Rainbow Fish

We finished our second Kiwi Crate project today!

Fish Lantern!

It was the last for this month and we are so looking forward to the next one!  Something we really like so far about this company is that they make every part of the packaging into an activity of some sort. Even though we have completed each activity, we still have the packaging activity to do as well as a little educational magazine that came in it. The one package will easily give David and Ayden a structured activity to do together every weekend of each month. We are loving it so far and highly recommend it. 

We also got to visit our friends and hold their sweet new baby girl!

She was SO tiny and so precious!! We ended the evening with dinner and Logan's 12 month owl photo shoot. 

I am getting them all printed tomorrow for his birthday party on Saturday, so I took them a few days early. Tonight I have a date with my planner because I have a lot to squeeze in this week!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "5 Happy Things: Jam Sessions"

Two years ago today: "Horse Country"

And three years ago today : "On the Road Again"

On Top Of The World!

We went apple picking in our own orchard today!  

Our trees are still very young so we only had one lonely Liberty apple but it was even more exciting to harvest that one than it would have been if we had an entire orchard full. 

Ayden did the honors and picked it and we all passed it around taking tastes. Any time we consume or share food that we have raised or grown ourselves it fills us with all kinds of wonderful feelings. Something deep inside gets so much satisfaction out of such a basic act. It will be even more fun to someday make pies, jams and such to share with our loved ones. 

He's on top of the world!

I guess Mav looked comfy?

Weeee!

~Sarah

Flashback! Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "A Day Of Aydenisms"
Two years ago today: "New Wheels"
And three years ago today: "Pins and Needles"

Double Header

Our day was so busy but so fun!

Party #1: Curious George themed with banana splits!

Party #2: At our favorite orchard!

Hay ride!

It was HOT and super fun!

We ended the evening with a family dinner and this mama is POOPED!  Having a toddler in various non-toddler proof places all day long can really wear a person out. I am so glad it is bedtime. ;)

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Normalcy Is Wonderful"
Two years ago today: "Amazing Autumn"
And three years ago today: "Ayden Gets A Girlfriend"

Car Clutter

This is how I managed to get myself ready this morning...

I stared our KonMari book purge yesterday. 

Cut down our library by more than half.
The box and bin on the left are out of here!

Now I just need to put the keepers back on the shelves and donate the rest. 

The boys played outside while I cleaned out and vacuumed my car. 

We are borrowing a tricycle from his cousins.
The belt and parent handle allow him to ride just like his big bro.

My car makes me look like a hoarder most of the time. This is all of the stuff I pulled out today:

I really don't like how things pile up and am MUCH happier when my car is clean. 

Ahhhhh.

My problem is that everyday we take books and essentials for whatever we have planned for the day into the car but never bring them out again. Each time we arrive home there is some sort of crisis or urgent need to tend to and since I don't take care of the stuff from the car right away, things accumulate rather quickly. In an effort to help myself out, I have put my largest reusable tote bag next to my diaper bag by the door and it will be what I use to take things to and from the car each day. I would really love to not have a messy car. Driving it today felt WONDERFUL! 

We ended up running a few errands. 

Cutest. Puppy. Ever.

Logan was trying to scale the wall so he could get in with the birds.

LOL!

When we got home the boys took simultaneous naps. Logan fell asleep on the way home so he stared his nap in his car seat. He woke up at one point and was upset to be all strapped in. I finally got him back to sleep but he woke up every time I tried to slip away. That is not normally like him so I figured he needed me and just joined him for the rest of his nap. Only 10 days left in his current leap...

After dinner, David played with the boys while I did the dishes and then he headed over to the build site. We have family coming in who will be seeing all of their hard work for the first time so he and his dad spent the evening cleaning up the inside and weeding the outside. I am excited to see it too!

While they were doing that, my niece came over for a play date. 

My sister's baby is due in a few weeks so she and her hubby had a date night. Ayden LOVED having her here!  We may try and make it a monthly thing.

Tomorrow is going to be CRAZY with double header birthday parties and dinner with the family that is coming into town. Wish me luck that I can get Mr. Ayden a nap somewhere in there so that he can be his charming self well into the evening. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "24 Hours"

Two years ago today: "Toddler Tuesday: Fall Sensory Tub"

And three years ago today: "Rekindling Relationship"

ABC's

We stayed home today and had an AMAZING day together!

I guided this smarty pants through some letter work.

Ayden's soccer practice was cancelled this evening so we went to the recreational soccer fields for a little while. Ayden got to watch some older kids practicing and then we went and played together in an empty field. It was SO much fun and Ayden didn't want to leave. It would be fun if they held his pre-soccer practices at the actual soccer fields. Ayden loved the atmosphere there!  

I plan to make tomorrow a lot like today was!

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Back At It"

Two years ago today: "Toddler Tuesday: Good Old Fashioned Art"

And three years ago today: "Happy Labor Day"

Two Happy Boys

We have two very happy boys on our hands!

They are such a joy to spend time with.

We went out and purchased our own honey extracting equipment today. We borrowed from our beekeeping association last year and decided it would be worth it to have our own. We hope to remove the supers this weekend and then we'll have another honey extracting party at some point.  The good news is that honey never spoils so there is no rush. Low maintanence is definitely our style these days. 

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Birth Order"

Two years ago today: "Three Days"

And three years ago today: "Highlights and Lowlights"

When It's Time

I didn't take any photos today...  We went to story time and the rest of the day was spent taking care of our home and spending time with our kids.

We did get news that some of our favorite friends had their baby today!  She is adorable and we are looking forward to meeting her in person soon. 

Logan only had one nap today. His morning nap time is shifting a little and ideally he'd go down between 9:30 and 10 but on days where we have plans, that is just in time for the hustle and bustle to get out of the door. This morning he fell asleep just as we were pulling into the parking lot of the library. We were just on time so instead of hanging out in the car for a few minutes to ensure that he was good and asleep before transferring him to the Ergo, I went ahead and got him out. He woke up when I opened his door and got a second wind once he saw we were going to be having fun at the library. He was finally able to fall asleep on the way home and then was ready to go down again for his second nap at around 4:30 or so.  Lately when he naps that late he's not ready to go to sleep for the night until after 9 and that is just too late for me.  So, I kept him up. He was fussier than usual but once David got home he forgot all about being cranky and just had fun. These boys LOVE their daddy so much!  David stayed with us and played with the boys after dinner. I got my evening routine done and even had some time to join in the fun before getting Logan ready for an early bedtime.  Then later in the evening I was able to relax a little which is definitely welcomed!  

I sat down recently and made a huge list of all of our upcoming holidays, events and  special occasions. I will admit, for someone who loves to make handmade gifts, I became overwhelmed very quickly. Then I gave myself a talking to...  There is no way, with everything we have going on, that I can make these gifts. The reality is that we are hoping to move into our new house in the next 4 months or so. Logan's birthday kicks off the "event" season for us which goes all the way until Ayden's birthday in late January. Between preparing for birthdays, the winter holiday hustle and bustle and moving, something has to give in order for me to survive with sanity in tact.  I am going shopping tomorrow for some gifts. Making the decision to do this lifted a TON of weight off of my shoulders. I make handmade gifts for many reasons. I enjoy opportunities to be creative and learn new skills, I enjoy tailoring a gift to a loved one's interests, and I enjoy giving a small labor of love as a token for how much someone means to me. But when life is hectic and that joy turns to stress, it's simply not worth it. I also know that none of my loved ones would ever want me to spread myself too thin to take time that I honestly don't have to make a gift for them. I know they are appreciated but never expected. So, I'm putting the cover on my sewing machine until we are settled after our move. I have a few projects that are in progress that I may finish if I feel so inclined, and I do plan to put something simple together for the boys' Halloween costumes but I am really going to try my best not to start any new, big projects. 

My focus is now going to be turned to continuing to enjoy our boys while finishing our KonMari purge so that we are ready to pack up and move out when it is time!  

~Sarah

Flashback!  Here's what we were up to one year ago today: "Best Building Day"
Two years ago today: "September Goals"
And three years ago today: "Good Friends Good Fun"