We did it! We made it through the first day of school, and all three of us had a great first day back to school.
Speaking of school, last week I shared a special day I had with Hadley before she started Kindergarten, and now I’m sharing about the day I spent with Hayden.
Hayden had similar day, but he still got to choose some of our activities. After dropping Hadley off at the sitter’s house, Hayden and I went to the same park to walk the same trails…
…and he completed the same nature scavenger hunt. My other cute little lefty:
It was a nice morning!
Then, we headed to get a gas station treat. He chose Twizzlers and an Icee.
After that, we spent some time at a pet store. During this summer, both kids had gotten little fish bowls, and his fish didn’t last very long. So, on this day, we went and picked out a new fish…
…and took it home to put it in the fish bowl.
Then, it was time for lunch…at Chick-fil-A.
Like Hadley, we went and played a couple of rounds of putt putt golf.
I’m sure he beat me! 😉
Then, it was time for tennis!
He used to spend lots of time running around these courts.
After tennis, of course we had to cool off with some FroYo!
A sweet treat to cap off a sweet day with Hayden! It was a special day, for sure.
Hello and happy Thursday! Well this week is just trucking right along. With school starting next week, it got me thinking about the kids and their elementary school years. I feel like I’m always nostalgic for those days. Today, I’m taking a look back on something fun I did with each kid before they started kindergarten.
I was so nervous, but also excited, about the kids starting kindergarten. I wanted to spend a day with each of them before we all went to school. So, I chose a day and let them both choose a few activities, and I sprinkled in a few as well.
Here’s “Hadley’s Day” in 2015 before school started.
I dropped Hayden off at the sitter’s house, and Hadley and I went for a walk in a nearby park to get our day started.
We did a scavenger hunt while we walked. My cute little lefty:
We’d been on these trails before, and she had a great time.
We found everything on the list!
After that, we made a pit-stop at a gas station, and she could choose whatever she wanted…apparently, her love for sour candy started early!
Then, we stopped by the dance studio and signed her up from classes. In kindergarten, she took a combo ballet/tap class, and that was the start of her falling in love with dancing.
(This pic is at one of the classes once those started…missing a tooth and smiling!)
Then, it was Taco Bell time. Hadley still loves Taco Bell…I think she’s had it twice this week!
After that, I took her for a pedicure. This was her first time getting one, and I found a place that had the chairs for kids. She’s been a diva ever since. haha
Then, it was time for putt putt golf which was the perfect way to cool off on a hot summer day.
One more treat for my sweets…we stopped by the cupcake place, and she chose a cupcake for herself…
…and for Hayden. She’s still a very thoughtful girl.
As you know, I’ve always made a big deal about going back to school. I want the kids to be excited about the start of a new year. We used to take a day to get back to school haircuts and go by school supplies followed by lunch. Sometimes, we still make it to the outlet mall for them to get some new shoes. At this point, some years, we’re just winging it!
During the elementary years, I did a back to school breakfast …
…and in middle school we did a back to school brinner.
Last year, we went to IHOP for dinner a couple of days before school started. I hope we get to do the same thing this year.
Anyway, this was a special day with Hadley, and I will share Hayden’s day soon!
Well, this post is coming to you a bit late, but it’s one that I wanted to share as a follow up to my posts last week.
Last week, the Share Our Livespost was about travel memories…which got me thinking about the first time we took the kids to Disney World in 2015.
Today’s Throwback Thursday post is a follow up to that one, and I’m sharing about the other time we took the kids to Disney in 2019.
Here we are in 2015…
I had just started my blog when we returned home from this 2019 trip, so I’m assuming I shared at least something, but I couldn’t quickly find it in the blog archives…so here we go with a recap:
On another trip to Siesta Key in 2019, we planned a second trip to Disney World. This time, we decided to stay at the Polynesian the day/night before our day at Disney World. Our friends are frequents as Disney, and they graciously shared their Disney points with us, so we stayed the one night using their points/rewards!
We drove from Siesta Key, and arrived at the Polynesian in time for check in.
These kids got the hang of Polynesian life real quick!
