#SB2014, Day 5

I was running out of steam by the end of the week, and I think Greg sensed this, so he stayed home from work on Friday!! (Technically, he went to school to grab some work and brought it home to work on, but still, at least he was at the house!! :)

 

It was n.a.s.t.y day outside, so we decided to go out for a lunch date and then to the library.

 

At our favorite hot dog place, Taste of Chicago!

SOOOOOOOOO good!

 Abby quickly picked out her 4 books at the library, and then moved onto the coloring table. Oh how my girl loves to draw & color!! (Please notice she's covering up her masterpiece here; she didn't want me to see it till she was done :)

 Look who we ran into at the library!!! A good buddy from school, Chandler. Clearly his mother was running out of steam as well and agreed to let him wear Spiderman gloves out in public, as well as spike his hair. Ha!

 (We also saw 3 other families we knew at the library. It was a happening place!)

 

After nap, I made good on my promise to Abby to build the "biggest fort ever." The kids loved it! (And spent a record 10 minutes inside. Seriously.)

Day 5 of Spring Break was in the books. I survived and now it's time for the weekend!!!

#SB2014, Day 4

Thursday was our first day of Spring Break that was warm & sunny!! And our favorite neighbors were finally home as a bonus!!

 

So I put up the bouncy house in the backyard and we played, played, played!!

Flying Yoda

 

Silly girls: Kate, Caroline, Abby, Kennedy

Not sure what's going on here! :)

 Kennedy stayed over through lunch and I found these two sweet girls coloring on the back patio. Love those beautiful smiles!!

After naptime, we went back outside for Mommy to do yardwork (boo!) while the kids had lots more bouncy fun/playing tag/blowing bubbles!! Love these warm Spring days!

#SB2014, Day 3

Greg had planned to take a day off during Spring Break, so we could take the kids to Birmingham for a fun activity. Well, since we went to Airwalk with friends, and didn't feel like traveling again, the idea for "Daddy Day" on Wednesday was born.

 

The kids were super excited to have Daddy all to themselves for a whole day, and I was excited to run errands and go to the gym kid-free! :) We decided to brainstorm ideas on Tuesday and this is what we came up with:

 

 Daddy narrowed down their options and circled the winners in red :) Looks like they were going to be busy!!

 

First up, bowling!!! (Actually, the bowling alley opened at 11 instead of 10 like we thought, so they passed the time at a local playground for a little bit.) This was Greg's first time bowling with the kids, and apparently everyone did a great job & even got some spares.

 

The kids thought the shoes were hilarious!

 Greg had originally planned to have a picnic lunch on the quad, but it was a bit windy/chilly so Plan B was a picnic in his office! Econ lunch date!!

 Then they headed to the quad once the sun came out and flew Nate's remote-control helicopter, played tag, and explored the library :) Look how tiny they look!!

 Despite a full day, Daddy decided it's always a good time for a donut! :) So, off to Krispy Kreme for one last stop. Easter sprinkles!

As to be expected, Abby came home and crashed after all the activities. She took a great nap and then the 3 of them went on a bike ride around the neighborhood later that afternoon.

 

This is going to sound awful, but I left them at 5:30 to go see a movie with a friend, so Greg had the kids all night as well too. They rented "Turbo" and enjoyed their movie night with Daddy. What a day!!

 

I am thankful I have a husband who not only agrees to a "Daddy Day," but also LOVES it as much at the kids do! Thank you for the break, Greg! :)

#SB2014, Day 2

Day 2 of Spring Break was an early morning!

 

We met friends at 7:45 to load up in an SUV and ride to Birmingham!! We took the kids (5 in total) to a trampoline place called Airwalk. It was SO fun (for adults too)!!

 

Back row of the SUV: these 3 little hoodlums

 We wanted to get there right when it opened at 9 am, b/c they had a "Kid Jump" from 9-10 am exclusively for ages 6 & under. And parents jumped free! This place was amazing.....trampolines everywhere, including some on the walls, as well as a dodgeball area and 3 foam pits.

The 3 amigos

 Thanks to my new handy iPhone :) I was able to get a few short videos. Check them out!

Click here to view a video of Nate flipping into the foam pit.
Click here to view a video of Abby jumping into the foam pit.
Click here to view of Abby running up the trampoline walls.
 

ALL the little girls there started freaking out when they started playing "Let It Go" (from the movie Frozen). Click here to view Abby singing and jumping away :)

 

Needless to say, after a full hour of jumping, playing, running, and flipping, these kids were WORN OUT!!

And clearly Abby is ready to go at this point :)

We headed to Chick-fil-a for some more playtime and an early lunch. My kids gobbled up every bite I gave them, and then devoured ice cream as well! It was a bit of a grumpy drive home, but all in all, it was a great day.

Look who took a 2 hour nap when we got home!

And in preparation for "Daddy Day" on Wednesday (more on that later), Abby insisted on a mani & pedi :)

#SB2014, Day 2 in the books!

#SB 2014, Day 1

Like most kids, mine are out on Spring Break this week.

 

Which for the kids means: a lot of sleeping in & fun activities with Mom. (And for me it means: pure exhaustion, especially when a lot of your friends/neighbors are out of town.)

