Friday Favorites

It's Friday!

I'm linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites!

I'm so excited for the weekend!  We have absolutely nothing planned and it's sooooo needed.  Rumor has it we may head out to dinner at some point and it seems lots of ice cream is also on the agenda.  WooHoo!

ONE

Last summer Henry and Eliza handed out a "Golden Apple" for the parent who did the most with them throughout the week - one must give accordingly:  Action, Activity, Education and Fun.

Well, the "Golden Apple" competition is back and I won on Sunday night!  Ha!  The kids gave me a golden banana because the apples we had were all rotting, so instead, I was given a "Golden Banana!"  I won by one point because I want a dog.  Bahaha!

So funny!

Eliza drew a picture of me with said hypothetical dog.  

TWO

On Monday I took the kids to the pool.

It reminded me of how far I've come and how much Jane has grown.  One of the last times I took them to the pool by myself, which was moooonths ago, I ended up in tears because it was so overwhelming to have three kids, trying to watch all three in a pool, changing of a diaper and attempting to help three kids get dry.

It was a hot mess and honestly, I've been reluctant to go back unless Jon is with me, BUT - we went and all went extremely well!!!  In fact, it was sooooo easy!  Henry and Eliza are great swimmers these days and they enjoyed playing together.  Jane made a friend and she's learning to swim with her life jacket on.  It wasn't too long ago that she refused to even let go of us.  All this to say, I'm proud of how far we've come!  It only took three years...but here we are.  ;) Ha!

THREE

Speaking of Jane - I purchased Jane's preschool dress from Stitchy Fish!

I'm so excited for her to go to preschool!!!  Jane's such a little social butterfly and I just know she'll love it.  She'll be attending the same preschool as Henry and Eliza attended, but she'll have a new preschool teacher and I'm just praying that all goes well.

One thing's for sure, she sure will look adorable in this little dress!

FOUR

Like I mentioned above, we also headed to the zoo and I'll be doing a full recap of our little trip next week.

 You guys, this little moment right here - of us getting on the little zoo train had my heart bursting!

I used to take Henry and Eliza to the zoo way back when they were Jane's age and we'd sing certain little train songs as we rode along.  My heart almost burst that we were finally able to get back on the train as it had been closed since 2020 and once again the fact that we were all having the best time and I was managing the three kids alone made me feel almost empowered and beyond thrilled to have the energy to be so happy with and around the kids. 

FIVE

Bear Spray

ALL. THE. WIDE-EYED EMOJIS.

We're heading up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in two weeks and Jon wants to walk some trails.

The last time we were in the U.P. (which was probably about 12 years ago), we visited a lot of places but we didn't really go on any trails...aaaaaand we didn't have kids.  With three kids in tow this time around and the potential for bear, I'm taking this bear spray with me and nobody's going to stop me.  I linked it just in case you're also thinking about walking amongst the bears.  Bahaha!!!

Okay, that's about it for me this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Marie :)

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Hello Monday on a Wednesday!

It's Hello Monday on a Wednesday!

Today I'm recapping the last week and a half and for some reason it's been taking me foooooorever to post.  Well, I suppose I know the reason...my wee little children.  LOL!  We've been busy and having fun, so it seems blogging and Marie-time are still currently on the backburner - but we've been making the best memories.  

Thursday - July 7th

Jane had her Nature Class and they painted dragonflies.  I thought it was one of the cutest crafts ever!

Jane explored the river...

She found all sorts of finds for her nature bucket...

Eliza loved joining in on the fun!

The teacher gave Henry and Eliza clipboards for another nature hunt and Jane finished her dragonfly...

Once Jon was out of work we headed to his parents' house.  We checked out their new patio and enjoyed visiting outside.

Friday - July 8th

July 8th was my Dad's Birthday.  We had originally planned to have a gathering at my parents' house, but my Dad landed himself in the hospital.  He's currently in the rehab part of the hospital and so the celebration we thought we were going to have didn't occur, so we celebrated in his comfy hospital room instead.

