We’ve been reading books….
And building Lego animals…
And eating sandwiches laying down…
And eating chips sitting up…
And jumping in the pool!
We’re loving summer vacation!
This and that
This is the pie that my sister made for Mother’s Day and I immediately requested for my birthday:
These are the planter pots that I saw on my instagram stories and texted B that they are added to our Disney shopping list:
This is my current pool view that is my goal-orientation for getting work done in the morning, so the boys and I can go in the afternoon:
And this is what I’m currently working on while I’m not “working” (which essentially means not teaching for two months, but working like mad to prep for the fall):
This is our other current afternoon view as we are on an activities lull, so we’re sipping smoothies and playing out back:
And this is J schooling A and I in Monopoly, Jr. the other night:
Hiking gear musts
Whenever we go hiking we have some must haves to bring and wear. First up what I wear:
Light weight tank & leggings, hat, sunglasses, and quality shoes that I don’t mind getting dirty. You honestly don’t catch B and I outside without sunglasses on. It’s not because it’s sunny all the time (which it is a lot here), but it’s because it prevents allergens from getting in our eyes. Seriously. I don’t know if you’ve been to the south, but allergies here are no joke. I keep trying to convince the boys to wear sunnies by buying them new ones constantly. It hasn’t worked great, as you can see above. Hats are also a must to prevent ticks from getting in your hair (insert wide eyed scary face here).
The boys wear athletic gear (our favorites are under armour and champion) and lightweight shoes that are washable.
Our must haves to carry (besides lots of trail mix!) are:
All of these are on the Cub Scout list if hiking essentials. We’ve convinced A that we have a map and compass on our phone, so we don’t need to bring those as well, however we also carry a battery pack charger for our phones. And if you need extra help you could always read our go to guide:
Just kidding! However, this is one that’s great for our area:
Keel mountain preserve
On a whim after church on Sunday we headed out to hike a new trail. This was the most challenging trail we’ve attempted with both boys. It was a mile out and a mile back, but a good part of it is steep inclines and we were climbing to hit the higher elevations. In the past the boys would have wanted to turn around part way, but they were determined to see the waterfall at the end, so we hiked almost nonstop until we reached the waterfall.
As you can see here the trail is pretty heavily wooded, and at points the trail is quite narrow. Howeve, the canopy makes this great for hiking when it is warm because it keeps most of the trail quite cool:
B led the trail with J and A and I followed behind. I pray that this boy always shares as much as he does now with me. He talked for the entire two hours that we walked. I have the low down on all the happenings in second grade now.
The pictures don’t really go the waterfall justice, but it was awesome! Definitely a sight to see.
And here is A’s collage collection of cool things we found on the trail:
And some more pictures of the outstanding waterfall:
It was well worth our Sunday afternoon!
Lately
A got to go to his very first “take your kid to work day” with B:
J was back at the ball field:
A and I made lavender ice cream:
And J and I took his bike riding to our longer neighborhood sidewalk and I got some running/walking in!
Weekend shenanigans
This weekend we had milkshakes after the “should have known this was coming” meltdown by J when A got a new bike:
The boys set ground rules for a game of tag (that were all immediately broken):
Oh and A got a new bike (he outgrew his old bike):
We had our first spring popsicles:
And we watched Born in China (the new Disney documentary) on a rainy Sunday afternoon:
This was the best picture I could get. Seriously, these boys!
Our weekend view
Running the bases:
Mid morning snack:
Checking on a tiny mosquito:
Leisure reading:
Spring break staycation
This year we don’t have plans to go out of town, so we planned a bit of a staycation with the boys. So far we’ve visited yogurt mountain…
Had dinner & played arcade games at Pints & Pixels…
Did some reading…
And started building a Lego set:
And enjoyed this lovely weather….
Maybe next year will be warm??
This and that
This weekend we headed to Target because J’s birthday money was burning a hole in his pocket…
And he put together his new set all by himself!
I kept true to my promise of updating my plant game and I’m now actively trying to keep them alive…
And B made chicken, pineapple, and red pepper kabobs and they were delicious:
Lego Batman and the boys’ first sleepover
I know what you’re thinking, with their cousins living down the street how have the boys not had sleepovers before? I attribute that to the fact that their cousins live down the street. They spend quite a bit of time together, and even if they played until late, it was just a quick two minute car ride back to their house. However, with my oldest nephew turning 11 last week (how did that happen??), he was having a sleepover at his house, so my youngest nephew came to our house.
And of course, it was the perfect weekend because LEGO BATMAN was opening. Forget La La Land…this is the movie everyone in my house has been talking about. HA!
After the movie we headed to Zaxby’s were we learned an important lesson (chicken nibblers is a chicken sandwich NOT chicken nuggets):
And then we brought the boys back to our house where they played a round of one of their on-going games (I think they have four or five continual games they are playing):
And then they settled down and played about thirty minutes of electronics before heading off to bed.
They had such a blast! They are already planning their next sleepover.