Reunited Weekend
We drove about 40 minutes north to my friend Danielle’s house where our boys were in heaven with her two kids! Danielle and her husband live on several acres with a pond and a creek on their property which is right up our outdoor-loving boys’ alley.
Chase and Danielle’s son Caleb have been friends since they were babies (they’re only 2 days apart) and they share a next-level passion for animals. Our two oldest boys spent nearly the entire duration of our visit fishing, looking for skinks, frogs and snakes and even trying to net a mouse they saw scamper by outside. There’s truly nothing Chase loves more than catching and releasing creatures and 2 seconds after we pulled out of their driveway to head back home on Friday evening, he was already asking when we could return.
It was a wonderful Friday despite the weather. Of course the highlight of our Friday took place after the sun went down when Ryan returned home after nine days in India. Chase waited up with me to greet him and we are thrilled he’s home again!
Saturday
Ryder and Rhett were thrilled to begin the weekend with the biggest hugs from Dad and we intentionally kept our schedule clear for the day to max out family time but also to give Ryan the chance to adjust to the 11.5 hour time difference because it’s no joke.
Ryan has been to India several times for work and has learned a bit about how to feel his best when he returns. This typically involves not sleeping much on his flights back to Charlotte so he can sleep through the night when he gets home in an effort to try to get his body back on Charlotte time. Thankfully this seemed to be his easiest time adjustment and after sleeping hard for 10+ hours on Friday night, he woke up on Saturday feeling pretty good, all things considered.
The weather was incredible on Saturday and we took full advantage of the sunshine and spent as much of our day outside as possible.
(Sweatshirt: Amazon / Leggings: lululemon / Sneakers: New Balance / Sunglasses: QUAY / Rhett’s Sneakers: Nike / Boy’s Retro Crew Socks: Amazon)
Freedom Park
We made our way to Freedom Park which will forever remind me of our first visit to Charlotte when Ryan and I were exploring the area following his job interview and wondering whether or not we could make it our new home. Fast forward almost 10 years and now we’re visiting the park with three kids in the mix. Life comes at ya fast!
We spent a solid two hours at the park walking around the small lake, playing on the playground and watching the boys fly through the Carolina Panthers-themed obstacle course at least 10 times.
By the time we made it home, we were more than ready for lunch and after refueling, we made our way back outside to play in the yard. When Chase had the idea to take the boat out for our first boat ride of the year we were all about it!
I cannot tell you how excited I am for spring and summer and lake season!
Bring on boat days, sunshine and lots and lots of swimming!
We wrapped up our Saturday with dinner, ice cream and movie night.
Sunday
Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day! We don’t go all out for St. Patrick’s Day in our house but our kids are super into making leprechaun traps ever since they made traps in preschool years ago. They didn’t trap a leprechaun this year but they did wake up to find a new Hot Wheels car for each kid in their trap along with a lollipop and some repurposed gold coins I’ve saved over the years. It was super simple but they were still excited!
The boys requested a “jammie day” at home, so we eased into the day with buttered bagels, sausage, berries and household chores while the boys played. The weather continued to be gorgeous on Sunday and I felt like Sunday was a mini repeat of Saturday and more of what our family needed: Time together close to home. I honestly didn’t even change out of my pajamas until after lunchtime on Sunday and I loved it so much.
St. Patrick’s Day and more family time!
We spent most of the afternoon outside hanging out on the mini beach in our backyard while the boys played in the sand. This weekend was so wonderfully low key and the only time I left the house on Sunday was for a brief 2-hour stretch in the late afternoon to take Chase to a birthday party.
We had our favorite St. Patrick’s Day meal for dinner, corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot, and after the boys were all bathed and back in clean pajamas, we rounded out our weekend with the kid-friendly documentary Penguins (on Disney+) which our whole family enjoyed. A quick note for anyone with little ones who might be a little sensitive: There were some rather suspenseful parts involving a leopard seal toward the end of the movie that stressed our boys out a bit and they do show some predators getting penguins at one point but our kids handled it well and really enjoyed some of the funnier parts of the documentary.
Once everyone was in bed, Chase sneaked back downstairs to read a few chapters of Percy Jackson with me and Ryan (we’re almost done with the fifth book and it’s safe to say Chase is obsessed) and then we said goodnight to Chase and read our own books until we could no longer stay awake.
This book will definitely be in my upcoming Things I’m Loving Friday post but I finished reading The Grace Year last night and absolutely loved it. I read it in only two nights because I could not put it down and found the book to be thought-provoking, suspenseful and immensely creative. It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Monday
As for today, it will be a fairly typical Monday in our house! We’ll be doing the whole school, preschool and work thing followed by karate and hopefully a little playtime outside before dinner, too. Enjoy your week, my friends!
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I would love your movie recommendations because I also have some kids that are sensitive to what they see. We will have to check out Penguins!
Our boys liked it but it’s absolutely one to be aware that there are parts that might upset them as you do see predators get baby penguins which is not for the faint of heart!!
Also have you watched Homeward Bound with your kids? We LOVED that one!!!!! Took me back to my childhood and it’s still a hit with kids now, too!
I would love to see a post more about your screen time rules and how you implement it! My kids are 1.5 and 3 and I find myself turning on 30 minutes of a show while I make dinner or try to get a chore done (otherwise my 1.5 year old wants me to hold him and I can’t get anything done). I remember reading you say that you decreased screen time due to one of your kids reactions to it. Unlike my 3 year old, my son throws HUGE tantrums when I turn the tv off, so it definitely impacts him. Would love some tips from you and more info on your screen time “rules”.
I loved The Grace Year! It’s an excellent audiobook. I just finished The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Also an excellent audio.
Animals sometimes eat other animals. It’s a good thing your animal loving kids don’t see how the meat they eat is made! I eat meat so I can say that.
They definitely understand this and totally get that it’s part of the natural lifecycle but it’s never fun to watch!
How do your boys handle having Ryan gone? My husband also travels internationally for longer work trips, and my oldest (7), really struggles with him being gone. My daughter (5) doesn’t seem bothered.
They do okay, honestly. It stinks and we all miss him but they are moderately used to it and understand it’s important for his work so they roll with it. It helps that the majority of his travel is during the week when they’re busier with school/activities, I think!