What's Up Wednesday {5/30/18}

1.  What we're eating this week:

I usually have a menu planned out, but the boys have been sick this week, so I haven't done much work on that.  We grilled out with our neighbor's on Sunday, we ate at City Cafe Monday, and the rest of the week I've just been in survival mode... when one gets sick they all do.

2.  What I'm reminiscing about:

Last summer!  We had a fun summer last year, and I'm looking forward to another fun one.

3.  What I'm loving:

I'm still loving the Walmart grocery pickup.  I can't tell you the last time I went in a grocery store to shop.  I've started picking up my orders on Monday afternoons.  Cooper has art class right beside Walmart, so as soon as we finish there, we head over and get our groceries for the week.  It's fabulous!

4.  What we've been up to:

We've just been busy finishing up the school year.  We've had lots of activities for that, so we're ready to settle into our summer routine.  

5.  What I'm dreading:

While I love summertime more than anything, I do dread the boys fighting and getting bored... it seems to be inevitable with them.  

6.  What I'm working on:

I'm moving grade levels next school year, so I've been working on packing up my room and moving down the hall.  It's exhausting!

7.  What I'm excited about:

Summer break!  We don't have a vacation lined up like we typically do since we went to Disney, but we're trying to figure out some small beach trip at some point.  I'm really excited about not having to set an alarm anymore, even though the boys get up extremely early.

8.  What I'm watching/reading:

I'm in the final Harry Potter book!  I'm so sad it's almost over!

I've put Gilmore Girls on hold since I've been reading, but I've been watching a lot of tennis this week.  The French Open is being played now, so I've been watching Nadal!  I watch a lot of other matches too because I love tennis, but Nadal is my main focus.  

9.  What I'm listening to:

I've been listening to a lot of Ed Sheeran and Sam Hunt lately!  I've also been in a 90s alternative rock mood (Third Eye Blind, The Wallflowers, Matchbox 20, Oasis, etc.).

10.  What I'm wearing:

I've been living in cotton dresses from Old Navy and Walmart.  I've bough them in every color they have!

11.  What I'm doing this weekend:

We have nothing planned this weekend!  I'm hoping we'll all be over the sickness that's making its way around our house though... it's really taken its toll on the boys.  I'd love to go swimming somewhere, so we'll see!

12.  What I'm looking forward to next month:

Just being on summer vacation!  We do lots of swimming, I'm able to get to the Y more frequently, we go to the library, do fun things around Chattanooga, and we have VBS!  It'll be a fun month!

13.  What else is new:

Projects with the house are slowing down, and that's been nice.  Our fence was installed last week, and it's been great.  The boys and Bear can run around, so they've been spending more time outside!  All the major stuff is done now, so we're finally feeling settled!  I'm going to do a post on the house soon... I'll have to clean and organize before I do though!

Our Favorite Chattanooga Area Playgrounds

With three wild boys, we need some free entertainment to help us burn off energy.  We tend to hit up playgrounds quite a bit, so I've rounded up our favorite Chattanooga area playgrounds.  I like to stay relatively close to home, so while their are lots of great playgrounds in our area, these are the ones we most frequently go to.

1.  Libby's Living Legacy Playground - Flintstone

This is the playground we go to most frequently.  It's the perfect size, and it's right down the road from our house.  We usually do Clark's birthday party here every year, and the boys request to play there year round.  Unfortunately, it's closed right now due to fire damage, but I'm hoping it'll be back open before the summer is over.  

2.  St. Elmo Playground - St. Elmo

This playground is a little farther from home for us, but we pass it almost daily as we head to Chattanooga.  It's a good size, not too big, and it's got a lot to offer for all 3 boys.  It's got a lot of shade, so that helps too.  Their favorite thing is the massive slide in the middle of it.

3.  Warner Park Miracle League Playground - Chattanooga 

This playground is on the same property as the Chattanooga Zoo, so we go there a lot after we finish up there.  It's very new, and it's extremely nice!  It's all soft surfaces and very kid friendly, so it's great.  There's lots of fun toys there that most playgrounds don't have, so the boys really love it.

4.  Mountain Maze - Lookout Mountain

I remember going to this playground as a child, so I always enjoy taking the boys up there.  It's really close to the Incline and Rock City, so it's not too far out of our way, we just have to go up the mountain to get there.  There's lots of things to climb there, so the boys love that.  We went there this weekend, and since it's a bit cooler on the mountain, the boys played for almost an hour!

Friday Favorites {5/25/18}

Happy Friday, friends!  Today was the last day of school!  I'm so excited for summer break.  It's not very long, but we'll make the best of it.  Here's my favorites for the week.

Last Friday Andy and I headed to Blue Ridge for an anniversary/Andy's birthday trip.  We stayed in a friend's house on Lake Blue Ridge, and it was perfect!  We spent some time on the lake, ate really good food, read (I read a ton), and slept!  It was the perfect weekend!

Cooper did an awesome job painting his cat in art class on Monday!  It's so much fun to watch him create things!

Andy refinished my old China cabinet, and it looks great!  He used chalk paint, and did an awesome job.

This sweet boy had his last day of pre-k and his graduation this week.  He's ready for kindergarten!

Our fence was installed this week, and it looks great!  It's massive!

I finished this last night, and this book just ripped me apart!  I'm desperately hoping that one major thing that happened at the end will be fixed in the last book, but I'm not holding my breath.  I'm telling you, even if you think you'd hate Harry Potter, you need to read them!  They are fantastic!

My in-law's have a farm, and we took the boys up there to play last night.  They got filthy, but they had a great time!

Cooper had his last day of 1st grade today!  He had a wonderful year!

I just love summer break!  I've got two days of inservice next week, then it's time for fun with my babies!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends!

Clark's Pre-K Graduation

Clark graduated from pre-k today!  He still feels so little to me, but I know he's more than ready for kindergarten come August.  He had a bit of a bumpy start to pre-k due to crying each morning when I left him, but he quickly grew to love it.  He loved his friends, his teachers, and learning!  Math is his strong suite, but he's come so far in every aspect.  His behavior was great, and he didn't have to move his clip down a color ever... nobody was more surprised about that than me!  😂  He's ready for summer break, but here in a week or so he'll be bored and ready for school.  I'm so excited he'll be right down the hall from me next year, and I know he's going to rock kindergarten!  We're very proud of you, Clark Michael!

He wanted to celebrate with a lunch at Susan's, a shopping trip to Walmart, and a slushy at Mumdee's!  He was thrilled to plan the day out.