Memorial Day Monday

Hello, hello! How are you guys!? I am checking in this morning after a good weekend. I barely touched my phone, left my computer powered off on Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed every second with my family and friends over the past three days.

We packed the first two days of the long weekend with cookouts, swimming at a friend’s pool and boating on the lake. In the middle of the fun we did a LOT of yard work which was so, so sweaty but much needed. Since I left my phone at home for a lot of the weekend and didn’t snap many pictures, I am forgoing a full weekend recap in favor of a peek into the way our family spent Memorial Day yesterday.

Morning

Ryan had to pop into work for a few short hours in the morning on Monday which actually worked out well because I had plans to meet up with a friend for a workout at the gym! I brought the boys with me and they had fun with friends in childcare while we did a little incline walking on the treadmill followed by my all-time favorite decreasing reps bodyweight workout.

We were in and out of the gym in right around 45 minutes and soon after we arrived home, Ryder went down for his morning nap. On the drive home, Chase said he wanted to paint and whenever he requests any kind of craft-related activity, I am ALL about it because these requests are few and far between over here! I set Chase up with some paints while I made us smoothies for breakfast 2.0 (breakfast 1.0 looked like collagen baked oatmeal for me and muffins for the boys) and sat down to paint with him.

Ryan arrived home right around the time Ryder woke up from his morning nap. While Chase and Ryder played with a ball in the family room (Ryder’s latest skill is rolling a ball back and forth and he’s obsessed), I coerced Ryan into helping me hang the new kitchen island light I ordered on major sale through Wayfair and I am in LOVE with it!!

(That’s a picture of our old light. Leave it to me to forget to snap a pic of the new one.)

I have a short list of things I want to do in our kitchen to give it a little refresh and we’re slowly making our way through it. I’ll definitely share before/after photos once it’s all done. It’s nothing major because I didn’t want to change out cabinets or granite or repaint anything, but I am already happy with the changes we’re making.

Afternoon + Evening

We figured we should get some lunch in our bellies before heading out for the afternoon and once everyone was fed and full, we slathered sunscreen all over our bodies and spent the afternoon on the lake!

(This is the life jacket we’ve been using for Ryder. He screams like crazy whenever we put it on him but thankfully tolerates it well once it’s on.)

We had to make a quick stop for gas within 10 minutes of our boating adventures which meant ice cream treats for everyone from the gas station.

Anyone else a huge fan of Choco Tacos?

They take me back to ice cream truck days as a kid because they were always one of my top choices!

We eventually made our way to a beach and threw down the anchor for lots of swimming, floating and playing.

I joke that Ryder is a lot like his mama in that he LOVES the water and is such a little fish but he does NOT love cold water. (Chase is like pretty much every 3.5 year old out there and no water is too cold to stop him from swimming.) Thankfully by Monday the lake warmed up enough for Ryder to be all about it (a week’s worth of 90+ degree day will do that, I guess) and it was so, so fun to see him have a blast splashing around.

We made it back home in the late afternoon and settled Ryder in for a nap before tackling more yard work.

Chase looks for any excuse to wear his gardening gloves and “helped” us put down some mulch before digging for worms. The rest of the evening looked like dinner, bath time and early bedtimes for everyone!

I feel like it’s also very important to note that over the course of the weekend, I found myself thinking a lot about Memorial Day and feeling intense gratitude toward those who sacrificed their lives for our country and our freedom. I thought about their bravery and their selflessness and the grief and pain their families and friends feel daily that is likely only magnified on a day like Memorial Day. I am so incredibly thankful for those who died for our country and for those who serve and continue to serve.

With the long weekend over, our family is back into our usual routine this week, though with Chase out of school I’m not exactly sure what that routine will look like without preschool in the mix. I’ll definitely bring you guys along for the ride as we ease into summer and really appreciate you stopping by the blog today. Have a wonderful Tuesday!