Jonas came with me on my Saturday morning run at Crockett Park…he rode his bike and champed out four miles with me!!! He loves being outside as much as I do and really enjoyed watching all of the wildlife and following the creek along the trail. We can’t wait to do it together again.
The boys and I went to the lake this morning!!! We met several moms and kids from our moms’ group and really enjoyed just hanging out…playing on the playground, swimming in the water (even though it was a little bit cold), digging in the sand, and having a picnic. The boys didn’t love the mommy enforced, wear-your-puddle-jumper-in-the-lake-even-though-you’re-pretty-good-at-swimming rule…but oh well, that’s what happens when it’s one mommy and three little strong-willed and not always listening boys, a lot of people, and water you can’t see to the bottom of…they still had fun, though.
The boys and I went strawberry picking this morning at Valley Home Farms…our very favorite place to go pick berries. We’ve gone every spring/summer since Roman was 2 months old, and he’s 5 years old now!!! We picked strawberries, sampled homemade treats (blueberry and strawberry ice cream for the boys and a blackberry/blueberry ice pop for me), and picnicked in the sun.
I loaded up on rainy day activities for the boys this summer. So, today we did some tie dyeing!!! It was so much fun.
Xander lost his first tooth!!! He was so excited that today was not only the last day of school but the first day he lost a tooth…look at that face…what a precious guy.
Jonas and Xander’s last day of school was today!!! We celebrated with ice cream from the ice cream truck in our neighborhood and a visit to the splash pad. It was a wee bit cold but still a fun way to kick off the summer.
On Easter, we celebrated with mass at church and an Easter Egg Hunt at Aunt Jean’s house. Here’s a photo of the whole gang on the steps of MeMe and PaPa’s house and one of me and my dear cousin, Heather. Happy Easter!!!
We got to go camping over spring break which was so much fun!!! On Thursday, we got settled in, walked down the dry creek bed, gathered wood for a fire, filtered water from the creek, checked out Tom’s survival gear, put together a peach cobbler (in the Dutch oven Grandma and Grandpa gave us for Christmas), grilled hot dogs, ate a yummy dinner and dessert, sat around the campfire, and tucked in for the night. On Friday, we ate breakfast, went exploring, hung out around the pond (Petra swam for the very first time in her life!), and headed home.
Yay for camping with all of the Seyfried boys!!!
The boys and I had fun at the indoor pool this morning with Jordan…playing monkey in the middle, diving for dive rings/sticks, and enjoying the water.
The boys and I went to the Adventure Science Center this morning. They could spend forever in there playing and checking everything out. The favorites today were: the light board, the plasma globe, the rocket launcher, and the water table.
We spent the first day of spring break with Jordan at the zoo!!! We fed the lorikeets, checked out the fish and reptiles, pet the kangaroos, fed the turtles (Roman got bit…ouch!), rode the train, and played on the playground. The boys loved hanging out with their cousin, and I loved spending time with my niece.
The boys LOVE playing in the woods behind our house…they get stocked up with snacks and walkie talkies and build forts.
I had fun hanging out with Jonas and Xander at their classroom spring parties this afternoon…they played bingo, ate snacks, won prizes, made crafts, etc.
Tom has been working on making fire with a bow drill…
I was so excited to finally run the half-marathon today that I’ve been training for for three months now!!! It’s been a great way for me to keep my spirits up over the winter (spending time alone, listening to music, being in the great outdoors, boosting serotonin, and having a goal to work towards). I’ve had good days and bad days…fast days and slow days…feeling good days and feeling rough days…running through all of them. I’ve been learning how to pace and race myself. I even felt like Rocky a few times…haha…running in the freezing cold, crossing over snow-covered bridges…and running in the pouring rain, finishing up those last few miles. I felt somewhat young while I was running and really old when I stopped.
The last (and only) half-marathon I ran was about 14 years ago. My goal after Roman was born was just to get back to where I could run 3 miles 3 times a week. This fall, I started bumping up the mileage on the weekend a little bit just to see if I could do it. I’m so grateful to my chiropractor, Dr. Todd Smith, for inspiring me and encouraging me at that point to “resurrect the dream” and try to run another half-marathon!!!
It ended up SNOWING the day of the run. Crazy. Tom was so great and set up a course for me at Crockett Park, where I did the majority of my training. He and the boys met me at different points along the way with precious signs and exuberant cheers which really helped…especially past the halfway mark and beyond. It was so beautiful running in the snow…even though at times I could hardly see for all of the snowflakes blowing in my face. I was surprised but not to see quite a few other runners out there on the trail, grinning from ear to ear. Tom even set up a finish line for me, complete with dear friends and family cheering me on and a medal!!! So fun. So grateful.
Jonas, Xander, and I had a BLAST at Mommy Son Game Night. We did everything from golfing and bowling to ring tossing and ladder balling in the hallway. Our favorite thing by far was the dodge ball tournament (1st grade boys against 1st grade boy moms, 2nd grade boys against 2nd grade boy moms, etc.) and dancing in the gym…so much fun to participate in and to watch. Hands down one of the best mommy and son nights ever!!!
Jonas, Xander, and I had fun at Family Literacy Night! The boys unscrambled and guessed book titles from famous lines, played sight word Twister and Scrabble Junior, worked on crafts for “Oh the Places You’ll Go” and “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket”, goofed around in the photo booth, and even got their faces painted. We’re so thankful for such a wonderful school and for a fun night together.
Jonas (explaining things to Tom): “It’s a world of complications, Dad.”
Jonas (building with Roman): “Roman!!! Do you want me to build this?!? I’ll build it the way I build it. And I won’t regret it.”
Xander (trying to get my attention): “Dude! I mean…Mom!”
Xander (loving his new found ability to snap): “God gave me a new power…I can snap both of my fingers!”
Roman (consoling me for messing up): “You have to get stuff wrong to be the specialist Mommy.”
Roman (discussing his ongoing cold): “I think the bacteria is winning.”
For as much as they fight, they do love each other…
The chore Jonas is working on right now is unloading the dishwasher. When I came downstairs from helping Roman get ready for school this morning, Jonas showed me what he created instead of putting the dishes away…a dish sculpture in the shape of a Pokemon character, Alakazam. What creativity!
