The Vance's: May 2014

a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

>> May 27, 2014

We've had amazing weather the past few weeks. It has been in the high 70's and 80's during the week which means lots of popsicles, sprinklers and pool time.

One of the kids favorite things to do is take a nature walk around the neighborhood. We have a few cul-de-sacs that they like to walk to and check out the bugs/rocks/wild bunnies/blackberry bushes/anything. I always try to wait until later in the morning so we don't wake up the entire neighborhood when they discover a slug. This particular morning was a slug fest. 15 were found and Carter named them all. Lucy's job was to babysit the baby slugs and she happily obliged. She'll do anything for her big brother. :)

Lucy loved picking out her own clothes lately. Usually we end up in a swim suit, or snow boots with shorts but this particular day she had the cutest little outfit on!

Now that the sun is setting later at night I can actually go out of the house in the evenings (this is by far my favorite time of year!). Lucy has been my nightly walking buddy after dinner. I love going through each neighborhood as she points out the flowers and birdies. Our girl time is pretty special.

Another little outfit choice the other day.

Carter has been very, well 4, lately. That's probably the best way to put it. He is awesome but also strong-willed and persistent. He used to love going bike riding until he fell off his bike one day about 2 months ago. Ever since then he's scared to get back on his bike. After an hour of encouraging him to try and about 50 pinky promises that I would stay next to him the entire time and never let him fall, he gave in and got on his bike. Only problem was he didn't want to ride down a hill (for fear of going too fast and falling). So he chose to only ride up hill, which meant me helping push him up hill as I pushed the stroller next to him, uphill. The neighbors probably had a good laugh. But, he did it!

Another big event has been soccer. He's on his first official team, the Blue Sharks with 8 other kids. Watching 4 year olds run around the soccer field is hilarious and I'm so sad the season will be ending soon. He scored his first goal last week against the Yellow Bumblebees! In a few weeks we'll be trading in the soccer ball for t-ball (and our weeknights have suddenly gotten much more busy!).

Lucy has suddenly become much more independent and now insists on doing everything herself. Sadly, she smashed her thumb in the car door the other day when she wanted to close it. Thank goodness Matt was right there to open the door back up but she had a pretty big dent in her thumb. Luckily a big red popsicle saved the day, along with a princess band-aid picked out by her daddy.

In an attempt to fix up our yard Matt did quite a bit of weeding the other day. And Carter was right there with him to clean it all up. Someday he won't be as excited to help so we'll appreciate it while it lasts.

And finally, Yoshi celebrated his 6th birthday this month. Our once crazy dog has transitioned into a sleepy, arthritic, doesn't like loud noises type of dog who prefers to just lay down and sleep most of the day. We love him so much and even though he still licks people like crazy and sheds hair everywhere, our family just wouldn't be the same without him.

Mother's Day 2014

I had the best Mother's Day this year. As fun as it can be to go away, get pampered and have some alone time my favorite thing to do is spend quality time with the people I love. So, that's exactly what we did.

Matt arranged the perfect day hike at St. Edwards State Park. If you've never been (and live in the area) you need to go! I can't believe it took us this long to get over there, considering it's so close to our house and has the perfect combination of hiking trails, water, huge playground and big grassy fields for miles around to run, play and eat a picnic lunch.

Carter was amazing and walked over 2 miles up and down trails while Lucy hung out on my back in the ergo. We hiked down to the beach so the kids could play near the water for a bit. It was such a beautiful day.

Carter just loved climbing anything he could reach, throwing rocks, finding swords (sticks!) and walking through the mud.

We couldn't help but take a quick family picture in the middle of the hike. I just crack up when I look at Lucy reaching her neck over to the side to get in the shot. Silly girl!

Matt also packed a picnic lunch. He even pulled out our picnic basket we got for our wedding and have never used! It was so cute how he thought of every little thing. Grapes for the kids, fancy cheese, salami and crackers for us. Lemonade for drinks. And he even baked homemade brownies for dessert!

After lunch we headed over to the enormous playground and for over and hour. It is huge and the kids loved it.

After a long day we headed home. Lucy fell asleep in the car (all of that hangin' around on my back must really tire a girl out?) and was still conked when we got home. So, I did the only natural thing…lay down and nap with her!

It was the perfect way to spend the day with the family I love!

A day of planes.

>> May 8, 2014

After a week long business trip and a weekend bachelor party the kids and I were starting to miss Matt more than ever! Lucky for us he decided to use a vacation day to have a special family day this week. It was exactly what our little family needed, some quality time together. We decided to check out the Museum of Flight since we knew it wouldn't be too crowded on a weekday and Carter had asked to go.

It was amazing how much history was in one building. Of course, we didn't get a chance to read too much information about each plane or artifact since 2 small children were more interested in touching every.single.thing. but still pretty cool to see. We started by touring one of the retired Air Force One planes flown by several presidents. I had always pictured it looking so different and was surprised at how ordinary many things were. It was fun to see how much had changed in the last 30+ years too (rotary phones, ash trays, etc) that would never be seen on any plane made today.

Then we headed to the NASA exhibit. I wish there were more kid friendly things to do in this area because Carter was totally into it, but quickly got told by a former military volunteer to keep his hands to himself (and he sure did listen to that guy!). It was fun to see some of the old spacesuits and watch a few videos from old missions.

After 30 minutes of strict "no touching" rules it was time to head to the Kid Zone for some free time to run around and explore. So fun for the kids to jump in the planes and "fly" them to the moon! (as Carter would say)

I was amazed at how many planes were there and how well designed the space was to fit them all in.

Carter got to sit in an old fighter jet which he loved!

After a quick lunch we headed to the museum store and spent another 45 minutes looking at books, toy planes and puzzles. Even though the kids didn't fully appreciate some of the history I loved letting them see a new place. It might be a few years before we go back but ended up being such a fun family day!

Happy Easter!

The kids had been looking forward to Easter for several weeks. Every Sunday at church Carter would look at his calendar in the Sunday School room and point out how many weeks were left until Easter.

The week before Easter we celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa Vance's house. I let the kids color eggs there so I wouldn't have to clean up the mess (thanks Kathy!) and we could enjoy them all week before Easter morning. Of course, I'm the only one in the house who actually eats hard-boiled eggs.

After 2 minutes of dropping the eggs in the glasses the kids couldn't resist putting their hands in to dye them. Lucy's little hand was bright pink all day!

Then it was time for an egg hunt in their big front yard!

Checking out all their yummy treats (and toys and money!)

Easter morning we had to attend the early service at church so I could volunteer in the nursery later in the morning. Naturally I thought it was totally possible to get us dressed, take (lots!) of pictures, feed the kids breakfast, give them their Easter baskets and drive 20 minutes to church….all by 8:30am. Yes, I'm crazy. And yes, I have super unrealistic expectations that my kids will magically sit still, smile and look at the camera. And no, it didn't happen. Except when I bribed them with marshmallows. 8 times.

Matt had been on a business trip the week before so we were all SO happy to have him back home.

In the middle of the chaos and only having 19 seconds left before we had to leave for church I had the brilliant idea to take one last family picture. Turned on the timer and we all somehow looked happy!

I like to keep the kids Easter baskets simple every year. They get so much stuff from loving grandparents that I think a few small things is just right on Easter morning. So, books, 1 box of jellybeans, new sandbox toys and some crayons (I know, not too exciting but they love it).