A Soccer Game, the Bulls Game and STEAM Day

I think I lived 10,000 lives before 10 a.m. today. This is one of those feelings I remember feeling so acutely on a daily basis during the toddler years. By the time 10 a.m. rolled around, we’d have already run through 5 different activities, visited a park, had breakfast and at least two snacks and the day wasn’t even halfway done.

Unfortunately this morning’s activities didn’t involve coloring or magnetic blocks but rather a vet visit for Pepper (just routine) and an urgent care visit for Ryan (not routine). He’s okay and asleep on the couch right now as I work on this blog post but this has definitely been a very Monday-ish kind of Monday so far. Our entire family has managed to stay healthy during cold and flu season this year so I suppose one of us was down to go out eventually. (I actually went down last week but not as hard. Turns out what I thought were just allergies were, in fact, not just allergies.) I’m just really hoping Ryan feels better fast because non-stop puking is miserable.

But let’s back up a bit to more pleasant times 15 hours earlier… the weekend! Our weekend was a good one with a solid mix of family, friends, sports and outside time.

The weekend began with a family trip out to the soccer fields on Friday night to cheer for Chase. Ryan is the head coach for Chase’s rec league soccer team this year so it’s extra fun to cheer them on because I feel like I know more about all the kids on the team.

Ryan is so invested in this group of kids and admittedly stressin’ a little bit about making sure they’re all having fun, getting mostly equal playing time on game days, developing as players, etc. I’m proud of the time and thought he’s pouring into this group of kids, especially since it is just rec sports which is the best fit for our family right now for a myriad of reasons.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, we began our day at the Carolina Raptor Center for their annual STEAM Day!

(Tee: Old Navy / Overalls: Free People / Sneakers: Adidas) 

We’ve been members of the Carolina Raptor Center for years and joined soon after we began to see Chase’s love for birds of prey begin to skyrocket. Truthfully, our whole family has Chase to thank for turning all of us into bird lovers. (I actually say it was through nursing Chase on the couch that I became interested in the birds in our backyard when he was an infant because breastfeeding forced me to slow down, look out the window and notice some of the beautiful creatures around me in ways I didn’t before. An unexpected perk!)

STEAM Day at the Carolina Raptor Center featured a lot of interactive exhibits where the boys could participate in activities like creating enrichment for the birds or matching pictures of birds to their correct species. In short: It was heaven for our nature-loving kids.

By the time we made it home, we didn’t have too much of our afternoon left. The boys mostly played outside while Ryan and I spent a couple of hours building new furniture for our dock. We’ve had the best luck with Polywood dining furniture on our back patio but I’ll be the first to admit the knock-off versions of Polywood adirondack chairs and the lounge chairs we found on Amazon have held up just as well. We ordered a couple of rocking chairs and a bench for the dock so now we’ll be able to relax out there a bit, too!

Then it was time to shower and get ready because Ryan and I had dinner plans with friends.

(Top: Target but old / Skirt: Target but old / Shoes: Amazon / Purse: Street Level via Stitch Fix / Layered necklaces and bracelets: Gorjana + Madewell) 

After our babysitter arrived and we said goodbye to the boys, we made our way up to Mooresville and met up with six of our friends at Savannah Oyster Company to celebrate my friend Carrie’s birthday!

The six of us all met soon after we had our first babies (nearly 10 years ago!) and they’re some of our very favorite people. Four hours felt like four minutes together and we had the best time eating, drinking and laughing together.

Sunday

The big highlight of our Sunday was the Charlotte Hornets vs. Chicago Bulls basketball game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Ryder and Chase’s school had a fundraiser that involved tickets to a Hornets game and when we saw the Bulls were playing, we scooped up five for our family.

I was raised in the Chicagoland area (Palatine, Illinois) and when I tell you the Bulls mayhem of the ’90s was absolutely insane, I mean it. Watching Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, BJ Armstrong, Horace Grant and more play and dominate was the most amazing feeling of collective joy in our area. I will never, ever forget the bubbling anticipation I felt when my parents took me and my sister to a game at the United Center and all the lights when down before the starting lineup. (No lie, the Bulls starting lineup music is what Ryan and I walked out to at our wedding reception because he’s been a Bulls superfan for decades, too!)

(Bulls game day outfit all linked here!) 

Clearly our family was reppin’ the Bulls at Sunday’s game but we weren’t the only ones. It honestly felt like half the stadium was Bulls fans due, in large part I’m sure, to the fact that Chicago is a huge market but they’re also doing well now whereas Charlotte won’t be making the playoffs. The game was super high-scoring (both teams had over 100 points) which made it extra fun for the boys to watch. They got really into it and had no problem lasting from the start of the game to the very end.

Well, Rhett did need a little side entertainment in the form of random imagination games we played and a few stadium snacks but all in all, it was a blast and took me back to my childhood Bulls game memories. You can take the girl out of Chicago, but you can’t take Chicago out of the girl.

We ended our weekend with movie night (we are loving the Americas documentaries), Jonny Pops and jammies.

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead and stay healthy!!