We checked in, got the lay of the land, and hit up the pool. The kids also hit up the hot tub.
After a day of pool activities, we cleaned up, snapped a family pic…
…and went out to eat in Disney Springs. I don’t remember where we ate, but I think it was an Italian restaurant….with balloon fun…a Minnie “hat” for Hadley and a dinosaur for Hayden.
That night, we watched the fireworks from our hotel balcony. If you read my post last week, I shared that when we went to Disney in 2015, the fireworks were rained out. We kept that in mind this time, and our hope was to see them from our balcony the night before and then leave Disney the next day before the fireworks to head back to Siesta Key.
Thankfully, our plan worked!
Who doesn’t love Mickey waffles for breakfast?
We took the monorail (I think?!) from the Polynesian to Disney. So pretty!
Another round of Etsy shirts for these two.
Did you even go to Disney if you didn’t take a pic in front of the castle?
I don’t have a ton of pics, but I know we rode all the rides…including the classics like Dumbo…
…with a few laps around the track.
I didn’t buy the Disney photos, but I have this screenshot from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. So funny.
Like in 2015, we had a reservation for lunch, but it wasn’t with the characters. We kept it a bit more simple, but were excited for the a/c, a place to sit down, and some food to eat.
Then, we did get a little bit of rain…just as we were at the Swiss Family Robinson house.
Fun fact…Swiss Family Robinson is one of my favorite movies! …and a sweet memory I have from after the trip is that as soon as we got home, we watched the movie as a family…and both kids loved it…especially Hayden.
Since it was raining, I remember we scrambled to find something to do inside which apparently was the Haunted Mansion.
Hadley’s face…priceless!
I do think we ended our day riding Splash Mountain because if we got too wet, we were headed back to the car.
We left around dinner time, changed our clothes in the car, with the kids putting their pj’s on, and stopped for food on the road.
Another trip with sweet memories, but the kids never really asked to go back! Like I said, I’d like to check out the other parks some day, but that’s not on our immediate list.
Hopefully, the kids have sweet memories from those two trips!
Why is this week flying by?! Also, why is it raining nearly every single day here? It’s hard for me to plan my pool time, but I did get a couple hours at the pool yesterday.
Anyway, in Monday’s Share Our Livespost, I shared about a few favorite vacation memories which included when we took the kids to Disney World in 2015 for the first time when they were five.
Last summer, I loved sharing some throwback memories, so today I’m taking a stroll down Disney World memory lane.
In 2015, we’d gone to Siesta Key with the kids and another family. We stayed at Trav’s aunt’s house like we always do, but we decided to take one day to drive to Orlando and go to Disney World.
Our friends have boy/girl twins too that are two years older than my two. My friend’s sister is a Disney planner, so that was so helpful in planning our trip. My friend and I purchased cute shirts for the kids from Etsy (maybe my first Etsy purchase?!), and the night before we were going to Disney, we gave the kids the t-shirts and let them piece together all the fun. All four of them were excited, jumping up and down which is such a sweet memory.
Anyway, we left the house around 7 AM and drove to Orlando for the day.
This was us on the ferry (I think?) on the way into Disney World.
We made it!
Making memories with friends!
We spotted the king and queen of Disney…Micky and Minnie.
I don’t remember all the details, but we did have the fast past, and that was so helpful. We rode everything we’d hoped to including some I didn’t think we’d be able to ride (due to the kids being little) like Space Mountain!
I remember prepping Hayden as we approached the ride that he might be too short. I swear it was because he was wearing his hat that they said he was tall enough. Well, when we got to the ride, I realized he’d be sitting in front of me and I had my hand on his shoulder for the whole ride. Since it’s so dark in there, I wasn’t sure if the squeals I was hearing were good or bad, but as soon as the ride was over, he looked back at me and said, “That was the best ride ever!” So sweet to see him experience those things!
I’m more of a Dumbo ride girlie!
I think we just had one sit down meal which was lunch, and the kids got to meet so many of the characters.
Oh, Eyore!
3D time!
…followed by the tea cups! I think we hopped on the tea cups while Trav and the other dad figured out our next stop.
