Category Archives: playground

five favorites (09/18)

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I always intend to get these posts done on Friday, but with how jam-packed life has been ever since we had Eve, it seems like it takes me a few extra days to actually finish them. Oops! I guess it doesn’t really matter what day I get them done, because regardless, I know that I’ll love looking back on these in a few years.

ONE. We’ve been trying to get outside when the weather has been nice enough, and we definitely snuck in some playground time before the tail end of Hurricane Florence’s rain came here. Nella has been insisting on only riding the big kid swing, and she also went down the slide all on her own for the very first time!We love it when Daddy meets us there on the way home from work!
 TWO. I had a doctor appointment this week, and fortunately, Daddy was able to take the girls so that I could go alone. They went on a little walk and had the best time seeing some farm animals! Kaya and Kaelyn named this horse “Beautiful”! THREE. A few weeks ago, Michael really hurt his ankle playing volleyball. We thought it was just sprained, but after about ten days of him walking around in an ACE bandage and not seeing any improvement, he ended up getting an x-ray at the local urgent care clinic. The radiologist told him it was an avulsion fracture, and he was put in a boot!He wore the boot for about a week before he was able to get an appointment with an orthopedist, who told him that he and his colleague had meticulously looked over his x-ray and had no idea what the radiologist had seen. It wasn’t broken after all! Crazy. Michael took a little while to adjust back to the biomechanics of non-boot life, but he’s on the mend now.

Even with a messed up ankle, he’s still been doing house projects. He got the stairwell painted, which is something I’ve been eager to get done for forever!FOUR. On Wednesday, my Dad-in-law sent me a picture of him and Mom having breakfast at Cracker Barrel… so I asked them where they were, and they told me they were in the next town over! They were driving home from their trip out west and completely surprised us by spending the morning here. These little girls were so happy (and of course requested to watch Shaun the Sheep with Grandpa… it’s kind of their thing now)!Grandma got some Evie snuggles!FIVE. We got to go to a Hokie volleyball game last week! I had never been to one, and it was a first for the girls, too. It was really fun to be back on campus and feel the sense of school pride and community that any of my fellow Hokies know! I just had to get a picture of the girls with the largest Hokie Bird statue I know of!Happy Tuesday!

five on friday (08/17)

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Happy Friiiiiiday!!! The weeks are flying on by, and I feel like I can’t keep up, but I at least put together a Five on Friday post!

ONE. On Saturday, we went to a Turkish barbecue hosted by one of Michael’s co-workers, Russ. It was the perfect evening to be outside, and I was really looking forward to the food, since Mediterranean cuisine is my favorite. It was also really fun to show off our brand new little princess!It was nice to get out and do something- I’ve been a total homebody since Eve was born.
Kaelyn wants to hold her sister any chance she can. This is true happiness for her!
It’s not a real party unless your face is covered in chocolate at some point during the evening, right? More true happiness!

TWO. We’ve been doing a whole lot of walking around here, mostly because I’m not currently running. Each week, I’ve tried to make one of those walks a “family walk” that includes everyone (which is sometimes more challenging that it might seem). Both Kaya and Kaelyn wanted to hold my hand one night while Michael pushed the stroller, and it was just so sweet.We’ve enjoyed some stops at the playground, too!Who is this big kid trying to climb the ladder?And this big kid on a grown-up swing?

THREE. Evie wore this special little dress to church on Sunday. It brings back so many memories for me because this was the dress Kaya wore on her first day of church, and all the other girls have worn it, too. It’s still just as adorable as it was on day one!Love these two so so much.

FOUR. We’ve had some really great kid-created art happening around here! They wanted to paint one morning, and I loved seeing what they came up with. (Nella is too little to use paint just yet, but she still wanted to sit for the picture!)

FIVE. I had to put some sister pictures in here because they are too sweet! The three big girls were sitting in the chair together, so I just had to put the baby in there too and take the opportunity for a photo. This is Nella’s most-commonly-made face these days. We’ll talk to her and she’ll pretend she isn’t looking at us.What is it about seeing your baby kiss your baby? Melt my heart.Eve was also hugged by a tiger this week!Tiger kisses!Happy weekend! These will be our final days off before we officially start homeschool on Monday (although that hasn’t stopped the girls from working on some of their books already)!

five favorites (05/20)

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I couldn’t let the weekend go by without getting my Five posted! I’ve actually been sick (a cold plus pregnancy nausea), and even went home from church early because I really needed to sleep. So, while I’m resting, what better thing to do than blog?

