Showing posts with label bubbles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bubbles. Show all posts

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Easter Eggs & Kites!

I slept on the couch in our greatroom last night, and I don't regret that decision at all. This house, the house in which I grew up, boasts an open greatroom with gable windows, and when the sun rises, so do you.. in a great mood. I was up and moving before the rest of the house; the first thing I did was step outside onto the deck. The trees have yet to sprout their full sets of leaves, but that barely detracted from the beauty that always surrounds this place.

** Deck morning pic

My mom is a machine. I think we'll all be shocked if I actually outlive her. Haha. Seriously, though: My mother is the definition of a healthy woman, and I'll never get over the fact that she can run circles around us. She had us up and going as soon as her feet hit the floor this morning, and we haven't looked back since. ;)

|| ONE ||

First, it was an Easter Egg hunt & the unveiling of Easter baskets.
[The Easter bunny was busy this year!]
egg hunt...... go!
basket o' eggs
nana & pappy!
With all the eggs collected, we noticed there were some strange prints on the deck... [yes, this Easter bunny walks, like a human... haha]
where did he go?
easter baskets, of course!!
ransack.
easter basket goodies!
Showcasing some spoils:
new sock-shoes? lol (:
ninja bunny here....
little capsules that become sponge animals
|| TWO ||

We survived the explosion of Easter basket fun and gathered ourselves together for a trip to the new and still in-progress development of Mt. Vernon's Foundation Park. They still have some big work to do, but it's already beautiful and I'm excited to come back in a few months to see how it's finished.

Our reason for the visit today?
butterfly kite!
I didn't realize until today that my mother has never before flown a kite. Never. This won't sound like much to most, but today will stay special if for no other reason than the fact that I was with my mother and my daughter for their first time flying a kite. How.. awesome (:
she's good!!

she insisted she could do this herself ;)

but finally enlisted mister rob's help ♥
heading out to get started
my girl ♥♥
mom!!!
showing mister rob how it's done ;)
she's a pro now!
mama, reeling it in after an hour of flight time (:
We flew that thing for almost an hour before finally bringing it down. Luckily for us, we also brought snacks... and bubbles.
snacks with pappy
bubbles with nana

ribbons!
Soon it was time to go...
getting chilly ... zip up!
my love...
... and the love i most admire ♥
|| THREE ||
We headed home after the park; Dad, Rob and our neighbor Fred got together to switch out the dryers and hang out for a bit, and Sydni and I took to the yard.
in love with today
her snarly monster face
if you guessed that she's singing the frozen soundtrack, you're not wrong...
more bubbles!
This picture, which is now one of my favorites:
baby girls being raised right ;)
Before long, it was time to settle down for dinner. Mom, as usual, outdid herself and left the family with bellies so full we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Dad's solution? Teach Sydni chess. 
ok, so maybe it wasn't by real chess rules, but hey, it's ok!
After dinner, we forced Mom out of the kitchen and took away all her dishtowels and parked her in a seat with the family to watch................. you guessed it.. Frozen. I'm fairly certain my parents are were the only two remaining people in the U.S. to have seen this movie. Haha.
it's movie time!
hey pappy! dooooooo you wanna build a snowmaaaaan?
They loved it. She recited it. We just laughed watching them the whole time.
Oh, and when you're here at the Dren Lodge, this is how you end Saturday movie nights:
homemade chocolate & caramel sauce!
Whoa. Saturday = SUCCESS.
We're aiming for the same thing tomorrow (:

xo | cmd

Friday, April 11, 2014

Backyard Bubbles

Once upon a time, I probably couldn't have told you the last Friday I'd spent at home, on the couch. Nowadays, I need a lot of encouraging to doll up and get out. Friday and Saturday nights out must mean some special event, because I am admittedly an old gal now and I enjoy those nights of going absolutely nowhere and impressing absolutely noone.

Oh, and also, I'm a mom, first. (: Sure, I love heading out with the crew and won't dare say that any mom should completely cut out adult time, but more often than not, I prefer the company of my 4-year-old over the bar scene.