 

But I always try to embrace Spring Break, so here we go....Day 1....

 

We had a lazy morning in our pjs and did crafts, coloring, Pokémon cards, & games in the AM. Then it was time for "fun lunch" (aka make-your-own pizza bagels)!!

We had never done this before, but the kids loved it!

I had high hopes of doing a picnic lunch & playing at a playground, but the weather was too chilly. So, what better to do than go to an indoor pool to swim!? We went after naptime and can you tell Nate is just a wee bit excited!? He wore his goggles for about 30 minutes prior to leaving, just like this:

 We had the whole pool to ourselves!!!

They have both been asking when they are going to start swim lessons again (answer: May), because Nate especially keeps saying he's forgotten how to swim. Not true. It took him about 3.5 seconds to remember once we were in the water! :) And though Abby had on the floatie most of the time, she did take it off once or twice to jump into my arms and attempt to swim a few strokes.

 

 Even though it was a "heated" pool, the kids got chilly after about 45 minutes. We had fun though, playing basketball, diving for rings, jumping off the side, playing on the ramp/gradual entry, having kickboard races, and floating on our backs.

 

A successful day 1 in the books!

It's All Downhill From Here....

We celebrated Greg's 36th birthday yesterday, and I think he is in a state of depression now. Because of course as I like to point out - he's closer to 40 than 30 now!! Haha :)

 

We had date night at a new restaurant Saturday night, and had a great time sans kids. For local folks, you must definitely try out Twin....it's at the old Tuscaloosa Country Club. The two chefs are twins (duh) and they specialize in "sushi, steak, and whiskey." (We actually tried out some of the whiskey drinks and oh yes were they good!)

It's hard to believe we've been celebrating birthdays together for 14 years now! Check this gem out, from 2000:

(I had posted a different picture on Facebook & Instagram, but dug this one up later and thought it was hilarious!)

 Sunday morning, this little girl woke up bright & early and was ready to help make Daddy's birthday breakfast!! We made homemade waffles, bacon, pineapple & coffee cake. I asked her why she likes to cook so much and she said "Because I want to be a Mommy!" :)

 We had a lazy Sunday morning after stuffing our faces at breakfast, and then that afternoon I took the kids to a birthday/pirate party. So Greg got to enjoy some quiet time at home while we were gone (best gift ever!) :)

 The kids insisted on having a "real party" for Greg that night, so I let them take the lead on decorating the dining room. What do you think!?

 Greg requested one of his favorite dishes, Oven Tacos, for dinner. And who am I to turn down a Mexican fiesta!?

 I must note that since it was a "real party," Abby insisted on wearing a party dress and her pink shoes. Of course. Even though it was 50 outside.

We gave Daddy his favorite snobby coffee & caramel wafers....

As well as lots of cards from the kids :)

Time for dessert!!

 Every year, I seek out a new recipe (on Pinterest) for Greg's dessert. Usually it involves peanut butter because that is what he loves. Well, I will search no longer because this year I found the BEST recipe!! For Reese's Peanut Butter bars. I mean, seriously, they are sinfully good!!

Happy birthday to the hottest 36 year old I know! And the best daddy and husband too :) Greg, I hope you know how much we love you and appreciate all you do for our little family!!

Soccer Time!

Words cannot describe how happy I am that soccer has started back up!!

 

**For those that don't know, soccer is my absolute favorite sport to play and to watch. This is Nate's 5th season playing, and though he's not the MVP on the team, he is getting to be pretty good. But, more importantly, he really enjoys himself on the soccer field!! (Which is quite the contrast from his disastrous basketball season this Winter. Click here if you need to remind yourself how hard that was for him to play, and for me to watch!)**

 

Nate is on the Jaquars once again, with 4 of his buddies from school and 1 other boy that was on his team last season. He has the same coach as well (we love Kylie!) and he has practices & games on Tuesday & Thursday nights at 6:30. His first practice was back on February 25th, and it was a cold one!!

Good thing Abby had her boyfriend David to keep her warm! :)

 After 5 practices, it is finally time to start playing games! Last night was Nate's first game, and everyone was pumped up! Greg came to watch too and I know how much Nate loves having his Daddy there :)

Game on!

 The game started off with a bang and our team scored two goals right away. Nate is getting more aggressive and does try to score, but usually his focus is on defense. He had one great assist and a nice block, so I went over (while he was sitting out) to tell him good job.

Mason, Nate, Alex

Of course, the obligatory "silly face" picture

My soccer stud!

"You may NOT score a goal on me!"

He was kicking the ball in here, and I think he tapped it so that he could kick it again. Pretty much against the rules but I guess he just wanted to bring it in himself. Ha!

Look at that power! LOL

I LOVE the look of determination on his face here!!

 Speaking of determination, here is a short video of Nate, hustling down the field. He was SO close to making a goal!!!

At the end of each game, parents & siblings all form a tunnel for both teams to run through. Usually this is the kids' favorite part!! (And if you look closely, you can see Abby in her aqua pants & gray skirt, attempting to be part of the tunnel as well :)

Way to go, Jaquars!!

Nate's biggest cheerleader :)