spring has (finally) sprung.

The weather is slowly improving and we couldn't be happier around here. Playtime outside, park dates, sand boxes, eating dinner on the back deck, running dates with friends...it's all so nice!! We are taking full advantage and spending basically every waking moment outside. 

 Lucy could swing all day long and is getting more brave at jumping off. The other day she just kept going higher and higher...crazy girl! What was more impressive, though, was how she landed on her feet every single time!

 Soccer practice on sunny nights are so much more fun than windy, cold, rainy nights.

 This past weekend Lucy and I got to have a little girl time at a local cooking class. We met another good friend and her son there and made homemade bowtie pasta, salad and cookies for dessert. So fun and such a great class for kids. Now I'm inspired to make homemade pasta at home (in all my spare time!).

 Early mornings before school have shifted from playing in the playroom to coloring at the kitchen table. It's fun to watch all 3 kids sit together and get along...at least for a few minutes.

 I got ambitious the other day and convinced the kids to help me with a little project so we could surprise Matt when he came home from work. While I work really hard to keep the inside of the house clean and tidy I'm not so great on the outside. I've never enjoyed yard work, struggle with gardening and hate pulling weeds. But the front porch needed some serious cleaning so my littler helpers were up for the challenge! We scrubbed the porch over and over again, sprayed it off (while spraying each other...oops!) and then cleaned out the flower pots. After a quick trip to Costco for some new flowers we came home and planted them all just in time to get Carter off the bus.

 It looks so much better and got us all even more excited for warmer days ahead!

Read more...

recap of a good week.

Spring is still struggling to arrive around here but we are doing our best to get outside when the sun peaks out. I think there have only been 6 sunny days in 2017....sheesh! I'm so ready for more sun, longer nights and outdoor play. 

Anytime it's not raining we head outside for an after dinner family walk. The kids love this and usually beg to do it each night. We put dishes on hold, grab random shoes and walk our loop around 3  nearby neighborhoods. 

Another fun activity lately? Coloring. All the time! We've been busy printing off random coloring pages every day and Simon's usually involves some sort of sports theme. It's so funny how at such a young age his interest in sports has already come through.

 He's also finally mastered building a train track. These little wooden pieces are somewhat of a morning ritual for him. We build choos choos together and he just loves pushing his little trains around. The other kids enjoyed this but never really got into it so it's fun to see him learn how to put them together all by himself.

 Carter started flag football this week too! He's been great about wanting to try new sports this year and we love having him learn some new skills and meet new friends. He did great his first night and now we'll have 2 nights a week of practices and games....plus an extremely supportive Dad who volunteered to be the assistant coach this season!

 Simon, Lucy and I headed to the Children's museum this week too. While all the exhibits are fun the water room is always a favorite. I think we spent over half our time just in this room alone.

 Lucy is taking a break from tennis lessons and started her 3rd year of spring soccer this week too (yep, our weeknights now consist of sports 4 days/week....oh.my.goodness.). Matt is the head coach and they named their team the Elephant Goalies...ha! She is playing with 3 other friends who she loves and some other really great kids too.

 And luckily the sun came out for the first hour of practice!

 Yesterday we needed to take baths before a trip into Seattle to meet Matt at work. I got Simon out and dressed and let Lucy play for a few more minutes. Little did I know that Simon snuck back into the bathroom to jump right back in the bathtub while I put his other clothes in the laundry hamper. He quickly realized it wasn't such a great idea but had Lucy and I laughing hysterically.

 Yesterday was beyond beautiful! I think everyone in the PNW got outside and soaked up all the vitamin D. It's such a tease since today's forecast calls for more rain but we were so happy to be outside all day long. The Space Needle was beautiful, lots of sun, no clouds and plenty of time getting dirty in the sandbox. Carter's teacher even let the kids have an extra recess in the afternoon so they could enjoy the sunshine...only in the PNW!

 Here's hoping we can juggle this busy season....this weekend it's time to rest!

Read more...

Easter 2017.

Our Easter weekend was full of simple traditions and I'm starting to learn that's really what our family thrives on. Time spent together, doing our traditional activities, a relaxed schedule and remembering years past. It was a great 2 days celebrating together.

We spent the day before Easter at Grandpa and Grandma Vance's house, as we usually do. 

 After a delicious breakfast the kids headed out to feed the squirrels (and eat a few peanuts for themselves too!)

 Simon went down for a nap which was the perfect opportunity to let the big kids dye eggs. Every year this just gets more fun (and less messy). Carter worked hard on his eggs, was content and left to go play. But Lucy spent 1.5 hours meticulously waiting for each egg to dye, then move it to another cup to change the color. Over and over again. Her patience is truly remarkable sometimes and I really don't know where she gets it from!

 The eggs were so pretty and sadly we completely forgot to take any home with us.  Oops! Hope Grandma didn't mind eating 18 hard boiled eggs all week.

 After a quick lunch we were ready for our annual egg hunt! Simon always wants to copy everything his big brother and sister do....just not always in the exact same way. Ha! This picture will forever make me laugh.

 Need a good way to keep egg hunts fair for multiple children? Color code the eggs! We started doing this a few years back and it has saved egg hunts. We can hide eggs harder for older kids, put different candy and toys in each kids' eggs so they get what they like and no more worrying about who has more eggs. The kids love finding their own colors and we do the same thing at our house too. Brilliant!

 They devoured most of their candy and loved their new little toys they each got. After a delicious steak dinner we headed home to prepare for Easter Sunday.

 The Easter bunny stopped by at night to drop off a little chocolate while Matt and I helped with a few extra things.

Then it was time to get dressed up for church. I kept Easter outfits simple this year but I loved their bright, cheery colors.

We came home from church and Simon just crashed! All the fun and excitement, plus a lot more sugar than they are used to helped him take a long, well deserved nap.

Then it was time for our family egg hunt in the backyard. Simple, easy and still so fun.

Read more...