Weekend Recap!

Happy Labor Day Weekend, friends! I hope that you’re all enjoying a few relaxing days off.

I love putting these posts together because it’s a fun reminder of all of the things that we do over the course of a week (which I quickly forget about in the regular hustle of everyday life). Gibbs finished up his second week of Kindergarten, but Casey doesn’t start preschool until this coming week. That means that my younger two had a lot of quality time together at home, and it has been really fun to see them enjoy each other’s company (without interruption or direction from Big Brother). 🙂

Based on the sheer number of photos I have this week, I’m going to keep my captions short and sweet…starting with Monday morning…

We made a visit to our neighbor’s dairy farm to watch the tractors filling the silos with harvested corn (you may have seen our accompanying Fall Sensory Bin in this post!).

Spencer with his former babysitter, Rebekah.

Snack time at a park in Charlottesville.

This kid loves to take selfies!

Visiting Yoder’s to pick up a few groceries (and to say hello to our animal friends!).

We also picked up our first loaf of Pumpkin Bread of the season. It lasted all of about 24 hours in our house. My kids cannot get enough!

Walk with Margeaux (it was SO HOT and muggy this week)!

Gibbs’s first soccer practice of the season.

Post-bath movie time before bed. They watched Home Alone. It’s never too early for Christmas movies, right?!

I made a couple of jars of this Roasted Tomato Sauce, which was SO easy. We still have more tomatoes than we can consume, so I’m forced to get creative. This recipe was great because the cherry tomatoes naturally sweeten the sauce without the need for any added sugar.

Plenty of walks (or runs) in the woods.

Mid-morning donut stop!

Birthday shopping for Dad.

Car wash (finally)!

My lunch dates at Jason’s Deli.

A visit from my mom. Didn’t you know that legs make great roads?!

Casey’s latest art project (supplies courtesy of my clever mom AKA The Original “Seasoned Mom”!).

Casey’s first soccer practice EVER.

Walking the dog.

Buddies!

Collecting acorns.

And sticks.

Lots of Play-Doh!

Have you tried the new La Croix flavors? I picked this up at Target this week and I was a bit hesitant about the Cantaloupe flavor combo. Turns out it’s GREAT! Definitely one of my favorites, and the cantaloupe is so mild that you hardly notice it. It just tastes more like delicious grapefruit bubbles.

New mum plants for fall (such a steal at Costco!).

Friday afternoon end-of-the-week ice cream treat at Yoder’s after school!

Saturday morning exercise for the family,

plus a stop halfway through to throw rocks into the water.

The kids all got haircuts,

and then Keith took the boys to lunch at McDonald’s while I stayed to get my hair cut. He sent me these pictures from the restaurant, which made me smile. French fries and fresh cuts!

Later that night Keith and I had a date night at Thornton River Grille to celebrate his birthday.

From the salads, to the soup and locally-raised steak, it was hands-down one of the BEST restaurant meals that we have ever enjoyed. Absolutely PERFECT!!

And despite how late we may have stayed up drinking wine and beer, the kids were up and ready to go early this morning. By 6:10 a.m. all three of them were outside in their pajamas with flashlights “hunting for ghosts.” UGH.

After breakfast I made a quick pot of soup (recipe coming soon),

while my littlest guys played together (Keith and Gibbs were involved in a high-stakes game of Mario Kart on Wii).

Now the boys are outside washing Keith’s car, the weather is sunny and cool, and we’re trying to figure out how to spend the day. There will most likely be a hike involved, and I’ll be preparing THIS Chicken & Stuffing Casserole for dinner later. Have you tried it? I just went to grab the recipe and noticed that it’s been pinned over 22,000 times! It’s a good one!

Have a great week and enjoy the rest of your weekend!