Outdoor Dining

For the last couple of months we have been looking at patio furniture. We really wanted to be able to sit outside and enjoy dinner on the back patio. At our old house we didn’t really have a great place to have an outdoor table so I have never really looked in to it before. I was shocked at how much some of the sets cost. We were both a little hesitant to pull the trigger on that for now.

A few weeks ago we were at the house of some friends from church. The husband is pretty handy and had built them their own outdoor table. We were so impressed with it. For years, Lance has said he wanted to learn how to woodwork. So, he and another guy (who is super handy too) from our life group got together, shopped for some reclaimed wood, and went to work.

The legs before sanding…

The legs after sanding…

I asked Lance to take pictures throughout the process and I am so glad he did. It it cool to see how it all came together.

It took them a full working day to make the table which now makes me understand why tables like this cost so much money. I am sure once you know what you are doing the process moves quicker though.

Lance was so grateful for help on his first attempt at woodworking…and of course the use of tools.

I can’t remember the exact cost of the wood but I would venture to say that once all costs have been spent we will only have paid a quarter of the cost of a purchased table.

I am so happy with the way it turned out. We still have a bit of work to do on it…sanding, staining, finishing…and of course, buying some chairs. We think we will be able to fit eight people around this table…possibly ten on a tight squeeze. I can’t wait to use it!!

I will update once everything is complete.

Robot

Last week Reese’s homework from her Target class was to work with a partner to come up with an invention. They came up with the idea in class and then came home to collect items around the house to take back to school. She only has Target on Fridays so she had the whole week to be excited about making this invention. Reese and her partner, Ava, came up with a book eating robot. They both said they love to read and always have books laying around their rooms. The robot was invented to clean up and keep up with their books. Last Friday, Reese walked off the bus carrying this huge robot. I thought it was so cute and creative.

It has plastic cups for legs, Kisses for eyes, spoons for arms, and Glow in the Dark necklaces for antennae.

Reese was supposed to take this back to school (on the bus) so Ava could have a turn to take it home (on the bus) so I asked Ava’s mom if she would rather us drive it over. She said, “Just send me a picture!” 

We were both so proud of our girls and their creativity. I think Reese really enjoys the fun things she gets to do in Target. But just as her teacher said, she does not like the fact that some things are so challenging she just doesn’t know how to do them...shoot, some of the things she does in there are challenging for me. Things have always come pretty easy for her and now she is being challenged in a way she never has before. I am proud of how hard she is working in there though!

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend. Friday afternoon it was rainy so I let the kids dye eggs. I need to remember to do this earlier with them so we can use them as decorations.

Saturday started off rainy. It was going to be a busy day of soccer, tennis, birthday parties and church…but the rain slowed it down. Soccer games were cancelled so the kids and I took it easy in the morning while Lance ran a quick errand. My Sunday tennis match was rescheduled for Saturday so we weren’t playing on Easter Sunday. It was rainy the whole time we played but we got our matches in! It was another fun match and another win. Three in a row! On my way to my match, I dropped Reese off at Hallie’s house. They had been invited to a friend’s birthday party from our old neighborhood. They were both excited to go and see some old friends. After tennis, we met Reese at our church for a family fun night. They had an Easter service and then fun family activities afterwards. The kids had a blast even though it was drizzling the whole time we were there. We had dinner, played in jumpies, rode a train, got faces painted, and so much more fun with our friends. For some reason I can not get pictures from my phone of that day so hopefully I can get those on here soon.

Sunday morning Sam woke up first. He was good to wait for Reese to wake up so they could go downstairs. They were both super excited to see what was left in their baskets.

Hayes slept through the fun so he didn’t get to check out his basket until we were all ready for church. He was ok with that though.

He was most excited about the basketball left in his basket.

Once Hayes was done with his basket we tried to get some pictures of the kids. We got a few cute ones but Hayes was not interested in picture taking when he was outside.

We thought maybe some kisses would do the trick but no such luck.

After church, we came home for lunch and naps. After naps, we went to Lance’s parents house. There the kids had so much fun jumping on the trampoline and tackling their cousins. We ate a yummy dinner and then had an Easter egg hunt. The kids had a lot of fun doing that and got lots of great surprises in their eggs. We forgot our camera so Lance got some pictures on his phone.

We had a great day celebrating the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus!!

Egged

Last night when I got home from tennis I saw that we had been “Egged” by some sweet friends of ours. Unfortunately the kids were already in bed so they would have to wait until the morning to see.

In the rush of getting Reese out of the door, I forgot about it until we walked out the door to go to the bus. She took a quick peek and didn’t know what to think. Once I got her on the bus, I brought Sam out to see. He thought it was super cool.

The note on the door told the kids they had been “egged” and that there were 12 eggs in our yard to find. It also said that one egg was empty to remind us of Jesus’ tomb.

Each egg that Sam picked up, he would shake to see if it was empty. It was a fun and special little way to start our Good Friday!

Spring Soccer Weekends

Our weekends have consisted of soccer, church, and tennis lately. For about a month Reese and Sam have been playing soccer through the Y. We are there at 10:30 for Sam’s practice/game and then again at 2:30 for Reese’s warm ups and game. We usually race home in between, eat lunch, let Hayes take a quick nap and then we are back to the fields.

