Week In The Life™ 2023 | Ali's Friday

Welcome to Friday in Week In The Life™ 2023. 

Today I took a deep breath in + let a big breath out for this project and life in this season. I've been feeling a lot of gratitude this week so I decided I'd use that lens to tell the story of my Friday. 

Let's dive in to the photos + words: 

Thankful that this kid has masted making his own coffee drinks (usually iced with a lot of oat milk) + does a darn good job with the clean up. 

Thankful for these guys opening up (this was the bouquet I picked up yesterday at a local flower farm). 

Thankful for this space. I originally was sitting out there but it was actually too hot so I moved to a chair across the yard. Sam seemed to like the sun under the couch. At 2pm today it was 81 degrees - that's very hot for pre-May (and it's going back down again after today). 

Thankful for a little fence I have to put up when I'm tending to the hanging baskets on the porch so Betty can come out there without and I don't have to worry about her bolting away. 

Thankful for all the ways he plays with her. 

Thankful for this space and the mess and the stories and the creativity and the colors and the photos and the community and that this is what I get to do everyday. 

While I was chatting with Jill + Jess on yesterday's Instagram live about this project I decided to go into the girls rooms and take a few photos. So yeah, thankful for the reminder to go in and capture what's real in their rooms. 

Love Audrey's little window collection. 

Thankful for a weekend adventure that starts today with Anna + Audrey and their regional volleyball tournament. 

Thankful for curiosity and new views. 

Thankful for the internet and all the cool stuff I can learn about things in my yard. 

I really like having mini-goals out there. Today my goal was to replant the daffodils I removed from the porch pots yesterday. Mission accomplished. 

Thankful for my constant companion who loves being outside. 

Thankful in advance for the lilac explosion coming soon. 

Thankful that she asks me to French braid her hair. The truth is that I'm not great at it (decent, yes) and I've never much been into doing hairstyles but some point along the way in my life I did learn how to French braid. When she was younger she was never really into braids but volleyball has made it cool. 

Thankful for simple packing for a couple days and nights of watching volleyball. Betty was not super excited that I was packing. 

Thankful for a car full of these beauties. We headed out of town after school and headed north, stopping at outlets in Woodburn. 

Thankful for a safe drive. We encountered a big slow down on the freeway and Anna decided it was a great time to stick her feet out the window. I actually learned a lot from the girls today about how no one in their generation likes to see bare feet. Lots of talk about their "dogs" being out. They proudly wear socks with their Birkenstocks (that's a no for me). 

Thankful for dressing room messaging that is empowering and inclusive. 

Thankful for their fun vibe. We don't go shopping like this very often any more (so much of our clothing is purchased online) but it was a good time going shopping all together today. I did more listening than talking and simply enjoyed observing and saying yes when possible. 

Thankful that we took a wrong turn on the way to the hotel and came across this scene. We stopped the car and all got out so we could take some photos. 

Thankful for these two. So much. They are just so fun and creative and full of life. 

Thankful that we made it safely to our hotel. Bring on the volleyball. 

OTHER VOICES

From Simon: 

From Isaac: 

From Elliott: 

From the girls: