happy fourth

we didn't have any specific plans for today. we did some things around the house and had a big feast of a dinner. we ate so much that we took a walk to check out the fourth of july celebration at the high school. we haven't felt the need to go since we can see the fireworks from our house. this year there was a live band which the kids enjoyed during our walk. it was such a lovely evening we almost wished that we were there!

daddy (in the white shirt) and the big kids raced around this old track at the school for fun.

manning opted to wait with me and cheer them on. so, of course, i took some pictures of this ham.

by request, we made this "raw strawberry pie" with "lemon-scented coconut whipped cream" (by the way, it sounds way fancier than it is - the easiest recipes!). it is a frozen pie and very refreshing after our walk. the kids and i made it yesterday and they have been drooling in anticipation ever since. they really, really, really wanted to cut into it last night.

we had the kids get showered and ready for bed before we went out to watch the fireworks. once outside they filled the waiting time hunting fireflies as the suggestion of uncle josh.

the firefly hunters

can you see their catches in the container?

and then the show started! (well, the real show. our neighbors behind us were already putting on a pretty impressive show.) manning fell asleep right away on my lap and missed most of it. maddux was crying about the noise and kept going into the house. mason was concerned about the thick smoke hurting our lungs. i have never seen fireworks totally obstructed by their own smoke! it was sort of cool. the wind was just blowing our way. and i pointed out to mason that the smoke was very high above us.

fireworks were so much more enjoyable with the cool weather and very few mosquitos. we just love being able to watch from our driveway too. we are spoiled. love.

national donut day

as if we need an excuse to eat donuts! happy national donut day. love.

memorial day parade

today our character champions got to walk in the memorial day parade. it was matt's day to walk with them so they left before the littles and i. we all walked to the parade route but we always underestimate how long it takes to get there! i was almost dragging manning up the last hill so that we would make it to the start before they left.

not only did we make it in time, but we found some friends to sit with on the curb (maddux' best buddy)!

this is a candy parade (we actually remembered to send some with madelyn and mason to throw this year), so the kids were ready.

on of our babysitters is the blonde on the far side.

and then we found mason and daddy. madelyn was walking on the other side of the road with her friends.

her friend's mom sent me this keeper.

we actually sat right next to maddux' preschool teacher too! she was running late getting her son to the parade start and stayed to sit with us.

they dug right into their parade treats.

we stopped to play at a park before walking back home - maddux was too busy playing with his buddy to be in any pictures.

once we all made it home, we had some lunch and made our way to the pool! we were feeling extra fortunate because the community pool did not open as scheduled this year and we were able to enjoy our neighborhood pool. i think we are going to have a lot of playdates with friends looking to swim this hot week. love.

presidents' day

mason really loved his abraham lincoln hat/mask (the top of the hat is flopped back a little. love.

happy valentine's day!

we had a low key valentine's day. we gave each of the kids a new lego dimensions character with vehicle and a box of conversation hearts. matt gave me a day without cooking (well, i did cook breakfast). and i arranged a surprise date for next weekend.

we went to serve at church where the kids ministry staff had provided chocolate bars for all of the volunteers - yum. after church i suggested we try a new breakfast/lunch place where i met a friend for breakfast a few weeks ago and loved. it was a huge hit with our crew too! even better, the wait wasn't very long at all.

while the kids tested out their new dimension characters, matt and i snuck in a quick nap. a pretty perfect day with my loves.

bigs' valentine parties

madelyn loved getting dressed up for a "red, pink and white" spirit day. she was even more excited for the party! what she and mason didn't know is that i had managed to work things out that i could help at both of their parties today! this is the first time i have ever been able to help with a party in madelyn's class - ever!

they knew that i was sending snacks for both parties (again, i signed up for the same option at each school to try and keep things from being too confusing). i made a fun candy coated "party popcorn" (super yummy and simple) and fruit cups with heart cut strawberries and blueberries.

first was madelyn's party. she was so surprised to see me in her classroom! it was so much fun to get to see her and the other familiar faces in her classroom. apparently, as the kids get older, it gets harder and harder to get volunteers - there were only 3 of us.

one of the best valentine boxes - a hot air balloon - super simple.

madelyn was excited to share her homemade valentines.

proof that i was actually with her during the school day!

the kids had a great time with the games, minute-to-win it style.

transferring m&ms with a straw

building conversation heart towers with chopsticks

bingo

snack time - the fruit was a surprise hit.

and then i was off to mason's school across town. i couldn't believe it when i saw that their parties didn't overlap and there was enough time to make the drive. seriously excited.

mason was pretty excited to see me too! although, he wasn't surprised because the kids with parents coming were picked at group leaders so he had already learned i was coming. i was really excited to put faces to all of the friends he talks about at home.

the kindergarteners worked around to each table station as groups.

what i hadn't really thought through was that mason's party went until 3:30 and madelyn's school got out at 3:20. thankfully, her bus doesn't get to our house until 3:45. i was just going to make it. while we waited the five minutes we beat her bus by, mason and i took a picture because i realized that we didn't get one in his classroom.

once we had madelyn buckled in we drove over to pick the little boys up from a friend's house. i had racked my brain for someone who did not yet have elementary schoolers and might be willing to watch both boys for a few hours this afternoon. i am just so thankful for the gift she gave me!

now it was time for the bigs to go through the spoils of their parties.

mason drew luke skywalker and darth radar fighting on his bag

these wooden mustache valentines were the hit of madelyn's party. the kids started 'wearing' them as soon as they could look in their boxes.

i was completely exhausted but totally happy to have been given the opportunity to spend time with the kids at school. i have waited so long! love.

preschool valentine parties

the littles' valentine parties were on the same day at the same time and i signed up for games/activities in both classes. once the parties got started, i tried to figure out which room needed me the most - manning's. 

the kids were super excited and so well behaved.

the kids played games around the room while a few at a time delivered their valentines. we brought one game that consisted of dropping 10 heart beads onto a felt target and counting how many landed on the target. we also brought a bunch of heart beads and pipe cleaners to make bracelets which was a big hit with the 3-year-olds.

as the party wound down in manning's class and they moved on to show and tell, i made my way over to maddux' class.

hot potato with a heart pillow.

the boys loved going through every single item in their bags.

maddux' favorite was this one from his teacher - "smartie pants."

so thankful to be able to help with their parties. love.