High Five for Friday #191 | Back to School

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, BeckyTif, and Della! Come, read up on what we’ve been up to this week and get to know some amazing bloggers.

Remember, you can link up any 3 posts you want – regardless of content! Link up your favorite posts from the week that you want more people to read. Share away! And, of course, if you have a weekly recap post, link that up too! But we want to give you a chance to share your other content from the week.

And here we are! Our family made it around to back to school! Hooray!

Honestly, Elizabeth has been talking about school and asking when it was starting for weeks. I think we were all excited for it to start back up.

Before we got to Wednesday and the first day of school, though, I tried to sneak in a little fun.

Tuesday was our last home/lazy day. We played non-stop. We ran around outside. We had fun! I also managed to sneak in a little project I’ve had on the back burner for weeks. I popped up a little dress up corner in our play room, thanks to a zillion command hooks, and it’s GREAT!

I hung that mirror crooked, but don’t notice that HA! But once this little corner came together, the kids played for an HOUR with all that stuff. Win!

Wednesday was a fantastic day – back to school! Both kids had school on Wednesday, so I was already looking forward to the morning alone. But it was so fun going in, catching up with the other parents and watching the kids say hi to their school buds.

But we had to do the whole “first day of school” picture thing. Surprisingly, it went well!

Both kids were excited to sit down and smile! Although at some point, Elizabeth was just READY to go! HA!

William was THRILLED with the idea of school!!

And Elizabeth was over taking pics. All of her solo, sit down pics had bored smiles. She was ready to GO! But I asked her to stand up and give me a pose – done.

Once we were at school, both kids just ran right in, no turning back. William settled right into his room, trying to sit on tiny little cars, hoping to zoom around.

Elizabeth’s room was hopping! SO many kids and parents in there. It was a bit of a zoo – but she quickly settled in with her friends, old and new.

Then what did I do at home??? I CLEANED!  It’s so nice to clean solo!

Our upstairs needed some serious attention. Things had been cleaned but a deep clean was needed. I literally vacuumed for an hour and a half! I vacuumed from the ceilings to the base boards. I pulled all the furniture away from the walls and vacuumed.

Oh it felt SO GOOD! Best morning ever hahahahaha!

  And now, it’s time to link up your posts! Can’t wait to cruise around and see what you all have been blogging about!

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High Five for Friday #190 | The Last Week of Summer

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, BeckyTif, and Della! Come, read up on what we’ve been up to this week and get to know some amazing bloggers.

Remember, you can link up any 3 posts you want – regardless of content! Link up your favorite posts from the week that you want more people to read. Share away! And, of course, if you have a weekly recap post, link that up too! But we want to give you a chance to share your other content from the week.

We’ve made it!! We’ve made it through the last full week of our summer!

Summer started out strong, but mercy, I’ve lost a ton of steam the last few weeks.

The last week called for some fun adventures, though. And we managed to squeeze a few in!

Over the weekend, my husband took Elizabeth on a camping trip! It was originally supposed to be a backpacking trip with a bigger group of friends, but he ended up taking her to another camp ground where they didn’t have to backpack. But they had such a fun time!

I’ll admit, I shed a small tear on Saturday night when I saw Elizabeth’s empty room. It was the first time she wasn’t at home and I was… it was a weird feeling.

One morning this week we braved the hot, sticky weather to head to the Durham Life & Science Museum. *Side note, if you’re ever planning a visit to Durham with kids, this is a MUST see!

The kids had a fun time! And it was our first time there with both kids and without a stroller. It was so nice! As a result, both kids walked everywhere and were pooped when we were done. Win!

The Dinosaur Walk is my favorite spot!

It’s hard having a little brother sometimes…. And I just noticed William’s awful bruised legs… he’s always falling!

One of my other favorite spots in Durham is a hike on the Eno River. We live a quarter mile away from one of the trail heads, and I always enjoy walking the trails to see how the changing seasons affect it.

The kids do better on hikes some days, but this week it was a rough last chunk haha! The parking lot was in sight, through the trees, but I was holding both kids’ hands while they sobbed because they were tired.

But the hike started off well! The river was low enough that we could walk out to the center area to toss in rocks.

At one point on the trail, the trail crosses county lines. Elizabeth was REALLY concerned. She just thought we had walked too far and we’d never make it back to Durham. She was SO relieved when we crossed back into our county haha!

Have you officially transitioned to fall schedule? I’m so jazzed to get back into the regular groove next week!

  And now, it’s time to link up your posts! Can’t wait to cruise around and see what you all have been blogging about!

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High Five for Friday #189 | Is Summer Over Yet?

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, BeckyTif, and Della! Come, read up on what we’ve been up to this week and get to know some amazing bloggers.

Remember, you can link up any 3 posts you want – regardless of content! Link up your favorite posts from the week that you want more people to read. Share away! And, of course, if you have a weekly recap post, link that up too! But we want to give you a chance to share your other content from the week.

I am running out of summer steam, folks. All that wonderful summer energy I had earlier this summer is just about all gone.

Mercy!

But we are trying to sneak in a few more fun summer activities before preschool routines start back up again after Labor Day.

