Our {OC} Weekend

If you're an instagramer and follow, I filled up your feed with our adventure to visit W's family this past weekend. We were surprising my mother-in-law for her 70th birthday. It was a whirlwind trip and we packed it full of fun. 

Friday morning our AIS {ass-in-seat} time was set for 8:30 and I'm pleased to report that we made it by 8:35! The boys did pretty well in the car. Since facing Ezra toward us when he was one, he's been a fabulous traveler...Theo, not so much. But he did well.

We made great time and got to Wes and Carolyn's house by mid-afternoon. The boys set up for a cousin camp-out with the Papas. 

 The kids played, climbed trees and enjoyed the last sliver of sun. 

We got to see Shane and Alyson too because Ruth went to the hospital for Grandbaby #17's birth. My sis-in-law, Dorothy, brought Theron Joseph into the world that night. Following set-up, we had dinner and a movie {Wall-E}.

E did great sleeping in the tent! He's got Swenson Camping in his blood already. Saturday morning was lovely and slow; including a yummy bfast.

Then instead of naptime at the normal hour, we sneaked off to the beach for a few hours before the final prep for Mama Judy's party.

It was such a great time. There really wasn't much time left for extras this trip which made me sad {Ams, I wished we could have seen you!!!} so it was super nice to get at least one bonus activity in. For that, I'm grateful!

Then it was off to celebrate this lovely lady whom I'm blessed to call my mother-in-law!

She was beyond surprised and SO happy to see most of her children and grandchildren there. I really think she delighted over the whole deal. :) And of course, I caught some more cousin craziness!

 Eating a cupcake a la concrete.

 We all stayed up way too late, but as luck would have it, the boys slept in and we woke up in time to pack up, say good-byes, and load up the car before eleven. Then it was back on the road yet again. And who knew it would be so eventful...

We were right behind an accident on the last part of the grapevine. Since the CHP hadn't arrived yet, W got out to help and check in on the couple who's car was completely smashed up. Thankfully, they were fine and the CHP arrived shortly thereafter. And then not too long after we were back on the road after lunch, I got a call from our local police telling us our car had been hit and needed a tow. 

My parents came to give them the keys and snap some pictures so we could see. Yikes! So sad! This car has been my car for the last 13 years. Definitely an end of an era. Of course, at this point it's only W's commuter car, but horribly inconvenient for us nonetheless.

By the time we arrived home, the car was towed and turned over to insurance. I didn't even get to see it in person...probably better that way. But it definitely was the talk of the neighborhood since two others were hit. 

The boys did so outstanding the whole way back and we made really good time. Once back, we did some yummy fast food, biked a few times around the block for good measure, showered and put the boys to bed.

Quite the weekend, indeed!

First Post!

My first contributor post is up on NewlyWife! Check it out here.

Happy Thursday!!

Our weekend {and then some}

Our downtown started up the street fairs again on the first Weds of each month. With W getting home at a decent time now, we were able to check it out before bedtimes. We shared some yummy BBQ food and checked out the vendors. E got a new fire hat and loved walking down the middle of the street. He thought that was so cool.

 

W and E made us some pizza for dinner one night last week. We were basically using up whatever was left in the fridge because Mama didn't go grocery shopping last week.

I also attempt some onion rings again and made it out without burning the kitchen. After a rough week of teething, tried patience, and clingy-ness, W indulge me with a chick flick {Breaking Dawn}. He enjoyed it...or so he told me. ;)

Saturday morning was a super lazy one. W let me sleep in which was so needed and so lovely. We finally mustered up the energy to hit the market. E's latest venture while getting ready: his mask.

It was a gorgeous day. We walked, grabbed some fruit and veggies, and lunched with a friend. I also got in a great nap. Then it was off to our small group dinner and worship at the Flying T Ranch. Such a breath-taking property!

One of our families owns the property and runs a horse ministry for troubled and abused youth. They are typically a court-ordered option for the youth. The horses serve as a great opportunity to talk about life and Jesus while developing relationships. We had a blast exploring the property, eating, and worshiping together. E was in complete heaven!

 And Sunday brought another wedding craft day. We knocked out the centerpieces and delegated out the rest of the little decor details. I'm pretty excited to see how this rustic outdoor picnic wedding will turn out. Hopefully well!

And that's a wrap!

8 months

This past month has been quite a full one...

Can't no longer be trusted when placed on the blanket now. I turn around for a second and you've rolled several feet. And you're so quiet about it. You've also figured out the whole "pull-blanket-brings-the-toy-to-me" trick.

You've tried several bites of solid food...banana, egg, avocado, applesauce, corn, quinoa, and ground beef. You're a champ. Time to buy a high chair.

In the last week, FOUR of your teeth decided to show up. Your front two top and bottoms are making their way out now. And you've been pretty whiny and clingy but not as much as I would expect for four teeth at once!

Still sticking with 10 hour stretches at night. That hasn't really changed much. Somewhere around 5am you're ready to eat.

So silly!! You love to play games and giggle and shriek at repetition.

 Still swaddled. I keep thinking that at any moment you'll tell us you're over it. 

Grab, pull and yank at your brother's hair whenever it's within reach. Purposeful? We're not sure yet. ;)

LOVE bath time in the big bath. Your hands and arms are in constant motion; splashing and flailing your heart out.

Have enough hair now to style!!

Weekend Recap

Our weekend was another full one. Quite a smorgasbord of this and that.

 Saturday morning we were up and out fairly early for us {8:30}. W's really on this running kick. It's great. I wish I was more motivated to join him more often. He did his laps with the boys while I did a grocery run. Then we met back up and played at the park. Afternoon was spent de-cluttering our garage. I got rid of one more teacher box! Small successes!! I also found some great old photos.

Each of our senior years

Erin & I

I also prepped a lot of salad to bring to our dinner gathering. Except right as we were heading out the door, without warning, E tossed his cookies. First time, poor little guy. So instead we cuddled, read books, and hugged Benny the Bucket {as we lovingly named him} for the next two hours. Plan B for the evening turned into wine, take-out, and a redbox.

E woke up dancing to his music {W's figured out how to set an alarm to play music on E's ipod/sound machine so he stays in his room until it goes off} and was fit as a fiddle. Off to church we went.

The rest of the day was dedicated to wedding crafts. A friend of ours is getting married in 1.5 months and she's doing it entirely on her own. As much as I like seeing finished products about our home, I really love having the opportunity of blessing others. We're hoping to make her outdoor wedding classy, but without the typical price tag. We conquered her card crate and half the favors. The boys did a great job making the new crate look rustic, don't ya think??

Next weekend, we're tackling center pieces and details for the other tables. Somewhere in this mix, I need to start planning another girlfriend's shower.  Weekend time is sure filling up fast!

Jenkins Come to Town

It's been a little over a year since we've seen the Jenkins. They came back to the states for Tim's brother's wedding. It was so fun to see them again and especially now that the boys are older. We mentioned their last trip here and here. It's amazing how time flies and little babies grow.

The boys did SO much more interacting this time around. Good and bad. We got a healthy dose of what to expect with two kids who have conflicting wills. But it was wonderful nonetheless. Both are big talkers and said some funny stuff. And are really outgoing--they had a ball.

  I don't think there was one moment of quiet outside of them sleeping. And Ezra would take a three hour nap every.single.day Ethan was here. So utterly wiped out.

They pretty much spent the entire week outside. A boy's paradise.

A park trip...

Downtown for farmer's market and soft serve.

Pool time.

And Tim and Kirsten were so sweet to take Ezra with them to the Discovery Museum.  So I could have a day with just baby T. The house was so quiet!

And they had way too much fun in the bath each night.

The adults hung out each night eating and drinking things we shouldn't have. Staying up way too late for being parents of little ones. We had a great time catching up on life, cooking together and playing board games.

The Jenkins are the best house guests! Our place is already back together minus the loads of laundry...but I always have that. {sheepish grin} Now if only I could sleep for a week, I'd be caught up... ;) Ezra already misses his buddy and I can tell we'll be talking about him for a looooong time.

Craft Date Night

Okay, I know. I'm head deep in craft posts lately. And I love it. I really do. I was in such a dry spell during W's tax season and subsequent lay-off that I'm really embracing my motivation and just going with it. I thoroughly love the recent projects I've done, the monthly contributor news, the girls' craft night and a future craft night. I also got some really fun and exciting news that I hope to share soon. So I'm up to my ears in crafts. And that makes my heart happy.

William had a recent "aha!"-totally-awesome idea for our stay-dates {time we set aside for just us when we're at home}. We both have some strong interests that we talk about with each other and will often dabble in. But most of the time we're just shoulder-to-shoulder. I'm crafting, he's listening to podcasts about gun safety. I'm researching my next project while he's cleaning his fire-arm at the same table. In child development speak: we're parallel-playing. Nothing wrong with that. A few weeks ago, he came up with the brilliant idea of setting aside some weeknights to do some face-to-face time while doing one hobby together. We're not only interacting but we're also learning more about the others' passions. That man of mine!

We started with a craft. :) I gathered some supplies for a basic project that I was wanting to add to our master bedroom. I figured it was a great start...it including maps and all. That caters to a man, right?! Once the kids were down, we got to crafting. 

Supplies:

-Maps {free from AAA}

-Three picture Frame {clearance from Marshall's}

-Cricut

-Scrapbook paper {gray, light blue, and red}

 -Glue dots {or glue stick}

-Scissors 

-Pencil

Steps:

-I used the cricut to get a heart for tracing as well as the labels: "Met", "Married", "Live" and the little arrows

-W located our "spots" on the map then traced the hearts with pencil and cut them out

-I introduced W to glue dots while placing the arrows to mark our spots {he didn't love them but gave them a valiant effort}

-We glued the maps and labels to the gray background paper

-Put it all into the frame

And got this final product! :)

 

Now it's his turn to cook up our next activity!

Frolic

My favorite part of this spring season has been all the beautiful mustard plants growing wildly in vacant fields that are squashed between areas of development. They always look so inviting. Just begging to be explored with arms stretched out and fingers brushing against the waving weeds.

 On our various weekly errand-runs, I'd been hunting for fields that were accessible. Many of them are surrounded by barbed wire or are just out of our way to drive to. Then last week I found one that we could just walk into to-- right passed the "private property" sign. ;)

 I loaded the kids up in the van, grabbed my camera, and went out to the field. I taught Ezra about my love of open spaces, wild weeds, and carefree spirits. {He insisted on taking his pasta claw with us.}

{he was there too; in his typical fashion...taking the world in while tucked comfortably away on Mama's back...}

An afternoon well spent. Love my little men.

Craft Night {A Full Weekend}

I love that it's Friday and I'm just now covering our last weekend. Heh. Our weekend and weekdays have been full. A good, satisfying kind of full. A reception party + date night, men's church meeting, lots of spring cleaning, crafting, church, and BBQ dinner with new friends filled out our weekend.

The only gathering I captured was the craft night with some girlfriends from church. It was something we had talked about doing for months until last month when I set a date and invited them all over. It was long overdue.

And craft we did.

Monthly Contributor

I'm super excited to announce that the girls over at Newlywife have asked me to contribute to their blog on a monthly basis. Yay! Megan and Emily want me to share projects, ideas, and tips about DIY, crafting, and home decor. Such a honor so I'm feeling nervous. :) But at least this will give me a big kick in the pants to finish some of the projects that I've been neglecting. heh.

Check out my introduction here.