Saturday
All of our kids were awake super early on Saturday and while we typically make the big kids stay in their room until their Hatch light turns green at 7 a.m., since Rhett was up and ready for action by 6:30 a.m., we figured we’d make the most of an early morning and head out on a family walk before Rhett’s morning nap.
Chase and Ryder spent most of the walk spotting birds (do you like their makeshift binoculars?) and Rhett kicked and cooed in the baby carrier. Once we were back home, I put Rhett down for a nap and Ryan took the big kids on a short bike ride while I got in a quick driveway workout.
Once Rhett was awake, we changed into our swimsuits, lathered on sunscreen and headed out for a few hours on the water.
We dropped anchor at a little beach where the big kids quickly made friends with some other kids playing in the water and Rhett hung back with Mom and Dad.
(Rhett is munching on one of these baby-friendly Banana Oatmeal Blender Muffins — He can’t get enough of them!)
We made it home in time for Rhett to take an afternoon nap and told Chase and Ryder they needed to stay in their room for 45 minutes for some “brother quiet time.” This ended up looking like just more brother playtime but it at least gave me and Ryan the chance to clean up around the house without feeling like a bigger mess was being made around us thanks to kid chaos.
Once they were done with quiet time, Ryan took them to the grocery store to pick up some food for a backyard BBQ and we rounded out our evening with a fun cookout and a dance party. Ryan introduced them to videos of Fik-Shun on YouTube and watching Chase and Ryder attempt to imitate his moves was all kinds of entertaining.
Sunday
We made it out of the house before Rhett’s morning nap again on Sunday and took Sadie and the boys to a local trail for some hiking!
(This is the Amazon crop top I shared in a past Things I’m Loving Friday post for those who might want to see a pic of what it looks like on. Fit is true to typical lululemon sizing but I’d size up if you’re between sizes. My high-waisted leggings are lululemon aligns.)
Sadie ended up providing a lot of entertainment on our hike because Chase and Ryder made it their mission to stay ahead of her on the trails which is no small feat. Sadie is usually our little line leader but sprinting when she stopped to sniff a billion things along the trail made their goal a reality most of the time.
Though Ryan and I are forever in denial of any signs of aging in Sadie, this hike made it increasingly obvious that her hearing isn’t quite what it used to be. We’ve noticed around the house that if we call to her outside of whatever room she is in, she doesn’t seem to hear us as well and I just hate thinking of her being anything less than 100 percent healthy and herself. We’ve also noticed her eyesight isn’t as good in the dark (she always waits for us to turn on a light to come down the stairs) and these are just some things I’ll be mentioning at her next vet appointment that I’m sure are common for a 13 year old dog but just sometimes a little hard to see. Sadie is my first dog and has been a part of our lives through so many big milestones and moves and I am just currently over here trying to believe she will live forever and ever.
She certainly seemed to love every second of her time on the trails!
We took a few breaks for snacks and creature hunting and the big highlight of the hike was when Chase spotted a crayfish in the small stream!
Random fun fact: As a kid I had a pet crayfish named Boomer!
We made it back home in time to get Rhett down for his morning nap and then Ryan and his dad took Chase and Ryder fishing while I got some uninterrupted work time on the computer.
Once Rhett was up and everyone else was back home, the sunny skies and hot outside temperatures had all of us craving another boat day so we spent a few hours on the water and even busted out the large floating water mat for the first time this year.
Rhett had all of us cheering for him by the end of the trip because he hung in there so, so well. He was so happy to be on the boat, tolerated his life jacket like a champ and even had fun splashing on the mat with Ryan.
By the time we made it home, everyone was hungry for dinner, so I got the boys all changed and Ryan and his dad took off to pick up takeout from Juan Loco, a local Mexican restaurant that recently opened near our house. Of course I couldn’t resist whipping up some homemade cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream for our crew, too.
Our Sunday evening ended up including some serious excitement right before bed as Ryan went to put Chase and Ryder to bed. He noticed that Chase’s bottom right middle tooth that has been loose for a little more than a week was missing!
This shocked Chase almost as much as it shocked us! He had no idea it was gone and now it’s missing either in his stomach (my theory) or around our house somewhere. Ha! We had him write a note to leave under his pillow for the tooth fairy in lieu of his actual tooth and he seemed very confident she would be able to find his tooth with her special powers.
Now I’m going to round out today’s post with some random questions inspired by this toothy milestone! I hope you all have a great Monday!
Questions of the Day
If your family did the whole tooth fairy thing growing up, do you remember what the tooth fairy left for you?
For those with big kids who believe in the tooth fairy, what do you leave your kiddos when the tooth fairy comes?
I always remember getting quarters from the tooth fairy as a kid but I think I also may have received a dollar bill for a big tooth like a front middle one or a molar but I honestly don’t remember. I do have very strong memories of the little pink and white pillow I had to leave my teeth in for the tooth fairy to find though!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
Your family is adorable. I also have 3 boys. They are all in their 30s having children of their own. Could you recommend a life preserver for a 20 month old that is 32 pounds. Planning ahead for summer boating. Thank you
yes!! we love the hyperlite child life vests for our boys. they’re great for kids 30-50 lbs!
I still remember the tooth pillow we used! Funny story, my dog and I were at my parents house last summer and she randomly found that pillow and trotted around playing with it! No one (my siblings were there too) has any idea where she found it but my mom was not willing to let her granddog play with the pillow ha. Hope the tooth fairy’s magic powers found the tooth
What sunscreen do you use for your boys and yourself? I thought you’d shared previously, but I can’t seem to find it. It’s so hard to find ones that are “safe”, but apply well. Thanks!!
I’ve been using Badger clear sunscreen on the kids and really like it! Some kinds can be a little sticky at first though! For my face I love Biossance, SuperGoop Glow Screen and ILIA SPF 40 Super Serum Skin tint
Our oldest son just lost his first 2 teeth (less than a week apart)! The first tooth he got a $2 bill (have to go to the bank for that one), and I think the tooth fairy is leaving a $1 coin for tonight’s tooth (also requires a trip to the bank… our son is 7 so tooth fairy has had this on the radar) and all subsequent ones. My son has one of those space themed tents over his bed in the summer time (even though he has black out shades, it creates another layer of darkening for these summer bedtimes before the sun goes down) and the tooth fairy was a little nervous about finding the tooth underneath the tent, pillow, kid, and all the stuffed animals.
As I was looking at pics of Sadie, it reminded me of our dog who had a similar decline. For about the past 1-2 years her hearing declined dramatically and we think her eyesight did too, as well as her sense of smell. She had started to get a bit nippy with the kids in the past 6 months when they would hug her or other things she never minded in the past. Her walks also got a lot slower and shorter until 2 weeks ago she couldn’t even make it back from the bus stop. We just had to put her down last week. My one tip is do all the things with your dog that you can now while she still can. Ours got to take kids to school/camp, walk to bus stop (I think those were her 2 favorite things), hang with me while I worked from home the past year+ (lots of trips to the back yard to lay in the sunshine), and I’m so glad her last year was one full of things she loved.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your sweet dog. It’s so hard to watch them get older but I’m hoping and praying she will still be with us for a few more years. I will absolutely take your advice to heart and make sure she feels all the love in the world from us. One perk of the pandemic is just how much we’ve all been home with her and she’s so much family love + outside time <3
That photo of your 3 boys on the boat is just precious! As far as the tooth fairy, we always got a dollar under our pillow for each tooth! Good memories 🙂
I remember getting quarters for teeth and if it was a big one like front or something we got a dollar. For my kids we have a blue and white little pillow they stick the tooth in and put it under their own pillow. We do a dollar for each tooth.
Love the photo of the three boys together. So cute. 🙂
thank you!! <3
Oh my gosh the big boys’ little folded feet in that first pic of them on the boat! So adorable.
I would always get a quarter and a little present (a new tshirt or something small) but I had to have an extra front tooth pulled at the dentist so I got a whole dollar for that one! Haha now I’m 29 and a dentist myself so I’ll always ask kids what the tooth fairy brings them. Shocked at how many of them say $5-$20!! Crazy!
Right!?! Half the reason I asked is because Chase said a little boy at his preschool gets $10 per tooth. What!?! Ha!!
We have an aging dog too and have been working to prep my daughters. He’s getting white hair all around his nose and face and we told my older daughter that means he might have to go live with baby Jesus soon. I thought it was a good idea until she told an older white haired person at the grocery store that they’d probably have to go live with baby Jesus soon… I was mortified haha!
I had a little tooth pillow too! I still remember that! I’ve seen a thing lately of people spraying a dollar with glitter hair spray from a costume store and always thought that would be kind of fun!
Would love to see what you pack (especially snacks) and how you organize it for boat days with littles!
For my 6 year old’s first tooth we gave him a board game, a dollar bill, and a new toothbrush. Each tooth after has been $1. He seems pretty happy with the $1, but one of our friends does $5 per tooth!
We got 50 cents for a tooth. I was gobsmacked when I heard some of the amounts kids get these days. It’s got to be rough when one parent gives $1 and another gives $10 because how do you explain why the tooth fairy gives more to one kid and not another.
I do not mean for this to be seen as a negative comment at all but I am wondering if Sadie is particularly skinny recently? We also have a Viszla! I actually think it’s Sadie’s cousin somehow because we used the same breeder I think (Boaz, AL?). Our girl is only 5 but is a lot thicker. Not overweight at all but honestly totally different body type than Sadie. Ive never noticed this before so didn’t know if it was a recent weight loss?
She’s always been very small for a vizsla (under 40 lbs) and has never been a huge eater (she’s always been a free-feeder with access to her food 24/7 but eats small amounts at a time) but I agree that she is looking thinner lately. We have a vet appt for her later this week and I’m planning to ask them about a few things. <3
Oh, the tooth fairy. It can be tricky when kids talk about what they get and why some kids get more than others (I suppose the same can be said for Santa)… anyways, my kids get a golden dollar coin for each tooth. When my son lost his 6th tooth I was out of gold coins so I told him the tooth fairy only gave money for the first 5 teeth and he seemed okay with that 🙂 I still have my red and white pillow that I used and I only remember ever getting a some quarters.
Our kiddos (now 22 and 27) received gold dollar coins from the Tooth Fairy. I sure remember those days of sneaking in there and trying not to wake them in the night. 🙂 Such sweet photos of your crew and Sadie!
I was a kid in the 80s and my sister and I always got silver dollars or Susan B. Anthony dollars for our teeth. It seemed so special because when else did you ever see silver dollars around?!
SWEET Sadie!
Tooth fairy i think brought us a dollar, but DAMN the kids here lately are getting $5s, even $10s. Inflation? I swear, one friend had me cracking up, her kid got a $20 and it was ONLY because the tooth came out about 9pm, and that was the only cash she had in her wallet. Make sure you keep some cash on hand! ha!
My mom had the special phone number of a tooth fairy that only came once for our first tooth and brought us $10!
Can you share details about the boat float mat thingy? We are looking at getting one. Do you recommend yours?