One of our favorite activities this summer has been picking up our CSA veggie bag at the HUB Farm. We’ve had such a fun time walking down the path, checking on the ducks and chickens, looking at the veggies and saying hi to the farmers. This week was our last trip for the summer and we soaked it all up!

Goodbye HUB Farm! Until next year!

Friends, the highlight of the last few weeks was finding the most delicious foods that were simple and easy and OH SO filling!

Is there anything better than fresh summer fruit and yogurt? It’s one of my favorites!

And if you want a meal that fills you up and lasts a surprisingly long time, then you need to toast up some Ezekial bread, slap on some almond butter, and sprinkle on some seeds, cacao nibs and berries. SO GOOD!

We had a spontaneous outside moment yesterday. The weather was beautiful! So I set up a quick mud/washing station. I also threw in some backyard rocks, some jewels and pretend pirate coins.

Elizabeth was more than happy to dig in the mud. She found all the treasures and brought them over to the water table.

William stuck with the water table. It’s clean. He’s really into saying “Eeeewwwww” so for him, soapy water was ideal.

And then, they got clever and started “painting” the deck with wet cloths. Genius, kids! Genius!

Elizabeth has high adventure with her Daddy this weekend! And it all kicked off last night! She went to the Durham Bulls baseball game last night and had a blast! She’s been looking forward to this for weeks. And this weekend she’s going backpacking/camping with friends. My husband has never backpacked OR camped before, and he’s gone all in. So many trips to REI! HA! But they’re going to have a fun time!

  And now, it’s time to link up your posts! Can’t wait to cruise around and see what you all have been blogging about!

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High Five for Friday #188 | Parents Are Coming To Town!

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, BeckyTif, and Della! Come, read up on what we’ve been up to this week and get to know some amazing bloggers.

Remember, you can link up any 3 posts you want – regardless of content! Link up your favorite posts from the week that you want more people to read. Share away! And, of course, if you have a weekly recap post, link that up too! But we want to give you a chance to share your other content from the week.

Friends, I’m living up this long weekend – my parents are visiting! It’s nice to have them here. It means staying up late to chat and laugh, letting someone else play cars and trains for a few minutes (ha!) and just hanging out. My favorite thing to do! Quality time is my Love Language.

So it’s a quick Hi, then on to the link up today! 

And now, it’s time to link up your posts! Can’t wait to cruise around and see what you all have been blogging about!

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High Five for Friday #187 | Savoring the Last of Summer

H54F Logo Rectangle

Welcome to High Five for Friday – hosted by me, BeckyTif, and Della! Come, read up on what we’ve been up to this week and get to know some amazing bloggers.

Remember, you can link up any 3 posts you want – regardless of content! Link up your favorite posts from the week that you want more people to read. Share away! And, of course, if you have a weekly recap post, link that up too! But we want to give you a chance to share your other content from the week.

Cardio, Cab and a Keyboard // Currently August
Love a good ol’ round up of favs in the moment. And Amanda always makes me chuckle! Seriously, LOL humor!

Coast to Coast // A Better Makeup Bag
This intrigued me! I love getting a peek into people’s storage and bags. I’m also in the market for an updated makeup/travel bag too! 

Cheryl Shops // Get the Look: White Blouse and Kick Flare Jeans
Looking for a fun, transitional outfit to move you through summer into early fall? Here’s one!

Who had a great week?? Ours just flew by! I’m shocked we only have a few weeks left until preschool starts back up after Labor Day. I’m excited but also a little bummed another summer is almost over. Each summer gets better and better!

Last weekend we had a quick trip up to Virginia Beach to visit with my in laws! We had such a fabulous time. It was quick – we had to get back Sunday night for my husband’s early start on Monday. But it was definitely quality time!

The kids played SO hard! William skipped his naps, and I was hoping that they would be so tired that on Sunday morning they would sleep in! But, alas, Sunday morning, 6:15am, Elizabeth shouted “I have to go potty!” and that started the wake up process. I told them they had to stay in their room a little longer (please! let me have a coffee first!), but shortly after, Elizabeth shouted again!

She said “Mom! William is out of his bed!

I ran up there, opened the door, and found William, face down on the floor, head under the bed, still zipped up in his sleep sack, lying so still! I was nervous he actually hurt himself climbing out of the pack n play (he’s never done that before!). As I walked closer, he started to chuckle, and then sat up and said “Hi momma!”. 

Stinker 🙂

BUT our car ride home was pretty quiet.

This week we had adventures at the gym, the backyard, and a last ballet class. Generally just taking it slow. Not trying to pack in a million adventures… just enjoying each day.

Speaking of gym, I’ve really gotten into this whole gym thing. I find myself pretty darn excited to go each day. I’ve even been more mindful of what I have been eating during the day. We generally are healthy eaters, but portions can be crazy.

I did manage to eat just half of my dinner during date night this week! Non-scale victory!

I’ve got leftovers for today! Win!

Not pictures: the dessert I ate. Completely. No splitting HA!

And now, it’s time to link up your posts! Can’t wait to cruise around and see what you all have been blogging about!

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