InstaFriday: Latest Hangouts, Current Projects, & Real Life

Happy Friday Friends!

Y’all seemed to enjoy that last iPhone photo dump that I did, so I decided I would try to incorporate it into the blog every couple weeks, just to mix things up a bit. I take so many photos with my iPhone, so I also thought it would be a great way to put those pictures to use! 🙂 Here is a little recap of what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks.

The kids and I have a new favorite hangout……Barnes & Noble! I just happened to stop in our local B&N a few weeks ago to look for a book & I had Griffin with me. We walked back to the children’s section of the store & I immediately knew I wasn’t going to be leaving for awhile….

Yes, that is a Thomas the Train table, complete with track & trains. Not only that, but do you see the display of trains & books behind him?! This boy was in heaven! So much so, that he asked me about going back to the “Thomas Store” everyday after that. Needless to say, I found myself there again the following week.

This time, I brought my book & snagged a cup of coffee from Starbucks. I got comfortable while he played. It was glorious! He was quiet & perfectly content. I sipped my coffee & dug into my book….probably the most relaxing trip out of the house with him EVER!!

The following week, we went back with Parker. That time I brought my laptop  & got some blog work done while the boys played together. Seriously, why have I never thought to take my kids to Barnes & Noble before?! This is definitely going to be a frequent hangout for us this summer!

Speaking of summer, Parker’s summer break has officially started! He had his last day of school early last week. They celebrate the end of the school year with an event called “Field Day.” They basically have inflatables for the kids to play on, water activities, face painting, & a cook-out for the entire family to attend. We had an absolute blast!

Since school is out, both of the boys have been hanging with grandma & grandpa while mom & dad are at work. This was a picture I had taken of them at my parents house a couple weeks ago. My parents have a big yard & the boys have a couple of ride-on toys that they love to play on at their house. In this picture they were taking a popsicle break.

This picture was sent to me from my mother-in-law the other day. She was keeping the boys for me while I was at work. The boys were having fun climbing trees.

I’m so thankful that we have both sets of grandparents living here in Southern Illinois with us. They are always willing to lend a helping hand & the boys absolutely love hanging with them. I know that when they get older they will have so many memories to look back on. Its safe to say they are going to have tons of summer fun with grandma & grandpa.

A couple weekends ago the weather was hot & we decided to have some fun in the water to stay cool. We bought this cheap plastic pool at Walmart last summer & I swear it was the best $20 I ever did spend! It may not be very big, the boys have so much fun with it!

Tee-ball season is in full swing & we’ve been spending many nights at the ball field. This is Parker’s second year playing & he really enjoys it! As much as I thought I was going to dread those hot summer nights & afternoons at the ball field, I find myself looking forward to his games every week. I really enjoy watching him play & interact with the other kids.

It’s really awesome to see how much he has improved since last year! With Griffin just a couple years behind him, I know that I have many more games (and summers) at the ball field ahead of me!

Since the weather has been nice, I’ve been trying to make more of an effort to exercise. Griffin actually asked me if I could take him for a ride in his stroller one afternoon….totally unlike him! The kid usually hates being in his stroller!

I’ve also started the couch to 5K program again & hoping to get back into a regular jogging routine. I did the program last summer & loved it!

A couple weekends back, we went out with our friends, Mandy & Jeff Rose. You would think that since Mandy & I only live 20 minutes apart, that we would see each other all the time, but this was the first time we had seen each other since we attended the Blissdom conference together in March….CRAZY! 

It was nice to have an evening out with friends & without the kiddos! We MUST make more of an effort to do it more often!

This was a picture that I snapped while sitting at a stoplight on my way to work one morning. I’m totally one of those people who absolutely dread going to work each week! Once I get to work, I am totally fine, but I seriously go into depression mode around noon the day before I have to go back. Ridiculous since I only work 2 days a week, right?!

I got this for Mother’s Day and I LOVE it!!

I had my eye on it for a few weeks while shopping at Lowes. I had gotten a coupon in the mail & we decided to put it to use on this beauty. It’s now sitting pretty on our back deck.

Speaking of the back deck, it’s been undergoing some changes….

GAH!!! I can’t tell you how excited I am!! I’ve been wanting to build a pergola on our back deck for quite some time now. My dad & my husband worked their butts off on this project & I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! I’ll be sharing more pictures and full tutorial soon!

On another note, guess who gets to paint the pergola?! Yea…that would be me! It’s gonna look so nice once its done, but I’m seriously dreading it!!

Anyone wanna come help?! 

Again, I apologize for my absence this week! I’m finally feeling better & praying that next week will be a better one! Stay tuned!

Thanks so much for visiting me today!! Have a great Friday & a wonderful weekend!

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InstaFriday at Life Rearranged