ONE. We have had SO much rain this week! It’s incredible how much precipitation the ground can take without completely becoming a swampland (although, the path I usually run on does tend to flood pretty easily). We’ve spent a lot of time inside this week, but it’s been nice to take things a little slower and enjoy listening to the booming storms. The girls are afraid of thunder, but if it’s just rain, they love to tell me, “It sounds like music!” They ate their snacks on the edge of the porch one afternoon and watched the rain fall.To keep it real, here’s the view from the opposite side… Goldfish crackers spilled all over the deck and all! They liked tossing those into the yard “for the birds to have for dinner!”Nella always looks like she’s up to something…

TWO. We did enjoy some time outside when the storms broke. I love how they all always want to go down the slide together!We also had a church picnic this weekend, which included many outdoor activities that the girls loved: tug of war, an egg toss, a water race, and these giant bubbles!It wouldn’t be a normal week without some time in the hammock. Kaya and Kaelyn love rocking each other in it, like a gentle swing. They also love playing “babies” a lot lately, where Nella is the big sister, Kaelyn is the “daddy who goes to work”, and Kaya births and takes care of the baby. I love how “work” involves pretending to type on a toy laptop!THREE. We picked Daddy up from work a little early one day this week after my 32-week appointment, and we headed to the library. Honestly, I kind of need his help to go to the library these days- we always come home with a GIANT box of books, and between carrying those and Nella and the baby bump… it’s challenging! I was grateful for his help, and the girls were excited to build giant block towers with him!
Nella was excited to (noisily) knock them down…FOUR. Snails… they’re everywhere! As in, Kaya only drew snails for a day this week… and I love them. You might not think snails can be cute, but then you haven’t seen Kaya’s rendition of them. First she made one……then two (a mommy and a baby, of course)……and just when I thought it couldn’t get any cuter, she drew some in color and hid them under my pillow. And check out those butterflies!FIVE. This crazy smile of hers keeps me going on my sickest days. I just love her so much. Also, the humidity has done great things for her hair… look at those ringlets!She’s still “our baby” in the family, and sometimes it’s hard to imagine things changing, but I know she’s just going to be a great big sister.Happy weekend!

five on friday (04/20)

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Happy Friday!!!

ONE. We’ve had a couple of good walks this week and actually enjoyed some sunshine! It was even warm enough for shorts one day! The temperatures have still been in the 30s these past few mornings, so late afternoon walks are our favorites. (And this might be one of my favorite-ever pictures of Kaya and Kaelyn together!)This girl with her crazy hair and sly smirk… She’s always so content to sit and watch the world go by as her sisters run down the path.Come on Spring! Kaya keeps reminding me that the groundhog told us we’d only have “6 more weeks of winter”, and it’s been longer than that. Haha.TWO. They’re all growing up so fast that it’s breaking my heart a little… but then I see how much they can do on their own, and how these three sisters really look out for and care for one another. It’s nice to be able to sit back for a moment and just watch them create their own fun. THREE. I’ve been looking for these little “bug boxes” for the older girls for probably about a year, and this week, we finally found some at the dollar store! Now Kaya is ready for the next time we find a caterpillar!Are they not the cutest little entomologists you’ve ever seen? They’ve been searching everywhere for something to catch, but besides a few ants, they haven’t had any luck yet.FOUR. We had a super-simple family night this week, and it was Kaelyn’s turn to pick the treat. She saw some ice cream cones in the grocery store and instantly knew that was what she wanted (although I did have to explain that the cones didn’t come with ice cream already in them like the picture on the box portrayed)! I dipped them in melted chocolate and sprinkles to make things even more fun.It’s the little things that still make them the happiest (including deflating balloons, apparently…)FIVE. We were the only ones at Kangaroo Kids this week, so my girls ran around probably twice as fast as usual because they didn’t have to worry about waiting their turn for anything. And all the bubbles were just for them! They napped really well once we got home, too. 😉Happy weekend!

Linking up here, here, and here today!

five on friday (04/13)

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Happy Friday! The sun is shining, and it’s finally feeling like SPRING! I’m so excited for the weekend and some family time!

