Mother’s Day Weekend 2024
Our family’s Mother’s Day weekend fun began similarly to other Mother’s Days around here when we piled into the car and headed to the zoo on Saturday.
Rhett and I semi-recently went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro with friends so we opted to go to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday. Both zoos are a little less than two hours from our home and both are excellent.
We arrived at the zoo a little after 10 a.m. and didn’t leave until close to 4 p.m. We had such a great time observing the animals, enjoying the gorgeous weather and spending time together as a family. The boys were in their animal-loving element and especially enjoyed the new aquarium and reptile conservation center which was quite large and home to lots of cool reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates and birds. The very-active octopus stole the show for our family! It was very big and gracefully moved all around its tank which was so cool to watch.
Of course we had to stop to ride the carousel and mini train in the zoo and catch and release a lizard or two!
We made sure to plan our lap around the zoo in a way that had our family ending our time at Waterfall Junction, a splashpad area complete with a tree house, dinosaur dig zone and open field ideal for free play for the kids.
The boys changed into their swimsuits and had a blast running around and getting all their energy out before the long car ride home!
I also found out that Chase has a hidden talent:
Hula hooping!
He can hula hoop for a LONG time and easily did it for 5 minutes straight until he was ready to move onto the next thing. Who knew!? I, on the other hand, could not for the life of me get the hula hoop to stay above my hips for more than 10 seconds. Apparently that skill died with my 20s.
Sunday
Sunday was officially Mother’s Day and started out on the sweetest note with homemade gifts from the boys, homemade cards from everyone and two thoughtful gifts from Ryan.
It was another gorgeous day in Charlotte and since I wanted to spend as much time as possible outside, we figured a family hike at Lake Norman State Park would be a great way to kick off the day.
(Ryan told the boys to yell out “MOM!” for the above pic. Haha!)
Our family joked that no one had a better time on our hike than Pepper! She was in her element and loved sprinting along the trail with the boys and sniffing everything she possibly could as we meandered along the 3-mile trail.
We brought our hiking backpack for Rhett but he didn’t spend too much time in it, mostly opting to hike and explore with his big brothers. Our hike wasn’t a fast one by any means but it was a great one and made us feel hopeful for future family hikes.
On our way home, we couldn’t resist popping into Daylight Donuts, as they’re some of our family’s favorite doughnuts in the area.
Unfortunately we were too late to grab my favorite apple fritter but our 6-pack of doughnuts was still a delicious treat after our hike.
More fun!
Once we arrived back home, we ate lunch and then spent the rest of the day outside, gardening, playing basketball, kayaking and spending time on the lake.
The evening ended with movie night on the couch and early bedtimes for everyone which was right up my alley! I’m pretty sure I was fast asleep by 9:30 p.m. which felt amazing, especially when my 5 a.m. alarm clock went off this morning.
The week ahead is a little crazy, as I am sure anyone with school-age kids out there can attest is not uncommon for this time of year. We’ll be celebrating all three boys’ summer birthdays in their classrooms (Chase today, Rhett tomorrow and Ryder on Thursday) and also have a few more random things to attend throughout the week before we make our way to Chattanooga at the end of the week for a mini vacation and another Half Ironman for Ryan!
I hope you all have a fantastic week, my friends, and thanks so much for stopping by the blog today!
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Fun Fact! My husband’s family owned a Daylight Donuts franchise up here in northern IL for most of his life growing up! I’m bummed that they sold it shortly before I met him but they put pride in their donuts, so much so that he is VERY particular still to this day. He loved the bear claws.
They are truly some of the best!!!
Happy Mother’s Day Julie! Wondering how Pepper manages to stay with you while off leash on a hike? Our pup is 5 and I would be afraid she would take off or end up somewhere unreachable! We made the mistake of keeping her on a leash when she was a puppy and we did not do a good job training her.
She stays on her leash when she is outside with us! We have the same issue — she’s definitely a runner off-leash!
I was at a four-year-old birthday party this weekend and my middle son came up to me with a hula hoop and asked what it was. I explained it to him and he asked me if I could do it. I hadn’t hula hooped in a very long time, but I told him I’d try. Turns out I definitely cannot hula hoop anymore lol, so this very well may be a skill you lose after your 20s.
Ha! Yes I was kind of shocked by my severe lack of skills!! At least we aren’t alone — haha!
It sounds like you had a perfect Mother’s Day weekend! How has Ryan been able to juggle his Half Ironman training with all his work travel? I travel quite a bit for work, and with time changes, late dinners, and early departure times, it can be really challenging to fit in workouts!
Speaking of octopus, if you haven’t read Remarkably Bright Creatures, I highly recommend it!