And That's a Wrap!

Hello to my 4 readers out there!  I hope you've had an ah-mazing summer!!!!

I've decided it's time to address the radio silence....

I have taken the last month (or so) to decide if I should continue blogging.  

I have loved it for SIX YEARS.  But all of a sudden, it was feeling like too much.  

Life was feeling like too much, you know what I mean?  Being a wife and a mom and an introvert who needs her time & space....well, life was simply leaving me exhausted all the time.  

And, all of a sudden, blogging felt like one more thing.  One more thing that I didn't feel like spending my time on.  

And it dawned on me that I didn't have to do it. 

So, with a heavy heart, I've decided to stop.  

And by doing so, I'm allowing myself time & energy for other things in my life.  

Matt will still take pictures.  

I will still make photo books with his beautiful pictures.

We will still celebrate the big & little moments with our boys.

Life will go on as usual...I just won't be thinking about which pictures to post and when to post them.  

And then feeling guilty that it's been a loooong time since I posted (like I do now :-).

I will still be posting iPhone pics on Instagram, so please follow me (ShellyZitz) if you 

want to keep up with our everyday life.

A huge THANK YOU to anyone who has ever read this blog.  

I appreciate you spending time to read about our life and our family.  

Thanks for being a part of this!!!!

Love,

Shelly

4th of July Parade in Ely

Once again, we had the BEST time with our friends up in Ely, MN!

They are sooooo gracious to let us invade their home for the long weekend, and we are super thankful they include us in their fun.  

Here are some pics from the candy fest parade :-).

Our annual group pic prior to the parade.

Red, white, blue and sill-ay.

The definition of cute: Emma.

Our attempt at a kid shot.  Tripp (and his McDonald's minion) wanted nothing to do with it.

Awww.  

I have very few shots alone with this guy, so the next two pics are so special to me.

A creative shot of EJ.

Adorable Megan helping with the Young Life activities.

Erik participated in his first saw dust quarter dig.  He found five quarters!

Dane was an old pro!

Family pic.

The super adorable Madden family.

Tripp ate his first corn on the cob.  And it was a hit.

Check out these cute blondies :-)

Right before the parade...

Ole' Glory.

Mr. John waiting patiently for his candy :-)

Matt's favorite Lawn Chair Drill Team was back.  

Third year in a row...I think they're here to stay.

Sistas!

How cute is this guy?  Those cheeks.  

The local chapter of DD.  

The Madden's and Scott's!

 

We had a blast watching the kids collect TONS of candy from the parade.

But the best part was celebrating our great nation and making new memories with our dear friends!!!

What I Wore

Hi Everyone!

We had a crazy weekend with a huge storm.

We lost power overnight and woke up to an overflowing sump pump - ugh!

Our basement flooded a little, but the damage was minimal compared to some of our neighbors.  

We were so thankful to Matt's dad for coming over and bailing water with us, and for my mom who stood in line at Home Depot to buy us a generator.

Without them, the damage would have been so much worse!!

My advice to all homeowners out there - have a battery back-up for your sump pump!

And if you don't know what a sump pump is, then you probably live in a desert and can just focus on the clothes part of this post :-).

Here's what I wore for WIW this week!

My church outfit.  

Dress: Forever 21 / Jacket: American Eagle / Shoes & Purse: Target

I loved the mix of black and brown on the shoes and carried that over into the rest of my outfit.

A play date with Missy and running errands.  

T-shirt & shorts: J. Crew Factory / Shoes: Target

Running errands and dinner with my sis & her boyfriend (at our house...nothing fancy).

Shirt: J.Crew Factory / Shorts: Old Navy / Shoes: Havaianas

Date night with Dane :-).  He requested Chipotle and a trip to Target to look at Iron Man toys.  

Pretty cheap date!

Top: Forever 21 / Jeans: Vigoss via Nordstrom / Shoes: Steve Madden via Macy's

Thanks for reading!

I hope you have a great day and enjoy the last week of June - eek!!!

I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy!

Kindergarten Graduation

Dane graduated from Kindergarten on June 4th!

His "graduation" was really cute.  Four classes graduated at a time, so each class lined up in front of an assigned section of bleachers.  

The kids marched in wearing tie-dyed t-shirts and paper graduation hats.

This is the look Dane gave us after he spotted us :-)

The kids sang 5 songs.  Dane was a little apprehensive about singing in front of people.

In the car on the way to graduation, he asked us if we would still be proud of him if he didn't sing.  How cute is that?  

But he sang really well and did all the hand motions too.  It was adorable.

Haha....another wink to let us know he was doing A-ok,

Here he is after receiving his diploma.  He was the only kid in class who inspected his.  

He stared at it for a good minute or two....everyone else just put theirs on the ground.  

Dane with his teacher!  We had an amazing kindergarten experience because of this woman.  

She was so great with Dane and communicating with us.  We'll definitely miss her next year!

Dane with one of his besties :-)

I snapped this pic right before the graduation.  

Each kid (or parent) had to make one of these paper people at the beginning of the year.  

Dane requested Iron Man, of course.  When I asked him to pose under his little person, he immediately stuck out his repulser rays.  Hee hee.  Love him.

Here's to the Class of 2025!!

We love you, D!!!

What I Wore & Trend of the Month

Hi Everyone!

In addition to my weekly link-up with The Pleated Poppy, I'm also participating in Marionberry Style's Trend of the Month!

And this month's trend is:

maxi skirts & dresses!

I found this maxi last year at the Gap Outlet and I love it.

It's super long, super soft and I love the stripes.  

Skirt: Gap Outlet / Tank: Forever 21 / Necklace: Loft

I love how the stripes change from vertical to horizontal.

And yes, my skin really is that white....I could be Edward Cullen's sister (minus the creepy eyes).

Photobomb!

I hope you have a great week!  

And if you're in the mood to shop for maxis, here are a few I'm loving!

1/2/3

Father's Day!!!

We had the best time celebrating Matt on Father's Day!

We woke up to the most gorgeous day.  Upper 70's and SUNNY.  

We putzed around until church and then planned a day at the beach!

We snapped these pics really quickly before packing & changing for the beach.

It's so difficult getting them all to look at the camera.  

Erik & Tripp are looking off to the left...almost like someone was standing right beside me.  

Nope.  

They just try to appease me by saying cheese while not looking at the camera.  Ha!

Then we headed to the beach for some (much needed) fun in the sun.

One last shot with the best dad on earth!  

The boys are so lucky to have a dad who gets down & dirty with them!

I hope you all had a great Father's Day celebrating the dads (or father-figures) in your life!