They were trying to make me dizzy.
Of course, they had to drive on the race track!
Who doesn’t love the carousel?!
So many sweet memories!
The kids each got to choose one item from the gift shop!
The castle looked so beautiful at night.
Unfortunately, it rained and they didn’t have the fireworks that night. That was definitely a bummer, but we had a great day overall. I think we got back to the house around midnight.
We also took the kids to Disney in 2019 (I think?!), and that time, we stayed one day/night at the Polynesian and did one day at Disney.
I’m glad we’ve made the time to take the kids to Disney, and maybe we’ll get back there one day. Trav and I are both in agreement that one day seems to be enough, and we aren’t Disney fanatics. I’m interested in Universal Studios and Epcot, but we’ll see. We used to joke that the kids didn’t realize you can go to Disney for more than one day since that’s all we’ve done. haha!
Apparently, I didn’t take a ton of pics on that trip, but I liked looking back at that time!
Shew!! This week has kicked my tail. Besides starting back to school for meetings and professional development, Travis was out of town the past few days, so I was doing “all the things” at school and at home…including waking up at 5:30 to take Hayden to cross country. That’s usually “Super Dad’s” job!
As our summer break winds down, I’m looking back on my first summer as a “stay at home” mom with the kids.
Obviously, before the kids were born, my summers weren’t so structured or busy!
Even though it was fourteen years ago (how is that possible?!) the summer of 2010 was one of my favorites.
I was a little nervous going into that summer because juggling two kids on my own was going to be a lot of work! (Side story: I was on maternity leave from the day the kids were born (November 20) until mid-April after spring break. I had about eighteen weeks off with them. Around early February, I called Travis at work on a Friday and told him I was going to go back to work the next Monday. Being at home with two babies was hard work. Hadley had acid reflux and was often fussy…and I felt overwhelmed. He told me to hang on and think about it and that things would get better. (If I went back to school and then changed my mind, I would be giving up my FMLA) Well, we found out Hayden had colic, and about ten days later, both kids started sleeping through the night. That was a game changer! I did end up enjoying the remainder of my maternity leave with them 🙂
Anyway, that summer was so good. The kids were on a great schedule, they slept ten (or more) hours at night, took a two hour morning nap and a shorter afternoon nap, and they started to interact with each other. Honestly, we had a really great time together!
There was lots of tummy time…
…and rolling over…
…and sitting up!
They could sit by each other and entertain each other and play with toys. Plus, they weren’t crawling yet (that milestone came later in the summer), so I knew they would stay put!
(Also, FYI- Hadley was a very serious baby. I blame the acid reflux. Once she turned one, she lightened up and became her happy, free-spirited self that we all know and love.)
We were home quite a bit, but we’d go on walks and hang out on the back porch.
We even got a little pool that they could splash in on our screened in porch. They loved it.
Bath time was always fun!
They loved hanging out with our dogs, Shiloh and Scout. The pups were good to the twins.
We went to KC around the 4th of July, and that was the beginning of them wearing red, white and blue for the holiday.
On the drive back from KC, we decided to stay the night in St. Louis, so the kids had their first overnight at a hotel.
They thought it was great! Smiles and pacis 🙂
They really started to interact with each other and become besties!
I know we did more, but apparently I took less pics in 2010 😂
And…here are my big kids now:
Every summer has been great, but I will always look back fondly on those less hectic summers when they were little and needed me a bit more.
I’ve always felt like teaching has provided me a great balance with time with my kids during holidays and breaks as well as continuing my career in education.
I can’t believe next week they’ll be in high school!
Well, I’ve enjoyed my little “Throwback Thursday” series this summer but…these posts have also made me feel a bit nostalgic…and even a little sad thinking about all the sweet memories from when my kids were little!
Earlier this week, we had to be out of the house for a couple of hours. The kids had a workout and afterwards, we went to Taco Bell for lunch, and then Hayden requested that we go to Joseph Beth Bookstore. Now, he’s always been more of a reader than Hadley has, but even this visit, he was on the lookout for the Kentucky Football magazine…not a book.
