Ryan is a born and raised Florida boy, and prior to moving to North Carolina he had never experienced much in the way of changing seasons since everything is basically lush and green year-round in Florida. I’ll never forget his reaction to our first Charlotte spring. He couldn’t get over everything blooming at once and is still in awe of spring every single year. I can’t say that I blame him and thankfully spring weather usually lasts for a couple of months in our area. It’s the best!
Saturday at Sweetwater Farms
We took full advantage of the springtime sunshine and spent most of our weekend outside!
(Leopard midi skirt is from Gap — I got it 2 years ago, but this updated version from their website looks similar / Shoes are Madewell / Tank top is Michael Stars)
Our Saturday plans took us to Sweetwater Farms, a small but beautiful farm that is a hidden gem in our area. It seems like not too many people know about this sweet spot but it’s such a wonderful place for kids.
(Clearly Rhett is a fan of the pouch toppers we discovered when Ryder was a baby, too!)
We met our friends Lauren and Tony and their three kids at the farm (they’re Claire’s parents for long-time readers who may remember Chase’s BFF that he first met when he was 8 weeks old!) and the kids had a blast visiting with the animals, racing through the obstacle course and running around outside.
The garden center was also a huge hit because of the designated dirt box filled with shovels, cups and other supplies provided to kids for them to enjoy. Our kids scooped a bunch of dirt into a wheelbarrow and added water to make “chocolate.” Yum.
The farm is only open until 1 p.m. so we stayed as long as time allowed before saying goodbye to our friends and heading home where Ryan’s dad joined us for a late lunch. Once everyone was sufficiently full, I got the two little guys down for naps while Ryan and Greg took Chase fishing. Apparently their hotdog bait is still going strong because they caught (and released) seven bluegills. I took advantage of nap time for Rhett and Ryder and worked on the computer until they were both up and ready for action.
Our Saturday wrapped up on a high note with our family’s first boat ride of the year and Rhett’s first boat ride ever!
The above picture was the low point for Rhett when we first slipped him into his life jacket but it improved from there! I honestly wasn’t sure how he’d do because babies + life jackets can be rooough but he handled his life jacket like a champ and seemed to somewhat skeptically enjoy his time on the water.
We went through a million life jackets when Chase was a baby trying to find one he tolerated (truly, I think we tried at least seven) and he never seemed comfortable until he was big enough to be in a puddle jumper. Thankfully we had much better luck with Ryder with this Stearns infant life jacket and Rhett seems to be taking to it fairly well, too. Phew! (Our big kids are in their HyperLite child life jackets that we bought thanks to the recommendation from their ISR instructor who steered us away from puddle jumpers and they’ve been fabulous.)
Captain Sadie made sure to keep everyone in line at the bow of the boat.
(Above pic by Chase!)
After our boat ride, the boys wanted to play at the little beach near where we dock our boat, so they splashed around for a bit (not packing swimsuits was a fail) and then we made our way home to grill some burgers for dinner and watch the Preakness horse race before bed!
Sunday
Sunday morning began with a long walk around the neighborhood with the boys and Sadie. By the time we arrived back home, Rhett was ready for his morning nap and once I had him settled, I ran out to work on some content for an upcoming Instagram collaboration. I made it home right after Rhett awoke — it was truly perfect timing! — and I nursed him before before we got everything ready for some afternoon fishing and swimming in the lake.
Granddad joined us again and Rhett was clearly happy to see him! It’s been so nice having him live close by and we’re thankful he makes his way over to hang out with our crazy crew several times a week.
Our afternoon flew by and Chase and Ryder were in heaven splashing around in the lake.
I hope you’re ready for a million lake pictures on the blog in the coming months since lake activities are our family’s fav this time of year.
We kept the rest of our Sunday nice and relaxed and wrapped up our weekend with takeout from Fresh Chef, bath time, movie night and early bed times.
It was a wonderful weekend and I’m looking forward to a good week ahead! I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!
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Our boys are so similar and my 5 year old has LOVED all of Chase’s book recommendations. Can you remind me the podcasts you had discussed before? I can’t seem to find them in older posts! You offer such great mom suggestions!! Love your blog!
Interested on the podcasts too, and how he listens to them!! Thanks so much!
Hi Kit! Just replied to Kate above and didn’t want you to miss it. As for how he listens to them, he usually listens on our iPad.
Yes!! He LOVES The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian (his all-time fav and I can vouch for this one as a mom, too — it’s creative, clean and fun) and he also likes the Stories podcast (the logo is a green dragon — just sharing since I feel like there are prob a lot of “stories” podcasts out there).
Julie – in the picture Chase took of you holding Rhett and you holding Ryder’s hand – I would have thought it was your sister. You looked just like her in that shot. Did your mom think so too? Looks like all of you had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It is so nice Ryan’s dad lives close and joins in on the fun. We are fortunate to have my mom live 3 miles from us and she has loved being a big part of our lives (our children are now 19 and 17 1/2) and all the past memories and current they are creating with her are very cherished.
ah too funny! i’ll have to ask my mom if she sees the resemblance in that pic! and yes, it really is so nice having him close by now. he is great about making it a point to swing by multiple times a week, too, and the boys always love extra time with granddad!
Where did you find the HyperLite life jackets? I would like to get some for my kids that are similar in age, but wanted to get the correct ones! Thank you for your help!
Me too!! Would love a link!
Hi! I checked Amazon (where we got them) and it looks like they’re not available anymore. I know Costco carried them last summer as well though! I’ll keep my eye out and share if I happen to see them restocked!
Are these the correct ones?
https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=hyperlite
yes! The girl and boy child ones are the same style we have!
Hi! We got them on Amazon but I don’t see the child size available on Amazon anymore. I know they carried them at Costco last summer as well!!
I was just at Costco yesterday and they had boxes full of all sizes for kids and adults! I grabbed one for our 6yo!
Rhett is such a cutie and my goodness he is getting so big!
Must be so fun for you guys with your father-in-law so close by! You guys are so lucky!
Hi Julie! You have the BEST kid product recommendations. I seriously come to your blog every time I need a toy rec for kids similar ages as yours. I’m wondering: Why did your instructor like the Hyperlite life vests vs. puddle jumpers so much? We were just about to purchase Paddle Pals by Body Glove for our kids to go pool swimming in but always love your recs so are now considering Hyperlites. Thanks for your help!
We LOVED Puddle Jumpers because kids love them so much! Our ISR instructor isn’t a fan of them at all because they don’t allow kids to really get into the proper swimming position (horizontal) and they basically reinforce “running” in the water. I had a major lightbulb moment with them when Chase didn’t have his on when I was with him in the pool and he tried to “swim” to me before he really learned and he honestly just basically tried to run in place. They’re not “bad” in my mind and anything that helps kids stay safe around the water is so important but I definitely prefer the lifejackets for this reason!!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to share more. We always love your recs!
Loved all of the sweet pics of your family! Thanks for sharing. Looked like a nice weekend for you guys. You know what? Chase takes really good pictures! Not the first time I’ve thought that when you mentioned that he took one 😃 Have a great week!
Thank you!! He really loves to take pictures so I’ll pass along your sweet words! <3
Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to share more. We always love your recs!