I am coaching Sam’s team again this season. I was a little more nervous about this season than last but it has been just as much fun!

One of Sam’s best buddies is on his team again. They are so silly together. And they both have done great this season.

It took Sam a little while to get going this season. The first game I had to tell him he had to at least touch the ball with his foot one time. The next game he scored one goal, the next game he score a couple more and this last game he score nine goals. To be fair, the team from this past week was all new kids who had never played before.

I was not even keeping up with his goals but each time he scored he would run back to me and tell me how many he had scored.

Life as the little brother.

Snack time!

Reese is playing u8 this season. This means she is one of the youngest on the team.

She has a great coach and has learned a good bit. She also seems to be really enjoying it.

Even when their team gets killed she says she enjoyed the game. This green team they were playing is full of third graders that have played together for several years. Their coach coaches all four of his kids teams and was a college player. So needless to say, the green team is really good.

The last time her team played the green team Reese actually got a goal! That is her only one of the season. We were so excited!!

This is what I usually look like during her games. Standing behind our chairs cheering her on. I am sure I am pretty annoying to her but it is fun.

As busy as our Saturdays have been, they have been really fun too! It will be nice to have our Saturdays back but I will miss being out on the soccer fields.  It won’t be long and we will be by the pool next!

Ring Around the Rosie's

Hayes loves playing with Reese and Sam. He thinks he is one of the big kids. And when they are playing well together it is super cute and everyone is having fun!

Reese is always good to entertain him when I need a minute to do something or I am leaving them with a babysitter. She always asks him if he wants to have a dance party. He races to the family room for that request!

One of Hayes’ newest and favorite games is Ring Around the Rosie’s. He thinks it is so funny!

And his favorite part of it? When Sam tackles him on “we all fall down”.

Tennis

I joined a new tennis team this spring. I took the fall off after we moved and I really missed it. I LOVE my new team! It is a lower level than my old team and much more my speed. I actually feel like I am playing and know what I am doing instead of just hitting the ball and getting beat like in the past. However, my first three matches I lost. All three went to three sets and all had a tie breaker. The matches were a blast though! Every time I came home the kids would ask if I won and I would say no. They would really humble me by telling me how bad I was, that I never win, etc. etc. Ha! So last Sunday before I left they did a “winning dance” for me in hopes that I would win. And I did! In only two sets. It wasn’t a pretty match but I finally have a win. I texted Lance that the “winning dance” worked and when I got home I found this…

So sweet!

Spring Break

Our sweet spring break is over. As with breaks past, I try not to waste out days. I like for us to be able to enjoy our time together and it is best to do that outside of being bored in the house. And this week’s weather was AMAZING!

Monday we met some friends at the park over close to our old house. We hadn’t been there in forever and the kids were so excited. We loaded up bikes and scooters and off we went. When we first got there it was a little chilly but by the time we left it was nice and warm.

The kids rode the bikes/scooters around the one mile loop first. About half way around there is a work out station that all of the kids had fun playing on.

After our loop it was on to the playground. Hayes had never been to play at this park and he loved it just as much as the big kids did when they were little. That night we played outside after dinner because it was such a beautiful day.

Tuesday we decided to brave the zoo. I thought it wouldn’t be too bad since most of the school systems were not out for spring break. I was wrong! There were tons of field trips there. It wasn’t that bad even with all of the kids around.

We rode the carousel and the train. This was Hayes’ face on both of them. He is my little dare devil but he had the most scared face on each ride. It was too funny!

That evening we had dinner with some friends. It was so fun to have a dinner date in the middle of the week. It made us excited about summer!

Wednesday I planned a playdate for Sam’s class. It ended up only being two of Sam’s friends that could come so I decided to have them over to our house. It was perfect…but I didn’t get any pictures. I also invited one of Reese’s friends over so that she had someone to play with and wasn’t bossing around Sam and his buddies. Sam’s best friend from class is Caleb and Sam was so excited he was coming. He stood by the front door waiting with excitement. They played so hard outside for about an hour and then came in and went straight to Sam’s room to play. It was so sweet to see them together.

That evening we met Lance in Atlantic Station for dinner and then he took the kids to see the new Muppets movie. They couldn’t wait!

Thursday we decided to lay low. We had some errands to run in the morning and then played outside in the afternoon in between being lazy.

Friday was the first bad day of weather for the whole week. We had planned on going bowling one day and once I saw the weather forecast for the week I knew Friday would be the best day! We met some friends there and we surprised the kids with cosmic bowling.

They loved it just as much as they did the last time we went.

Hayes did so well in the stroller until the last five minutes or so. He enjoyed watching everyone but was finally ready to try it out himself. One day buddy!

After bowling we went to lunch together and then had them over for pizza and a movie night! It was such a fun evening. After eating and watching the movie, all of the kids played outside until around 10:00 while the adults got to sit outside and chat.

We had a great spring break! The kids loved staying up late and I loved them sleeping in late. Not long before summer!!