ONE. We’ve had a few good walks this week! There is nothing like having the warm sun on your face after what has seemed like an extremely long winter. Lately, the girls are obsessed with all going down the slide together. I think Nella isn’t as big a fan of this activity as the older girls are, but she at least tolerates it.Kaelyn and her sunglasses… she just cracks me up. She was also extremely excited that Kaya’s old polka dot hat is now hers!And no, I will never have enough pictures of Nella in the swing. She laughs and laughs the entire time she’s in it!TWO. Michael had a work trip to DC this week! He attended the Docker GovSummit conference and even got to give a talk. He had about 150 people attend his presentation. I may not understand any of his “nerd” stuff, but I am still so so proud of him.The conference building was right down the street from the Capitol. So cool!He was able to walk around for a bit and see the memorials and monuments. Maybe one day we’ll all get to go with him on one of these trips and enjoy seeing the sites, too.THREE. While Daddy was walking around DC, we were bouncing around at Kangaroo Kids! The teachers brought out this new little bounce house, and the older girls were obsessed with climbing over the wall.Nella loves climbing into this big donut-like structure and just hiding. She also collects all the balls she sees!
FOUR. Whenever Michael gets home from a trip, we always try to do something a little extra special (if the girls have been well-behaved while he was gone). This time, we went out for Chinese food. These were some very happy kids!Her “cheese” face just cracks me up.We also enjoyed some family time at the library. It’s always so quiet and refreshing when we go in the evening.FIVE. This isn’t exciting… or at all glamorous… but just a friendly reminder that it’s not a bad idea to have regular skin checks with your dermatologist. This week, I had the tiniest little biopsy (and one single stitch) on a spot that looked like it could have been a basal cell carcinoma on my face, but thankfully, it came back clear. Here’s to using sunscreen and taking precautions against skin cancer.Happy weekend everyone!

Linking up here and here today!

five on friday (03/30)

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Happy Friday!!! This has felt like a really long week, but I’m excited for Easter weekend and spending some time with my in-laws!

ONE. Are you tired of seeing snow pictures yet? We have had literally every type of weather this week: winter snow, March’s “in like a lion” winds, April’s showers, and then just plain glorious spring. Phew. I kind of can’t believe that’s all happened in the past few days!

We had the biggest snowfall of the year thus far on Saturday night, so when we woke up on Sunday, everything looked like this:I have never seen so much snow on the trees. Lots of limbs around the neighborhood came down.Church was cancelled, so naturally, Michael asked the girls if they wanted to help him make waffles. They love baking!Mmmmm.TWO. As soon as the snow melted (which was thankfully pretty quickly), we were eager to get outside and get some exercise. Kaya learned to do the monkey bars all by herself!We had another day where we spent the entire morning outside, and the sunshine felt so invigorating. Nella had her very first (albeit slow) ride on the merry-go-round!After all the precipitation we’ve been having, all the streams were full, which just fascinated Kaya and Kaelyn. They tracked the water’s path throughout our entire walk, and when we stopped to play, they were excited to “wash sticks” in it.My only child who didn’t get covered in mud…THREE. Who remembers Polly Pockets? Playing with these is one of the best memories of my childhood, and I’m so lucky that my parents saved them, because now I get to share them with my girls!

It’s been all about Polly Pockets, day in and day out, for the past couple of weeks for these two. I love seeing them enjoy them.I have to say, I am really impressed with how well these have held up. Most of these are around 25 years old! I only allow them to take one out at a time, and so far, that’s been working really well. There are just so many small pieces.FOUR. The girls’ costume parades have continued! The newest theme is “Pets”, which includes a cat, a Dalmatian puppy, and a baby tiger.Also, didn’t Kaya just wear that Dalmatian costume for Halloween yesterday?FIVE. Just because I love these four so dang much (and I love how much they love their Daddy)!Linking up here, here, and here today!

five favorites (01/29)

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I’m always a little behind… but what can you do? These three keep me on my toes. Most of my pictures are just from my phone this past week, which made me a little sad at first, but then I realized that maybe it’s good, because that means we actually got out of the house and did things!

ONE. We had a gloriously warm day in the 50s, with the sun just peeking through the overcast sky, so we of course just had to get outside. Running is my all-time favorite, but sometimes, I really look forward to our walks, just because I get to go a little slower and take in my surroundings.

These ladies love the swings the most… And Kaya loves “climbing” trees (which really means that I help boost her up there, and then she attempts to go up higher but can’t quite do it yet)!They also love hiding behind rocks! Muddy puppy!!! She will, without fail, always find a way to get dirty.TWO. We had a family dinner out for the first time in almost 2 months! It felt special to take the girls and see them really enjoy the experience of dining out. Of course, we kept it simple and only went to Red Robin, but it’s a favorite for everyone! Plus, it was relatively empty on a Tuesday night, which meant that we got the biggest booth to contain our messy, crazy children.