It was so nice to visit him.  I just wish we lived closer so that I could get over and see him more often. 

My sister, Kim, fixing my Dad's curly hair.  He was already tired, but I think this felt really good to him.  Oh my heart.

We headed home and got some Chick Fil A for dinner.

Saturday - July 9th

We headed to a friends' house for a visit.  It was nice catching up and letting the kids play.  

Sunday - July 10th

The kids and I put together our old PVC pipe car wash.  They had a blast and played with this for hours!

On Sunday evening, Henry and Eliza started Theatre Camp!  They were a little hesitant as I dropped them off, but luckily one of my best friends, Holly, dropped off her daughter, Adeline, so they knew at least one other person...

Monday (this past week)

The kids were dropped off at Theatre Camp - camp lasted every day from 9-12.  Jane and I ran some errands, colored and then got ready to meet our friend, Holly, at the splash pad.

No sass whatsoever with this one....  Haha!  I just love her!!!

We had another errand to run before meeting up and while en route, Jane drew this rainbow!

Splash pad time!

Tuesday

On Tuesday, the kids went to camp, Jane and I went for a run and then we visited a new cafe/coffee shop in town!

Anytime throughout the week this is how I'd find Eliza.  We're always waiting for her to get in the car...ALWAYS.  Girlfriend brings EVERYTHING with her and yes, those are socks, clean socks, hanging from her mouth...

She said, and I quote, "I was getting water and snacks because I'm the responsible one."  Bahahaha!

Truth she did grab things, but again, she didn't tell me she needed them as they provide water and snacks at the camp.  *shrugs shoulders*

Sometime during the week

Jane is finally getting more comfortable with swimming in the water.  This is a season of life (being 3) of living on a lake that can be difficult.  We've always wanted the kids to be comfortable with and around the water, but also to understand the dangers, too.  

Thursday

The kids had another day of camp and Jane and I went for another jog...

Friday

Henry and Eliza had one more day of Theatre Camp on Friday morning and then in the afternoon they had rehearsal from 1-5.  I went with some friends to dinner at 6 and then headed home around 9:30 for some much needed rest.

Janie was looking super cute!

Saturday

On Saturday morning, Henry and Eliza attended our local Popcorn Theater show as part of their camp.  I made sure to buy tickets for Jon, myself and Jane.  It was weird not sitting next to them.

Intermission.

The show was so cute - The Jungle Book.  The actors are part of the Professional Theater held in the evenings and on the weekends - I'm so grateful Popcorn Theater is back!

Henry and Eliza found us and joined us in eating popcorn!

After the show Jon and I grabbed some lattes, we headed home to get Jane down for an early nap, our friend, Josh, stopped by super fast as he was driving through Michigan to grab some leftover items they had left at the 4th party and then before we knew it, it was time to meet back up at the theater.

The kids were excited!!!

Everyone did a spectacular job!  The group was made up of fourth through eight graders.  The director mentioned that when the program started they basically had to beg for 8 kids to join back in 2018/2019.  Now it had grown to 44 kids and many had never been on stage before, including Henry.  The kiddos learned 11 songs - lyrics and choreography over the course of a week.  The audience really supported them and applauded their every effort!

Henry was upset at one point because he had to say, "Goodnight love," he's very much into not wanting to have crushes.  It was almost comical to me how much he despised having to say that small sentence to another girl.  I ensured him that it's acting and all pretend, so it wasn't a big deal.  He said the sentence with confidence and nailed it!  Ha!

Proud of these two!

Grandma and Grandpa came to watch the show!

We then went to dinner at a lake to the south of us.

After dinner we went back to our house and George and Terri went kayaking.  Eliza made brownies and then the kids crashed.  They were exhausted!!!

Phew!  Okay, I'm feeling all caught up!

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Marie :)

I'm linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday.