Hey, hey, hey! How are you guys!? I feel a little jumbled and behind on life right now, but I’m beginning to realize that’s my new normal these days. It’s a busy stage of life but a fun one thanks to this little blondie…
I wanted to stop by the blog today to share a few pictures from the week so far, as well as a few from our weekend since I didn’t have a chance to share a weekend recap on Monday. I hope your week is going well!
Scenes from the Week
- The Amazing Maize Maze
As you may have seen on Instagram and Snapchat, on Sunday afternoon Ryan, Chase and I headed out to Rural Hill in Huntersville to check out their annual Amazing Maize Maze and pick up a few pumpkins! We first found out about the challenging corn maze when we moved to Charlotte and had a great time navigating our way through the maze back in 2014. We decided to give the maze another shot this year and placed Chase in our hiking backpack before we set out on our festive fall adventure!
Though the height of the corn was a lot shorter than we remembered (apparently the continued drought this summer prevented the stalks from reaching their normal height), it was still a fun way to spend the afternoon. The maze included an activity map and crossword puzzle to help keep us engaged and a little less than an hour later, we found our way out! We’ll definitely be back next year!
- Birthday Party Celebrations
On Saturday, after we made the drive back home from Asheville in the morning, our afternoon was quite busy thanks to two birthday parties! We had so much fun celebrating Mason and Braydon’s first birthdays, chatting with our friends and watching the little ones run and crawl around.
The above picture cracks me up! Chase was clearly LOVING the bounce house at Mason’s party!
- Broken Toe Update
(That’s what bringing a 14-month-old along to the doctor’s office looks like… Spinning the doctor’s stool on repeat while we wait! Thank goodness for an orthopedic doctor who loves kids!)
On Monday afternoon, I headed back to the orthopedic doctor for my (hopefully) final round of x-rays for my broken toe. Apparently my toe was fractured in two places but it’s healing well and the x-rays looked good! The doctor told me it would likely be another 6-8 weeks before I can run or jump comfortably again and that sensitivity may last for 6 months to a year. What!? All of that for a tiny broken pinky toe? I’m doing my best to keep it taped up and protected at all times and hope it heals fast!
- Monday Night Dinner
Monday night’s dinner was a slam dunk! I ordered a Blue Apron delivery for this week and made the Baked Whole Wheat Rigatoni recipe when Chase was napping on Monday afternoon. This made dinner a breeze since we had an easy reheat-and-eat meal ready by the time dinner rolled around. I’m not sure I’ve ever cooked with fresh sage before (I always use dried) but it added so much flavor to this hearty baked pasta dish! Plus, as a big-time cabbage lover, I am always a fan of any recipe that incorporates copious amounts of cabbage.
- Visiting Carrigan Farms’ Pumpkin Patch
On Tuesday afternoon, Chase and I met up with my friends Laura and Lauren and their two daughters for a pumpkin patch play date at Carrigan Farms in Mooresville. Despite some unseasonably warm weather (85 degrees!) and sweaty kiddos, we had a great time on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch where we picked pumpkins off the vine and visited farm animals.
We tried to pose Chase, Claire and Ella for a cute picture at the end of our play date, but a golden retriever walked by and this happened…
When they each started saying their own word for dog (“dah,” “doggie” and “ruff ruff”), we knew the above picture was the best we were going to get out of our three animal-obsessed little ones!
And I think that catches us up thanks to the random pictures I snapped on my phone this week! Hope you guys have a great Wednesday!
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I love that last photo–its so true! haha! Sounds like a great week so far!
I’ve never been good at navigating corn mazes.
Looks like a fun weekend!
Love that last shot! Looks like a fun weekend 🙂
What would you say are some must see/dos in Charlotte? We moved to Raleigh last year and are headed to Charlotte next weekend for the Celtics/Hornets game. If you have any recommendations for easyish hikes (we haven’t been all summer – our first southern summer had us hibernating!) or good vegetarian places to eat, I’d love to hear them!
You MUST try Luna’s Living Kitchen if you love vegetarian (and vegan!) food. It’s amazing and a local favorite. I actually think they are opening a location in Raleigh as well. And Crowder’s Mountain is a great hike, but it’s a bit steep!!
Thanks, Julie!! I appreciate the recs!
Wow Chase looks so much like you and Ryan! It’s too cute!
I have broken a toe every summer for the last 3 summers! They took months to heal and have all remained very tender and sensitive. I had no medical care for them, but did buddy tape them. Hopefully you will have better luck with yours!
Such a pain! Three summers in a row is rough. I hope your sensitivity lessens over time. Ugh!
Wow! Lots of babies and fall fun! Looks like a fun time 🙂
6 months for a broken pinky toe? YIKES!
Love that last photo! What little dog lovers :-).
That picture is PERFECT and hilarious, hope your toe heals fast, that’s crazy!
Julie! Chase looks SO handsome in that first picture! I see so much of both Ryan AND you in that picture. Love this sweet update!
Good morning Julie,
It’s my first time commenting, I’ve been a reader of your blog for a few years now and although I’m in the older group (40+) and my aldut son Tom is no longer a toddler (sniff-sniff), I certainly enjoy reading your blog each day. You seem to be such a positive, happy person and that certainly radiates through your posts. Keep up the good work and enjoy the day! 🙂
Thank you so much, Kim!! <3 I really appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Ahh! How cute! Chase is getting so animated in the pictures now. Love his huge smile!
Dang I am so jealous of all your mom buddies . So hard to find!
I love CHASEs moccasins!! Where did you get them?
Blue Apron’s Baked Rigatoni was SOOO GOOD. I was hesitant about mixing cabbage into baked pasta but it ended up being so tasty! I’m making the salmon w/ fall veggie hash tonight!!
Same! As much as I LOVE cabbage, I have never used it in a pasta casserole dish and was so happy with how it turned out!
What a heartbreaker! That first picture is adorable.. .those blue eyes and blonde locks! So handsome!!
All for a broken pinky toe! Hope it heals fast!
The maize maze sound’s like fun!! We explored the labyrinth here in Barcelona this past weekend. We’ve been meaning to go for months and finally made it. Though much smaller than maize maze it was still fun finding our way out with a few wrong turns!
Have a great Wednesday too!
I’ve had a few corn mazes on my radar, but have yet to visit one. They kind of intimidate me!
Your pictures of Chase are hilarious! Either you have amazing timing or he makes the silliest, sweet faces. What a doll!
Oh my gosh that pasta looks incredible!! Chase is so cute in these photos!
I cannot believe it takes that long for a broken toe to heal, I hope it starts feeling better soon. Loving all your Fall themed activities this past week, makes me think of so many fun memories growing up.
Ugh, I do remember it seemed to take almost a year before flats, boots and dress shoes were comfortable on the foot of my healed pinky toe. The residual swelling wasn’t real visible, but definitely noticeable when putting on shoes. 🙁 I hope it doesn’t last that long for you!
I love your hair in these pictures! Do you think you could do a tutorial on the half up with bun/half down? Looks like a great way to wear your hair down without it being in your face.
From someone who exercises 6 days a week and has had several foot fractures, even though it’s disappointing to hear the length of time it takes your toe to heal and feel better (I was soooo disappointed in my own situation), even though I know it’s frustrating to have to wait so long for it to feel better, just let your body do its thing and follow the guidelines (even when they’re frustrating!!). My most recent break, they told me it might take a YEAR for it to feel better (because your ligaments are connected to all the little bones down there, so they tear and scar too.) But anyhow, I was so so anxious to get back to doing “my normal exercises”, but trying to push the healing timeline is not a great long term strategy for the body. I was like, “sure, they say 6 to 8 more weeks, maybe I can try that exercise in 5 weeks instead..?” But don’t. It’s very very frustrating, I know, but it’ll heal better and faster if you let time take care of it for you. I bought a recumbent bike for this very reason (it was comfortable and doable in a cast!) Even though I’d been an avid non-machine exerciser before that. So when they say 6 to 8 weeks, prepare for 8! I know that’s a miserable thought, but the bones want what the bones want! Sending some mojo and prayers for speedy recovery! And that the toe taping gets easier and easier and faster and faster. (I started to feel more adaptable when I finally mastered getting my ankle brace on more quickly than I did in the beginning.)
Love these posts filled with random cute things! Chase sure is a cutie! As are all the other little kidlets. I’m in love with whoever has that amazing living room with two story ceilings and columns! Gorgeous!! One of my friends had a house like that and they put a huge, two story Christmas tree in their living room! I was in awe.
lol on the toddler pic with the kids all looking in different directions. Hilarious. Thanks for the update, as always!
I had that blue apron meal for dinner tonight! It was so good! My favorite in this box for sure. It tasted especially great after a workout.
Where did you get your jeans in the first picture? And I love your outfit in the last picture.
thank you! my jeans are from white plum but i don’t see them on the site anymore. :/ i’ll see if i can do some digging!