That’s ok…I was still grateful for time in one of my favorite places, and Hadley even picked up a book too.
When I went to round up the kids to leave, I spotted my boy…and it made me smile.
This is Hayden at the same book store in 2011:
Then, I got to thinking about how summer reading was such a big part of their childhood. We spent so much time at the library, especially when they were little. We’d go to “story time” a couple days as week, and then I’d let them play for a bit and check out books. They always thought it was fun to return the books in the return slot…and as they got older, they thought it was so cool to use the scanner to check the books out.
Every year, we’d go and pick up the “Summer Reading Program” paper to keep track of the books we’d read. Eventually, they’d read on their own….what a rite of passage. Then, at the end of the summer, they’d turn their sheets in and pick out their free books and other prizes.
I remember doing this as a kid with my mom, and even though my kids don’t read as much as they used to, I hope they remember all of our time going to the library.
During the elementary years, the kids had an amazing librarian at their school, and they’d check so many books out at the school library too. Of course, they lived for the book fair every year.
I know it’s natural, as they get older, to maybe not read for fun as much given their schoolwork, their schedule, technology (ugh!), and just having other interests. As much as I’ve always loved reading, there were stretches of time that all I read was for school. It’s been about seven years now that I’ve gotten back into reading really regularly. I hope they continue to find opportunities to read. Both of my parents are big readers, and I try to model that for my kids too.
Anyway, here’s a look at library time/summer reading through the years:
2012:
I’d say the summer of 2012 is when we started going to the library regularly. The kids would have been 2 1/2, so that’s a great age to take them.
We’d visited my mom in KC, and she was doing story time at the public library she worked at after she retired. (She was a 7th grade Language Arts teacher for over 30 years…and then worked (and retired from!) at the public library a couple days a week for maybe ten years?
The kids were on their best behavior. haha
Here the kids are at our library…
I loved that they could go and explore, play games, and check out books once or twice a week.
At the end of the summer, they earned their summer reading t-shirts.
2013:
Lots of time spent at story time, and Hayden finding any books he could about trucks.
Arts and crafts at the library… always is a good time!
2014:
Y’all, I distinctly remember the first time the kids sat down at these computers, and had no clue how to use a mouse! They’d never been on a computer before, obviously. It was so awkward until they figured it out.
Hadley loved the little reading nook, and I’d often find her there.
Hayden started wanting to read The Magic Treehouse series, and most nights we’d read them to him at bedtime. Hadley always loved books about animals, including the Critter Sitter Club books. I don’t think she’s actually reading in this pic. haha
2015:
Kindergarten time, so of course they loved Pete the Cat.
Hadley was starting to outgrow the library reading nook, but I would still often find her there.
2016:
This summer, they were more “independent” in the library whenever we would visit.
…Hadley found a buddy to read books to…
2017:
I took this pic at the end of the summer. We’d gone to pick up school supplies and get back to school hair cuts. We also stopped by the library for them to pick out their books that they earned from their summer reading.
Of course, Hadley loved Pinkalicious, and Hayden was very into the “Where is” and “Who is” books. He was (and still can be) very inquisitive.
2018:
Awe…they were getting so big…but we still went to the library often.
2019:
Throughout the elementary years, they always enjoyed reading at bedtime. Hayden was reading a story from an old textbook the teacher had sent home.
Of course, even in 5th grade, they read a lot as well…but that was the year they were mostly learning from home.
It’s no secret that one of my favorite hobbies is reading.
I hope my kids keep books as a part of their lives whenever they get the chance!
This was a fun stroll down memory lane, but I can’t believe how quickly these summers are flying by.
I hope you’ve had a great week. I finally feel like I’m getting my feet back under me after being gone. The kids have had a few things this week, but I also got to go to the pool and start chipping away at some of my “to do” lists for the summer.
A few weeks ago, I shared a ThrowbackThursdaypost about the first time Hadley went to camp, and today I’m sharing another post about the first time we took the kids to the beach.
Sharing my trip recaps has had me thinking about the first vacation we took as a family of four. Wow! Traveling with kids has definitely gotten easier!
