outdoor living & new numbers

Obviously no vacation is complete without a few home projects. We cleaned out some things and reorganized a few more spaces. I finally added some house numbers to our front door. We've only been without them for about 6 months now. We still have to paint the door but I used vinyl so we can just stick them back on later.

before

after

Our big-ish project was adding an outdoor living space outside. We spend so much time outside but didn't really have a great area for adults to sit and relax. I've only been harassing nicely asking Steve if we could get started on this for 3 years now :) We researched a few different options and then went to pick up our new set. The canopy finally got set up and it's heavenly. I'm seriously in love. It's so cozy and shaded and comfortable. I have a feeling we're going to be spending lots of times out there.

my redecorator :)

the canopy is up

The past two nights night hubs and I would relax on the loveseat with a drink in hand and just watch the kiddies running around the yard. I could handle a lot more night like that :)

picture adult drinks in that little container {more likely it will hold water for the kiddies but  one can pretend}

I'll be sure to post some pictures when everything is finally finished!

beachin it

We took a trip to the Cape on Tuesday with Bammy. The weather was beautiful and the beach was calling. We stopped to see Beepa and then headed down to Old Silver Beach. There weren't a lot of people there so the kids had a huge section of beach to play on. It's still a little too cold for bathing suits but the kids don't mind just sticking to the sand for now.

collecting shells

 We were busy just soaking up the salt air, digging, making sand castles, collecting shells & running along the beach. I could handle more days of that :)

do we know when she got so big?

Cole was more than happy digging in the sand

rock hunter

Cole was all about climbing this rock until I put him on for a picture---then he wanted nothing to do with it

ahh not a bad way to spend a Tuesday

hot!

It's been HOT here! Monday was Marathon Monday & it was close to 90. Our friend was running her first time and did awesome but I can't even imagine how hot it must have been for all the runners! We had fun keeping track of her on my phone & cheering her on. We spent most of the day outside complete with water play & sprinkler fun. 

the kids "helping" put together our new patio set

splish splash

it was so hot even I ran through the sprinkler!

  

tea parties are a new favorite around here

 We took a break from playing to bring Cole to the eye doctor. He's doing great and his eyes are improving which is always great to hear.

It was so hot we decided to have ice cream for dinner. The kids had a healthy lunch so we figured it'd be a fun treat. I'm sure there will be more times this summer when we go right for the ice cream---why not right? :)

Cole wanted to try everyone else's too

My two little helpers snuggled under the bedding while I was changing the sheets. They were all giggles pretending to sleep.

 and then soon we had some bed jumping going on...

these two always keep us laughing!

weekend fun

The weather has been amazing here and we had a really great family weekend. We got a lot of stuff done around the house and spent almost every minute outside. Steve took over soccer duty with Cole this week and it went really well. Cole has not been a big fan of soccer. Some parts he is ok but others he wants nothing to do with. So I passed it off to daddy and hid so I could watch him. Things went a lot better and hopefully Cole will become more comfortable with it {knock on wood!}.

Steve stained the swingset and it looks great! The kids were bummed they had to stay off for a day but they managed to keep busy. Ava & Cole made sure daddy got all the spots too---they are good like that :)

 

it's done!

 Ava's been picking "flowers" for me---they are beautiful and definitely brighten up the house :) The kids have also "planted" some in the window boxes---sadly they haven't grown yet

 

 We played out front for a while and blew bubbles, played chalk and went on an adventure. I adore their imaginations and just watching them play. They are so funny together.

on the lookout for wild animals

Cole refused to look through his the right away---he always has his own way of doing things :)

kiddies in the "boat" aka mom-just-put-the-sand-in-here-already

 I finally packed away all the winter stuff. You just never know what the weather will be like here but I think we're in the safe zone for now. I also organized the art area in the garage. Things were everywhere and now it's a little more organized.

and this is only 1/4 of the stuff we have---we're big fans of crafty stuff around here

 We finally purchased a patio set & rug for our back patio. It's so comfy and we are loving it. It's so great to sit out there and read, watch the kiddies and just relax. I'll definitely post some pictures once everything is done. This weekend we also lit the firepit for the first time. It's so nice! Of course we had to make s'mores. The kids were in awe. Cole kept saying "wow!" while watching the fire {from a safe distance} They, of course, loved the s'mores.

 

It was a great weekend and now I'm on spring vacation---woo hoo!

and as a former infant teacher this is awesome. It's so much more than a job and so much more than just sticking your kid in daycare for the day. I still keep in touch with most of "my babies" and just adore them.