DIY Memory Boxes, Butterflies and a Peek Into Our Weekend

You know those weekends that feel like a lot happened and yet nothing really monumental happened? That was this past weekend for our family. It was a simple summer weekend where nothing huge happened but it still somehow felt full and good.

Saturday Morning

Our morning on Saturday began on the best note because Chase’s fourth and final caterpillar emerged from her chrysalis!

Chase received a butterfly habitat from a friend for his birthday and our whole family has been SO into this gift! About two weeks ago, we assembled the large netted cage and sent off for the caterpillars. I set up text alerts on my phone so I’d know when they arrived and could immediately bring them inside. (Prior experience taught me to do this because only 50 percent of the ants we sent off for arrived alive for Chase’s ant farm. I blame this on the fact that the package of live ants sat out in the heat.) Our caterpillar delivery included four painted lady caterpillars and within five days all of them were hanging upside-down and had transformed into a chrysalis. Less than a week later, we had four butterflies and I’m not lying when I say every single member of our family was blown away by this transformation. It was the coolest thing to watch and Chase and Ryder LOVED it. We read all about the process and watched videos to figure out if our butterflies are males or females (they’re all females) and even learned that the red stuff that looks like blood on the butterflies after they emerge from their chrysalis is actually meconium. It’s all been so fascinating and we’re clearly geeking out big-time over here.

Rhett was a little bummed he couldn’t grab the cage and swing it around but thankfully he was distracted by walker fun. He’s turning just about everything into a walker these days (including the small trashcan in our bathroom) and it seems like he’s right on the cusp of taking his first steps.

Go Rhett, go!

Eventually Rhett tired himself out and was ready for his morning nap. While he slept, I got in a Burn Boot Camp workout and Ryan did some yardwork while the big kids played in the yard. Since Rhett was still sleeping when my workout was done, I headed inside to tackle a project I’ve had on my to-do list for months!

DIY Memory Boxes

I was on a mission to create memory boxes for the boys so we have one place to keep their projects, health documents, etc. I got the idea when I saw it on Etsy and made two memory boxes for my nieces as a birthday present for my sister a few months ago. I have been meaning to make three for our crew of dudes ever since!

They came together so easily thanks to the decals and file folder labels I ordered from this Etsy shop!

You can also order the memory boxes completely assembled on Etsy but it was cheaper to go the semi-DIY route and pretty easy to put together myself.

Here’s all of the supplies I used in case this is of interest to any of you out there:

• Personalized Name Decals
• Milestone Label Stickers
• Hanging File Folders
• Clear File Boxes (also available in a 3-pack through Target)

I previously had all of the boys’ stuff stored in overflowing folders so it felt amazing to have a more organized system in place. The boys also got the biggest kick out of looking through some of the things I saved like their ultrasound pictures and some of their old preschool crafts.

Saturday Afternoon + Evening

Once Rhett was awake, we changed into our swimsuits and lathered on the sunscreen before heading off on the boat for some swimming in the lake.

All of the spots at the little beaches we typically like to boat to were taken on Saturday afternoon, so we ended up dropping anchor in a cove and rolling out our big splash mat. We weren’t sure how Rhett would do without a beach to crawl around on but he LOVED it. He seemed to think crawling off the mat and flipping over onto his back in his lifejacket was the funniest thing and we all laughed at him “turtling” because he’d get stuck and we’d have to flip him back.

Once we made it back home — just in time to avoid some afternoon thunderstorms — Rhett went down for his afternoon nap and I continued to tackle my memory box organization project while Ryan and the big kids went out and grabbed us pizza from Inizio’s for dinner. We followed up our pizza with homemade ice cream which was one of our best flavor creations to date!

Ryder and I made a batch of cheesecake ice cream with homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies sprinkled in and it was next level delicious. Not a bad way to round out a Saturday!

Sunday

Sunday morning kicked off with breakfast, stories and a walk/bike ride for the big kids around our neighborhood. We covered right around three miles before heading home so Rhett could nap while Ryan took the boys fishing and I got some work done on the computer. By the time everyone was awake, home and fed (again), it was time for swimming!

As we were driving to the pool, a bunch of rain clouds had us feeling a little nervous that our swimming plans would be cut short but somehow the pool seemed to remain in a little patch of sunshine and we had a great time splashing around for a few hours.

(Bikini Top + Bikini Bottoms — both are reversible! / Sunglasses / Chase’s Swim Trunks / Ryder’s Rash Guard) 

A sweet woman offered to take a family photo of our group as we were about to head out and clearly our boys were not feelin’ it.

Ha! Ya win some, ya lose some.

On our way home, we put in a to-go order to pick up burgers, fries and milkshakes from Shake Shack which recently opened up in our area. I’m pretty sure I’ve had Shake Shack in a past visit to New York City but didn’t remember much so I was excited to try it again. We all gave it two thumbs up!

Once we made it home, we didn’t have too much of the evening left before it was time for bath, stories and bed. Once we had the kids settled in bed, Ryan and I cleaned up around the house and then watched a throwback episode of New Girl. I forgot how much that show cracks me up! By the time we made it into bed, I was pretty tired and ended up falling asleep after reading a few pages of my latest book, Ace of Spades, which I selected based on a good review I read on The Stripe blog.

As for today, I actually met up with my friend Lauren for a leg day workout this morning and it was SO nice to get it done before the chaos of the day kicks in. Madison is also coming to watch the boys for a few hours this morning so I can work and then scoop Chase up for a 60-minute lemonade social at his new school before heading back home to hang with Rhett and Ryder by lunchtime. Chase’s school is doing a staggered start so his first official day of kindergarten isn’t until Thursday but he’s excited to meet some new friends and see his new classroom today.

I hope you guys all have a great week and, as always, thanks so much for making my blog a part of your day!