In July of 2010, Travis and I went to Folly Beach, SC to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. We left on a Thursday and came back on Monday, and the drive was only about eight hours to the Charleston area.
The following summer, we decided the eight hour drive seemed doable…even with the kids being 18 months old. We went on vacation with friends who also have twins (two years older than my two).
Anyway, we found a house in Folly Beach, and we arrived late afternoon/early evening. Our house was on the second row, so we just had to cross the street at the beach access point. As soon as we got everything unpacked, we decided to check out the beach.
Hadley has always been more outgoing and assertive whereas Hayden has always been more quiet and hesitant.
Well, upon seeing the beach and the ocean, Hadley was the hesitant one, and Hayden was all in. I will always remember her pointing at the water and just seeming so uncertain. Hayden, on the other hand, went from running to the water’s edge to playing in the sand. He got so wet that we had to take his shirt off so he could play and not get as messy.
Obviously, with each passing day, Hadley became less timid, and Hayden had the time of his life. It was so nice not having to walk too far with all of our beach gear.
Target was my “go to” for their swimsuits for years and years. Hadley still loves Target for her swimsuits. I would always put one or two swimsuits in their Easter baskets.
Hayden loved the water gun at the beach! Hadley…”diva mode” activated!
They loved sitting in these little chairs for snack time while looking out at the water.
We went out to dinner most nights. We’d also head to the beach after dinner to catch the sunset.
I still have this pic framed….it’s one of my faves!
I always loved dressing the kids up in cute little summer outfits.
Many of our afternoons looked like this:
(and this is one of my favorite photos of all time of Trav and Hadley)
It was nice being so close to the house as sometimes my friend and I would stay at the beach and the dads would take the kids back for nap time. Other days, we’d switch off.
We had our house Saturday to Saturday, and on the Friday that was our last day, it was very overcast, and it was going to be rainy. The other family stayed, but we decided to go on home a day early. We were tired, and the kids were fussy.
My kids have always been great sleepers, but always the first couple of days anywhere were rough. Once they got in a routine and settled it, it was always ok.
Even now, Hayden is still kind of a sleep talker/fitful sleeper the first couple of nights not at home.
On the second night of our recent vacation, at 3 am he hopped out of bed and was talking to us in the hotel room. haha!! He never remembers doing these things.
Anyway, the kids were tired, and I was just ready to be home. That next Monday, I remember taking Hadley to the doctor and he said that when the kids are little, it’s a “trip” and not a “vacation.” This was a lightbulb moment for me…haha
Hadley had an ear infection which might explain why she was out of sorts even at the end of that trip.
My friend took this pic of the kids and me as we said goodbye to them and Travis packed up the car.
It was a really great vacay even though it was a lot of work to be away from home. We had a lot of fun with our friends, so that was a bonus too. That trip to Folly Beach was the start of a few summers visiting the Charleston area.
In 2013, we stayed at Wild Dunes on Isle of Palms which provided two more pics that make me smile when they pop up in my memories:
We went back to SC in 2014 and 2018 and we most recently went back in 2021.
It’s crazy to think that traveling has gotten quite a bit easier. The kids can entertain themselves on a long car ride, they can pack their own suitcases, and they can even have a little more independence and freedom when we travel. It’s true—the days are long, but the years are short!
South Carolina is a great place that’s pretty convenient for us to visit.
Well, I think this past year I’ve felt a little more sentimental than usual. I guess with the closing of the middle school chapter for my kids and knowing (fearing?) the next four years of high school are going to fly by, I’d like to capture a few more memories on the blog.
Like my “Summer Sunday” posts, I had hoped to start a Throwback Thursday post earlier in the summer, but never got to it. Now is the time 🙂
Hadley just got back from camp this week, so I thought it would be fun to have some of her camp experiences in one spot.
The first year Hadley went to camp was the summer of 2019 after her 3rd grade year. It was for six days and six nights. She went to a camp about an hour and a half from Lexington. Many of her friends had been to the same camp, but the previous years, for their age, it was just three days.
