I walked with a group of 4th & 5th graders around downtown Eau Claire admiring the new sculptures today. And there are some good ones this year. It was a beautiful day to be outside with Chase and his friends and I’m just thankful I could tag along.
We had a lovely Memorial Day weekend filled with family, yummy food, final touches to the garden, a bit of sunshine, and I even went out on the paddle board. The boys even got to work with Uncle Brian on some sweet RC cars. What a treat.
Chris and Robbe jumped in the lake on Memorial Day weekend. Check.
The rest of us watched from the [warm] beach. It’s hard to believe summer is just days away, and boy are we excited.
It was a bit cold and a little rainy, but we were on the soccer field cheering on Chase and his team. I’m not going to lie, I definitely am not cut out for the sports-mom life, but I do enjoy seeing him outside, being active, and being part of a team. One more soccer game this season and then we’re free for the summer. Thank goodness. I need a break.
Anni and Zoe (not pictured here) rocked it tonight at their dance recital. Every year I’m blown away by the talent these girls have. Congrats on another impressive dance season coming to an end, ladies. I’m such a proud aunt.
Oftentimes, the boys ask me if I can help them find something to do (as if our whole house isn’t filled with “things to do”). I’ll suggest drawing as one of the ideas. Usually, this illicit a blank stare and head shake. It’s the craziest thing I could suggest.
Other times, they spend hours and days drawing awesome scenes and it’s apparent they really love to draw (which is why I often suggest it). Apparently, these two scenerios are not related in their eyes.
This is one of my favorite parts of spring—and I’ve got no shortage of things I love about this time of year! Can you handle how pretty this lilac bush (tree?) is? Its blossoms can’t help but make you smile and its scent fills the air no matter where you are in the backyard. If only the blooms lasted longer! But I’ll take what I can get.
Another weekend, another round of Dungeons & Dragons. At least they played outside on the porch. That’s a definite upgrade.
p.s. Chris is a really good dad. I have no patience for that game.
Just me and my best friend hanging out on the porch on this beautiful spring/summer-like day. No big deal.
Robbe has become very interested in this little gel-like animals that he calls “squishies”. Or maybe that’s their official name? I’m not sure. Either way, they sure have been providing quite the entertainment lately. The photo above is from when Robbe discovered that the squishies stick to the underside of the counter. Fun, right?
I remember walking to playgrounds with Chase when he was a small baby and longing for a time when he would be able to play along with the rest of the kids. I remember watching the older kids and wondering how long the playground stays appealing.
Our ten-year-old’s interest in playground antics has definitely diminished, but it hasn’t disappeared quite yet. If he’s in the right mood, the playground still brings as much joy as it ever did. And our eight-year-old? He’s in no matter the circumstance.
I’ve been a mom for ten years. That’s a lot of years. The woman next to me? Forty-five years.
We can learn so much from other moms, can’t we? And yet, we try to pave our path on our own. We try to prove we can do it and be everything to everyone. I struggle with that and yet find it hard to ask for help at the same time.
Momming is hard work. But the best work I do. I’m thankful everyday for the tiny humans that call me mom. And I’ll do everything in my power to model kindness and compassion and empathy in hopes that even a bit of that sinks in to the next generation. The world could use more kindness, don’t you think?
To my mom, and my husband’s mom, and all the moms reading this: you’re doing a great job. Your sacrifices and efforts are recognized and appreciated.
The temperatures have creeped up and flowers are starting to pop up around town. It appears that spring has decided to arrive after all.
Thank goodness. We all needed it.
The boys might not love practicing piano but Flopsy has been enjoying it very much lately.
No joke…this guy pulled THREE (3!) teeth out right when he woke up this morning. Isn’t that about the craziest thing you’ve ever heard? I still can’t wrap my head around it.
While Chris is off traveling with his brothers, the boys and I managed to put together a nice little Saturday for ourselves. It started off with a cold, rainy, and pretty miserable soccer game at 8am (the boys were in shockingly good spirits throughout, though!). Once we got home, changed out of our soaking wet clothes, and warmed up, we still had a whole day ahead of us.
We made time for some video games, there was a lot of reading, some game-playing, and we even set up a projector in our [messy] basement to watch a movie on “the big screen”.
But the big highlight of the day was heading to our favorite ice cream shop for a Harry Potter-themed celebration. As part of the fun, they were making shakes with secret colors enveloped in the ice cream so that you stirred it up to reveal which house you were in. They called them Sorting Shakes. So cute, right? Also, very delicious. It was the perfect little outing during a wet, dreary day when we didn’t have motivation for much of anything else outside the house.
Today felt like spring might actually arrive this year. I’d say if the sun came out it would have actually felt warm. Crazy, right? We even managed a skateboard outing after dinner. I remember when we used to be able to leave the house and enjoy time outside at night. That was fun.
Robbe has been really into getting his nails painted lately. So, for his birthday, we gave him an IOU for a trip to a real nail salon for his first professional manicure. Today was the day and he was just so happy. And, he didn’t even have to worry about smudging it right away like he does at home for hours after I paint them. We splurged and got gel manicures so he could just go about his business. His mind was blown.
I’ve been wanting to host an after-school playground gathering as a way to bring some community back to the boys’ school after the last couple of years of isolation. Today was finally the day. I was hoping for a beautiful spring day and it wasn’t exactly that (I’m not sure it was even over 40 degrees), but that didn’t stop anyone from attending.
I don’t have an official count, but I think there were over 150 people in attendance (our school has about 300 students, in case you’re curious). We organized for ice cream to be delivered from a local ice cream shop as an incentive for attendees. Boy, did that do the trick! We planned for 50 scoops and then brought 36 single-serve ice cream cups as a back up. We ended up asking the ice cream parlor to scoop 25 more and we STILL ran out. Over 110 scoops of ice cream—and only for the kids (no adults!). I ended up offering free ice cream tokens to another 10 kids. Can you believe that?!? Neither can I!
We’ll, guess whose kids didn’t get any ice cream at the event? Mine. Haha. I told them they had to wait until everyone else had theirs…and then we ran out. Luckily, they were just as happy to hit the local ice cream shop for their own selections after dinner tonight. And this way Chris and I got a scoop, too. A win for us all. :)
We’re still waiting on warmer weather but that didn’t stop us from taking a [very] windy walk/scoot around our neighborhood. Spring, we’re ready any time you want to show up.
small city | BIG DAYS
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