Everyone begged Daddy for his strawberry lemonade… the entire time that we were there.Nella has been so into coloring lately; we’re just still working on the logistics of holding the crayon! Love this one Michael snapped of me helping her.Grandpa Skip should be proud, this girl loves French Fries!Pizza is always her favorite, anytime, anyplace.THREE. We also had a family trip to the library one night after picking Daddy up from work! I love bringing Michael to the library, because then I have two extra hands to carry our massive pile of books! Plus, I can sneak away for a few minutes and peruse the shelves alone.

These three choose about 20 books in the space of two minutes and then immediately run to play with the blocks and puzzles!
FOUR. We’ve been doing some arts and crafts projects around here (really low-key stuff, mostly just from the Dollar Store), and I just love seeing their creativity come to life! Painting and drawing are their favorite art media.
Kaya was very excited about her elephant coin bank!We’ve also done some coloring on our dot-to-dot math pages. These are Kaya’s favorite, and she always gasps, “Ooooo a dot-to-dot!” every time one comes up in the lesson.Kaelyn titled this, “The Sharks and Me”. She’s been really interested in sharks ever since our last trip to Myrtle Beach!This is Daddy (yes, with the white hair!), and Kaya, created by the latter.FIVE. Just because she’s so dang cute, and I feel so lucky I get to sit next to her for lunch every day. (Also, she loves her Hokie shirt!)Happy Monday!

five on friday (01/12)

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This was our first week back in our regular routine after the holidays, so I think I speak for everyone in my house when I say that going back to reality is exhausting! We really accomplished a lot this week though, so it feels good to know we worked hard.

ONE. The biggest news of the year so far… Kaelyn is a SUNBEAM! At church, when the new year rolls around, all the three-year-olds get to go to the main children’s class, called Primary, instead of staying in the more play-oriented class, called Nursery. I am not exaggerating when I say that Kaelyn has been talking about going to Primary for about a year now. She was counting down the days until she could go with Kaya to the primary room, and this past Sunday, all her dreams came true.
I snapped these pictures in the five seconds before we had to rush out the door for church. Also, Kaelyn found my old foam rollers and has been asking to wear them to bed, so I put them in her hair on Saturday night after her bath. She was so excited to have special, curly pigtails for her first day as a Sunbeam.And Kaya is in CTR 5 now! I feel like she was in Nursery just yesterday. She also wanted foam rollers, but I just put a couple on top, since her natural curls were looking good already. I can’t look at those adorably puffy curls atop her head without instantly being transported back to the 90s though!Everyone was still smiling after church……for the most part, anyway. Kaya takes a little longer to adjust to changes, like having new teachers, but it didn’t take long for her to feel like herself again once we got home.TWO. I was really looking forward to taking a nap after church, but then I found a pile of silly people snuggling in my bed! Seriously. I love these happy goofballs.THREE. We’re back to school now, but I’ve realized how important it was that we took a break over the holidays. It’s easy for me to forget that we started our schooling all the way back in early July, without taking any significant time off. We kept pushing through right up until about a week and a half before Christmas, and I’m surprised to see how much we’re getting done now that we are feeling rested and refreshed.

Kaya is still crazy for math. She would probably sit down and finish the rest of her math book in one day if I let her! We just started doing word problems, and I love that she gets reading practice through that as well.
Kaelyn has suddenly started trying to write real letters! I printed some out for her to work on tracing, although she was more interested in just coloring them. That’s okay, too!We also started something new this week- The Good and the Beautiful’s Language Arts curriculum! I had looked into these books before, but while we were at Michael’s cousin Jenny’s house for the family Christmas party, she showed me hers, and after leafing through them, I felt that this was what we needed to do next.