I remember being so nervous for her as she prepared for camp. I did take comfort knowing she was excited, and she would have friends there too….I had just wished that we had “tested the waters” for three days before jumping in to a week! When you registered, girls could write down one roommate, so again, I knew she’d most likely have a good friend in her cabin.
We all went to drop her off, and I left a “care package” for her to receive mid-week.
I did give the camp address to family, so she received lots of mail that week. The camp would post photos on Facebook every night, and those first couple of nights I would stay up late to see her smiling face. I just wanted to know she was having a good time.
I had told her that when I picked her up, I’d probably be there early because Hayden had a baseball tournament that weekend. We could pick up starting at 9:00, and I was there by 9:15. Once the counselor went to get her, she came out smiling, and the first thing I noticed (besides her smiling face) was all the bug bites she had. haha!
She immediately asked that I sign her up for the next year, and also told me she hadn’t brushed her teeth since Tuesday since she’d lost her toothbrush! haha
Once I got her packed up and in the car, she told me all about her week at camp before falling asleep for most of the ride home. I was so happy that she’d had such a great time.
We’d signed her up to go the summer of 2020, but that session ended up getting canceled. She was really bummed.
She proceeded to go to the same camp in 2021 and 2022. Both times, she had a blast, and I was definitely less nervous about sending her. I’m so grateful she’s had those experiences.
Hayden never seemed interested in going to sleep away camp, and since he’s a home body like me, I never pushed it on him. His first camp experience was running camp last year…and he loved it.
I feel like we’ve gotten pretty good at packing Hadley for camp. Last year, I wrote this post sharing what Hadley usually took to camp.
The camp she went to last year and this year provided a packing list, but she put everything in a suitcase since that is easier to load into the belly of the coach bus, and put other odds and ends in her backpack.
Last year, was Hadley’s first year going to Young Life camp in Missouri. There is a YL branch at her school, and she’s been involved in it all three years of middle school. She’s made amazing connections and has been provided great opportunities to grow in her faith with wonderful leaders.
This camp experience is different compared to what she did the previous three years as she packs a little differently, I don’t have to drive her to camp, and I don’t get to see the facilities (in person).
She boards a bus at a local church at 5am, and rides a coach bus the nine hours to camp. As they arrive at camp, the leaders take their phones for the five days they are there.
The leaders do send the parents emails with photos, and sometimes there are videos. Of course, I still want to see her smiling face, but I know she’s having a good time and worry less about her now that she’s older.
The camp is on a lake, so they have the best time boating, tubing, swimming, playing games, attending small group, cabin time, and club (for daily lesson/scripture) as well as journaling, playing volleyball and pickle ball, meeting other kids and more.
They don’t leave the camp until 1:00 PM (central time) on Sunday, so they don’t get back to the local church in Lexington until 1 or 2 am. I know she’s tired from camp, but I’m tired from the late pick up! haha
Last year, she was gone over the 4th of July, but they had a blast.
This year, camp was mid-June, and of course Hadley was excited to go. The packing list and logistics were the same. Travis dropped her off early last Wednesday morning, and after about eight hours, she texted us that she was handing over her phone and she’d see us in a few days.
Like in years past, I appreciated getting a few pics from the YL leaders.
For “theme” night for their group…they were Nerds. We didn’t have to provide anything for this costumer so this was a cute surprise picture to see. (Hadley is bottom row, second from left)
They had time on the lake…
…and enjoying the amazing setting.
Once she got her phone back on Sunday afternoon, I was excited to see this text from her:
I picked her up at 2am on Monday, and I was excited to see her of course. She filled me in on all of the activities and fun she had with her friends. I think this year felt a little different for her. This is a big group of girls, and a few of them are going to a different school for high school. They’ll all still see each other, but it will be different.
Hadley said on the final night, there were tears and they stayed up extra late hanging out.
I’m glad she’s had such wonderful camp experiences through the years. Each year has provided lots of memories, but going to camp has allowed her to spread her wings a bit, be independent, and navigate life a little out of her comfort zone.
We miss her when she’s gone, but I know she will look back on these camp experiences with fond memories.
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