Friday, July 8, 2016

Friday Favorites: 4th of July Edition

*Terrell told me this morning about all that happened last night. Pray for our country. Pray for these heartbroken families. Pray for us to love one another as Jesus has loved us. "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 

This week has been CRAZY. Exhaustingly crazy. Back to work for Terrell, back to tutoring for me, tons of errands to run, bedroom makeover nonstop, blog marathon (a long post every single day is work!), and we're attempting to pull off/host a super last minute housewarming party for my cousin and his wife a week from tomorrow. C-R-A-Z-Y. My normal bedtime this week has been close to midnight between painting, party planning, uploading photos, writing, prepping for my student, plus my usual duties around here of keeping everyone in one piece. Plus fed. So the week after our vacay has been a whirlwind. But pretty fun too thankfully.

Here's a look at my faves from the week and what we were up to for the 4th...

*On Sunday, the day after we arrived home from the beach, we took the day off as a little extension of our vacation. We slept in, took our time starting the day, and the boys and I made our traditional 4th of July dessert... Chocolate Chip Delight. (Chocolate chip cookies dipped in milk, layered with cool whipped... alternating 2 layers of each, and topped with red and blue m & m's)  

Things got pretty interesting with Layton but it took me back to this... 2010 and Garrison Cade's first go at the tradition. 

Austin's first experience looked something like this... Hanging onto my leg while Garrison and I worked at the counter. =) Oh sweet memories.

So this was Layton's first year to be introduced since last year we were heading home from vacation on the 4th. He was pretty excited and participated lots at first.... then he mainly dipped his cookies and sampled them. Plus made a mess. Ha. 

The finished product was super yummy and the boys have already declared they don't want to wait a whole year before we make it again. 

*Sunday afternoon before going out to eat with Terrell's parents, Layton discovered our firetruck tent/hut. He is a HUGE fan and calls it a choo choo and wants to "ride" in it almost every waking moment. Hahaha. 

*Come Monday we were ready to celebrate America's birthday! Terrell took the boys outside to play right after breakfast as a special treat and then we decided to try out an afternoon movie. It would be Layton's first ever movie theater experience and the big boys' 2nd ever movie theater experience. We just aren't big theater people I guess. It's expensive and once sports seasons start our weekends fill up fast. Plus we've always had a little one who couldn't go so it's never really worked out. Until Monday. 

As you can see, Layton is laughing at us here. LAUGHING. Because he knows he's about to be large and in charge and make mama and daddy pay for this little outing. #epicfail

We went to see Finding Dory and from what I saw, it was such a cute movie. Once we got past the previews the big boys really enjoyed the whole experience. Unfortunately, Layton Thomas was not impressed whatsoever and therefore made things rather stressful and not so fun for mama and daddy. He asked to go potty, loudly, several times. He fell between the seat and got his leg stuck. More than once. He lost a flip flop under the seat once. Waaay behind the seat. He moved around a LOT. Once we ran out of snacks we were pretty much out of luck. Terrell and I took turns leaving the theater with him. And it was totally the walk of shame. We had to sit on the opposite side from the door so we had to walk in front of the screen. Oh the shame! We were just fighting a losing battle. He just wasn't interested and wasn't ready. Even though it was disappointing and very frustrating in the moment we eventually laughed about it because what else can you do?   

He'd rather explore the theater and check all of the toy vending machines than find Dory. Hahaha.

*After our wild time at the movies we headed over to my Nanny's house for a 4th celebration with lots of family.

*Love these 4!!

*This one is priceless!

*We had a great time with the Garrison side! We ate good and partied hard. =)

*Layton decided he really wanted to try out cereal in a bowl this week... with milk. Just like his brothers. So far, so good.

*Reading time with my big boys after I put Layton down for his nap is still super popular. Yay for a love of books and reading!

*We've had lots of errands to run this week and the boys have been troopers. No major issues, lots of patience (by all of us), and minimal threats and/or bribing by mama. Yay. Just pushing these 3 out of Walmart where I bought 3 items. Sigh. Such a chore to get everybody in and out for 3 items but it couldn't be avoided. That was one cute but heavy buggy. =)

*On yesterday I wanted to plan a fun outing for the boys and got a little bummed and frustrated because there are very few places for kiddos around here. Especially in the summer heat. Soo frustrating! BUT, I did eventually come up with something that turned out perfect... and it was totally free... and summer appropriate... and right here in my small town. Wooohooo! A visit to the park and fountain was a huge hit!

*They LOVED it! They played in the water for almost 2 hours (we only had to leave because I was melting) and they got soaked! The water came up to Layton's knees in the middle and the big boys threw a tennis ball to each other and kicked a soccer ball... in the water. So I think they have to wear swim suits next time. Hahaha. 

*Yay for a fun summer outing right here at home!

This weekend we're looking forward to extra rest and continuing our bedroom makeover and party planning. Have a great weekend!

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