I wasn’t really sure where to go after completing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and we had tried Phonics Pathways again, but we just weren’t loving it. Kaya is excited about these books and looks forward to doing them, so hopefully that continues. Although her reading is above grade level, I still started her in the Kindergarten books so that we could work on spelling and fluency.FOUR. I moved all the dress-up clothes to the girls’ closet, and now they are using them everyday! I am always surprised to see what kind of outfits they come up with, and I love when they excitedly come to show me what they’re wearing. Seriously… What is cuter than kids in costumes?Please notice that Kaya’s “pet” cat, Bootsie, is also dressed up with leopard ears. Haha!FIVE. We’re finally out of the polar vortex, so we definitely needed some outdoor playtime! Forty degrees felt like spring (although we probably still should have had gloves on). The swing is one of Nella’s all-time favorite things.Kaya also took her on the slide for the first time! They both loved it.Happy Friday!!!

five favorites (12/02)

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Happy December! Long time, no blog. Between traveling for Thanksgiving and then Michael being away on business, there just hasn’t been much free time. I’m glad to be writing again!

ONE. Michael had a week-long trip to Las Vegas for the Amazon Web Services re:Invent conference. He left town on Sunday morning, before the crack of dawn, and came home on Friday night, just in time to meet us all at the town Christmas parade! This was the first week that the girls and I have ever spent completely solo, and we actually did better than I expected. Kaya was a big helper, and we didn’t have any meltdowns or tantrums until the very end of the week. We are so happy to have Daddy home with us again. 
TWO. She did it! She did it! Kaya completed the entire Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons book! To say I’m proud seems like an understatement- it’s been absolutely amazing to see how far she’s come in the past 8 months or so. I had promised her that when the book was done, she could choose to get a surprise or go out for a treat. She picked a surprise, so I’ve had these Calico Critters koalas hiding in my closet for a while, just waiting.

This week, she knew she was so close to finishing that she wanted to double-up on lessons for a couple of days. I’m so impressed with her motivation. This puts her at a second-grade reading level, and I’m excited to watch her learn and discover so much more through books.Kaelyn was so excited for her sister, and she’s feeling more motivated to do her phonics lessons, too. For now, she looks just so adorable flipping through the pictures of one of her favorite books about penguins.THREE. In the summer, it takes forever to get everyone outside to play because you have to sunscreen every inch of exposed skin, but in the winter, it takes just as long because you have to bundle everyone up! I can’t resist these babies in cute winter hats, puffy coats, and fleece footie pajamas (for Nella)!There’s something so refreshing about going outside, even when it’s chilly. FOUR. This little lady has had it rough ever since we left on our trip for Thanksgiving. Being away from home completely threw off her routine, which was to be expected, but we’ve had a little bit of a hard time getting back on track. She wants to wake up multiple times each night to nurse… so we’re working on sleeping through the night again. Add in a new tooth, and well, she’s been a bit cranky.But who can resist a baby in fluffy pink bear jammies? I also love how much she adores her Beagle. He is her absolute favorite!FIVE. We have been taking our sweet time with getting all our Christmas decor up. We actually started two weeks ago, and just keep adding little things here and there. Nella was surprised to see these singing snowmen when we brought them out, and wanted to play with them ALL! My mom has bought us one of these from Hallmark nearly every year since we got married, so we now have quite a few. We also got some light-up animals that are really meant for the yard, but Kaya and Kaelyn are so in love with them that they may just end up staying inside. They can’t forget to “feed” their unicorn and husky puppy every morning!

Happy weekend!

playground joy

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Sometimes, good old-fashioned fun outdoors is just what we all need. This was before it really started to get cold outside, so I’m looking at these pictures and feeling a little envious of the obvious warmth we were enjoying that early evening.

It was golden hour, and Kaelyn and Nella had both fallen asleep in the stroller on our walk, so I had a little time to spend with just my Kaya. I really cherish those moments that I get to be one-on-one with each of my daughters, because amidst all the chaos of every day life, they don’t happen nearly as often as they should.
Kaya is at a great stage now where she realizes how much fun I have taking pictures and playing with the light on my camera. She is more than willing to pose for me most of the time, and I love having a little subject who is so enthusiastic.
Love this big girl of mine.She’s also an amazing big sister, who loves to help her little sisters have fun!Nella is absolutely obsessed with the swings!Her little tongue sticking out just melts me- she only does that when she is very excited about something!When Kaelyn finally woke up, she was ready for some slide action!Her little pigtails, big grin, and how she’s obsessed with those Paw Patrol shoes… be still my heart! I still can’t believe she’s three and acting so grown up. If it were up to them, the girls would never leave the playground. Honestly, I’d love to play with them all day long and enjoy watching them have fun, too. Before I was a parent, I had no idea how much joy I’d receive just from seeing my kids be happy. Who knew- the most happiness really does come from the simplest of things.