Saturday Night Park Date

When I was little, I remember that getting to go to the park as real treat.  As kid who lived in the country, the closest park to us was about 7 miles away, so it wasn't like we could just walk there or take our bikes.

I remember being envious of my friends who lived "in town" and could ride their bikes to the park.  Although we had a pretty nice swing-set with monkey bars in our the back yard (that we spent hours on), getting to go to the park was still fun.
*Side note -- I tried to do the monkey bars last weekend, and IT'S SO HARD now!  Monkey barring in your thirties is definitely harder than monkey barring in your tweens. 
**New goal this summer -- be able to do the monkeys bars with poise. 

Anyways, I digress.

Ellis is now fortunate to live near a handful of parks that are within walking distance or just a few miles from our house, and I'm looking forward to being able to reward him with "park days" this summer.

I also have lofty visions of meeting other local moms/my friends at the park and sipping coffee while we let our kiddo burn off some steam.  Any takers?  ;)

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Last Saturday night, Zac & I took Ellis on a dinner & park date.  Just as we got to the park, the sun started to hide behind the clouds and the wind started whipping.  It got rather cold in a hurry, but we still had a nice evening with Bubs -- I'm not sure that his smile left his face the entire night.

After the park, we walked down to the beach & let Ellis explore a bit.   Hi filled his shoes with sand, found two seashells & was happy as a clam.

Safe to say, I think he's gonna like the park -- maybe as much as his momma!

Wildlife Sanctuary | Spring 2018

On the first warm weekend in April, we took our first trip of the year to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.   It was a long time comin', since winter lasted for FAR too long this year.

It was the weekend after Blizzard Evelyn so it was a bit wet yet, but when the sun shines & the temp reaches 60 degrees, you GET OUTSIDE no matter what!

Momma geese, sitting on their nests.

Still some snow left on the banks, but plenty of ducks & geese to feed.

Do you see the owl?

And we spotted an almost 2.5' foot baby Ellis!

 Big bear hugs to all... to celebrate warmer days ahead!

Previous trips to the Wildlife Sanctuary: 2017 (baby Ellis!) & 2015

Maple Syruping.

The Everard Boys concluded another year of maple syrup making.

Per usual, I'm glad that I didn't have to lift a finger and yet still get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

I take that back.  I went with Zac once this year to check the taps / gather sap.  Proof; it's documented below.

In all honestly, I mostly just pulled Ellis in the sled & took a few pictures.  But hey!  Family time, right? :) 

Maple syrup gathering looked a little different this year than it did last year...

The boys tapped different trees.

There was much more snow on the ground.

It was very cold.

Oh, and I had a baby!

(That photo on the left... Ellis was born 4 short hours after it was taken)

You know what's great about Maple Syrup Season?  It's smack dab in the drab of winter.

That in-between "blah" season when you're so ready for winter to be done & for spring to arrive.

The day the boys boil sap brings that feeling that spring is jusssst around the corner for me.  I usually start some spring cleaning and get the house decorated for Easter, while the boys freeze their bums off all day boiling the sap. 

Side note: what's funnier than a baby in snow pants and boots that are two sizes too big, trying to walk in the snow?  Pretty.much.nothing.

I mean really though, if only we could all be as cool as Ellis...

Peace out Sugar Maples, see ya next year.

Now who's hungry for pancakes!?

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Sunshine & sheds!

It was the 784th day of January, and we FINALLY got outside!  Hip-hip hooray!

Ellis had gotten a sled for Christmas, and we've been itching to use it, but it's been so darn cold.  Two weeks ago though, Mother Nature gave us a perfectly warm, winter Saturday and so we took our winter blues and turned them into sunshine!

Over the river & through the woods we go!

We saw lots of animal tracks...  

... And I found my first shed!

Zac & Ellis sure were excited about it!

Another beautiful day in northeast Wisconsin!

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Christmas Snapshots | 2017

Merry Christmas to all our family & friends!

The past two weeks have been both amazing & exhausting.  We've been enjoying our time with family, celebrating Christmas & the reason for the season, but I'm not going to lie...  doing it with a 10 month old isn't always easy.  Missed naps, sickies, teething, a sudden boycotting of the bottle -- it's been stressful.

I wanted Ellis's first Christmas to be nothing short of magical...
I hoped to make an advent calendar for the beginning of the month, but I never got around to it.
I had every intention of creating this board book for him to open on Christmas, but I ran out of time.
We forgot to set cookies & milk out for Santa.
We didn't wear our family matching pjs on Christmas Eve night.
And, we didn't even get a family picture on Christmas Day.

While all those things seem very trivial (I'm aware), they were important to me. As I reflect back on the past two weeks, I realize that our Christmas may not have been the Instagram-worthy one that I had dreamed about, but it was still so so good.

We have full bellies, a warm home, healthy bodies, and lots and lots of love from family.

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I didn't take my camera out nearly enough over the past two weeks, but here are a few highlights during this season:

Meeting Santa for the first time.

Cousins in matching jammies.

Naps on Daddy.

Decorating & eating a sugar cookie for the first time.

Finding presents under the tree.

Handmade gifts.

The cutest personalized piggy bank.

THE most special present under our tree.

Looking forward to slowing down these next few weeks... these cold temps will make it easy to not leave the house!


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