since your town doesn’t have those things either. Plus, I would love to babysit for you for extended hours, if necessary, so that you could just shake your magic at my house and redecorate for me. I want a gallery wall. I want lots of white and lots of gray and pops of orange and maybe some bright turquoise, and I want throw pillows that actually match my area rug, and we’ll probably need your dad and his handy tools to build us some things! In return, I will teach your boys how to spray silly string out of a can, how to burp their ABCs with a soda, and how to drop Mentos candies into Diet Coke for ENORMOUS geysers and explosions!
Let me just see what the real estate market has for sale on your block, and I’ll get back to you.
Of course, the other option is you moving HERE, because, ditto… you won’t miss any major attractions like water slides and art exhibits, because we DO NOT HAVE THEM, SAM I AM, but sweet mercy! We have Walmart, so you can buy Great Value products to your heart’s content! Plus… it’s Walmart If you don’t feel like changing out of your pajamas to buy your groceries, then you just don’t have to!
You two are soo cute!!
I’m new to the blogging world (only 3 weeks in) and I can’t wait to start making some real connections.
Ok, if you are only 3 weeks in you are WAY ahead of where I was at 3 weeks in. I adore your header!! Seriously love it!
Thanks! I’ve had A LOT of help! I’m still lost on what I’m doing though….Youtube has been my best friend lately. TONS of HTML tips and tutorials on there. 🙂
Your guys’ combined family photos turned out so cute! LOVED the video too! 🙂
So glad that you were able to convince Natalie & her family to make the trip to Southern Illinois!
HI Mandy!!
You guys are awesome! I met Natalie through her blog, and I attended her OV Bloggers Meet and Greet! You are both truly inspiring, and hope I can follow in your footsteps one day with my tiny blog! Thank you for all the inspriation!
I may have been away from Southern Illinois for five years, but that small town is still my home! It made me miss it when you were taking about it!
such a great video!! you girls are SO much fun!! blogging friends are true blessings, for sure!! the Suave Dry Shampoo is legit 😉 promise.
I am dying to see the videos on the husband! you guys are so with your vlogs!
Wow! This is truly why I LOVE blogging. You have the opportunity to meet and reach so many people through a common interest that you would normally have the chance to EVER meet, or even know. I also love your honesty about the peeing thing. We’re all moms here… Sometime’s we pee when we laugh too much.
Loved reading both your re caps! I also LOLed to the yoga pants comments. SO so true!
Where’s your pink dress from Mandy?
What a nice weekend you all had together! It’s so nice to see a blog relationship blossom! Thanks for the encouragement. I am usually the shy one in the room and leave regretting not being more outgoing and meeting more people. It a character flaw I hate. I am trying to do better, so here is to introducing myself to you and trying not to be shy 🙂 Hi Mandy, I’m Mandy! 🙂
Have a great night 🙂
Hi! I just found your blog through The Busy Budgeting Mama’s blog which was linked on The Influence Network. I am looking forward to attending The Influence Conference soon – first blog conference ever to help me get my brand new blog rolling! : ) Absolutely love your blog, thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!
Awesome! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to meet you at Influence!