Tonight was one of those nights. I don't know why, but I was just craving a Friday night in with her and Rob, playing whatever game or watching whatever movie happened to find its way into our evening.

We made that happen.
It started right after work, with a tube of bubbles and a wide-open back yard.
in motion! 
these two... ♥♥
 
^ Those two are my favorite thing in this world. I love watching them play together. Tomorrow, willing that weather holds out and stays nice, we'll all get out there and romp around for a bit.
 
For now, we are all parked here on the couch, bellies full and ready to bid tonight farewell. It's time for a movie (:
 
Woo hoo, weekend!!
 
xo | cmd

Sunday, September 15, 2013

✿ Saturday With Sydni ✿

This is how today started:
my daughter. LOVE. HER!!
not complaining one bit.
& Then...
SOCCER PRACTICE!
soccer monster!
-- I felt like I was back in my childhood, except on the other end of it now. I've only seen pictures of me then, but they were not unlike the scene today: Sydni in her pint-sized soccer gear - cleats and all - and a t-shirt that even in the smallest size available drooped off her tiny frame. As much as I tried for the pigtail today, it looked unusually disheveled by the time we got there, which in a way magically available only to little girls, made her look that much cuter.
so cute. so. stinkin'. cute.

soccer kiddies
And some short but fun action I captured [*note to self, take an actual camera next time.]
 
^ My little [future] left-wing (:
^ Red Light, Green Light!

I just.. can't get enough. (: (: (:

Soccer practice off the checklist, we made a break for iHOP.. because it's Saturday, pancakes sounded amazing, and we had no agenda. We were already in Mason, so once breakfast was out of the way, we made a stop at Half Price Books and came out with a couple of movies, a book for Sydni, and of course: Insurgent. I couldn't resist buying it, but didn't feel like paying retail for the thing [proud consumer moment]. It's the second of the Divergent series that I started last week.
insurgent by veronica roth
And ok.. I originally planned to start the thing today, while Sydni napped or snuggled up for a movie at the end of the evening or something. No. Instead, I devoured it cover-to-cover before tonight was over. I'm still blaming Nikki for getting me hooked. It's. So. Good.

Between chapters [& Sydni's nap), we got outside for bike riding, bubbles into the sunset, and some hiking around the area. She's my little trooper!

bubbles into the sunset: i could literally do this every day.
& again, because we're spoiling ourselves today, Graeter's!

hahaha.. graeters!!!
.. And that is how we do it on a Saturday. Tomorrow we'll be on the river for a bit, but for now it's time to call it a day.

xo | cmd

Monday, August 1, 2011

BUBBLES!!

Visiting our old church today was a bit bittersweet. We are moving our membership to our new church in Belleville, but not because we don't love New Harmony. I'm pretty sure everyone understands, but it's still a little sad to know that we're no longer "official" members of this church.

Today was apparently polka dot day for all the little girls: Charli and Sydni had on the exact same dress, while Ellie and little Sadie were both sporting different colored dots. Everyone had bubbles, which is a huge hit with little ones.

What I know I'm going to miss the most about New Harmony are the people that attend. Our pastor there [Pastor Jeff & Katrina] have been nothing but open and helpful to us, and we wouldn't have been able to make a lot of our hardest decisions the right way without their guidance.

Not to mention, the kids always have a good time together, and it was our pleasure to have Sydni spend the wedding night on Friday overnight with them.
mcclain kids | dills kid
After church, we made a stop at KP's mom [&Pete's] new house out in Batavia. The place is enormous, and absolutely beautiful. KP hasn't seen it yet, but she's in for a nice little treat. From there, we swung by Goldstar and headed back to Joe's mom's to spend some good quality time with her before we hit the road back to IL.

Now here we are, back in the Land of Lincoln, unwilling but ready nonetheless to head back to our jobs tomorrow.

I wouldn't trade this weekend for the world.

xo | cmd